Fantasy Divinity Unbound: The Dragon Goddess

[GojiBean]

... In a time before Mortals ever worshiped a Maker, there was a war...

... It was a war of Gods, a war of Demons...

... The flames of this war raged for many Mortal lifetimes, yet seemed but a blink in eternity to those trapped within its clutches...

... Many of the Demons fell, but so too did several Gods...

... But the Gods cannot die...

... When defeated, the consciousness of a God/Goddess is returned to the primordial Ether where they remain in slumber before being reborn anew...

...

... This is the tale of one such Goddess...

... A Goddess who suffered the birth, death, and rebirth of Her Children in the Mortal Plane time and again...

... A Goddess who tirelessly endured the wrath and might of the Demons for centuries unending...

... A Goddess who faced the King of Evil, and fell...

...

... This is a tale of love...

... A tale of hate...

... A tale of despair...

... A tale of hope...

...

... This is the tale of the Dragon Goddess Sil'Eph Niir...

... And it is a tale best told...

... With you...​

(Wait to play this until you finish reading the first narrative paragraph below about Sil'Eph Niir's condition and reach "My Body... It hurts...". (0:34) at the climax of the first half is what you should hear when you read from "Sil'Eph Niir's body flashed with light" for maximum emotional effect.)

​

Mother...

Sil'Eph Niir, my Child.

Sil'Eph Niir, the First Daughter of The Duo Of Creation, lay on Her back with Her head resting in Her mother's lap. Her crimson hair billowed out around Her on the ground while blood darker than Her locks trickled from Her mouth, from Her left ear, and from several fatal wounds inflicted on Her chest, abdomen, and lower left leg. The All Mother's silken white robes were stained from waist to ankle with the crimson fluid. But The All Mother cared not. She only sat quietly cradling Her daughter as Sil'Eph Niir stared up at her with fading eyes.

My body... It hurts...

I know, my Child... Hush now.

What do I do?

You've done enough, my love. Rest your weary eyes.

Why are you... Crying?

... Hush now, my love. Come. Close your eyes. Be at peace.

But the Darkness... It still lives... And its... King... Still...

Shh. Shh. You've done your part, my love. Let your spirit rest. And-

Sil'Eph Niir's body suddenly flashed with light and was no more. Reduced to particles which rose into the skies of the Higher Plane before flickering about and encircling The All Mother and bursting, then after slowly vanishing to nothing. The All Mother slowly slumped to her side and supported herself with one hand as tears quietly, but rapidly streamed down her face.

Sil'Eph Niir. My beautiful, brave daughter.

Her hand covered Her mouth as She wept with the sounds of war raging around Her. The Gods engaged furiously with the Devils of Darkness, and The All Father engaged the King of Evil's hulking form in the distance.

Your sacrifice won't have been in vain, my love... You will return to us. And when you do this war will be over. I promise... And I...

She looked up to the skies.

I'll be waiting for you. I promise...



A single ray of sunlight snuck through the foliage of the tree canopy and peeked through the semi-transparent curtains of Elena's cottage. It slid across the floor with the movement of the sun until it reached her face as she slept on her side cuddling her pillow while pulling the sheets tightly around herself for warmth. As it reached her eye she squinted and slowly blinked herself awake.

"Mm..." She groaned.

Elena slowly and sleepily trudged out of her bedroom and to the front door. Upon opening it she was greeted with a gentle breeze and the sounds of the forest all around. The wind rustling the leaves. The gentle hum of the breeze rushing past her ears. The birds chirping. Squirrels chattering. And the distant shriek of a hawk on the hunt for its next meal. She stretched her arms up above her head and felt a crack in her left elbow which earned a soft yip of surprise.

It wasn't long before a deer peeked curiously out from around the corner of her cottage, drawing her eye and a smile.

"Good morning, Reya."

The deer walked up to sniff her hand before accepting the head pets Elena happily bestowed upon it.

"You're looking well today." She chirped.

Taking a bath in a nearby stream, Elena cleansed her mind of the weariness of sleep and her body of the oils and grime of aged clothing.

I really ought go to town and buy some new clothes. She thought.

Elena dressed and readied herself for a trip to the nearby Elven village of Ki'lita. But as she exited her home and once again felt the breeze on her face she felt a pulse. A strong one at that. Nothing physical. But it stopped her forward progress all the same.

She was frozen, and couldn't move no matter how hard she tried. And in her mind, there was a... Voice? No, whispers. They were whispers. Incoherent at first. But they grew louder and more clear with each passing second. Still, there were too many at once to process or get a clear message from. This persisted for a maddeningly long time, and Elena's fear of what this could mean mounted with every second that passed with no relief from this onslaught of voices.

Finally, they quieted. But her body still wouldn't move. Until...

Child.

Elena gasped.

Listen carefully, Child, for time is short. A great evil threatens your realm of existence. And you cannot survive alone.

Wait, who are you? She thought.

It matters not, Child. Please listen. One of our own now slumbers in your realm. Find and awaken the Goddess Sil'Eph Niir, and your realm may yet survive the coming calamity.

But... How?

Open your heart to Her name, Child. The true names of the Gods hold tremendous power in your realm. Open your heart, and listen to Her name. It calls to you, Child...

The voice faded, and Elena's bodily control returned to her. It came swiftly and nearly toppled her. But using a tree she stabilized herself and stood tall.

"Sil'Eph Niir..." She whispered.

She had no hope of understanding. But something within that voice which spoke to her... She knew she could trust it. Why, she didn't know. It was a disembodied voice. Surely she shouldn't trust it. And yet, she did. She trusted it with all her heart.

Gently clasping her hands together in front of her chest, Elena closed her eyes.

O Goddess Sil'Eph Niir, I pray to thee. Share with me your-

​

. . . It came from everywhere, and yet it came from nowhere. A song. Or, rather, a melody that was being sung by a beautiful voice truly befitting of a Goddess. If this was Sil'Eph Niir calling out to her...

Elena's eyes opened and her head turned Southwest.

"She's calling from the center of the world." Elena whispered to herself.

Her right hand clutched her shirt above her heart.

"But that's... Dragon's Cove. How am I supposed to find her there? The Dragons have never let anyone within a hundred miles of the island. So..."

Reya, the deer, nudged her back gently.

"Reya. You wish for me to find her too?"

The deer simply tilted its head, but nudged her again. Elena chuckled, and knelt down to give the deer a hug.

"I'll miss you Reya. Take care while I'm away."

Refitting her belongings for a trek to the coast, Elena took her first steps forward on a journey which she couldn't possibly know the dangers of. However, she wouldn't be alone.

There were others who would hear the plea of the Gods, and open their hearts to Sil'Eph Niir's call.

The only question was... Would they find her in time to save their world?

 

[Laszalet]

"Damn it."
The door flung open and Kasumir stepped in. His room was rather minimalistic in it's furniture, only a bed and a table with a chair could be found and yet what space was saved by that, was used up by notes, books and, mostly his own, research papers. Said written works could be found all over the room, the floor was because of this already barely accessible without stepping on any of these precious papers. Yet he still somehow managed to reach his table without stepping on anything but the wooden floor itself.

"I cannot believe they have still not come to a decision!"
Once he had sat down, he could finally start calming down by meditating. He had gotten into the habit of meditating on a regular basis since a few decades back, after a teacher had adviced him to try it out to keep his outspokenness in check. And it did surprisingly help Kasumir with calming himself down, especially after having to interact with especially infuriating subjects.

With that, he could look back on previous events having a much clearer mind. Just like the ones he had to experience not too long ago. His mission coming to Grie'tan was to investigate the possibility of forbidden magic being used, he came across multiple indicators, some people he had questioned seemed to not recall events which had taken place just a few days ago, others mentioned that corpses went missing, all pointing to the presence of a group using forbidden magic. A potentially massive threat, one that should have been noticed way sooner by the authorities, yet because only beggars had been affected no one seemed to have cared to report it or dig deeper in what happened. At least he hoped that was the reason.

There was another possibility, that the local government worked together with the group. Especially since they still had to debate about whether to lend aid to help him sniff out the forbidden magic users. All under the pretense of having to deal with a rebel threat, and while that was true to a certain extent, the rebels were encompassing a grand total of two villages, certainly not powerful enough for them to refuse Kasumir's request just based on that. So they either out of greed were unwilling to aid him, hoping he would just give up and search for the mages on his own or worse, they actually cooperated and assisted the mages. He truly hoped it wasn't the lattter, after all, that would complicate things tremendously. But whatever the truth was, he couldn't do it on his own, getting himself killed was certainly not part of his mission, even if he were to inform the council of the events before his passing.

So it was clear that he had to inform the council and request for assistance. But just as he wanted to start writing up his report, something unexpected happened. A noise. No, something that resembles voices more, yet he could not understand. Was it an illusion or some other form of magic? No, it clearly came from the inside. But how? All these thoughts and yet he was barely able to think. With each passing second the voices seemed to grow louder and louder, more and more straining on his mind. And while he somewhat noticed that the voices became clearer, there were too many, they were to opressive for him to make anything clear out, anything which could explain what just unfolded within his mind? He assumed it happened within it, and even if it didn't, it clearly put a strain on said thing.
And finally, the voices stopped. Until a single voice reached out, a voice he could understand.

Child.

