The One

[Guest Sydney]

(occ: This thread does indicate that there is another continent out there not yet discovered.(If this is not ok then just let me know and I will delete the thread.)

 

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With a heavy heart Elias turned from the others, retreating from the tavern bar to a nearby table. With trembling hands he brought the frothy mug of ale to his lips. His head was thundering with questions that needed to be answered. With bleary eyes he scanned the travelers around the tavern. Part of his quest was done. He had made it to Isla Prima; weary from his months of travels. He had no idea where to go from here. The scrolls had not defined exactly where in Seridia he needed to be. But he knew his duty to the High Counsil. He had been training for this day for as long as he could remember.

Struggling to mute the conversation around him Elias stared intently into his mug remembering home. From a young lad ,to the man of twenty he now was; the High Council had forced the history of his people down his throat. His quest was at hand. He knew he had to find and protect the "One". It was a destiny the gods had bestowed upon him generations ago.

Elias drained the mug ale to the last drop doubting the reasons for his being there. There were others more suited for the task, but alas it was he who had been selected. The " One" must not come to any harm and he, Elias must not fail in finding him. It was his sole purpose in life now to see it through the end.

A lump formed in his throat as his musings continued. He longed to order another drink and had almost been tempted when the tavern wench made her rounds. He needed a clear head about him. Sleep would be rare indeed until .....he sighed unable to continue on that line of thought.

His fateful quest was a large cross to bear he knew this, but it was his to bear. Elias let his red-rimmed eyes of the purest blue wander from person to person in the tavern. He wouldn't have minded sharing his cross with someone else, but he dared ask no one.

These patrons....these citizens of Seridia had no idea of his people's existence. Long ago something had separated the continents far and wide. Theirs had drifted the farthest from what the elders of his land could tell. The land was one of peace until unknown deities and gods invaded.

Many of his people believed the stories of one continent to have been a myth. With the evil now ruling their lands, and with the torment they lived with on a daily basis, doubt had begun to set in. Some had even joined forces with the evil believing themselves to be safe. The battles had plagued them all in some way or another. Pitting brother against brother, guild against guild, species against species. His own homeland shrouded in mysterious magic both good and evil.

The ancient scrolls told a story of a goddess who had lived among the guilds of his homeland. Keeping their harvest plentiful, their pockets lined with gold, and peace among them all. When invasion of these unknown gods ensued the goddess, fearing for herself, fled into the darkened forests. Away from her palace her powers weakened. Her brother, in leige with a powerful evil, stormed her palace and wreaked havoc amongst the lands. He surrounded the continent, as it was now disconnected from the mainland , with a magic to keep the land hidden. But most of all he sought the goddess wishing her dead.

According to the scrolls the goddess appeared one last time before the splitting of the continents to a mage of some considerable years , urging her to spread this message to all of the guildsman..."I will give up my spirit today, but oneday I will be reborn. My spirit will lie dormant in the womb of a woman to be born one day into the world of the humans. This babe will possess my spirit. Raise a guild to protect the babe. Keep it safe and secret. There will be those who wish to keep this child from being born. But be born it must or forever this land will be lost..... What I have said so it shall be". There was more to the scroll, but Elias could not conjur it to memory.

No one could come...only go. Elias knew if he ever wanted to return to his home he had to finish this task. It was the only way to unlock the magic that held his home captive. And the one who possessed the spirit of the goddess was somewhere on this continent.

Only a select few still believed the other continents were out there. Only a select few still believed what the mage had predicted years ago. These few were called the Guardians; and it was from this long line that Elias had been born. More than once he had thrown his fist into the air and cursed the destiny given to him. More than once had he been tempted to throw the ancient scrolls into the fire, to walk away and never look back. The boy in him caused him to think this way. The warrior in him caused him to stay. To believe in every word.

And now... here he was. Sitting inside a tavern on the very continent thought by many of his people to be folklore. A legend whispered about in the taverns and around campfires to shield them from their reality. He chuckled to himself. If they could see him now, ey? Elias lifted his empty mug in a mock salute to those he had left behind. With a wistful heart he searched the room again.

No, he could ask no one to go with him. He could ask no one to share his burden. They would not understand. Pushing away from the table he pressed coins into the tavern wench's hand. He whispered a thank you for the reprieve as he walked out of the door. Elias paused just outside the tavern looking into the clear island sky. His breath escaping in thick clouds from his mouth as he sighed. This place was beautiful. He could not believe he had finally made it to the place that could possibly end the evil. Would his people's plight finally come to an end? Only time would tell.

(ooc: The nest posts need not be as long. I was setting up background to the thread. Anyone welcome)

Edited October 31, 2006 by Sydney

[Guest Sydney]

Elias let his cloak fall behind him in the cool island breeze as he pondered his own questions, and walked back toward the boat he had safely hidden. There was no need for anonymity here in this place. Emotions recoiled inside of him as the ale he drank tried to reappear. He knew he could relax only a little even in this place where no one knew of his true origin.

