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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 2:11 pm
This was rather confusing. "They left? More than one? The entire chain of events has not even started yet!" Cyril was deep in reflective thought, this was supposed to be the beginning: right here, in this room, they were supposed to begin their journey unless... "Ivellios... do any of you know of him? He wears a-"
"Mask," Will interrupted. "We have all met Ivellios, and he has spoken to us on a few occassions."
"This is not good. You are also telling my there are other people than the 6 involved? This seems so odd. Then a maximum of two of you are not even apart of the prophecy. Troubling. Well then there is no reason for me to tell you about Ivellios." Cyril was happy. Explaining Ivellios - what he was, where he came from, and why he existed - was often seen as the hardest part, but he was sure they used the library before it was burnt down to read up on him by his other name...
"Well then, allow me to say this group is a rather special one. I will begin where your roles started. With the beginning. The events that are unfolding before your eyes have happened at least once before. I know this because I was there. I was among the six so-called champions who 'defeated' the one they call Ivellios. Of course, our purpose was not so much to defeat him, as it so happened that he interfered with our progress. He was... promptly stopped. We succeeded with ease: our abilities and teamwork allowed us to face any challenge that came our way.
"Like all of you, we were chosen to defeat the Primevals and prevent their awakening. Sadly, it seems that the Primevals are not so easy to kill. They are always reborn, an endless cycle of life...destined to try once again to begin a new era of civilization - which normally doesn't include freedom. Of the six, only two of us survived that time. I am still fufilling my part of the prophecy, her's has been finished long ago... Of course, you know nothing of the prophecy.
"First I might begin to say that this 'prophecy' is written in a mutated Old Draconic. Reading it requires twice the amount of time that it does to actually complete what it says. No one knows what kind of seer or prophet wrote it or why, but it is unmistakeably accurate and set-in stone as fact. What I am about to tell you is only a small fraction of the prophecy. Because, you see, this particular part of the prophecy deals with five of you and you alone."
"The full prophecy encompasses all knowledge of the past, the present and the future. It spans for millions of years, I have never seen an end. This small chunk of the prophecy states that 6 champions will be assembled here, told of their purpose by one person who experienced the adventure last time. Each of the champions serve a role and their purpose etched in its contents.
"The first part speaks of is a person who will not take the challenge. Due to fear, or doubt, I may never know but they simply live out their lives never knowing if they could have helped. From the lack of... two you said? Well from the lack of two people in attendance I can almost safely say it's one of those two. That either means one of you here is not part of the prophecy, or the other that is missing is not.
"Next it speaks of betrayal. I know it all too well. Of the six one will betray the remaining five. It does not say if this will result in someone's death though, I know not only did we slay the betrayer, but she was able to take another with her.
"Then it speaks of two people who have some sort of relationship with each other. Last time for me it was two aquaintances. They are destined to draw swords in combat and fight until only one remains standing.
"Next is the martyr. Bravely, he will give up his own life to serve a higher purpose which no longer exists. Our comrade sacrificed his life to kill the betrayer so that his Lord would be proud of him. As the prophecy dictates, his Lord actually died some days earlier, his ultimate purpose was in vain.
"And finally, the prophecy speaks of one person who will be left with the burden of re-telling the prophecy, and his own tale to the next generation.
"Now the question that I'm sure you all would like answered is what chose each of you? What do all of you have in common? At first, you won't see anything. Some of you may not even be 'good' souls. What ties you all together is being a paragon. For those who do not know, it means that you are all the best of the best. You are currently the strongest beings in existence... except I use that word much too lightly. Rather you can be. Respectively, you are all a glimpse at the perfection your races could have attained.
"There are many lifeforms around that could defeat each of you without even tapping into their inner strength. You will soon be able to tap into an energy source long thought to be destroyed. Sadly you must sacrifice something in return for its power. The power is known as the World Tree, said to give power at a great cost. If you want it bad enough it will grant you unimaginable power at sometimes too large a cost. My lust for power drove me to become a hollow shell of a being. The World Tree is also the place said to hold the soul of the second Primeval."
Cyril took a moment to try and allow for the group to let this information to sink in, and the prospect of power perhaps make them lick their lips. It was then he noticed that at the mention of the World Tree there was no twinkle in their eyes...
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 3:00 pm
He remembered the World Tree all to much. It gave him power, and plenty of it, though he lost alot physically. Not much of a problem for him, the psionics more than made up for it. He also remembered how Soveliss was killed, how they fought Ivellios, the punch. He rubbed his jaw gently. He had survived it thanks to the dorje he had used, but it had hurt alot. But he definitely remembered the world tree.
After a short period of silence and seeing that no one else was speaking up he decided he would. "We've already been there, witnessed it's power. Another who was with us, Soveliss, nearly died because of it. Or rather he did, but he was reborn as a lich shortly afterwards. I used it too, becoming a much more powerful psion... and losing alot of my physical strength in the process."
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Sir Scott le Charles Crew
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 3:15 pm
Raithe looked away from the books scattered on the floor, having scanned the opened pages already. She turned to look at the rest of them, her voice thick with disbelief and sarcasim. "Yah, not that this hasn't been great, but I'm not part of this prophecy. So, I'll just be leaving now, seeing as it has nothing to do with me." And with that, She made for the door.
