Ages of War ( Ic)

[mooreak]

In the great city of DeepHaven, a city built around a great meteor crater in the earth in the center of the town built of the iron of the great meteor lies the Grand Citadel of Silver. The seat of power for DeepHaven's ruler the Silver Queen. In the great palace is a great meeting hall, larger then large and furnished to fit countless beings. For this purpose it was used by Silvrin Eldandor to summon all and every leader and hero who called the Marches and the surrounding places their home.

Silvrin stood in the middle of the great chamber, surrounded by Men, Fey, Giants, Orcs, Gnolls, Elves, half-fiends and all manner of beings. He held out his arms to silence the crowd “ Friends, Enemies, Foes and Allies. All are summoned today, all of you are hear because you have been beckoned by the Last Pact, the charter signed by your ancestors at the end of the Last Alliance” A great thunder of voices and protests shot out.

“ There is no need, we crush” roared a mighty orc chieften as he stepped towards the dwarven delegation. The Dwarves hefted their axes but the orc stepped back “ Silence” Silvrin roared “ You are blood bound by your ancestors to hear this call!”.

“ The Dark Beast is gone, we are not bound” a hollow, deathly voice wailed out. The room roared into chaos as the crowds began to argue. Silvrin growled low as he slammed his staff into the floor, a great wave of force washed over the chamber silencing all. “ Silence!! I Will have silence” he said as he paced “ The Beast is not gone, it has returned.”.

“ What proof have you of this” An ancient wood elf called out “ He was destroyed by the Thule of the High Elves”. Silvrin pointed his staff at The Grand Father “ Black Orcs have once again been spotted, the south is at war with them. Refugees from all nations of the south flood north. Even now Black orc filth washes our lands”.

“ We kill them, no need others. Gnolls strong, we kill them as we eat men,,,,” an ugly, grizzled gnoll roared out. “ The Cloud Giants of Minas fear no black orc, the Beast is gone. It is simply a war lord, much like their filthy Mountain orc cousins they will fall apart” the cloud giant leader said. Silvrin gritted his teeth “ You all are blood bound to serve, you are blood bound to uphold the treaties”.

“ Orcs crush black orcs, no alliance!” The orcs stood up and left, after a few moments of spitting and hissing the room began to empty all but a few. Beside Silvrin stood now a beautiful woman with short silver hair, white translucent gossamir gown adorning her body. Beside her stood a man hansome and rugged in red armor. Only a few hero's stood beside them, only a few took this warning. You are those few, you are that last hope.

Silvrin turns to you “ Atleast some see the wisdom of my words. I am Silvrin Eldandor , and may I present to you the last two great wyrms in the land. The Silver Queen and the Red Lord”. The woman bowed “ I am the Silver Queen, though I and the Lord have warred much we have seen enough to know our time is soon to end. In a few of your generations I fear no dragons will remain, our power will fade and the Dark Beast will prevail without hope”.

The red lord nodded “ Our two cities will make the back bone, though after the alliance DeepHaven will fall to us” smoke tendrils lept from his nostrils “ But for now” Silvrin silenced them with th a hand “ We must bring them together, only united will ther ebe enough strength to stop the Beast for good. You must have many questions”

[Breitheamh]

Shrakk stands a couple of meters from the rest of the group, his hands busy knitting a woolen cap. While Silvrin and the dragons speak, he puts his needles through the ball of wool he holds in the folds of his shirt and closely examines the stitching in the hat. He gives a nod, and places his creation on his head, strands of wool still leading from the ball to the comically small hat resting on top of his bright red hair.

Finally, he looks up and does a slight double-take when he sees so few left. He looks around, mouthing numbers as he counts his companions. When he finishes, he gives a satisfied smile, pulls the cap off his head, and continues to knit.

[kinem]

The red-haired human man in the chain shirt looks around, and stands to ask his questions.

"I am Ren Reed, warmage and Protector of Swinle, one of the southernmost cities in the Marches. As such, I certainly take this grave news very seriously, but there is much I don't yet understand.

The cloud giant was a fool to walk out, but his question has merit: How does the attack of the Black Orcs prove that the Beast is back? I am no expert on orcs or on the Beast, and I'm not saying that it is not proof. I just need more information on the topic.

Secondly, Silvrin, if Thule failed to slay the Beast ... on what basis do you say that we can do better?

Regardless of these questions, it is clear that some leader has gathered Black Orc forces to invade our lands, and for that reason alone we must all prepare to defend the Marches. We must stand together this time."

[bekeleven]

"Silence!" hisses a reptilian form behind him. "If the Silver Queen stands with him, then his words are true."

The man steps past him and bows, wings furling in respect. "Ladon Vaski. I offer my service, such as it is. I can take charge of movement and aerial superiority."

[Ellowryn]

A young man steps forward, whose very armor and shield glows like the sun and the mark of Pelor adorning him.

Greetings my Lords and Lady, it is indeed an honor to be standing here today with you. He bows to each in turn. While i agree with Reed that the massing of Black Orcs does not prove of this most ancient and horrible of foes has returned, it is at least plain to see that they are a threat to all, not just any single kingdom or even the Dragon Marches but to all the lands. By your leave i will gladly step forth to defend the lands from them and while doing so search for any signs that the Beast has come again. For it will be only with certain proof of its presence that we may be able to rally all those who disbelieve you and march to put an end to its foul existence once and for all.

