I always believed those turned by the Shadow were forever a part of Him. Even the idea of a 'cure' was beyond sight, as if anyone of my land would give up such immortality to begin with. The power He gave to the faithful was beyond mortality could offer, and the cost of such strength was a such a part of our culture as any ceremony. When the Shadow retreated within His great walls and the Lords of the Land began draining their vassals dry, all became quite. This uneasy peace allowed a certain amount of leniency to what was once heretical thinking. In order to survive, Lords were either forced to become even darker monsters than they had ever been before, or attempt to resist their temptations and give their flock the time to flourish.
Away from my home for some time gave way to thoughts never before allowed. The Lords who had not returned after the war did not just disappear from our memories. Many were far to strong to have been destroyed, while others were beyond such ideas as death. A few known within the Hierarchy had settled on the most southern shores of Her land, the Citadel easily within their sight. Had they continued in their assaults for the past Milena? Would they accept me as a follower of the past, or see through the veil and force my true allegiance? I knew I would fight for Anjha regardless of the Shadows desires, but even after the journey across the sea, I did never consider how far spread His hand truly was upon another land so long after defeat.
I have seen Werewolves before, and their Kindred. I have witnessed their anger, their strength, and on rare occasion their valor. To see what had become of their lineage after a Milena was, as much as it disgusts me to admit, disheartening. What had been one of the most revered upon my land, honored and regal, was hardly the image I could recall. They had bread out the purity of the species and lost their focus, engaged with only their own greed and lust. Wolves became deviants of chaos, and Jackals filled with an otherworldly feral desire. I am certain, after having encountered and survived their lessened visage, had they retained half of what made them great, the Empress and Her land would have fallen within a couple of decades after the war.
Is their weakness due to the lack of His pressence?
It was within the Citadel walls that I would find this new plague of Were, hiding and lurking as if without notice from Her observation. They scavenged for scraps like rats upon the refuse left behind by the citizens and walked past the Clergy without notice. How had the Shadow been defeated by this land if it could not even protect itself from the pests that now seemed to litter the streets? I would have rather learned their existence had been wiped clean of the world than being reduced to such animals...
Do I truly still think this way? Are these my thoughts, or are the Lords who dwell here influencing me? Why do I care if they are weaker? In time and training I could likely stand one on one with their most fearsome and be victor in the fight. I should be thankful they are not like the beast who travels with Anjha's Vampire Ally, and why do I not question his allegience or the intentions of the Vampire? How is it I knew her name before it was spoken to me? I don't even feel the need to protect Anjha around them, for they would never allow harm to her..., or is it Seimie who their gaze seems to settle on?
Perhaps I will learn more of the Were to the East, some of their most impressive had landed there in the assault. Are they too now just a dark remnant?
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Voyage
It was not very long after leaving the Shadowlands before we arrived upon a soil that seemed so very untouched by the Darkness. I knew better than to believe that it was so pure, as the war brought to it from my own homeland was well known to me. The Generals that had survived and returned spoke at great lengths with my father and never spoke in hushed tones about what had happened. Yet, I could look around and for the first time in my life, I could look into the sky and see the True Sun, past clouds, and without the eternal haze that blanketed the lands back home. I saw the fields in vibrant greens and the ocean waters in perfect saphires, and even could look upon my own skin and know the hazel tan upon me as the color it truly is. Even the crystal that hung upon the leather cording around my neck was no longer just a simply clear stone, but a jewel filled with light and colors that were so new to me.
Still, the Shadow had set foot upon this soil a thousand years ago, and the land never forgets the Darkness that Vampires bring. A short time before our arrival this land had seen another war, one which was also sent from the Shadowlands but on a different level, there were no undead, no Vampires, and even no Were had been sent, instead the force of the attack had come from a rather new race called Orcs. These creatures and their creation were mostly unknown to me, even though they had been around for over a millenia, they had not been utilized in military endeavors before. Not on this scale. Over two hundred thousand sailed across the sea and landed on the southern coast of what is commonly referred to as the Central Lands. Near the city of Shoalwater, where we docked had within the last year seen the army of Orcs and their brutal carnage. Yet, somehow, the city moved on almost as though their pressence had never been. I'm sure that within taverns and homes that had lost loved ones, the Orcs would never be forgotten, but the people of Shoalwater did not live their lives in fear of the enemies return.
