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Post by Reggie on Mar 26, 2018 19:27:36 GMT -8
Glorion's Vigil
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Post by Reggie on Mar 26, 2018 20:03:21 GMT -8
Glorion stood silently watching as the convoy departed the village of Gusi. He would have gone with them, but he knew it would be several weeks before they returned and with the wards weakening, he simply was not comfortable leaving the containment to whatever spells had been cast by the followers of other deities. He knew that whatever evils lay at the heart of the temple, the final confrontation would have to be fought by a Champion of Itus. Lacking any other obvious candidates, Glorion was glad to have Corellan's blessing to step into that role. He drew the Sword of Itus and admired it. Even though it was wrought by Human hands, the craftsmanship was wondrous to behold. He gave it a few experimental swings before sliding effortlessly into one of his childhood martial patterns.
The Sword of Itus flowed like water through the air, gliding from one stroke to the next in Glorion's practiced hand. At first it was odd, using a weapon that had been crafted for human hands, but he had spent decades practicing the art of swordsmanship. As parried an invisible assailant here and cleaved through another there, he felt the sword become lighter and move more swiftly. He lost himself in the art, taking little notice of the hours as they passed. Stab. Parry. Riposte. Dodge. Slash. The moves melded together into a battle trance, until he felt the Sword gradually became an extension of his being.
Glorion paused and leaned up against one of the pillars, breathing heavily. As his breath came back to him he noticed that many hours had passed and the light was growing more faint as the sun set...
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Post by Dungeon Master on Mar 27, 2018 5:34:28 GMT -8
A few hours pass as darkness starts to fall, when a single horse ridden by a short elven female enters into the clearing of the temple again. Rabbit shifts in her saddle as she rides up to the armored elf. She just stops her horse in front of the warrior, blows a strand of hair out of her face and watches him for a few moments.
With the slightest smile she mutters, "I couldn't let you die out here by yourself, I brought more rations back so we have enough to camp with."
With that Rabbit adjusts her sword while turning in the saddle. Sliding off with practiced ease she is already reaching for the saddle bags on her horse. RABBIT
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Post by Reggie on Mar 27, 2018 12:13:02 GMT -8
Glorion remains leaning against the pillar as Rabbit rides up, studying her for a moment in uncharacteristic silence. Finally he smiles and pushes himself off the pillar, walking slowly down the stairs. "Tuulo' i' dae an undome elen rakta. It is as you say, Lapattë. I have faith that Corellon will provide, however he is not strong in this place and I would avoid placing undue burdens upon him."
The paladin doffs his armor, laying it next to the temple stairs, before returning to help Rabbit unload and set up her supplies. He grins again as he takes one of the saddlebags and begins to arrange their bags next to his armor, "Still, it is humorous that you would trust the ostolië to find their way back without a guide. I suppose the road is well enough marked; one simply hopes they do not attempt to "take a short cut."
Pausing in his speech, Glorion stares at the temple for quite some time before turning to speak again, all mirth having evaporated from his face, "What has transpired here, Lapattë, is something that should not happen. Gods being cast down by their own followers, temples being transformed, talk of Incursions and Infernal Princes. Something about this is very wrong and I must find out the cause. When the time comes, you will all have a choice. I will not think less of any of you for completing the contract and moving on." With that said he turns away rather briskly and busies himself taking out odds and ends from his bag. Candles, clear vials of water, odd smelling blocks, and silk rope.
Tuulo' i' dae an undome elen rakta - "From the shadows, an evening star arrives" Lapattë - "Hare" ostolië - "City Folk"
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Post by Dungeon Master on Mar 27, 2018 18:34:44 GMT -8
A small smile crosses Rabbit's face at the compliment, her smile grows even larger when he mentions the rest of the group. "I got them to the main road, I think they are in good hands with Luke getting them back."