Were the previous voices part of the entity talking with him? Why was it calling him child?

Listen carefully, Child, for time is short. A great evil threatens your realm of existence. And you cannot survive alone.

A great evil? The entire realm? He thought once more, could this really not be magic? No, it was impossible. And even if it was possible why would someone that could manipulate even a master need to fool him? There was no reason. But then what kind of being was talking to him?

It matters not, Child. Please listen. One of our own now slumbers in your realm. Find and awaken the Goddess Sil'Eph Niir, and your realm may yet survive the coming calamity.

A goddess? So he was talking with gods! But why would they need his help? They claimed wanting to save this realm, to save one of their own, but why could they not do it themselves? Did these entities truly possess good intentions? What if he followed their request and released the evil they claimed wanting to stop? How could he know, that what they spoke of, was nothing but the truth? But if it was, and he refused to aid them, the consequences could just be as great as if they had malicious intentions. What was he supposed to do? If they were truly nefarious, they certainly would reach out to others. There was no other choice, be it to awaken this goddess or to stop others from releasing a great evil, he would have to embark on a journey and follow, for the time being what this voice asked of him to do.
"And how am I to awaken her?"

Open your heart to Her name, Child. The true names of the Gods hold tremendous power in your realm. Open your heart, and listen to Her name. It calls to you, Child...

Quietness set in, the voice had disappeared. Had it realized his plan? Regardless, he would need a moment to recover, whatever had spoken to him put a strain on his mind. So he would have to open his heart? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Let down his guard? He had no choice other than to call the name:
"Sil'Eph Niir." He heard something, a noise. What was that? "Sil'Eph Niir." A voice! It shared similarities with the voices he had heard previously, yet it sounded more, beautifully? Odd, he had never particulary enjoyed listening to any kind of music or singing, but this was different, it didn't just felt pleasant to the ears, it felt special, so special one could get addicted to it. But where was it trying to lead him? To the center? To Dragon's Cove! So she was with the dragons. Where they her guardians or jailors? Only time would tell.

But first he had to start this damned report about the ongoing threat while including that he had some urgent business to attend to, and send it to the council. Writing down the part with the divine intervention would certainly only make himself look crazy, hell he would think himself crazy if he hadn't experienced it.


After finishing the report he still had to pack up all of his things lying around the room, truly a wonderful task and one that only a master such as himself could successfully accomplished. With that thought in mind, he started packing up.

 

[EldridSmith]

The week started off strange as the client of his request of the day was one submitted by a wealthy merchant, while that in and of itself was quite normal as it was safer to travel through transportation magic than through roads... what was strange was the fact it was a trio of kobolds in a horse drawn shack. One was clearly the merchant as he wore fancy garb compared to the other two, the other was likely a hired guard considering the spear and leather armor he had with him. The last one... he really wasn't sure what his role was, the garb was a long leather coat and he carried a sack on his back, if giving the benefit of the doubt he was likely a apothecary, if he was to assume the worst they were likely a thief. Still the request had already been processed and the coins were with the company. The travel to the territory was uneventful as he spent the week following them around as a guard after safely transporting them to the territory.

As the week drew to a close something even stranger than escorting a wealthy kobold merchant happened...

"Child," a disembodied voice echoed in Randir's mind as he started to activate his trigger to head home.
He froze where he stood, his hand hovering over one of the short spears in his Cloak. "Why do you call me?" He asks aloud as he starts to survey his surroundings more carefully.
"Listen carefully, Child, for time is short. A great evil threatens your realm of existence. And you cannot survive alone." The voice echoed within his mind.
"Is it the awakening?" He thought to himself, unsure of whatever was mentally conversing with him could hear his thoughts. "Is this related to my father?" He asked aloud as he began to clutch his spear inside his cloak.
The disembodied voice grew slightly louder in his head. "Pray, listen. A great evil stirs in the Void Between Realms. As its followers in your world gain strength, its resurrection grows closer to inevitability. Should it awaken within your Realm, all will perish... But there is hope." The voice paused momentarily. "One of our own slumbers in your Realm. Seek out and awaken the Goddess of Dragons. Open your heart, and from your heart listen to her name... Sil'Eph Niir. Her name calls to you, Child."
"Yes that's all well and good but what of my father? He spent his life trying to prepare for the awakening." Randir thought back as for the first time since he lost Sylvari he felt angry. "At least give me information on what he was doing for this awakening that caused his death."
There was silence for a moment, but the voice soon returned. "... There are those in your world who worship the Darkness. Your father had discovered one of their gatherings, and much of his life force was Siphoned before his escape..." The voice began growing slightly fainter before continuing. "Pray, Child... Your father's quest to uncover the truth and expose those who slither in the dark... You must take it anew upon yourself."
Randir was silent at first as he processed what he was told by the disembodied voices, no, the gods. "I will continue his legacy." Randir declared as he gripped his spear tighter. If he survived what then? The gods were almighty, creating life and taking it away on a whim... "If I survive this ordeal can the dead be brought back to life?" He had nothing to lose asking this, if they failed the world ended, if he survived perhaps he could revive Sylvari, perhaps even his father.
"... Time grows short, Child..." The voice was fading to a whisper. "Pray, Child, seek out those whose blood is blessed by the Gods, as is your own... You are... The only hope this realm has... To awaken Sil'Eph Niir... Listen... Listen to Her name... It calls to you..."
He stopped questioning and let himself feel the call the gods spoke of, and he immediately began to feel the pull. Unfortunately he still had a day left to guard the caravan before they would be heading back to Vrukos.

 

[Lekiel]

Looking back, It is difficult to say the exact moment I felt it. It could've been the sudden whiff of putrid scent on the wind, a tangy metallic taste harsh on the palate of my mouth. But that would've been impossible of course... there was no way the harrowed tidings of impending ruin would have traveled so far... Not from the centre of the world across a sea no sane person would traverse. Presentiments perhaps. The kind that inexplicably lashes out of the depths of your most basal instincts, as your heart begins to pump at an alarming rate. Fingers drenched in cold-sweat. A crippling foreboding of something concealed by the tenebrous mists of fate. Swift As Rain giggled it off, something about the 11th Candlemaiden finally getting cold feet.

But this... this is different. Elder Always Farseeing was empathetic, but I can't help but feel treated like an adolescent having her first nightmare around him. The stars will reveal all in time. Woe comes to those who stretch forth their dreams where they shouldn’t belong. A dire warning in other circumstances perhaps, but I was sure not in this one.

I should've insisted. I always did.... I don't know why-- I didn't.

When the Harghaast trees bloomed for the first time in over a hundred years... I knew then... Somehow, in the pits of my stomach I knew then... that it was too late. Those delicate petals of fragile black. I will never forget that sight. Beautiful, and yet...

Horrifying.

유 SOMBRE TIDINGS 유
​

The shrill whistle of a dawn raven cuts through the silence of the rocky mountainside like the break of morning. Its echoes were harsh on her sensitive ears, strained as they were throughout the bleak night. Like the thousands of nights before it. She tucked the warm furs closer about her.

Without opening her eyes, she answered the call with a whistle of her own. Softer... and perhaps, tinged with a little annoyance. Minutes went by and still, nothing disturbed the tranquility of the early morning mists.

Then she felt him approach through the minute tremors on her fingertips. He was stealthy, even for a Macabre. But Drifts As The Wind was no ordinary Candlemaiden; she was The 11th Candlemaiden. She felt the slight tickle at her throat, soft as the touch of a strand of hair. A dagger's caress.

"Someone's getting sloppy..."

Her ears twitched at the smooth whisper.

"Am I, now?" She retorted languidly.

Ablaze In His Heart started as he felt the pointed end of a dagger press into his exposed nape. Though it did not pierce his skin, he had the feeling the one behind it was pushing it to the farthest border with its thrust. Carefully, he twisted his shoulders to look over his back.

Behind him, with its ever vacant ivory facade, was the accursed object. Dressed in all its splendorous puffed sleeves of carmine red and browns.

Kalla.

He nearly spat its name out of habit. He'd never get used to it. Turning back to the woman whose head he now cradled in his arms, and by cradled I mean a chokehold, he muttered somewhat irritably.

"You know how much I hate that thing."

"Oh yes I do, Tevellan... yes I do." Her voice was muffled under the constraints of his arms, though she made no move to struggle.

"You're incorrigible." He chuckled, releasing the woman to step back and help her to her feet.

"When am I not?" She returned playfully, a grin painted on her lips. He pulled his painted mask back over his head so that he could look at her in full.

"Nae saian luume’ Nuelehtil, cormamin lindua ele lle!"
TL: It has been too long Nuelehtil, my heart sings to see thee!

"As does mine, Tevellan." They pressed their foreheads together in greeting, and Nuelehtil finally allowed herself to relax, savoring the familial warmth of close company. Such was their morning ritual, for close to three thousand nights. She’d had to admit he was getting better at sneaking.

유 유 유​

"The Do`Shanka* has returned?!" She could not keep the excitement out of her voice. They were headed back to camp, passing by the other Candlemaidens along the way. They greeted each in turn. But the sudden revelation from Tevellan caused Nulehtil to pause in her stride. The intensity of her interest in the matter all too plain.
Do`Shanka - Literally translates to ‘foreign sibling’. A term the Hinokian use to refer to wayward travelers from other Hinokian tribes, especially those that appear unexpectedly.

