Hmm, I always wondered what lay beyond the northern mountains, now it turns out to be Dwarves of all things! Well those peaks are quite impassable so I don't suppose that I'll be seeing them anytime soon.

Very well, I would request that you bring some merchants with you for we are as interested in your craftsdwarfship as we are in your diplomats. I'll have an escort of our Hamaxe wielding heavy infantry waiting for you when you cross the mountains, that is, if you can tell us where you'll emerge from the mountains

*checks the map* If you emerge from the mountains' southern borders, head west along the edge of Sandromin's desert to reach Venezzia. We will light signal fires for your envoy.

You may refer to our society as Venezzia. At present the Trade guild and the ruling council are interchangeable.

Well it is a rare find in the desert... besides, they have all the mithrilite ore they could possibly need. Anyways, we're working on a fortress; who happens to have the stone we need to complete it? After all, our desert is very barren and we'd like to place a giant fortress on our main oasis.

Okay, we shall send you several hundred pounds and in return we shall receive stone.

We're in need of ground vehicles, who's supplying?

We agree to your trade routes. We shall also send you high-quality desert spices and rubies for whatever you can offer.

OOC: Anyone else willing to hop in?

You thought that you could keep this trade agreement with the Dwarves hidden from the Trade guild? No matter, we have a counter offer. We have modest quarries in the foothills of the Dwarven mountains. We could quite easily send Stone to you by ship. We have an established trade route and I'm certain our ships could handle the additional load. While I admit that the Dwarves could provide the Stone in much vaster quantities, they would have to haul it over land, through desert, trying to find you amongst the shifting dunes. All the while with a thick beard and a heavy Goatskin coat.

All the guild asks in return is a modest increase in Trade tariffs and some of your strange desert spices.

OOC: We need more nations... only 5 nations is not enough. Recruit more people to join us (I want some more intellectual challenges. We can't just have peace all the time).

So in the meantime, I'll create some hostile NPCs using my authority as Game Master... ahuehuehue...

We have Industrial Barbarians to the south! They have teamed up with rogue golems from the northern mountains and have begun a crusade against us!

These barbarians begin sending in large steampunk siege machines to destroy us! The golems are also undermining Dwarven mines and ruining their infrastructure! We must retaliate to fight this scourge!

Edit: I'm also renaming it Dust Fortress: REALM OF DUSTIA (but DUSTIA and the thread name both apply still), much akin to Dwarf Fortress.

It seems the barbarians have set up a fortress on our trade route! We must fight them from both sides...

*as Golems* We have begun building tunnels under your cities! Now, we unleash our wrath and begin digging holes in the middle of your cities and slaughter your citizens! We shall rise from the depths of the caverns and reveal our true dominance!

Dang... well, we gotta fight these Golems I guess... very nasty threat indeed...

Now let's be clear Dwarf, up until a few days ago we thought those mountains were uninhabited and those quarries have been there for years. Furthermore, they are merely in the foothills and are in no way infringing on your or territory or tunnelling into your cities, unless one of your settlements stretches to the Western shore.

Think about this logically, You can make for more money from selling your valuble ores than humdrum stone, my profit margins would naturally be higher due to the fact that I have established infrastructure with the other nations and I don't need to haul stone from the depths of the mountains.

As for this 3 way trade route that Sandromin proposes, it all hinges on whether I have anything the Dwarves want or vice versa...

We're nigh defenseless from these golems, we can repel their surface attacks but part of our deep sea mining has become halted completely, we'll happily pay for any of you to send troops that handle sub surface activities better than us.

Agreed. Venezzia is secure from Golem tunnels for the most part on account of the fact that most of the city's foundations are in the sea. I have been eavesdropping on what Merchants I can get close to. Many favour appeasement and negotiation, some even suggest siding with our foes to end the hostilities. I can't say I'm suprised; they think of their coin purses first and Venezzia second.

Do not judge them unfairly. By our laws the merchants are allowed their armies to defend trade routes and to break blockades, it is the duty of the ruling council to make war on behalf of the City. But the council does nothing and our merchants have great influence over the council. If they say negotiate, the council will negotiate. As if that were not enough I have heard rumours that there are those who are planning a coup against the council!

As a Lord Lieutenant my resources are vast, but not limitless. I can investigate these rumours or 'persuade' the pro-peace merchants, but I cannot do both. Tell me, friends, what should I do?

[OOC I am not trying to compete for the roll of Game master here, just trying to flesh out my backstory]

I had hoped that this day would never come. I had prayed that the Doge, leader of the council, would step forward and perform his duty, act decisively, but he has not. He seems genuinely amused by Venezzia's implosion. I am, I was, supposed to be Lord Lieutenant in the Merchant's armies, but it seems like I work on behalf of guild and city. Perhaps this is how the merchants gained their control, they slowly erased the city's army and made the city completely dependent on them and their trade. The council grew fat and lazy. More merchants were elected...

Even if the council is corrupt, they will still bow to the merchants now. Stopping Bribes will do nothing. Marching against the council will throw us into complete chaos and likely make me a target for the rest of my days. The Merchants will direct their forces unpredictably, the militias will die trying to stop my forces and fighting the council guard will be a bloodbath.

If I go down this road, I will not be able to contribute to your fight against the barbarians and I will need your help to have any hope of victory. The only other option is to take what forces i have to help you win this war under the guise of a trade guild 'investment', but it may be too late by the time it is over. I shall think on this. If you truly wish to help me, have the forces you are willing to contribute ready soon.

I never thought Venezzia would be the weak link in this alliance...

As the battering ram thuds on your door, a cabinet opens up to a secret passageway! A sandman emerges and begins speaking!

"Come with me if you want to live," he says in a sort of hushed tone.

You follow him into an underground tunnel I had been working on the entire night and your militia is soon to follow. As the battering ram finally breaks down the door, we manage to disguise the the entryway; the enemy is baffled as to where you have gone. Discontent, they leave to search for you somewhere else.

*

As you can see, we have set this all up quite nicely. We don't want this merchant scum in power as much as you.

*A bedraggled and bloody messenger arrives at the Fort and enters the command Cabin to find Sandromin and Xavier*
I bring word from Alixenus sirs! He regrets not being able to contact you, but the open fighting has broken out in the city and the battle had turned against him. He has been cut off for the past 24 hours in The house of the broken Lance, surrounded on all sides by loyalist forces. The bulk of our forces being held south of his position by barricades and indirect fire from the North and West harbours.

I cannot say how the fighting began, but I'm sure the Lord lieutenant will be willing to tell you when the current situation is resolved. I have been sent by my superiors to ask whether or not you will send troops into the city immeadiately to help us push through to Alixenus' position.

As my men ride the boats to the Badlands... we see a beam of light coming from the tallest peak in the area... afraid of what might lie there, but determined to destroy it, my men head towards the light... we must kill the Archnecromancer, once and for all... his race was an abomination on the world, and must be eradicated.

"We are here... because there's much more dire things to heed attention to. Hurry this quickly, if you can. We have worse things to worry about, like the Archnecromancer and the Logizombies... and we'll need your support."

SPOILER ALERT: IT'S XAVIER'S EVIL TWIN BROTHER!

PLOT TWIST: XAVIER DOESN'T HAVE SIBLINGS!

But erm... very... yes...

Fear not Sandromin, I have initiated emergency muster protocols. All soldiers still capable of fighting are being embarked on everyone ship to make sail for the badlands. We will be ready to depart in 36 hours. The civilian militias will guard the city while we are gone.

*hands a letter to Xavier's officer telling him to have his privateers cease attacking and to begin maneuvering them to be 'captured'

If anyone cares to look at Armok his broken frame is hanging from the montagne gatehouse.

Dwarves are manning the ships? Dwarves have ships? I thought you'd hired human pirates! No matter, as far as the people will know, these 'barbarous raiders' are spending the rest of their lives in the city prison.

Archnecromancer? Ah I see. You must be misinformed. The Archnecromancer has been dead for quite sometime now. I'm also guessing you haven't ventured this far west before. You may not realize it but you've endangered yourself and anyone who has followed you. Allow me to introduce myself. I am King Thanatos of Diyad. If you'd do me the pleasure of accompanying me to my kingdom I could better explain your situation. Also if you would excuse my earlier threat. You see people don't tread these lands anymore and when I see you approaching with an army, plus your allies parading in from the distance. It's only logical that I'd take an aggressive stance.

Thanatos removes his crown and rubs his head. He is clearly exhausted, and appears far older than he actually is. As Alixenus speaks he realizes just how much more advanced his kingdom actually was. He decided to speak in simpler terms to avoid confusion or misunderstanding.

"The AN has not revealed his or her self as of now. We have no sure way of finding him. This also means that as of now they pose no immediate threat. The piece of the cipher on the other hand is vital. And we do have the means to find that. It is the key to ridding ourselves of the golems and zombies"

He leads the two into a room. The room is initially dark. The only thing that pierces the darkness is a glowing globe of Dustia hovering above a spiraling structure.

