The Journal of Anariarda Aluve
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 7:05 pm
by The_Folex
I've never written in a journal before. I mean I can write well, my father taught me superbly, but this is different...
I had only gone to Lapis Port as a girl once, such a wonderful city. I found myself there again after many months spent at Sune's Shrine, lost. I am certain she is my deity, the only deity, for she protected me from the werewolves when they invaded. They simply avoided the shrine, as if some divine light blinded them and they were forced to turn away. I understand it now. I know this means Sune has chosen me for a divine mission, to spread love and romance in all its forms, to show that it comes from within, not simply in an outwardly appearance. I am to seek out the beautiful items in the world and dedicate them to Sune.
But how? I'm still so young, still so heartbroken by the loss of my family. How can I spread the dogma, love will win over all, when I am so broken? My dedication remains resolute, but I look around this city and see so much ugliness, suffering, pain... how can I help all of these people? How can I become a Heartwarder of Sune if I can not avoid the violence that is sure to come. Bandits below rob the needy, Lizardfolk infest the east, Orcs to the north, and the Werewolves to the far north. How can I fulfill my vows when I feel nothing but vengeance to these beasts for what the robbed from me? How can I spread peace if the only peace to be had is through violence?
I just don't know...
Re: The Journal of Anariarda Aluve
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 9:15 pm
by The_Folex
I met up with a man today, Cashard Kelm, I believe was his name. He was a Preist of Azuth, a God I know little about. Admittedly, I know much about my deity only. But this man was kind, and offered me a gift, a ring to help me travel with my heavy gear. He told me about Azuth, a God of magic. I've always found mages to be so fascinating! The way such power flows from their finger tips; I'm almost jealous of them, being born with their ability.
This man decided to take me with him, on an adventure. Since he was a wizard, apparently, he collected rare books and scrolls that could be beneficial to him. He offered that I come to the Amaphrel School, into the haunted ruins. Oh how reluctant I was! I've never seen Undead before, much less even knew what to expect from this dreadful place. But how reassuring Cashard was in his manners; I couldn't refuse even if I wanted to, and I did.
We continued down the road to the ruined school. He may have been talking, but I was silent, dreading the whole way when I should have been praying to Sune for guidance. I was a coward I can now admit. Lost deep in my regrets for coming here, I hear a shimmering blast in the distance. I stand there stunned as the shining missiles rush toward me. I close my eyes, but feel nothing. Cashard has blessed me while I was deep in my mind fearing the Undead and my life. He encourages me to try to turn the Undead, but I had little idea how. I call out to Sune to banish these foul beasts, but had they the ability, they would have laughed. Cashard ignites my mace and enchants it and tells me to finish them off the proper way. So powerful were my strikes! I could only hope it did not anger Sune that Azuth had blessed me so.
The few spirits were promptly banished for the time being; I'm told such angry spirits can never be outright killed. We continued into the devastation. I'd heard tales of what had happened here, but nothing could compare. The dead.... the dead were still screaming for help. Entire structures blown down to the ground. It was not long before the angered spirits realized we were trespassing on their dread property and set out to kill us, or worse. I shudder to think of becoming one of their kind. Regardless, my dear journal, these abominations fell before my mighty mace, though I am ashamed to say it was heavily enchanted by Azuth and not Sune. Some Heartwarder I'll become...
Alas we finally made it into the building, but my friend found nothing. I suppose it's alright, he said he's use to traveling to remote places and finding nothing, something I don't think I could ever get use to. There's always something of beauty to be found, I just don't think my friend was looking for the right items. But he did teach me a lesson, not to be afraid of the Undead. They are who should fear me, and the Lizardfolk, the Bandits, the Orcs, and even the Werewolves. Especially the Werewolves. I know now not to relish violence, difficult as it might be in some cases, but should not hesitate to use it when the pursuit of beauty and joy are only achievable through it.
My lessons continue, my dear journal... May Lady Firehair guide me further down my path.
Re: The Journal of Anariarda Aluve
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 9:47 pm
by The_Folex
Much has happened since I last wrote in here. I met a woman named Fawn. Blessed she be, for she was the heroine who ended the Werewolf raid that killed my brother. How brave she must have been to enter the mind of their leader and wrestle it into submission! I envy her, such that I went over to kiss her hand and thank her. Oh, how embarrassing that is to think back on...
