[MysteriousAges]: 495.Random Stuff.Legacy of the Ancients

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2006-07-24 21:12:31
   
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A backstory I put together for an RP that ran upwards of 3 years ago. The writing in my opinion isn't as refined as I'd like it to be, but that's just me. Whatever.




Part I: Legacy of the Ancients

In a different plane of existence, before all time began, the Kingdom of Medrigal lay in a green grassy plain, where it had flourished for many years. Their people were solitary, and had cut off ties with the rest of their world many centuries ago. They slowly developed a rich culture, with a religion and language of their own. Their language, Mithdalla, was a runic language, and their many codices were filled with the cryptic script. Their religion focused heavily on the spirit world, which existed in parallel with them. There was nothing beyond that, where the barrier of reality ended. There was only Chaos, and non-existence. They would be shocked to find later how accurate their beliefs had been.
King Merdinah Levohr Revellin's father, King Therdoran Revellin, had ordered a large temple constructed near the castle to house the growing number of religious dedicates, those who had dedicated themselves solely to the religion. Along with the temple, a large Council Hall was to be constructed for the religious order to meet in, apart from the main building itself. This was to be located just in front of Medrigal Castle's gardens, while the temple was built closer to the city itself.
As the years passed, the kingdom grew even wealthier, as outsiders journeyed across the seemingly endless plains, and the mountains beyond that to visit the most sacred temple. With these riches came more complex ceremonies and rituals, in which the priest would levitate using the power of the spirit world, and sometimes disappear entirely. These priests would retain these strange abilities for a short time afterward, until the link with the spirit world broke. For years these rituals dominated the way in which the Medrigalons lived their lives, and eventually rituals for the common folk were created. The wealthier merchants and nobles also took part in this development, building upon the ones common folk used, and make them elegant.
At 97 years of age, King Therdoran died suddenly, and his son Merdinah assumed the throne. The religious leaders in charge of his coronation planned an extravagant ceremony, involving a sacrifice to bind the path of their king to the spirit world, and the entire Kingdom with it. As the ceremony progressed, one of the leaders, Count Gerathan Sepharim prepared to offer the sacrifice. He was amazed to find that the sacrifice was several pounds of wheat, an ox, and a lamb, instead of the simple one that had been planned. The masses of Medrigalons waited in the temple for the sacrifice, each of them hoping to catch a glimpse of the spirit world. They would get more than they bargained for.
As Gerathan arranged the offering on the wide altar, the King’s new Crown was placed at the foot of it, to catch some energy that coursed though the spirit world. As the fire began to spread across the offering, the Count noticed strange ghostly apparitions among the smoke. Slowly, more of them appeared, and began to move away from the altar. The clergy on the sides shifted nervously in their places; something had gone wrong. Suddenly, from the flames a multitude of spirits poured fourth from a slight breach in the Sprit World. These ghosts melded the Spirit World into the Kingdom of Medrigal, bestowing strange powers upon its inhabitants.
Count Gerathan was unconscious for several days before finally awakening, finding Medrigal in a miserable state. The coronation had been hastily completed, and then the temple was swiftly evacuated. Unfortunately, they had neglected the Count, an his four children stayed behind to help their father. The eldest, Andoral, had barely been affected by the strange surge in the Spirit World’s energies, but the youngest, Arimane, has suffered the same as her father, passing into unconsciousness for several days. Mervinol was only one year Arimane’s elder, but he was significantly weakened by the event. The only one who was strengthened by the Spirit World’s energy was Kevaral, Andoral’s younger brother by two years. Kevaral vanished from the temple while his father and sister were unconscious. What transpired during those days changed him, and he was colder, and more inward looking than before. He receded into himself, even in the presence of his friends and family. Once his father recovered, he hid this from his family, but spent more time in the plains, away from the city. The people of Medrigal had been infused with Spirit World energy, and with it they brought their fantasies to life. Thus, the force of magic was born unto the plane of Medrigal.