Having been born under the ever watchful eye of the Shadow gives one the feeling of always being watched, as though at any moment from behind a door, or curtain, or even from under your own feet, someone or something was lurking. My training had made me more aware of my surroundings than others, but still I was always ever watching.
This land could make you forget the darkness...
This land could make me weak...if I let it.
I learned of travel, faster than horses, even the horses of the Shadowlands. A magic that may be older than any Vampire I had ever met, or heard of. Older than the First Lord perhaps. It could take us between Shoalwater and their Bastion, Beffrenguard. I felt uneasy there, but I could not say why, even with so many people around who had such pure hearts, and the soldiers that fought for their Lord could defend the Keep, and outside in the forests dwelled other Protectors, yet still I was uneasy. It did not help to learn that Anjha had made friends with creatures of the Shadow. Even though I trusted her, would fight for her, and even though she had taught me that many Laws from my Land should be broken, these Two Shadows were untouchable. They were not the only allies from the Shadows that Anjha had, but I would be her shield when they turned against her as the Shadow always does. Even if she may not see that, I know the truth in the Shadows dark hearts. It was not time for me to break her Laws, yet. She had shown me a world without the Shadow, how could I show her one where it lay hidden just beneath the surface?
We did not stay for very long within Beffrenguard. There was much that had to be done, we could all feel it, on the wind another war was comming. It would not be so simple to stop this one as the Empress had with the Orcs. No, this war was something else and even if we did not speak about it, it was there. A heat from beyond this land, and a darkness not felt for almost a thousand years was reaching from His void and touching the world again. We would need to travel to places none of us knew, but first she would take me somewhere I knew all to well. A place that for my entire life I had been taught was the enemy, and whose ruler was the one who's destiny was to destroy the world as her predecesor had almost done before.
Anjha would take me to the Citidel of the Empress Mit'an.
Still, the Shadow had set foot upon this soil a thousand years ago, and the land never forgets the Darkness that Vampires bring. A short time before our arrival this land had seen another war, one which was also sent from the Shadowlands but on a different level, there were no undead, no Vampires, and even no Were had been sent, instead the force of the attack had come from a rather new race called Orcs. These creatures and their creation were mostly unknown to me, even though they had been around for over a millenia, they had not been utilized in military endeavors before. Not on this scale. Over two hundred thousand sailed across the sea and landed on the southern coast of what is commonly referred to as the Central Lands. Near the city of Shoalwater, where we docked had within the last year seen the army of Orcs and their brutal carnage. Yet, somehow, the city moved on almost as though their pressence had never been. I'm sure that within taverns and homes that had lost loved ones, the Orcs would never be forgotten, but the people of Shoalwater did not live their lives in fear of the enemies return.
Having been born under the ever watchful eye of the Shadow gives one the feeling of always being watched, as though at any moment from behind a door, or curtain, or even from under your own feet, someone or something was lurking. My training had made me more aware of my surroundings than others, but still I was always ever watching.
This land could make you forget the darkness...
This land could make me weak...if I let it.
I learned of travel, faster than horses, even the horses of the Shadowlands. A magic that may be older than any Vampire I had ever met, or heard of. Older than the First Lord perhaps. It could take us between Shoalwater and their Bastion, Beffrenguard. I felt uneasy there, but I could not say why, even with so many people around who had such pure hearts, and the soldiers that fought for their Lord could defend the Keep, and outside in the forests dwelled other Protectors, yet still I was uneasy. It did not help to learn that Anjha had made friends with creatures of the Shadow. Even though I trusted her, would fight for her, and even though she had taught me that many Laws from my Land should be broken, these Two Shadows were untouchable. They were not the only allies from the Shadows that Anjha had, but I would be her shield when they turned against her as the Shadow always does. Even if she may not see that, I know the truth in the Shadows dark hearts. It was not time for me to break her Laws, yet. She had shown me a world without the Shadow, how could I show her one where it lay hidden just beneath the surface?
