Three days earlier ...
Date: March 20, 1782 Y.R. (Royal Timiro Calendar)
Date: 6th day of the 3rd ascension of Ulvedi (Elven Calendar)
It is only seven days before the seasons officially change
from winter and into spring. Despite the fact it is still winter, the weather
has been warm for the last couple of weeks in Timiro. That is normal for this
part of the world. This night though, it is unusually cold. Just outside of
Rankin, a city where anarchy is not uncommon, a large prison was set up outside
of the city limits to house its many criminals who have been condemned to long
terms imprisonment. Ancorat may have a hand in a little bit of everything, but
some order, or at least appearance thereof, must be kept. In order to give the
people a safer feel the prison was setup outside of the city limits and to the
northeast, slightly in the direction of Ft. Mirr. This also allows for
additional sections to be added to the prison without needing to take up
valuable space within the city.
The boots of a traveler sink into the soil. This particular
traveler is wearing a dark gray cloak. From under the hood small puffs of breath
can be seen in the chilled air. A gloved hand with the fingertips cut off holds
the handle of a sword. The sword has an unusual crosspiece. It is composed to
two arches; one arched upward towards the blade and one arched downward towards
the hands.
Standing in the path of the traveler is the giant stone wall
surrounding the prison. As the traveler comes to a stop at the front of the
wall, a smirk marks the face. Meanwhile, inside the prison sitting within a cell
is Q'Regum of the Second Order, a notorious guild of warrior-mages. His current
cell though is lined with a Morlin Seal, a series of magical symbols to dampen a
person's ability to focus mystic energies and cast magic. The Morlin Seal is the
only way to effectively hold a person of magic. If the walls are simply
protected against magic, there are still methods of escape. Of all people,
Norinne knows this to be true. Within his hundred and forty years of life,
thirty of which have been spent within the guild, he's been imprisoned more
times than he cares to admit. In fact, that is how he met his first guild member
and became accepted into their ranks.
Is last venture into Baast has ended him up here for the last
five years. As an elf though, he still has a long life ahead of him and he's not
yet ready of giving up on his freedom. To help pass the time he is practicing
throwing playing cards at the roaches on the wall. Outside of his cell there is
a very loud explosion. The vibrations can be felt even in the cell and small
bits of dust drift down from the ceiling. Whatever caused it, that explosion
must've been powerful to have had that kind of effect this far in. His attention
shifts over to the cell door. As people run by his room they cause the light
from the hallway to flicker through the small slit at the bottom of the door,
used for sliding food into the prisoners. From the sounds of the armor clanking,
it is the prison guards running into action. To run by his room an intruder must
be nearby.
Q'Regum stands and looks out the barred window in the cell
door. At first he can't see anything. However the sounds of battle can be heard
clearly. There are screams as men are cut down. When it grows quiet again a
cloaked figure turns around the corner and towards his room. The gray hood of
the cloak and the poor lighting in the hall helps to conceal the stranger's
appearance. Blood drips off the blade held tightly in the hand. That blade! He
recognizes it. Without question he knows what blade that is and can't help but
wonder if that is why this stranger has come here. If he's right then this might
be his last few seconds on this world. Three guards armed with spears charge
around the corner. For once he finds himself quietly cheering for the guards.
The stranger turns quickly and with one motion parries all three of their
attacks to one side. For a moment it is a test of strength as the spears are
held off from nearly killing the stranger. This standoff doesn't last for long
though.
The stranger moves and dodges out of their way giving way to
the superior strength of the three of them. This action is not a sign of
weakness though, merely a wise tactical maneuver. As the blade is pulled back
for a strike, it is soon all over. Seeing the guards fall dead to the ground,
Q'Regum cannot help but back away from the door in fear. The next few moments
are agony for him. For a man who has done so many horrible acts in his life, it
is odd to see fear on his face. Silence! There is nothing but silence as
anticipation begins to drive him insane. Then the steel door to the cell slowly
creaks open. It stops after only about a quarter of the way open. Q'Regum
continues to stare waiting for something more, but there is not. Curiosity
finally forces him to move forward and open the door all the way. There is no
one there at all as the hallway is completely empty.
At first he hesitates, but then he exits the cell and out
into the hall. He starts to run down it and turns the corner. Standing at the
end of that hall is the cloaked individual holding the sword. Q'Regum finds
himself completely frozen with fear. Outside of the prison in the nearby woods a
chipmunk digs up the last of the food it stored for the winter. The chipmunk
suddenly perks its head up and towards the prison as there is a loud scream from
Q'Regum. It then scampers off towards its home in fright. In front of the prison
the stranger exits from a partially collapsed wall. As the stranger heads away
and towards the woods, a flake of snow falls from the sky and lands on the
ground. It disappears in an instant. The stranger holds out a gloved hand out
and lets a snowflake fall on it. Then the uncovered fingers close over it as the
stranger looks up towards to see the sky. There is a flurry of snow drifting
down. From the looks of things a storm may soon follow.
Present ...
Date: March 23, 1782 Y.R. (Royal Timiro Calendar)
Date: 3rd day of the 4th ascension of Ulvedi (Elven Calendar)
The waters overlooking the town of Baast have a wispy fog
hovering over them. Further inland is the town itself. This is a decent size
town of growing respect. Only about 150 years ago it was nothing of note, but
since Instaror, a titan palladin, took over, things have changed. An academy has
been formed and has become a place of much topic. Approximately twenty-five
percent of the town is dedicated to the Academy and its buildings and nearly
half the population are either students or teachers here. Due to the exceptional
level of education known to partake here, it also has ties to the Academy
located on Lopan and are known as brother and sister schools. A foot of snow
covers the grounds and it still continues to snow. It is quite different from
the magically controlled weather on Lopan.
Within the school, a group of five new travelers arrive via a
teleportation circle. For a moment, all its travelers can swear they see both
places almost overlapping, as if they are in two places at once. Then everything
becomes clear and they are clearly not in the Lopan Academy anymore. For
starters, the four magic students supplying the energy to activate the large
circle are no longer present. Also, the flamboyant Zerkos the Great is no longer
in sight. Instead, there stands a man with a long trench coat and a pair of
glasses perched on his nose. If the madman Zerkos is right, this should be Lars
the Hawk, at least that is the name they were told this mage goes by.