Part II: The Death Knell

The months passed slowly, as the plane of Medrigal dealt with the new strain of the force of Magic. Somehow, people learned how to manipulate reality, and they eventually developed their skill to completely vanish from reality for a time, and reappear to have something missing, usually a rival merchant, or a snotty noble. Count Gerathan was worried by the disappearances of these merchants and nobles, so he advised King Merdinah to allow him to create a Guild dedicated to the protection of these people, and restore the changes if necessary. Count Gerathan enlisted the aid of a few nobles, and several merchants to help the newly formed Guild of the Ethar find out who these missing people were. The Guild was made up of mostly merchants, but also commoners, and three nobles. Arimane took a great interest in this, and Andoral and Mervinol also assisted their father. Kevaral, however, was more withdrawn by this point, and spent more time in the grasslands, and in the forests to the far east.
The Guild members developed the ability to leave reality long enough to see the damage done. Each time a person had vanished, it left a small tear in the very essence of the plane, though which leaked energy that kept Medrigal existing. The breaches were hard to repair, because each one involved the long process of gathering memories of that person that would bring their ghost back from the Void, which lay beyond the ethereal tears, or rifts. Their work began to get harder, as more merchants and commoners learned this practice, and it was not long until the Guild could not keep up with the rate of disappearances. They were also getting more severe, because now more than one person might be vanishing at any given time.
The guild worked in secret, so that none may know who made up the Guild, as they would surely vanish if someone found out. The only one they knew involved was Count Gerathan, but he was much too powerful to simply make vanish. As the disappearances faded farther into memory, they became increasingly difficult to mend, as the memories of the person would also fade away. Count Gerathan, knowing that the Guild could no longer keep up, summoned the entire Guild to meet in the temple’s Council Hall, where they would meet to discuss a new plan of action. Kevaral, by now mildly interested in the havoc this was making in reality decided to attend.
The meeting had barely begun, when the entire Council Hall was torn from existence in one, massive assault by other powers in the plane of Medrigal. The Guild of the Ethar were paralysed with fear, knowing that the chaotic energies of the void would tear them apart. Minutes passed, yet none vanished. The force that had plucked them from Medrigal also kept them safe within the Void. Count Gerathan’s children worked a miracle when they opened the Hall’s doors, and made tangible ground appear. The Void was reacting with their memories of Medrigal, and slowly was recreating it. In the end, it was Kevaral who expanded the area of ground in the Void, as he was the one who had traveled most.
The Guild of the Ethar spent an entire week in the Void before they were able to return to Medrigal, and when they did, they were shocked and terrified with the deathly state the plane was in.
Medrigal appeared to be in the middle of a dark, moonless night, though the noon sun was high in the black sky. Ferocious winds tore across the plain, headed towards the massive rift. The Guild began to work frantically, attempting to restore the smaller rifts before working on the larger one, as Arimane, Andoral, and Mervinol concentrated their efforts on stopping the flow of precious life energy into the Void. Kevaral stayed within the Void, continually expanding the habitable area to his memory’s extent. As the lesser rifts closed, life began to return back to Medrigal, as the wilted plants became vibrant with new life, and the winds abated, but still the large rift remained, slowly draining the life of Medrigal away.
As the Guild sealed the rifts, Gerathan’s vindictive side took him over, and he purged Medrigal of the other powers that had sent the plane so dangerously close to being destroyed by the void. In one fell swoop, he scattered their remains across the plains, as a warning to any others who might endanger Medrigal’s well being.
The King’s fifty-fifth birthday arrived, and as Andoral sealed the rift with a massive enchanted stone, the kingdom rejoiced. The circular stone was engraved with a seven-pointed star within a circle, bearing runes inscribed in a circle at each point. In the centre of the star another circle had been engraved, but with the crest of Count Gerathan Sepharim’s family. When Andoral, along with the seven leaders of the Guild of the Ethar activated the enchantment, the stone would dissolve, and create a portal into the Void that did not drain life energy as the rift had done. Mervinol found an old ‘seeing crystal’ in the abandoned temple’s reliquary. They had been used before to look at events that happened outside the Medrigal Kingdom in their world. He accidently took it into the Void, where it began to show him visions of events, people, and places beyond that of the plane of Medrigal, and in fact, in other, parallel planes of existence. He was dumbfounded, and began to write what he saw. He stayed in the Void for a time with Kevaral, who had finally reached the limits of his memories. At this limit, he drew a massive amount of energy from the surrounding planes, and formed a massive barrier to contain the concentrated chaos in one area of the Void.
After a year, Arimane noticed the barrier between the plane of Medrigal and the Void was weakening from rifts that could not be repaired, still existing from the original disappearances. Arimane took a large amount of commoners though Andoral’s enchanted portal, and established the Order of the Void, to ensure that the plane of Medrigal would not collapse. With their energy, they kept the Void’s destructive chaos at bay, and eventually learned to bend it to their will. They also duplicated the Seeing Crystal, and with Mervinol documented the activities in the surrounding planes. They saw races beginning to evolve, and saw that sometimes Magic was in their plane too.
Kevaral’s connection to reality deepened, and he began to create fully tangible illusions, which appeared as illusions only to him. He slowly crafted a large complex joined to the Council Hall, and as it expanded, it also rose higher. The Castle of Time’s End resembled Castle Medrigal somewhat, but it was higher, and had several turrets. The enchanted stone lay at the base of the capital tower, which rose fifty stories above the ground.
Thus, the Castle of Time’s End was built, and the plane of Medrigal safeguarded against collapse into the Void.