"This device has indicated the final piece lay somewhere far east. We can't distinguish exactly where. I do know however that it would be found in an area that is generally dark. My people have not left this land for quite some time. We have not been father east than here. But you two have. From my knowledge the piece would be located somewhere where perhaps there would have been several odd or supernatural occurrences. Something along the lines of phantoms or agonized souls. A place subject to rumors or folktales. Can you recall any place like that?"

Xavier hadn't even finished talking when Alixenus began discussing emergency exfiltration with his attendants outside the map room. As the attendant runs off, plate armour clanking down the halls, Alixenus turns to address his only co-workers in the entire world. Anger and Fear evident in his voice.

"Oh by the great maker I feared something like this would happen. Now, I know full well that this is one of those 'fight together or die alone' moments and I would personally like to wring the life out of the AN, but Venezzia needs me. If those zombies don't head into the mountains they'll be at the walls of city even if I leave right now. I may trust the people with a conventional foe but this is.... WHAT IS THIS? *throws his helmet on the floor* My Lords I am sorry but this cipher and AN will have to wait. I did not save my city from Armok just to lose it to a bunch of Tree loving cannibals! I will be more than happy to contribute troops to the defence of your homes, but the zombie threat ends now."

Sandromin moved to console the frenzied Venezzian, but Alixenus just bats him away with a heavy gaunlet and points his hamaxe at the Dwarf when he made a similar motion.

"Do not try to stop me, this is for your benefit as much as mine. Try to stop me and I will retract the offer of aid. Zombies first, AN later."

Alixenus regarded Thanatos with nothing but contempt as he picked up his helmet and affixed it to his head. Thanatos may not have been the cause, but Alixenus was certainly going to hold him responsible. The Lord-Lieutenant then turned and stormed out the room, his half-cape billowing about his shoulders, barking orders to the remaining attendants. The echo chamber in his helmet made him sound every inch like the God of War.

"BY THE GREAT MAKER I WILL SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!"

"No Xavier you should return to your people, gather your forces. Try to minimize death. You'll only need to hold out a while longer."

He fiddles with the globe and a flashing light pinpoints the source of the dark magicks in the Logipriest nation.

"It is difficult with only a direction to locate the final piece, but when you narrow it down to a specific area... Well as you can see thanks to you we now know where we're going. Sandromin will come with me. I will send my alkhemist knights to protect his people. Honestly Alixenus is a fool. He came to me looking for an enemy that was already dead. I even invited him to my kingdom. He didn't even ask for my help? How foolish indeed."

As Xavier leaves the palace, Thanatos gestures Sandromin to stand back. Thanatos draws his saber and holds it in the air. Blue alkhemical markings glow from the blade and the floor beneath them begins to shake. Before Sandromin realizes it, the entire room is moving downward. It becomes apparent that it is traveling underground. As Thanatos sheathes his saber he turns to Sandromin.

"Now that I'm sure no one can hear us... There is something alarming I need to discuss with you."

OOC: That doesn't make sense. We left the same day you left the palace. It only took us 8 minutes to get here. A week couldn't have passed.

Edit: Actually never mind that. If we left the same day that would leave room for a lot of continuity problems considering Alixenus is already in his nation. Let's just say Sandromin and Thanatos discussed a mission plan during the week or something.

"Wouldn't have guessed the doors can only be entered, not exited. No wonder there was no one here. Perhaps I underestimated the Logipriests. To answer your question Sandromin, no. I assure you I am no AN. We only need this piece to finish the cipher. Then I can use it to translate the Dark Arcanum and dispel the magicks which brought about the golem/zombie threat. The Logipriests would immediately return to normal. Now let's end this shall we. What say you Xavier?"

OOC: It could be 8 hours then instead. I just wanted to express the fact that if you left we'd certainly get there first. Didn't mean to make it seem OP.

OOC:I mean we now have a nation full of mechs and androids and Sandromin is fine with that. This isn't really an established Medieval Age. It's Dustia. Diyad was supposed to be the lost city with technology far beyond the other nations. The PAI represents basically the best my nation has to offer it is and always will be the most powerful thing I have.

OOC: Well that settles it, 12 hours. That seems realistic. Now it does seem pretty silly to say 8 minutes. I was running on a severe lack of sleep. Trying to make sense of what you're typing whilst half asleep isn't as easy as it may seem. So it was a 12 hour journey. Now back to the story.

The blue markings on the hilt of saber now glow with more intensity, cracking the ground around the alter. Nothing of great effect. More than likely to create an obstacle between himself and Xavier. Gold is slowly invading his once hazel irises. He was now uncharacteristically furious.

"Hear now the gravity of my words. I AM RUNNING OUT OF TIME! Do you have any idea what I sacrificed by coming this far! You could never understand this endless struggle. A struggle between preserving this world or your people! Between protecting yourself, or becoming subject to the cruel path that Fate has set you on. I CAN'T PREVENT THE INEVITABLE!"

He takes from his pocket the rest of the cipher, grabbing the final piece and uniting the two from his pocket he grabs a long thread that he transforms into the Dark Arcanum. Before his very eyes the words and incantations becoming clear to him. After flipping through pages he recited...

"Thorak onvay ohkai corone!"

At that moment the page of the book burned to ashes. The golems had turned to rubble and Logipriest back to humans as promised. But then something unexpected happened. Thanatos drew his saber.... and impaled himself through the chest. The last expression on his face being that of pain. Not physical, but something much much deeper. The book falls near Sandromin's feet, fully translated. Then suddenly time seemed to stop. Xavier and Sandromin were frozen in place. They only watched as an ethereal figure approached Thanatos's lifeless body. The figure appeared to be female. She embraced him almost lovingly.

"It was only inevitable."

It was only a whisper, but her words echoed loudly throughout the room. In an instance, both her and Thanatos's body disappeared, and both Xavier and Sandromin regained control of their bodies as the temple started to collapse around them.

OOC: SCP Foundation your inspiration? I love that wiki.

Although the building is collapsing, I keep an eye on Xavier...

"I will go, but once outside, I must detain you to ask some questions. Do not worry, I shall release you after done with my questions; it is simply for information purposes. Now, let us go!"

We begin running through the corridors towards the exit. Every door is shut, but we run through holes in the walls, hidden passages, and finally reach the exit.

Once outside, there is completely new welcoming party.

shut u and play the ******* game already!

[OOC] I am assuming the welcoming party is Sandmen.[/OCC]
How is he going to capture me? I am Xavier the Great! Xavier the Liberator! He himself? Bah! How arrogant!

But, outside, he found out how. About 30 sandmen, completely covered in their robes, surrounded him. Xavier looked at Sandromin.

Then at the book.

He opens it, then flips through the pages.

A teleportation spell!

Xavier backs away, the sandmen moving closer.

"Here goes nothing. Mavarr Ittch Clorase!"

And then he vanishes. To Xavier, he was in one place, then in the next. No phasing, nothing of the like. He was just, gone.

When he eventually came to, he was on the ground, on the pavement.

Where am I?

He glanced around. There were booths all around him, and it was a very tropical place. A temple was in the distance.

Isn't this swell. Stuck in the middle of the capital, devoid of life, with a plethora of Sand Assassins following me.

OOC: Wait, when you say Golem, do you say so in the traditional sense or is this some lore jargon for another creature?

We are in the 3rd Era, or 3E, Year 243. You would abbreviate this as 3E Y243
There are 9 months:
Cedlia, or Reincarnation
Expalta, or Reclamation
Aelum, or Aether
Mortealtia, or Interdiction
Calspar, or Equanimity
Urth, or Displacement
Illmorth, or Ultimatum
Bethmada, or Innovation
Actium, or Enlightenment

Btw, Xavier, you're in hallucination mode, but managed to escape with the book. However, we've decided to hunt you down.

---

Xavier wakes from his makeshift bed, startled. He recalls what he had seen, and heard, in that dreadful nightmare.

Was that, real? Was, she real? Was all of that, an omen?

He looks to the cloudless sky. Well, the treetop I would say, for that was the only sky he had.

I will, mull, over, this later.

He then hears footsteps in the distance. A rustle in the bushes. He draws his sword.

"Is anyone there?"

Soon after the death of Thanatos, word got to Diyad. Without proper leadership, the Diyadians slowly begin to panic. Their was no heir to replace Thanatos and Parliament was powerless. For the most part however order was maintained. Before his death the king left special documentation pertaining to such a situation. Really this is only meant to preserve order as long as possible with temporary administration. Unknown to the public however, the king's most trusted subjects and citizens were given specific orders. A secret council was formed to guide the country to the best of their abilities. A message was sent to Sandromin, and another was sent to Alixenus to arrive a week later. The most surprising thing however was the choice to once more open foreign relationships. The most skilled alkhemists were called to an assembly for perhaps the most challenging tasks. But the king's will must be done. The entire raised landmass of Diyad was lowered back to sea level, making it accessible by boat. The thunderous roar could be heard as far as the Scorched Lavania. The note sent to both Sandromin reads:

Trust one another first, and all else last. An assembly is to be held at Venezzia. Diyadian ambassadors will attend, as should each and every existing nation.

