Much has transpired these past few days. I am grateful to be alive this night, so that I may record my experience for scholars and historians to one day look upon, and piece together the past.
As I woke, I expected little of the day; another dull morning of tending to the trees in my woodland surroundings, and then landscaping so as to introduce a small water feature to the area. But Aegis had other plans for me.
While planting saplings close to the ocean, I noticed a good amount of land was indented near the beach. Nothing too out of the ordinary, as this land was always mistreated for its resources. But In the corner of my eye I caught a hint of grey on the horizon, an unusual color to be seen so far into the blue. I swam across to the source, which was a large, stone wall being built just south of the grand city of Alstion. And on top of this wall was a man, stolid looking, and completely oblivious to me.
I shouted to him, “Hail, good sir!” But he did not turn to speak to me. I gave up quickly, always the stubborn sort, and began to circle the wall, looking for an entrance. Before I could find one, I noticed a mound of dirt just tall enough to allow passage over the wall. Foolishly I hopped the stone barrier and found myself within a sacred compound. There were two cobblestone pathways cutting through a flat field of grass, and meeting at the center of the site. At the middle was a shrine of some sort with a fountain inside, but I could not get a closer look as there were men blocking my path. I was still taking in my surroundings, so I barely noticed that the men were closing in upon me. Had I not been in such a daze I would have seen their unsheathed swords.
Before I knew it, I was struck down by the tallest and most noble looking of the three men. I pleaded for mercy, but he continued to strike at me! In that moment I prayed for a guardian angel. And one came, though not what I had expected. A being dressed in a white robe trimmed with blue stepped forward, seemingly from nowhere. I searched his eyes for a sign of what was to come, but they were unreadable. They were fixed on me with their icy blue gaze, and I could not see his face through the darkness of his hood.
“You must excuse my men. They haven’t learned their manners,” he said, his voice calming and smooth. I wanted to speak, but the pain kept me from doing so. “Back to work, lads,” he ordered with surprising severity. Grumbling, the three men retreated to their work.
“What are you building here?” I began, still panting. “And wha-.” I was cut off as a chamber of glass fixed around me. I could see one of the working men chuckle from a little ways away.
“What is this?!” I shouted, regaining my strength through anger. The strange hooded man merely shook his head.
“You haven’t a right to know. Why are you here? It’s unwise to cross walls without permission.”
“I was merely curious,” I replied, losing my edge. Inwardly I wished I had lunged at him while I was still riled up, but looking back that would have only made matters worse. “What are ye people building here?”
If I had been able to see the man’s face, I’m sure there would have been a look of surprise written on it. But the moment passed quickly and he reclaimed his composure. He introduced himself as a Sage, one of the Ascended. When I was young, my mother and father had been too busy with working to read to me mythology. Or perhaps they had been illiterate and simply didn’t want me to judge them for it. Either way, I had never heard of these beings.
“And these men are…simple workers, being paid to carry out your vision?” I asked. I must admit that at this point the greed in me took over, and I was more than willing to offer my services so as to earn a few extra minas, which until then I had been getting only from the zombies and skeletons I killed during the night in my woods.
“Nay, they be followers of Aeriel. And this is the site of Aeriel’s Keep,” he replied. I felt a bit let down, and knew that I was not going to be given a job here. I decided to end the conversation by asking for a legal exit. The mound was a sort of one-way entrance. The Sage called for a worker to clear a path in the stone, seemingly flustered that he had not thought to make a way in or out. His parting words were “Be careful. These are not safe lands to be wandering.” I assumed he was referring to the undead menace. I knew little of them. They had taken the Snowy Fields a ways south, and I would sometimes find odd figures I assumed to be them crossing my woods at night, in which case I would flee to the shelter of my underground bunker. The Undead were not the sort to be messed with.
I decided to travel to the Capital of Men, Alkhazar, to buy supplies. I needed new buckets to use with my well, as the wooden ones I owned were broken. The journey was seamless, same as usual. I stayed in the Winterwood Inn for the night. It was an abandoned building, but well off the main road, so that it has avoided detection from those seeking to destroy homes and use their resources.
The next morning, I woke up very early. The sun had barely risen in the east when I left the Inn, but I had to make headway if I expected to get back to my home before noon.
The grand city on the mountain was bustling with activity as always, and when I neared its gates, I was surprised to find a guard standing by.
“Name an’ business.” He hung on the last word. I could tell he was drunk, so I was in no mood to anger him by not complying.
“The name is Lenvoy, and I am headed to the marketplace to buy supplies for my home up north.” I hesitated, then added, “If I may ask, why are the gates closed? In my years living here I’ve never seen the North Gate being manned by a guard before.”