I returned to Sune's Shrine afterward to meditate, hoping Lady Firehair would send me a message, a mission to prove myself to her. I must have dozed, but I had this dream of Orcs raiding caravans, butchering men, and... raping the women. The beautiful roses and divine mirror meant nothing to me after those dreadful images; sense of beauty had been robbed from me and I knew the culprit. My work for the city had afforded me suitable gear, suitable enough to bring justice to those Orcs who dare attack the innocent.
I ate at the Art Center that night. My rage had faltered to almost total panic. Here I was, one girl, one servant of Sune, against I didn't know how many Orcs. Sleep came and went that night, mostly haunted by visions of the brutality to come. Sweet journal, I despise violence, but now was ever the time for it, and I don't have to justify that further.
I awoke in the morning covered in a heavy cloak and my armor. I hadn't bothered cleaning it, it seemed such a meaningless task where I was going. I don't feel like writing the boring details of my journal past the farmlands. I aided two farmers who were injured from their work, but that was about it. However, across the Lantern Light road, I saw it. Dear journal, the very thing that slew my brother and ravaged my house; a Werewolf from the north! I caught it slaughtering a deer and feasting on its meat when I began to gather all of the divine might I could muster from Sune. All of the loss and regret poured into my morning star and made it blinding with divine radiance. The dreaded Thing looked up only in time to meet my morningstar right into its skull. A light flashed, my morningstar was extinguished, and the Thing was left whimpering and dieing on the grass, a hole in it's skull still smoking.
Dearest journal, I had done it! My first Werewolf slain with powers I knew I had not possessed. I was determined now to continue on with my journey, into the harsh colds of the Alci Pass where I know the Orcs make their home. A few Bugbear either stood in my way or fled from me; the latter were the wiser. When I made it to the base of the mountain, I saw only carnage, only hideousness. Corpses of man, Bugbear, and Orc alike were strewn across the path, none left alive. Truly this was a place for evil, a breeding ground for it. There was a man with strange animals, but I did not have the time to engage in him, my goal was close.
I had never encountered an Orc before, so when I walked up the slushy pass, cloaked wrapped around me tightly, I was almost instantly devastated by the size of the Orc. Bards tell tales of heroes slaying armies of these beasts, but I knew not how to slay one. He struck at me first, trying to swing straight for my head. Instinctively, I ducked, kicked him hard in the groin with my steel boots, and smashed him twice in the head with my morningstar. Two more came rushing toward me when they heard the cries of their fallen fellow. I felt the divine radiance of Sune within me once more and raised up my tower shield to the both of them. Amazing, the strength She had given me, as the two Orcs rammed into my shield only to be pushed back. This made the Orcs falter, for a small human woman appeared stronger than the both of them. One rushed and swung his axe directly at me, which I deflected with my shield and struck him down with one blow to the chest. While the dieing Orc heaved and coughed up blood, the other rushed toward me and tried to grab at my shield. I overpowered the Orc and smashed his hand with my morningstar and promptly hit him again in the back of his hand as he yelped in pain. I find this disturbing, that I seem to relish recalling my victory against these first few Orcs.
Regardless, dear journal, I knew how to fight the beasts now. I won't go into further detail but to say Sune was my savior in approaching and overcoming their defenses. Arrows that should have hit me curved by, others felt flat against my shield and armor. My strength allowed me to prevail over the onslaught of Orcs, who were simply too slow to dodge my morningstar. By now, I used my Bardic knowledge to read a Flame Weapon scroll, which made my weapon almost too hot to handle. Orcs burst into flame and divine energy each time my weapon smashed against them, killing them in but three strikes at the most. As each Orc fell, I felt my confidence in Sune grow.
I made it to their cavern relatively unscathed. They had no alarm system of any sort, so I was not ambushed as I had expected. The smell! Gods, the smell! The assault on my nostrils almost brought me down to my feet -- no it almost made me turn back altogether. I prayed to Sune for light to aid me quest in these putrid, dank caves, and in return a glowing ball appeared over my head and my sense of smell was overcome with that of Sune's shrine. Oh the virtues of Lady Firehair! I continued down the dank caves, seeking out a leader of some sort; no mindless group such as these Orcs could be so organized without a leader. Lady Firehair kept me well protected until I saw the most hideous thing; an Ogre. I had never thought to have seen one down there! It came rushing at me and, in vain, I set myself up behind my tower shield, only to be knocked prone. As the Ogre stomped on my chest, I cried out in pain and my confidence left me. That divine radiance that allowed me to smite at least thirty Orcs was ebbing from me. I remember I desperately slammed my morningstar into the foot of the Ogre. He hopped on one foot, yelling in pain, and toppled over. I took the opportunity to heave myself up -- Gods I must have had at least one broken rib -- and lept onto the fallen Ogre, swinging my weapon into his chest and face over and over until I was covered in blood and heard no more from my foe.