"Well... yes..? and... no." Ablaze In His Heart scratched at the back of his head, suddenly regretting his decision to tell her of the visitor. He reached for her arm and tugged her along so they wouldn’t get left far behind the others. Drifts As The Wind would question him until the sun hung high in the sky. They would never reach home in time to catch the best cuts of breakfast at this rate. "What I meant to say was... yes, he is of clan Yiul... but no, he is not the same messenger... He arrived during the night, half dead... perhaps beset on by orcs or trolls." Tevellan shook his head sadly.

"He passed out from his wounds, once he delivered his message."

유 유 유​

Her bowl of vegetable stew sat steaming by her side, barely touched. Nuelehtil was on an empty cot, across from the still figure swathed in bandages wetted by healing unguents. Except for the barely perceptible rise and fall of his chest, the person might as well have been dead. There were so many questions she wished she could ask him. Questions she had not been able to ask the first before her father sent him away. Had he not been so condescending he might've lasted long enough for her to return from her duties to sate her curiosity herself. He was too far from home, and the significance of an Yiulite not lost on those of the Oai tribe. A sudden demand for supplies, arms and marionettes to push back against the greater horde of sand trolls. The first Do`Shanka was lucky to be sent away with his life.

Still, the news he brought troubled no one. No one except her. If there was one thing one of the Yiul hated more than sand trolls, it was the Oai. But there was nothing she could do about it, not without sounding like a lunatic herself and so she had kept quiet.

Now the second one had come, bearing graver news of their self proclaimed war. It was one thing to guard against the trolls, it was another to head right into their breeding grounds in search of glory. She’d never met one of the Yiuls, but heard of their lust for battle during her travels with Master Weaves Fine As Silk. While none of the other clans objected strongly to the Yiul Chief’s raiding skirmishes (aside from the Oai), most did not agree with it.

Why would the Yiul deign to send messengers so far to request for aid? Even to the Oai? You know how much they despise us, the questions had caught her father off-guard. But he had remained adamant, rooted in his distrust of the outsiders.

The Yiul only the lust of war, it will be their ruin... the envoy will be sent on his way, as soon as he recovers from his wounds. The echoes of her father's words drifted through her mind. This was surely different. She would swear on Hinokah of the Glorious Light, but even then she knew it would do nothing. Her fists clenched in her lap as she felt the disquiet within her soul building. Something about all these seemed so familiar. It had been in one of her dreams perhaps. A change in the wind. A sign.

A bad omen as any. And despite the chieftain’s dismissal, her people looked to the foothills, fearing a large troll uprising like that of five decades ago. Perhaps the Yiul had poked too far into the hornet’s nest. It seemed the most plausible outcome. But something tugged at her mind, pulling in the other direction.

Out west.

유 FATE’S CALL유​

"A WAVEEE!! A red wave.... .. . OHHH! THE HORROR!!! THE DEATHSSS--!" A cold grasp of ice clenched its frosty tendrils along her spine at the sudden burst of harrowed wails. The Greathall erupted in a cacophony of confused exclamations, pierced intermittently by the rise and fall of Always Farseeing's anguished cries.

"ELDER! Somebody, help!" Shouts rang out in disarray.

"Get the Chieftain!!"

Elear... a vision! Nuelehtil could only watch transfixed from where she sat with the rest of the Candlemaidens, their evening routine preparations interrupted by the sudden outburst. Several men were trying to restrain the elderly Starsage, desperately hoping that he would not hurt himself from the twisted contortions and overbent bones that wrecked his frail body. Nuelehtil thought he appeared as one who was having their skin flayed off. Even just watching the agony evident on his worn face was palpable. She knew what the elder saw with his sightless eyes. She'd seen it almost every night since that day.

By the time Wise As An Owl entered the Great Tent, the worse had passed and the Starsage had calmed down. The elder opened his weary eyes as the Chieftain approached. Always Farseeing did not need to say anything, he knew. At that very moment, Nuelehtil thought her father looked like a defeated man, worn and tired. At last he spoke, voice somehow still loud and clear though it was raspy, tinged with something Nuelehtil had never heard from her father all her life.

"We have-- another visitor..." His blue eyes stared across the room, boring into her own. Resigned.

It was too late.

유 유 유​

The crackle of wood in the roaring hearthfire was all the sound that accompanied the elders of the clan, silent in their vigil. Seated across from him, Nuelehtil tried to catch her father's gaze. But it seemed as if he was purposefully avoiding her eyes. Nuelehtil bit her lip. The emptiness upon his face wrenched at her soul. In his heart, she knew he blamed himself. Drifts As The Wind looked from one elder to the other. Great men and women of the Oai. Yet they were all.... .. .

she could bear it no longer!

"Father! What must we do?" She'd spoken out of turn, standing up all of a sudden to garner attention. And yet... yet, it broke the spell. The resoluteness in her voice must have stirred the disquiet of their thoughts. Wise As An Owl stared at her, mouth agape. Then something seemed to click, and the colour returned to his blue eyes. He smiled at her, a brilliant one as any. She heard the unsaid.

I am sorry, my daughter... and, thank you.

She nodded in his direction, a barely suppressed grin quivering on her lips. They were on the same page now. They would figure this out--

It’s upon ussss. . . !

It came like an angry whisper, susurrating its sibilant vocals through her mind. The voice was young like that of a child, yet tinged with umbral darkness and sinister tidings. Her momentary elation abruptly robbed, Nuelehtil snapped her head around, gaze roving over the darkened alcoves and flickering shadows cast by the heartfire. Searching for the source of the voice. Yet, there was nothing. No one. Except for Kalla, resting carefully on a rack where she'd deposited her.

"Tilly?" The sound of her nickname startled her before she realized it was merely Tevellan, seated off to her side. His dark eyes were questioning, concern evident on his frown. He must've caught her perplexed look.

Nuelehtil shook her head, indicating that it was nothing, and turned her attention back to the meeting.

"--has been foretold, by Many Seeing Eyes before her Final Walk." Her father, Wise As An Owl was addressing the elders and those gathered. "Elder Always Farseeing believes... from what has just been revealed to him... the prophecy she spoke of, it has now come to pass. The Deep Dark has begun. . ." There was a universal gasp from the gathered. Discordant alarmed whispers now punctuated the once silent gathering. Wise As An Owl held up his hand for silence.

"Grim times are upon us... the prophecy, and in Elder Always Farseeing's vision... there was so much death-- and ruination." Wise As An Owl kept his hand up before another round of exclamations could be made known. "But as always... there is hope for the future of our people... Lord Hinokah as He dwells in the Eastern stars will surely be our Savior if we beseech Him to spare our people from the catastrophe of the Deep Dark!"

Nuelehtil felt a leaden weight at the base of her stomach. It was as she feared. While she did not deny that the supernatural had certain merits, superstitions and mystics could only get one so far. Prayers and incense to Lord Hinokah did nothing to stop the savage trolls. Mastery and skill did. The spilled blood of the fallen, the sweat on her brow as she faced towering brutes of death... those are what kept them safe.

"It was not easy to know the path we must take, but Elder Always Farseeing has managed to peer beyond the Veil. We will send one Chosen."

What... A knot twisted in her stomach. Send a chosen? Somehow she knew who that was. But to where?

"She will follow the guiding light of the Western Star... as it leads her to our Salvation..." This was absurd! Nuelehtil shook her head in disbelief. Her father caught her gaze, and she mouthed her denial. But he looked away.

"Daughter..." She froze, eyes wide like a mountain gazelle caught in the blinding blaze of torches.

"Stand..." She stood, her limbs moving of their own accord. Her mind numb.

Don't...-

"The Starsage has decided... Drifts As The Wind, you will be anointed for this task... But you will not go alone..." Pellucid drops began to pool in her eyes, but she resisted the urge to blink, otherwise the dams would be broken. All the while her head shook in silent denial.

Don't send me away...

"Ablaze In His Heart."

"Chieftain?"

"I entrust unto you, the safety of my daughter. See her to her journey's end...-"

She could no longer hear. A roaring din had begun to fill her ears, and she heard nothing but a terrible rush of wind and the thumping of her heart.

"S-Stay...! LET ME STAY F-FATHER!" She nearly screeched in her effort to give voice to her desperate heart. "There is much to be d-done-- right!?" W-We must find the other c-clans... if Yiul has been slaughtered, we must all come together...-"

"Yes daughter... that we must do... and make preparations to move--"

"T-Then let me help-!!"

"No, Nuelehtil... Your place, is not with us." She didn’t understand, moreso for she could see the anguish in his eyes. What else did Always Farseeing see? Why was she sent on some fool’s quest in the opposite direction of where her abilities would be sorely needed?

"I-I will n-not go..." Her voice was small. Frightened. Lost.

유 유 유​

Follow the Western Star. Keep walking and never stop. Hinokah will come to you. Hinokah will speak and you shall know the path you must take. Answer the call, or all will be lost.

She sat up abruptly from the tangles of her bedrolls. Her breath rasped harshly in her throat as she rubbed at the sore temples of her head. She took a deep breath to calm herself, her thoughts were still ringing with the echoes of Always Farseeing’s final words. She looked to the still darkened sky, and the twinkling light of the Western Star (which had now shifted North West) barely visible over the rolling hills of Northern Crie’tan.