Ashen closed his eyes and gave a small sigh. He should have seen this coming. Raithe hated the idea of fate and prophecy, much like she hated offices and lectures. He moved to stop her from leaving, trying to think of what he could say that would keep her here. "Raithe," He started, "Wait..."
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:36 pm
"I see, this could pose as a problem. There is little I can say other than there are many ways to earn power... Our group may have only tapped into an obvious source of power... perhaps there are others? I can only relate to things that happened to us and what I have read. The prophecy is often the most difficult thing to translate and understand, half the time it doesn't even describe things in words, sometimes in symbolic paintings of men doing garden work. I of course was also given some basic notes to use when trying to further understand the prophecy."
Cyril also noticed the young girl, it reminded himself of someone not ready to admit that fate was certain. "Raithe was it? should I remind you once you leave this room you may never ask another question of me ever again? No, that wasn't what he really wanted to say, he wanted to be empathetic, he wanted to tell her that this was all a bunch a bullcrap, and fate was not about where a person finished but the journey they took to get there.
"Perhaps I can share one last piece of advice before any of you make a decision. I was once against the idea that fate exists, that our lives are pre-determined, I still am. I'll also have you all know I read most of the information about you and the other two called Matthew and Exodus. This is what all I should tell you of your future. You will die. I won't tell you when, but its a promise I can make to all of you. Death is the only pre-ordaned thing that can come of Life. The choice you're making right now isn't whether or not you want to believe if what I'm telling you is real or fake. You're making the decision about whether you want to stop everything you've ever loved or hated from being destroyed." Cyril sighed, this poor girl, why couldn't anyone understand her? She carried more burdens than anyone of them, and all the world has ever done has judged her.
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Sir Scott le Charles Crew
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:05 pm
Everything he ever loved or hated. What did he love or hate? Both words seemed extreme. He guessed he loved his psionics, he loved knowledge, but hated? Both words were extremes, yet despite that, even if he didn't have dozens of examples for both, Cyril seemed to basically be saying the world as they knew it would be destroyed. Not a pretty thought. And it would affect everyone, everything. No, he liked life, he liked this world. He for one would help to defend it. Besides, he'd be assured to die if he didn't. With the world in place as it was, he could potentially prolong his life at the very least.
Stepping forward slightly he made his decision. He'd fight. Besides he'd come this far, and he'd gained a deal of power, he might as well continue. "I for one will continue. I'll help stop the world from destruction."
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:35 am
Raithe stopped before she reached Ashen or the door, pausing as she listened to what he was saying about fate and the destruction of the world. When he finished explaining, and shadow had spoken his piece, Raithe turned around.
"Hold on," She said, raising one finger to emphasize her words. "Desctruction from what? And why should we have to make this decision? Like you said, everything eventually dies, so why are you trying to make us choose to attempt to prevent it? And if this prophecy is so accurate, then why are you even asking us to fight? You're preaching one thing, but asking something completely different. " Raithe finished heatidly. This was why she hated lectures. They were so confusing and just went around in circles, the point behind it hidden with so many words. It didn't help that she didn't believe most of what was being said.
Ashen shut his eyes tightly again and winced. She was looking for trouble, and probably didn't even realise it. He tried to think of a way to calm her down and make her listen, but he knew it was hopeless for now. She wouldn't listen, because she didn't believe in what she was hearing. Ashen knew better, however. Being a dragon, he knew about the prophecy. He didn't know much about what it said, since he's lived most of his young life amongst humans, but he knew about it. His little knowledge on it wasn't going to help convince his partner about it's truths, however.
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 11:34 am
Oh boy, he was going to regret this, "You think you have it so hard don't you? Living your pitiful meaningless lives, you all think that you have some say in the divine forces? Guess what, all I'm doing is giving you two roads. It's up to you whether or not you want to take them. I won't even begin to try and tell you the complexity of these events. I could tell you how it all ends, I've read it, every word, step and breath you are about to do I know about it. This entire thing is about the destruction of the entire world from entities. Things I can't properly explain to you, and I'm not making you choose if want to stop the destruction because you all will fufill the prophecy. Except one thing it never talks about is if you'll fight untill you're dieing breath. Actually, it never actually says you do anything but what the prophecy says you'll do. You get to decide if the world ends in a bang now, or after the next bunch."
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:30 am
* * * What a disgusting display. Matthew had never been so angry at himself in his entire life. He had heard the young girl named Raithe had grown, to be a rather skilled fighter. Matthew thought it might be nice to go test her, see her skills. He had not seen the girl in over 10 years, and when he looked upon her something went off. She looked so much like 'her'. Something had clicked in Matthew's head and the anguish which lurked inside of him exploded in a form of malice and hate. The gods were playing a cruel joke on him. Matthew had lost control of most of his own thoughts. It scared him.
