The First Dark Congress

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

"They raise the dead, tamper with life, and yet expect us to negotiate. To accept them as if they were part of a balance. Light and dark. Nonsense. The only balance is that of nature, and it is being tarnished by these beasts of darkness."

 

Artimec chuckled a low, malicious, mean spirited chuckle as he gazed directly at all Xionists and dark arts users present.

 

"There is no negotiation. There is only the purge of those who upset the balance. The Aspects will it."

 

 

 

[dandan1350 479]

"And just like that.. We crumble into war." The briefest of smiles grace his lips as he murmured the line purely to himself and the Ser Rosencrantz beside him before he fled from the Tahariaens side and made way to pace through the room and flank Herun now.

[Geo 1415]

Naruntah writhes up from slouching in his chair in a striking display of anger, slamming his old, elderly fist upon the stone.  He twists his hand, cursing under his breath as he instantly regrets the action, putting his hand to his lips for a brief moment in pain. 

 

"Right, right, right, enough, enough you blasted buggers!"

 

The wizard scowls deeper than the thicket of Elandriel, looking upon the quarreling parties with shame and irritation. 

 

"You would do well to remain civil, else risk transforming into the bumbling agents of chaos you so wish to stick your silly little knives in!  Put your blind righteousness aside for one moment and look at yourselves, many of you here are old and wise, others; young, stoic and impressionable.   Yet you all stand to attention as representatives of mortal-kind.  Do not take up your own blithering arms against one another, it is the Old Sin of Strife."

 

Naruntah's eyes look directly at Artimec, severely unimpressed.

 

"Perhaps we enforce the customs of this Neutral congregation, to stop raving deviants bursting through the door with dangerous claims and a lack of civility.  The only ones seeking to incite immediate war are those who boast of their impenetrable pride and righteousness.  Do rest a moment and smother the barbarian flame you seem so eager to wave around, you impress none by doing so and only impede this discussion further."

 

"On the account of your dealings with Necromancers, and taint.  It is a given that those who use their powers for ill make the loudest of noises, and draw the most attention.  There is a reason your eyes do not wander upon the more reclusive of us so often, for we have our own duties and studies to uphold, to protect and master our own secrets as I'm sure you all do. "

 

"Do not think me some mere pitiful silver tongued Renati peddler, I've better things to do than to travel across Vailor and fill your head with venomous lies nor trick you into some false belief.  The issues before us are very real, and very old.  You would be fortuitous to pay heed to the mortal powers that seep deep into the soils, and to not hunt their devout else when you require them most; mortalkind will abandon you."

 

"One more time I ask that you be the honorable representatives of Mankind's respective factions you strive to be.  This hall is a vault of words and truces, and any who should seek to break this sacred agreement will be cast out.  Now, perhaps we let Vapor speak, so he may settle these arguments."

 

The wizard slinks back into his chair with a huff, slightly confused himself to what is going on.

[TeaLulu 1783]

The woman seated at the door slowly frowns at the Chaos brought by the onset of uninvited guests and holy men bickering between themselves. She lifts her quill, gesturing to the door.

 

"The Library of Dragur is a neutral meeting place. If you were invited, please calmly have a seat. If you were not invited, by the host, I might add, please leave. Your presence does nothing but cause chaos. And kindly stop arguing with such hasty voices, nary giving a moment for any others to respond; I cannot write that fast. The meeting wasn't hosted so the Aengudaemonic Orders could work out their already apparent issues with one another."

 

"It needn't be said aloud that the Xan-followers have broken already the peaceful terms of the arranged meeting by bringing one not invited. Let's have no other such breaching of protocol, lest our dear Librarian finds himself forced to raise from his seat."

[Corvoo 562]

The redhaired elf seated next to the group from the Mother Circle frowns towards Artimec and his group, clearing his throat before he speaks. 

 

"I'd like to make clear to everyone here, that what Artimec, and his group that he brought with him does not speak for the Order, or for the Mother Circle which most Druids belong to. He speak for himself, and a separate circle of his own. Nor did we tell him about this Congress. Please do not think that anything he speaks of, are what the Druids invited here believe, or think."

