Prologue: New Britannia, Forty Years Ago
COURAGE
The shattered full moon of the lunar eclipse shone bright red in the night sky above
Falura Field. A lone white dove let out a mournful coo as it soared high above. Down
below, tens of thousands charred, frozen, and dismembered corpses littered the blood
stained battlefield, as healers tended to the few hundred surviving members of Lord
British’s army. Lord British lay on the grass, applying pressure to the deep sword wound
in his side. A few feet in front of him were the shattered fragments of the Amulet of
Vazur, with which the evil Lord Shadowreign had unleashed the power of Eight of the
Nine Legendary Dragons (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Copper, Red, Black, White, Blue)
upon New Britannia. (Thankfully, once the Avatar had shattered the Amulet with his
Sword of Virtue, Lord Shadowreign lost control of the Eight Dragons and they flew back
to their lairs and went to sleep.) Lord British was surrounded by piles of bone dust, the
remnants of Shadowreign’s powerful army of undead warriors.
(Music fades out. Insert “Viracocha’s Demise” By Eliot Corley)
Lord British’s attention was drawn back to the present by the loud clanging of swords.
He saw the Avatar and Lord Shadowreign locked in mortal combat in front of the Celestial Lunar Rift. The Avatar’s black and gold armor gleamed in the red moonlight.
“I was so close to summoning the Celestial Dragon, Ashara!”, yelled Lord Shadowreign, an imposing figure clad in red and black armor, ” Curse you, Avatar! Lord British stole everything that should have been mine – the throne and Lady Arabella, the woman I love! Why are you helping such an evil man?”
“No, Lord Shadowreign, you are mistaken.”, replied the Avatar, ” Lord British is a good person and our rightful ruler!”
“Avatar, why are you content being Lord British’s lap dog? Our nation has grown weak and pathetic under Lord British’s rule. In the days of old , we were known for the courage of our knights as we expanded our empire by conquering those who opposed us. Nowadays, the other nations consider us to be a toothless tiger, more interested in making peace instead of war. Join me and together we can bring glory back to our nation!”, said Lord Shadowreign.
“Never! You were once a good person, but you have forsaken your virtues and are now driven only by dark desires! You are not worthy to rule over anyone!”, the Avatar shouted, as he swung his golden Sword of Virtue with all of his might.
The Sword of Virtue made a loud humming sound as it sliced through the air and made contact with
Lord Shadowreign’s massive, unbreakable, ebony blade, Darkstorm. Lord Shadowreign’s blade shattered into a hundred pieces.
Lord Shadowreign dropped the broken hilt and took a step back, a startled expression on
his face.
“What?! This can’t be…”, he said.
“Surrender and Lord British may show you mercy!”, said the Avatar, as he pointed his
sword at Lord Shadowreign.
” Never! If I can’t rule New Britannia, then I shall see it destroyed!”, bellowed Lord
Shadowreign,” But first I shall make you pay for ruining my plans, Avatar! Feel my
power!”
He began hurling bolts of red mystic energy at the Avatar, who deflected them
away with his sword. Lord Shadowreign began glowing bright yellow as he unleashed
even more powerful mystic energy bolts at the Avatar. The Avatar was slowly being
pushed backward by the force of the bolts.
“You are no match for me, Avatar!”, said Lord Shadowreign, as one of the bolts struck the
Avatar in the chest. The Avatar fell to his knees, momentarily stunned. Were it not for his enchanted armor, the Avatar would have been vaporized.
Lord Shadowreign’s eyes suddenly turned pitch black and he levitated several feet
upward. His body was now surrounded by a crackling globe of red mystic energy.
“Now all of you will die!”, Lord Shadowreign bellowed.
” I will not let you destroy New Britannia!”, said the Avatar, as he dropped his sword
and hurled himself at Lord Shadowreign . The Avatar felt agonizing pain as his flesh
began to burn once he penetrated the outer surface of the energy globe and plowed right
into Lord Shadowreign.