Part III: Skies torn Asunder

The celebrations for King Merdinah Levohr Revellin's sixtieth birthday were underway, when a massive quake rocked Medrigal to the core. The Guild of the Ethar discovered thousands of rifts beginning to form in the plane, and they sent for Arimane, who told them to seal them as fast as possible. She was also worried about the Order of the Void, who had reported seeing strange omens, and black cloudiness in their Seeing Crystals. They also reported intense feelings of animosity, and streams of ambient energy while these visions clouded the crystals. Count Gerathan was especially perturbed, he knew that this could very well be the end for Medrigal. The rifts were being created faster than they could be sealed, and once again, the skies were darkening with the lack of life energy. Days passed, but nothing happened.
As the sun rose eight days after the celebrations, the sky was clear. There were no clouds, or even the comforting azure blue colour either: just a mass of nothing. As Count Gerathan gazed up into the sky, he saw a mass of darkness begin to descend from the heavens, and land about three miles outside the city limits. As it neared the city, he could tell it was an otherworldly army. The earthbound abominations streaked across the open fields, quickly closing space between them and the city. They were disfigured nightmares that plagued the inner minds of all Medrigalons. Like the deepest, darkest fear of life, they reached out and tore all sense of hope from those who watched. They were, however, completely powerless. They were physically strong, but lacked all mental energy, much unlike the omens portrayed by the Seeing Crystals.
Gerathan summoned the Guild of the Ethar to stop the flood of invaders. With magic on their side, and the home ground advantage, the Guild of the Ethar held them back, but not without suffering heavy losses. For a month the fighting raged on, engulfing half the city in the turmoil between these half human monsters. Many attempts were made by the other powers to seize the Enchanted Gateway, Andoral’s stone seal. Again and again, some would be found sneaking around the line of defence, only to be found and quickly killed by a guild member. Finally, the last of the foreign invaders was dead, and the half the city lay in ruins. Gerathan quickly gathered the Guild, and held council with His Majesty King Merdinah. Just as they started, a quake rocked the entire plane, destroying buildings, and razing weak structures. As the city crumbled, Count Gerathan instructed Arimane and Andoral to open the Enchanted Gateway, and take the survivors though into the safety of the Void. They complied, and took the seven leaders of the Guild of the Ethar to the portal, to open it.
Andoral instructed three of the leaders, Serge, Zephyr and Lyrki to stay behind, and make sure that Count Gerathan was able to make it though the portal before they closed it from the other side. With that, they began the spell to activate the Gateway as the survivors of Medrigal gathered around them.
Gerathan wandered about the city, searching for survivors as he felt it, a massive well of pure hatred, and intense energy. He looked towards the place where the other powers army had come though, and saw a vague darkness that continually poured though the rift. Finding a Guild Member, he sent her back to the castle to summon the King, a powerful wizard, and told her to inform the King to meet Gerathan in the palace gardens. He immediately left the city, and avoiding the sight of the entity, made his way into the gardens.
The King was already there, awaiting him, and told the Count that Kevaral would also be arriving, after the last survivors had passed though the portal. Together, they saw the entity become flesh. Its gargantuan stalk sprouted several thick and wiry tentacles, which it used to move along the ground. Its black body supported two massive, leathery bat like wings, and arms that ended in three clawed fingers. Its neck ended in a head that bore two thick horns that bent straight back, and the mouth was frozen open as another long, snakelike head emerged from it. This had two fins on the bottom, and eyes that were like two black opals that seethed and writhed with pure enmity and energy. Count Gerathan and King Merdinah instantly knew that they were no matches against this type of power. As they stared unable to move at the beast, it began to speak.
“Hear me, people of this plane!!” Its voice roared, and pulsated to the very depths of the plane. “Your time has ended! Behold, I bring the end… the might of Maith-Ravnol shall destroy you!!” It began to laugh, and all who heard it cringed.
Serge was the first to notice that the King and Count were overdue, and without a word to the others, he began to run towards the castle gates. Zephyr followed, with Lyrki close behind him.
“Serge… Where is… Mistress Arimane?” Panted Zephyr as they ran though the castle halls.