 

He'd nod, before sitting back down next to the others.

 

 

 

[youdude 104]

Savet kept his peace for a good while, a somewhat begrudging frown cast towards Artimec and his followers. The word 'Fanatic' rested at the very tip of his tongue, threatening to spill; Yet with no liquid encouragement, he had the self-control to contain himself. Instead, he muttered; "Some seem to have their minds set, thirsting for more glory and blood." A moment of hesitation followed, until the tall platinum-haired head of the elf tipped low. "Apologies for the comment, it achieved nothing but provocation." In the hopes of avoiding any further arguing, he simply sat back down onto the cold stone floor, leaning his back against the wall behind him, shutting his eyes in deep, meditative thought.

[Tsuyose 3285]

Herun drew his platinum gaze back, settling unto his brethren and his trusted companion, Daniel, greeting his old war-brother with a curt bow of his head before he’d revert his gaze back to Nimdravur, and the aged Keeper exhaled a sharp sigh and he’d drag his ebon gauntlet along the ridge of the table;

“Needless to say, there is an eternity of strife between our factions some in self-defence, others, offence. I’ve spent a hundred years in service to Xan not because I feel forced to, or inclined to, but because I want to. Daemons sought to enslave our ilk whereas the Aenguls sought our release, to unbind us from our unearthly curse that Iblees bestowed unto our ancestors- Xan slew the wretched Setherien and in turn sacrificed himself, for what? To sate his own pride? To leave an everlasting memory in the souls of our brethren—no, what he did that day was to stand stalwart amidst our ilk. An Aengul willing to die so we may thrive;

 

The Gods do not rule man.

Man governs themselves.

 

Aengul’s akin to Xan stand stalwart in their ethereal realms - even if their Prophet's turn tail and speak ill of their brethren - to vanguard us from the likes of Setherien and Iblees in his eternal plight for Order, but not Order amidst our ilk – but to retain the order in our realm against the blighted beasts that seek havoc on the descendants,”

He’d then pause, locking his gaze upon Jynx with narrowed eyes before he’d revert his gaze back onto Nimdravur for a third time, directing the remainder of his speech toward the two.

 

“I hope your ilk never came expecting words to resolve our ordeals nor the return of weaponry,” He’d gesture to the blade Rosencrants wielded, or once did, exhaling a shallow sigh to Daniel’s mention of war. “If it’s tranquillity or solace you seek then that shan’t brew hither, but rather, later, if at all.

 

I once turned away a man warped into an ebon mist donning a suit of twisted steel at the behest of Setherien; his name was David Karlem and by my word I dub him a champion still. I regret my original decision but I shan’t let that drag me down – Xion, I tell you now, these words we exchange will lead to naught but bloodshed and war.

 

If you want to begin, then the Paladins recently suffered a wound. A Paladin of ours lost her arm to a man that wields life and shadow I can only presume it is a Necromancer or Shade if not both perhaps you’d be willing to inquire, or investigate. He went by the name of Haskaal."

 

Herun would then pause, curling his armoured digits in taut before he’d proceed to fold his arms over his torso once more, inclining his head to conclude his talk.

 

“Actions speak louder than words.”

 

Aeriel's light has passed,

Tahariae's Purity will live on for an eternity,

Xan will vanguard this realm,

and Order will prevail.

[Swgrclan 2682]

The sudden flurry of uninvited guests, hostile accusations and threats and general havoc caused Vapor's expression to erode into a disgusted, hateful scowl; in one moment, his form tenses up as he beholds the whole of those who had came, and in the next, he suddenly booms:

"ENOUGH!"

 

It is after this furious call that the Herald of Embers would look to those who spoke with great disdain, both shot from his lasting eye in a glare, and in his remaining expression of detestation, in order to address their various points.
 