“No…!”, screamed Lord Shadowreign, as they were both propelled through the Celestial
Lunar Rift. After they passed through the lunar rift, the Avatar saw the look of anger
and disappointment in Lord Shadowreign’s face as he realized that he had been defeated.
“Curse you, Avatar!”, shouted Lord Shadowreign. The Avatar simply smiled. He knew
that New Britannia was safe. His work was done. Now, it was time to rest. Then,
everything exploded in a sea of red.
Lord British heard a loud explosion and saw a giant plume of red energy erupt from the
lunar rift before it was sucked back in and the the lunar rift collapsed in upon itself and
vanished. Everyone on the battlefield stood in shocked silence.
Lord British was unaware that a small golden metal fragment had been propelled out of
the lunar rift just prior to its collapse and had fallen at the prophet Nystal’s feet. Nystal
quickly picked up the fragment and slipped it into his belt pouch before anyone could
notice.
Suddenly, the Avatar’s Sword of Virtue shot up into the sky. It paused for a few
moments as the eight Runes of Virtue engraved in the hilt began glowing. Then, the
sword suddenly vanished in a flash of light.
“My Liege!”, exclaimed Fire Lotus, as she rushed to Lord British’s side and examined his
wound. (Few people knew that, in addition to being the city’s favorite tavern owner, Fire
Lotus was also a highly skilled healer.)
“You are badly wounded. Let me apply this healing salve and bandage your wound.”, said
Fire Lotus.
“Thank you, old friend. The wound does not appear to be responding to my healing
spell, perhaps because of the enchanted ebony blade which Lord Shadowreign used to
inflict it.”, replied Lord British.
Lord British sighed as Fire Lotus tended to his wound. ” New Britannia has been saved but at what cost? Thousands of my finest soldiers lie dead and our greatest champion,
the Avatar, has been lost!”, he said.
“This is a sad day indeed for all of New Britannia, My Liege.”, replied Fire Lotus, “But
your men showed great courage in the face of insurmountable odds and their sacrifices
were not in vain. This terrible year long ordeal is finally over and we can finally begin to
rebuild that which was lost.”
The tall, slender, white bearded prophet Nystal walked over to Lord British and Fire
Lotus.
“My dear Fire Lotus, you are mistaken. We may have won this battle, My Lord,
but the war is not over.”, said Nystal, “ Lord Shadowreign was not destroyed. The ancient forbidden dark magic which now courses through his veins have made him far too powerful to
be killed by conventional means. He has been seriously wounded and transported to a far
off planet in another universe. Lord Shadowreign will return at the full head of a powerful
army to reconquer New Britannia in forty years at the time of the next lunar eclipse.”
“Nystal, you are truly a wise prophet, but are you certain of this?”, asked Lord British.
“Yes, My Lord, of this I am certain!”, replied Nystal.
” How will we stop Lord Shadowreign when he returns?”, asked Lord British, “The
Avatar barely managed to defeat him, at the cost of his own life.”
” The Avatar’s physical form was destroyed by the mystical energies unleashed by
Lord Shadowreign, but his soul is eternal.”, said Nystal, “ It was shattered into 35,000 fragments
which were carried through the portal to your home planet, Earth. These soul
fragments now reside in the most worthy of Earth’s inhabitants. Over the next forty
years, these avatars will be drawn here to New Britannia and compete
amongst themselves to determine who will be The One True Avatar.”
“But will the new Avatar be revealed in time to stop Lord Shadowreign?”, asked Lord
British.
“Yes, I will work to ensure that happens. Until next we meet…”, answered Nystal. He
leered at the lovely Fire Lotus for a moment before vanishing in a cloud of white smoke.
(Music fades out.)
(Insert “Rise of Spirit” by Alexandr Zhelanov)
“Do you think Nystal’s prophecy is true, My Liege?”, asked Fire Lotus, “There are
rumors that he is slowly going mad, as others have recently reported seeing him talking to
himself and to inanimate objects on several occasions.”
“No doubt he would be acting strangely, considering how much time he has been
spending in your fine establishment lately. I suspect Nystal is rather fond of you.”,
answered Lord British.