OOC: I thought it was about time to actually deal with politics on a grand scale. I'd hope to see everyone attend.

OOC: Good news everyone, I've invented a device that forces you to read this in my voice. On another note, this thread has reached 300 posts. That is all.

So, as Sandromin found his way to Venezzia, it seemed everyone had been going there to join in on the summit. From merchants aiming for the extra cash, to the noblemen who wanted to see what would occur, to even the collectives, it seemed everyone was there.

And, as expected during contingency plans, Sandromin's caravan of diplomats had arrived beforehand. It seemed there were a few extras though...

At first, Sandromin thought he saw a large sack in the back of a wagon, but then realized it was the giant he had heard of at the collective's base. Then, he saw a green logipriest next to them, accompanied by a few diplomats. It seemed things were going to be interesting at the summit... Sandromin was going to look forward to it...

---

Meanwhile, the boats finally reached the Ivory Coast and a new people emerged from the fleet...

From the boat stepped off the Men of the South, or the Dawnfir. These men were on an expedition, and it seemed they had tier 3 technology... and to boot it off, it seemed Bojo was their leader.

Things are about to get interesting in Dustia.

OOC: This is getting interesting. I know I haven't been posting much but that's only because my character isn't exactly on Dustia. Really there was nothing I could do until after the meeting began. Also anything involving Fate isn't actually happening in the present, past nor future. Also because I completely forgot, let's assume that before this meeting Alixenus and the Diyadian delegates have already discussed the proceedings of the meeting and other issues, considering we called the Assembly.

Little did the two Logipriests know, they had passed the large airship that transported the Secret Council of Diyad. They were met by two Alkhemist Knights, not just any, but the most elite Diyadian force know as "The King's Men". There alkhemical abilities only surpassed by the late king. One should not take them as common idiotic foot soldiers, for they are also Diyad's greatest scientists. Their armor of shiny white and gold. Their gold helmets completely covering their faces. Their eyes each a glowing blue. They grab each by the arm gently. One begins to speak:

" You shouldn't be causing so much trouble during one the most important events of the 3rd Era. Luckily we were able to defuse the stir you caused in the pub. The last thing we want is a war. Especially considering Diyad plans to work in your favor. Please come with us to our airship. We will have meals and baths prepared for you both."


The attending Diyadians at the Assembly had been silent the entire time. But with good observation one could read their thoughts through their facial expression. The 7 members of the Secret Council were all in attendance. After hearing what Xavier had to say the youngest member stood up. Achyr Solaran, perhaps the late king's most trusted friend. They fought side by side in the Great Civil War. He takes the stage.

"Calm yourself Dwarf. No reason to move so quickly. I am Achyr Solaran of the Secret Council of Diyad. I'm sure you've all heard by now that he had died during the Logizombie/Golem Crisis. Since that time our alkhemists have confirmed that the reason for said tragedy was not the Logipriests doing. I don't really see how fair it is to hang the victims of evil magicks. Somewhere in this world there is an Archnecromancer. At the moment he or she isn't very powerful yet, because their location is still unknown. So first Diyad would like to make two proposals. First we offer to take full custody of the remaining Logipriests, making them Diyadian citizens. Their fate would be up to us. With us they could remain safe and secluded from the outside world. Our next proposal would be The Lich Hunt Act. Since the Crisis we have lost the Dark Arcanum, the book containing all the evil magicks of every Archnecromancer. It is highly dangerous, and can wipe out all of Dustia in the wrong hands. It is still the property of Diyad. We were hoping to make it property of the entire present council. We do have means however of finding both. We've noticed that Diyadians are ultra sensitive to magick even though we don't wield it. Any nation that supports the Lich Hunt would be allowing us to employ a network of spies with the sole purpose of locating both the Archnecromancer and the Dark Arcanum. I know this may sound off but we assure you that our intentions are not of political espionage. I only ask that take the time to consider it."

With that he takes his seat and begins to converse with his fellow council members.

The Sun has begun to set, I would like to call an end to todays sessions with a round of voting. All in favour of the Logipriests returning to their island say I.

OOC 3rd or 4th? Bravo everyone. I reward you with 9000 internet and my eternal and undying suprise at this success.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Uhhh, well Brutus, that is certainly a valid suggestion, one that I am suprised was not voiced earlier. In this respect I do not mind. If we decide their fate for them my vote is already cast. I abstain from any vote about Brutus' suggestion and hereby retire from deliberations for the evening. If you need me I will be in the antichamber enjoying some Port" As much as he wanted to chase after Natyli, Alixenus wished to honour the Diyadians secret request that he remained on hand after the day's talks were over. So he waited, as calmly as he could.

After the conference, one of Xavier's aides requested that the Collective ambassador speak with the Dwarf king. The ambassador approached the dwarf with one of his guards. "What is it you wish to speak of?" the ambassador asked.

"Well, uh, not at this precise moment. Like everyone, I am curious about the collective, but I had no questions that were so pressing that they required your immeadiate presence." Then a thought popped into Alixenus' head. "Xavier, what have you been saying to the ambassador at such a late hour?"

The Collective ambassador politely interrupted. "We have no experience augmenting organic life, and as it is, technology does not bring a perfect world." it said, reluctant to go through with what Xavier was saying.

"Ahh yes, the Diyadians. So, what is the topic to discuss right now? It seems events are going to be taking a drastic change by tomorrow, so it's a fairly important time to be discussing things," Sandromin stated with a certain fervor in his voice.

Sandromin continued, "As it is right now, I have received some interesting news, and it seems Lionus, who now goes by Thanatos, will be arriving tomorrow. Furthermore, there are quite a few matters to discuss. It seems Fate will be stoking the flames even more... her grand plan will unfold before our very eyes."

At first the ambassador stares at Alixenus in the most nonchalant manner. Then after scratching his reddish brown beard, the ambassador, Achyr Solaran speaks:

"Calm yourself. We will try our best to settle things with the dwarf. I understand that the Lich Hunt was only approved today, but you could consider this a strong start. There's no doubt about it. When I took the stage my blood ran cold and my beard felt like it was vibrating. Let me just go ahead and say this. One of the nations is in possession of some powerful, vile magicks. I have no idea who or what it is, but everyone is suspect. But we needn't discuss this with the other nations. We must avoid hostility at all cost. What say you?"

---

Meanwhile as he storms outside, Xavier is met by another member of the secret council. He is old and balding, his silver hair only cover the sides and back of his head. The man begins to walk along side him.

"My sincerest apologies friend. Please forgive Alixenus. He was only acting under threat of war. You see many Diyadians are outraged after many soldiers who were sent to protect the Sandmen and Venezzians, suddenly disappeared without any remains. Or at least that is what he is meant to believe. We had to keep Sandromin and Alixenus so that I may meet with you. You see the Secret Council of Diyad shares your vision of improving ourselves, or at least our nations, through technology. We wanted to discuss this with you before the second day of the Assembly. I am here to present you with a deal. Are you interested?

When Xavier mentioned the king, the ambassador was genuinely puzzled. It was obvious that he nor his fellow delegates heard such a thing. "Paranoid much my Dwarven friend? As for this 'undead king' you speak of, I truly have no idea. All sounds preposterous to me. Where did you here such a tale? Even if the late King Thanatos was alive, you wouldn't see me jumping for joy. I'm just waiting until we run out of orders. You see before he died he spent nights writing instructions to be carried out if he somehow didn't live to do it himself. Once that's over the Secret Council won't be so secret. I'm speaking full control over Diyad. This makes abandoning Parliament more beneficial than I'd first imagined. But enough about me. The point is that the rest of the delegates would like your assistance. We are aware of the plethora of materials in the mountains of Lucia. You see all materials in Diyad are significantly stronger due to our native energy. Weapons and armor are more precise, durable and lightweight. Sadly we can't share this because of the deadly radiation from said energy. If you were to provide us with materials we could figure out how to overcome this obstacle. Allowing others to handle iyo and for us to trade these now stronger materials safely. Of course Lucia would receive more for less if they were to cooperate. We would also be willing to share our more... experimental devices. You see I'm not trying to make an enemy, nor manipulate you. I'm trying to help you as well as myself. This is the first time Diyad has ever been represented outside of our own nation. We need allies, people we know we can trust. And I personally believe that you are one of the only ones with their right mind around here. Even my colleagues are foolish. Taking orders from a dead man? Hah! "


OOC: I'm seriously laughing at my own post. The irony towards the end kills me every time I read it!

OOC: OK, it doesn't matter much at the present in-game era. It'll be [insert possible time skip duration, if any] years for the Collective to reach Tier 4.

OOc Dahell? The thread seems to have fallen silent. No problem. We can take Sunday off from writing if you like.

OOC: Apologies. Just got a new PC and I've been downloading a kitten ton of games for the past few hours.

The brittle old man ponders to himself for a moment.