4 hours ago, 吳憾戰士14 said:

(the quote fugged up)

The herald raises a finger to the three intruders; causing his nearby servants, cloaked in black, to rustle in attention - and though they held no weapons, they approached to gather toward the middle of the hall as if in preparation.

"You, firstly, do not belong here; you were not invited, and the representative that embodies your disambiguated 'Aspectisms' already came before you and your lot to stand as the elective of the Druidic Order, whom of which bears more jurisdiction over their respective patrons of Aengudaemonica than you. Therefore, you are not welcome on both counts, and shall be expelled from this chamber in soon time, as well as the one who calls himself 'Leric' under the premise he led you here to stir havoc and therefore more bloodshed and undoing.

Secondly, you make reference to ages long past; to the times of Embermoor, when the conglomerate of shadows of all and in-between came together to stand as one, shambled force. You talk of irrelevant things, thinking that embodiments of terrorism also embody organizations seeking to undo the misgivings in the past; you seek to generalize, thinking we seek to do harm, when everyone here was called here for the purpose of the good of Man in the first place; and thereafter, you seek to break this congress by inciting chaos among the attendants, gifting more fuel to this futile fire of a 'war' between light and dark. You are an agent of chaos; you are a scoundrel; and if Xion is ever to go to war with Aengudaemonica, you will be the first to be undone.

You wish to speak of failures, of misgivings? You live as an embodiment of failure - I know your face well. If you wish to bring up the sins of the past, then we may debate about how you assisted in the shattering of the Elven people, preferring rather to split Malin's children into shards rather than to make them strong by taking control of Old Malinor and banding the peoples of the oak together. But I will not debate you on the past, Fool-Elf, because I formed the purpose of this congress, and I seek to remain upon the very same purpose so that my kind are not forced to undo yours.

Leave this place. You are not welcome, agent of chaos."

 

4 hours ago, Lucius de Savoie said:

"In our darkest hour we must look to the light to guide us, brother Prophet." Lifted up a gauntlet to rest on his shoulder briefly before letting it slip and muttering back in return. "Head high, for I have returned and behind me an army marches. We no longer need to bend over to any who would have us desperate."

 

"Now, it has been decided the blade shall not be returned and I place the Keepers well being under my charge and announce to any who would see them hurt - They will face me."

"Please, spare this gathering of nonsense about wars and blades; you talk so much about your rights to keep the wretched weapon that you do not realize what effect it has on this peaceful gathering. Do you want to keep the sword? Very well, keep your sword. We of Xion have no use for your sword. If it comforts you to any degree, the only destruction we of Xion would bring with the sword is the destruction of the sword itself. I hope the cursed thing is cast to the depths of the Abyss, and drowned in it's darkness, for it was a forsaken relic forged with forsaken intent."
 

3 hours ago, ˢᵏʸ said:

 

 

 

Toren stands stoic behind his father, Artimec and beside whom he would consider a brother, Berr. A moment would pass before his lips part into a smirk and a hearted laugh emits, his sage eyes float around as his laughter gets a tad louder before ceasing. Clearing his throat, Toren would speak in a tone which aired a feeling of control over one’s self.

 

“Let us stop this ******* dumb tea party. You want peace? It will be achieved only after all that is unnatural is purged. The idle threats laced in long winded speeches disgust me, if you truly feel you are above those you claim to be then let us end this.”

 

Toren would soon after spit on the ground infront of him.

 

“We can easily take you on.”

 

 

 

 

"Leave this place immediately. This is not a battlefield or proving grounds, you beligerent savage," Vapor states, before in continuation, he raises his voice, "--this is a CONGRESS of MAN, and it will REMAIN that way unless YOU WISH TO THROW THE WORLD INTO WAR ONCE AGAIN!"

Grinding his teeth together, he would stare the Wood Elven intruders down for a moment before shaking his head and looking to the others.

