Report
Location:
Gloria's Temple/Council Chamber
Time:
Y1502 - 20th day of the Harvest Moon
*enter* "Many
blessings, Council." (Amigarde)
"High
Priestess, how kind of you to come. Care to explain what happened?"
(Vaerminia)
"The Fourth
Unit answered a call for aid from the temple of Secularia. They
entered the Silent Forest to root out the group of bandits
responsible. It was a trap." (Amigarde)
"How many?"
(Teoren)
"If you
want to know how many knight survived, than the answer is three. If
you mean the enemy, there were fifty of them, before the encounter.
Most died, including their chieftain." (Amigarde)
"Is
Steffen..." (Teoren)
"He
survived, Lord Teoren. Mage Knight Stella and Scout Knight Feldris
are alive as well. But it will take time for them to heal and resume
their duties." (Amigarde)
An heavy silence befell the room. I
give them time to consider my words.
Teoren is relived. He fought alongside
Steffen during the war. They share a strong bond. He is just glad his
old friend made it.
Pernida and Kamila both seem relived.
They knew something big happened, they probably expected much worse.
Steffen's death would have been a severe blow. One we cannot take
right now.
Cassandra is in deep thought. She is
probably already thinking of the long term consequences of this
attack. And things look very, very bad for us. We can't sustain those
kind of losses.
Then there is Vaerminia... Her face is
red. She is about to explode.
"HOW
COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN!!!! MERIDIA WOULD NEV" *gulp*
(Vaerminia)
I'm sick and tired of being
compared to Meridia! Of being told how inferior to her I am!
"Amigarde!
Don't!!!" (Pernida)
I close my eyes, and start weaving as
many magic threads as I can. I want them to feel the pressure of my
magic! I might have been second to old Meridia. But she lost her
powers! It's time for the Council to take me seriously! I'm the
strongest now! I am the high Priestess!!!
...
Uff... My heart feels lighter after
this little display. The members of the council are on the edge of
their seats. They are as pale as ghosts and have finally shut their
mouths. It seems I got my point across. They ought to treat me with
more respect from now on.
"I'm not
here to argue with you. I'm here to notify you of MY decision."
(Amigarde)
Vaerminia shocked expression is a nice
treat.
"The root
of the problem is that we have too many territories and we are
stretched too thin. It worked when our enemies fared us. When we had
a cheap source of powerful disposable artifacts. When we had a seer
to warn us of great tragedies. None of those strength are ours
anymore." (Amigarde)
An uncomfortable truth. Several
members of the council look down. It's time to press my advantage.
"I will
begin negotiation with the Cult of Fertility. And our other enemies.
We will leave our fringe temples. We will pull back our forces and
fortify the territories we CAN hold. Mostly the plains around
Victoria." (Amigarde)
"But...
Those territories have been ours for..." (Kamila)
"Silence!
I'm not done speaking. As High Priestess the decision is MINE. You
have the power to remove me. But unless you plan to do so, you will
listen." (Amigarde)
I wait a few seconds. None of them
argue. It feels good to remind them of their place! They pushed on me
the impossible task of being a replacement for Meridia and fixing her
mistakes long enough.
"If we try
to hold everything, we will lose everything. By fortifying our core
temples, our enemies will no longer be able to harm us with cheap
assaults like they do now. And they can't hide a large scale
mobilization from us or the public. The danger will quickly subside.
As price, we will lose a great deal of influence and prestige. The
alternative is the total collapse of the Church of Gloria in a few
years." (Amigarde)
The members of the council look each
others in the eyes. They are in agreement. This went better than
expected.
"Very well.
If that's the High Priestess' decision we can only abide to it."
(Pernida)
I would have liked for Vaerminia to
humble herself, but I guess that was too much to ask for.
"What will
be done with the fourth unit?" (Teoren)
"There will
be no Fourth Unit anymore. The survivors need time to heal. After
that Steffen and Stella will raise the next generation of Knights and
Feldris will become a lone scout. We need to replenish our losses. I
will make sure than when the day comes, the Gifted One will have all
the tools she needs to restore our lost domains and crush our
enemies. Once and for all." (Amigarde)
*whisper* "So
your grand plan IS to leave the pieces for that little girl to pick
up..." (Vaerminia)
"With an
heavy heart, the council hear and approve of your decision, High
Priestess. You may leave." (Pernida)
"Very well.
