Arrilan: A History
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Re: Arrilan: A History

Post by rdjparadis »

Posted 08/23/06 15:34 (GMT) -- Xydel

The End

There was only one city that could possibly still remain in all of Laydunn; the great port city of Tangar, the only place farther south-west. Kann and what every remained of his army must have been headed there. THORN pressed on with new found speed and fury. They found their target a days walk from Tangar's walls. It seems the battle with the Order had seriously weakened the force, but what was left was still overwhelming. Arrilan saw that in addition to Kann the forces that remained were a trio of lich kings, a vampire hero, a pair of mithral golems, a squad of skeleton warriors, a huge ademantium golem, and a bone dragon. The plan had been made, all of THORN knew what they must do, the fight began under the full moon.

Tral and Bruce stormed in, challenging the pair of mithral golems. The bone dragon found itself intercepted in the air by Gren, whose silver dragon scales shone in the moonlight. Rinnen was brilliantly tumbling in and around the skeletons, managing to keep the entire squad occupied. Lights danced on the right flank where Lillanthi was confronting the trio of liches. Just to the left of Arrilan's target the vampire was under heavy fire from Helena's magics. Sneak past the ademantium beast and encounter Kann was task Arrilan had assigned himself and he had almost made it, almost. He felt his left arm snap like a twig in the grips of the golem, he couldn't get free, he was going to fail. A crack of light and a painful scream brought Arrilan to the ground free of the beasts grasp. Arrilan turned to see Helena stabbed through by the vampire's blade, she had turned from her target to buy Arrilan's freedom and had paid the price; Helena slumped to the ground. His left arm broken Arrilan grabbed only one of his swords and charged the menacing skull no more then 30 feet from him. The skull turned toward Arrilan, he was lifted off the ground and frozen in the air. An opaque sphere appeared around him and he was wracked with pain, energy began ripping into him. He watched the battle rage on around him in seeming slow motion. Gren was falling lifeless to the ground, returned to his natural form. The vampire hero had moved to help what was left of the skeletons finish off the valiant Rinnen. The one lich remaining of the trio moved away from the pile of dust that was once lovely Lillanthi to help the bone dragon against Tral, who unlike Bruce had survived the encounter with the mithral golems. He saw the demi-lich rip the soul out of his love, but his fate was sealed. All of Arrilan's possessions began disintegrating off his body, including that cursed golden hand. Arrilan saw Kann face him as he realized his impending doom; the demi-lich muttered something Arrilan couldn't hear just before turning to dust. Suddenly Arrilan was falling, seemingly endlessly, it took all of his remaining strength to catch a last glimpse of Helena's lifeless and soulless body before everything turned to black.

(to be continued...)

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rdjparadis
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Re: Arrilan: A History

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Posted 09/02/06 12:52 (GMT) -- Xydel

Awakening

Blackness, pain, despair, and falling; seemingly endlessly. After what seemed like an eternity, Arrilan opened his eyes to a moonlit sky. He was lying naked on the cold ground; he tried but was unable to move. He was parched and hungry, and his body was still wracked with pain. He was going to die here. There were the sounds of a wagon traveling nearby; there must be a road near this overgrown field. Arrilan tried to shout out, but only managed to groan. He fell unconscious. Suddenly he was on a bed in a well lit room wrapped in some cloak. It has been saved by the wagon driver and was brought to the merchant hall in Tagnar port. After an intense discussion Arrilan found out that the attack on the port by Kann's remaining forces happened 20 years ago. The sacrifices of the now forgotten Order of the Oak and THORN had managed to destroy the demi-lich, leaving an insufficient force to break the defenses of Tagnar. Arrilan asked the merchant to leave him so he could gather his thoughts. He threw some clothes on that were left in the room for him. His body was heavily scarred, including a deep gash that ran straight down the left side of his face. Worse still, as Arrilan examined himself in the mirror he saw in his eyes the look of man that had lost everything, which he had. He covered his face with a hood and stole away into the night.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

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Posted 09/02/06 13:25 (GMT) -- Xydel