“My Liege…”, stammered Fire Lotus, as she blushed bright red.
“Nystal did warn us about Lord Shadowreign’s plans and his past prophecies have
proven to be true, so I see no reason to doubt him now.,” replied Lord British,” I was so
happy the day my younger half-brother James arrived here in New Britannia from Earth.
We were so close growing up. I can not believe how far he has fallen. I am grateful that my mother and stepfather did not live to see this day. For now, we must make sure that the Amulet of Vazur does not fall into the wrong hands.”
Lord British cast a spell and the shattered fragments rose from the ground and flew off
into the sky to various remote parts of New Britannia.
“And so it begins…”, said Lord British, as he gazed up into the night sky.
End of Prologue (Music fades out.)
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( I am assuming that people in New Britannia physically age at roughly one-fourth of
the rate they would here on Earth.)
(Insert “A Winter Tale” by Johan Brodd)
Introduction: Mount Krendor, Four years ago…
TRUTH
A cold arctic wind swept though Mount Krendor, as it continued to snow heavily. A
solitary short, chubby figure, clad in a tattered brown robe, staggered across the
mountainside. The young monk Theodric was beginning to regret his decision to sneak
out of his monastery a week ago after receiving a vision compelling him to come here.
(At the monastery, Theodric was one of the five monks currently writing sections of The
History of New Britannia, Vol. 1, an important responsibility for someone so young. He
had been assigned the task based on the Grand Abbot’s personal recommendation to
Lord British.) (Music fades out.)
(Insert “World Travel” by Dan Knoflicek)
Suddenly, Theodric found himself standing in a lush garden next to a crystal clear
stream. His limbs no longer ached; in fact, he felt full of energy. Theodric looked down
and saw he was now clad in a comfortable white silk robe with blue trim and covered in
mysterious golden runes which he could not decipher. In his right hand was a massive
leather bound book. Theodric could not decipher the writing on the cover or the content
of the pages contained within. He peered into the stream and saw his face. He appeared
to be at least ten years older than he was now, complete with a full beard. Theodric also
appeared to be in much better shape than he was now, with most of his excess body fat
replaced with solid muscle. He heard a sound and looked up to see a lone white dove
soar overhead towards the massive Tree of Knowledge atop a nearby hill. Theodric
could see a beautiful, red-haired woman in a black robe with red trim also covered in
mysterious golden runes standing beneath the tree beckoning him. He did not recognize
her face. (Music fades out.)
(Insert “A Winter Tale” by Johan Brodd)
Then everything suddenly turned to white and he found himself back on Mount
Krendor.
In the distance, the shining beacon of light continued to beckon, but Theodric could go
no further. He had been walking for hours and could no longer feel his limbs. Theodric
collapsed from exhaustion and lost consciousness.
A pack of hungry snow wolves spotted the unconscious figure and came charging out of
the nearby woods. A hooded figure suddenly appeared next to Theodric’s unconscious
form. The hooded figure turned and looked in their direction. The snow wolves
suddenly stopped in their tracks and began whimpering. They quickly turned around
and ran off in the opposite direction. The hooded figure picked up Theodric and flung
him over his shoulder. They both vanished in a flash of light. (Music fades out.)
(Insert “Flights of Fancy” by Eliot Corley)
Theodric awoke to find himself in a mountain cave, clad in a warm, dry robe and lying
on a mat next to a burning fire. He could hear the loud roar of the snowstorm outside.
An elderly, white bearded cloaked figure sat across the fire from him.
“It’s about time you woke up! You’ve been unconscious for three days.”, said the old
man, ” Here, have some fine wine from Fire Lotus’ Tavern. It will warm you up a bit.”
The old man handed Theodric a wine flask.
“Thank you for rescuing me, kind sir. I am Theodric, a monk from St. Valdine’s
monastery. Who are you?”, asked Theodric.
“You may call me Nystal.”, answered the old man.
“The mad prophet, Nystal?”, said Theodric, “I heard that you were once an advisor to
Lord British himself long ago. What happened to you?”
