A Hooded Figure Appears...

[Riizu 7]

As dusk set on the realms of Athera, stars began to twinkle into existence, setting the sky alight with pinpricks of illumination, casting a magical glow on everything below. Birds and woodland creatures were setting in for the night, and for a brief period, the troubles of the land were of no concern to its inhabitants.

 

Meanwhile, in the frigid north, a harsh winter was setting in. With the exception of a few trappers from the realms of Oren, and various nomads working to create a cartagraph of the new lands, the north was an untouched bastion of nature. It was here, that one such trapper came upon a clearing in the woods, softly illuminated by the glow of a crackling fire.

 

Not one to place his life in danger, the trapper cautiously approached, aware of the numerous bandits and thieves that permeated the wood. As he approached the final tree blocking his view, he peered beyond, and was met with a rather peculiar site.

 

Towards an edge of the clearing sat a man, or so the trapper assumed, considering the individual was draped in robes of the purest white, which gave no indication of their gender and more than adequately hid their features from any onlookers. The man slowly turned a crude rotisserie made of sticks and stone anchors with which a small rabbit was skewered, its flesh being slowly cooked by the flickering flames below. A smell of decadent meat filled the clearing, and the trapper was soon salivating at the corners of his mouth - it had been quite awhile since he last ate.

 

"Would you like some Lad? There is plenty to share..." The man's voice rang out through the clearing.

 

"He couldn't mean me..." thought the trapper, as he was adequately hidden.

 

Sure enough though, the man turned his hooded head towards him. While the trapper could not make out his features below the hem of the hood, he could see eyes of the purest blue, that seemed to glow with an inhuman light behind them. In such situations, the trapper would usually flee for his life. It was no secret that followers of the ancient evils still existed. But in this case, he could not help but describe the feeling he had as one of intense comfort and relief.

 

This man could be trusted.

 

The trapper slowly left his hiding place entered the grove, clearing his throat as he approached.

 

"How did you know where I was?" he immediately blurted out, silently cursing himself that he seemed unable to quell his own curiosity enough to figure out who the hooded figure could be first.

 

The man chuckled. It was a gravelly noise. The type of chuckle that one made after seeing hundreds of seasons pass them by. This was a man who had watched children be born, grow old, and die - all the while silently watching over them.

 

"Why don't you sit down? You look like you could use some food."

 

Again with the mystery. The trapper wasn't surprised to find that the man hadn't answered his question. It was far from the most surprising thing he had witnessed this evening. As he sat down, the man muttered a few words, almost musical in nature. They weren't of any language he was familiar with, but the elicited feelings of warmth, happiness, and protection. The fire immediately diminished to a low flicker, casting eerie shadows throughout the clearing.

 

The trapper must be seeing things he thought, for magic was unknown in this time. In fact, the last time magic had been a normal occurrence was when his grandfather's grandfather was still a child, back in the land of Aegis. He did his best to quiet his wandering mind, and turned back to the hooded figure.

 

At this point, the man had pulled two bowls from a nearby pouch, and began stripping the rabbit, places large pieces of succulent meat into each bowl. Each morsel glistened with moisture, and a delicious smell wafted into the nostrils of the trapper. The man finished his work, and handed a bowl to the trapper before leaning back again, a majestic oak tree supporting him.

 

"To answer your question Lad, I was aware of your presence well before you had reached that tree. The words of Aeriel travel well on gentle breezes, even after all that has happened, and I was informed of your arrival the moment you entered the wood earlier this morn" the man stated. His voice was filled with a jovial tone, one that conveyed not a sense of power, or danger, but instead that of a father or close friend. He seemed to genuinely care for the well-being of the trapper, though having never met him before.

 

The hooded man continued his story.

 

"And before you ask the next questions I am sure are on the tip of your tongue, my name is Riizu. As for where I am from, I can not tell you, for my memory is quite hazy to say the least. The last I remember, I was in a land known as Aegis, though I am quite sure this place is far from there. As for what I am, that is a little more complex."

 

The man took a moment to let his story sink in, and began to eat the rabbit in his own bowl. Meanwhile, the trapper remained silent. It was quite rare to meet a man in this part of the land, not to mention one who spoke Aeriel and Aegis - words that were only common in history books and the tongues of crazed followers clinging to the Old Ways. The trapper felt it best to pick his words wisely in the company of this strange man.

 

"I feel.. that perhaps it would be best for me to wait for you to tell your whole story before I ask any more questions" said the trapper.

 

The semblance of a grin gleamed from within the shadowy confines of Riizu's robe. The man seemed amused by the trapper's words.

 

"Then you are quite wise, though I will do my best to keep my tale short." stated Riizu, who pulled a strange device out from inside his robes. It was not unlike a common tobacco pipe, though its shape was strangely round and stout, rather than long and curvy. With another set of words, smoke began to billow from its center. Riizu took a long drag from it, before letting out a cloud of sweet-smelling smoke, which soon began to twist and twirl through the wind.

 

"Long ago, I was a member of an Order. This Order was created by myself, and 5 others, under the guidance of a divine being named Aeriel. I am sure you are aware of the Aenguls who watch over the lands. Aeriel was indeed one of them, the leader of their military forces. She spoke to us through the mouth of one of my fellow travelers, speaking of a great danger that would descend upon the land of Aegis. She informed us that were in fact descendants of a select few who had begun families with Aenguls who chose a life here, rather than in the Heavens."

 

Another puff of smoke filled the camp site.