At Sea

It seemed that everything on Laydunn reminded Arrilan of Helena, and he truly had no place to go back to; he knew he had to leave. He joined a small privateering ship that was in search of a navigator. His skills were highly appreciated by the ship's captain, a burly man named Lars. After two years working with him, Lars gifted Arrilan with a flask that produced an endless supply of clean water and a small bag that produced an endless supply of elven bread, which were both greatly appreciated and a luxury to have at sea. Despite their kindness, Arrilan stayed detached from Lars and the rest of the crew, only speaking when spoken too or when absolutely necessary. After three years of sailing north-east, Arrilan woke up late one night knowing something was wrong. He went and woke up Lars, explaining he felt something was wrong, and Lars immediately called all hands. Before long it was apparent to everyone that Arrilan had been correct, storm clouds appeared out of no where and the temperature dropped to well below freezing. The sudden blizzard tore the ship to pieces, everyone on board was cast into the sea. Arrilan held on to a small piece of the ship as long as he could, but eventually slipped into the depths.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

Post by rdjparadis »

Posted 09/02/06 14:57 (GMT) -- Xydel

Beginings in Anchorome

Arrilan washed ashore on the frozen banks of Claeverness. When he finally came to, he cursed himself for not dieing. Fate and nature had once again seen fit to keep him alive. He quickly got a foothold in the land, exploring every inch from the safety of the shadows. Interactions with the other inhabitants were sparse, mainly being confined to gathering supplies or stepping in to assist those in need. Never the less, Arrilan played his part in a number of small adventures. Late one morning in the frozen tundra north of Claeverness, Arrilan spotted a portal in the distance. Soon demons began to pour out of it. He launched arrows into the group from all directions, leaping in and out of shadows, but was soon overcome. Arrilan found himself in a strange place standing next to Lathander himself. Lathander criticized him for not following any deity, but showed Arrilan a fey-ri trapped by drow and asked him to help the fey-ri and protect Shaia in her mission, in return for sending him back. Arrilan agreed and played his small role in the massive quest.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

Post by rdjparadis »

Posted 09/02/06 15:29 (GMT) -- Xydel

A Devine Influence

Arrilan was returning once again to the temple of Bahumet to sell a few trinkets he had gathered, the cleric there once again began her speech trying to save his soul from the pains of life without a chosen deity. This time was different though, the cleric was not only promoting Bahumet, but any deity, and she would not accept his business until he found the god that was true to his heart. The cleric told Arrilan to go reflect and decide before he returned. He went deep into the woods to one of his favorite spots in search of inspiration. Night fell around Arrilan in his meditations, when the full moon caught his eye. He was joined by a spirit taking the form of a familiar fey-ri warrior. She pointed out the beauty of the moon and revealed to Arrilan an object falling from the sky toward Claeverness. Arrilan took off toward the landing spot of the object. During his long hike, the spirit popped up from time to time to comment on how Arrilan needed to get over his past. When he finally found the landing point, the spirit told him to pick up the fallen stone only if he would accept Selune as his own. Arrilan considered for several minutes, when he finally picked up the stone and left silently.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

Post by rdjparadis »

Posted 02/03/07 10:24 (GMT) -- Xydel

Evil Reborn

The sorceress Fade and the vampire Emerald had returned, or so the stories said. This only weeks after Arrilan had cut-off and destroyed their heads during the massive raid of Fade's base. It was a bad sign and could not have come at a worse time. Arrilan had reached a wall in his practice, and having run into a woman identical to Fade, he decided it was time to center himself. He boarded a ship in Lapis port destined for a remote island rumored to contain a temple dedicated to the goddess Selune. After giving a massive donation to the temple's high priestess, Arrilan locked himself in a private chapel. Armed with his magical flask of water and endless bag of bread he spent months alone in the chapel. The meditation did much to calm Arrilan's soul and begin to put to rest many shadows of his past. On the third day of the forth month it began to rain, and on the sixth day the rain turned to snow; Arrilan knew it was time to return to Anchorome.

