Legends of Eroris: Arrival |IC|

[Federal States of Xathuecia]

"Yes. I have just finalized it with the Archmage. You have graduated, you are no longer my trainees but my equals. I am not a mentor to you any longer. You have shown magical skill beyond what many in this school have demonstrated. So I hereby say: You are masters now."

He snapped his fingers as small bursts of beautiful lights appeared around them like small fireworks.

Abus looked at each other wondering what they should do now. Aracia waited for Abus to lead as always.

Abus asked,"What do we do now? More importantly, what do we do without you father?"

"Do what you wish. I trust you will remain pure of evil things so I offer no other guidance. Travel the world my children! Do not worry about me. I have....well...a..." he said but quieted down not wishing to tell them the truth. He already saw themselves seemingly happily confused and that brought a smile to his face, something a bit rare from a Valyar.

[Albertae]

Abus looked at each other wondering what they should do now. Aracia waited for Abus to lead as always.

Abus asked,"What do we do now? More importantly, what do we do without you father?"

"Do what you wish. I trust you will remain pure of evil things so I offer no other guidance. Travel the world my children! Do not worry about me. I have....well...a..." he said but quieted down not wishing to tell them the truth. He already saw themselves seemingly happily confused and that brought a smile to his face, something a bit rare from a Valyar.

Aracia this time lead by asking,"Can you not come with us, father?"

Abus added,"Yeah! We will be going on adventures to purge evil as our origins state." Abus spoke of how he and Aracia had been recognized by the School of Kurth. They'd both taken down bandit groups gaining them great recognition.

[Federal States of Xathuecia]

"Do what you wish. I trust you will remain pure of evil things so I offer no other guidance. Travel the world my children! Do not worry about me. I have....well...a..." he said but quieted down not wishing to tell them the truth. He already saw themselves seemingly happily confused and that brought a smile to his face, something a bit rare from a Valyar.

Aracia this time lead by asking,"Can you not come with us, father?"

Abus added,"Yeah! We will be going on adventures to purge evil as our origins state." Abus spoke of how he and Aracia had been recognized by the School of Kurth. They'd both taken down bandit groups gaining them great recognition.

"Perhaps I can. Where do you plan to travel?"

As he spoke, he felt excited.

He thought,"Travelling again, after such a long time. Boy, I would really do that. Yes, I will go with them. I will see them off in our last adventure!"

[Albertae]

Aracia this time lead by asking,"Can you not come with us, father?"

Abus added,"Yeah! We will be going on adventures to purge evil as our origins state." Abus spoke of how he and Aracia had been recognized by the School of Kurth. They'd both taken down bandit groups gaining them great recognition.

"Perhaps I can. Where do you plan to travel?"

As he spoke, he felt excited.

He thought,"Travelling again, after such a long time. Boy, I would really do that. Yes, I will go with them. I will see them off in our last adventure!"

Abus looks at each other for guidance often doing this made people wonder went inside each other's heads.

Abus spoke up and said,"Only Kuruth will tell father. It is up to us as a whole where our path takes us whether it be together or alone." Not only had Abus referenced the well known quote of,"Time will tell.." he also had spoken masterfully almost as if he had the knowledge and wisdom of an Archmage.

[Federal States of Xathuecia]

"Perhaps I can. Where do you plan to travel?"

As he spoke, he felt excited.

He thought,"Travelling again, after such a long time. Boy, I would really do that. Yes, I will go with them. I will see them off in our last adventure!"

Abus looks at each other for guidance often doing this made people wonder went inside each other's heads.

Abus spoke up and said,"Only Kuruth will tell father. It is up to us as a whole where our path takes us whether it be together or alone." Not only had Abus referenced the well known quote of,"Time will tell.." he also had spoken masterfully almost as if he had the knowledge and wisdom of an Archmage.

"Well-spoken. Well, I shall follow this time. You two will lead me on your travels, for goodness sake. We shall leave tomorrow!"

He smiled and felt relieved. Finally, he would reventure outside the walls of the Kuruth!

[Woodstovia]

The guard shrugged. Another smuggler doing something illegal. What did it matter to him? "Fine, fine do what y' want." he sighed, basically giving up on life.