I toppled over from the Ogre's corpse, entirely spent. I prayed to Sune for aid once more, that my mission was incomplete, and to show my devotion, I got up and continued on with my wounded ribs. As I walked, I could feel my wounds mend and the divine radiance return to me once more. More Orcs stood in my way, and many a time I faltered, but not fatally. The engagement with the Ogre left my confidence wounded, and my powers suffered because of it. Nevertheless, I slew a great deal many Orcs before I found a corridor leading downward.
It pains me to continue writing, revisiting the memory of it. I had begun to grow careless, never watching my back and only looking forward for my enemy, thinking they were too dumb to trap me. This... is how I died.
I carefully walked down the corridor and listened for the grunting of Orcs, but heard none. I made my way to a large cavern when suddenly I heard the grunts behind me. Before I would respond, one got a clean hit on my leg, severely wounding it. Three Orcs pushed me back as I swung my weapon aimlessly at them, only hitting their armor. Still, it was enough for them to stop the advancement, and I noticed one about to make a killing blow. With my shield to the other two Orcs, I swung my weapon upward with as much strength as I could muster, connecting with the Orc's jaw before he could bring down his axe. His head shot back with a sickening crack. I caught one other Orc off guard as he looked down at his companion and knocked him down with my shield. By the time the third Orc made his swing at me, I ducked and felt a sharp pain shoot through my left leg, briefly looking down to see the small pool of blood collecting at my foot. I knew I could not pray fast enough to heal with wound, so I swept the legs of the third Orc while I was ducking. While they were both down I quickly gulped down a potion, which healed my leg enough to make it functional again. Their thick physique and armor made it difficult for the Orcs to get back up, so the second Orc swung at my feet, missing as I jumped, as the third one still struggled to regain his footing. With his head turned downward, I struck the third Orc in the bad of his head, caving in his skull. I turned then to the other Orc just in time to raise my shield to deflect a blow that clearly would have taken off my head. The deflection sent the Orc reeling backward, and I ran up and swung my weapon directly at his head, also caving it in.
After the last Orc fell, a door flung open and an Ogre come rushing out with an Orc armored like one I had never seen before. As the Ogre came charging toward me, I began to pray to Sune for my divine magics, and suddenly a column of light erupted from the ceiling directly down on the Ogre, stunning him. Such power I didn't know I possessed! I took this opportunity to finish him off with a blow to the head, and then one more for good measure. Panting, I turned to this new sort of Orc, who was wielding not an axe, but a dire mace. I prayed for divine might and favor to battle this new Orc; he must have been a leader of some sort! He stood there in a defensive stance as I rushed toward him, first bashing him with my shield, but he did not falter. Rather, he hit my shield with immense force, enough for me to falter, then swept my feet. I was prone as he began to put his full force into a killing blow, but I raised my shield in time to counter this. His weapon struck my shield with such force it dislocated my arm, and I was forced to drop my shield to get up. Mockingly, the Orc stepped back and let me regain my footing again. Once I was up, he took another swing at me and I ducked, hitting him directly in the stomach with my flaming morningstar. The cloth over his armor ignited, but he did not hesitate to continue his attacks. I took another swing at his chest, but he deflected and hit me square in the chest with the opposite side of his mace. Instantly, I coughed up blood and knew the battle would soon be over; my ribs were shattered and I was immobile. The fire on the Orc was extinguished by now, and left a sickly bruise and burns when I had struck him. Knowing he won, he showed a great deal of pain, but he still disarmed me of my morningstar with one hand and help me up against the stone wall with his other. The final thing I remember was him producing a cruel dagger from a sheath on his belt...
I woke up in Lathander's Temple. I do not understand why this was -- did Lathander save me? Perhaps my noble deeds warranted me a second chance, but I am shocked it was not Sune's shrine I woke up in. I write this here now, in Her shrine, both confused and determined. I will continue this mission I was assigned. I know now that no matter how many Orcs I slay, they will simply multiply and return, but perhaps I can save a caravan or two in the process. I am no soldier, but I will shield others from harm.
As I look at the Mirror, sometimes I think I can see my brother; a hazy image becomes clearer each time I serve Sune. He took care of me for so long when mom died and dad left, I can only hope through my missions one day I can look into that mirror and see his face one more time...