Luckily they had been able to stop him. Matthew truely doubted they could have stopped him if he had been proper about the whole thing. It was stupid combat, not the kind of refined battle he was used to. He was an assassin, not a fighter. Though that damn bead had really done him in. All he wanted to do was apologize, but the problem was that he was afraid of snapping again. He claled forth his most trusted guard. "Artemis, I want you to find a girl named Raithe. I'll give you her profile in a moment, but ignore the bounty on Eclipse. I have reason to believe those two are travelling together."Artemis nodded his head in approval, if his master willed it, he would be done. "Yes mast...""And for the love of Pelor, stop calling me master, my name is Matthew, Artemis." Matthew smiled, the poor boy had always lived a life of servitude to his previous 'owners'. Matthew didn't liked to term Artemis had given his superiors. Matthew treated Artemis no differently than he treated anybody else... except it seemed for certain people.* * *
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:54 pm
Taking an aggressive step forward, Raithe opened her mouth to say something, but Ashen quickly moved behind her and covered her mouth with his hand. Raithe tried to pull him off, but he again held her in such a way that it was hard for her to get enough force to move him. Her voice was muffled and what she said was unclear, but her tone was unquestionably furious.
"Ashen looked up at Cyril, an apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry, she'll be quiet from now on. Please continue." He said to him before whispering into Raithe's ear, "This is important, even if it doesn't seem like it is. So, if you behave, I'll let you have something from the special stash."
Raithe instantly went qiuet. The "special stash" Ashen refered to was a part of his hoard that he had accu,ilated when he was on his own. It was full of rare and expensive wonders, and Ashen had given her a couple of things already, as gifts for different occasions. However, he didn't give away such things lightly, especially being a dragon, nor did he often bribe her, or stop her from doing something. Deciding that he must really want to hear what was being said, and that she shouldn't pass up an opportunity for easy treasure, Raithe nodded silently, not saying a word as Ashen pulled away.
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 6:28 pm
"I think you've made your point Cyril. Is this all you have to tell us?" William was rather concerned, if this guy talked to the wrong people, this could get dangerous.
"Actually I have spoken all that I have been told to speak of. Any questions you may have, can now be directed at me. Otherwise, you know of what lies ahead, and be aware of its coming. You may leave." This was soon to be his dieing moments....
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Sir Scott le Charles Crew
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 4:53 pm
And now was the time he could find out what the historian couldn't tell him, an even more in-depth answer really. "We can ask you anything I presume? What do you know of me. Especially focusing on what do you know of my future? Maybe not exact events, but just, what you know of me really." Question out there Shadow hoped the answer wasn't something that would be bad to know. But then again worst case scenario he could manifest a mind blank on himself, hopefully that wouldn't be necessary though.
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Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:57 pm
Cyril nodded, any question they asked could be answered, but he wasn't the one to decide if the answers were all themselves good ones. "I know many things of you, your past, present and future. Though I ask you this, if I do tell you you're future, what makes you think it will be correct? Or that you can ever stop it from happening? I will divulge a few things... you might be going to a funeral soon... You will face that which you fear most, and I don't think I'll tell you much more. Whether or not you're life ends there, I cannot say."
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Sir Scott le Charles Crew
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Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:17 pm
He wondered whos funeral he'd go to, but the next part sent a shiver up his spine, his mind flying back to that fateful night, the messed up heist, and what came next... Immediately pushing that from his mind Shadow shook his head, he'd deal with those as they came.
Sighing he spoke. "Actually it's probably for the best, you not telling me much. Either way I'd likely end up trying either to hard to attain it or trying to change it. Not the best course of action. But I have two more questions myself, then I'll leave the others to ask their questions. One, what do you know of the eventual fate of the psions. And two, I want to know about worms that walk. Weaknesses, how to become them, their strengths, how to kill them, etcetera."
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Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:32 pm
The responses came in reverse order. "Worms that walk..." One of magic's more bittersweet aspects. "The product of a high-calibre magic user who's died with a mind brimming with spells. Normally, it happens only by accident. A chance gathering of thousands of maggots and worms and other vermin. It can, however, be made more likely by drenching the soil with blood and sowing it with raw meat for a year and a day prior to the burial. Even so, it's not incredibly likely." Cyril droned off a bit, drawing to the forefront of his mind the information to relay next.
"Their strengths should be obvious. Fully morphic - the worm in question can shift his 'body' to become any shape he should so desire. Furthermore, as long as at least one vermin containing that consciousness is left alive, they can survive. Reproduce. Live." Cyril paused again, this time to allow the information to sink in. "Weaknesses? I hope for your sake, you're not trying to kill one. Worms that Walk have no real weakness, other than to walk among the living is no longer an option for them.
"Now, you ask about the psions? Yes, I touched on that a few times in my reading. As much as I would hate to tell you, the psions aren't destined to achieve even a glimpse of the former glory they once held. If anything, they'll crumble even further."
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The Twilight Rose Vice Captain
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Sir Scott le Charles Crew
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Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:39 pm
"So to kill him I would have to find my own way, maybe an ectoplasm wall and dimension anchor... And psions will fall further? To be expected I guess, we are a dying breed. I will try to change that though, and with luck I'll suceed, but I'm done questioning you." Moving to a bookshelf Shadow simply sat against it, he'd wait for the others to be done before leaving.
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