Back within the castle Earwulf sighed at first but when his new sword had left it all turned into rage, he violently kicked out at his chair and rose to his feet. Several servants scurried off, knowing what was going to happen next and not wanting to be near the lord. "What the fuck was that?" Earwulf demanded. "Two fucking lords waltz into here without me knowing, to watch me in some shit fucking clothes twirling around a bloody dagger? Do you have any idea what that looks like?" he growled, his attention fixed onto the sergeant who was cowering in the corner of the room. "Now next time you'll announce them from behind the gates or put them somewhere nice until I'm ready for them understand? I'm sure there's a fresh space on the rack if you don't obey."

"No m'lord I'm sorry." the man begged, he was a soldier but knew that the lord could turn on him at any time. He knew better than to cling onto his pride.

"Good." Earwulf grunted, going to his chambers to change. Once he was dressed back into his lordly fineries he commissioned a letter to be sent to the emperor

To: The Emperor Ruven I

I, lord Earwulf Atlas am currently giving refuge to your cousin Anora who is resting here. Soon I will escort her back to the capital where I will be giving you my oath of fealty. She is safe with me.

From: Earwulf Atlas, Count of Atlas

[Albertae]

Abus looks at each other for guidance often doing this made people wonder went inside each other's heads.

Abus spoke up and said,"Only Kuruth will tell father. It is up to us as a whole where our path takes us whether it be together or alone." Not only had Abus referenced the well known quote of,"Time will tell.." he also had spoken masterfully almost as if he had the knowledge and wisdom of an Archmage.

"Well-spoken. Well, I shall follow this time. You two will lead me on your travels, for goodness sake. We shall leave tomorrow!"

He smiled and felt relieved. Finally, he would reventure outside the walls of the Kuruth!

Now Abus and Aracia looked at Phaerl, wondering where she was going.

Abus said,"Where are you going Phaerl? Maybe you can apart of the group." Phaerl seemed very anxious and it was a wonder she was still here even after she got her sword.

[Everhall]

Phaerl the Sword
Citadel of Kuruth
The Ashen Empire

---

Phaerl turned,

"I'm heading back to my home in Castle Alaro. Something has happened, and it's time I found out."

[Kolmya]

Lothar opened his pack, inserting his new provisions that consisted of Salted beef, hard bread and cheese, and finally some water. After saying farewell to the barkeep, who he regretted having not asked more from (he was ripped off), Lothar set out through the door into the waiting world. Clean air filled his nose, and he could finally breath a sigh of relief now that his lungs were no longer burdened with the stuffy air inside. It felt good to be free from the metaphorical chains of humanity. He didn’t have to fear and hate humanity with every second that passed. Instead of being locked away in a certain section of woods with no humans, he could be free, one with the world, and embrace humanity. For once thoughts came into his head. Maybe humanity wasn’t so bad after all? Maybe they just had imperfections and flaws, as does a rock. His mind went off on crazy tangents like this for the entirety of the first stretch of his walk. Lothar’s mind was free to do this anyway, with no need to concern itself with his safety, as this road was rarely frequented by bandits or other dangerous folk.

The only sound along the path was Lothar’s feet tapping against the worn down stones that made up the road. Lothar felt like he was in a surreal haze, with the road going in pretty much a straight line to the southwest, and the scenery never really changing much. Trees crowded both sides of the stone path, and except for the occasional diverging dirt footpath and house, no buildings were seen.
WIP

[Woodstovia]

A servant meekly knocked at Anora's chambers. She was a young girl, pretty with long blonde hair. Working here was better than working in the fields like most did she told herself. But when she heard the screams wafting up from the dungeons... She tried not to think about it "His lordship is hosting dinner. He'd like if you could join him." she called.

[Zanera]

Kharden Axeheaver
Mirfuhn, Akounate Occupation
Mol Darihm

---

A few days after the incident with Lomli and Gimblad, Kharden walked into the pub he and many other veteran dwarves frequented. Most worked at the same mine as Kharden. Kharden got the same mug of ale with the same amount right after sitting down, the bartender knowing exactly what Kharden wanted, and perhaps after the incident a few days ago, what he needed. He sipped his ale and took a sweeping look at the pub and its occupants. These were ex-warriors, some of the strongest and most honorable turned into mine workers. There was nothing wrong with the job, just that they worked under a written contract, working an occupation in their society that was not of their expertise. They worked under the forceful hand of Varxak, a Nagi that was bitter at the fact that he was relegated to making sure mine workers hit rocks. When he walked past one could hardly breathe. Unfortunate, because the mines could get stuffy. Varxak didn't seem to mind the discomfort of the dwarves, or the stuffiness of the mine. He seemed to enjoy their pain, taking out his anguish at his degrading workplace out on the workers. In normal dwarven society, this would not fly, but this was an Akounate mine, and the veterans of the war against the Akounate invaders were the workers. The workers called it Dreadlands Mine, but didn't say so around Akounate peacekeepers.