"Can't sleep?" Tevellan's voice interrupted her melancholy. She hated this version of herself. She wasn't usually all somber and lachrymose.

"No."

"Hmm... we could switch shifts if you want..-"

"That was quite something..."

"You sure-? I mean.. what-?

"I heard it… her? him?" She was confused, still trying to decipher the voice that had filled her dream with soul lifting song a minute ago.

"Oh.... .. . Wait- Hinokah spoke to you!?"

"I-I’m not sure… It did not say who it was." Her voice trailed off.

"You know I think that’s pretty crazy, come to think of it..." Tevellan had begun rambling, but of course, Nuelehtil wasn't listening.

"Sil’Eph Niir..." The woman muttered. Then she stood up and pointed towards the darkness of the western skies. Something called to her there

"I mean, I’ve never been so far from home and in all honesty, I’ve been quite lost." Tevellan was yabbering on.

"Tevellan..."

"Head west we’re told... But how far… What are we supposed to find-?"

"Tevellan!"

"What!?" Ablaze In His Heart turned irritably to chastise the woman for shouting his name only to nearly smash their noses together. The petite Nuelehtil had crouched over with an almost euphoric glint in her eyes and was looking at him intensely. He placed his hands on her shoulders to gently push her away.

"Whoa... too close..." She didn't care.

"Tevellan... I know where we need to do!"

 

[GojiBean]

Too long. It had been far, far too long.

At her age of 1,434 she was just beginning to reach her prime as High Elf. But for almost two centuries she had isolated herself in the forest by herself and living off the land. As such, she's long since forgotten what life was like in civilized society. And times had changed. The world she left behind was not the same as the world she found herself in now.

There were so many more people. Every step she was brushing shoulders with someone as she tried to walk through the streets. They were wide, too. Almost 10 meters wide. But still, there were so many bodies she couldn't take more than a step or two without bumping into someone. And each response was different from the last.

"Watch it!"

"Sorry!"

"Move!"

"'Scuse you!"

"Oh, pardon me."

"Watch it sweetie!"

"Bitch!"

So much rudeness and unpleasantries. Was it because this was a human establishment? The majority of the area was occupied by Elves. Perhaps this was the racial bias she'd heard about? She'd never seen such behavior before. None that she could recall, at least.

Turning a corner she finally made it of the main street where there were fewer people, and she could stop to take a breather.

"Haa... What do I do?" She mumbled. "The people here never used to be so easily irritable."

"Hey! You, there!" Came a youthful male voice.

Elena looked up to meet the gaze of a young man, perhaps in his early 20's, with long brown hair and a disheveled beard approaching rapidly.

"What are you here for?!"

"Pardon?"

"Don't speak Elvish! I know you understand me! Why are you here?!" He yelled as he shoved Elena into the nearby wall causing her to bounce off and tumble to the dirt.

"I don't understand. I'm speaking in your tongue, aren't I?"

"Are you fucking mocking me?! Speak my language, bitch!!"

... Had it truly been so long that she'd forgotten the international language? As part of a millennia old international agreement between races dating long before Elena's time, a "common tongue" was spoken by all races. While it was mostly there for diplomatic reasons, it had become an ingrained part of the culture of all races so that communication would be possible between the majority of them. Elena knew that language, and she thought she'd been speaking it. But...

"I'm sorry. I don't remember." She said as she tried to get up.

The man rushed forward and shoved her back down, hard, causing her arm to scrape viciously against the dirt tearing open the skin and sending rivulets of blood trickling down the back of her arm and elbow to the dirt.

"I said speak my fucking language!!"

"Halt!" Came another, powerful male voice down the road.

The man turned his head, and Elena looked up to see a guardsman approach and grip the man's lapel to hold him away from Elena.

"What's the meaning of this?!" The guard demanded.

"Relax, sir. I asked this woman why she was here and she rudely refused to respond. I tried asking politely why she was mocking me and behaving so rudely, and she continued to goad me. Sadly, I lost my temper and shoved her. I know I shouldn't have. But that's the truth, sir."

The guard let go of his lapel.

"Ma'am, is this true?"

Elena shook her head.

"No, sir. I haven't spoken in the common tongue for centuries. I'm afraid I don't remember it."

"Hm. Unfortunately, I can't understand you miss. But from your tone I'm guessing you either don't understand us, or you can't speak our language. Are either correct?"

Elena nodded.

"Sir, with all due respect that's a lie. Everyone speaks the common tongue these days. There's no excuse for her not to know it."

Elena's face dropped.

"I'm sorry. I truly can't remember how to converse in the common tongue."

"Either way, I cannot allow such physical abuse to go unpunished. Sir, you will follow me."

"What?! But she instigated!!"

"Whether she did or did not, you are the one who escalated into physical violence. And now she's bleeding quite badly from her arm." The guard grabbed the man's shirt sleeve and started guiding him away while speaking to Elena over his shoulder. "There's a medical clinic just up the main road called the White Orchid. You should stop by so they can take a look at you."

"Thank you, sir." Elena said with a bow.

While the thought of re-entering the crowded main street didn't appeal to her in the slightest, she couldn't just keep bleeding everywhere. So, gathering herself, she made her way back to the main road and through the crowds to the White Orchid clinic. And upon entering she was almost immediately beset upon by the front desk clerk.

"Oh my goodness!! Are you all right?!" She practically shrieked.

"Oh, yes. I'm fine."

The young woman approached Elena and urged her to come to the front desk where she quickly explained their service, the charges for said service, and after Elena agreed to pay with a nod to the amount requested she led her to a room down the hall and called a nurse along the way to help clean up the wound before the doctor arrived for a more thorough checkup. The wait for the doctor wasn't a long one, and after a brief wash, clean, application of antiseptics and bandaging, Elena was given a thumbs up and sent on her way.

After paying at the front desk she made her way outside and saw the streets just as busy as ever.

"I need to move on." She muttered to herself as she took side streets out to the city limit and walked the rest of the way around the city proper until she reached the main road West again. Now in open grasslands once more she instantly felt more at home.

"Humans really are frightening when they want to be," she whispered.

But no time for those thoughts.

Even now as she thought about Sil'Eph Niir's name she heard the quiet song in the back of her mind which lured her Westwards towards the ocean. Dragon's Cove, a place no mortal had set foot upon ever since the Dragons took up residence in ages past... The island was massive. Almost an entire continent unto itself. How many Dragons were there? What were they like? How did they live? Was Sil'Eph Niir truly just there? Or was there more going on that had yet to be revealed?

A Goddess slumbering in the Mortal Plane seemed a fantasy even beyond her imagining, and yet deep down she knew it to be true.

"A Goddess." She murmured.

She could only try to imagine what Sil'Eph Niir might look like, sound like, act like, and be like. And every new detail she tried to envision only made her more excited, and terrified, to meet this Goddess.

 

[Laszalet]

Kasumir was sitting at a fire he had created just moments ago. It truly took him back, long seemingly neverending nights, on many he even froze almost to death, and yet there was always a feeling of safety and quietness during these times, no people, no interruptions. But even back then, sometimes, the quietness and resulting possibility to just... think truly exhausted him. As much as he liked it, at some point he just started to think in different directions. Directions, he had heard would come most often up when one has lived for some time, but to him, it seemed as if he was just naturally drawn towards them.

These constant thoughts about why he acted and his incapability to answer them satisfactory, felt truly maddening. And it got only worse, after each one of his major decisions he has made.
Especially now.

Why did he had to just decide to follow that voice? Did his former teachers not constantly said to him to act less hastily? And yet he did it once more, he acted without thinking calmly. Yes, calmly. His entire thinking and reasoning had been made in the moment, all based on and influenced by his emotions. He was fully aware of that, but he didn't cared about it at that moment, unlike now. Had he just taken some deep breaths and calmed down, who knows, maybe he would not have rushed? But that didn't matter, yet his thoughts were occupied with his decision.

Why did he commit to this journey? To save the world? What a ridiciulous thought, he knew he couldn't care less about others, yet why did he feel so compelled to take action? Just why? He knew it all along, be it subconsciously before or now consciously, he just didn't liked the answer. Truly how displeasing it was, after all, the truth was still the same, just like so many years ago, when he decided to try this magic thing out, It was all to occupy his mind. All to distract him. All because he knew, he had not found a single reason to move forward, so his instincts just told him to move forward, without purpose. That hasn't been a real problem at all, it was just so easy to only focus on that which lied before him:
Becoming a mage, becoming a Master, but now, there had been nothing left for a while. Hell, he only came to investigate black magic not out of a sense of duty, but just because it was something that could distract him! But that just couldn't last forever.

Now that he thought once more, the council members were probably really just discussing what to do. The rebels may have been a greater threat than he had acknowledged or the councilmen just couldn't realize the danger, black mages posed. Deep within himself, he knew, he probably wished to be forced to investigate on his own. He probably just wanted to perish, without ever getting the chance to think once more, about why he acted, why he continued. But he failed. His instincts took control of him and the rush of emotions ultimately lead him to prolong his existence. One more shot. Maybe he would finally find it, he just felt it, something was going to happen, but yet, he knew all to well, how deceitful his own self could be, just to survive. Yet, there was no way to survive. There had never been one, it was just a question of how, rather than if.