Rabbit is quiet for awhile as they unpack. As she works, she listens to the surrounding woods for anything that might be moving in this unnatural silence. While doing this, she glances over at Glorion for short periods of time, as if thinking on something, then just as quickly she returns to what she is doing. Eventually she finishes unpacking her gear and settles at the fire.
With the slightest smile she turns to face Glorion, the fire crackling, "D'anthe tealcin torch d'udossta tresk'ri"
She pauses, realizing she is speaking drow and continues in common, intermixed with elven. "I admire your belief in the gods. There is something about believing and having that faith in something outside of yourself. To be able to touch something and have them respond. Alas, I am hecile to the gods so that is not something that is for me."
Eventually she pulls out a brace of dead rabbits and begins butchering them by the fire. She occasionally blows the hair out of her eyes as she hums to herself. She glances over at Glorion again, a more serious expression crosses her eyes. "You are right though, what is happening here cannot be allowed. No matter how much my logical portion says I should just walk away. Something in me is stopping me." Her smile returns, a sarcastic twist on her lips. "The odds are it will kill me at some point, but I will have a good story to tell in the underworld. Neh?." D'anthe tealcin torch d'udossta tresk'ri - "Dear shining torch of our world" (drow) hecile - "outcast, forsaken, outlaw" (quenya/elven)
RABBIT
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Post by Reggie on Mar 27, 2018 22:11:08 GMT -8
Glorion looks up from his work, smiling broadly, "It is as you say Lapattë, we will all die some day. However, I do not think we will die today, in this place. There is too much unfinished work to be left behind." He begins arranging arranging candles along the ground in front of the temple steps, in the rough shape of a shield facing the entrance. He then pulls out a knife and some fine silken rope and begins cutting several pieces of the rope off. "N'uma er Lotesse Nurta sen anta tuulo' i' Seldarine. Lle naa il-lle gwaith. You feel as though you are not of i'morinuin or i'me'a, and so will never fit in. I hope you will one day see this is a blessing and not a curse. You might gaze upon me and see power you feel you will never have. Power of Seldarine, ar-agar, mela en'gwaith, these are all things you feel you can never attain but I tell you that you possess a power beyond all that. Every one of my strengths is also my weakness. Corellon is mighty indeed but he has many enemies. Royal blood comes with its own troublesome set of rules and restrictions. The love of the people, well that is the most fickle of all blessings, to be nurtured carefully lest you incur their ire. This is something I am learning all to well of late. You however are Dae no'i'Kela, and are free to chart your own path according to your heart unburdened by such obligations. Freedom is true power."
The Paladin begins placing the ropes in an eight-pointed star pattern, three shorter ends to the sides and one long piece extending the length of the candle formation. He stands up after finishing his work and frowns, walking slowly around the candle formation. He adjusts a strand of rope here, a candle there. Once everything appears to be to his satisfaction he reaches into his backpack and pulls out the ruined Silevegil and places it across the ropes at an angle, laying the gleaming Sword of Itus across it pointing the other direction. He then takes out eight platinum coins and places them at each of the points of the star within the shield and stands back to admire his work. N'uma er Lotesse Nurta sen anta tuulo' i' Seldarine - "No one may hide their face from the gods" Lle naa il- lle gwaith - "You are not your people" i'morinuin - The Underdark i'me'a - The Light ar-agar - Royal blood mela en'gwaith - "love of the people" Dae no'i'Kela - "Shadow on the Leaves" Want to perform your own Elvish translations? Check out the Tel'Quessir Online Translator!