“I’ve been busy searching for the new Avatar for the past thirty-six years, for Lord
Shadowreign will be returning soon and only the Avatar will be able to defeat him once
and for all.”, answered Nystal.
“But wasn’t Shadowreign slain by the Avatar and Lord British thirty-six years ago?”,
asked Theodric.
“No, he was merely defeated. I have chosen you to help me locate the new Avatar and
record the details of our journey for future generations. We will then help the Avatar
recover the lost fragments of the Amulet of Vazur, for only an Avatar wielding the full
power of the Nine Dragons can hope to stop Lord Shadowreign and his invading army.”,
said Nystal. He pulled out a small golden metal fragment out of his belt pouch and held
it in the palm of his hand. The fragment began glowing faintly. “This will lead us to the
new Avatar.”, said Nystal.
“What is it?”, asked Theodric.
“It is a fragment of the Amulet of Virtue, which was worn by the original Avatar when
he died battling Lord Shadowreign thirty-six years ago. “, replied Nystal, ” It is
mystically linked to the new Avatar and will glow bright white when we find him or
her.”
“Who are you, really?”, asked Theodric,” Tell me the truth. I can sense when people are
lying to me.”
“Ah, yes. One of your many hidden gifts. You are a learned man. Tell me what you
know about the Old Gods.”, said Nystal. (Loop as needed. Music fades out.)
(Insert “The Fall of Arcana (Epic Game Theme Music)” by Matthew Pablo at www.matthewpablo.com)
“According to the Book of Aramus, long, long ago, Britannia faced a grave crisis
known as The Great Cataclysm. On the moon Faralen, an enormous obsidian egg
which had lain dormant in an underground cave for a thousand years was struck by a
dark magic spell cast by the evil wizard Sintar, the last surviving descendant of
Mendarc, who wanted revenge against Lord British for the crimes he committed
against his ancestors. (Sintar himself would later be hunted down and killed in a
magic duel by Marian, leader of the Council of Mages, on New Britannia.) The newly
hatched Star Serpent threatened to destroy Faralen, which would have had
catastrophic consequences for Britannia. Lord British had the Avatar jump into the
Well of Eternity at the Temple of Argosa. The Avatar was instantly transported to the
underground cave on Faralen. After a long and fierce battle, both the Avatar and Star
Serpent were seriously wounded. The people of Britannia assumed that both of them
perished when the moon Faralen exploded.
After the Avatar failed to return and Faralen exploded, Lord British went to the
Cadatep atop Mount Helios and cast an unknown powerful magic spell which had been
entrusted to him in an effort to summon the Old Gods for help. And in case you forgot, Cadatep is a stone circle of gods, it’s a 25 foot tall obsidian statue arranged in a circle. It’s rumoured to be the spot where the old gods first set foot on Britannia, long long ago. (Music fades out.)
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(Insert “Hall of the Ancients” by Eliot Corley)
The Old Gods had originally visited us thousands of years ago in Britannia when we
were still primitive cave dwellers. The Old Gods lived in a silver city named Ghidara
which floated in the sky. They were masters of both magic and science. The Old Gods
mated with our women because their females could no longer bear children; hence we
are all descended from the Old Gods. (In fact, it is said that the members of the
Twelve Great Houses who sit on The Great Council are descended from the members
of The Old Gods’ own Council of Elders.) The Old Gods taught us how to make fire
and clothing, tools and weapons and gave us laws to govern us. After many years, the
Old Gods left us, saying that their other children needed their help but promised to
return someday to aid us if necessary.
The most famous of the Old Gods was the warrior god Darhan, ruler of the Old Gods.
Darhan had three sons. The eldest, Jonir, was a mighty warrior and sorceror, but he
had a heart as black as night. He took great delight in tormenting mankind. The
second son, Barek, was wise and kind, and a powerful sorcerer. He used his gifts to
aid mankind. The youngest son, Galen, was a brave and powerful warrior, who
helped his brother Barek oppose Jonir’s attempts to subjugate man. Eventually, Barek
and Galen were forced to use their combined might to slay their evil brother, but not
before Jonir managed to impart much of his knowledge of dark magic to his secret
apprentice. (As we learned thirty-six years ago, his secret apprentice was Lord
Shadowreign.)