“She’s though.” He said, not breaking his stride. “I’m going to find His Majesty and the Count. I can sense they’re in danger.”
Lyrki stayed quiet, but could also feel that the King did need them.
They turned a corner, and saw that the gates at the end of the hall had collapsed, and lay open. They clearly saw King Merdinah and Count Gerathan standing, frozen in terror. They clearly saw the massive nightmare creature that stood at the edge of the city. They clearly saw the barrage of green energy beams plough into the two figures, and the explosion that followed. They hesitated for a moment, and saw that Count Gerathan was in a small, ruined shrine at the back of the castle courtyard, where the gardens ended, and the main castle gates were. Their King lay on the ground, motionless. His crown was split into three parts, streaked with dirt and blood.
They approached the crippled Count as Maith-Ravnol turned his aggression against some Guild members who attempted to contain him. The Count was seriously wounded, and could not move either of his shattered legs. Serge bent over the Count, seeing if he could heal him.
“Serge… don’t waste your energy on me…” Gerathan urged. “Get out… while you still can…”
“Never, my lord. You must come with us!” Zephyr and Lyrki nodded in agreement as Serge cured Gerathan’s body.
“No! There is nothing left for us here! Go into the Void, save yourselves!” Gerathan pleaded.
The last of the resisting guild members perished, and Maith-Ravnol saw Gerathan with three other people. Gerathan whispered a caution to his fellows, who turned in time to see the beams descending towards them. Quickly, they made a barrier to protect Gerathan and themselves. The beams shattered the barrier, and killed its makers. In a time that seemed like eternity, Gerathan mumbled spells to send each of the three Guild Leaders’ souls though open rifts. The spell complete, he whispered softly, “Go… In your hands lies the fate of the Broken Kingdom.” Gerathan breathed heavily, assured that there was nothing more he could do, as a rain of green energy fell upon him.
A sizzling noise caught his attention as he turned to see an invisible barrier negating the energy of the beams. As it rippled, the Count noticed a figure’s shape rippling beneath the shield. The barrage ended, and the shield shattered, as did Kevaral’s invisibility. He ran towards his father, who stood up slowly.
“Kevaral… What are you doing here?”
“I came for you… To see that you’re taken care of… Where are Serge, Zephyr and Lyrki? They were right behind me…”
“They were…”
Kevaral knew where his friends had gone, and began to feel a cold, icy wrath begin welling up inside him, as he turned to see the laughing Maith-Ravnol. Kevaral’s fists tightened, and his knuckles turned white. One, two shocks rumbled though the ground, emanating from Kevaral. Maith-Ravnol stopped laughing as he saw the Enchanted gate turn slowly back into stone, and felt the plane begin to break apart.
“You…” whispered Kevaral in an icy, sharp voice “You destroyed everything…”
A stroke of lightning blinded Gerathan, as he saw his son begin to rise off the ground.
Kevaral held his hands to the sky, and it began to split apart, revealing an emptiness beyond all comprehension. Maith-Ravnol felt the energy surging from the youth, and began to approach him. Kevaral flung his arms earthward, and instantly the plane was torn asunder. Massive tendrils of Void Energy surged though the plane, destroying anything it touched. Maith-Ravnol instantly knew, as Kevaral dropped to the ground, that he was destroying the fabric of reality that held the plane together.
“YOU WILL DIE WITH US!” roared Kevaral, visibly weakened. Maith-Ravnol’s form dissipated into a dark entity, which spoke though energy.
“You will become my servant… foul child…” Laughter followed. The mist plummeted towards the helpless Kevaral, and Count Gerathan instinctively dove to protect his son. Darkness met flesh, and the body of Count Gerathan was torn apart into invisible energy, as both Maith-Ravnol and Count Gerathan vanished from the plane. Kevaral was left alone as the Void quickly consumed the remains of the Broken Kingdom of Medrigal. He saw on the ground in front of him, his father’s staff, and picked it up. He made his way to the nearby temple, which was still untouched by the void. At the altar, he placed the staff, and knelt before it, weeping. A thick, dark tendril tore though the wall of the temple, and others soon followed it, consuming the mortal creation. Kevaral did not notice as the tendril drifted slowly towards him, nor did he notice as it consumed him.

******

After a time that felt like eternity, Kevaral found himself lying in the dust by the Castle of Time’s End, a few feet away from the Enchanted Gateway in the Void. The plane of Medrigal had been shattered by the chaos of the Void, and now lay in the memories and hearts of those who now called the Void their home. Kevaral stood slowly, looked at the Castle, and began to walk towards it.


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