Ffh Nes Ii

ummm... i don't write stories charles... not in this NES.
 
Hbar may have just won my vote. I do love some good insanity
 
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This is kind of old, and I kept feeling the urge to have it updated. All I really changed was the Leader and Government, so it is all aesthetics anyway. Immac, if you want to copy/paste this in the Sheaim slot of the Civs post, it'd be nice...

Spoiler :
Player: Tyrs
Civilization: Sheim
Capital: Bair Lacuna (province 19)
Leader: The Scarred Priest
Government:Sorcerers' Council
Labor Civic: apprenticeship
Economic Civic:
Religious Civic: personality cult( Daughters of Os-Gabella)
Economy:closed (this is default setting)
Resources: furs
Trade:
Public Technologies: call of the planes
Bee-line Tech: Summoning
Public Military: summoning adepts
 
Immaculate said:
Religion (second update- post turn 19)

This is a work-in-progress. Please feel free to suggest edits, especially in regards to those religions that your nation is involved with. Also, if I forgot one or more faiths, please don’t hesitate to mention it and I can try to fix it. Once we are all comfortable with what is written, this page will be accessible as part of the NES’s lore.
Click to expand...

I'm finishing up a couple religion founding stories, they should be posted sometimes saturday. Can I get my religion added in this once they're done? In in-game terms, the ideology of the religion was created a good while back, but it is just starting to take its place on the national scale. So I was thinking it could be sort of an emerging faith this turn.
 
@Master:
absolutely.

@EKolite (anyone else who was wondering):

from the update said:
Note: Orders Due: Orders for reconnaissance scouting missions are due Thursday, May 28th, 2009. General orders are due Friday, May 29th, 2009.
Click to expand...
 
"The government has transformed from a Police Officer defending the peace into a Mother raising it."
- Unknown Refugee

"Day after day Officials ship grain to poorer sections of the City, as well as the Refugee camps and the poor houses. It would cost us much, sure. But by what I know about our nation, the Union of Survival, the Trust of Comradeship, and the Happiness of our people, they will soon ship the grain into by themselves"
- A Promoter of the Welfare State

During the Great Seige, the government seemed out of reach: Many died because they where trying to carry the many slabs and tablets of the Records, many more died of shock. Neighborhood Goverments soon took the slack for local power: Sending volenteers to the Brave, organizing food collection after waves of zombies, tending to the warriors and sending representatives to the Council of the Grigori, having taken over after the death of most of the CIS members.

As they got used to organizing armed caravans to bring food in instead of small merchants, they started to regroup the Grigori People in the city. When the Crisis ended, they expanded out to rebuild the countryside.

Soon, the city grew again, this time from a population boom. It became increasingly harder to feed the poorer, needy section in the center of the city, as the rich moved themselves and their entourage to Hamlets. The new Government stepped in again, organizing groups of men to gather the food and return it to the city, handing it out into the Refugee camps. They also started projects to find new jobs for the Poor and the Refugees, and taugh those they fed how to find work in the caravan.

Soon, the city became happy again, small markets are growing, men are chatting. The high cost of these patrols are evident but the reward is even greater. One day, the refugees will organize themselves to collect the grain, they will be steadfast and will work for their food until they get a job. When that day comes, the Grigori will become a major nation again.
 
Ghost Town​

Spoiler :
They dragged him in by his chains. The boy, barely a man, was crying as the two acolytes half-carried him into the conclave. He was drained by exhaustion, yet it did not keep him from screaming out his burning question between sobs, “WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS TO ME? WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS TO ME?” He repeated these words like a mantra, over and over again through the clay muzzle fitted over his mouth as if he would finally get an answer to his question. The tattooed acolytes at his sides didn’t seem to notice or care as they continued to drag him by his heavily chained arms. Resolutely, they dragged him across the hard, sandstone floor of the spacious cavern.

High Priestess Thea of House Hirch chuckled inside as she watched the spectacle from her lofty seat carved from an immense stone stalagmite. The ever receding rays of light crept into the cave from the setting sun. They lit her features in a dim glow. No emotion showed on her deceivingly delicate features.

She looked around at the other members of the newly formed Kannistic Conclave of the Acolytes of Agony. They each sat in the highly ornate seats carved from stalagmites, but all were a foot lower than hers as she was head of this council. Lord Malus, Dread Emperor of the ‘Als, had recently remade the noble houses. No longer able to tolerate the frequent transgressions of the nobility, the emperor disassembled them and emptied their treasuries. Any nobles who spoke out against this were slain in addition to any the emperor suspected of treason or simply didn’t like, along with all of their spouses and children. Four new noble houses were formed. The first two were the most worthy of the preexisting noble houses: House Hirch, where most of the ‘Als religious leaders had come, and House Adrana, the most innovative of the ‘Als nobles. These two families were left intact, and many more noble families of other houses that were on good terms with these houses were adopted by them.

The third was House Corrus, which consisted of all the remaining noble families and whose leadership was given to Devlin Corrus, a cousin of Jar Adrana whom the emperor trusted to bring this conglomeration of the remaining disobedient houses into line. The final house was not really a noble house – even though it consisted solely of nobles – but was ecclesiastical. This new house was the Acolytes of Agony, the devoted of Kanna. It was the rights of noble houses for her clergy that Thea of Hirch sought for when she approached the Dread Emperor after Jar Adrana’s death. It was this that she had put all of her efforts towards once she had inherited her position from her grandmother, and had finally succeeded in attaining.

The stalagmite thrones were spread a few feet apart forming a semi-circle open to the distant end of the cave, where the boy bound in so many chains that they could constitute a suit was being slowly dragged before them. The other members looked at her. She met their gazes each in turn. They all wondered how far she would carry her grudge, and whether they could stop her if she went too far. They were worried she might kill a valuable recruit. They worried needlessly. Thea knew exactly how far she wanted to torment this child, and exactly where his breaking point was. She also knew that he could not break through so many chains.

The two acolytes had finally made their way to the conclave and threw the boy before them, then retreated into the shadows. Landing with a loud grunt, he looked up at the leaders of the Acolytes of Agony in their towering seats of power. He had fear in his eyes. One last time he asked them calmly, quietly, “Why have you done this to me? Why did you put me through that?” His voice beared the quality of a defeated man. Expectantly he awaited an answer.

Thea responded, “Because you, Tehk Adrana, are weak.” Uncomprehending, Tehk gave her a quizzical look. “That is why you’re grandfather promised you to us before he met his…unexpected end,” Thea mocked him. Jar Adrana’s end was anything but unexpected to her, as she was the one who pushed the desperate nobility to murder him.

A glimmer of anger appeared in Tehk’s eyes. Thea went on, “He knew that the weakness of your house ran doubly in you. He gave you to us to so you could serve as a spy in our midst, and he knew you would be found out.” She descended down the steps carved into her chair, coming closer to Tehk as he lay on the ground. “Tomorrow, when you were scheduled to send a raven back to him, we would have discovered it and ignominiously killed you.”

A smile crept onto Thea’s face. She looked away from Tehk and paced around him, “Your grandfather, who had the ear of the Dread Emperor, would have then went to his royal highness claiming we murdered you out of jealousy and spite. Lord Malus would then have no choice upon seeing your body but to punish those who broke his sacred laws. Unable to prove your betrayal of us, the leadership of the Acolytes of Agony would have been given over to House Adrana. Your grandfather put you on the sacrificial altar for the sake of more power.” She walked right up to Tehk, and noticed how he smelled of rotting flesh. Thea bent low over him and looked him in the eye. “He betrayed you.”

The glimmer of anger inside Tehk welled up into a fountain of rage. He yelled out, “THAT’S NOT TRUE!” He struggled to climb to his knees. The other members of the conclave stood and slowly descended from their seats. They formed an enclosed circle around Thea and Tehk, beginning a barely audible chant in an ancient tongue. Thea raised her voice as she said, “Tehk Adrana, you are weak. We shall make you strong!”

Tehk, overwhelmed with emotion, asked, “Is that what you call this? Strength? This is not strength. This is a curse!”

Thea countered, “No, you are blessed! Through us you will be sanctified by Kanna herself! You have yet to come into your full power. When this ritual is completed you will never be weak again. You will be reborn!” Thea took her leave of Tehk and exited the circle.

The priests of Kanna continued chanting, their faces veiled in the darkness of their cowls. They all joined hands. The air inside the circle thickened. It felt denser, heavier. Beneath his chains Tehk was finding it even harder to breathe. The chanting then raised in volume dramatically, it was almost a song. The voices of the Conclave sang loud in a deep bass, their words ending in dramatic glottal stops. The air ionized, electricity arced several feet instantly at random points inside the circle. The chanting grew ever louder. The priests separated their hands and and began slowly raising them towards the ceiling of the cavern. Tehk noticed that the area around him grew darker, unnaturally darker, and it was not due to the sun setting for it still hung just above the horizon.

The darkness grew until it encompassed the entire circle, yet Tehk could still see. He watched as the High Priestess walked back towards the circle with her hands behind her back. She made her way between two of the chanters and moved close to Tehk once again. He looked at her, searching her face to find an inkling of what she intended to do. Her face betrayed nothing, but she revealed what she held behind her back. Thea raised her arms into the air with the others, however at the end of her arms her hands held a branding rod that she pointed upwards.