" Oh the hell with it why not! I haven't been to a pub it many a years. I'm nothing like Achyr. I may despise him, but he can drink an ocean's full. I don't understand why That bastard king even appointed him in a position, let alone serve in the civil war. That man was always a drunk. But I digress, let us be to. By the way I haven't properly introduced myself. I am Halvedes Syncores.

The old man giggles for a moment. It seems as if he's only taken a few sips from his glass.

"Me? I suppose I do know more about you than you of myself. I was born in Diyad of course. On the floating city of Opekta. My father and mother were both bankers. The Syncores family was known across the land for it's fabulous wealth. When my parents died they left me with enough money to start my own financial pursuit. But I am very much unlike them. I don't seek wealth or luxury, I was born with it in my blood. What I sought was power. So I funded my own campaign and was elected into Parliament. You might not believe it, but in my younger days I was quite the charmer, and my intelligence was noteworthy. I served Diyad for 37 years. But then it seemed that the blasted Thanatos showed up from nowhere. He was quite a speaker, others often compared him to the last king Lionus III. Lionus was the last king who died at a young age centuries ago. He is considered the greatest king in our history. If people compared Thanatos to him, well there was no doubt he'd rally himself a rebellion. I tried to warn my fellow members of Parliament against war. They were fools, dead set in their ways. I resigned my position 6 months before The Great Civil War broke out. I aided Thanatos in the war. I hated him so much... But my reward was worth it. I earned my spot within the palace and now I rule Diyad. Oh how Fate jests, always on my side!"

A bell rings in the distance, morning is fast approaching and the final day of the Assembly is soon to begin.

"It would seem that I've rambled for over an hour. My apologies noble Dwarf. But we should leave to prepare for today's proceedings."

"Here today? HA! From where? With what transportation? It's possible that your Sandman friend may just be suffering from minor iyonic poisoning. Nothing too serious. People who used to get it only had it briefly. It takes a while for the symptoms to actually occur. To answer your other question, no. I'm not sovereign, but I plan to be. Once the Secret Council completes their instructions, we have free reign over Diyad. We could finally reveal ourselves to our nation. Achyr may be the most liked out of us, but I am both eldest and wisest. He looks up to me. If I've sown the seed as precisely as I'd imagined, then without a doubt he will make me the successor to the throne. Now a question for you my friend. What reason do you have to despise the late king? Seeing as you only knew him briefly before his demise.

We request that the issue of the trading routes be discussed." it said.

"Ah Trade routes, a far more palatable subject. I know that we managed to develop a rough idea of how to include each nation in the main trade lanes yesterday, but perhaps now, with the new maps that the cartographers have drawn we will be able to precisely mark out the new lanes."

The council discusses among themselves and call a group of Diyadian soldiers and other representatives. The men and women quickly scuttle out of the Gallery and make way for a flying ship. The council announces that they have sent their second fastest ship to arrive at Lavania in two and a half days to make cotact with this new nation. The third member of the council, a tall man with a long grey beard and glasses stands up. He introduces himself as Vektor Gaius, lead Alkhemist of Diyad

" Oh, a nation using primarily magick! This reminds me of another important proposal from Diyad. Education remains Diyad's highest priority. Although we have already agreed to share our knowledge, we would like to open universities in other nations. We propose to establish a University of Alkhemistry. On another note, as a joint project, we wish to collaborate with other nations to gather all arcane knowledge to establish a University of Magick. With the threat of an Archnecromancer we find it important that all nations learn about magick, and hopefully learn to utilize it. Of course we are aware of the Collective's weakness to magick so this does not apply to them, for magick can only be counteracted by magick.

//OOC: True, true. Right now I'm waiting for either Conyr or Dyadians (if nothing else breaks) to show up on Lavania...

Also, a question for everyone: did any of you recount the history of your nation completely somewhere along the way? I browsed most of the pages and found only bits and pieces. What I'm leading to is that the artifact's purpose, partially, could be the observations and storage of every nation's history and progress, and, if found, it could be a chance for everyone to expand on their history thoroughly. //End of OOC\\

OOC: Not quite. I still need to do a few more things... Maybe a little entrance from a special someone? (wink wink)

//OOC: If I may ask, please keep the book safe at least until Nexhawk interacts with Xavier directly. The Dark Arcaneum might be of utmost importance for the hidden prophecy of the Ashborn. //End of OOC\\

The man, still facing the giant turns slightly to look at the dwarf. Only his pink eyes are visible from under his cloak. He let's out a smile and begins to laugh.

" Haha, worry not my friend. I'm exactly where I need to be and I'm right on time. Is this not the Assembly that I called?"

Ignoring Xavier's panicked observations and Alixenus's questions, he rushes to the dwarf's aid. His eyes begin to glow brighter than usual. Anger fills his face. He sees Fate, hovering over Xavier attempting to weaken him, to do some type of harm to him. To others he seems to be staring at Xavier, but within the realms of spirits he communicates with the god.

"Begone harlot! Remove thyself from my presence. You have no power here. He is strong, like I he will overcome you!"

She gives Thanatos a demonic stare

YOU ARE BECOMING MORE THAN A THORN IN MY SIDE. DARE YOU EXPEL ME? ME WHO MADE YOU, WHO BROUGHT YOU WHERE YOU ARE? HEAR MY WORDS LIONUS. NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, DUSTIA WILL FALL. I'LL MAKE SURE YOUR THIRD DEATH WILL LAST AN ETERNITY. THIS MORTAL WILL BE MY GREATEST PAWN AND YOU WILL NOT STOP ME.

Thanatos responds coldly.

" I said begone! Leave the presence of Death, before he plagues you prematurely."

Xavier starts to regain consciousness, but his sight remains in the realm of spirits. For once since finding the book his mind is clear. His vision is fuzzy, in front of him he can make out a shadow of a man, the only thing visible are glowing pink eyes. The shadow leaves him with a message.

" You must learn to overcome. Else I end your existence."

The spirit realm shatters before him and his sight lay once more in the real world. Thanatos's eyes cease glowing and he walks away from Xavier. He turns to Alixenus.

"There is much I must explain, this Assembly is over."

He turns to the crowd and announces.

"Alixenus and the leader of the Sandmen will now be taken to the High Court of Diyad! You are hereby charged with suspicion of imprisoning Diyadian soldiers! We shall set off to Diyad at once! We will arrive by midnight and your trial will begin! Also Sir Giant, if you would accompany me also, our task has not yet been completed."

You must learn to overcome. Else I end your existence.

OOC: Oh man Xavier, stopping me at every turn. You're proving to be a formidable foe.

Thanatos isn't fazed by the insult, his voice filled with sincerity.

" To understand one's rights, he must first observe that which has been established throughout history. This Assembly isn't the first. I am simply acting upon principles that were always there. Do you recall the documentation of The first Unified Nations Summit during the second era? There the Laws of International Conduct were first formed. Article XII, Section III states that if a person residing in any of the nations of Assembly are accused of or charged with a crime committed against another nation, they are to receive a fair and speedy trial within the nation of which they are accused of acting against. They are innocent until proven guilty within a court of law. During the Logizombie crisis, I allowed my troops to aid them in their war. This crisis has since ended and no corpse nor remnant has arrived back in Diyad. It is natural that I would be under suspicion that my men are still within their custody. I deeply apologize if I have offended you in some way. As a representative of my people I must stay true to the Laws of International Conduct."

Brutus was enraged at the dwarf and it could be visibly seen from everyone else. This 'dwarf' was an abomination to his people. He was like a human man, and like many humans, his ambitions were to great for him. Brutus' rage finally boiled over. The giant walked up to the dwarf and bent down to eyes level so the dwarf would know what rage was upon him. The giant spoke in a low, even voice.
"Brutus doesn't care what happens to Brutus, but if dwarf makes allegation one more time, Brutus will smash dwarf against the earth. Dwarf blood will water the ground, and meat will feed the beast. Brutus will destroy you. You are a bug to Brutus and. Bugs. get. Squashed." Each word, each syllabal became louder and angrier until the giants voice was a typhoon of rage and power. This wasn't the giant the dwarf had seen sobbing, this was a force of the earth standing in front of him. Thanatos was death but Brutus was the avatar of rage, and every ounce of anger was directed at this welp of life. This little thing of ambition, this pawn of a book! Brutus hated the dwarf.

(Ooc) this isn't me this is how I just think Brutus would react. (Ooc)

OOC: Apologies for my unscheduled absence. I was kept away by computer issues and minor injuries. My deepest sympathies to Thanatos.

"I WILL HAVE ORDER IN THIS HALL!" Cried Alixenus belatedly. He drew his shortsword and smacked the Pommel upon the table with such force that the table Split. It took much for him to lost his temper in this, but to have the Collective's ambassador attempt to usurp his authority was the final straw. Not since the Logizombie attack had he been so emotionally volatile.

"This conference was organised in the name of peace and understanding, not so that you poor excuses for Statesmen could settle your personal grudges like some petty street group working through a two-scene tradgedy! Now I don't care who fried whose soldiers, or who stole what book, or threw gloves where! This ends now! Xavier, if you're men are truly dead, then produce credible evidence and swear before both men and Gods that it is real. If, we accept your evidence Thanatos will pay due compensation, say 10 Talents of Gold." Alixenus now turned to Brutus, sword still in hand, his countenance almost like that of a disappointed father. Meanwhile the court artist had practically thrown his previous work on the floor and starting sketching this new dramatic spectacle.