Among the other Old Gods was a wise and powerful renegade whose true name has
been lost to the sands of time. A brilliant scientist, this inventor of time travel
technology was one of the three founders of their society (the warrior god Darhan and
the female mage god Siral being the other two) and was highly respected by the other
Old Gods. He called himself Nystal, and he strongly disagreed with some of the less
enlightened members of The Council of Elders who felt that less developed
civilizations should worship them as gods and serve as slave labor. Nystal resigned
from his position on The Council of Elders and left Ghidara soon after the Old Gods
originally departed from Britannia in order to explore time and space on his own. Of
all of the Old Gods, Nystal had spent the most time interacting with our people and
developed a real fondness for us. He promised to return someday to see how we were
doing, but has not been seen since his departure all those years ago. (Music fades out.)
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(Insert “ Last Minute” by HorrorPen)
Upon casting the spell, the thirty obsidian statues began glowing bright white and
emitted beams of energy which caused a column of white light to form in the center of
the circle where Lord British was standing. Lord British was rapidly propelled upward
into the sky by the column of light as the astonished members of The Great Council
looked on. Meanwhile, the people of Britannia began to panic and ran for cover as the
smallest fragments of Faralen began striking the planet as meteorites,
demolishing structures and causing numerous fires.
When all seemed lost, the floating city of Ghidara suddenly appeared in the sky high
above Castle Britannia. All Britannians were instantly transported to Ghidara. Our
people witnessed the destruction of the planet from the depths of space as the largest
fragments of Faralen smashed into our planet, causing it to explode.
The Old Gods used something called a hyperdimensional drive to transport their city
through the vortex to a parallel universe where Faralen had only partially been
destroyed. (These parallel universes originally came into existence long ago when the
Avatar shattered the Gem of Immortality in order to make Mendarc mortal once again
and allowing him to be slain.) This parallel world was uninhabited because it’s former
inhabitants were not visited by the Old Gods in the distant past and ended up killing
each other in The Barbarian Clan Wars. After relocating us here to New Britannia, the
Old Gods helped us rebuild all we had lost by providing us with advanced
knowledge, technology and materials.
After several years, Darhan and the rest of the Old Gods departed our new world to
explore other realms. Soon after the Old Gods’ silver city of Ghidara left Mount
Krendor and soared off into space, both Lord British and the Avatar suddenly
reappeared in a flash of light in Castle New Britannia while the Great Council was in
session, with no memory of what had happened since their disappearance. When
news of their reappearance spread to the general populace, some of the people
wondered why Lord British now appeared to have a more youthful appearance, but
most people overlooked this fact because they were just happy to have their beloved
ruler back. The Book of Aramus suggests that some of the Old Gods never left and
may still walk among us, but today most people believe that Aramus’ account of the
Exodus and Founding of New Britannia is merely a fable and that the Old Gods never
really existed at all.”, said Theodric. ( Music fades out.)
(Insert “Medieval Theme 1” by Alexandr Zhelanov)
“Really? Is that what you young people believe today? What would you say if I told you
that everything described in the Book of Aramus was true?”, asked Nystal.
“How could you possibly know that?”, asked a skeptical Theodric.
“Because I was there to witness it!”, replied Nystal, “We wouldn’t have these problems
with Lord Shadowreign today if Darhan had simply followed my advice and personally
dealt with his son Jonir before he began down the path to darkness. I guess he was
blinded by a father’s love for his children.”
“You knew Darhan personally?”, asked a stunned Theodric.
“Indeed. A brave and powerful man, but certainly not the wisest.”, replied Nystal,
“Stubborn as a mule. Loved beautiful young women and wine. Not as much as I do, of
course.”
“You still haven’t answered my original question. Who are you?”, asked Theodric.