Arrilan stepped off the ship onto the familiar docks in Lapis with new clothes and a relaxed spirit. He spent the first five days becoming reacquainted with the land and observed its changes. There had been a few new developments of the land, but there were many new faces of its inhabitants. Wandering the forests, a strange mage appears directly in front of Arrilan. He warns Arrilan of a new threat to the land, and shows him the image of a floating skull. Thousands of memories of the encounter with Kann flooded Arrilan's thoughts. Drawn back to the world by the mage's voice, Arrilan is told to go to the shine in the jungle for more answers. The strange mage disappears and Arrilan sprints toward Lapis. Jumping from the boat before it had the chance to dock, Arrilan flies past the druids and ventures deep into the jungle. When he arrived at the shine, a strange light appeared. It was Helena. Arrilan ran to her, he could no longer see anything else around him. She was saying something to him, but he could not hear. He reached to touch her face, but his hand passed through the image. His surroundings snapped back around him, and he could hear clearly what the specter was saying. She told him that there was an evil reborn in the realm, and it would be up to him to take it out, but he was not to work alone... She told him he must quit living in the past, and rebuild THORN. Before the image disappeared, she told him that she would be waiting for him at the gate when ever his journey should end. Arrilan was truly shaken, someone was talking to him but he could not tell who or remember the words. After Arrilan had returned to Lapis he was visited by the spirit of Amothawen, who knew of what was to come. She lent him her powerful breath by means of a pair of gloves, telling him he would need it in the battles to come. When she left him, Arrilan was exhausted. He stumbled into the woods to meditate on how to rebuild THORN when the only two in the realm he had come to truly trust he had not seen since his trip to the temple.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

Post by rdjparadis »

Posted 02/17/07 20:00 (GMT) -- Xydel

Truly Epic

It had been a week since Arrilan's encounter with the specter of his love. He was uncertain as to why, but since the incident he had not managed to get a good night's rest. There was something bothering him, like a constant twinge in his stomach, a kind of persistent foreboding that he was unable to shake. He continued his patrols of the realm; they were a decent distraction form this weird feeling, but he knew that something big was just over the horizon. It came around midday; Arrilan was standing watch over the farmlands in Lapis when an explosion momentarily deafened his normally exceptional hearing. Through the fog Arrilan spotted a lich, a small group of undead, and six or seven half-fiends. Arrilan quickly downed the undead and the fiends, allowing the lich to waste most of his powerful spells destroying the camp. Once the lich was locked in melee combat, victory was assured. By this time a few others had found there way to the camp; the sorcerer/warrior Randyl, and Seriand. It was good to see Seriand well, but there was no time to trade stories, for an oddly familiar mage had appeared where the lich had fallen. It was the same mage that had led Arrilan to the jungle, and the vision of Helena. He revealed to the group that the arch-lich threatening the realm was the very same that Seriand had failed to save. Seriand would finally have a chance to put his mistake right. The group was to head to the frozen north to were a dragon makes his lair, and there they would find what they needed to summon and angel to purify the wastes at the jungle shrine. Before the group was given a chance to leave, the mage approached Arrilan, who had been standing silently to the side of the others. The mage said that Arrilan was a natural leader, and it would be his responsibility to see that this mission did not fail.

The three journeyed north, with little interruption, at least until Cleaverness. Just north of the gates, by the accursed temple, the group encountered the first of what would be many epic battles. While on the only bridge to the group’s destination, the adventurers were waylaid by two factions at once. On the bridge more undead and fiends materialized out of no where, and to a cave just east a large force of bugbear archers appeared to harass the group. Randyl had slain the majority of the undead and fiends, but Arrilan saw he was wavering. Arrilan tumbled through the fray to attempt to save Randyl, but he fell before Arrilan was given the chance. Seriand had fallen back, having taken a greater portion of the bugbear's arrows. Arrilan quickly covered himself in shadow and fell back to organize the attack with Seriand. Seriand was told to stay in the trees; Arrilan had decided he would draw what few fiends were left back to Seriand's ambush. Once they fell there was still the matter of the bugbears. Arrilan devised an attack where Seriand and he would spring in and out of the shadows, never attacking from the same place twice, but focusing their attacks on one bugbear at a time. One by one the bugbears were slain, allowing Arrilan to raise the valiant Randyl and the group to continue their journey.