"Brutus, I swore help for your homeland and you shall have it. I can understand your boredom of my city, there aren't exactly any Giant sized attractions available. Now that this conference has come to an abrupt end we will depart soon." No one else dared to speak, or make any other noise. They all seemed frozen, entranced by the sheer Gravitas of Alixenus' rage. It was as if the Winged Lion itself, the Sigil of the city, was embodied in this man. Now he rounded on Thanatos and the sisters Fury and Strife were beside him as he addressed the dead man before him.
"As my people fought and died to defend their city I never once saw a single Diyadian come to our aid. Search our Dungeons, check our prisoner roles. None of your men are here." Now he pointed his sword at Thanatos, the steel shimered in the early evening sun. "If your people are truly the prodigal spawn of Venezzia, then you will abandon this demand for my arrest. Under our laws colonial authorities do not supercede the City's. But if the Gods have so deluded you that you no abandon this path, then come and get me." More city and council guards were arriving, weapons at ready. Like the Hawk that hovers in the skies, waiting to strike, so too were they watching the diplomats.

All was silent save for the rustling of the Cypress trees in the wind. Xavier made the smallest movement behind Alixenus, perhaps he was straightening his robes. Whatever he did, it caused Alixenus' furious mind to realise something. Xavier has the Necronomicon. Alixenus now drew a dagger with his left and, keeping his sword towards Thanatos, spun and pressed keen edge against Xavier's throat. "You hold in your hands that cursed book, the book which has caused so much suffering already and will send many a nobleman to the underworld if it falls into the hands of the AN. You, sir, shall hand that book to Thanatos so that he may destroy it for the good of all."

OOC: Not sure why, but halfway through writing that I decided to give that post a Homeric spin. Not sure it worked. Thoughts everyone? Sorry for the long post, but it's been a while.

"Do not speak of things you do not yet comprehend Sandromin. I gave him a choice. His mind and spirit are already gone. You cannot see what mine eyes now can. I believe he can overcome that book. It is mine. But if he allows himself to embrace these evils, I'll have to destroy that book here and now. I can't delegate with him, it's his choice now, you can't see the demons that dance around his spirit, delivering him to his doom. Diyad won't declare war. We never wanted to, and never will. And don't worry, I'm not surprised, Free knows the events that shall transpire. It would seem you don't truly know him either. But enough of senseless arguments, we must wait for Xavier's own response."

//OOC: Wow, Xavier. Just wow.

Hm... pants... good... good...

As for the aura for Nex: Auras are a natural trait, and are hugely affected by surroundings (and genetics as well), but is just as well determined by personal characteristics, such as willpower and strength of mind.

@Xavier - Holy cow, that will be one helluva choice to make for me! But would it be the first meeting between Fate and Nexhawk, or could they have interacted before? (*a-la Thanatos* wink wink) //End of OOC\\

Nexhawk experienced a jolt of senses passing through his body. He became overwhelmed with feelings right when the Dark Arcanum appeared within the borders of Spodium.

How could it possibly be...?

He rushed outside of the Grand Hall and saw a human - no, a dwarf! - steadily and confidently walking along the main street of the city. Nexhawk narrowed his eyes as he recognized the book that was the Dark Arcan, which the dwarf was carrying. Then his eyes widened at the astonishing sight of the book pulsating with primal, unharnessed magic. The dwarf himself, however, bore no signs of being attuned to magic in any way. Is this mortal really trying to use the book for his purposes?

Nexhawk rapidly paced toward the newcomer. Upon coming closer, however, he stopped dead in his tracks, for the dwarf's eyes were agleam with emerald hue. Nexhawk smirked at the realization and approached his guest. "Tell me, o mortal: for what purpose did Nak'Sora send you and the Dark Arcanum to me?"

The dwarf tilted his head to the side and glanced suspiciously at him. "I don't quite follow, for I have never met this Nak'Sora of yours."

Nexhawk laughed. "Oh, but you have. Nak'Sora is our name for one of the gods that rule over this world and many others. This name has many literal translations, such as the Hand of Guidance, the Keeper of Future, the Prophet of Time... But her most recent name," Nexhawk pressed his lips in sorrow, "is the Doomweaver. Here, in your language, though, she may be known simply as... Fate."

//OOC: Alixenus, I laughed at the birds remark. //End of OOC\\

Nexhawk listened attentively as the dwarf talked about his mistress' desires. Mentions of Thanatos and his affiliation with death caused his mind to reminisce on one of the events of the day the Ashborn arrived on this continent.

Death... Was that the one whose presence was revealed so abruptly? "I do not know which of the gods you call Freedom, so this tells me almost nothing. I would like, however, to hear more about these three people whose names you've said. Who are they? Leaders of powerful nations? A band of odd heroes looking for an adventure?"

His gaze fell upon the book that the dwarf thumped several times. "And your mistress that you so obediently follow... What will make me think I can trust her motives? Where is the proof that she has cleansed herself of the corruption that befell here millennia ago? And tell me," Nexhawk crossed hands on his chest, "dwarf, whose name I don't even know - do you trust your Fate?"

I would say Thanatos sways between lawful and chaotic good. I guess it depends. Maybe someone can point me in the right direction. I see Thanatos as one who prefers the laws of mortals over the laws of the gods. He sees that there is a difference between what is lawful and what is oppressive. He won't hesitate to break a law (especially an oppressive one)if it is for the greater good. He isn't Superman so he's not afraid to get his hands dirty if need be. This all changes as the character progresses.

//OOC: EDIT: Read again through the description and changed my mind. I believe Nexhawk is close to Neutral Good, but he is extremely concerned about the Ashborn's fate overall, so we'll see where that leads him further. //End of OOC\\

Nexhawk was ready to lift in the air when something hit him. I cannot let go. Not this time, not that the book has been figuratively given into my hands. This is it, the chance to redeem my people! He addressed the Dwarf politely.

"While our intentions might not line up right now, I believe your presence in this capital of Diyad will be most crucial. You must understand Nak'Sora's motives better than anyone else, and hence your words will have the best chance of talking sense into the other leaders. I clearly understand the importance of the book you are holding, and I certainly value your desire to bring it to Spodium."

A new fire sparked in Nexhawk's eyes, a flame of determination. "How about this: for the duration or our journey to Diyad, I will offer my ultimate and utmost protection for you and the Dark Arcanum. Basically, this means that anyone other than you, Xavier, will be able to put his hands on the book solely over my corpse. And trust me when I say," a smirk appeared on his face, "that no demigod on Praecantaria has ever fallen to mortal weapons or something other than pure magic. I do not plan to break this tendency. So, what do you say now?"

OOC: //Sorry to interject with the story. I've been following along, but was a few days behind.

I know you all have fairly settled the matter of the Dark Arcanum, but I had a thought that might mesh the disparate stories a little better, without stepping on toes.

I see it as the DA was originally crafted by Fate as a tool for the Deathlord (capital D marking the master from the servants), and as such she imbued part of his soul into the book, along with the stolen soul of the betrayer.

This imbuing of combative souls granted the book exceptional power, and a knowledge of magic far surpassing any normal means, but also engendered an oily film of insanity as both aspects battled for eternity inside the tome.

If you'll pardon the Harry Potter reference, I see the book as a Horcrux of sorts. It functions as a part of the Deathlord's soul, and remains highly potent while disconnected from the source, but exponentially strengthens the Deathlord (AN) if/when he is reunited with the book.

This could play into the suggestions floating in Xavier's head, the book wants to be whole, even at the cost of the bearer's life to get back to the Deathlord.

Intrinsically tied to the fact that the book is a horcrux, as long as the book exists, the Deathlord will find a new host to infect with an aspect of himself, until he slowly rises to prominence again. This would give a purpose to the roving deathlords (lower case d to indicate the slave kings), as they are prowling around looking for their risen master, and performing nefarious feats as well to bide time.


As to meshing the history, the book was created by Fate, stolen by the Five, returned by the betrayer, and bound to the Deathlord. Deathlord fled Precantaeria for the other continent where he eventually died at the hands of the first hero under Freedom. Unfortunately for this hero, he was much like Isildur in his ignorance of the danger a mere "trinket" could pose, so he did not ensure that the book was destroyed. Since the book is part of the Deathlord, it willfully bonded itself to one of the hero's retinue, and became immaterial, hiding in the soul of the poor retainer. The book waited many long years before deciding the danger had passed and elected to re-materialize, crafting the idea that the scribes had "created" the book recently. The book influenced those present to decide that it would be best to spirit the book away, to keep it "safe", when in fact the book was having them move it away from the greatest danger present, the king. Thus it came to be hidden on the logipriest island long ago, and it slumbered while awaiting the rise of the true host, the next great AN.