We did not stay for very long within Beffrenguard. There was much that had to be done, we could all feel it, on the wind another war was comming. It would not be so simple to stop this one as the Empress had with the Orcs. No, this war was something else and even if we did not speak about it, it was there. A heat from beyond this land, and a darkness not felt for almost a thousand years was reaching from His void and touching the world again. We would need to travel to places none of us knew, but first she would take me somewhere I knew all to well. A place that for my entire life I had been taught was the enemy, and whose ruler was the one who's destiny was to destroy the world as her predecesor had almost done before.
Anjha would take me to the Citidel of the Empress Mit'an.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
A World Shaken
I was born after the land fell under the Shadow, and therefore was taught what the Lord of the Land desired us to know. Although the Temple was still allowed to stand, it was so only by the Lord's wishes. When I was born, my father was the 'Enlightened One', the title given to the one who leads the Order, and as such, much was expected of me. Had I taken the roll of my father, perhaps I may have been granted the knowledge of the time before the Shadow had awakened, but that was not my fate. The Temple Order practiced enlightenment, insight, and trained endlessly as protectors since the beginning, this much I know. The Lord, for the most part, allowed the Order to continue it's practices in much the same way as always. We would remain the stalwart defense of the city and govern it from within, while the Lord would rule the surrounding land.
It was difficult to accept that in order for the Lord's armies to survive, we would be the ones to aid them. The Order kept peace in the cities populace when the officers of the legions would need sustenance or when the ranks needed to be filled. The Temple offered the only compassionate hand to the widowers and orphans when the Vampire hungered. The Lord even granted the Temple a monthly wage to help those who lost loved ones continue their routine lives, until they too were consumed by the passing Darkness. We stabled the horses and fed them food and water, and watched over the fields at night from 'prowlers' who thought to steal from the Lord. We were our own hypocrisy.
At an early age, I distanced myself from the Temple sermons, unable to swallow the lies, and focused my skill upon the halberd. My father disapproved silently. As the 'Enlightened One', I never fooled myself into believing for a moment that he did not realize my disgust, yet at the time I could not understand why he continued to serve the Lord.
"It is our sworn oath to save those who can be saved, and to bring salvation to those who desire it." Words spoken by my father each day before the sun set. Words that made me ashamed of the Order, and of myself, until she came. I cannot remember time between our last Temple sermon and her arrival as anything else than a distant dream that strives to surface. And when she sat before the Order and without fear spoke of distant travel without horses or a guide and my father asked who would walk beside her and into the Shadow.
I stood and offered my skills and knowledge to Anjha and her friend Seimie, two who knew nothing of the horrors beyond the city walls. I would lead them to the town of Fera and protect them with my life. Before the sun rose, my father gave me his most valued possession, a crystal wrapped in cording and strung around the neck. At the moment of first light, as the sun crested the highest peak of the Crellian Mountains and the last deep shadow disappeared, I pushed open the western gate and took what I felt as my first step beyond the boundaries of my home. I knew the dangers of the land from the rare travelers we did have, and from stories spoken by the Lord's Officers when they sought my fathers wisdom. I also knew that we would not make it to Fera in one passing of the sun, but I would be there beside them regardless of the outcome.
I have seen maps of cities, towns, villages, roads and mountain passes within a hundred miles of my home. When the sun set and the ground beside the road stirred, I prepared my mind and body for the death that would come, and if my life meant they would live a while longer than it was a life worth living. It would be Anjha who would spot in the darkness a sanctuary and lead us to it before our flesh and bones would become meals to the creatures under the grass. A shrine of clear spring water and hallowed rocks would protect us during the night. A shrine that I knew should not be there, not existing between my home and the town of Fera. Yet, there I was, standing in the center of it, watching the small creatures gaze at us from the outside with their eternal hunger. Anjha spoke of a horse she had seen earlier, and one just before the shrine was sighted. The only horses I know of in the land belong to the Lord, and the underlying rule that one did not have dealings with a Lord's horses. There is only one breed of horse on the Shadowlands that any mortal being may use, and only by those who have sworn deep oaths to the Lord and the Land. These horses look nothing as Anjha described to me.