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Post by Dungeon Master on Mar 28, 2018 15:35:19 GMT -8
Rabbit listens to the paladin and then catches something from the corner of her eye. She leans towards Glorion, watching him do his thing for a moment. As if looking for something. "Lle naa lisse' vee' elder fion, and that is why I rather like you, even if you are wrong a lot. You can be a bit... overwhelming.. at times with your religion and royal butt, but you really do want to be the good guy." She smiles to herself, "We are fortunate to have both you and Luke i' nostale ar' noldo in our group. I think that is what will keep us alive in there."She then reaches back into one of her packs and pulls out a lyre. "At least maybe I can draw some of your L'ogglin d'ssussun in so we can entertain ourselves." She strums the instrument with practiced ease. "When Luke and the rest get back I think we might get somewhere this time. I get a tickle when things are going to happen, and I think that tickle has started."A large smirk crosses her face, as if some inside joke. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Lle naa lisse' vee' elder fion - You are as sweet as eldar wine. Luke i' nostale ar' noldo - Luke the kind and wise L'ogglin d'ssussun - The enemy of light (drow) RABBIT
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Post by Reggie on Mar 28, 2018 20:39:12 GMT -8
Gabriel grins at the other elf and points excitedly to the formation of candles and weapons which form a combination of Itus and Corellon's holy symbols. "Why my dear Lapattë, that is precisely what I have been doing. Painting a big, overwhelmingly divine target on my royal butt as you say. Corellon, ed' lle alkar, ona lle hini val." He kneels down and touches the first candle and a brilliant white and blue flame springs into being, the smoke smelling faintly of incense and a summer breeze. "Varuva vara lye coia, lye gwaith, lye leitha." Glorion moves to the next candle and touches it. This time a green flame bursts from the wick accompanied by smells of fresh grass and new buds. As he moves around the shield, he continues to chant softly in elvish, touching each candle in turn and causing each to flare up in a different color.
"I'goth cronha, seekien ndenginlye,
Ilya tanya lye kwara lisse'ar'neva a'lye nowe.
Lle naa ten'oio yassen lye:
E'i'whisperien en'i'sul imya i'taure
E'i'murmurien en'i'nelle no'telmello en'i'ondo
E'i'roarien en'i'falmar deno'i'rast
E'i'quinga en'i'kawa
Mela yassen lye sii', i' estanesse, lle hini
Vee'lye osta lye ndor tuulo'Ksherea.
Manka orme naa lye tella resort,
Lye will ildemada i'val lle one lye.
Mela yassen lye sii..."
Glorion stops before the last candle and motions for Rabbit to come over. He firmly but gently grasps her hand and touches her fingertips to the last candle. A dazzling flash of light illuminates the now-darkness and a soft *whumpf* of energy seems to emanate out from the formation accompanied by the comforting warmth of a summer breeze which seems to remove all fear and fortify their spirits {as per Heroism}. As their eyes adjust all of the material components seem to have vanished, leaving only the two swords and a glowing outline of a shield, an eight pointed star, and crossed swords on the ground. Glorion's goofy smile gets even bigger as he turns to Rabbit. "You see, Lapattë? N'uma er Lotesse Nurta sen anta tuulo' i' Seldarine." He nods in satisfaction and retrieves the two swords, stowing Silevegil in his rucksack. "Now, we shall see what the darkness has to say about our challenge."
The Litany of Arrows (sung in Elvish by Glorion) Corellon, by Your grace, grant Your Children strength
To protect our lives, our ways, our freedom.
The enemy approaches, seeking to destroy us,
All that we hold dearest and nearest to our hearts.
You are always with us:
in the whispering of the wind through the trees
in the murmuring of the stream over the rocks
in the roaring of the waves upon the shore
in the twang of the bow
in the song of our hearts
in the longing of our souls;
be with us now, the Firstborn, Your Children
as we defend our homes from evil.
Though violence is our last resort,
We shall never forget the skills You taught us.
Be with us now;
Help us to remember and honor the Gifts You lovingly gave us.
Let every arrow from drawn bow fly forth
and pierce the heart of those who would wrong us.
Let every sword drawn in Your name
cut down those who would defile Your Children and Your Woods.
Let every spell drawn in the air
strike down the soul of evil and strengthen the heart of good.
Protect us, Corellon, Your Children call to you;
In this time of danger and darkness, be our guiding light.