 

"More importantly, she told us that it was our job to make sure this danger was averted. We began to assemble an army of other descendants, and named our Order the Ascended. After years of training and study, we were soon ready to come out of hiding and help the people of Aegis. At first, things went well. We constructed a grand road, the White Road to be exact, between our lands and the lands of the local Dwarves and did our best to provide our help when we could.

 

Unfortunately though, this was not destined to continue. Soon the blight of Iblees reigned across the land, and his followers slowly destroyed every peaceful settlement in Aegis. Many turned to us for help, but we suffered betrayals within our own ranks, and were unable to complete our mission. The people of Aegis fell under the onslaught of the Undead, and blamed our inaction as the cause."

 

A sense of sorrow filled the words of the old man, as he remembered times long past.

 

"Soon, we were no longer allies, but enemies as well. Members of our Order were hunted, and killed. Meanwhile, Iblees began to sow seeds of distrust throughout the land to further this cause. Without an idea of what to do, my fellow Sages and I turned again to Aeriel, begging for help. She had decided that we had failed, and took back all that she gave to us. Our city, our homes...all was filled with a blinding light. And finally, I awoke in this forest. Alone and in a strange land."

 

The tale was a strange one indeed, and the trapper did his best to follow along. Of course, he was familiar with the fall of Aegis, though it was many hundreds of years ago. Since then, his ancestors had traveled from various lands and dealt with various other significant events throughout history. Of what he did know, some coincided with this man's story and some didn't. He himself began to relay the history since then.

 

All the while, smoke churned and billowed from the pipe, spinning tales of it's own.

 

When the trapper finished, the clearing fell eerily silent, the crackle of the flames having died out long ago. All that remained was the light of the stars, and the whistle of the wind through the trees. Then, the silence was broken...

 

A large wind gust blew into the clearing, threatening to knock over the grandest of the oaks that surrounded them. Riizu's robe billowed in the breeze, and a mighty clash of thunder filled the ears of the trapper, before it immediately landed upon Riizu.

 

The old sage was set aflame in the heavenly light, his eerily blue eyes gazing back at the trapper. A strange voice began to fill the clearing.

 

"Ariel...Ariel is dead. The days of Aeriel are no more! Be forewarned mortals, for Aeriel is no longer here!"

 

As the voice finished its sentence, another clash of thunder echoed throughout the forest.

 

"...Uriel...Uriel has spoken..."

 

With a flash of blinding white light, the Trapper fled the clearing, racing away in fear before relaying his story to anyone who might listen in the surrounding territories.

 

 

(( Hello everyone! So, for those wondering who I am, I recommend you read my post over in the Introduction forum. I have created this story as I'd like to create a new arc in the Ascended storyline. The days of Aeriel are past, and the days of Uriel have begun! Get ready for more amazing creations, and very involved, elaborate roleplaying that people will refer to hopefully for another three years.

Anyone who may be interested, I am definitely looking for builders and fellow roleplayers to help move the story forward. Please let me know in PM's, respond with your character's on response to hearing the trapper's story, and we'll see where it goes from there.

Be aware that by the time you have heard this story, it could be in any of the given cities or principalities, in any manner you wish. Whether it be a notice, a discussion in a tavern, hushed tones in a dark alleyway, you name it! ))

 

[ℤ∃ʁ∅ 823]

((Great read!

[1 1393]

((Can't wait for a event over this!

[501warhead 1796]

The Trapper went to the village on that night to sell some wares and have a drink in the tavern. There he told them all of the white lightning ghost of the Ascended! His drinking buddies roughed him up a bit for telling tall tales but 'twas all in good fun... However amongst the locals that night was a traveler from down south. Over hearing this tale he thought to himself that some others might be curious to hear it as well, if it proved true.

 

He headed back down to where he had come from and asked around if any had seen any other 'Hooded' folk around and was pointed to the far, far south where occasionally pilgrims went to what they called 'The Monastery of Avalon'... they had seen plenty old, white-robed folks there. Eventually his path led him through the flood-plains and he stood before the gates of a small town in construction, workers building while two figures stood directing the chaos, both trimmed in a red on their white robes.

 

The figure on the left was one who had been long absent from the monastery, A figure that matches the drunken man's description of who he had saw in the woods but with some notable differences. The Traveler cried out a hello and the man turned, golden adornments on his robes shifting, to answer the Traveler and revealed that under the hood was a void of darkness with one Teal spark of light peering out through it. Strange as it was the Traveler felt no unease and set into his tale...

 

When he was done Kalen stood motionless, perturbed at such a thing and set out to see for himself...

 

The return of one of the Five, Of Riizu.

[Googlesearch 141]

Sonn Ander scratches his beard "You say his name was Gandalf?"

[IevIr4d 29]

((tl;dr would be nice

[Kickstarted and Running 965]

Magnus, the Dreadknight moves his rusted limbs, stressed and painful groan emanating form his metal shell, a follower whispers to him of this occurrence... One of the Five has returned... Where are the other Four? An idle thought passing in his mind before being discarded. They would bleed like any other.

[Divinae 32]

Celia'ilum tilts her head curiously, pondering the tale. Her ear tips twitch slightly in her contemplation.

 

"Shame I couldn't see him," she thinks to herself. "All I've found in the north has been weird dwarves who thought I was an illusion and wild forest that goes forever..."

 

Though, any news of a dead Aengul seemed worrisome enough. Celia didn't know much, being so young, but deductive reasoning. She definitely intended to keep her ears perked for this matter.

[Rig 17581]

Airaion upon hearing news has his brow furrow, the paladin sighs, confusedly scratching his head with a gauntleted hand, before departing.

[Glyc 234]

Moved to the Great Library. It shall be sorted into appropriate category shortly.