At long last the other priests’ hands reached their zenith, and lightning flew from everywhere in the cavern into the branding rod. It glowed from the energy crackling around it. Then in one swift motion Thea thrust the branding rod into Tehk’s forehead. He screamed as the lightning shot through his body and dissipated into the ground. After a moment, Thea withdrew the rod and Tehk was able to catch the symbol at the end of it. A crescent, the first phase of the moon, was now the symbol that marked his forehead forever.

Spoiler :
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The air returned to normal. The darkness dissapeared. The members of the Conclave seemed to awaken from a trance, and they made their ways back to their seats. Thea was the last to return to her seat, handing the still hot brand to an acolyte that had come to her chair to collect it from her. Once seated she spoke, “You are no longer Tehk of House Adrana. As the moon can not share…” Tehk wasn’t listening. The hunger was overwhelming all of his senses, and all of his emotions…except hatred. The anger inside him had solidified into molten hatred and was now overflowing. He stood up. Tehk showed no evidence of fatigue. He started flexing his muscles against the tight chains, pouring all of his hate into his strength. One by one cracks started appearing in the links, and after a terrified sharp intake of breath by Thea, the chains broke. In the next moment they fell to the ground. Tehk reached up, grabbing his muzzle. He crushed it with his bare hand. As the pieces fell to the ground the acolytes who had carried him in to the conclave charged him from the shadows.

The man charging Tehk from his left side reached him first. Tehk turned towards him and moving unnaturally fast grabbed him by an arm and a leg. He threw him with all his might. The acolyte hit the wall with a sickening crunch. His neck snapped; the body slid to the ground. In the next second the other acolyte had reached Tehk, and he met a much more gruesome fate. The now out-of-control prisoner grabbed the acolyte by the arm and pulled to bring him closer. The arm came off. Smelling blood, Tehk let it fall to the ground and pounced on the acolyte taking several bites out of the right side of his face. When they hit the ground, only Tehk stood up. Covered in blood, he then turned his attention to Thea. Taking three steps he leapt towards her, claws outstretched…


Spoiler :
Tehk Adrana came to with a throbbing headache. He couldn't remember where he was or how he ended up lying on the floor...ground, actually. It felt gravelly beneath him. There was some kind of warm liquid all over his face. He must be lying somewhere bleeding in the middle of a dirt road. That can’t be a good place to be. He sat up. Tehk realized that was the wrong move as he was hit by one of Erebus's greatest head rushes. He must have lost a lot of blood.

Tehk felt for the head wound. Despite his massive headache and the pool of blood he was lying in he could not find one. Everything felt solid. “Strange.” He said it aloud to no one in particular. He also noticed that his voice was more hoarse than a hell raven. Tehk's throat was parched, yet it was barely noticeable compared to how hungry he was. How long had he been lying here?

Slowly opening his eyes he looked around. There was nothing but road in front of him stretching out into an endless desert. Beyond that the sun was sinking beneath the towering dunes. Or was it rising? He’d lost all sense of time while he was out.

Tehk turned to see what was behind him. The dirt road continued in that direction all the way off into the distance as well. Except instead of a featureless arid landscape there was a small, far-off town built along the road. A small wave of relief coursed through Tehk. At least he wouldn't have to go far to get some food.

Tehk picked himself off the ground, dusted off his tunic and breeches, and searched his pockets for a gold pouch. ‘Nothing. Must have been mugged,’ he thought to himself. That would explain why he was knocked out and had no money. That could even explain the blood if Tehk had received a wound. But he hadn’t so it must have been someone else’s. If it wasn't his blood then whose was it? Looking down at the stained dirt and sand around him he noticed that it couldn't be his blood. If he'd bled that much he would be dead. Why couldn’t he remember what happened?

Not allowing himself to be detained by such troubling questions, Tehk shrugged his shoulders and began his journey towards the town. About half an hour later, he found he was only halfway. His headache hadn’t dissipated, but intensified as it pounded out a fast staccato rhythm. It was a very unusual headache. Yet his body topped that with an even stranger reaction. His stomach growled. Though it was so loud it didn’t really growl. It roared. “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever been this hungry in my life.” Just then Tehk noticed a lizard crossing his path. It was the same color as the sand, about a foot in length, and it looked delicious. ‘Wait a second,’ Tehk thought to himself, ‘That’s gross. I can’t eat desert vermin.’ But the more he looked at it the more tasty it looked. His salivary glands starting pumping out saliva anticipating a meal. He could even smell it, and it smelled good. Tehk tried looking away, though he didn’t really want to. Suddenly, with superhuman speed Tehk dove at the lizard and snatched it. He stood up and stretched the lizard taught with his hands, holding it in front of his mouth. He hesitated, ‘Do I really want to do this? It’s not even cooked.’ Try to resist the thought as he might, the answer was yes. Tehk took a bite of the squirming reptile, and then another, and another until there was naught left but the bones. Wiping his mouth Tehk justified it, ‘I bet somewhere in Erebus there’s a lizard eating culture,’ and continued on temporarily satisfied, noting how his headache disappeared.


Spoiler :
After another half hour of walking in the sun, which was rising, he had made it to the village at last. Picking his teeth with a lizard’s bone – the meat was extremely stringy – he casually walked down the road looking for signs of life and another meal. Tehk looked around. There were only about two uneven rows of houses and other shops on either side of the road. He saw a sign for a distillery, which also meant food. In the ‘Als all distilleries were really a combination of liquor stores and bread bakeries. ‘Beer and bread, the food and drink of the gods,’ Tehk licked his lips at the thought of it. He didn’t give any thought to how he’d pay for it, though. Another idea came to him instead, ‘Why is it so quiet?’ The village was eerily silent. His sense of hearing adjusted to it, heightening to detect any possible noise.

Tehk decided to confirm his suspicions. He turned to his right and walked directly into someone’s house. He pushed aside the tapestry in the doorway and entered a two story sandstone hut. It was dark, and smelled of sweet meats. There was some furniture, a kitchen, and stairs leading to the next floor. Tehk followed his nose, and it led him upstairs. Mounting the stairway the smell grew stronger. Reaching the summit the smell peaked his appetite. His hunger was back, but not quite as strong as before. There were three rooms attached to the adjoining hallway. One of the rooms was directly across from the top of the stairs. Glancing in he saw what looked like a child’s bedroom. No one was in there. He moved slowly down the hallway, walking past what looked like a washroom containing a tub and a sealed toilet chute. The smell wasn’t coming from there but the next room, what must have been the master bedroom.

He cautiously went down to the end of the hallway. Apprehensive, he entered. There were two people sleeping under the covers. The smell was coming from the bed. Tehk felt relief knowing he wasn’t alone. ‘They must have been eating in bed. I really shouldn’t do this, but I’m starving. I’m sure they’ll forgive me once they hear my story.’ Tehk was turning over these thoughts in his mind as he leaned over the sleeping couple. He jumped backwards, and nearly a whole foot off the ground. The blood drained from his face. Tehk was white as a ghost. The couple wasn’t sleeping. They were dead; their bodies covered in plague boils, and he didn’t find any food. The attractive smell was the stench of death.

Tehk ran from the house as fast as he could, unable to cope with what had just happened. He kept running toward the other end of town until realizing he was running through what was scaring him. Tehk bent over and put his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. ‘What’s happening to me?’ His mind racing, he almost didn’t notice the man crossing the road further down.

The man wore traditional ‘Als nobles’ garb, flowing dark robes with metallic filigree. On his head, though, he wore something that Tehk had only seen in his grandfather’s art collections. Atop the man’s head lay a fez, reddish in color. It denoted a noble who attained the rank of royal scholar, however the fez had been out of fashion for over one hundred and twenty years. Odd, of course this was just the tip of the iceberg of oddness that belonged to this town. Tehk hoped that this man would be able to explain what happened to this town, what was happening to him, how he’d gotten here. If he could explain anything to reassure Tehk he wasn’t losing his sanity, it might make him feel a little better. He ran after him.

He almost caught up to the old-fashioned scholar before he made it to the distillery. For some reason the man was ignoring Tehk, or perhaps was too hard of hearing to detect Tehk’s loud, rapid footfalls as he came closer to him. The scholar had reached the the door of the distillery by the time Tehk had made it to him. Another odd thing, who used doors? And where’d they get the wood? Almost every building except the palace of Ter’Al hung tapestries in the doorways. Just as he was about to put his hand on the scholar’s shoulder, the scholar walked through the door. The door was never opened. Tehk stood there, stunned. The man had just walked through a door!

Tehk had to get out of here fast. He looked down the road to where he had just ran from, and looked up the road towards where he’d woken up. Either direction could end with his death, as he had no supplies for a journey and no clue how long the journey could be. He didn’t even know which desert he was in. He might not even be on the same continent! His only recourse was to explore this town for as many supplies as he could carry before getting the hell out of there. The distillery was the best place to start. Tehk opened the door slowly, not knowing what to expect. At first it didn’t budge, but with a little extra push the door collapsed inward. ‘Must have been poor quality wood,’ he reasoned.