If you excuse me, there is much to be done." *leave* (Amigarde)
I ignore Vaerminia's comment. I
understand this is hard for her. For everyone. I'm basically
admitting the defeat of the church here. But we can't bluff when our
enemies all know we are weak.
What our enemies do not know is that
we have an ace in the hole. Liara. The Gifted One. By the time they
realize just how strong she is, it will be too late for them.
No one in this world will be able to
stand against Liara once she fully realizes her potential. Meridia
was the strongest mage in the continent by far, and even her aptitude
pale in comparison with Liara's. Who know... Liara might even be on
par with the High Elves from the myths. Not that there are any around
anymore to find out. Fortunately for us.
The Church of Gloria is destined to
prevail.
Liara will be the instrument of our
victory!
Gloria wills it.
First day of school
Location:
Gloria's Temple/School
Time: Y1502 -
2th day of the Coldest Moon
Today is my first day in school.
Serina accompany me to a room I have never been to before.
The room is unremarkable. There is a
chair, a painting of Gloria, and in front of the chair several rows
of benches. There are no tables. It doesn't seem like students are
meant to either read or write here.
"Brother
and Sisters, today a new Acolyte will join our class. Her name is
Liara. Treat her well." (Ramia)
Wow. Am I really going to take the
same class as them? There are about thirty children of varying ages.
The youngest is probably four years old, bot the oldest look ten
years old! I myself am only two years old and barely one meter tall.
How does this make any sense???
[Their academic
system is obviously nowhere near the one we had on Earth. They simply
don't have the numbers to divide classes by age. Let alone grades or
field of study.] (Science me)
The kids are looking at me funny. This
look absurd even to them.
As I walk toward a bench with an empty
sear, a kid extend his leg. He wants to trip me. He is a Dark Skin
boy, and probably is the oldest kid here. He is much taller than the
others, and big to the point of being fat.
[He must be the
bully. I have been bullied before and you don't want that to happen
to you. You have to act now! Bullies only target those who won't
fight back. It took forever for me to learn this simple lesson. KICK
HIS LEG!] (Gamer me)
I can see memories of Gamer Me. Awful.
Not as awful as being abandoned in an alley to die to be sure, but
this is my second go at life. I will not let others trample all over
me!
*kick* (Me)
I'm a two years old girl not even one
meter tall. The big kid probably didn't even feel my puny kick.
Still, he look astonished! I stand
there. I GLARE at him. He didn't expect me to fight back.
*screech*
"WHAT!?!" (Big Kid)
After realizing he is being challenged
by a little baby girl, he becomes red in face and rise from the bench
in a snap making a loud noise. The others that sit there almost lose
balance. They look pale in face. The big boy is at least half a meter
taller than me, and weigh three times as much. Maybe more.
I don't advert my sight. I'm not
afraid. After all I have been through, both in the old world and the
new, a mere bully is a walk in the park for me! You picked the wrong
target, brat!
"Liara!
Thomen! Stop!!" (Ramia)
[Yes! Teachers
are lazy. They don't care about you. But they don't want trouble
either. They only act if not acting means even more problems for
them. Well done Liara!] (Gamer Me)
Neither of us are backing down. He
come very close to me. He wears a dirty one piece rag. His belly is
almost touching my face. Disgusting, but I look up into his eyes. I'm
not afraid of you, brat.
[Enough!!]
*forcefully separates Liara and Thomen* (Ramia)
[Success! The
bully was unable to scare you, and all his classmates saw that! Plus
the teacher was forced to intervene. That's the best outcome you
could have hoped for!] (Gamer me)
I look at the big kid him like he is
beneath me. Because he is. Physical size is not as important as the
social status. We might be both kids, but I'm the Gifted One! He he
he.
I walk toward a bench with an empty
spot.
The kids make room for me!
I look around. The children are
watching me in awe. They are secretly smiling. He must bully many of
them daily. Some of them look at me with pity, and advert their sight
when I look at them.
[Don't look at
Thomen now. Show him that this was no big deal to you. He must be
boiling inside!] (Gamer Me)
Thomen. Should I consider him my first
enemy in this world?
The High Priestess became crippled
studying me and nothing was done to me. There is no way this brat is
more valuable than the High Priestess.
Uhm... If we fight, and I get hurt, I
wonder what will happen to Thomen. I saw Serina cast healing magic,
so I will be alright. Him on the other hand... What is the price for
harming the Gifted One I wonder? He he he.