I am not sure if this conflicts with any of the established lore, this is just what I took from reading the different origins of the book. After all, as was stated before, history is written by the victors, and in this particular instance, the real victor has been the book for an unknown length of time.

As I am not a contributing author to the world, take my suggestions with a ton of salt. I figured this would blend the two stories, and posit that the book has a malicious will of it's own, when not being directed externally by Fate to be docile. (Reason for fluctuating insanity for Xavier)



Also, everyone's story here is awesome. I would definitely pay to read your work in hard-back format. //End OOC

//OOC: It's quite close to the backstory that I firstly had about the book. Specifically, I said the the Nak'Sora gave the Arcanum to the Firstborn Mir in order to harness their magical potential and give them spells; later, as taint seeped into the book, the Archmage of the Life Wardens became the first Deathlord, gaining knowledge from the corrupted book. He and his people have been banished, but they managed to steal the book first and then leave Praecantaria.

Thanatos, however, was strictly against it; it was understandable, for he introduced the book in the first place. Hence, I had to edit my backstory to account for the changes Sandromin made in order to resolve the argument. //End of OOC\\

OOC: See, this is why robots are cooler! We get stuff DONE :P

Nexhawk heartily laughed at Xavier's question. "Phoenixes are creatures of incredible intelligence. Normally, the bird would form a mind link with its Ashborn master for the purpose of finding out destinations and performing moment-to-moment actions. Of course, the same can be reached by just speaking to a phoenix, but in situations like aerial battles thoughts prove to carry information faster than words that were derived from that thought. Since there will be no such link between you and the mount, your phoenix will just be told to follow mine, and you will not need to control it in any way. Just hold on tight."

He extended his hand and pointed at one of the eggs. Upon casting a spell, a small fireball darted to it and threw its shell open. In a glorious transformation, Xavier's phoenix erupted from its egg and looked curiously at its future rider. It than tilted its head and glanced at Nexhawk, as if listening to something inaudible to the Dwarf. The creature gawked, as if in agreement, and leaned to the ground, indicating that Xavier could mount it now. Nexhawk caught Xavier's nervous gaze and told him, "Don't worry about the flames; if you are a friend, they will not burn you. Now climb atop and tell me when you are ready to depart."

//OOC: Xavier, I wouldn't say so. Phoenixes are incredibly fast creatures, but not that fast. I planned for us to crash the party in Diyad, though. //End of OOC\\

Nexhawk nodded and grinned approvingly while Xavier mounted the phoenix. The two creatures lifted their riders in the air and, following the hatchling from the Embershard, began their west-bound flight, towards the setting sun and the mysterious capital of Diyad.

"Oh, legends, mostly", Nexhawk started reminiscing. "Even I was not born when Nak'Sora created the book for her twisted purposes. During that time, the five nations on Praecantaria were ruled by the Five, powerful Archmages. When they found out about the Dark Arcanum, despite all the warring going between the factions, the Five managed to steal the book. Don't ask me how they managed to do that, but stories tell about their legendary magical abilities... Anyways, soon after stealing it, one of them, a Life Warden, sought to steal the secrets of the Dark Arcanum and gain Nak'Sora's favor and maybe even part of her power. He killed the rest of the Five with the spells from the book and brought it to the goddess, who promptly killed him after receiving the Dark Arcanum. Afterwards, the book was given to the Deathlord that she created herself, and the trail has been lost since then. Until," he motioned in Xavier's direction, "you conveniently brought it to my doorstep."

He pursed his lips. "It's probably best to admit now that I have been searching for the book myself for quite a while. I feel that it will be of high importance in one of my future..." his fingers instinctively felt a half-spherical object, concealed in one of his belt pouches, "shall I say, endeavours. That is why I feel as if your appearance in Spodium is part of something higher, not just Nak'Sora's unknown intentions. But I start to ramble." Nexhawk curiously looked at the Dwarf. "What intrigues me from the beginning is how the book came in your possession. I'd like to hear more about that."

Nexhawk inspected Xavier's face as the latter told the story of his acquisition with the Dark Arcanum. This one will have extreme difficulties parting with the corrupted book. It will certainly take a lot of convincing, if not even worse. Let's hope he will see reason in my cause.

His eyes narrowed, and he nodded toward the Dwarf's last remark. Nexhawk murmured several words in his Phoenix's ear, and the two birds graciously descended toward the metal airship.

Nexhawk glanced at Xavier. "I couldn't help but hear you mentioning those Logipriests. What kind of people are they?"

//OOC: Thanatos, that landing was good enough. Thanks! //End of OOC\\

Nexhawk looked calmly at the guards and answered, "This Dwarf came here on my request and will remain under my absolute protection for the time we spend here. If you have any further questions regarding his presence in the city or your relations with him, please direct them at me personally."

He noticed Ignatus walking rapidly toward the group. The latter approached Nexhawk, and the two Ashborn shook hands in greeting. Ignatus looked suspiciously at Xavier while retelling recent events to his lord. "All leaders are here: Thanatos, the one of the death itself; Alixenus, the leader of Venezzians, who met Cenizar's ship; and Sandromin, who-"

"I know, the gifted one," Nexhawk interrupted him promptly. "Now, can you lead me to their current location?"

"Not quite, my lord," Ignatus sighed, "for they have some sort of a meeting in Thanatos' palace. I was not let in, so I am afraid you will have to wait as well. And may I ask you, how does this... Dwarf have the book itself?"

"It's a long story, Ignatus," Nexhawk laughed. "Let's just say that he arrived at Spodium by his own means, with the Dark Arcanum. And it is fine about the delay. I have waited quite a long time to even contact a first representative from Mediterra, so I will be able to wait a little more. Before you lead me to the palace, though..." Nexhawk turned to the two guards and tossed them a pouch filled with something soft. "There are about twenty cendren leaves, brought from my homeland. Every two hours or so, simply place one leaf on each of the eggs, and they will take care of the rest. Be sure to feed the Phoenixes on time, otherwise," he chuckled, "they will wake up and look for the leaves themselves."

He gazed back at Ignatus, and after words "Lead the way" the two Ashborn headed to the royal palace.

OOC: Galrick's posts bring up an interesting point to consider. Where are we going? I'm happy to continue plunging into the dark and extracting the most fantastical tales from somewhere inside of me, but in the far, far future, what so you guys foresee? I mean, are we creating our own New Eden here? Perhaps we are the remnants of a space-age civilisation when we were fatefully cut off from everyone else when a worm hole closed? Or are we never going to progress to this technological tier? Right now, FTL and clone technology would screw up our story because we're progressing in a style which favours the magical, not technological. This is very strange because I've never seen a story where magic and gods are juxtaposed against such an objective race as the Collective. I've never seen, barring the Force, any magical power combined with spaceships and warp drives.

We might be forging a new genre here, my friends. I only hope that the story does not restrict new writers from joining us. 40 pages is daunting enough to fight through without creating too many rules to abide by that all our readers (not even sure how many actually read this besides us) are afraid to join in on the fun because they fear tripping over lore bombs, slipping up on technological progression or falling into endless plot holes.

If Galrick wishes, I don't see why he can't simply depart from the planet in his Ark. Some might go with him, some may not. There are so many paths, so many crossroads, that it isn't necessary to tell him he can't progress this fast.

He could leave behind the knowledge needed to create our own starships.

He could stay and remain how he is, and the Ark project could experience some unforeseen crisis and is shut down for a few decades.

If we decided to follow his idea, using his Ark as Noah did his, and evacuated before the supernova that I foolishly decided to add without really thinking it through, this is still viable.

Hell, Galrick, you could even delve into the creation or birthing process of new robots for a couple of pages while you wait for events to turn towards your favour. I, for one, would be intrigued by how your robots come to be.

There are dozens of other thing that are possible, hundreds of thousands even.

Options, my friends. We have them. Never say never, and at the risk of sounding even more cliche, always endeavour!

Remember, this is freedom. Writing is freedom.

Swords are sharp, guns are powerful, Death Stars can decimate planets, gods create them. Words can form them all, and destroy them in an instant.

And let me tell you. If we were word-warriors, gentlemen, we would be the elite. Forty pages, from a humble beginning. This is no mean feat, especially with such a boring audience. (I kid, I kid.)

OOC: Yep, I'll make sure she still acts like a [vulgarity replaced with kitten noise... *meow*].

Also thanks Nexhawk for bringing to my attention how stupid I am. I could have been using my phone the whole time. I'll be able to respond much faster now!!!

The two Ashborn raised their eyebrows at the daring question. Nexhawk abruptly stopped and whirled toward the Dwarf. "What made you think we want the Dark Arcanum? Judging from the pain and suffering it brought to the people of Praecantaria, one of my kind would be very foolish to desire the book for themselves. Trust me, there is no reason for us to wish to possess the Arcanum." Nexhawk rubbed his chin. The book truly has a great influence on his mind.