All voices are raised in Your name,
All hearts quicken in knowing Your love,
All souls, no matter the course of this battle,
shall one day return and rest with You.
Corellon, by Your grace, grant Your Children victory.
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Post by Dungeon Master on Mar 29, 2018 18:28:24 GMT -8
Rabbit watches the ritual quietly and after Glorion takes her hand and uses it in the final part of the ritual she looks at him blankly for a moment. Her eyes glowing blue after the exposure to the flames. She seems a bit stunned in awe and asks. "What was that?"Meanwhile Glorion feels at the corners of his faith a spider skittering, watching on the edges of his ritual. The touch of a drow to the ritual has awoken her mother's interest. Correllon knows she is close, but his gaze can't find her. At this time the sound of howling from the wounds can be heard. Multiple canine voices raised to contradict the ritual. Howling fury at the impudence of someone challenging the temple's new master. As the howling rolls through the hills and woods, the air gets visibly darker. The howling only continues for a short time before it disappears, along with the extra darkness, returning the night to its normal quiet self. The canines responsible for the howling are gone as quickly as they appeared.
The howling doesn't seem to be part of the skittering, its anger is separate and inhuman. It is as if two separate forces were attracted by the ritual. One bound by touch of participant and one by its connection to the temple.
Rabbit drops in a combat stance, her sword half pulled after she heard the howling. "I assume those dogs part of your ritual are they?"
RABBIT
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Post by Reggie on Mar 29, 2018 22:12:35 GMT -8
Glorion lets out a bellowing laugh and plants the Sword of Itus in the ground in front of him, pulling out his longbow and scanning the darkness. "It would seem we have killed two birds with one stone as we planted our flag Lapattë. I do hope you came prepared for a fight. It seems we may have more than one form of entertainment." The Paladin smiles at Rabbit as he takes out a small clear vial of water and pulls an arrow from his quiver. He dips the arrow in the vial, whispering under his breath as he works: "Corellon, ed'lle val, ona lle hini lakilea" Glorion takes in a deep breath and closes his eyes. He fully opens his senses to Corellon's guiding hand as he nocks the now-soaked arrow and draws. He keeps his eyes closed as he pulls the bow up and aims seemingly at nothing. The tip of the arrow drifts unsteadily through the dark for several nerve-wrackingly silent seconds. Drip... Drip... Finally, the arrow stops moving, remains steady, and Glorion slowly releases his breath. And releases the arrow into the night... Corellon, ed'lle val, ona lle hini lakilea - "Corellon, by your Grace, grant yoyr children victory!"
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Post by Dungeon Master on Mar 30, 2018 4:52:04 GMT -8
The arrow speeds about thirty feet away, seeking a target. Glorion can feel the arrow will find its target, his shot is true, when it stops, as if frozen in time. There it is, hanging in the air like it was laid in amber. No magic went off, no spell, no force of evil seems to have touched it. Rather it just stopped as if time stopped when it got a certain distance from the paladin. /out of game comment, remember to put translations up below the post for any non-english words in each post, even if its repetitive from previous posts
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Post by Reggie on Mar 30, 2018 17:05:01 GMT -8
Gabriel looks curiously at the arrow. "Most interesting. It appears that our presence has disrupted whatever localized time disturbance is happening here but only for a few meters in any direction. I would hesitate to stray too far from the sigil before us tonight since these matters would be best analyzed by a spellcaster of some sort. It would, however, appear that our challenge will remain unanswered for the time being. We will see what happens. As to what happened during the ritual, I have placed you, a drow, officially under the protection of Corellon Larethian whilst casting the sigil. It would appear that certain... other parties have taken issue with that. How exciting!"
He beams at Rabbit gives the floating arrow one last look before pulling the Sword of Itus out of the ground. "I will keep vigil if you wish to meditate for a few hours. It would appear that night is fully upon us now and it will be quite some time before the others rejoin us." He walks over to the temple steps and stares up at the door for for several moments in contemplation before laying his longbow near his armor and rucksack. He then turns his back to the door and faces out to the night, making the symbol of the eight-pointed star in front of him before dropping to one knee and placing the Sword in front of him.