The guard took a moment to gather his thoughts, then in slurred words replied, “Gotta be watchin’ who comes in the city... What with you-know-who hangin’ around up north lately.” And I did know who. I only wished I hadn’t, because I was becoming more and more unnerved by the thought as I walked through the city streets. Every passer-by seemed suspicious, and suddenly, I didn’t care about getting a bucket for my well anymore. At that point, I only wanted to get back to my home and feel secure again.
I ran back to the gate, and, startled, the guard opened it without asking me what I was doing. What a stupid drunkard, I thought. Before I knew it, I was nearing the end of the road leading to the Snowy Fields. Beyond the desolate land was the stretch of sand that led to my woods, and my home. Before I could exit the forest, however, I came upon four cloaked figures.
They looked much like the Sage I met earlier in terms of the design of their robes, but that’s about where the similarities stopped. They had brighter, more intimidating eyes, and a stare that could pierce stone. Their cloaks were all black, with odd-colored trims, such as burgundy and midnight blue.
I was scared out of my mind, but I did not let it show. I could not be sure that these were the Undead menace that was the talk of Oren. And so I said the only thing I could think of. “Hail…”
They studied me for a moment, then they laughed. A wicked, cackling laugh. “Look at him! What silly clothes!” one said, pointing at me with a crooked finger. Another chimed in, “What a pathetic excuse for a Northerner.”
“I am not, and my clothes are not silly!” I barked, surprising myself with my fierceness, and was proud for the moment. But the ominous group seemed unfazed.
“What brings you, boy?” one of them asked. There was a tone of cruel playfulness rather than curiousity in his voice, but I pretended not to notice.
“My home is up ahead. I am simply traveling there. I-.“ For the second time in those two days, I was cut off. One of them leaned towards me and nearly spat in my face.
“Gah! This one makes me so angry, he does! So stupid sounding, so stupid!” he hollered in a shrill voice, circling around and stomping on the ground. He continued mumbling to himself, and I’m sure that he mentioned killing me more than once. I was scared. Scared for my life, and scared for what these horrendous beings were capable of. I was still clutching the thin strand of hope that these might not be Undead fiends, that they were just creepy travelers not welcome in the city.
“I’ve heard enough,” I said, though I could tell my voice was shaky and unconvincing. “I’m going to be off now,” I continued in a finalizing tone, and without a second glance, sprinted away. I’m sure that they were staring as I ran down the desolate roads of the Snowy Fields, but I didn’t care. Then more than ever I just wanted to be in my bunker, oblivious to the world and all its hardships.
My feet must have carried me quickly, because I was in my bunker, panting, before the sun had reached its peak in the sky. I spent a good time reflecting on the encounter, wishing I had just stayed put in Alkhazar, and cursing the guard for letting me through the gate.
Though I did not want to, I knew there was work to be done. I had trees to plant and a beach to clean after. So in spite of myself, I forced my legs to carry me to the surface. For a moment, I took comfort in the canopy of leaves hanging over me, as is securing me with their gentle embrace.
But then that moment ended.
I became dizzy watching the scene. There were men, women, children, all dashing through my grotto headed southeast, directly away from the city of Alstion. They had terrified looks about them. The group mentality kicked in, and I joined them.
I stopped in my tracks, cursing myself for my stupidity. What would running do for me? They were headed in the direction of the Winter Woods, where I was certain they would meet their demise at the hand of the Undead. So instead I made my way back to my bunker. But before I could enter it, I was clasped at the arm and spun around. I clawed at my aggressor wildy, like a trapped coyote. Only when I finally opened my eyes did I see it was not an Undead minion, but rather a warrior, clad in iron, and a sword in his other hand.
“Where are they?!” he demanded, shaking me. I must have looked like an outright lunatic; disheveled and mentally unstable.
“Who?” I asked, though I knew the answer. I just didn’t want to be dragged into whatever he planned to do.
“The Undead! Where are they?! Alstion is taken, and I must go fight them!” he exclaimed, shaking me again. I was nauseous and tired, but I answered him. Because I knew what their next target must be.
“Aeriel’s Keep… They must be after the Ascended Sage…” I answered, breathing heavily. He did not respond, but rather held my gaze, and I knew he wanted me to lead him. Weakly, I hobbled to the beach and pointed to the massive stone wall in the distance, made hazy now by the fog.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning followed by a roar of thunder broke through the sky. The force dispelled the fog and illuminated to figures of men. Or were they men? No, these were the Undead. And in numbers larger than I could have imagined. Another flash of lightning, and I realized that it was the evil beings who summoned it so as to kill off their adversaries.