Luckily, before he could continue with such thoughts any longer, the sun finally could blind him once more and provide what warmth had been lost just moments ago, he thought? Maybe longer, he couldn't exactly tell. But it was time. Time to continue this journey.
His last journey

 

[Chordling]

Nora was seventeen. A young woman reaching maturity. Her Ursa Ascension trial, her official adulthood, was just a moon cycle away. It had the entire clan making preparations for her journey. The Ursuline Cliffsides were beautiful to the eye but filled with unpredictable elements of nature. It would be an adventure, and as simple as that was, Nora couldn’t have been more excited. Her father agreed to help her prepare for her trial by escorting her partway through the forest- just before the foot of the mountain. Other clan members helped in their own way, too. But nothing would have been able to prepare her for the adventure that would bring her to the center of the world.

That fateful Spring morning, she walked along the forest path with her father only a few steps behind in search of the berry bush she found just a few days ago. She knew it would be on her left after the eighth bear totem that marked the trail. Finally, Nora drew a gasp when she spotted the natural harvest and leaned down to inspect the growing produce. Squinting her eyes like she was some kind of detective wasn’t necessary but it just felt right for the task at hand. Plump, colorful, and aromatic, the berries were finally ripe. She began to pluck them from their prickery stems. Some of them ended up in my mouth. So fresh and juicy. She couldn’t fit all of them into the cloth pouch she managed to steal from her cousin’s tent. The brush behind her rustled and she turned her head towards the large shadow that approached.

“Father!” Nora smiled. “Want some berries?” she offered the small selection cradled in her hands.

“I’m not eating those berries unless I want a stomach ache,” Ivor teased with his hand pressed against his protruding stomach. The berries were safe. He was just still full from last night’s meal.

“Oh well,” Nora shrugged. “More for me then,” and she tucked the cloth back into her bag.

“Do you think I could climb the mountain and back in less than two weeks?” Nora pondered out loud. “Maybe I will set a new record and come back three days earlier.” She took her time stretching her body over a great, fallen tree covered with a common variety of forest fungi.

“You would have to sprint without sleeping to make it back that fast,” Ivor chuckled. “But then you would miss all of the beauty. It’s not everyday you get to climb these mountains. Not like this anyway.” He gestured to the nature that surrounded them. The leaves on the trees were lush. Songbirds filled the air with their swelling melodies. Bees danced on the wildflowers beside them. “I was not as lucky when I was your age. I hiked this path during a snow blizzard. I could barely see the totem guides!”

Ivor had a tendency to ramble and reminisce. Nora’s face twisted imagining a younger version of her father moving his way through the snow as he described. What an epic challenge that must have been. She almost wished she could wait for the snow.

“Still,” Nora huffed.“You must have been dying to finish the journey, too.” Ivor chuckled again and patted his daughter on the back. The shine in his eyes couldn’t deny that she was right.

They continued along the path again until they reached the last bear totem by the foot of the mountain. Nora craned her neck to catch a glance for the peak but the clouds obscured her view. This was as far as her father would guide her. The rest of the journey she would discover by herself. Nora could hear her heart beating against her chest in a strange mix of excitement and fear.

“Will you please give me my cloak instead of tante¹?” Nora muttered. Her eyes were still fixed towards the top of the cliff sides. She waited through brief silence before her father answered her.

“I already tried talking with the clan Jarl,” Ivor sighed with disappointment. “I just don’t think it’s going to happen, bear cub.”

‘CHILD OF THE SHIELD,” a sudden voice entered Nora’s mind. It was frightening in an unfamiliar way. Nora’s entire body froze.

“Listen carefully, Child, for time is short. A great evil threatens your realm of existence. And you cannot survive alone.” The pounding in Nora’s chest grew louder yet the divine echo of the voice demanded that she continue to listen. “Child. Please listen. One of our own now slumbers in your realm. Find and awaken the Goddess Sil'Eph Niir, and your realm may yet survive the coming calamity.” Nora’s mind searched for her father’s presence. But she felt alone with this strange voice in her mind. “Open your heart to Her name, Child. The true names of the Gods hold tremendous power in your realm. Open your heart, and listen to Her name. It calls to you, Child…”

Nora felt the grasp of the voice free her as it faded away. The clouds had cleared just enough for her to see the sharp peak of the mountain. She didn’t dare move her gaze.

“Dad,” she managed to breathe.

“Yes, my bear cub.”

“Who is Sil’Eph Niir?”


¹Norwegian word meaning “aunt”.

 

[GojiBean]

A gentle gust blew her hair across her face, creating a cascade of amber brown hair like waving blades of grass flicker across her field of view before settling as the winds ran out of breath.

A town sat before her as she looked at it from a hill nearby. Known as Riek, it was a tiny town. Maybe 500 people. Really it was more of a large village. But the buildings were all new. Modern. Strong. The village didn't look like a village. It looked like a town. One that was ready to expand and grow larger. Even from a distance Elena could hear the faint sounds of people, lots of people, chattering away in the streets.

Her food had run out, as had her water. She didn't have much to begin with. But still...

The memories of her previous encounters in the last city she was in ran on loop through her head. The anger. The hate. The sheer malice in that human's eyes. He truly wanted her gone. But, what happened?

"Did I forget?" She muttered.

Looking up to the sky Elena saw a shape in the clouds resembling a human face. Tilting her head, the image grew stronger until it practically felt like someone she knew was smiling down at her. It was a male face, and a handsome one too. And the smile she saw in those clouds forced her lips to turn up.

I could never forget such warmth. She thought.

The smiles of humans were fresh in her mind. She remembered them from years past when she regularly walked through human towns with that Miithi gentleman always following her. And yet...

Elena looked to the skies once more to the face that felt so warm. And the more she looked at it the more her heart began to ache.

She heard voices. But not the same as those who told her of Sil'Eph Niir. These were different. It was a series of voices she swore were familiar. Yet she couldn't place them. And as the face in the clouds finally blew away Elena felt tears rolling down her cheeks.

"... Why?" She whispered.

Her fingertips brushed the tears away, but more fell.

"Why?!"

She brushed the tears away a little more aggressively with her sleeves. But they kept falling. She continued to wipe at them only for her legs to give out, dropping her to her knees, as she felt her chest tightening and sobs began escaping.

"Why am I crying?!" She shouted.

For almost five minutes she fought the tears and these strange feelings of tightness in her chest until, at last, her tears ran out. With dry, albeit slightly redder eyes from how aggressively she rubbed at them, Elena stood up and looked back up at the clouds which had since returned to shapeless masses blowing by overhead.

"Gods above... What happened just then?"

As usual, the Gods were silent. She believed in them. She truly did. Even before hearing the voice speak of Sil'Eph Niir. But always they were silent. No matter how strong her faith, or how numerous her prayers, they were silent. Every now and then it felt like she would receive a bit of a nudge in the right direction in her dreams. But she couldn't rightfully recall if the Gods had ever directly responded to her whether it be for better or worse.

Regardless, she was now on a mission to find Sil'Eph Niir. She couldn't forget that. Whatever happened with the tears was just a distraction. Something that, while affecting her, was irrelevant.

Walking into town Elena looked about to the faces of the people. And much like the majority of those in the last city they paid her no attention. If they did look her way they seemed to stare for but an instant before looking away. Only a few exceptions came about, mostly from females who looked at her, eyes widened, and then they swiftly looked away. Elena had no idea what that meant. But they left her alone.

As she approached a local food stand near the center of the village she received the traditional welcome that she remembered from years past. A man smiling, arms open, and inviting her to inspect the produce he had on display and available for purchase. Elena happily picked the products she wanted most and dug into her rapidly declining coin purse to pay for it. By the time it was over she found herself with only 5 Silver remaining. Once she ran out she'd have to live off the land. And while on the move it was feasibly possible, but not ideal. For all the time she spent pausing to get what she needed, she was losing progress.

But no time to worry about that now. She had to make as much progress as possible before nightfall. It was a good ways away, as it was still late morning at worst. But as the old saying went among the Elven races: Morning is sundown to the unprepared.

Food newly stocked and her goal still fresh on her mind she bid farewell to Riek and began to walk down the Western road towards the land of Vuhndahl. While she had no intention of entering said land, preferring to stay in the unmarked and unclaimed territories for the sake of personal safety and avoiding stronger racial biases as existed in marked territories, a massive watchtower from ages past which was so rundown as to be unusable in its original purpose stood as the perfect landmark to ensure she was going the right direction.

The watchtower was known as The Eye of Kings, and a watchtower used in times of war for centuries before being abandoned almost 300 years ago. Despite the elements and the lack of attention, it still stood tall on a cliff overlooking the path she intended to walk. If all went well she'd be walking the path beneath its gaze within the next 2 days.

"Sil'Eph Niir." She whispered.

Sil'Eph Niir's song gently echoed in the back of her mind.

"IO Goddess. I pray for your patience. I'll be there soon. I promise."

 

[GojiBean]

Guureta - Land of Humans and Miithi

The double doors of the throne room burst open.

"Sire! It's terrible! TERRIBLE!"

"Grand Vizier Tarros! Calm yourself, and speak plainly."