Taking a step inside, Tehk was greeted by another sickening sight. Bodies were everywhere. Boil-covered corpses littered the distillery. The body of a farmer was resting on the counter at the bar, behind which the distillation apparatus sat and a display of assorted whiskeys and beers against the wall. Tehk walked over to the farmer, mouth watering. Then he saw the body of a bartender on the floor of the otherside of the counter, lying atop a pile of broken bottles. He turned away and was met by another ghastly visage. On the far side of the bar the corpses of a woman and two children were sitting in chairs at one of the tables; there bodies positioned as if they were having a delightful meal. On the floor at the door’s immediate left was a dead man propped up against the wall. His chest a bloody mess, having been opened by some kind creature’s claws. He was the only one covered in blood instead of boils, and wore the already red robes of an acolyte of Kanna. The smell of the blood made its way across the room to his nostrils. His hunger flared, nearly overwhelming Tehk’s senses. Summoning his willpower, he looked away from the bodies to find out where the scholar had gone. It was all he could do to restrain himself from falling atop the deceased acolyte and devouring him as he had done with the lizard. Eager to take his mind off of his stomach, Tehk noticed a door at the back of the bar. ‘That’s where he went.’

Crossing to the otherside of the room, he gave one longing look back at the bodies. Immediate self-loathing and revulsion bubbled up inside of him. He looked away, but registered the swish of red cloak out the corner of his eye. He looked back. Seeing nothing had changed, he turned his head to the door and WHAM! An armed draped in a shredded red cloth slammed into Tehk’s chest sending him clear across the distillery into the sandstone wall, which didn’t stop his trajectory. Hitting the dirt road oustide, Tehk was flattened by some stray rubble which had followed him on his way out.

Instinct rebounded him to his feet. Something bestial took control of Tehk as he began running back towards the thing that had just sent him careening through a stone wall. Tehk ran through the door, jumped on the counter, and leapt at the creature. It was moving so fast that all he could make out was a mass of swishing red cloth. Tehk was still possessed by his instincts, however, and he aimed himself at where the monster was going to be rather than where it was. He landed on top of it and as his fangs elongated he took a bite out of the red mass. It didn’t taste quite like anything he’d ever tasted before. The red wasn’t cloth, its texture a silky liquid in his mouth. ‘Wait a second, fangs?’ the thought came over Tehk at the most inopportune time, because it distracted him from the battle. The creature then raked golden claws down Tehk’s back. Screaming in agony, he fell off the creature, which took the opportunity to fling Tehk back at the wall from whence he came. Hitting the wall in a different spot, Tehk blacked out and another hole was made as he landed outside on the dirt road once again.
 
Spoiler :
“No! No! Let go of me! Sa’ir, Sa’ir! Help me! Why did you betray me?” Lara took in her surroundings. Where was she? How did she get here? A moment ago, she was being hauled away by strange men in the middle of the night. Now, she was sitting in a chair inside a stone hut that looked awfully familiar…and Sa’ir. Why did that name stick out in her mind? Lara tried to recall his face but it seemed to be just out of her mind’s reach.

She stood up, disturbed by these remnant memories she couldn’t seem to hold on to. ‘Maybe if I walk around things will start coming back to me,’ she thought. Looking around at the furniture of the bedroom, nothing struck her as important. There was just a lingering sense of the familiar, déjà vu, even. It felt like she’d been here before but couldn’t remember. She decided to leave the bedroom and explore the rest of the house.

It wasn’t big. Outside the bedroom was a living area, and that was it. “I’m definitely not rich,” she said aloud. Again, nothing in the sparsely furnished room brought any memories to the surface. “Maybe if I go outside,” she said. She made her way to the doorway. Lara thought it odd there was nothing covering the doorway of her house, if it was her house. She walked outside and looked around. In front of her was an uneven row of more sandstone huts, but beyond that was a clearing. A feeling of excitement emerged. Something told her that the clearing would stir her memory. She walked past the house enjoying the adventurous feeling of being on the cusp of a new discovery.

Before her eyes was a wide dirt road, and beyond that were a couple more rows of housing. It came to her suddenly. Lara was in the midst of a large crowd of people, marching in what was more or less a line that stretched for nearly a mile. Her left hand was chained to the person in front of her. All around her were people, and they were all wearing the same nondescript brown sackcloth. She did know the person next to her. It was Sa’ir. He turned to look at her, wearing a grim expression. “Don’t worry Lara, we’ll get through this. We’ll be alright as long as we stick together,” Sa’ir encouraged her. He was always encouraging her. Lara was meek, passive, and lacked confidence but Sa’ir was always doing his best raise her spirits.

Then they were pulled apart. The armed men escorting the crowd of people started splitting them into groups according to the directions of finely clothed men with red fez hats. Lara desperately tried to hold on to Sa’ir. The armed men were too strong and pried her away from him. One of them led her away from the crowd by the wrist and brought her to a small group of five other young women around her age. A nobleman with a red fez came over to her group, followed by two of the armed men who were carrying a barrel. The two set it down in front of them and began prying open the lid. Meanwhile, the man with the red fez gave the first guard directions. Most of it was a lot of technical jargon Lara did understand. She did hear the words “control groups” often, whatever that meant.

The guard who had brought her over here went to the open barrel, took a ladle from one of the others and filled it with the barrel’s contents. He then turned and put the ladle in front of Lara’s face. “Drink,” he ordered. The liquid was a murky brown, and it smelled awful. She said, “No. That’s disgusting.” The guard, deciding not to get mad, simply beckoned for the other two. One of them bear hugged her from behind so she couldn’t move while the other pried open her mouth with his hands. The guard with the ladle poured the foul liquid in her mouth. Lara tried to spite it out but the guard holding her mouth open was now holding it closed. She refused to swallow, so he pinched her nostrils. Not able to hold her breath for long, after nearly a minute she swallowed the liquid and the guards let go of her. The taste was unbearable, and whatever she had drank was not meant to be ingested by human beings. The guards ignored her as she coughed and sputtered, choking for air. They ladled another serving of the murky liquid, went up to the next girl, and the guard repeated, “Drink.”

Lara came out of her reverie when she heard the sound of crumbling rocks. She spotted further down a boy flying through a wall onto the road. Immediately he sprang to his feet and charged back in. Lara, fearful but her curiosity piqued, began to walk over to see what was going on. A few seconds later the same boy was thrown through the wall again. He landed on the dirt road with a thud. This time he wasn’t moving. Lara ran over to him.

She knelt beside him. An unnatural roar emanated from inside the building. It sounded like a predator, but it was no animal. Lara was overcome by her fear. The only thing she could think to do next was to try and wake the boy up. “Hello? Wake up! You need to wake up! We have to go.” Nothing happened. Lara leaned in until her mouth was right next to his ear and screamed at the top of her lungs, “WAKE UP!”

The boy stirred. “Ow.”

“We have to go, now! There’s something dangerous in there!”

“I know. Let’s get out of here.” The boy got to his feet and said, “Come on.” He started running for the other side of the road. She saw his tunic was shredded. Whatever had done so left four deep gashes. Not wanting to have the same done to her, Lara ran after him.

They didn’t stop until the town was far behind them. Tehk stopped. Lara asked, “Why have you stopped?”

“It’s not chasing us,” Tehk answered.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“We have to hide,” Lara folded her arms. It was a sign of her insecurity.

“Where? There’s nothing around us but open desert, and it goes on for miles,” Tehk sat down in the sand and crossed his legs.

“Isn’t that gonna get really hot? Like you said, we’re in the middle of the desert and it’s only morning. It can only get hotter.”

“I’ve just been thrown through a stone wall, twice. A little heat isn’t going to bother me.” After giving it a moment’s thought he continued, “I should be dead. Why am I not dead?”

Lara sat down, too. She didn’t feel any heat coming from the sand. Deciding to change the subject she asked, “So what’s your name?”

“I am Tehk Adrana.” He waited for her to recognize the name. She didn’t. Seems like Tehk was destined to go through life unnoticed by everyone.

“I’m Lara. I wish we met under better circumstances. What were you fighting?”

Tehk thought about it, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know what threw you through a wall twice? If you didn’t know what you were fighting why’d you go back in? Sounds foolish.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t really thinking at that point. I don’t exactly know what came over me.” Tehk turned his attention to the strangeness of the situation, which was practically begging to be talked about, “What’s with this town? Do you live here?”

Lara said indecisively, “Yes…no, I don’t know. The last thing I remember I was out in the desert somewhere. Far away from the town. It was dark out. Then I was in one of those huts.”

“Sounds like magic.”

The scholars were about to finish the ritual. Lara had to do something, but what? She didn’t know how to stop it, so Lara did the only thing she could: she charged them. Lara snapped out of her trance, and the memory faded as suddenly as it came. “It could be. How does magic work?”

“I don’t really know. I feel like I should, though.”

“That’s because you do,” a heavily armed man in a white cloak walked up. He carried a sheathed curved sword, a dagger sticking out of his, and another blade hanging from his belt which had been smelted into a perfect circle. The man had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He walked over to where Lara and Tehk were sitting and stood in front of them.

“Who are you?” they asked the question in unison.

“My name is Rashem Tevow'tt, and that is all you need to know about me at the moment. What is more important is what do you know about yourself?” He sat down gingerly and crossed his legs.