The three men entered the frozen cave, felling numerous spirits and wolves as they went. Seriand had a deep knowledge of the cave, so he was sent to scout ahead and find the best route while Arrilan and Randyl held the major junctions in the cave. Soon, with Seriand's scouting, the group found themselves deep in the back of the cave, face to face with one Seriand knew well. It was the lich they had come to save or slay. While the others held her with conversation, in the hopes to save he lost soul, Arrilan managed to scout behind her and the lich's summoned army just beyond the next bend in the cave. When the negotiations went sour Arrilan told the others they would have to kill the lich quickly, giving them a better chance with the legion of reinforcements. The battle was swift, as the trio was more than a match for both the lich and her legion. It was far from over however, the group knew they needed to find the phylactery of the she-lich if they were to be permanently rid of her. Arrilan decided they would venture deeper into the cave in search of it, while Randyl gathered the lich's remains. The group left trough the back of the cave for a quick overland jaunt to the next and much larger cave system.

What should have been a short trip overland turned into a nightmare. The heroes stumbled across a gathering of barbaric goblins. The goblins offered little time for negotiation, as they attacked the group on sight. Fighting like men possessed the goblins fought viciously. The chaos of battle slowed before Arrilan's eyes. He could feel every painful blow being landed against him. He saw Randyl fall, and then Seriand, he knew his time was not long, and after killing what was likely only a third of the goblins numbers; Arrilan felt his knees buckle. Lying on the ground, the goblins went back to their meeting, but all was not lost. By the grace of Selune, Arrilan found strength to get up and heal his wounds. He saw that Randyl and Seriand had found a second wind as well, so the fight began anew. After what seemed like hours, the three found themselves heavily battered, but victorious. Arrilan tended to the groups wounds and they marched forward with new found determination to reach their goal.

With Seriand's scouting, the group made quick work of the second cave, avoiding a number of confrontations. The group of soon deep below the earth, and after dispatching a few unfriendlys, their attention moved to a few shining lights on the narrow walkway surrounded by the underground lake. Arrilan shot an arrow into the base of one of the shafts of light, and when the arrow disappeared it was clear that the lights were portals to some distant land. Before further investigation was possible, there was a flash behind them. The group spun around fully ready for conflict, but found the friendly face of Shaia watching them. Cutting the pleasantries short, Arrilan asked Shaia to examine the portals to see if she could come up with their intended destination. She explained that they were simple two way portals that any two-copper mage could conjure, but their destinations were hidden from her. Arrilan decided that he and Seriand would scout them, Seriand exploring the first one, and Arrilan exploring the other. They disembarked, and in an instant after entering his chosen portal, Arrilan found himself in front of a strange temple with a dragon out front. The temple priestess came out and welcomed him in "Chokra's" name, but Arrilan simply stared at her and went back through the portal. He made his presence know to the others and Seriand returned shortly after, stating that his portal took him to some place in Amn. It had been decided that both portals held little relevance to the mission when Arrilan and Seriand herd some noise from deeper in the cave.

The now four members of the group entered what seemed to be a small but well maintained smithy. Hiding in the corner was a strange winged creature. Randyl knew her as Amilielia, the daughter of Amothawen, and his own mentor. What she was doing here was suspect. Randyl launched into conversation with the strange being, but Arrilan knew there was a mission to do. Arrilan began to search the smithy for anything odd; this was the last place that the caves might be storing the phylactery. After finding nothing, Arrilan discretely asked Shaia to concentrate on anything of extreme magical power in the room, but came up with nothing. Randyl and Seriand where still talking to Amilielia, who apparently had a mixed memory of her mother Amothawen. All this inaction was pricking Arrilan like needles, but that’s when it came to him. Amilielia would be the key to summoning Amothawen, the angel needed to set right the corruption at the jungle shrine. Arrilan broke into the conversation saying that Amilielia had to come with them to the jungle mount. The others quickly realized what was needed to be done, and the five set out.