"A-apologies, your majesty... Ahem... We've received terrible news of an earthquake ravaging the unclaimed eastern territory of Guureta. Several villages have been reported as destroyed and hundreds, if not thousands of refugees are now heading this way towards the Capitol City."

"What?! How? This region doesn't experience earthquakes."

"Our scouts already confirmed it, sire. There's nothing left of those villages."

"Mmh... But, how? Were other regions affected?"

"No, sire. Neither Jalmtuu, Oorulahn, Uundughas, or any of the Dwarven territories around us seem to have been affected. And we didn't feel it here in the Capitol. It's almost as if the earthquake was contained only in the eastern region of our territory, sire."

"Earthquakes don't have borders, Grand Vizier."

"I'm aware, sire. But it's the truth. As I said, our Scouts have already confirmed the extent of the damage and received testimony from those regions that no earthquakes have been experienced."

"What on Helea's green Earth is happening?"


Turtos - Land of Dwarves

"My King. I bring dire news."

"Speak."

"Sire. The Nymphs and Miithi of Vortuum, to the South, have shared news of famine and blight in their fields."

"Blight and famine are no strangers to this world."

"Yes, sire. But the thing is that they've reported all of their lands have rapidly dried out and are no longer fertile enough to support crops of any kind. Their entire farming economy has all but disappeared within the last five days."

"WHAT?!"

"We sent an envoy this morning to further ascertain the damage. But if reports are to be believed the dry out is spreading our way, sire. The once green grasslands are turning brown as if there were never any rivers or rainfall to supply them with water."

"If true, this is a far graver threat than I'd ever anticipated facing. This region is known for its precipitation and rich, fertile landscape. It's one of the reasons our ancestors settled here instead of the mountains in ages past."

"Yes, sir. The our western neighboring territories are reporting no such issues. They're untouched, as are many of the surrounding territories."

"This will spread. Mark my words. We must prepare ourselves for when it reaches our borders."

"We believe it may already have, sire. We are in the process of confirming right now."

"Gods help us if it has."


Kiil'kas - Oceanic territory of Merfolk and Sirens

"My Queen, I bring news of water blight!"

"Excuse me? Water blight? What in the great seas of Caleeme are you talking about?"

"My Queen, the waters north of our Kingdom's borders are turning black and filling with some form of oily fluid that's impossible to breathe in. It clogs the gills of all manner of fish, and slows aquatic mammals and other air-breathing creatures to the point of drowning by the hundreds."

"Th-... I've never heard of such a thing."

"Nor I, my Queen. But it's true. I myself just returned from an expedition to confirm the existence of this strange material and this was the result."

The young female messenger brought forth her right hand, which had previously been hidden behind her back, to show that even here in the underwater Kingdom her hand had dried up as if badly burned by the light of the sun for weeks. The Queen rose from her throne and rushed to the messenger's side.

"Have you visited a healer?!"

"No, my Queen. I came straight here after experiencing this water blight to make my report."

"Go to the Healer's at once! Someone else can finish your report."

"Y-yes, my Queen." The female messenger swam out of the throne room and her place was taken by a young male messenger.

"My Queen. To conclude the report, one bit of good news is that the water blight seems to have self contained to a specific region. It has not spread since its initial discovery."

"The fact that it exists at all is cause to negate any fantasy of this news being considered "good," young man." She swam back to the throne and sat down. "Have any of our sister nations sent word of this phenomenon?"

"No, my Queen. Our sister nations are silent, as is the coastline."

"Very well. I want it watched round the clock. If it spreads so much as one inch, I want to know about it."

"Yes, my Queen. We'll dispatch a watch at once."


And so it was the world over. Natural phenomenon, both familiar and never before seen, were taking root across the globe. Some were occurring in regions they'd never occurred before, and some where they simply didn't belong.

But one common thread united them all.

... The mana of the regions most affected had been steadily draining from over-use of Magical arts...

 

[Chordling]

Nora could sense from the glaze in his eyes that her father was failing to find an answer. Sil’Eph Niir wasn’t a familiar name. It was fear inducing.

“What made you think of,” her father paused before pronouncing, “Sil’Eph Niir?”

“The mountain spoke to me,” Nora guessed. Her eyes shifted away from the cliff side.

It wasn’t long when they both decided to head back to the clan village. Nora fell silent under the lush sounds of the woods during their walk and a deep uncertainty led her pace along the path. Ivor followed at an extended distance sensing his daughter’s shift in demeanor. He lacked the proper plan to provide any amount of comfort or guidance in his own perplexed state. The afternoon passed and the evening arrived much sooner than expected. Nora settled around a small campfire with her companions and a fair share of dinner. Some of her friends wore simple bear cloaks over their regular garments. The others were dressed like Nora.

“Did you see the carving I left on the pine tree I told you about?” an enthusiastic blonde boy with a brown bear cloak leaned in.

“No, I didn’t,” Nora muttered through a mouthful of rabbit. “Shield Karl Ivor only guided me to the foot of the mountain,” she had referred to her dad’s proper title. “Not to your stupid little tree.” She wiped her arm against her mouth and revealed a teasing grin. Trading stories about the ascension path sitting around the crackling fire was easing her mind from the events at the mountain. She didn’t dare tell them about the events at the mountain.

Then tante arrived. Her friends abandoned her by the campfire, one by one, like rats. Tante’s shadow, although lean, was enough to block most of the firelight reflecting on Nora’s face. Tante sat across from Nora with a full plate of food.

“How was the walk this morning, little cub?” Her aunt smiled so wide it revealed her crooked tooth. Nora bristled when her tante used that nickname. It’s Nora she used to retort. But years of this had taught her that it was a worthless effort.

“It was fine,” was all Nora mumbled. She searched around her seat, found a small twig, and tossed it into the fire. The thin, knotted limb crumbled to charcoal within the flames.

“Oh?” her aunt pressed for more information. Nora smirked and shrugged her shoulders. Her aunt stopped eating, midbite, and swallowed. “Nora, is something wrong? You know you can speak to me. Did something happen? Is there something you need?” she rattled. Tante must have ignored that Nora had also rolled her eyes.

“I want you to tell the Jarl that I want father to give me my cloak,” Nora declared in a sharp tone. She felt a rush of satisfaction when she caught her tante’s eye twitch. That meant she had offended her.

“You know I wouldn’t do that,” her tanke spoke with a calm voice. She was quick to adjust herself. Nora knew this would be the response but still felt a heavy defeat sink through her chest.

 

[Lekiel]

“Curious, most curious. . .”

The solitary figure up ahead was steady and unwavering. Never pausing for long, purposeful in direction. Though the direction of which was rather peculiar. The wanderer seemed to pick roads that were less travelled, carefully skirting borderlines between fiefdoms and steering clear of the patches of civilization; at least after exiting Riek.

The Spellweaver had been trailing after them for quite a while. Her gait was largely nonchalant, as casual as one can be such that it wouldn’t be obvious she was practically shadowing the other. Far enough as to not appear threatening, but not far enough as to be completely out of sight as they traversed through the forests and plains. As to what she was doing so far north? Well, it was simply a matter of growing frustration. She needed to head West, to the Dragon’s Cove in particular. But at every port town or city she passed through, no shipmaster had counted their potential gain in ferrying the Hinokian worth the scuttling of their ship by some ravaging lizard or beast of the deep.

“Don’t you think it rather strange. . . huh Kala?” The hazel haired woman half turned her head back over her shoulder as if speaking to someone behind her, though there obviously was no one.

“I’m quite sure this is one of those moments Elder Farseeing always spoke about- the hands of fate gripping your nape.” Nuelehtil let out an involuntary shiver. “Her eyes. . . it must be her eyes-” she began nodding to herself emphatically, recalling the moment she and the elf had come to the same food stand and their eyes crossed but for the briefest of moments. Her fair and smooth skin was flawless for the most part, nothing unremarkable for one of her kin making it difficult to truly know how many winters the elf-kind had seen. But if there was one thing the Hinokian knew, it was to search in the eyes. For those windows into the soul never lied.

The stranger carried many burdens, many lifetimes.

“But even so-!” Nuelehti stopped abruptly, her sudden movement causing a clatter of hardwood as the contents of her bag shifted, “no, that’s not it,” as riveting as that moment was, the Hinokian knew it wasn’t their passing of gazes that pulled at her heartstrings so. It was the sudden crescendo of that chorus that had been echoing in her head for ages.

She let out a sigh, perhaps it was time she found company again. It had been a while since she’d parted with Ablaze In His Heart and that moment still weighed heavily on her. But she knew it was the right one. He’d have gone all the way with her if he’d had any say in the matter, so she’d ensured he didn’t.

유 유 유​

As fate would have it, a sudden sandstorm engulfed the area as Nuelehtil pushed onwards under the growing shadow of The Eye Of Kings. It was so sudden, appearing almost out of nowhere that the Hinokian was caught out in the open. She pulled on her hood and cloth wraps as she hurried on, thoroughly bewildered and a little bit nostalgic. Strange as it sounds, the swirl of roiling sand reminded her of home and if not for the constant pelting of fine stone on her skin, she might've thought herself gone mad from homesickness.

She did not know how long she walked, but just as she considered digging a hole where she stood to weather the storm, dark shapes appeared several yards ahead of her (Afterall, that was as far as the storm permitted her to see).