A thought of revelation pierced his mind. "Wait, is that all about the time I mentioned that the book will be crucial in my future endeavor?" He chuckled and patted Xavier's shoulder. "Believe me, my friend, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. You see, I am looking for a certain artifact. My suspicions are high that the Dark Arcanum is a necessary component for its assembly, but it simply needs to be present at the site. Hence, you will part with it for only a few moments while I will finish the incantations that bind the parts of the artifact together. Right now, however, I cannot tell you more about this object, so you'll have to excuse me."

OOC: Xavier, what are dwarves meant to look like? :P

long beard

Nexhawk calmly nodded at the Dwarf. "It is perfectly fine, Xavier. I understand the pain you feel when something dear to you is threatened to be taking away." He looked to the east and thought of Abismonus. How is Fatoxum doing there? Did he halt the Hydromancers, or had they already learned about the Core? "But you can have my promise that nothing will happen with your beloved book." That is, if he will not turn entirely insane before that. I have to remember to tell Nak'Sora to lessen the book's malevolent grips on his indentity. It would be a pity to have such an intelligent mind subdue to an object's will, even so potent.

He snapped out of his musings and directed a gaze full of attention at the Dwarf. "By all means, don't just walk silently with us. Talk to us about anything you want. Maybe your people's culture? What is it like to live in the mountains? In Abismonus, my destroyed country, there used to be several cities built on volcanoes, but, frankly, I've never been to one."

//OOC: Sorry about such a blatant way to make small talk, I'm honestly run out of ideas to touch upon while this meeting is still underway. If you, Xavier, can think of a better topic, please redirect the conversation; I'll be only glad. //End of OOC\\

I'm talking Star Wars intro.

((would like to participate, anyone care to do a TLDR? cheers))

what is this thread about?

scary

how big are they

//OOC: I am waiting for Xavier to talk about his and Fate's motives as well, and, frankly, wouldn't mind Sandromin replying to Nexhawk addressing him. But he told us about the problems with the tech, so I would naturally expect a break between his posts right now. I'll do my best, though, to continue Faroxum's narration at the mean time. //End of OOC\\

OOC: I love how we keep each other going. I'll admit right here, if I were writing a story of such magnitude alone, I would've given up a long time ago.

______

Conyr struggled as he was dragged closer and closer to the pot, which now loomed over his vision as if it were a malevolent king, hissing and spitting at its unworthy subjects. The single torch held by the dwarf girl - for Conyr seemed to think she was fairly young, however crazy she was- combined with the roaring blaze under the cauldron cast eerie, dancing light and equally fluid shadows over the large cave the logipriest now found himself in.

The strange creature dragging him, which looked like a scrawny monkey with a strange, wolfish face and completely black eyes, stopped before its back touched the pot and looked at the dwarf, supposedly for further instructions. Conyr was panting hard, trying to fill his lungs with the warm, moist air but never feeling as if a breath was enough. The cauldron boiled on, imperiously disregarding the logipriest's fear and inner turmoil.

"Please..." Conyr's voice was still raspy from thirst, and it occurred to him that it was cruel irony that he was probably going to die in a pot of water.

"Oh, listen! Listen, Raveral, listen, Raveria. The green one speaks! What have you to say, little green food?"

"I don't taste good."

The dwarf laughed, laughed so hard the creature on her shoulder clutched her neck in surprise as she tossed her head back. For a solid minute, she guffawed until, managing to stifle the mirth to a hearty chuckle, she wiped the tears from her eyes. Then as suddenly as she had started laughing, her expression changed into a demented mask, her eyes boring holes into Conyr, striking fear into his heart.

She stared at Conyr for another long minute, until the fear subsided and Conyr was feeling more puzzled than alarmed. Then she looked away, crooning to her monkeys, who were jumping around her in circles, screeching softly back at her. Then they stopped, and all three turned towards Conyr.

"We have come, hehehe, to a-" and she couldn't contain herself, and suddenly she was laughing again. Then she stopped. Then she turned back to Conyr. "An AGREEMENT!"

Conyr flinched in his bonds at the resounding boom of her voice.

"We won't eat you."

Conyr could barely contain a sigh of relief, and suddenly he felt the air feel cooler and easier to inhale.

"But we will eat your friend. You can join us if you like."

And with that, she walked out, back into the tunnel towards Hakyi, her monkeys in tow. Conyr was left staring at their receding backs, horrorstruck.

So, is Xavier going to have some lvl80 wizard powers when he wakes up?

I agree

And BTW, GG in that Zion-SI battle. //End of OOC\\

The medics back away from the enlarged dwarf. Behind them several footsteps simultaneously echo throughout the halls. Guards. Royal guards, dressed in lavish white with crimson capes. They advise the medics to return to their work. A young soldier steps from the ranks. No older than 17. He has a soft complexion and an eager face. He is sure not let his fear show.

"Please sir, you are in a critical state. We advise you not to struggle. We are trying our best to help you."

TL;DR -Xavier gone crazy and is fryin' brains
- Halvedes is a possible demigod
- As we speak Vektor is being disintegrated
- Thanatos and Nexhawk go to save the day
-Alixenus calls upon the help of the RIVERS?
- Conyr is using LSD?

Halvedes smirks, looking down at the energy flowing through him.

"Ah, but you do not understand. These men before you challenge Fate, she who is truth and good. But nay tis' not their fault. They are merely plagued by the corruption of the flesh. The Void frees them of this corruption. Look at the energy within me. Each individual strand is a life. I do not consume. I am their salvation, I cleanse them of their sins. They are not dead, but merely one with the Void, free of the harshness and cruelty of this physical world..."

The tempest over Karthage continued unabated. Such was the ferocity of the storm that roads became brooks and streams as the sewage systems and water table failed to contain the deluge. Sandromin continued to look on at the floating facility, searching with his vision, both mundane and otherworldly, for any sign of Thanatos' progress. The rest of the party has seeked shelter indoors, but Sandromin kept his vigil. As he observed Nexhawk circle far above he detected, despite the thunderous sound and fury of the storm, the sound of marching feet and metal grinding on stone. Looking over to where he heard the disturbance he saw Alixenus walking towards him from the descending road he had disappeared down what seemed like at least a half hour ago. Tension has a way of stretching time.

Then slowly, up that road came Ballistas, pushed by both Venezzian and Diyadian working in unison thanks to an old labourers chant that had somehow survived Diyad's separation from it's progenitor. The men with the Scorpios and bolts and slowed down and joined in the chant, it seemed to raise their spirits more than competing to be first. As the men readied the weapons Alixenus finally explained his plan to Sandromin.

"This is still a contingency, but I like to be ready. If Thanatos and Nexhawk appear to be in any situation they can't handle, or they cannot bring that flying fortress down to us so that we may join the battle, I will order these men to fire Grapnel bolts into the facility. Either we then climb the ropes attached to the bolts, or we pull the whole damn thing down to us! So Sandromin, has there been any sign from up there?"

Void agreed with the dwarf. It was almost time to go.Almost. However he could not take his mind off of what he had heard. He chuckled and murmured to himself:

"Soul is what makes you human, naive dwarf. Flesh? Hehe...merely the building block for organisms. All flesh comes from Dust. When one dies, only their flesh remains. Only the soul ascends to the heavens. To the living the flesh is but a memory of life, the soul is eternal..."

Would one wish to live, to remember forever, or rather to be remembered forever... for living? What does one remember? Their presence or their existence? The being or the Dust?

The Princedom of Malakir

Bio: The Princedom of Malakir is the smallest princedom on the island of Vospedonia in the far west, yet have the best assassins. They have just recently started going out into the world, as their services have never been needed elsewhere. Luna Angelo is the Dark Princess, the ruler of Malakir. She killed the previous ruler in a coup and took command by means of her assassins.

Base terrain: Malakir is mostly swamps.

Strengths: Darkness, swampy water and disease.

Weaknesses: Fire (because it creates light), Light and cures for disease.

Income: Malakir uses the blood rubies as currency, because we take rubies as payment for our contracts.

Special Power: The ability to disappear into the shadows, which can be negated by creating light.

EDIT: Fixed some things in it.