To save time Arrilan asked if Shaia would be able to redirect one of the portals in the other room to the jungle shrine. Shaia said it would be possible, and after concentrating and showing a dynamic display of magical energy she told them it was done. Upon stepping through the portal the group found themselves in Dandelion Dale. Not quite the jungle shrine, but with a quick convoy ride and a boat trip, the group was in the druid camp just outside the jungle. The journey through the forsaken jungle was long and harsh. Arrilan was the only one that had been in the jungle for any length of time, so he was the groups guide. Even so, the group had to fight its way through the heat and the beasts of the jungle, supplemented by the occasional onslaught of the all too familiar fiends and undead. Through some miraculous stroke of good fortune, the lich's phylactery was found on some of the stronger lackeys in the jungle. On the brink of being lost amongst the trees Arrilan finally found the hidden shrine entrance.

It quickly became clear that the shine was going to be the battleground for evil's last stand against the adventurers. The shrine was crawling with a slew of undead warriors and mages, several well muscled fiends of all sizes, and worse yet; the very druids tasked with protecting the woods would stand against the small band of heroes. The battle was a sight to behold, magics being thrown from both sides, arrows flying in every direction, blades glistening in the dim light of the explosions in the dense jungle. All through the battle Arrilan watched over the half-fiend Amilielia, if she was lost the entire journey would have been for naught. When the last arrows hit their targets, it was clear that the forces of good had proven their strength this day. Not letting the enemy regroup, Arrilan rushed the others to the shrine and gave Amilielia the gloves Amothawen had gifted him so that she might focus on them and summon her angelic mother. After a brief, violent ritual, Amilielia lay run through by her own sword, and Amothawen was standing above her in all her glory. Randyl gave the glowing figure the lich remains and Seriand gave her the phylactery. She was able to destroy both with little effort and congratulated the group on what they had accomplished. Before she left she turned to Arrilan, and told him that she had a message for him. Her eyes glowed and her voice changed to the sweet melodic tones that Arrilan knew to be Helena's. Using Helena's voice, Amothawen told Arrilan that these select few were to be trusted and had proven themselves. Randyl, Seriand, and Shaia, were to be the starting members of a reborn THORN. Before there was any time for comment, Amothawen and Amilielia where gone, and the four were at the campfire in the farmland, not knowing how they had arrived there. Arrilan knew that he had reached a new insight into his abilities, and that this quest had been the beginning of something grand.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

Post by rdjparadis »

Posted 03/30/07 04:17 (GMT) -- Xydel

Emerald

Arrilan stood in the shadows of one of the better trees in the Lapis farmland. He was watching an interaction between Emerald and Alastair; each was threatening the other with differing forms of pain and suffering. He noticed the druid Aril approaching and told her to keep her distance. Emerald walked off, but Arrilan stayed in the area to keep an eye on Alastair. When Alastair finally left the farmlands Arrilan was just able to catch Emerald walking away from Aril. When Emerald had vanished from sight, Aril relayed to Arrilan in secret that an innocent soul named Beth was clinging to the vampire, and that it may be a key to saving her.

A few days later, after having kept a dwarf from killing some strange creature called a mook, Arrilan had the feeling he was being watched. Surely enough, a simple spell revealed that Emerald was creeping in the shadows. Arrilan leapt to the shadows, but he could hear Emerald’s voice echo in his head. Somehow, Arrilan was able to convince her to allow him to speak with Beth. Beth was willingly clinging to the wretched creature in an attempt to save her, as well as waiting for her lost love. It became clear that her efforts were having very little effect, but there may still be hope, as Emerald later gifted the odd party that was still in the area flowers and gems.

