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Mar. 9th, 2007 01:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kippurbirdTitle Prologue of Call of the Champion
Five Champions of the Fey there shall be, Spear of Fire, Lance of Ice, Axe of Earth, Bow of Air and Sword of Dragons.
Heart wrenching, Marlina walked the streets of the ruined city of Pentarch. The once tall and majestic buildings that gleamed and glowed with magic lay crumbled like children’s blocks all knocked down. The magic that infused the city had fled, and a bitter wind blew through the streets for the first time, clutching at her cloak, sending it snapping back. Next to her, Wolf and Griffin Troven walked, carefully avoiding the piles of rumble and the survivors who dug through the buildings looking for the remains of their life. Both men were blond and gray eyed, with a strong jaw, though Griffin wore a beard and was a few inches taller than his cousin.
“The entire city is like this?” Wolf asked.
“Yes, the entire city. Not a building has been left untouched. The explosion –they say- was felt for leagues around,” Griffin said.
Marlina tugged her cloak around her, her armor creaking, hand resting on her sword hilt. “The amount of power needed to do something like that… to break the wards that have – that did – protect the city is unthinkable!”
Griffin turned to her, his eyes resting briefly on her face, lingering on the blue crescent moon tattoo on the right side of her face, that marked her as the Champion of the Fey Court, “The Fey could have done it.”
She shook her head, strands of hair falling in her face, “But you said it was a Seriph who did it?” They walked past the great library and her stomach sank. The building had collapsed inwardly, crushing the great storehouse of knowledge inside. “Lorac?”
“Yes, he was the catalyst, but we do not think he could have done it without help.”
Wolf grunted and picked up a book torn in half, flipping through the pages. “You think… you suppose… but there is no way to know for certain, is there?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“It was a judgment from the gods!” a new voice cried out. Marlina glanced in the direction of the voice. A man dressed in the tatters of fine clothes came up to them, “I was there when it happened! When he purged us of the taint of the element wizard!” and here he glared at Marlina. “He was doing the gods’ work! We had become too arrogant thinking that we could do what we wished with our magics! And they wrought judgment upon us!”
“Cleaver, you can’t actually think that,” Griffin said, crossing arms to look at the man.
“We had our warnings! When the Oracle could not speak at the Spring Festival.”
“That was two years ago!”
“It was a warning!” He gave the three of them a wild eyed look and turned to walk on, lost somewhere in his own mind.
“Could it have been a warning from the gods?” Marlina asked, once Cleaver was gone. Griffin shrugged.
“I know not. Come, we’re almost there.”
They picked their way through the streets to where the University had once stood. The great white walls that always glimmered with magic, protecting the city from the practice areas were cracked and crumbled. The damage here was the worst that Marlina had seen. Every thing seemed to be completely level.
And as they walked closer to the University, she started to get an uneasy feeling in her stomach. It twisted and turned, threatening to lose its contents as they walked forward. Looking at the other two, she saw that they were having the same reaction. Their faces pale and drawn.
“What did happen to the other element wizards?” she asked.
“He killed them. From oldest grandparents to new born babes, first families to non families, no one in the city escaped him,” Griffin said hollowly. “But the others he did not touch.”
They had entered the university now, climbing over rubble. The smell of rotting corpses reached her nose, and she could see carrion birds hopping over stones pecking and cawing. Wolf turned green and retched quietly. The smell did not bother her so much; she had been on battlefields before. That sick feeling in her stomach grew and spread out through the rest of her body, like a feverish ache.
Her hand grasped the hilt of her sword and she almost drew it.
Griffin had a determined expression on his face, “Come, quickly now.” He led them to a place of scorched earth and stone radiating out ten feet in diameter. Here the sick feeling became almost overwhelming. It felt as if something sucked at her soul, drawing it towards the epicenter, eating it away little by little. Draining her of her magic and life. Her body ached and she found it hard to stand, even though they were a good twenty feet away from it. She forced her self to walk forward to the blackened ground (though she did not enter it). Each step leeching at her, drawing her forward. Her hands trembled and she drew her sword for grounding. The blade shimmered in the afternoon light. She held it in front of her, eyes focusing on the dragon etched onto the blade as she extended her senses, probing the area trying to see the damage that had been done.
It was as if a large hole had been wrenched in reality where the blackened spot was. A hole where none of the elements, not fire, water, earth or air existed. Nor life either, she supposed, though she could not sense life magic.
No wonder they got ill getting near it. The hole was trying to repair itself sucking up the elements, sucking at their magic trying to fill the gap.
She turned and walked back to where the two men waited. Each step made her feel just that much better.
“Well?” Griffin asked.
She shook her head as Wolf slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close. The contact and warmth felt good after the deadness of the center, “I can not repair it. I wouldn’t even know how to do it.”
Griffin sighed, “As we thought, but still…”
Marlina glanced at the blackened area, “I will hunt him down then.”
“We do not even know if he’s still alive, Marlina. Better to leave this duty to the next bearer of the sword. Right now, your people need your help to rebuild.”
“Next bearer? There are no more element wizards. I am the last. There will be no next bearer.”
“Perhaps not in this generation, but in future ones, you forget your children, Marlina,” Wolf said.
She nodded, leaning into him, knowing that he was right. Not this generation, but a future one. And she would see them trained.