Tehk answered, a little irritated. He didn’t want to be asked questions. He wanted to be given answers, “I know who I am.” He wanted to ask Rashem why he wasn’t going to talk about himself, but the man was intimidating. Tehk would bet some gold that those weapons he carried weren’t just for show.

Rashem posed another question, “But do you know what you are?”

“What I am?”

“Yes, a question only you can answer.”

Tehk wanted to be able to answer that question, but at his core he could not. The fact was he didn’t know who he was. All his life he watched as each of his cousins found their niche within his grandfather’s House. Jar Adrana was pleased to let his children and grandchildren find the tasks to which they were particularly suited on their own. Tehk, however, never found one. “I…uh…I guess I am a nobleman.”

“Is that what you choose to be?”

“Is that what I choose…what’s with all of the crazy questions? Are you an Undertow follower?”

“I guess you are not ready yet. The time will come soon, though.”

Lara spoke up, “You’re a noble? I’ve never heard of that house. Why are you dressed in such cheap clothes? And what are you doing out here?”

“You didn’t recognize my name? Tehk Adrana, of House Adrana. Our house was founded over seventy years ago in the year 428 AR. I’m the grandson of Jar Adrana.” Tehk hesitated, his features downcast, “He was murdered recently. As for being out here, I have no clue. I woke up around down right over there.” Tehk pointed the location out.

“I’m sorry, Tehk…” an awkward silence ensued.

After a few moments Rashem broke it, “Tehk, how much do you remember of what happened to you before you awoke?”

“Well, last I remember I was at my grandfather’s funeral. It was the day of my birth. Before that, a few months ago grandfather just told me he had decided what profession I would take. Everything between that is a blank. I can’t even remember what he had decided on.”

“I see,” Rashem looked down at the sand. ‘Looks like they didn’t screw up the memory wipe this time,’ he thought.

“You said earlier that your house was founded in 428, that would make this year…” Lara struggled with the math.

Tehk answered before she could figure it out, “503 AR.”

“But it’s the year 327 AR.”

Tehk looked directly at her. Rashem kept staring at the sand. Tehk said, “What?”

“That’s what year it is. How could I be wrong about that?”

Tehk thought about that for a moment, “You did say earlier that you were in a far away place one moment, and transported here the next as if by magic. Whatever happened to you, it must have sent you into the future.”

“That makes sense. I’ve heard of crazier things. How did it happen though?”

“If you don’t know then I definitely don’t. Rashem, any Undertow wisdom to spare on this?”

Rashem looked up at the two of them, his face grim. “I can not explain how you came to be here. What I can explain is that you both need to get moving. You have encountered a creature of the night. When the day is spent you will have no where to hide.”

“But what can we do?” Lara asked hopelessly.

“We have to figure out how to stop that creature. We can’t trust that we’ll be safe going into any of those houses looking for supplies, which is what we’ll need if we want to be able to make it back to civilization. Who knows how far we’ll have to travel?”

Rashem stood up, “I agree. We need more information. I know just the place to start. Come with me.” Tehk and Lara stood up as well, and followed Rashem back to the town.


Spoiler :
They stood outside one of the larger huts behind one of the rows of housing. Tehk was wondering why they were their. Rashem, seeming to anticipate his question spoke up, “I have stayed here for quite a while. The creature has never ventured in this building. This place should serve our purposes.”

“Why?” Tehk asked.

“Why is a question always deeper than its answer…”

Tehk and Lara just stared at him.

“and because it is a library,” Rashem finished, “ladies first.”

“I’m not going in there first,” Lara said.

Stepping inside Tehk said, “I guess its up to me then.”

Rashem thought, ‘Indeed it is,’ and walked in. Lara looked around. She didn’t really want to go in a strange dark place, but standing out in the street alone was scarier. She trepidly took a step inside, and saw something she had never seen before: walls covered by shelves of scrolls and books. The shelves were stacked fifteen feet high. She had never seen a book in her entire life. The idea that the knowledge of the ancestors could be written down for future generations, and exist forever gave her a hopeful feeling she couldn’t understand.

Tehk walked up to the far wall and started looking through titles. Not satisfied by any of them he arbitrarily picked up a book at the end of the shelf. He turned to go sit down in one of the luxurious lounge chairs, and saw Rashem tossing a knife up into the air repeatedly catching it each time by the tip of the blade. Lara just stood in the center of the room, dumbfounded. “Aren’t either of you going to help me?” Tehk asked, a little exasperated.

“I can’t read,” Lara said. Her cheeks flushed with embarassment.

Tehk turned to Rashem, “What’s your excuse? Don’t soldiers need to know how to read so they can understand the dispatched orders?” He then turned to find a chair.

A small knife flew past Tehk’s head and disappeared in the darkness behind him. He didn’t notice it. The only light was that which came in through the doorway. Rashem’s rested his elbows on the arms of the chair, and his fingers interlocked where his hands met. The knife he was tossing was missing. “I was an assassin. At one point I was one of Lord Malus’ most prized agents. And to answer question, no. I never learned how to read. I didn’t have to. Lord Malus always sent me his commands telepathically.”

“So you killed people because the voice in your head told you to? Sounds like an Undertow follower to me. I’m surprised you don’t have a waterlily sticking out of your head.”

“You should show respect for your elders, young one.”

“I’ll show some respect when you prove to me you’re not crazy.” Tehk sat in an armchair on the other side of the room and began reading his book.

Lara sat in the armchair next to Rashem. She spoke quietly hoping not to disturb Tehk, “So you live here?”

“You could say that.”

“How long have you been here?”

“For about half as long as you.”

Lara was puzzled by this answer. Figuring Rashem was not going to be forthcoming she decided to talk about something else. “I don’t remember how I got here, and neither does Tehk. Do you have any ideas?”

“I thought you two were settled on time travel,” he said a little too condescendingly. He knew something they didn’t.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

Rashem was about to answer but Tehk cut him off, “Hey! Listen to this,” he was so interested in what he was reading he didn’t notice Rashem and Lara were talking. He stood up, and began pacing as he read the journal. “Day 142. I have just sent my conclusive results to Lord Malus, for the purposes of record keeping I will summarize the final findings here. The plague only affects humans, with no ill effect on animals no matter how they are exposed to it. The plague is transferred to other people primarily through the blood, spit, and breath. The amount of slaves that succumbed to death averaged to forty five percent in each control group. Survivors are immune to reinfection. It takes about four to five days to develop symptoms after exposure and anywhere from a week to a month to die or recover. Some people experience a stage of pneumonia and others don’t have one at all.

“The infected eventually develop tumors of the groin, neck and armpits. Many urinate and vomit blood, but most do not. Blood and spit from the infected can sicken others but only if transmitted within two days of the plague’s onset. Herbs have been taken from throughout the countryside in an effort to devise a cure. These efforts have proved fruitless, as the herbs do not have any effect. Interestingly, rats seem to be the only animal capable of carrying and transmitting the plague yet they do not get sick. Smuggling rats into a rival city would be the best way to ensure the plague’s spread to designated areas, while proving safe to those who must transport them.

“General Kallo will be pleased. The Sidar’s intriguing idea will give the general’s spies a worthy mission to accomplish. If the dwarves are a higher race than animals the plague will spread in Luchuirp lands like wildfire, and chaos will ensue. If the Sidar continue to cooperate Luciedo may be taken with ease. This plan will succeed, and the general will gain much favor in the eyes of the emperor. May the Lady of the Stars bless our endeavors.”

Lara flashed. She remembered many days where she and the other girls in her group were forced outside of their assigned hut. The guards brought them to the scholars, making sure to keep their distance. The scholars would put on large black cloaks that covered them completely, with two eye holes cut into each of them. They then proceeded to inspect every inch of their bodies. It was humiliating. She closed her eyes and looked away trying to push the memories aside.

“What’s wrong?” Tehk asked. He and Rashem were both staring at her. Tehk clearly didn’t know why she was upset. Rashem wore a knowing look. Pity shown in his eyes.

“Nothing. What does that mean?”

“Well, this place must be the source of the plagues that were rampant a hundred and fifty years ago.”

“It seems you are quite the historian,” Rashem commented.

Tehk ignored him, “These scientists must have taken a few individuals that were showing signs of a new illness, and spread them to slaves so that they could determine a method of spreading plague as a weapon.”

“How horrible.” This came from Rashem, who at the moment seemed very interested in his bladed circular weapon. His tone showed he was anything but horrified.

Vexed by his statement Lara shot back, “That’s not something to joke about.”

“Yeah, that’s cold. Not surprising though coming from an assassin,” Tehk chimed in.

Rashem answered, “You know what they say. Whatever kills you makes you stronger.”

“Don’t you mean…” Tehk let the sentence die on his lips as he saw a red mass of shimmering cloth float into the hut. “I thought you said it wouldn’t leave the distillery during the day!”

“Who am I to divine the motives of this creature?” Rashem sat calmly in the chair as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

“It’s blocking the doorway! AREN’T YOU GOING TO HELP ME?”

“You seem to have things perfectly under control. Use your claws. Oh, and make sure to hold on to that book.”