The next encounter with Emerald gave Arrilan more insight. The vampire was standing behind a rock near the shrine to the late Amothawen. After an extended interrogation it became clear that Beth had struck a deal with Emerald to get her to do three decent acts in exchange for three days of unsupervised actions. The final act was to pay respects to Amothawen, but Emerald could not set foot on holy ground. When Emerald finally allowed Arrilan to speak with Beth, he agreed to assist Emerald pay her respects. He took the offering of flowers and an emerald and placed then on the shrine for the vampire. Emerald then sunk into a deep trance. Arrilan stood and watched her for a full day as she remained in the trance. When she finally awoke she ran off, being tracked by Arrilan. When Arrilan caught up Emerald was deep in argument with Beth. Emerald was regretting her betrayal of Amothawen, but firm with Beth that her efforts were fruitless. She was off to feed.

After a day of tracking her, Arrilan finally reached Emerald at the barbarian camp. She had torn apart a few of the men there. An arrow thunked into the ground at Emerald’s feet and Arrilan told her to stand. Arrilan tried to save Emerald from herself, using the information about Amothawen in an attempt to convince the vampire that the efforts of Amothawen, Beth, and himself were not in vain. Emerald lashed out at Arrilan, throwing magics around, even stopping time. At one point Emerald had managed to place herself directly behind Arrilan, it was all he could do to get away when time began to flow again. Arrilan tried to convince her that there was the possibility of curing her curse. It was then that she laughed the most horrid laugh Arrilan had ever heard. The laugh was ungodly, and sent chills down his spine, but he stood firm. She cruelly stated that she was the next step, there would be no help for her, she loved her vampirism and would not rest until the world was as her. She moved down to one of the fallen barbarians clinging to life and began to rip into his flesh. Arrilan knew she was lost, so he laid into her with a hail of arrows.

Emerald fell, but there was little time, Arrilan could already see her wounds healing. In an attempt to slow the process he removed her head, perhaps buying him a few hours. He took the head and body and ran toward the orc caves. There was an odd sound in his ear, and a smell of burning. Arrilan stopped dead in his tracks as he realized what was happening, the sun was breaking through the snow filled clouds. He put the body on the ground and cut off her coverings. He called out to Beth with no response. The body turned to ash, leaving two entities behind, a glowing pure soul, and something too corrupted and ugly to be called such. Thinking quickly, Arrilan offered the divine stone gifted to him by Selune as a vessel for Beth, but she refused and faded off along with the monstrosity. Arrilan cursed as the snow swirled around him on the empty path.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

Post by rdjparadis »

Posted 04/02/07 02:29 (GMT) -- Xydel

Fight and Flight

There were a number of adventures gathered in the farmlands. The Vail twins, Darias, Theyan, and Veronica were around the campfire while Arrilan stood under a sturdy tree. The quiet conversation was soon interrupted by the screams of a Halfling man running for lapis. Before long none other then the red dragon Yoril dropped from the sky. The band of adventurers was speechless, making it all the more noticeable when Arrilan began to attack. Yoril ripped into Arrilan, downing him before the others even had a chance to respond. Veronica raised Arrilan, and a large battle ensued involving a number of Yoril’s dragon underlings. Afterward, Yoril had escaped and only Arrilan, Seryne, and Alastair, who had showed up just before the battle, were conscious. All the others were raised in time to see one final bumbling red dragon fall from the sky and plant its face in the barn. The dragon was clearly intoxicated, and began to fly off north in the direction Yoril fled. Before the dragon had the chance to take off, Arrilan had tucked himself under his arm, following the beast. The drunken dragon crash landed once again, this time on a cliff face just outside the orc caves. Arrilan put it out of its misery. There were the sounds of a number of dragons coming from a nearby hill. He clung to the side of the hill to get closer but remain unseen. In a small inlet he was able to hear Yoril speaking to his minions. Yoril mentioned a potion that could be his destruction carried by the Halfling. The potion could only be used by a half-dragon however. Yoril went on to say that breeding had been swift and with the new young they would soon recover the numbers lost in the farmlands. With a gracefully fleetness, Arrilan rushed back to the farmland.