Five Champions of the Fey there shall be, Spear of Fire, Lance of Ice, Axe of Earth, Bow of Air and Sword of Dragons.
Heart wrenching, Marlina walked the streets of the ruined city of Pentarch. The once tall and majestic buildings that gleamed and glowed with magic lay crumbled like children’s blocks all knocked down. The magic that infused the city had fled, and a bitter wind blew through the streets for the first time, clutching at her cloak, sending it snapping back. Next to her, Wolf and Griffin Troven walked, carefully avoiding the piles of rumble and the survivors who dug through the buildings looking for the remains of their life. Both men were blond and gray eyed, with a strong jaw, though Griffin wore a beard and was a few inches taller than his cousin.
“The entire city is like this?” Wolf asked.
“Yes, the entire city. Not a building has been left untouched. The explosion –they say- was felt for leagues around,” Griffin said.
Marlina tugged her cloak around her, her armor creaking, hand resting on her sword hilt. “The amount of power needed to do something like that… to break the wards that have – that did – protect the city is unthinkable!”
Griffin turned to her, his eyes resting briefly on her face, lingering on the blue crescent moon tattoo on the right side of her face, that marked her as the Champion of the Fey Court, “The Fey could have done it.”
She shook her head, strands of hair falling in her face, “But you said it was a Seriph who did it?” They walked past the great library and her stomach sank. The building had collapsed inwardly, crushing the great storehouse of knowledge inside. “Lorac?”
“Yes, he was the catalyst, but we do not think he could have done it without help.”
Wolf grunted and picked up a book torn in half, flipping through the pages. “You think… you suppose… but there is no way to know for certain, is there?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“It was a judgment from the gods!” a new voice cried out. Marlina glanced in the direction of the voice. A man dressed in the tatters of fine clothes came up to them, “I was there when it happened! When he purged us of the taint of the element wizard!” and here he glared at Marlina. “He was doing the gods’ work! We had become too arrogant thinking that we could do what we wished with our magics! And they wrought judgment upon us!”
“Cleaver, you can’t actually think that,” Griffin said, crossing arms to look at the man.
“We had our warnings! When the Oracle could not speak at the Spring Festival.”
“That was two years ago!”
“It was a warning!” He gave the three of them a wild eyed look and turned to walk on, lost somewhere in his own mind.
“Could it have been a warning from the gods?” Marlina asked, once Cleaver was gone. Griffin shrugged.
“I know not. Come, we’re almost there.”
They picked their way through the streets to where the University had once stood. The great white walls that always glimmered with magic, protecting the city from the practice areas were cracked and crumbled. The damage here was the worst that Marlina had seen. Every thing seemed to be completely level.
And as they walked closer to the University, she started to get an uneasy feeling in her stomach. It twisted and turned, threatening to lose its contents as they walked forward. Looking at the other two, she saw that they were having the same reaction. Their faces pale and drawn.
“What did happen to the other element wizards?” she asked.
“He killed them. From oldest grandparents to new born babes, first families to non families, no one in the city escaped him,” Griffin said hollowly. “But the others he did not touch.”
They had entered the university now, climbing over rubble. The smell of rotting corpses reached her nose, and she could see carrion birds hopping over stones pecking and cawing. Wolf turned green and retched quietly. The smell did not bother her so much; she had been on battlefields before. That sick feeling in her stomach grew and spread out through the rest of her body, like a feverish ache.
Her hand grasped the hilt of her sword and she almost drew it.
Griffin had a determined expression on his face, “Come, quickly now.” He led them to a place of scorched earth and stone radiating out ten feet in diameter. Here the sick feeling became almost overwhelming. It felt as if something sucked at her soul, drawing it towards the epicenter, eating it away little by little. Draining her of her magic and life. Her body ached and she found it hard to stand, even though they were a good twenty feet away from it. She forced her self to walk forward to the blackened ground (though she did not enter it). Each step leeching at her, drawing her forward. Her hands trembled and she drew her sword for grounding. The blade shimmered in the afternoon light. She held it in front of her, eyes focusing on the dragon etched onto the blade as she extended her senses, probing the area trying to see the damage that had been done.
It was as if a large hole had been wrenched in reality where the blackened spot was. A hole where none of the elements, not fire, water, earth or air existed. Nor life either, she supposed, though she could not sense life magic.
No wonder they got ill getting near it. The hole was trying to repair itself sucking up the elements, sucking at their magic trying to fill the gap.
She turned and walked back to where the two men waited. Each step made her feel just that much better.
“Well?” Griffin asked.
She shook her head as Wolf slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close. The contact and warmth felt good after the deadness of the center, “I can not repair it. I wouldn’t even know how to do it.”
Griffin sighed, “As we thought, but still…”
Marlina glanced at the blackened area, “I will hunt him down then.”
“We do not even know if he’s still alive, Marlina. Better to leave this duty to the next bearer of the sword. Right now, your people need your help to rebuild.”
“Next bearer? There are no more element wizards. I am the last. There will be no next bearer.”
“Perhaps not in this generation, but in future ones, you forget your children, Marlina,” Wolf said.
She nodded, leaning into him, knowing that he was right. Not this generation, but a future one. And she would see them trained.