Tehk looked down at his hands. His finger nails elongated into thick and razorsharp claws. “This is just like puberty all over again.” The creature’s silhouette was outlined by the light coming in from outside. He saw that the red mass vaguely resembled a body. It had an oddly shaped head, a perfect oval. There were no legs or feet. It hung in the air just a few feet above the floor. It did have two arms and long golden claws of its own; much longer than Tehk’s, whose bared his fangs. Holding tightly on to the book with one claw he leapt at the ugly monster. Tearing into the cloth with reckless abandon, Tehk held on for dear life. The creature twisted and turned to and fro, unable to shake him off. It then grabbed him with both of its claws, trying to pry Tehk from its body. The two wrestled and the creature moved further in to the library, away from the door.

Lara, scared out of her mind, was pressed against her chair. When the creature moved while wrestling with Tehk her fight or flight reflexes kicked in. Flight won out, and Lara ran for the opening between the large creature – it’s height reached almost to the ceiling – and the doorway. Rashem merely stood and walked around the room towards the opening while Tehk and the creature fought.

The struggling ended as the creature gained the upperhand and flung Tehk into wall of books shelves adjacent to the entrance of the hut. When he made it to the floor, scrolls and books fell all over him. Looking up at where he used to be holding on, Tehk watched in horror as the rip he’d made in the red mass stitched itself back together. He couldn’t win by fighting this thing head on. There had to be another way. Desperate, he ran to the opposite wall. The creature took another swipe at him with each of its claws, but Tehk dodged them both. Once at the stone bookshelf he grabbed and pulled. The entire frame fell onto the creature pinning it to the floor. Tehk used the distraction to exit through the doorway. Outside he saw Rashem waving him over across the road. They started running through the town. En route to wherever Rashem was leading them a thought came to Tehk. “Hey, Rashem, what magic do I know? I’m starting to think it could come in handy.

Not breaking his stride Rashem called back, “You know how to conjure a single raven from the depths of hell to act as your messenger.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Why couldn’t you just say I shoot fireballs out of my eyes?”

Rashem laughed, “Because you can’t.”

They reached the place Rashem was leading them to. It was another stone hut; the last house at the edge of town. Beyond it was nothing but desert. Tehk had another question, “How did you know that?”

“What, that you are not an adept of fire magic?”

“No, that I can cast that raven spell.”

“Because I know a few things about yourself that you do not.”

“How?”

“Step inside. You will find answers in there.” Rashem pointed inside the hut. Lara was the last to enter. She glanced at Tehk’s back and saw that his wounds from his first encounter with the creature had healed.
 
Spoiler :
The inside of this sandstone hut was small, only a single room. In it were two cots pushed up against the back wall. A table and a few chairs took over the center of the room. On the table were a few reed quills and a tiny jar of ink sitting atop a pair of scrolls. Aside from Tehk, Lara, and Rashem, that was all that was in the room. Lara made for the bed and lied upon it without making a sound. Tehk sat in a chair by the table. Rashem leaned against the wall opposite Tehk.

“This looks like some religious text.” Tehk read it out loud. “And Malachai slipped off the cliff. Madoc reached out and caught him not with his hands, but with his mind. Malachai hung in the air, frightened at seeing his doom beneath him.

“‘This could be your end. Meet it well.’ Madoc turned to leave, then paused. ‘If you fell to your death now I will have failed you, my brother. You seek the golden path yet have not understood your purpose. In this moment you may learn what that is. Hear my words.’

“‘Malachai spoke with faith in his heart, ‘Share with me your wisdom Lord Madoc, and I will receive it.’

“Madoc came to the edge of the cliff and answered his most devout of apostles, ‘Everything I have told you is a lie. Where can one find the truth?’

“Malachai hesitated. He searched the depths of his heart for the answer. Asking himself the same question he found his answer. Madoc set him on the ground. Malachai fell to his knees and praised Madoc. He then asked, ‘Lord Madoc, why did you wait until I neared my doom to teach me this?’

“Madoc spoke, ‘Only when one is pushed to the limits of his anguish can true wisdom be learned. – The Gospel of Madoc, Chapter 22, The Black Book of Ceridwen.”

“I don’t get it,” said Lara.

“What did you learn from this passage, Tehk?” Rashem asked him.

“Sounds like an Undertow crackpot who liked to play around with his powers of telekinesis. Why he’s been written into the Black Book I have no idea.”

“Look deeper. It is important you understand this.”

At first Tehk wanted to vent his annoyance at why this stranger was so interested in teaching him something, but the text was interesting. He read it again. “I guess they’re saying that you can only learn through pain. That’s a little sick.”

“Yet true. Read the next scroll.”

Tehk looked at the next one, and saw that it was a letter.


To the applicants,

You may not know where you are, or perhaps even who you are. Do not be troubled. Each of you has chosen to begin the journey on the golden path. All of you have come to us to apply for Initiation into the Acolytes of Agony, devoted of Kanna. These are the testing grounds on which your character will be measured. There is a danger that hunts you. At a time of our choosing we shall come to collect you. Survive until then and you will be brought before the Kannistic Conclave where we will determine if you deserve to be given the title of Initiate. – High Priestess Thea of House Hirch.


“So that’s what this is about!” Tehk exclaimed. He was infuriated. “I wouldn't sign up for that. This is ridiculous.”

“What if this is the occupation you’re grandfather chose for you,” Rashem countered.

Tehk contemplated that for a moment. That was entirely possible. “So is this what I am?”

“No. That is what you were, and that life has died. You need to decide what you are, and you have to do it soon. It is all you have to do.”

Tehk didn’t understand. He wrote off the comments as more of Rashem’s crackpot antics.

Lara stood up and said, “I don’t think that’s why I’m here. It just feels…wrong.”

Rashem ignored her, “Tehk, it is up to you to defeat the creature. You can be a hero and do something, or be a victim and do nothing. If you decide you are the latter, others will suffer needlessly.” He walked outside. “They will meet pointless ends, not in concurrence with the path.” Tehk stood up. Rashem turned to face him from beyond the doorway, “Use the tools I have given you.” He walked out of sight.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Tehk chased after him. Two bounds and he was outside. Rashem was no where to be seen. “How’d he do that? Why’d he do that? Nothing in this place makes any sense!” Tehk let his frustration get the better of him. He came back inside and sat at his chair, sulking. Repressed memories came flooding back. All his life he’d been deserted by the people who were closest to him. His father was always working in his study. His mother led a life of leisure and left Tehk to raised by the servants. His cousins looked down upon him. He just didn’t seem to fit in with them. He wasn’t like them. Tehk didn’t have ambition. His efforts weren’t fueled by jealousy. He was slow to anger. Negative emotions just weren’t a dominant part of his personality.

Only his grandfather understood him. He was the only one Tehk could talk to, and share his feelings with. Tehk understood why his grandfather sent him to the acolytes. Tehk was not as quick with numbers as the rest of his family. He didn’t like to cheat people or trick them into making bad deals. He abhorred fighting, whether it was physical or verbal. He wouldn’t make a good soldier or politician. What Tehk had was idealism. Jar Adrana saw that his ability to stand by his principles would serve him well in life, and the such a life could only be occupied with religion. It was because of this, and Tehk’s loyalty to his family that Jar Adrana entrusted him with a mission to report on certain goings on of the Acolytes. Remembering his grandfather gave him hope.

Though Tehk still couldn’t remember anything that happened after his grandfather’s funeral. Lara sat next to him. Even though they weren’t aimed at her she decided to take Rashem’s words to heart. For once she was going to be the one consoling somebody instead of being the one consoled, “Hey, we can figure this out. We’ve made it this far. You tangled with that thing twice, and you came out with barely a scratch both times.” She thought that was weird but didn’t comment on it further. Rather she said, “Why don’t you see what else is in that book?”

Tehk looked up. “Yeah. That’s probably a good idea.” He picked it up off the table and flipped through the pages. One of them had an illustration. It was a picture of the monster. “Look at this!”

Spoiler :
84777.jpg


Lara saw from where she was sitting, “I don’t want a closer look. Read what they say about it.”

Tehk read the passage in the journal next to the picture, “This creature has been dubbed a ‘Visage.’ It is conniving demon from hell between spaces. The slave experiments generated what some scholars are dubbing ‘negative energy.’ This energy has reached such levels that it was weakening the borders that separate realities. We tried to stop it. I devised a plan to repair the damage, albeit not without danger. With the time we had left before the boundaries grew to weak, Lord Malus sent us an item that would serve as the focus of a ritual –“

Lara flashed. She and Sa’ir were running. The experiments were over and the guards had come to dispose of all the slaves. In the morning before waking the guards crept into each of the huts and were killing slaves in their sleep. When Lara awoke she saw a blade being raised high above her head. She jumped out of her bed just as it came down on where her next had been. The sword got caught in the bed, and Lara ran out of the hut. She made it out to the dirt road and saw her brother – Sa’ir was her brother! He grabbed by the hand and started running away from the town. “Come on! We have to stop them. Their trying to summon a demon. They may kill us all, but we can’t let them get away with bringing a monster to the ‘Als. We have too many, already.”

Screams came from all around them as the slaves who were awake realized what the guards intended to do to them. “Don’t look back! We can’t help them!” Sa’ir yelled. “We’re almost there!”