When he arrived Arrilan noted that Thris had joined the group before he told them what he had heard. It became apparent that Alastair had not only the described potion in his possession, but he claimed to have helped make it. Alastair agreed to let Seryne use the potion to kill Yoril, though when Arrilan asked to carry the potions, Alastair refused. With little other choice the party headed to the cliffs where the dragons had made their home. The raid on the dragon nest went exceptionally well, soon only Yoril remained. Thris was able to distract Yoril long enough for Alastair to give Seryne the potion, but something went wrong. Several terribly painful moments after taking the potion, Seryne died, Alastair had betrayed the group. Randyl and Arrilan were able to drop Alastair quickly after he let his guard down. In a very confined position, Alastair gave Seryne the correct potion. Seryne then shifted into a fully grown red dragon, it was an impressive sight. Soon Yoril was dispatched, his corpse then torn apart by Darias and Theyan. The boon that Seryne had given as a dragon was now the only remaining problem, Alastair did not have a potion to turn her into her proper form, and she was beginning to thirst for blood. Seryne ran off to kill the nearby orcs; Arrilan followed to make sure she did not get out of hand. After several orc lay dead in the dragon Seryne’s wake, it became clear that she was still hungry for blood. Seryne called out to Arrilan, asking him to kill her before she could continue. Arrilan knew this would not return her to her former state, but as she turned on him he dropped several arrows into her neck, killing her. He stood guard over Seryne’s corpse for what must have been a few hours. Suddenly he found himself and the corpse back by Yoril’s nest. The rest of the party, minus Alastair, was standing around a strange machine. Alastair had apparently been thrown down the cliff, and the machine was an odd wishing machine. After a little work, the machine was convinced to make a potion that could turn Seryne back to her true form. She was returned to normal, and the strange machine allowed each member one wish. With a little thought, Arrilan wished for the wings of the Avariel. Lights flashed, there was an intense pain in Arrilan’s back, and when the magic cleared, he had wings.

(to be continued...)

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Re: Arrilan: A History

Post by Xydel0 »

*Inside a simple brown leather-bound book that appears ancient and very well worn, the following is written in a perfect and methodical Elven script.*

For the first time in a life-age I find it necessary to compile my thoughts to writing. The hope being that concentrated thought might produce a truer focus on current events.

The two year tour of the Sword Coast and beyond was not unfruitful. I met many points of contact that may be potential fonts of information should the need arise; perhaps none too soon. The number of adventurers pouring in from the docks has taken a surprising upturn of late and it may be useful to have some measure of influence beyond Anchorome. Were there sufficient time I would contact Galdilis and his wife in the Chaos realm to aid in the coming battle. I would rather return to him with the good news of his protected interests anyway.

It has been particularly difficult to look beyond the present lately. I worry that downfall will be brought upon us by my lack of foresight, but things have not been as controlled as usual. The two weeks spent on that island with Amy were likely inadvisable, though I certainly would not change them. If there were to be any excusable reason for failure to come my affection for her would be it. Still, things are all too similar as they once were in the shadows of what I can recall of my former life.

Amras could in fact be my own perverse reimaging of Kann were I not so convinced of reality. His demons and the cultists of Mercy are easily exchanged for the undead and golems of the demi-lich. Even Celios could be perhaps my mind's re-envisioning of the Order's vague instructions; providing guidance or at the very least a mission, but I sense it will be completely on THORN and our allies to win this day. Here I stand ready to oppose Amras with my team, consisting solely of people I trust, I feel very much as I did on the eve of the fateful battle where my previous life ended. The outcome this time must be different. I will not live on only to repeat my greatest failures.

Seryne with Darias will prove a formidable front. Should Rory decide to show it may be best to keep him with these two; both to keep him in line and to aid in flanking. Randyl and Shaia will have the considerable task of tackling whatever casters we come across, but I can think of no other two I would rather perform such a task. Amy, Liria, and I should take down any archers and then quickly aid against the mages. Seryne and Darias will have to hold until our attention can be brought to those they have occupied. Making sure no one falls will be a priority. We will need to be at full strength once we best the minions to bring our full force to bear against Amras.

Selune will be shining brightly tomorrow. I pray her grace is for us and that we all may weather this storm.

-A

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