 

3 hours ago, Ventusyr said:

Ashanaak nods in agreement with Toren. "There is no discussion here, only your demands that we give up our allegiance to the gods we serve and worship," Ashanaak adds, his disfigured face still contorted in rage. "Do not play as if it is an equal congress, where you would be willing to concede to things. Our allegiance is to Purity, Order, and Balance. Not to fellowship with those who wield taint and threaten the Innocent and our Brothers and Sisters."

 

(( Sorry, phone, lack of pretty fonts this time ))

 

"I see you allow your brethren to cloud your mind, and just as I claimed prior, the sword is the fault of this. Out with the sword; we speak of peace here, we do not fight a battle. If you are unable to comprehend the primary point of this congress, allow me, once again, to offer the terms in which we of Xion seek to pose in order to better mankind:

Agree to be neutral with Xion as long as Xion is neutral to you, on the premise of agreement in which those of Xion may be responsible for dealing with the evils of the dark itself instead of your kind, unrightfully here by the terms of your otherworldly lords, seeking to purge them; of which has been an unsuccessful effort for the entirety of one-thousand and five-hundred years of known history. We of Xion seek to contain the evils of the world; to tame them; to take the misguided mortal arts of Man and, again, reform them, and make them better; all under the context of bettering Man, so that when the time comes that some archaic threat to the mortal world arrives again, he may respond to it himself, and fight it with the powers of his realm instead of that of Aengudaemonica.

I ask, are these terms not reasonable?"

[Ford 1996]

Archembalt emitted a weary sigh once he gave Artimec and Leric's uninvited presence recognition. His foot pivoted back, and his arms lifted themselves by his side, as if primed to flee upon moment's notice. However, after allowing the following discourse between the attendees to be absorbed into his psyche, the tensed expression and bodily language of the Southeron became alleviated. 

 

As he remained relatively still in his corner -- still shifting about in his azure robes uncomfortably -- a deep frown still swathed the Farfolk's visage. Archembalt brought a firmly clenched fist to his mouth before brusquely clearing his pipes. He began to speak. 

 

"I honestly hope that the strict followers of the Aenguldaemonica did not decide to come here simply to size-up the rest of their opposition and boast their dedication to their respective gods. Additionally, I would have also hoped that all this time had not been wasted on unnecessary conversation. If the outcome of this gathering is that our goals revert back into coming out the victor in a contest of blood, then such would be even more profoundly unfortunate. It is probably not my place to talk whatsoever, but it would please me if every individual here would at least exert some effort into reaching a conclusive stipulation which would possibly benefit the two primary factions present on this fine day."

 

 

[TeaLulu 1783]

The woman at the door clears her throat briefly, glancing to the still-standing holy man as the Host finishes his speech.

 

"Daemons are not inherently evil, and Aenguls are not inherently good. That is an elementary view to take of the situation, and incredibly naive. Ancient history states the Daemons too helped banish Iblees; But I doubt either party helped banish him for the sake of mortals, but for their own.

 

Aenguls and Daemons both interfere in the mortal world, and it always ends with negative consequences. Let us take Nemiisae and her children, the Mori; Their crimes are her crimes for creating them, and some of us suffered years of enslavement and torture at their hands.

 

Let us take what your associate, the so-called Prophet has brought up; The harvesters. What was this event? Where is the truth of it, and why has it not been told? Obviously Xan and Tahaerie did not agree on what to do concerning this.

 

Let us take the events of Thales, wherein many of the Aengudaemonic Orders received visions, some bidding they stay in that accursed land, even as it froze over and threatened to kill all of us. Consider the one who was behind all of that, and sought to convince mortal man to stay behind and die; That was an Aengul, and some of us who stood up against him suffered dearly for it.

 

Do not claim your Aenguls are all good, godly things. Do not demean the suffering some of us have endured under them and their servants.

 

I am a neutral party here; The Library as an entity is neutral. But I will not allow you to demean the suffering I and others have endured. I am mundane. I am not holy, I am not tainted. I am grey. I am the mortal you claim to defend. Do not demean my suffering.

 

Actions do speak louder than words. And the actions of the Aenguls and Daemons have spoken for themselves."