“OH MY GOD!” the warrior screamed next to me. He ran into the water, and I called for him to stop, but it was too late. A flurry of arrows flew through the air, and came upon the warrior in seconds. I held back a scream, and ran back up the beach, headed once again for my bunker. Only this time, I made it. And once inside, I resolved that no force on heaven nor earth would bring me out.
A day passed, possibly two, without me leaving my underground safe haven. Luckily I had cooked meat stored to keep me nourished, and enough materials to occupy myself. I took to mining. I managed to find a small deposit of coal, and would have, should have been elated. Coal is a great find in Aegis, and good for trading. But I was still depressed from recent events, and nothing could bring my spirits up.
Eventually, I resolved to return to the surface once again, possibly even for the last time. I had no idea what would happen. For all I knew, An Undead stronghold could have been built right over my base!
As it turned out, there was no Undead Stronghold. Just the same trees surrounding me, only now they seemed not to offer as much protection. I strolled along the familiar woods, and was cheered up just a small bit to see nothing had changed. From an outside perspective, it would seem like no battle had been waged, no men were killed, and everything was at peace.
Then they found me. A group of four Undead, and I was sure at this point, came strolling up from the direction of the Snowy Fields, and stopped at the border of the forest. At this point, I wasn’t even scared. My reaction could be described more as a despondent acceptance of my fate. “Look who it is! The silly man again! So silly!” One of them squealed with terrifying delight. My heart sank even lower upon the realization these were the same vile men as before, no doubt here to claim my life as they probably wanted to before I fled into the fields. “What are you doing here in this graveyard, boy? Do you like the dead?” he cackled.
There were many cave systems under my forest. But I always dismissed them as the diggings of some man who wanted to find valuable mineral deposits and get rich quick. I had no idea that my forest, my home, was the site of a graveyard. Looking back, I can assume he was using the term graveyard metaphorically. There were no graves or dead bodies, but rather my land was the site of a war between men and these creatures long ago.
“This is my home.” I said, not revealing anything. Not my weariness, my lack of energy, my wishes that these people would just leave.
“Your home? Hear that, this is his home!” He said. Clearly this was the group’s leader. His robe was the grandest and he had a more evil vibe emitting from him. “Alright boys, let’s help clear out our friend’s ‘home.’” At that, they all took out axes and immediately began chopping at the trees. They were laughing loudly, but behind it I could swear I heard moans of agony from the grand oaks I had spent so many days and nights tending to and replanting. My life’s work was falling down before my eyes, and I nearly lost it.
I ran away from them, and hid in my bunker before they came close enough to find where I was taking refuge. I waited in there for hours, and above me I could hear the falling of the trees and above that, always the incessant laughing that. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that laugh of theirs.
When I finally left my home, I was ready to be killed. I was ready to be taken by the Undead and possibly be tortured. But instead of my demise, I found only one of them left, calmly cutting down the last few trees. I regained my resolve, and thought for a moment, before uttering the most clever thing I could think of.
“So your supposed colleagues have left you to finish their work, have they?” I inquired. My idea was to spark infighting between their ranks, even if only a subtle touch of it.
“Work?” He replied, not looking at me. “This is not work. I am proud to ridding Iblees of this insult to his land.”
“A few trees never hurt anyone.” I scoffed. “And this land is public domain, your master Iblees does not own it.” He did not respond, so I continued with another question. “Is ridding the land of this “insult” your only reason for defiling my land? Have you any need for the lumber? Or do you simply have a taste for destruction?”
He waited a moment, and stopped cutting. Then he said, “Me and my brothers have not a taste for destruction. And you call this your land? Moments ago you stated it was public domain, do not speak such hypocrisy to me.”
His words stung, partially because I did not immediately know how to counter them. But I had salvaged this land from the ragged mess it was and made it whole again. Who were he and his brothers to ruin my work? “This land is my own because I care for it. But any man who walked through my forest was welcome, and treated justly. You however, deserve no claim to land that you only intend to desolate.”
“You are wrong, I am not here to desolate this land. Nay, I am preparing this land for mine savior Iblees,” he responded, then turned back to his work, seemingly disinterested.
“Savior? Savior from what? Peace? Prosperity? A secure life?!” I screamed. I thought he would kill me there, strike me down for my outburst, but he did not. He merely continued cutting the trees. Some time passed, and the sun was beginning to set in the west. Finally, I said, “That’s the last tree. You’ll be going now.”
He nodded, and began to leave, headed for what was once Alstion. Just before he left he turned, and uttered his final words to me, “Now I know why I dislike you… You share in knowledge, as do I.”