Four scholars we’re standing at various points of a geometrical pattern dug into the grounds. The one in the center was chanting unintelligible words. He stood on a vivid blue stone. The others each swung a smoking brazier from one hand and carried a lit black candle in the other. A ball of crackling energy was expanding above them. “We’re too late!” Lara cried. Sa’ir said, “We have to try.” He let go of Lara and charged them. She did the same.

“– to close the portal and seal it forever. This focus was called a Touchstone. It would help to indicate where the boundaries were at their weakest, and with the right spell could break through the boundaries. Once the portal opened we were to conduct a ritual using the portal that would seal it forever. The boundaries would have been repaired, but the ritual was interrupted –“

“Oh, no,” Lara whispered.

The memories kept coming. Sa’ir tackled the one on the stone to the ground. He began punching him repeatedly. Lara jumped on the back of the scholar closest to her. She grabbed his face, searching for the eyes. Her fingers found them and she squeezed. Just then the ball of energy exploded into a circle of electricity, at least 20 feet in diameter. The winds picked up as the two atmospheres collided, creating a temporary sandstorm. A red mass of shimmering cloth descended upon them.

The blue stone Sa’ir and the scholar were wrestling on glowed bright. A burst of blue light emanated from it. When it reached the light reached the portal it shrank down to nothing.

The Visage was delighted with its new playground. It brought a golden claw down upon Sa’ir, and descended upon him. Lara let go of the scholar she was attacking and ran after her brother. When she got over there she couldn’t believe her eyes. The scholar lay in the sand unconscious. Sa’ir was still fighting…himself? There were two Sa’irs. The Sa’ir on the bottom kicked the one on top in the groin. Stunned by the pain he fell into the sand. The Sa’ir that was standing grabbed the one gasping for air in a headlock, and choked him until he went limp. He walked over to his sister and said, “We did it.”

Lara couldn’t comprehend what was going on so when Sa’ir grabbed her by the hand and ran, she ran with him. Behind them troops were pouring out of the huts to see what happened. They made it to the site of the ritual, and after a few minutes there was a horde of ‘Als spear militia chasing Lara and Sa’ir.

“We just have to make it over that dune. Then we can lose them.” Sa’ir said desperately.

“How?”

“You’ll see.”

When they made it over the other side of the dune Lara realized the guards wouldn’t be able to see them. Sa’ir turned to her and said, “Dig.” The two of them got on their knees and dug as deep a pit as they could with their hands in the few moments that they had. Sa’ir said, “Get in.”

Lara responded, “What about you?”

“No time get in!” She lied down in the pit and Sa’ir covered her with sand, leaving her a small air hole. He got up and started running away from where Lara was hiding. She could hear his footsteps. He must have only made it a few feet before the guards caught up with him and took him down. Then she heard the creature’s roar and a battle commencing. Lara was petrified. A long time passed where only the sound of battle could be heard. It could have been a few hours or a few minutes. Then silence…then footsteps. Lara heard someone coming towards her. To her relief, it was her brother digging her up.

Two guards grabbed her by the arms and dragged her out of the sand. She screamed, “No! No! Let go of me! Sa’ir, Sa’ir! Help me! Why did you betray me?”

“– The goals of this creature are strange. It seeks to kill and assume the identity of its victims. Those slain by the Visage rise again as one of their kind,” Tehk finished.

All Lara could say was, “Oh, no…”


Spoiler :
“So you’re telling me you’re brother was the Visage?” Tehk asked. Lara had gone into a state of shock. Tehk hoped if she kept talking she would be ok. He got her to tell him everything she remembered.

“I’m not sure. I don’t know which one I ran away from the guards with, and I don’t know which one dug me up. Or even why either of them would.”

“Like you said, I’m sure we’ll figure it out. We need to find that touchstone.”

“It could be anywhere. It’s been over two hundred years since the last time I saw it.”

“You said there was a sandstorm.”

“The wind kicked up a lot of sand.”

“So it could still be there.”

“They would have been able to find it.”

“Not if they never killed the creature. It’s worth a shot.”

“Ok, if you think it’s best.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

They got up and left the hut. Lara was in the lead for once. They ran down the road, not wanting to be easy prey for the Visage. They made it to the edge of town and beyond it they could see a man standing in the middle of the road, with the Visage floating next to him. They stopped dead in their tracks. The man in the distance wore dark robes with metallic filigree and a red fez on his head. It was the scholar Tehk had seen earlier. A vivid blue rock glowed beneath his feet. He stepped off the stone and walked over to where Tehk and Lara were, closing the distance until he stood only ten feet away from them. The Visage followed him – it had no face; just a white oval skull with lidless demonic eyes and a row of sharp teeth.

Between the parties a rogue shred of tapestry tumbled in the wind. “Ah, Lara. A pleasure to see you again, my dear. Do you not find this show we put on tiresome?” The scholar spoke these words as if speaking to an old friend. All Lara could do was stutter. Tehk’s jaw dropped. The scholar went on, “Oh, yes. You don’t remember anything. Quite right. It has been a while since we’ve done this. So let’s see. What happens next? I’m supposed to say something…you’ll never get your hands on the touchstone. No that isn’t right.”

Tehk spoke up, his anger building, “Is this a game to you? You’ve been toying with people’s lives!”

The scholar chuckled. “If I’ve been toying with you then it must be some kind of game, isn’t it?” He stroked his black goatee, deep in thought. “Hmmm. You’ll have to get the touchstone over my dead body. Ah, that’s it. It’s so annoying to find that I’m the only one here who perceives the irony of it all.”

“What are you talking about? How do you know Lara?”

“We’ve lived here for many years. One hundred seventy six to be exact.”

Lara brought emotions temporarily under control, “How is that possible?”

“Well, I say live but not in the literal sense of the term. To be more accurate I should say we died here one hundred seventy six years ago. Sorry again for killing you, by the way,” the scholar said nonchalantly.

“What!?” Lara and Tehk said in unison. Tehk said, “What are you talking about? How can Lara be dead if she’s standing right…” Tehk cut short what he was going to say after he had motioned to put his hand on Lara’s shoulder. His hand went right through her.

“No! No! Let go of me! Sa’ir, Sa’ir! Help me! Why did you betray me?” Lara remembered what happened next. The scholar with the black goatee was standing there, holding the touchstone. Congratulations, Sa’ir. You’ve held up your end of the bargain. We shall not destroy you, only bind you here with the other one,” the scholar said this with a sneer.

“What about my sister?” Sa’ir asked tentatively.

“As for that, I received strict instructions that there should be no witnesses and no survivors. All apologies for the deception. Kill her.”

“NOOOOOOO!”

Before Sa’ir could reach his sister one of the guards holding her unsheathed a dagger and plunged it into Lara’s side. A tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at her brother one final time.

While Lara stood there with a blank look on her face Tehk looked at her, his heart full of sorrow. What a terrible way for one’s life to end. The fact that it all made sense made Tehk even sadder. She never made a sound. She never touched or picked up anything. She had no scent. Tehk was seduced by the normality of being around a person without feeling the urge to eat them.

“I’m forgetting something,” the scholar interrupted the clearly emotional scene, “Oh, right!” He snapped his fingers and the Visage glided forward.

“AHHHH!” Tehk cried out as his back was raked once again. This attack didn’t come from the Visage in front of him. Tehk turned. He saw a tall man of ‘Als descent and a rugged build. He also wore the sackcloth of a slave. This must be Sa’ir. The misery on his face was almost enough to make Tehk weep if not for the searing claw marks in his back. Tehk tackled Sa’ir and sunk his teeth into Sa’ir’s shoulder. Lara’s brother didn’t let out so much as grunt.

They tusseled on the ground. Sa’ir dug his claws into Tehk, and threw him off of his body. Tehk flew several feet. Part of Sa’ir’s shoulder went with him. As Tehk lay in the sand he saw Sa’ir’s shoulder heal instantly. Having no time to think, Tehk immediately rolled over. The Visage still in it’s natural form clawed at the space where Tehk had once been.

He looked at the two creatures. Still both in his field of vision, they slowly circled around him. Tehk couldn’t fight one of them, let alone both. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of blue light emanating for stone. He made a run for it.

The other two combatants gave chase. Tehk ran the several yards towards the stone. Nearly there, Sa’ir leapt in the air coming landing feet first on top of Tehk. He went down hard getting the wind knocked out of him. Sa’ir pinned him. All Tehk could do was snap at Sa’ir face, but he made sure to keep enough distance between him and Tehk’s jaws. The other Visage floated over to them coming to a halt at Tehk’s head. It slowly drew back one claw, preparing to deliver the coup de grah. Tehk closed his eyes.

The end never came. Tehk opened his eyes. He could see Sa’ir looking up at the other Visage. Tehk looked in that direction as well. Lara was standing above him holding the other Visage’s large claw in her two hands, or would have been if she was corporeal. She was looking it in the eyes, “Don’t do this Sa’ir. You’re not a monster at heart, no matter what how your body has changed. You can still be my brother.”