//OOC: Also take note that this thread has deviated from the original playstyle; now we lead the narration from one or a couple of persons related to our nations. For example, Thanatos here controls the king of Diyad with the same name as well as the one of top officials gone rogue. Hence, most of what OP mentions - strengths, weaknesses, followers, etc. - is no longer in use. So I suggest you immerse yourself in reading through this thread; it might give you some ideas about where to start and how to introduce your character and your nation. //End of OOC\\

Void had caught Xavier's stare at the fiery lord. Void's eyes were empty of emotions, his clear skin was smooth and lacked the wear and wrinkles unique to human expressions. The only way you could tell what he was thinking, was by his menacing grin, wide and twisted. He looked to Xavier and answered him nonchalantly, "Yes, we should be going now.." He raised his hand hand and before them there was a shimmer in the air, one similar to the effect of magick cloaks of invisibility. Xavier looked to the shimmer with a puzzled expression. For it was not a shimmer, but a ripple in space. The stagnant energy of the space being torn was drawn into Void. The ripple opened up revealing a portal. Th effects of the ripple began to suck all of the furniture and equipment from the building including some of the walls leaving nothing but a large empty room. As they entered the unstable portal they completely disappeared, almost as if they never existed. It simply looked like a white stained glass. But then the white went pitch black. The black was illuminated by the stars and nebulae of space. In the distance was a throne seating an all too familiar goddess. He waved his arm toward the portal as to direct Xavier to enter. On the other side Fate beckoned him. His mind was far too gone now to resist even her weakest attempts at tempting him. He silently entered through the spatial doorway. As he walked towards Fate he felt absence, not Void, but of him. Void had not followed. He tried to lean his head out of the portal to call him, but to no avail. It felt like a thick wall of glass was prohibiting his exit. "No need to worry, they only work one way. If I recall correctly retrieving you was my primary task, I have one more thing to take care of don't I?" Fate nodded silently with a smile. Like a simple decoration he violently pushed the portal to the opposite side of the room. He looked towards Nexhawk. Nak'Sora doesn't take kindly to unexpected guess. Nexhawk caught his glance and maintained eye contact. As long as he was drawn to him only, they had the strategic advantage of a surprise attack. Thanatos had deduced his intentions and began to dart around the corner and scale the wall. Waiting for the PERFECT moment. Void screamed, "I said no guests!" He raised his hand and a large portion of the upper wall before him had ripped away an been sucked into him, fully revealing Nexhawk atop his phoenix. "I see, a pyromancer?" He laughed and took an aggressive stance. " Finally an opponent to truly test my power. He reached behind and a large orb of energy formed in his hand, he launched it in Nexhawk's direction.

We all share a language except goblins and orcs. This is simply due to our ancestors; their auras were "speaking" to each other and eventually a common language was developed, mind you there are many dialects, like southern mermen speak and highland raider slang, as well as the occasional valley dwarf gibberish. It seems it all happened for a reason, eh?

has anyone considered posting this on fanfiction.net ?

OOC: I'm back baby! rl is fixed and I'm ready to rock again. All it took was sending my brother beyond the Wall.
Now, in reference to post 1308: NOOO! Thanatos! You can't leave us! But good job throwing Void in, I agree with your assessment of the challenge level. There HAS to be some sort of telepathy going now.
So Vyzion, in answer to your question about the Dwarf pit fights, I imagined them to bloody, but not intentionally to the death. You want your men to at least reach the battle after all. With copious amounts of coin and Mead being thrown around. I'm not posting anything else about the expedition to the Giant lands yet as Vyzion's already put it 5 days ahead of the events in Diyad. I'm just going to let them sail unevntfully for now.
Lastly, I just want to say, like everyone else. I miss Galrick too.

OOC: Going to update the achievement page if needed.

DONE.

Also, do we need to expand the map?

OOC: Now I am at a crossroads. Do I reveal whether or not Alixenus is quite permanently dead, or do I let you linger, swinging between hope and despair upon the pendulum of uncertainty? Its quite a strange feeling, being an author, knowing your work is being read live. Knowing that you can keep your audience in suspense for as long as you like. Oh I can be so cruel can't I?

OOC: Well, I'm throwing in a new sub-antagonist for us to fight. Nobody pop out of nowhere until I reveal all his abilities and powers.

OOC: I'm assuming at this point no one is really going to be joining the game anymore. You would have to be extremely interested/invested in the story to read over 70 pages of this. This would get boring if our nations were the only ones in the entire world. Or if our main characters were the only ones that did things.

But Bojo, unseen to Ashborn, popped two caps in their asses and saved the day. His presence in the story created a time-warp, a rip in the space time continuum. Thus hotdogs came to be in the story line.

//OOC: In my knowledge, the Eye is locked tightly in the chamber sealed by Nak'Sora herself (when she was still sane in our sense of the word, mind you), and the access to it will be granted only when three specific persons meet there. Remember the three platforms - orange, green, and yellow? So I have no idea how you will be able to accomplish the theft of such proportions.

The Eye serves no actual purpose by itself. It is only useful in conjunction with the other Eye, now in Nexhawk's possession. Once the two halves are linked and bound by a certain type of energy, you will have the device that can recount all recorded history and also, as the rumors say, reveal the future. Nobody knows to what extent, though.

Also, good one, Bojo! //End of OOC\\

A dwarf? On this barren isle?

The two Ashborn, their right hands at the hilts of the obsidian blades, cautiously approached the suffering dwarf. His sight was, to say the least, very unnerving. Suspicious of a dark entity that was tormenting Xavier, they conjured protective fiery cloaks to envelop them and hinder any assault, and afterwards hastily walked up to him. One of the Ashborn, wearing a hood, asked, "Are you alright?"

(Ooc) NO ONE WRITES ANYMORE!!!! (Ooc)

//OOC: @Xaviet: Well, I'd like to get a taste of Xavier's powers myself instead of observing from a distance... So yes, you can kill my guards, but I'd like to partake in the fight, if you don't mind.

A dwarf? On this barren isle?

The two Ashborn, their right hands at the hilts of the obsidian blades, cautiously approached the suffering dwarf. His sight was, to say the least, very unnerving. Suspicious of a dark entity that was tormenting Xavier, they conjured protective fiery cloaks to envelop them and hinder any assault, and afterwards hastily walked up to him. One of the Ashborn, wearing a hood, asked, "Are you alright?"

//OOC: Um... Killing Ashborn with fire? That's a strange way to do it, and I apologize, but I feel like this won't just succeed from a logical standpoint. //End of OOC\\

The two mages recoiled as Xavier started speaking. They witnessed madness violently swirling in his eyes, heard it penetrate every word he uttered. And then, surprisingly, the dwarf launched a hellfire blast at them.

The Ashborn exchanged a quick glance and directed their hands towards the incoming fireball. Four fiery tongues protruded from their index fingers and shot out at the projectile. Soon the tongues enveloped the fireball, wrapping around it several times...and split it in four parts.

Each shard of the hellish fireball flew to the mages' hands, pulled by the flaming lashes. Once the fingers touched these shards, the hands of the Ashborn became engulfed with the crackling fiery energy that was conjured by Xavier. A fleeting moment of peace ensued between the combatants, and then the Ashborn flung the energy, now shaped into infernal gouts, from their hands back at the insane dwarf.

//OOC: Now this is much better! And I'm curious to see how you will counter the aforementioned.//End of OOC\\

One of the Ashborn simply watched as the rock flew towards him, expecting it to bounce off his armored chest. Instead, however, the stone embedded itself into the mage's hardened skin. The victim of such a strange spell instantly felt a deathly chill spreading from his chest and into the other parts of his body. The stone began to glow with an eerie dark-blue light, and the corruptive magic started to extinguish the very fire that was the lifeblood of the Ashborn. Both men watched in terror as the victim started to harden and turn into a lifeless statue. The dying Ashborn cried out, "Kaltid, avenge me...!", and the last flames that animated his body were suffocated, leaving behind a dark-eyed obsidian replica of their former owner.

Kaltid saw quite a few of his kind due in battle, but none had endured a death so cruel and dreadful. Infuriated and scared at the same time, he pointed his left hand at this creature of evil and shouted, "Die, you immortal bastard! Burn in hell! Khazzik esh mukh'ra!"

Right as he spoke those words, a giant meteor fell from the sky, collapsed a few meters in front of Xavier, and began to roll at him at blinding speed. At the same time, Kaltid made a circular motion with his right hand, and the dwarf instantly became engulfed in a fiery vortex, an inferno from which there seemed to be no escape.

//OOC: Now this is much better! And I'm curious to see how you will counter the aforementioned.//End of OOC\\

One of the Ashborn simply watched as the rock flew towards him, expecting it to bounce off his armored chest. Instead, however, the stone embedded itself into the mage's hardened skin. The victim of such a strange spell instantly felt a deathly chill spreading from his chest and into the other parts of his body. The stone began to glow with an eerie dark-blue light, and the corruptive magic started to extinguish the very fire that was the lifeblood of the Ashborn. Both men watched in terror as the victim started to harden and turn into a lifeless statue. The dying Ashborn cried out, "Kaltid, avenge me...!", and the last flames that animated his body were suffocated, leaving behind a dark-eyed obsidian replica of their former owner.

Kaltid saw quite a few of his kind due in battle, but none had endured a death so cruel and dreadful. Infuriated and scared at the same time, he pointed his left hand at this creature of evil and shouted, "Die, you immortal bastard! Burn in hell! Khazzik esh mukh'ra!"

Right as he spoke those words, a giant meteor fell from the sky, collapsed a few meters in front of Xavier, and began to roll at him at blinding speed. At the same time, Kaltid made a circular motion with his right hand, and the dwarf instantly became engulfed in a fiery vortex, an inferno from which there seemed to be no escape.

OOC: *Bursts back into the forum coated in blood and vodka, wearing only a Sombrero* My friends, catch! *throws the deed to Venezzia to his fellow writers before being dragged away* Don't forget meeeeeeee...

//OOC: *crosses fingers and whispers* I really wish he is exaggerating... I really wish he is exaggerating... //End of OOC\\