The elders had warned him of the evil lurking here. The monsters walking freely as they were at home. Though not totally at risk he still could not use his guild's name. Here he would be known simply as Elias. The talsman he wore around his neck that bore his guilds symbol was securely tucked beneath his woolen shirt. The "Guardians" tattoo safely hidden beneath the tresses of jet black hair.

He would take no chances of being discovered. Elias despised it all. Groaning inwardly as the ale once again fought against him he made short distance from the tavern to his hiding place. He quickly looked his posessions over to make sure nothing was missing before sitting beside his own campfire; scrolls in hand. He had discovered nothing useful from the tavern patronage. A few gossip tidbits about people he knew not. An invasion of sorts a few nights previously. None of that mattered to him. Not at that moment at least.

A crude map of Seridia poorly made by an elder from an ever poorer memory lay before him. He had to plan his journey wisely. He knew not this land and all the evil things it held. The elders lack of memory caused a shiver to run the length of his spine. Elias was no coward; he was, however, alone on a strange land, alone on a quest he could not fail. He fingered the talsman loosely sending a silent prayer to the gods of this place and to the gods of his homeland.

So intent on his prayer and his map, Elias had not noticed the fog rolling in off the water beyond him. A chill swept the air around him and his campfire flickered angrily. He looked about him quickly silently praying once again. " I have felt a presence, but cannot determine if friend or foe. If foe this early in my journey it bodes not well for my future. Protect me."

He cast a sideways glance around him gathering the scrolls as he looked for the presence his pulse was telling him was getting closer. The elders had told him to expect evil from the dark castle to follow him. They too sought the "One". The soliders of the dark castle would stop short of nothing to find it first. The talsman began to quiver indicating the presence was getting stronger. Elias stood slowly from the fire drawing his sword as he did. His kneehigh boot clad feet locked in a battle stance. His quest would not end before it truly began....not without a fight.

"Show yourself so that you may meet my sword." His voice was strong and laced with emotion. He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. So quickly in the journey and already he was having to protect himself. Though the air around him was cold, beads of presperation formed along his brow. He dared not move to wipe them for fear of missing something vital to his survival. As quickly as the fog rolled in, it moved beyond him into the Isla Prima night. The evil from his homeland had indeed arrived. It was now imperative to move from this enbankment. He had no time to think things through. He was here now in Seridia and he must do what he came to do.

Quickly gathering his things into his shoulder pack he moved into the center of town. He walked in silence though his mind was loud with thoughts. It was a powerful force he had felt and Elias was sure it would only get worse from here on out. He had a lot of ground to travel and no idea where to begin. Inwardly he questioned himself.

"What if I don't find you in time?"

"What if they find you first?"

"Where are you?""Who are you?"

These questions and more raced inside his head clogging his rationality with malignant emotion. Shaking his head to clear his mind Elias stopped his brooding. It was doing him no good and it was causing his mood to sour. His only concern right now was to make it back to the tavern and get a room for the night. Tomorrow it would begin, and in this world where he knew no one...everyone was a threat.

[Zelse]

Zelse was in a good humored mood, well in a cruel and teasing kind of way. A way in which a being must first expierence in order to understand. The Clik-Kluc Tribe of the Brownies in Isla Prima had taken a weak newcomer hostage deep in the island woods and were about to roast him when Zelse -in the nick of time- arrived and easily fought the Clik-Kluc Tribe away, if you consider swinging a quarterstaff left and right on bewildered demi-humans a 'fight'. Anyways, Zelse untied the would-be bonapatite, healed him and cruelly made fun of him for being caught by a very weak 'almighty' tribe. It was getting dark and the young man that was saved by Zelse dreaded each step and minute he took with Zelse. Soon a dark fog quickly surrounded the area. Zelse's mood soon changed to one of urgetn seriousness, "Let us get to the campfire quickly my friend." said Zelse in almost a whisper. Being a mage, a White mage at that, he felt the strong magic presence by the fog and knew that it did not belong on the Island. When he and his rescued freind made it to the campfire Zelse noticed a anxious figure head to the tavern, he was comming from where the fog had gone. Zelse decided to investigate.

[chosenflea]

An elf known only as flea had been sitting in a dark corner of the tavern on Isla Prima. The times had been hard on him, and he enjoyed the rest on the peaceful place. One human looked glancingly around, brooding to himself in the peace. They were the only two not joining in the revelry. The mysterious man eventualy pressed some gold into the bar keepers hand and left. Deciding he had nothing better to do, he siliently followed him into the darkness.

 

The man silently walked to the smoth, ever calm waters of the Island.The man anxoisly glanced around, and Flea pressed himself against one of the trees.Ploping down next to his fire, the man read many parchments, and a low, unnatural fog slowly rolled in. The man leaped up and demanded who was there, in the direction of him.Flattining himself on the ground, He felt a cold presesence beside him. Then the fog left, and all was clear again. The man picked up his belongings and left the waterside.

 

Flitting from shadow to shadow, Flea followed as the man slowly reached the town. He saw a flash of white to his left, and kept looking for what it could be out of the corner of his eye.