[You are scaring
me!] (Bookworm Me)
[You know what
Liara went through in his previous life. We are strangers in this
world. It's only natural to use whatever means at our disposal to
succeed. Results are all that matters!] (Science Me)
[Come on. We are
talking about a school bully here. Let's not exaggerate things...]
(Explorer Me)
Shhhh! Enough chatter! Let's hear our
first lesson.
"Good
morning, Children of Gloria. For those that don't know, I'll present
myself. I'm Ramia. I'm an apprentice scribe, which means that I know
the words. I'm training under Sister Geneva, the Head Scribe. One of
my duties is to teach you the ways of Gloria." (Ramia)
[Pfffft! The
ways of Gloria! This is going to be useless!] (Science Me)
[This is a
precious chance to learn the commonly accepted truth in this world.
We need to blend in or we will just make it harder for ourselves.]
(Explorer Me)
Shhhhhh! Argue later!
"Today
let's start from the very beginning. Before Arcania, there were two
goddesses. Gloria and the Great Other. They decided to make the world
together. Gloria made all that's good in this world. The Great Other
made all that's bad. We humans are Gloria's favourite creation."
(Ramia)
This probably isn't the first time
they hear this story, but the children are listening with attention.
"The Great
Other made the evil Dragons!!!" (Hetia)
An adorable little girl about eight
years old intervene. Uhm... So there were dragons in this world?
[Remember that
according to legends, on Earth we had Ice Giants, Titans, Unicorns
and Dragons too... How real where they?] (Science Me)
[Magic is real
in this world. Let's not dismiss their tales, ok?] (Explorer Me)
"Yes,
Hetia. The Great Other made the Dragons. They were pure evil and
visited great suffering upon us. For we were Gloria's favoured
creation and the Great Other was jealous of us." (Ramia)
The kids are really liking this story.
I'm enjoying this too, it doesn't feel like a lesson.
"Eventually
Gloria couldn't bear the suffering we were subjected to. Gloria
descended in this world. Gloria took human form, clad in light and
pure white. She wanted to free us from the Dragons. But the Great
Other wouldn't allow it. She followed Gloria, taking the form of a
giant fearsome Dragon, breathing black flames." (Ramia)
Several kids are on the edges of their
seats! They are really into it.
"Gloria and
the Great Other fought! They fought twenty nine days and twenty nine
nights. Their battle could be heard in every corner of the world! It
shook the Earth! It painted the sky red. The stars themselves fell
from the celestial vault!" (Ramia)
Uhm... More than a lesson this feels
like a play... Ramia is really into the story herself. This might be
the closest thing to a movie they have here? I'm a bit disappointed,
but then again Gamer Me saw virtual reality movies. It's an unfair
comparison.
[This could
actually be a pretty effective way to keep a kid attention and
indoctrinate them. Of course is not good for teaching, but I wonder
if they actually know anything of worth about the laws of this
world... I'd rather talk with Meridia about magic.] (Science Me)
"The battle
was so intense that even the Sun itself got scared and hid behind
black clouds for one hundred years! The water froze and trees
withered. All seemed lost! Had the Great Other prevailed?"
(Ramia)
[Uhm... Stars
falling, black clouds and ice? This sounds like a nuclear winter...]
(Science Me)
[Even legends in
our world had pieces of truth in their foundations. There might be
some truth behind this story as well. Maybe a volcanic eruption or a
meteor hit. This might be the recount of the survivors.] (Explorer
Me)
"No! After
the night, came the dawn. The withered trees flowered. The frozen
water thawed. The sky opened. Gloria had won! And the Dragons were no
more!" (Ramia)
**cheers**
(Children)
*giggle* Those kids are adorable!
Truth or not they really enjoyed this story. I enjoyed it too.
"Now, let
us thank Gloria for saving us." (Ramia)
Of course they have prayers...
Something tells me I'm not going to enjoy this part.
""Gloria,
who..."" (Ramia and children)
They put both their hands on their
chest, lower their head, close their eyes and start praying.
I do my best to follow their lead. I
don't want to make things harder for myself for no reasons.
Now that I think about it, even if
Gloria were real, I doubt she would care about worship. At very least
<Voice> wouldn't care. At least this is the impression I got
when I met it.
I wonder if <Voice> is watching
me right now...