You do not stray from the path. This is another rule of the land. And one you do not disobey especially at night, but as our second sun began to set and the grass stirred again, Anjha strayed from the road as the ground burst forth with hungry mouths. We would not have survived had a lighted bridge that crossed a thick line of crystal salt not been just a few dozen yards away. It had been another horse sighted by Anjha that lead us here, protecting us within the barrier of Fera from the dangers outside. This woman and her friend were of such an odd sort. It was apparent they were frightened of the land and what the shadows held, yet they broke almost every law I could advise them of. Even with fear in her heart, Anjha fought against the rules of the land. She laid so much faith in her feelings and walked bravely into darkness and against those that should not be seen. I had lived my life under the Shadow, been taught to fear the darkness and what it held, to obey the laws set forth by the Lord, yet I watched as Anjha would not cower to the Rules.
The town of Fera was caught in an endless Nightmare, and to find what she searched for, we broke the Rules. There were nights we walked into unknown woods within Fera in search of the Nightmare, chased noises into the darkness, and even made our way to Moon Point in search of lost memories on the back of a dream. It was when the Lord's horses came to us, crossing the barrier of Fera and Anjha fearlessly pulled herself onto one, I gave up my rational instinct to be wary, and put my full faith in her. She had shown me a world within the Shadow that I did not know existed. A land that, although cruel, held an inner light, and finally I understood my fathers words.
I would fear this Land no longer.
When I learned the truth behind my existence, I did not falter, nothing would keep my from my oath to Anjha. I would fight to protect her with my life, a life that now had meaning..., even if that life is but a dream.
It was difficult to accept that in order for the Lord's armies to survive, we would be the ones to aid them. The Order kept peace in the cities populace when the officers of the legions would need sustenance or when the ranks needed to be filled. The Temple offered the only compassionate hand to the widowers and orphans when the Vampire hungered. The Lord even granted the Temple a monthly wage to help those who lost loved ones continue their routine lives, until they too were consumed by the passing Darkness. We stabled the horses and fed them food and water, and watched over the fields at night from 'prowlers' who thought to steal from the Lord. We were our own hypocrisy.
At an early age, I distanced myself from the Temple sermons, unable to swallow the lies, and focused my skill upon the halberd. My father disapproved silently. As the 'Enlightened One', I never fooled myself into believing for a moment that he did not realize my disgust, yet at the time I could not understand why he continued to serve the Lord.
"It is our sworn oath to save those who can be saved, and to bring salvation to those who desire it." Words spoken by my father each day before the sun set. Words that made me ashamed of the Order, and of myself, until she came. I cannot remember time between our last Temple sermon and her arrival as anything else than a distant dream that strives to surface. And when she sat before the Order and without fear spoke of distant travel without horses or a guide and my father asked who would walk beside her and into the Shadow.
I stood and offered my skills and knowledge to Anjha and her friend Seimie, two who knew nothing of the horrors beyond the city walls. I would lead them to the town of Fera and protect them with my life. Before the sun rose, my father gave me his most valued possession, a crystal wrapped in cording and strung around the neck. At the moment of first light, as the sun crested the highest peak of the Crellian Mountains and the last deep shadow disappeared, I pushed open the western gate and took what I felt as my first step beyond the boundaries of my home. I knew the dangers of the land from the rare travelers we did have, and from stories spoken by the Lord's Officers when they sought my fathers wisdom. I also knew that we would not make it to Fera in one passing of the sun, but I would be there beside them regardless of the outcome.
I have seen maps of cities, towns, villages, roads and mountain passes within a hundred miles of my home. When the sun set and the ground beside the road stirred, I prepared my mind and body for the death that would come, and if my life meant they would live a while longer than it was a life worth living. It would be Anjha who would spot in the darkness a sanctuary and lead us to it before our flesh and bones would become meals to the creatures under the grass. A shrine of clear spring water and hallowed rocks would protect us during the night. A shrine that I knew should not be there, not existing between my home and the town of Fera. Yet, there I was, standing in the center of it, watching the small creatures gaze at us from the outside with their eternal hunger. Anjha spoke of a horse she had seen earlier, and one just before the shrine was sighted. The only horses I know of in the land belong to the Lord, and the underlying rule that one did not have dealings with a Lord's horses. There is only one breed of horse on the Shadowlands that any mortal being may use, and only by those who have sworn deep oaths to the Lord and the Land. These horses look nothing as Anjha described to me.