 

She settles back into her seat, the bitterness fading from her voice as she does so.

 

"I agree with the host, as a neutral party. If you truly wish peace, destroy the blade."

 

She goes quiet with that, hurriedly scribbling with her quill.

[Tsuyose 3285]

"I do not demean the suffering man has endured, we have endured suffering, too. The Aenguldaemonica as a whole are flawed- that, I cannot deny. The Gods are brimming with strife and war even they've turned 'pon one another, as such during the Harvester event -- Xan defied Gazardiel. Tahariae agreed with Gazardiel. For the lives of  a few descendants solace was promised and a cycle to pass albeit brought naught but a plague to which we, with the aid of the descendants had cured."

 

Herun would shift his gaze toward Aluuvia, bowing his head in agreement.

 

"Also, I said akin to, I wasn't referencing Aenguls as a whole."

 

[Zarsies 6795]

The gothic maiden of phantasmal origin bears a flurry of expressions, unlike a majority of her calloused counterparts throughout the length of the conversation. From news that the grey blade might return to the Dark's care, she appears elated, and to the news of its restriction -- changing of minds and the entrance of both missing orders and in turn their rabble-rousing -- she dons a steely grimace which comes interrupted by the occasional laxed face and lifted brow. Finally, to the most recent sharing, she harbors solely disgruntled calm and dreary, gloomy eyes. Sorrow and grief seem obvious on her face, the husk brimming with despair; her reaction comes not for the offered destruction of the blade, not for the aggression present, and not for the thoughts brimming of the bickering spouted. Her woe came elsewhere. 

 

The prepared papers, thick quill, and inkwell upon the space before her comes to life. A sheet peels off the table without any guiding hand, floating up before her whilst the pen inks itself in the well and brought its black tip to the parchment. The witch scribes down lines with her mind's direction, her arms locked across her torso while her stare was honed in on any who dare speak. A fair time of listening with the occasional writing later, the woman nests her writing utensil and waves her paper down to hide its contents, the sheet held just a beat to give it a time to dry before she levitates it over to her nearest seated allies; Vapor and Naruntah, set just so the both may read it.

[ski_king3 0]

The Keeper of Guardianship considered the words of all within the gathering, expression setting into a frown at the final request of the Herald of Embers. He allows those few others who spoke to do so, shaking his head at Archibald in particular as he spoke, the once-Paladin's words earning now approval from him. Finally, as silence was once more achieved, Garion takes a step forward, uttering his piece.

 

"You ask us to forego raising blade against the darkness, even when it strikes against the innocent and the living. Yet leaders of villages, cities and nations ask us to protect those under them, and history has shown us that the truest protectors of mortals are those of the light. If you do not sow Disorder upon the realm, or harm our kin through wicked blight, you shall see the end of no Paladin blade. Yet this is not the reality of most darkness, whether it represents the few leading this Congress."

At the last of his words, he nods to the two Heralds present, Umbrage and Embers, innocently clasping his gauntlet before his midsection. The man shows no sign of anger, or in truth, emotion at all, a plainness set upon his visage unwavering as he awaited a Herald's response.

[Locklathlan 41]

1 hour ago, trap_queen3 said:

The Keeper of Guardianship considered the words of all within the gathering, expression setting into a frown at the final request of the Herald of Embers. He allows those few others who spoke to do so, shaking his head at Archibald in particular as he spoke, the once-Paladin's words earning now approval from him. Finally, as silence was once more achieved, Garion takes a step forward, uttering his piece.

 

"You ask us to forego raising blade against the darkness, even when it strikes against the innocent and the living. Yet leaders of villages, cities and nations ask us to protect those under them, and history has shown us that the truest protectors of mortals are those of the light. If you do not sow Disorder upon the realm, or harm our kin through wicked blight, you shall see the end of no Paladin blade. Yet this is not the reality of most darkness, whether it represents the few leading this Congress."