Tents! Her heart skipped a beat as she drew closer, immediately recognizing the billowing fabric. Hurrying on, she found the entrance to the shelter fastened shut.

"Hello!" The woman shouted from under her wraps, though she wouldn't be surprised if the storm drowned out her voice. She looked around the sealed opening, for the bell for which she could tug to alert the occupants, but of course, there wasn't one. This was no Hinokian tent. The sandstorm seemed to increase in intensity causing Nuelehtil to grow a little more desperate. It was either she started digging right that instant or she found her way into the shelter.

"I need shelter! Please let me in!" She shouted again, reaching forwards to scratch a nail against the fabric repeatedly. Hopefully that would get the attention of whoever was inside, and that they wouldn't mistake her for some wild animal.

 

[GojiBean]

The final day of their trip was drawing to a close as the merchants started trading the last of their foreign goods to the other kobolds for what would be foreign to other regions: various dried herbs, a type of spice which was popular amongst reptilians which he didn't remember the name of, arts, crafts, some stylized tools, and other things. It turned out that the kobold with the sack was in fact an apothecary of sorts as he spent most of his time in the plains picking various flowers, roots, and herbs, though they were careful to stay within sight. The guard mostly sat on or leaned against the shack as he kept an eye on people, nothing of great note happened that day... or at least nothing would have if not for the giant sandstorm that started heading their direction.

Yes, a sandstorm in the planes, the planes nowhere near a desert, the planes with the closest sand was wet beach sand on the coast some large amount of miles away. Everyone in the area was baffled by this turn of event, still the locals quickly went into their homes which were basically hollow man-made hills. In the meantime Randir quickly grabbed a tarp from the merchants cart and threw it over the shack and horses before staking in one side while the guard helped by propping up the other end with a pole and the merchant and apothecary staked down the other before setting up fastenings to make it a large tent, it was convenient the merchants traded so much and had many odds and ends with them...

Soft dirt beneath her feet amidst a sea of green as she walked the lonely road West towards Vuhndal gave way to a change in the winds. Looking up, Elena felt the shift in her flesh as the cool breeze gave way to a warm current flowing through her hair.

A quick glance up the road and she spied a caravan, likely of merchants or mercenaries, which seemed to have identified the change as well. And as she looked behind herself she spied a wall of sand billowing in her direction.

"A sandstorm, here?" She thought aloud.

The caravan had already started pitching tents and tarps to protect themselves, and with no other major civilization in sight Elena had no choice. She picked up the pace and began steadily jogging towards the promise of safety. But she underestimated the speed of the storm behind her as the wind was knocked from her lungs following the impact of the wall of sand and wind. Gasping as she hit the ground she inhaled a mouthful of grains which she promptly spit back up before shifting her blouse over her mouth and nose to protect them as she did her best to run to the tents.

Once she reached it she tried her best to be non-intrusive and knock on the tarp entrance hoping to hit a wooden post like knocking on a door so someone would notice that she was there and open the tarp for her. Barging in without permission, after all, wasn't exactly high on her priority list.

As Randir was helping with the final touches on the tent he spotted someone in the distance as they contrasted with the wave of sand coming towards the group.

"Hurry up and get in here!" He declared as he finished pounding in the last stake.

Still his thoughts were racing as to why there was another humanoid out here in kobold territories seeing as traveling alone was exceptionally dangerous. He was quick to pull her in when she actually arrived.

"Are you crazy? Traveling alone out there can get you killed."

Elena didn't even see him as she'd made her way up to the tents. The sand was already just that thick. But when he called out to her about getting inside and pulled her in, she shook off what sand she could from her head and hair and gave him a bow before speaking in High Elven.

"Apolo-"

Elena coughed as a bit of sand escaped from her mouth, and following a quick clearing of her throat, she continued.

"Apologies for imposing. I've never experienced a sandstorm in this area, so I was caught off guard. And-... Oh... Can you understand me?"

High Elven was all but a dead language to most of the world with only the High Elves, and a sparse few Elves of other kinds who chose to learn it. If he wasn't one of the latter, she had a pen and parchment at the ready in her pack to write down her attempts to communicate.

Randir looked at her with surprise as she spoke high elven. Very few people spoke it and only he and his mother knew it of all the people he knew. By the time he finished processing this she had finished coughing and was speaking once more.

"I can understand you. And no sandstorms aren't normal here, no one was expecting something like this." He confirms as he speaks in high elven. "Who are you? The only ones I know who spoke high elven these days are my mother and myself." He inquires as he eyes her with suspicion.

Elena was quite shocked. He understood! What were the odds?

And yet...

Have I met this young man before? She thought.

There was something familiar, but she couldn't recall having ever seen him. But the longer she kept eye contact the stronger that feeling became until she remembered he's just asked her a question.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

She bowed fully at the waist.

"My name is Elena. I hail from Erithia, and seldom do I ever travel. But I-... Something happened several days ago and I'm now trying to make my way to the coast. So, would it be all right if I continued to remain here with you until this sandstorm disappears?"

"What are you apologizing for? You haven't done anything wrong." He inquires as he leans on a tent pole watching as she bowed low to him.

"I am Randir, I come from the Elven Territories in Hyenta and my business is travel and bodyguarding." He responds before raising an eyebrow that she was also headed to the coast... perhaps she too heard the call.

"You happen to be in luck that's where I am headed after I drop these merchants off along the way. You're free to come with free of charge." He says with a friendly smile, implying that she was free to stay during the sandstorm.

No sooner had he affirmed his own desire to reach the coast did Elena hear a shout from outside the tent entrance. Another traveler was requesting shelter. Elena immediately made her way over and opened the entrance to allow her in, closing it quickly thereafter to prevent anymore sand than necessary from coming in along with her.

 

[Laszalet]

Kasumir

His head rang. His body stiffened.
Wonderful.

What a mess he found himself in. Out in the wild with broken legs, head injuries and a body who inched so ever closer to total disability. And all that because of god knows what! Not to speak, that he could not have expected what had transpired, even less how useless his abilities would once more prove. But who possibly could have been prepared for the ground to give in under his feet and devour him whole?

He! He should have been prepared! Not expect it, but to be able to react was the least he should have been able to do! Yet he just froze, like a goddamn moron, not because of fear, No. He froze just because of his stupid slow thinking nature coupled with his momentary apathy. Had he just started thinking about how to prevent to fall rather than think why it happened, or had he not spent precious seconds on thinking why he should actually do anything, then he wouldn't have to face such a dire situation. And the hardships, Kasumir had been through a lot, but getting ones legs shattered and wake up several hours after that, oh, how frustrating it was to be unable to move, and to top that, he didn't yet had the chance to eat anything, so he was starving, unable to move and slowly freezing to death!

The worst was, he knew he wouldn't die from this ordeal. And why was it the worst you may ask? Because he could, No he was forced to spent so much more time focusing on his predicament, all while knowing that this pain wasn't his last. But what was he to do now? How was he to escape? Yes, you guessed right, the worst possible choice was the only viable one: Wait.

Wait for his body to recover, so he could use his wind magic to move the rubble which was in the way and levitate himself out of this damned situation. Hah. But it wasn't just waiting, otherwise he could just rest and sleep for a bit. No, he still needed something to eat for the recovery process to kick in. Luckily or sadly, there was a food source just within arms reach, insects. Now, it wasn't the first time he had eaten insects, he had done so already decades ago, when he lived in the wilderness, but that didn't make it any better, his taste had accustomed itself to finer food, so one may say, the insects which he now devoured, tasted exactly the same as the first time and the nostalgic feeling was certainly not the strongest feeling that came with it.


Was this divine retribution for questioning the initiators of his journey? Several hours had passed, he came ever closer to regaining enough strength to heave himself to the outside, which at least would allow him to change his meal plan. And yet, the unnerving feeling increased steadily the closer he came, his patience had already run out the moment he fell in to this predicament, so there was nothing stopping his mind from weighing down on him more and more.

His regret increased just as the pressure. He was sitting there, feeling compelled, even forced to think of something, anything and yet, not recently ago, he had already done so. He just couldn't help and drift towards his former thoughts, which he dismissed each and every time, increasing his feeling of emptiness and frustration with each. He hated going through former conclusions again and again, it felt like unlike anything else as if he truly wasted time. Not a single other activity or situation could make him feel so, for all others gave him new thoughts in one way or another, but repurposing old ones? It was a most harrowing experience, for it was the only moment, where he truly felt helpless and fully detached while still being attached to his body. And he had to go through it.
Re. Pe. Tead. Ly.

And these most uncomfortable feelings were only amplified, by his clear awareness of how impossible it was to even describe what he felt. These feelings were just there, with no way to bind them to words or sentences. He dreaded every passing moment, yet the moment he was finally released of this torture, he did not feel relive, just the lack of afformentioned feelings. There was no reward for having to endure all this exhaustion, it just vanished. But at least this time it did.


Kasumir had overestimated his recovery speed or probably underestimated how much his thoughts had exhausted him. For he could do little more than levitate himself out on to a nearby, still intact, road. After that he felt his body once more stiffen, this time from exhaustion not the cold. Was this now his end? It sure didn't feel like it, despite logic this time dictating otherwise. Or did he just not care? No matter how much closer he inched to passing out and his impending doom, no feeling of dread overcame him, even less, one as strong as he had experienced before. Really? Was that it?