[TachyonBlade]

Of the few remaining heroes that had gathered there, only a single one of them had actually faced the horrors and might of the Beast's hordes in person, and this singular hero was the archlich and formerly arch-wizard of the lands. He lacked a name, and went by the title of The Consolidator, a holdover from his glory day's all those centuries ago.

He seemed almost ghost-like, sitting in the shadows on a chair, with his translucent skin and entirely white hair not helping in that regard, and his skinny and frail-looking body also giving the illusion of undead, which he was, in a form. He did not speak up, for he deemed it unnecessary.

The belief that his sworn enemy, and the reason why he still liver, or at least existed in the Materium, from the dark mists of past could have returned all so suddenly seemed like a stake through his heart, for he knew that if the Beast ran amok, and gathered once more a legion of his warriors, nothing could stand between it and total domination.

But he remained calm, not showing emotion, although that was already hard enough to do in lich form. He had to have evidence, first, and he felt that he'd get that evidence soon enough. If it was real.

[super dark33]

Nesher recognized Ren and Shrakk from a battle he lost, he knew this struggle is in good hands.

He mustered the most polite voice he could in front of the two dragon lords, two of the few beings he placed above him.

It doesnt matter who wants to join a united Dragon Marches. if anyone resists we will crush them and bring them to our side. What is the first mission?

He didnt know the other people, and didnt trust them, as long as they dont try to patronize them all is fine.


I give you my word, Queen, Lord.

Nesher kneels before them.

[mooreak]

" Proof is hard to come by then one would surmise, we are dealing with knowledge that has faded and been forgotten. That is ancient as well as cryptic, in the city of Sol-Daris in the Bathorian Empire resides the Library of Scholus. In this Library is the collection of Treaties, the collective scrolls concerning the Last Alliance and all involved. Lore Keepers such as my self have combed it over for centuries trying to find the information we need".

Silvrin extended his hand and a small image appeared , large and mighty and two shadowed figures stood beside him. The images began to move " The fight began strong, for hours Thule and Msildor fought the Beast, Spells, blades, beast and sweat filled the air" the figures moved, puffs of smoke appearing " In the finale moments Msildor's blade struck home and shattered in the Beast, leaving behind a shard. wounded but still immensly powerful, The Beast charged and struck a near fatal blow to Msildor. Exhausted and broken Msildor was only able to drag himself. As the Beast went for the final blow Thule loosed his last and final spell. In a Blinding burst of energy the Beast was gone" the Images puffed away. " This is the story passed down, but in my studies spurned by the war and activity to the south i have found Thule's journal. It is old and nearly undesypherable only passages but it tells of the battle and of the spells he had prepared. Of all the spelsl only one stands out, a Banishment spell. I can not say it was indeed the last for Thule died long ago and the rest of his journal is lost".

The Silver Queen stepped in " We believe that it was the banishment, The Beast had not the power to create life but only alter it. He could reshape flesh, and he could breed them with foul spawn of the abyss but not make new" she said as she moved towards the group " New beast we believe have been sighted and only he can command new beast to the Horde. We have no idea how to stop him for good, or what we can do to unite the people and stop the evil" The Red Lord spoke up interrupting her.

" For the first time in fifteen hundred years the corruption is spreading from the Dark Lands, life a disease that consumes all life. That is all the proof you lesser beings need. The silver wyrmling want to be amongst your group deserves less proof, deserves to be crushed but soon, for now it must serve its purpose".

Silvrin put up his hand to silence the dragons " We do not know how to defeat them, a warrior with a blade gifted to him by the Gods of Justice and the most powerful Elven High Mage in history could only delay him.But we will, i will return to the the Great Library and i will come over them for any clue i can find. The Silver Queen and the Red Lord can guide you" he pointed his staff " But i ask you this, of the dwarven delegation was missing their king. An old friend of mine, Lord Grizzly Firebeard, i assumed he would be here but as with the secretiveness of dwarves i was not informed by his delegation where he was. But i know, to the south of Deephaven their is a small range of peaks known as the Adderan, my old friend had mentioned finding deposits of Smoldium and he was planning an expedition. Perhaps there would be a good place to begin, see if he is there and find him".

[Mishkov]

A large man with awkward features stands watching the commotion, his eyes twitching and darting in every which way. A large creature sits behind him with vaguely lizard-like, or dragon-like features if you examined them closely, but warped. The strange asymmetrical being rests his head awkwardly on his misshapen legs, unconcerned by the gravity of the situation. The man, known to be a wizard, mutters throughout the first set of talking, looking around warily.

He does not seem surprised when it is mentioned that corruption spreads or that perhaps the beast had never died, but his head perks up as soon as he hears of the dwarves. "Grizzly! The wee man? He's a grand old fellow! Too much gloom and doom in this chamber, and too many chairs for that matter..." the wizard slows his speech as he eyes chair to chair, watching for movement, "I'd be glad to be gone from this place, let's head to Adderan!"

[bekeleven]

"I can move four to our destination every day, but no more unless others assist. Will we need more than four to speak to the dwarves?"

Greater Teleport to destination + Teleport back, to be specific.

[kinem]

Ren Reed replies "Though we have had our differences" (with a nod to Nesher) "it is indeed an honor to fight alongside you all.

However, some here know nothing of diplomacy." Here he rolls his eyes at the reptilian Ladon. "I volunteer to be among those to visit the dwarves. After all I represent a southern city. If the dwarves are to be on the front lines, then they can be sure that I will be, too."

[Breitheamh]

"Mh," Shrakk grunts, and points at Ren with one of his knitting needles. "I go with him."