Dragon Plaza
Location:
Forbidden City
Time: Y0000 -
28th day of the Fire Moon
The sun was high in the sky, but the
streets of the Forbidden City were barren. Just hours before a Dragon
had been prying upon the Rat Kin for sport and everyone retired
inside their stone houses.
The Forbidden City was a unique place.
The plain at the root of the Black Mountain was scarred with deep
canyons that radiated from the mountain out like a web. The Rat Kin
built their homes by digging into the vertical walls of those
canyons. The reason is simple. Rocks won't burn.
The biggest canyons were hundreds of
meters deep, and almost as wide. There were stony stairs and
passageways. The city was vertical rather than horizontal, and no
other city or settlement in this world resembled the Forbidden City.
From the deepest levels of the canyon,
a procession started to climb. A dozen Rat Kin were carrying wooden
logs, a jar and torches. One of them wore gaudy clothes.
After a while the procession reached
the surface.
Over centuries the Rat Kin built
impressive monuments there. Pyramids. Mausoleums. Statues. Truly a
sight to behold. A place that wouldn't lose to Giza on Earth.
The largest structure was a gargantuan
stony plaza. It was made of solid stone block. It was tens of meters
thick. It was a square one kilometre in size. Nearby hills were
flattened to get the materials needed. An impressive feat that took
the Rat Kin one century and countless sacrifices to build.
The Dragon Plaza.
The procession climbed the side of the
plaza, then headed for a structure in the middle.
All over the plaza there were
creatures slumbering. They were of many colors and different sizes,
but they all were in the shape of snakes. They were coiled,
slumbering and basking in the sun.
Eventually the procession reached a
structure in the middle of the plaza. An altar, about twenty meters
tall. The Rat Kin filled the bracer on top of the stony altar with
the wood they brought, they poured the content of the jar, and lit it
with the torch. After priming the bracer, all but one Rat Kin hurried
and left the Dragon Plaza.
A thick grey smoke started raising in
the sky.
The Rat Kin with Gaudy clothes was a
Dragon Priest. His duty was to act as messenger between the Rat Kin
and the Dragons. He knelt in front of the bracer and waited.
The Dragon Priest was asking for an
audience with The Apex.
Message
Location:
Forbidden City/Dragon plaza
Time: Y0000 -
29th day of the Fire Moon
The sun was still high in the sky when
the Rat Kin lit the bracer in the middle of the Dragon Plaza.
The sun set and the night came. The
Dragon Priest was still kneeling in front of the bracer.
The night subsided and the sun rose
again. The Dragon Priest was still kneeling in front of the bracer.
Only embers were left.
The Dragons are ageless and
unchallenged. Their sense of time differs from the short lived and
weak Rat Kin. Furthermore it was the weak that was calling for the
strong to come. The answer will only come when a Dragon wishes for
it. The Dragon Priest can do nothing but wait.
[The heat is
unbearable. How much longer will i have to wait? If this goes on I
might lose consciousness.] (Dragon Priest)
As in answer to the Rat Kin thought,
the still air became agitated in the centre of the Dragon Plaza.
The Dragon Priest looked up. A snake
like creature was coming from the sky. The creature had no wings, but
was flying anyway in defiance of common sense. It looked as if it was
swimming in the air, rather than flying in it. It's movement were
gracious, like a dance.
As the Dragon descended, it became
bigger and bigger, until it filled the sight of the Rat Kin. That
Dragon was gigantic compared to the other dragons slumbering on the
plaza. It was about three hundreds meter in length, and it's body was
thirty meters wide at it's thickest. Gigantic beyond belif.
The creature touched down with a grace
you wouldn't expect from such a massive body. It didn't make any
noise. It coiled down, with it's head resting on the stony floor of
the plaza.
The altar was twenty meters tall. Just
enough for the Dragon priest to be at the same level of two eyes on
the head of the gigantic Dragon. Two, because the Dragon had a third
vertical eye on the top of it's forehead. It was closed.
"Mighty
One! We bring an Oracle from the Elven Seer. Your faithful servant
believe the content to be worthy of your attention!" (Dragon
Priest)
*shatter* (Crystal Record)
*collapse* (Dragon Priest)
...
*fly away* (Dragon)
The Dragon uttered no word nor did
anything else at all. After the Rat Kin was done speaking the
<Crystal Record> simply shattered and the Dragon Priest died
and collapsed.
The Dragon seemed to ponder for a few
seconds, then lifted off and left with the same grace with which it
had arrived.