One of the greatest mages in this era, just dying on the road, and the mage in question himself didn't care about it? He laughed, or at least wanted to, sadly even that was already beyond him and his body's exhaustion. And so there it happened, Kasumir passed out, hearing one final time a voice, which he could not understand any longer, for his hearing stopped working, nor see it's culprit, for his eyes had already given in.

So his boring story came to an end. Just as his journey.
These were his last wishes. Yet wishes, they should remain. For now.

 

[GojiBean]

A sandstorm out of nowhere in a region lacking sand. Arctic snowstorms in the middle of the desert. Earthquakes nowhere near continental fault lines. You name it, it probably happened somewhere.

However, they did not last long.

The sandstorm encompassing Elena and their ever growing company of new acquaintances lasted only around 20 or 30 minutes before dissipating to nothing. And were it not for the sand that now littered the landscape one would never have known it even just happened. The one bad thing was that it made the road difficult to make out from the now sand-covered grasslands which had previously surrounded them. But with the help of the beasts of burden which guided the carts in the caravan being able to smell their way ahead, it wasn't a major issue.

Within the next two days the group had made it to the coastal city of Drias in the neutral territory just South of the human territory which lay to the West of Vuhndahl. And were it not for the local's insistence that it was neutral territory, any travelers unfamiliar with the area would be easily forgiven for thinking this was part of the northern territories where such humanoids gather regularly.

The town this day was bustling with activity from street fruit stand vendors to local businesses hiring people to wave their signs and sing the praises of their wares outside by the front doors to attract more customers. Thanks to the abnormal weather patterns and the rise of crime in the wake of such unnatural disasters the economy of the local area had taken quite the hit. In order to try and help return things to "normal" the local lord beseeched businesses to take this more proactive approach to getting people back into the swing of things. And to some extent, it had found some success.

For Elena's group, which included Nuelehtil and Randir, the city offered a strange sense of comfort... And the reason was rather puzzling to Elena.

The closer they got to the ocean, the stronger the pull she felt with her new companions. And the stronger than pull became, the safer and more welcome she felt. Because she had to request Randir translate for her with Nuelehtil, it had been somewhat difficult to get to know the young woman. But they'd managed to exchange pleasantries and had all shared the information of feeling that same pull with one another. And, for Elena at least, it brought a new sense of kinship which she didn't remember feeling with anyone else for as long as she could remember. Animals weren't much for conversation, after all, despite their willingness to get close to her.

Thankfully for Elena, the goal of this journey had been simple. Reach the coast and find a Captain willing to brave the waters of Dragon's Cove. A simple task on paper. But much harder in practice as those waters were known for being the most dangerous in the world thanks to how fiercely the Dragons protected it. Not a single known vessel had ever touched the shores of the Cove and returned to tell the tale. Some say that a few brave souls made it to the Cove only to be devoured or burned alive. And these rumors, unsubstantiated as they were, had become local legend among the townsfolk.


For Kasumir, despite the troubles of this land he was in luck. Many traveling merchant caravans and guided sight-seeing groups frequented the roads upon which he'd found himself wounded on prior. And having been picked up by one such caravan of travelers he was tended to as best they could while being taken to Drias. While not known for its Healing Mages, the caravan's leader, a seasoned Elven merchant with over 200 years in the business, had an acquaintance at a local Clinic who's Healing Magic abilities were quite strong. And although the broken bones had been fully repaired, there were still a few leftover sore spots he'd be dealing with for a couple days. Powerful as it was for physical injury, Healing Magic could not stop the body from reacting to such damages as it normally would.


As they reached the docks, Elena felt something... Wrong.

"Randir, can you sense that?"

It was a dark and foreboding sensation coming from all around them. Humans were, unfortunately, not nearly as sensitive to such things as their bodies had not evolved in a way that allowed them to remain as in-tune with the balance of benign and malign forces which existed around them in metaphysical form. About the closest thing that humans would feel is that sensation where the hair on one's neck stands on end and they feel a chill down their spine. But as soon as it arrives, it's usually gone and just leaves them thinking, "Huh, that was weird."

But Nymphs, Faeries, Uranus, and the Miithi all had the strongest connection to these forces, with the Elven races coming in close behind.

"What is this?" Elena thought out loud as she could feel her hands beginning to tremble.

Other Elves and Miithi around them were also looking around in a confused manner, only adding to the confusion as they all started talking over each other trying to warn their local brethren of what was happening.

However, nothing could be done to stop it...

Elena's blood instantly ran cold, and a sharp sensation of danger raced through her body as she looked up. One by one, dark purple and black cracks with an orange-red light at their center began appearing in the skies. The cracks grew wider and wider, some as wide as 10 meters in length, before finally going still with a soft pulse in that orange-red glow. Elena's eyes were as wide as they could possibly be, and her legs grew weak as she fell to her knees from the sheer weight of the malignance emanating from them.

If there ever was a sensation for what pure evil felt like, this was it. And it was coming down on her like an malice-filled ocean.

The cracks flashed, and burst wide paving the way for dozens of human-sized demonic beasts to escape from their dark and unwelcome world into our own. With deformed, bat-like wings and tails with sharp razor-like extensions on the end they descended upon the now thoroughly panicked town with lethal intent. Using wicked tridents and spears they dove down and began slashing and stabbing the general populace while shrieking in glee at the terror they'd already caused.

And while the cracks in the skies had closed and disappeared, there were still dozens of these creatures for the local guards and any capable warriors to contend with.

Lekiel EldridSmith Laszalet Obsidian

 

[Laszalet]

Kasumir

"You have my utmost gratitude."
He had survived. His life was once more prolonged, to Kasumir's slight dismay. Such a chance, wouldn't come back again anytime soon. He sighed.

"May I ask, what your help..."
Kasumir couldn't finish his sentence. For the healer suddenly panicked.
"Something is coming...
We need to warn the others!"

He was shouting. Sweating. What was he talking about? What was coming?
While Kasumir was trying to unpuzzle, what had forced the healer in such a state of disarray, said healer started grabbing one of his close by bags and packed it up, with what Kasumir assumed to be healing herbs? Some kind of plant at least.

"May I ask, why you are panicking? What is coming?"
But suddenly. Something was wrong. Kasumir felt a sudden... magic pulse? And so strong! But how could the healer had felt it coming before even he himself could? Before it even came in to existence?

Kasumir had to step outside on to the streets of Drias.
Guess I was wrong.

He couldn't hold in a short laugh. Another opportunity presented itself, so soon. His life was once more threatened, but this time not by a natural disaster, at least he wouldn't necessary call it as such, but rather a horde of demonic beasts. Creatures of legends and very old books, nothing, which was still supposed to roam this world, yet it was doing exactly that and exactly here. Even stranger, he had for obvious reason never before seen a demonic beasts, and the depictions differed from the ones he saw, but he felt it. These beings, were demons!

Coincidence? He would usually think so, but not this time, first a damn entity or entities claiming to possess divinity and now beasts of old, any fool, could see the connection. Whether they appeared because of the divine being was a question he could not possibly answer, yet he was certain, the divine being most likely was aware, that such beings would appear sooner or later. How annoying that it hadn't warned him in advance. Even more annoying, was however going to be the paperwork and the report which he would undoubtedly have to write up and sent to the council, this was to big of an incident, for him to just brush it off and let another master handle it.

Once more, he had to let out a long sigh, which was only stopped by an incoming demon, who was rushing at him with a trident in hand.
Clack

Kasumir just barely blocked the incoming trident with his staff, yet he was still just a moment afterwards forced on to his back, apparently these beasts possessed more physical strength than he did, not to mention, that he gave in momentarily because his legs were still aching. And now there he was, laying on his back, holding of a trident wielding demon, who viciously tried to stab him. Truly, what a nice way to celebrate his recovery and something that certainly wouldn't possibly increase his pain and resting phase any longer in the future.

Now while Kasumir didn't mind exercising a bit without using magic, the so ever more closely inching trident, sadly limited the amount of time, he could actually spent on not breaking free from his situation. And while he did welcomed the situation in it's totallity, he wasn't suicidal just yet. As such, he was unfortunately forced to dispose of his assailant in a brutal fashion, since as far as he knew and as far as he could see, said assailant wouldn't be open to negotiations. Surprsingly, the creature seemed to be somewhat resistant towards his magic?

He wasn't certain, since in the end, it's head still got cut off by his magic, but it felt as if there was a bit of a stronger resistance, then what he would have expected from any normal creature, then again, he usually didn't cut someones elses head of, so his sample size was not particularly massive.

Once he had finally recovered and succeded in not falling again due to the pain caused by his legs, he managed to take a better look at the situation. Kasumir saw in the far distance, more of these creatures flying towards what he assumed to be the center of the city. Now, should he actually actively pursue them? Was there any reason to?
Not necessarily... But wait! If these imps slaughtered everyone, who was supposed to take him over the oceane? How annoying, not only did he have to actively pursue these beasts and get rid of them, since assuming the local guards would subdue them, was a bit... much. Adding on top of that, he had to run as well! And in his condition no less! But what else could he do? Who knew, how much longer he had to search for a ship, if he let these imps do their mischievous deeds. Far too long was the answer. As such his only real option, was to endure and hope, that his body, was after this exercise, still fit enough for a fight.