The Sa’ir pinning Tehk, growled and raised its claw to deliver the killing blow himself. The other Visage – the real Sa’ir – intervened grabbing his impersonator’s arm. He then pulled his arm which dragged the imposter up into the air then suddenly yanked it down. The fake Sa’ir went crashing into the ground. Lara said, “Tehk, get the stone. Hurry.” Tehk leapt up and bounded over to it. He stood over it for a second, taking in its beauty. In the next he grabbed it. It began glowing intensely. Tehk held it high over his head, wound his eyes up tight and turned his head down towards the ground hoping that this wouldn’t end up blinding him.

A ball of cracking energy appeared at least thirty feet high in the sky. It expanded rapidly into a circular band of electricity, its center a portal to another plane. The light dimmed. Tehk opened his eyes. He looked up and was scarred for life by what he saw. Above him was another sky. This sky led to another ground…a desert ground of burning red sand. On it demons of several varieties battled each other. Tearing limbs from each other. Murdering each other. Doing unspeakable things to each other. Tehk looked away as fast as he could, straining a neck muscle in doing so. He’d opened a portal to hell.

The real Sa’ir dragged the fake over to it through the air. Not stopping his momentum he spun around several times at lightning speed and let the impostor go flying into Camulos’ Vault. He took one last loving look at his sister and flew in after him. Lara screamed. Tehk tried to throw the touchstone away before Sa’ir could enter. He was too late. Sa’ir was gone.

Lara stood there dumbfounded. Tehk went over to her. She was crying hysterically, “Why? Why did he do that? Why? We could have finally been together. We’d have been a family again!”

Tehk said, “You were. I mean, you got to be. One last time.”

There was no consoling her this time. She cried and cried. Tehk didn’t even try to hold her, knowing what would happen. The scholar glanced over at them, replaying the situation that played out before him in his mind. He said, “Huh, that’s new,” and faded away.

Lara twitched. Tehk took a step back. She shook again. “Lara?” She didn’t answer him. “Lara, what’s happening?” Her whole body broke out in convulsions. She fell, shaking and writhing on the ground. Then it stopped. Tehk went to her side. Tears started welling up in his eyes. “Lara, talk to me,” he said weakly.

Her eyes opened. She screamed, “No! No! Let go of me! Sa’ir, Sa’ir! Help me! Why did you betray me?” Lara was staring off into the sky, not even realizing Tehk was there. Then she simply faded away.

Despite the tears that wouldn’t cease to roll downs his cheeks, Tehk was emotionally and physically drained. He let himself fall to the ground. Rashem’s voice seemed to be whispering in his ear, “What are you Tehk? The hero or the victim. It’s up to you, all you have to do is decide.” This was his last thought before a deep sleep took him.
 
Spoiler :
Thea was kneeling at a small shrine to Kanna in her private quarters at Conclave. She was putting her robes back on, having just finished the daily ritual of self-flagellation.

“If only I wasn’t a ghost…what fun we’d have.” Rashem said this with a smile on his face.

“Stop doing that! If it happens one more time I’ll have the touchstone brought here and send you to Camulos’ Vault myself.”

“You’re even prettier when you’re angry,” he said slyly.

Thea restrained a blush. No matter how charming he was, she was beyond such childish reactions. “Did the Initiate perform adequately?”

“Don’t talk about him like you don’t know his name. You know perfectly well who he is.”

Thea let out a sigh, “Did Tehk pass the test? What an awful name, though not surprising being the grandson of a man name Jar.”

“With flying colors. Actually, he did even better than that. While he didn’t seem to have been too learned of Kanna’s teachings, that really could have been just a by-product of the mind wipe. You really need to fine tune that spell. You’re getting different results every–”

“You’re rambling.”

“Tehk saved the day. He followed the trail of clues – which wasn’t too hard. You should work on this a little more. If it was any easier even the slaves could get–”

“Rashem.”

“Okay. Relax. You’re too uptight. If only you could devise a spell to make me corporeal. I learned the best massage technique from this one Sister of Sirona back in–”

“Rashem!”

“Right. Tehk did something no one who passed through those training grounds has done before; succeeding in way none of the others ever could.”

“Which was?”

“He showed compassion.”

“You mean weakness.”

“No. I mean compassion. The two aren’t the same, despite you’re jaded views. It was only because he showed the girl compassion that he was able to defeat both of the Visages and send them to hell. Even if it was indirectly.”

She sighed, “He did that? Looks like we’re going to have to find new training grounds.”

“You know, the only teachings of Kanna that exclude things like compassion and other virtues you call weakness are the ones you made up. You can find all of those traits exemplified as prized qualities to have in the original Kannistic Scrolls.”

“I will not be lectured on my religion by the ghost of an incompetent assassin.”

“You don’t have to get nasty.”

“I’ll make sure that his compassion is the first thing I stamp out of him.”

“Well, it’s your cult. Now how about our deal?”

“What about it?”

“I’ve done exactly as you asked, and ran all of them through that playground you call training. Where’s my reward? You said you’d release me, and make sure my spirit made its way to Arawn. There was a reason I didn’t stick around for the climax of that little party. I didn’t want to move into Camulos’ place then, and I still don’t now.”

“Have we already trained a hundred of them? Lord Malus sent me instructions recently that our quota has been raised. If you don’t want to go to Camulos’ Vault, I presume you will simply have to stay with us until I say you’re task is finished.”

“You could force me to stick around. I suspected you would, but since I don’t have any other choice I guess I’ll just have to keep haunting – I mean spending more time with you. I’ll be around. Especially when you don’t want me to be.” He turned and walked off into nothingness.

Thea considered for a brief moment fulfilling her end of the bargain. It would make life here so much more pleasant. On the other hand she’d probably have to spend eternity with Rashem in one of the more unpleasant Vaults if she defied Lord Malus. Having finished dressing in her full clerical regalia, she exited her quarters and went to meet the rest of the Conclave.


Spoiler :
Two figures appeared on the distant horizon. If anyone was looking they would have noticed the figures were two men who wore red robes saddled on horses. The acolyte Marek rode his horse out to the abandoned town along with his newly assigned partner, Initiate Aiden. Marek turned to look at him. Aiden was a scrawny excuse for an offspring of the nobility. The standard set of tattoos denoting a member of the Acolytes of Agony were usually an impressive sight to see on other acolytes. On Aiden they seemed to heighten his lacking features. Marek himself was a well-muscled older man with graying hair. The Initiate almost fell off his horse. He was still getting the hang of riding. Marek said to him,“When we get there, follow my lead. And don’t do anything unless I tell you.”

“Why?” Aiden asked

“Haven’t they beaten that pesky curiosity out of you yet?”

“No,” he responded defiantly.

“Are you going to make me do it?” Marek gave him a steely look.

Aiden, not wanting to test the limits of Marek’s patience replied, “No.”

“Good.” They rode on to a spot just outside the town, stopping several feet away from a boy lying face down in the ground. “Ok. He looks like he’s asleep. Ride along his other side, and clamp one end of the chain to around your horse.” Mark did the same as he told Aiden to do. “Now chain his arms to each end.”

“Why do I have to do it?”

“Because I told you to.” Marek dropped his hand to his throwing knives.

Aiden got off his horse, and chained the boy’s hand. Each armed was chained to each horse. “Now what?”

“Put this muzzle on, and be careful not to wake him.”

“Why should I care about that?”

“Because the initiate assigned to this duty with me didn’t. That’s why I needed a new partner.” Aiden did as he was instructed. Marek said, “Good.” He unfastened his horses saddlebags. Inside them were enough chains for twenty men. “Put all of these on him.”

“Are you kidding me?”

In the blink of an eye Marek one of his throwing knives. It landed right next to Aiden’s pinky toe. “Whoa! No need to get violent!”

“Just do it.”

While chaining the kid up, Aiden threw a sideways glance at Marek. “You know, that was pretty close. You’re pretty good with those knives. How often do you practice?”

Marek still in the saddle, leaned towards Aiden and taunted him with a menacing whisper, “I don’t…I missed.”


Spoiler :
They dragged him in by his chains. Tehk was a mere boy, barely a man. He was crying as the two acolytes half-carried him into the conclave. He was drained by exhaustion, yet it did not keep him from screaming out his burning question between sobs, “WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS TO ME? WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS TO ME?” He repeated these words over and over again through the clay muzzle fitted over his mouth, desperately hoping for an answer that would soothe his madness. The tattooed acolytes at his sides dragged him along as if he were an inanimate object, and pretended that they didn’t notice any of his cries at all. They dragged him across the rough, sandstone floor of the spacious cavern scraping Tehk’s shins as they went, but pain didn’t matter to him anymore.

High Priestess Thea of House Hirch sat in her lofty seat carved from an immense stone stalagmite. The ever receding rays of light crept into the cave from the setting sun. They lit her features in a dim glow. No emotion showed on her deceivingly delicate features. Surrounding her was the Conclave of the Acolytes of Agony. They each sat in the highly ornate seats carved from stalagmites, but all were a foot lower than hers signifying that the High Priestess was their leader.

The stalagmite thrones were spread a few feet apart forming a semi-circle open to the distant end of the cave. Tehk noticed amidst sobs that the other members looked at her. The priestess met each of their gazes in turn. Their faces conveyed worry. About what he couldn’t be sure. The only thing he could be sure of was that the smug smile on the High Priestess’ features did not bode well for him.