Kharden eventually found the eyes of the dwarf he had seen in the mine, who locked eyes with Kharden and nodded. The same dwarf nodded again, and got up to take a seat at the bar with Kharden. When he sat down, he said," We must get out of Mirfuhn and rally the other nations. We need their help, if we're ever to avenge our fallen."

Kharden licked his lips. He leaned forward and said," I heard the Reach allied with the Akounate, how are we to rally the traitors of our entire bloody continent?"

"The Akounate will wrap their claws around them eventually, and squeeze tight too. No matter if they had fought with the lizards or not."

"They may not see it that way. Valyaria, I know they'd accept. The Nords, they can be impossible to read. The Ashen Empire is probably more concerned with their hair. The orcs...if we're desperate," said Kharden, nodding at the last part.

"We're plenty desperate. Dread, Kharden, they murdered two dwarves right in front of you!" yelled the dwarf angrily, causing the pub to grow quiet. The dwarf was about to keep talking but noticed the silence. He turned around in his seat and pointed to a dwarf. "You there, Buldbar, is it? You battled the Akounate, did you? What's your grievance?"

The dwarf was clearly uncomfortable, shifting in his seat and looking around. He eventually licked his lips and began," My uncle, he uh...taught me how to fight. He was a great fighter. A drakon bastard flung a few fireballs at his chest. He just couldn't survive it. He couldn't..."

The dwarf received a pat on the back while the dwarf that had been speaking to Kharden pointed at another dwarf. "And you? You seem like you've a sad tale to tell."

"Well I lived outside...amongst the mountains, not in them, ya know. Next thing I knew a dragon was flying over us. I grabbed the nearest weapon I could, but I'm not one for archery, and a hoe would do no good against a dragon. It...it saw me, and saw me house. I am, or, used to be married. And a father. But when...when the dragon saw my hut...and I couldn't do a damned thing..." He started crying, but recollected himself a minute later. "I grabbed an axe and joined some dwarven warriors so I could take down as many bastards as I could. Slew a scouting party with them, I did, but I was captured in my sleep that very night. Now here I am."

"You see, Kharden, everyone in this pub has a story to tell, and not a one o these stories is a good one. We can't sit here unavenged while the Akounate plans to ravage the continent. Imagine how many more stories they'll be, just like theirs, if w don't do something."

Kharden spun his mug around in his hand, looking at the ale sloshing and spinning, thinking quietly to himself. He turned to ask teh other dwarf's name, who said it was Hulmir. All of a sudden Kharden took a few gulps of his ale and stood up with his mug, on top of the stool. "Us dwarves...us Khurdar, we have been shamed, beaten, our honor stripped. But what is honor when you cannot show it? What is honor when you cannot avenge the dead? I'll tell you all right now, that is what we are going to do. We will avenge our fallen. We will rip those bastards a new one, all while chanting the names of the fallen Khurdar that died defending our homeland! We will no longer be worked by the invaders, humiliated everyday by some brainy lizard with his loincloth in a bunch! We will not be ruled by some cats and lizards that have tried to take our homeland for themselves, to deny us our sovereignty! Our right as a people, one of the first on this damned continent! To govern ourselves as we see fit! If any want to tell us what to do, how to govern ourselves, then they can very well throw themselves off a cliff, before we throw them off ourselves! We will win back our glory! And when those Akounate bastards sail away from our shores, they'll see a long line of Khurdar ready at the shores ready to bash their heads in! We are Khurdar! We are-!"

"Disturbing the peace."

All of a sudden, all the dwarves turned to find Varxak standing at the door. There was also a few new dwarves there, male and female, shaking in there boots, flushed, and ready to leave. But Varxak was blocking the way. "What great speech were you trying to give to these mine workers? The virtues of your pickaxe?"

Kharden had wild thoughts racing through his mind, guilty thoughts. But the he mustered himself, and spat back," We were just discussing how unwelcome you are. How unkind of you to barge in like this. Kind of like what your alliance did 30 years ago."

"I wouldn't get so uppity, dwarf. Not all of your race share the same stories. Not all can. Your cause is weak. The Akounate is strong. Stronger than your entire continent, and obviously stronger then your race."