At the last of his words, he nods to the two Heralds present, Umbrage and Embers, innocently clasping his gauntlet before his midsection. The man shows no sign of anger, or in truth, emotion at all, a plainness set upon his visage unwavering as he awaited a Herald's response.

"I do truly believe that we seem to be debating the 'darkness' from quite opposing views; what you reference is the rabble of dark magicians that have plagued this land left ignorant of true understanding that comes with the weight and importance of their art. Those individuals who have taken these great arts and made them lesser as they have warped the way of things, bringing utter ruin to the land, to Man, and to the Cycle, the fundamental way of things. Those who sit here are not of this same lesser darkness, a shadow of something greater. Just as you folk of Xan wish Order upon us, so the Grand Dark is ordered. Just as you folk of Tahariae wish the world free of blemish and blight, so too do we wish for a world full of perfection. Just as you folk of the Aspects wish this world bound by natural laws, untampered with by tainting influences, so too do we.

 

Folk of the Aengudaemonica, you speak of a threat that is not among us, for I have faith in those Heralds sat here among us. Those who wish to take our grand Mortal Arts and make them something perverse, they are as awful as the chaos of both the daemons, and the Void. Folk of the Aengudaemonica, we seek to bring these arts that have been so damaged, taken to become something so backwards and destructive, under a reign once again. The art of Necromancy as you name it, the art of Lifeforce manipulation and a higher understanding of our mortality, is only of the 'dark' you hate when it is left unchecked, and unguarded. The art of Lifeforce manipulation is a force for good; where Druidism may be used to bring new growth, so too may lifeforce manipulation re-balance the spread of life among the living, bringing about naught but the very balance you seek. If you drui condone the use of your own 'higher' powers for the mending of the land, you must take into account the 'lesser' ones that do so much less to alter the way of things.

 

In just the same way, many of these other arts that you so hate, are ones that can be brought into check, into an ordered state that shall do naught but mend the way of Man, and bring about understanding and enlightenment among the many citizens of this world. Talk now in peace, for though you may stand among those who utilize arts long since marred, they are the cleansers who have come among you to undo this. These 'dark arts' as you name them; this stain upon them shall be cleaned.

 

Folk of Xan, if you so wish those of innocence to be left unharmed, we, those of Xion, are the only way forward. We offer you stability, order, control, betterment, for the arts that have harmed the world. We seek safety for those of Man, just as you do; as you are guardians, so are we. With this, I can assure you that by my work, you shall see no Disorder; by those of Xion, no Disorder, no Taint, no Dischord, shall make a wound upon this world again."

 

By this point, the swathe of black cloth had been removed from his mouth, the sharp line of his jaw evident beneath a thin layer of stubble. His eyes now meeting those of Garrion, he stands from his seat and bows with a profound sense of honesty and dignity. Raising again from his stance, he speaks one final time.

 

"Though I may disagree that the influence of the aenguls is needed to bring greatness unto Man, I am profoundly accepting of the path you attempt to follow. All those here of the aengudaemonica, I respect what you attempt to do for our world, and for Man. I hope this is the same for all those of Xion, for the ideals you hold in your hearts are blemished only by the fact you place their solution in the hands of beings that shall tarnish the result. By Man, by His Arts, you shall find all those goals you seek. Place your faith in us, I implore you. Place understanding in these words, and cast all your misjudged hate aside. Those of Xion forge ahead along the same path as those of the Light."

 

Returning to his seat, a hand is raised to gesture to those among them, allowing them time to speak once again.

[KBR 2046]

Faenor would sit up in his seat before saying  "This is a conference of Man, in neutral grounds, I doubt Orithur would enjoy us fighting in this room of his. As for those who have come uninvited, I seem to remember you kicking people out of your city for no reason except for being unrightfully being accused of being a so called 'Sun Elf'. you claim to let all Mali into your city, but You kick them out, so I expect you to heed The Herald of Embers' words and leave these halls, as the Sun elf left your city when asked." 

((On mobile so I apologize if there are mistakes I will fix when I get home.