You do not stray from the path. This is another rule of the land. And one you do not disobey especially at night, but as our second sun began to set and the grass stirred again, Anjha strayed from the road as the ground burst forth with hungry mouths. We would not have survived had a lighted bridge that crossed a thick line of crystal salt not been just a few dozen yards away. It had been another horse sighted by Anjha that lead us here, protecting us within the barrier of Fera from the dangers outside. This woman and her friend were of such an odd sort. It was apparent they were frightened of the land and what the shadows held, yet they broke almost every law I could advise them of. Even with fear in her heart, Anjha fought against the rules of the land. She laid so much faith in her feelings and walked bravely into darkness and against those that should not be seen. I had lived my life under the Shadow, been taught to fear the darkness and what it held, to obey the laws set forth by the Lord, yet I watched as Anjha would not cower to the Rules.
The town of Fera was caught in an endless Nightmare, and to find what she searched for, we broke the Rules. There were nights we walked into unknown woods within Fera in search of the Nightmare, chased noises into the darkness, and even made our way to Moon Point in search of lost memories on the back of a dream. It was when the Lord's horses came to us, crossing the barrier of Fera and Anjha fearlessly pulled herself onto one, I gave up my rational instinct to be wary, and put my full faith in her. She had shown me a world within the Shadow that I did not know existed. A land that, although cruel, held an inner light, and finally I understood my fathers words.
I would fear this Land no longer.
When I learned the truth behind my existence, I did not falter, nothing would keep my from my oath to Anjha. I would fight to protect her with my life, a life that now had meaning..., even if that life is but a dream.
Friday, January 29, 2010
First Memories
All dragons are born innately good. I had never heard these words spoken or understood their meaning until I was shown what lay beyond the Shadowlands. Even now I am not sure I truly realize the significance of that one underlying law of dragons. Does it ease the mind? Does it make it easier to stand before such a sight as a Great Wyrm? Does it answer the single question "Then why was the Red Wyrm of History not born this way"? No. Unless you are one foolish enough to believe that the Red Wyrm is not a dragon at all, but then you would have to ask then what he is if not a dragon.
My name is Meiyon, and I was born on what was once known as the Shadowlands, appropriately titled by many outsiders and even some who lived there, for not even the brilliance of the sun could touch the land fully. The true name of the land upon which my home, my temple, and my family once thrived was lost in the changing of the seas and the birth of a continent. Long before I was born, the Temple of the Inner Light once stood overlooking the ocean from only a few hundred feet, but when the seas swept away, what was once six islands became a single new landmass and the Temple could not see the water any longer. This change also brought the shadows, things that had remained hidden under the water for ages before mankind even first set foot upon the sand and grass. Yes, I have asked the same question; "Who put them there in the first place the?" That answer would not come for some time, and would be meaningless unless you understand the rest of the story.
Even as I write this scroll, my memories are fading and becoming confused with so many others that are not my own. Yet, I will not give in, not while there is still hope, not while she still lives and fights for the world. A world that may never even know her name and what she did to help so many. No bard will sing songs of her life, no ceremony will be held in her honour, no day will be remembered in her name. No, what she did will not be recorded in History, but she will be held in the memories of those who walked along side her and braved the same dangers as she, felt the same pain, and who in the end knew the truth.
Her name is Anjha De'El'Ron, and she is my first memory.
When we first met, I did not know who I was. I did have a name, and I knew where I was and even could have spoken of my Order, but who I was would not become known until just before we left the Shadowlands together. There is much that happened between leaving the life I knew, or thought I did, and learning the truth of myself. Some of it may even be relevant to the story, but what I have to say will need to be pieced together from the collection of thoughts that continue to flow through my mind. What can be said is that I would not have wished to learn any of these truths with anyone other than Anja. She was the first to show me that there is life beyond that which we are born into, that we can and should struggle against Fate and Destiny, and that Dreams can become real.
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