The two acolytes dragging Tehk finally made their way to the conclave. They threw him in the middle of their semi-circle, then retreated into the shadows. Landing with a loud grunt, Tehk looked up at the leaders of the Acolytes of Agony in their towering seats of power. He felt fear more than any of his other numerous and distraught emotions. He summoned the strength to ask his pressing question one last time, “Why have you done this to me? Why did you put me through that?” His voice beared the quality of defeat, and he awaited an answer.

High Priestess Thea responded, “Because you, Tehk Adrana, are weak.” Uncomprehending, Tehk gave her a quizzical look. “That is why you’re grandfather promised you to us before he met his…unexpected end,” Thea mocked him. Tehk understood from that phrase that she must have had something to do with his grandfather’s death. It infuriated him.

The High Priestess continued, “He knew that the weakness of your house ran doubly in you. He gave you to us to so you could serve as a spy in our midst, and he knew you would be found out.” She descended down the steps carved into her chair, coming closer to Tehk as he lay on the ground. “Tomorrow, when you were scheduled to send a raven back to him, we would have discovered it and ignominiously killed you.” Tehk was shocked they knew what his grandfather told him to do. How did they find out?

A smile crept onto his antagonist’s face. She looked away from Tehk and paced around him, “Your grandfather, who had the ear of the Dread Emperor, would have then went to his royal highness claiming we murdered you out of jealousy and spite. Lord Malus would then have no choice upon seeing your body but to punish those who broke his sacred laws. Unable to prove your betrayal of us, the leadership of the Acolytes of Agony would have been given over to House Adrana. Your grandfather put you on the sacrificial altar for the sake of more power.” She walked right up to Tehk, bent low and looked him in the eye. “He betrayed you.”

The glimmer of anger inside Tehk welled up into a fountain of rage. He yelled out, “THAT’S NOT TRUE!” He struggled to climb to his knees. No! His grandfather wouldn’t do that to him. He couldn’t. Could he? ‘NO!’ The thought shouted down any doubts in his mind. It didn’t matter what really happened. Tehk believed his grandfather wouldn’t betray him like that. His whole life Jar Adrana had shown his grandson such patience and kindness that there were jealous whispers among Tehk’s extended family that he was the favorite. Tehk refused to believe that his grandfather was capable of cultivating their relationship over his lifetime just to have him slaughtered for political gain. Especially when his grandfather was the favorite of the emperor. She was lying!

The other members of the conclave stood and slowly descended from their seats. They formed an enclosed circle around Thea and Tehk, beginning a barely audible chant in an ancient tongue. Thea raised her voice as she said, “Tehk Adrana, you are weak. We shall make you strong!”

Tehk was overwhelmed with emotion. He remembered the lizard. The dead couple. All of the bodies. Lara. Rashem. Everything that had happened to him today. “Is that what you call this? Strength? This is not strength. This is a curse!”

Thea countered, “No, you are blessed! Through us you will be sanctified by Kanna herself! You have yet to come into your full power. When this ritual is completed you will never be weak again. You will be reborn!” Thea took her leave of Tehk and exited the circle.

Tehk didn’t want to be reborn. He didn’t want to be strong. He just wanted to be left alone, where he could find his own path and live his own life in peace. Sadly, this was not what fate had in store for him. The priests of Kanna continued chanting, their faces veiled in the darkness of their cowels. They all joined hands. The air inside the circle thickened. It felt denser, heavier. Beneath his chains Tehk was finding it even harder to breathe. The chanting then raised in volume dramatically, it was almost a song. The voices of the Conclave sang loud in a deep base, their words ending in dramatic glottal stops. The air ionized, electricity arced several feet instantly at random points inside the circle. The chanting grew ever louder. The priests separated their hands and and began slowly raising them towards the ceiling of the cavern. Tehk noticed that the area around him grew darker, unnaturally darker, and it was not due to the sun setting for it still hung just above the horizon.

The darkness grew until it encompassed the entire circle, yet Tehk could still see. He watched as the High Priestess walked back towards the circle with her hands behind her back. She made her way between two of the chanters and moved close to Tehk once again. He looked at her, searching her face to find an inkling of what she intended to do. Her face betrayed nothing, but she revealed what she held behind her back. Thea raised her arms into the air with the others, however at the end of her arms her hands held a branding rod that she pointed upwards.

At long last the other priests’ hands reached their zenith, and lightning flew from everywhere in the cavern into the branding rod. It glowed from the energy crackling around it. Then in one swift motion Thea thrust the branding rod into Tehk’s forehead. He screamed as the lightning shot through his body and he felt pain like he had never felt before. Every fiber of his being screamed in agony. The lightning dissipated into the ground. After a moment, Thea withdrew the rod and Tehk was able to catch the symbol at the end of it. A crescent, the first phase of the moon, was now the symbol that marked his forehead forever.

The air returned to normal. The darkness dissapeared. The members of the Conclave seemed to awaken from a trance, and they made their ways back to their seats. Thea was the last to return to her seat, handing the still hot brand to an acolyte that had come to her chair to collect it from her. Once seated she spoke, “You are no longer Tehk of House Adrana. As the moon can not share society with the sun, neither can you share society with the living. You are a creature of the night, among the first of your kind. Go forth and join your brethren.”

Tehk wasn’t listening. The hunger was overwhelming all of his senses, and all of his emotions…except his hatred. For once, he didn’t fight it. He let the anger inside him solidify into molten hate and let it all out. He stood up. The exhaustion was gone. The pain was gone. The stress and horrors of the day forgotten. Tehk flexed his newly enhanced muscles against the tight chains, pouring all of his hate into his strength. One by one cracks started appearing in the links, and after a terrified sharp intake of breath by Thea, the chains broke. In the next moment they fell to the ground. Tehk reached up, grabbing his muzzle. He crushed it with his bare hand. As the pieces fell to the ground the acolytes who had carried him in to the conclave charged him from the shadows.

Charging from Tehk’s left, Aiden reached him first. Tehk turned towards him and moving unnaturally fast grabbed him by an arm and a leg and threw him with all his might. Aiden hit the wall with a sickening crunch. His neck snapped; the body slid to the ground. In the next second Marek had reached Tehk, and he met a much more gruesome fate. The now out-of-control prisoner grabbed the aging acolyte by his right arm and pulled to bring him closer. The arm came off. Smelling blood, Tehk let it fall to the ground and pounced on Marek taking several bites out of the right side of his face. When they hit the ground, only Tehk stood up. Covered in blood, he then turned his attention to Thea. Taking three steps he leapt towards her, claws outstretched…

The foremost of Tehk’s claws was only three inches from her face when a blur intercepted Tehk. They collided in the air and fell to ground. Three more blurs also came out of nowhere and between the four of them they were able to keep Tehk held fast to the floor. Thea let out a long exhale. She wiped the sweat from her brow. The four blurs were men dressed in simple warrior’s garb only wearing the clothes and weapons they needed, which turn out to be breeches, four throwing knives, and a scimitar each. All four warriors lifted Tehk to his feet, but not letting go of him. Tehk was filled with scent of Thea. He felt nothing but the thrill of the hunt, and the frustration of his prey being just out of his reach.

High Priestess Thea continued her preaching, “Your old life is over. You have been changed. No longer will you experience breath. No longer will you no the weariness of age. No longer will you experience the taste of bread, or thirst for drink. You will know hunger for the rest days until your final destruction. You will taste the flesh of our enemies! You will be counted as one among many who serve and die for the Dread Emperor. Henceforth, you shall be counted among your kind…known to all as ‘The First.’”

Tehk’s newfound brother’s let him go. Tehk saw the futility in trying to take her life now. For the moment, he’d play along. He’d even follow orders – sometimes. He knew that one day his moment would come. One day her guard would be down, and no one would be there to save her. Eventually he would have his vengeance. He locked eyes with Thea. Without a word he told her that her day would come. Thea looked on guardedly as Tehk Adrana walked off into the darkness.
 
best line:

"Marek still in the saddle, leaned towards Aiden and taunted him with a menacing whisper, “I don’t…I missed.” "
 
Eekin believe that Baelious will watch over them and take care of them in the afterlife.
In particular, they think that Baelious has a host of warrior maiden angels, the valkyries, who will come fetch the souls of fallen Eekin warriors on the battlefield and retrieve the souls of the shipwrecked sailors. Those who have been faithful all their life but have suffered from misfortune and met an untimely death will be saved by Baelious' servants and brought to His place. There, the fallen Eekin live a prosperous existence, training for battles to come, fishing on sunlit seas in the warmth of Lugus and Baelious' presence.
The Eekin believe that these fallen Eekin will be sent by Baelious to help the faithful, providing courage to the faltering warrior, helping sailors avoid treacherous seas and generally making life easier for the Eekin.
The Cult of Fortune therefore revolves around Baelious himself, bringer of Light and Luck, but alos his angels, the valkyries with whom the Seven seers of the Bough have intimate connections, and the souls of his dead worshippers, who all try to bring good fortune to their living fellows.
 
Lurkers: By the gods, how long did that take you (in hours) :eek:?

Good story anyways :goodjob:
 
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