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Post by Dungeon Master on Mar 31, 2018 5:08:12 GMT -8
Rabbit slides her blade back into its scabbard as she looks back at the arrow, then to Glorion, then back at the arrow. Distrust is on her face as she stares at the arrow and thinks for a few moments. She turns to Glorion "Good idea, I will go meditate. Do you think time effects us differently then it does people outside of the valley?"Rabbit lays on top of blanket, pulling one portion over here. She has obviously spent a long time with humans and adopted ways to fit in with their culture by appearing to sleep. She does however peek out of the blanket at Glorion, a curious look in her eyes. "I assume you are talking about Olath Ilhar noticing me and the ritual? I appreciate your desire to help Glorion, and I appreciate your feelings, but I am more then capable on my own. Seldarine ar' demons uma il- frighten amin, I know how I die."With that Rabbit's eyes unfocus as she enters a meditative state.
Olath Ilhar - Dark Mother Seldarine ar' demons uma il- frighten amin - Gods and demons do not frighten me RABBIT
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Post by Dungeon Master on Apr 6, 2018 10:56:40 GMT -8
Rabbit leans over the meditating Glorion, the morning dew coating her leathers from her scouting around the area. She stops and looks at the meditating elf and a small smile crops up on her face. " Wake up Plak'la'la d'aron d'darthien, I think I found another way in, down the other side of the valley a small cave. The entrance seems to go deeper then we have been, and I didn't dare go further without the priest, but I thought I would tell you."She turns towards the abandoned town and forest surrounding. "The area is alive with animals, and other things that pass through. There are insects, birds and a wind. I see no sign there of the timelessness of this place. I have thought about this town when I meditated. I wonder if the timelessness of this place is what keeps things crawling out of that door. Maybe it is a defense mechanism to stop whatever is trying to come through."Rabbit looks towards where she came from."I don't believe we should approach the other entrance before the others get back, and it is a tight fitting entrance, tight enough I doubt anything large has gotten out of the temple that way... at least for now. I will send Sobhan a pigeon with a short message of where we are and what happened, hopefully he will prod the others to return soon." Plak'la'la d'aron d'darthien - Golden Knight of the Elves RABBIT
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Post by Reggie on Apr 6, 2018 17:12:54 GMT -8
Glorion staggers to his feet uttering a battle cry as Rabbit touches his shoulder and the Sword of Itus in his hands begins to glow with the blinding white light of a Divine Smite. His eyes focus and lock on the eyes of the young Drow in front of him; he looks down in confusion at the blade in his hand before comprehension dawns on his face. The light goes out as he instantly lowers the sword and looks mortified. “Lapattë! I… what… demons... that... has never happened before. Please… forgive me.”
He sits back down and listens, visibly shaken, to her explanation as Rabbit details her scouting trip. He nods seriously to Rabbit before replying "That is incredible work Lapattë. This provides us with some much-needed intelligence indeed. I think your threat assessment is accurate as well. I think it would be wise to enter through this side tunnel rather than the main entrance once the group returns so that we may see the extent of this issue." He pauses as Rabbit raises an eyebrow before continuing, "I had... something. A vision perhaps. A dream? However I did not think our kind could do so. I saw..." The normally outspoken Paladin pauses and loses focus, seemingly at a loss for words. A raven caws in the distance, seeming to startle him from his reverie. "Fatanyu no'Arda. Also there was a hin ne'Huin but we were defending her for some reason... Whatever the case we need to stop this Incursion from happening. I do hope the others return soon. In the meantime, we should keep our skills sharp and remain vigilant. Would you do me the honor of being my Mellon-sparrein?"Lapattë - Rabbit Fatanyu no'Arda - Hell on Earth Mellon-sparrein - Sparring partner hin ne'Huin - child of Darkness
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