"Is that why out of all the territory you captured, your stuck with some mountains?"

Varxak strode forward quickly, eye level with Kharden. "But who works a slave's life in my mines, dwarf?"

"Kharden!" shouted Hulmir, just as Kharden swung the mug at the Nagi's head. The Nagi flew back, the blow only one to cause a stumble at most. Varxak shouted in his native tongue, and two Nagi guards entered the pub. "This dwarf struck me! Right in the head!"

Half the dwarves were standing, and the rest were tensed, ready to stand up at a moment's notice. A guard went to arrest Kharden, while the other shouted," The rest of you, sit down and enjoy your ale, or you'll end up in the prison for a few days like this fellow. Whoever isn't here to drink, leave immediately."

The dwarves that had come in during the speech left hastily, while Kharden was brought down off the stool, Varxak having a sly smile on his face. Kharden was escorted out, and Varxak got up, the sly smile stuck upon his face. "Do any of the rest of you wish to strike me?"

The entire establishment stood up, solemn looks upon their faces, a few angry. A few made short advances. Varxak, feeling he may have otten a little over his head, alone, in a pub of drunken veteran warriors, strode towards the entrance, looking about him, saying," You better be at the mines tomorrow," before leaving. The dwarves watched him walk out the door before discussing what they could possibly do to end the Akounate's rule over them.

[Everhall]

Anora was reading through a arcane tome when the serving girl called her to diner,

Looking up, she said, "Thank you. I'll be down in a moment."

Closing her worn book, she striped down to her gown, and then put on a more formal dress for meeting with a Count. She stored her soaked mage's robes in her worn bag, as another flash of lightning and boom of thunder shook the hillside.

Walking out of her room, she headed towards the Great Hall, taking her seat at the end opposite the Count.

"I must thank you for your hospitality. You can't exactly gain the greatest of accommodations in hostile territory." the statement was stiff and formal. The norm of Anora.

[Woodstovia]

Wearing lordly clothing and properly washed Earwuld looked almost a different man than he had in the great hall, his flowing dark hair and piercing blue eyes made him look handsome and he wasn't carrying around some blood-soaked dagger either. The table was well set with an abundance of food, though Atlas was often seen as the black sheep of The Reach it was still in The Reach and food was plentiful. "I apologise if the food isn't to your liking my lady, I'm sure the elven cooks in the capital are better than the lot I have here." he laughed "But the meat is good, I caught the boar myself." he bragged, sipping on a cup of wine. "Oh and the accommodations were the least I could do. As a knight of the ascended I'm sworn to protect women in their time of need. I'll be escorting you back to the capital too."

[Everhall]

Anora nodded, the Count looked like a completely different man than the one she had first encountered. She was impressed.

But something unnerved her about this place, this castle. The look of the servants as they served her, almost crying out: Help us please!

There was something wrong with this man, this count. She intended to find out.

"So," Anora probed, "What has been the state of Atlas since you assumed power?"

[Woodstovia]

Earwulf began to eat the boar as a servant silently poured out some wine for Anora and quickly fled. Most of the servants seemed to go about their jobs quickly and silently. The hall itself seemed dim and smoky.

"Better." Earwulf claimed "Much better. I inherited my title at the age of 8 but didn't assume power until I was 16. During that time Atlas was mismanaged by power-hungry..." Earwulf stopped himself, remembering that he was eating with a princess. "Men of poor repute shall we say. They were preoccupied with their own little games and power-struggles rather than running the place. So things are better now." he said, taking another drink.

[Everhall]

"Yes better." Anora nodded, "Could you tell me what exactly happened to those nobles. The ones that ruled over Atlas for all those years?"

She smiled, the warmer the attitude the more you give away.

[Woodstovia]

"They're in The Dreadlands now. I had them put to death." Earwulf sighed, taking another drink. There was no point in hiding it and he could hardly take her to them if she asked to see, the whole thing only happened 4 years ago, a few would have to still be alive. "They swore to protect and train me and to serve the land faithfully and went back on their oath, none of them trained or tutored me, they didn't serve the land and they were wholly corrupt. Besides I had to show who was in charge."

[Albertae]

Phaerl the Sword
Citadel of Kuruth
The Ashen Empire

---

Phaerl turned,

"I'm heading back to my home in Castle Alaro. Something has happened, and it's time I found out."

Abus said,"Well maybe we can join up with you. We can be a Mage Group of sorts." Abus liked the idea. It was bound to happen eventually. Some amazingly powerful Mage group of Companions traveling across Eroris doing good. Maybe one day he would establish the idea.