“I am Nystal, although in the past I have also gone by the name Hawkwind and
Time Lord. You must promise me never to reveal my true identity to anyone! For over
5,000 years, I traveled through time and space and, while helping those in need, made
many enemies who would like nothing better than to see me dead. That is why I altered
my physical appearance after I left the city of Ghidara long ago.
I deeply regret that I was not in Britannia at the time of the Great Cataclysm. Had I
forseen the rise of Sintar, perhaps I could have done something to stop him. Contrary to
popular belief, despite our mastery of time travel, the Old Gods are not all-knowing.
Thankfully, the summoning spell I had entrusted Lord British with on my last visit to
Britannia in my guise as Time Lord was successful and the majority of Britannians
were saved and relocated here to New Britannia.
About two hundred years ago, my timeship was badly damaged following a hostile encounter
with a Jinrazi battlecruiser and I was forced to crash land here on Mount Krendor. Based on
this civilization’s current rate of development, suitable replacement parts for my ship’s damaged quantum field generator won’t be available for approximately another 2,000 years.
In the meantime, as far as the world is concerned, I am simply the mad prophet Nystal!”,
answered Nystal.
Nystal noticed Theodric’s puzzled expression.
“You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”, said Nystal, “Forgive me,
sometimes I do tend to ramble on a bit. Theodric, you are about to play a pivotal role in
the history of New Britannia!”
“So, why did you choose me to aid you in your quest?”, asked Theodric.
“You remind me a lot of your grandfather Tiberius at this age.”, replied Nystal.
“You knew my grandfather?”, asked a surprised Theodric, “I never got the opportunity
to know him. He died before I was even born.”
“That is most unfortunate. Like you, he was extremely bright and inquisitive. Always
spoke his mind.”, said Nystal, “We often debated long into the night about many topics
such as philosophy, law, politics, and science. He rose from humble beginnings to
become the greatest scholar of his era. That is why Lord British chose him to write his
biography, Lord British: The Path of Virtue.”
“I know. Lord British’s biography is still required reading in school today.”, replied
Theodric, “Did you know my grandmother as well?”
“Of course! When I first met Talia, she was an incredibly beautiful, fiery tempered,
powerful young mage – the exact opposite of your grandfather. Nobody thought that
they would make a good couple, but I knew they were meant to be together. I
introduced them to each other and, as you know, they ended up having a very long and
happy life together.”, said Nystal, “By the way, how is your grandmother doing these
days?”
Nystal smiled as his eyes briefly glowed. (Music fades out.)
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(Insert “Painted Dreams (Mock-Up)” by Matthew Pablo at www.matthewpablo.com)
That evening, as Theodric slept, Nystal teleported out of the cave.
In a moonlit clearing in the woods north of Libris, stood a small wooden cottage. A wisp of grey smoke rose from the chimney. A white-bearded wizard sat on a rocking chair on the porch, smoking on a long bamboo pipe. In front of the cottage, a young female elf was practicing her fire magic.
Lord Baldrith stopped smoking on his pipe and said, “Lanthirthel, try that again! I want you to envision the fire forming in your hands. Shape it into a ball and let it loose upon your enemy!”
Lanthirthel concentrated and uttered the words of magic. A small ball of fire formed in her hands and she hurled it at the plate armor covered scarecrow standing in the distance. The fireball found its target and the scarecrow erupted into flames.
Lord Baldrith cast the ice spell, Douse, to extinguish the flames.
“Excellent, my dear!”, said Lord Baldrith, as he smiled, “To think, just a month ago, you had trouble forming a fireball! I’m very proud of you.”
“Thank you, master!”, replied Lanthirthel, “ You are such a great teacher!”
“Indeed he is!”, said Nystal, who had suddenly appeared behind Lanthirthel.
“Godfather!”, exclaimed Lanthirthel, as she turned around and gave him a big hug, “I haven’t seen you for so long!”
“Yes, my child, I’ve been rather busy searching for the new Avatar!”, replied Nystal, “I see that Lord Baldrith has taught you well. You’ve made considerable progress since I last saw you three months ago!”
