HE WHICH WALKS 'PON THE FIRE & THE TOME OF FOES

[MCVDK 1584]

 

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may.”

 

Spoiler

BENEATH MAY ONLY BE ACCESSED IRP BY MEMBERS OF THE AZDRAZI COMMUNITY OR PEOPLE AFFILIATED THEREWITH

 

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HE WHICH WALKS ‘PON THE FIRE

[STORY OF THE JOURNEY]

 

 

Fire roared. Silence broke. Stars blurred by aureate colouration. Chaos yet peace. Silence yet noise. Death yet life. Distance yet closeness. Eternity yet current. It felt as though the world stood still - as though the Gods had elected to omit the essence of existence in itself. Brave men are no cowards. Wise men are no imbeciles. And yet here was an oxymoron made reality. One creation which contradicted the truths known - which altered truth itself. 

 

Molten rock ran through the crevasses of the mountain side. It slithered and torched through flora and sediment as if it was a snake on the slow hunt for food - fueled by starvation. If one were to fall into the hills here. If one were to slip into the lakes of lava. It would take a second for the flesh to burn. Your heart would halt its drum and you’d be dead. One second. It slithered like a snake yet killed even faster. Once more the Gods seemed cruel - to let this creation hold so much influence on the mind and the body. Chaos seemed to rule here. Chaos. 

 

Where do we live? Where do we die? Why do we die? When do we die? Do we know? Should we know? Questions eternal yet death comes before eternity as though a wicked ruse had been played amid our lives. Life, o’ beautiful life, ever there yet so frail and as the frailty shatters life disappears - another trick? When do we end the eternal thoughts? Where do we end? Perhaps the end is then the start and the start of the end - are we to accept the simplicity of existence? Uncertainty - ever near uncertainty. 

 

Sweat. Sweat drops on the forehead. Silence. The Ashen Knight was there. He reached the hill of hills. He was there yet his journey unended. He stared at the fire-snake. He stared at the nest of its creation. He could feel the heat. He could feel the warmth. It was painful yet pleasant. It was home yet unknown. He sat there before the nest of warmth - before the aureate colours of molten rock - crisscrossed in admiration and dread. 

 

Scribbles upon papers. Charcoal upon papers. Words of wisdom yet foolishness. Sweat on his forehead. Sweat on his chest. He sat there and wrote before the nest of fire. He sat there and stared. He sat there. Alone in thought. Alone in debate. Alone. And yet he wrote and wrote. He wrote for days. He wrote for weeks. He threw parchment to the fires and yet then wrote once more. He knew of the truths. He knew of the fears. Yet did he write the truth? 

 

As the lava starvation rose. One can write yet never eternally. Food. No. Starvation. Yes. What is and what is not. Where and why. How and when. Chaos. Thoughts? No. No thoughts. Only chaos. Only focus. Only mind. Only words. Words of wisdom. Words of certainty. Uncertain? Yes. Certain yet uncertain. Oxymorons. Ever there. Ever frightful. Ever focused. 

 

Unanswered as the questions eternal. Unanswered yet focused. The Ashen Knight knew not of all yet he knew of the fight and he knew of the foe. And so he wrote. And wrote. And wrote.

 

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THE TOME OF FOES

[ACCESSIBLE ROLEPLAY TOME]

 

 

“The strongest people are not those who show strength in front of the world but those who fight and win battles that others do not know anything about.”

 

LESSON OF SELF Ever near is the enemy - for the enemy is self. Ever near is the enemy - for the enemy is doubt. Ever near is the enemy - for the enemy is fear. Ever near is the enemy - for the enemy is heedlessness. You shall understand the highest foe of yours is you - for when you become mindless of your own, mistakes are formed in the midst of brawl and so you unfold your early demise. Learn of the self and the self shall become an ally, yet leave the self unchecked and no foe shall evince mightier than of the mind. Ensure dominance over mind and so you shall find the ease wherein foes are slain, for whereas one has brawn and another has resilience - none shall victor the wise.	LESSON OF MAN Ever frightful is He, man of impermanence, and so a foe is born. He of our oath, kept by the line of Horen, sees drakes beneath the skin and death within the eyes. Yet fear can be remedied and nescience cured - your foe is only foe till he is friend and a friend is made by the essence of credence and credence is found in the acute. Crusade not man, when man crusades you - for in crusade only chaos is found and so the credence of some is overtaken by the wrath of others. Seek not to ruin man, as man seeks to ruin you, for they know not of what they ruin. Teach man and man shall teach you - yet be not reckless in your desires for man can be foul and foul they will be.
LESSON OF THE STEEL Mighty is the hand, yet mightier the steel. Nearly all foes will carry on them weapons. Weapon of steel. And yet this steel comes in many forms. You will find throughout your studies that steel may impact steel, yet the right kind of steel may bend other kinds of steel, only due to the form of the steel itself. Your blade is sharp, yet will do naught on the hardened plate. Your hammer is blunt, yet rarely precise. He who victors is he who knows of the steel in his hand - be not a fool for plate cannot be stabbed.	LESSON OF THE ARCANE Widespread is the archaic arcane arts and so you will often encounter them on your journey, yet you need seldom fret. You will notice swiftly in the brawl of the arcane - should your eyes be keen and your mind be focused - that distance is the key to triumph. Stand too far and the arcane shall fly through the winds of yore, yet stand too close and the art becomes but a flicker on the wall - for the arcane need time and focus absolute, and so should this focus be splintered the sorcerer can do naught but fall.
LESSON OF THE UNKNOWN Oft you shall stand before the unknown and the unknown before you, yet even the unknown can be fought and slain. Observe the unknown as the unknown reveals. Train your vision to catch the mistakes, the faults, the flaws - let them move to you and reveal, let them lower the curtains before you welt. Consider its stance and motion - is it fast or slow? Is it focused or feral? Watch till the unknown becomes known and assault only then - for it is harder to fight when blind than when not. And should doubt yet prevail the mind then heave your aurum and see its might - otherwise simply fight.	LESSON OF THE ETERNAL Creatures of the night and the darkness, the eternal ones are wicked beasts often concealed in the skin of man. They are fast and robust yet manipulative and bright. Rarely they are seen as anything but man, yet another side of darkness may be found beneath the skin of an otherwise innocent facade. Aurum has few consequences above the mortal wounds, yet fire has been found to counter whichever wicked souls they hold. Salt has been found to influence these creatures as well, yet primarily when added to the wounds - perhaps more useful in tests. Pure brawn will not defeat these beasts.
LESSON OF THE GHAST That which can be seen yet is not there. That which can be found yet is lost. The Ghast, or the Phantom, are wicked lost souls of men which once walked and yet they fall to the soundness of the dark and are overtaken by hatred and chaos. What can be reached yet never touched is hard to fight yet aurum holds high influence over these entities. Yet be careful for these beasts take hold of the mind and body in ways unexplained - let them not possess you for they will haunt you till you die.	LESSON OF THE GHOUL Demonic creatures of foul desires, those of ghoulish descent focus solely on the absolute ruination of man. Much akin to the Eternal ones, the Ghoul will seem as man until they are not, whereafter a wicked demonic form is released from beneath the skin. These creatures can reach the strength of powers higher and draws from Iblees’ himself - they are not to be taken lightly. They deal in trickery and deceit, yet few direct weaknesses of them are unknown. Aurum has no direct influence over them.

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