[Everhall]

Phaerl the Sword
Citadel of Kuruth
The Ashen Empire

---

On any other day, Phaerl would have straight up denied the offer, she could work alone. But today wasn't like any other day. She turned to face Abus,

"Just don't slow me down... Do you have a horse?"

---

Anora Varian
Atlas, The Reach
The Ashen Empire

---

"As is the norm of rulers and regents." Anora commented taking a sip of wine, "now this may seem out of nowhere but, what is your opinion of my cousin, the soon to be Emperor Ruven I?"

[Woodstovia]

Earwulf breathed a small sigh of relief. She barely seemed phased by that. Hopefully she wasn't just being polite because she was in his company and truly didn't care. He didn't need a royal hating him. "He seems like a good man. I haven't really talked to him before but I've heard of his martial prowess and kindness. I'm sure he'll be a great emperor."

[Everhall]

Anora sighed, "That's what my Uncle always said. Ruven was going to be a great Emperor. Fucking typical."

Anora hoped she had surprised the Count with her use of profanity. It wasn't every day you saw the Emperor's cousin utter foul oaths.

[Woodstovia]

"I guess that means you don't like him." Earwulf laughed, glad that she was swearing. Now he could speak more openly with her and didn't have to bite his tongue. "What do you think Ruven will be like?"

[Treko]

"There I was! Climbing up the mountains of the Vale making my way to the Reach and my strength was beginning to leave me!" Shouted Vrold has looked around the tavern and took a swig of his mead, "Out of the mist an elven warrior came forward and challenged me to a duel!"

The tavern crowd crowded around Vrold as he told them the story of the fight with the elf on the mountain peak. He certainly had their interest as the crowd hadn't spoken since the start of the story, but he kept them in suspense. "Well? What fuckin' happened!? Don't leave us hanging on the good part you arse!" Shouted on of the men in the back.

"We didn't serve you all that mead for nothing. Spill out the rest of the story." Ordered the barkeep as looked down and he continued to clean the dirty glasses.

"Keep you fuckin' head on your shoulders!" Roared Vrold as he took one final sip of his mead, "I was tired to my core, but I knew I could still put up a proper fight and so I did. That elf and I clashed for what seemed like hours. However, it was only just minutes. In the end I had gained control and with a punch to the face I followed up my attack with a swing from my axe. It cleaved the elf's head clean off and kicked his standing corpse into the mist below the mountain."

"Gods almighty...you killed him like that?" asked a tavern regular.

"Aye, I did. Most battles are like that, but if someone tells you how beautiful combat can be they're a fucking cunt." responded Vrold as he stared off into the distance before taking a sip, "Let there be a prayer for that elf."

"Agreed..." whispered a few of the tavern regulars who lowered their heads.

[Albertae]

Phaerl the Sword
Citadel of Kuruth
The Ashen Empire

---

On any other day, Phaerl would have straight up denied the offer, she could work alone. But today wasn't like any other day. She turned to face Abus,

"Just don't slow me down... Do you have a horse?"

---

Anora Varian
Atlas, The Reach
The Ashen Empire

---

"As is the norm of rulers and regents." Anora commented taking a sip of wine, "now this may seem out of nowhere but, what is your opinion of my cousin, the soon to be Emperor Ruven I?"

Abus looked at his companions. He said,"I only have enough for two horses and a pack of rations." He turned to Aracia and said,"Do you have enough for an extra horse to give to, father?"

She replied,"I believe I do."

Abus turned back to Phaerl and said,"We do."

[Federal States of Xathuecia]

Phaerl the Sword
Citadel of Kuruth
The Ashen Empire

---

On any other day, Phaerl would have straight up denied the offer, she could work alone. But today wasn't like any other day. She turned to face Abus,

"Just don't slow me down... Do you have a horse?"

---

Anora Varian
Atlas, The Reach
The Ashen Empire

---

"As is the norm of rulers and regents." Anora commented taking a sip of wine, "now this may seem out of nowhere but, what is your opinion of my cousin, the soon to be Emperor Ruven I?"

"A horse! I had not ridden one in some time but let us make haste!"

With a quick wave of his hand, his headdress disappeared and his robes tighetened to his body. They became more like clothes than robes and he turned to them taking out a staff from a small pocket. It unfolded and materalized as he looked back.

"Come on now. Wouldn't want the elder to beat you, eh?"