“It is good to see you, master!”, said Lord Baldrith, as he rose from his rocking chair and walked over to shake Nystal’s hand, “ Lanthirthel gives me too much credit. She has a natural gift for magic which is rare even among Sindarin elves. Thank you once again for entrusting me with her training in the mystic arts!”
“Lord Baldrith, you were my finest student. It was only natural that you would be the one to train Lanthirthel!”, said Nystal, “By the way, how’s the staff holding up?”
“It has served me well all of these years!”, replied Lord Baldrith, grasping the long, curvy staff with red gem on top, “I always thought that this was a fine graduation present, Nystal! As a matter of fact, just the other day, I had to retrieve it from an annoying imp who stole it!”
“I’m sure you taught him the error of his ways!”, said Nystal.
“Indeed! I won’t need to worry about him ever returning here to bother us again!”, replied a grinning Lord Baldrith.
“How is my brother Carlin doing?”, asked Lanthirthel.
“He is busy tracking down a lead which he hopes will lead him to that Dark Elf archer, Elirebin Shademaster, who slew your parents.”, said Nystal, “Did I ever tell you how your father, Arahaelon, saved my life long ago soon after my arrival on New Britannia?”
“No, godfather.”, replied Lanthirthel, “I would very much like to hear that story!”
“Well then, let’s go inside and have a seat around the fireplace!”, said Lord Baldrith, “I’ll boil us a kettle of water and we can have some nice, hot tea while listening to Nystal’s tale!”
Lord Baldrith, Lanthirthel, and Nystal entered the cottage.
Nystal would not end up teleporting back to the cave on Mount Krendor until four hours later…
(Music fades out.)
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The next morning the snowstorm ended and the sun came out. As Theodric was
finishing packing up their supplies, Nystal walked over to him and handed him a well-
crafted, oak long staff.
“Take this.”, said Nystal,” You will need it during our long journey. I assume you have
been trained in its use.”
“Yes, I have.”, replied Theodric, ” In fact, the Grand Abbott said that I showed such a
natural proficiency with it that he assigned me the task of training the new monks how to
use it to defend themselves. Do you expect us to encounter many dangerous foes on our
journey?”
“Indeed.”, said Nystal, “Lord Shadowreign’s minions are everywhere and they will do
whatever it takes to prevent the new Avatar from appearing to oppose their master’s
return.”
“I see.”, replied Theodric, “Won’t you need a weapon to defend yourself as well?”
“No.”, said Nystal, “In addition to my innate abilities, I have also mastered all of the
schools of magic. Trust me, we’ll be fine!”
Theodric suddenly had an uneasy feeling as Nystal smiled at him.
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(Insert “March of May” by MyCannonSing)
Meanwhile, at a warehouse in the port town of Jerahl, located on the southwestern tip of Novia, a large crowd had gathered to hear Marius, the handsome, charismatic, young leader of the newly
formed Homeguard,speak.
“These past decades, our world -our home – has been invaded by offworlders, each claiming the mantle of our greatest hero. A mere thirty-six years after tha Avatar gave his life to halt the evil of Lord Shadowreign, these pretenders claim to fill his boots! And yet while these Avatars are small of heart, their impact has been all too large.They have gorged themselves on the property of defenceless farmers, merchants and travellers. They have quenched their thirst for blood with the lives of innocent civilians, and when not content to merely pillage and murder they have slaked their vile lusts upon our women. And where is the protection owed to us while our sons are bloodied and our daughters violated? What shelter have our hard-earned taxes purchased? Lord British has done nothing to stop the influx of offworlders, and precious little to curb their actions. For our homes, for our wives, and for our children, we have no choice! It is up to us to take up arms and let these invaders know that they are not welcome in New Britannia!” said Marius.
“But, Marius, what can we do to stop these offworlders? They have been numerous
reports of slain offworlders coming back to life as if nothing had happened.”, asked a
beautiful, young, blue-eyed, blonde woman in the audience.
“Yes, it is true that these offworlders seem to be quite resilient, but they can be
destroyed. Fire, decapitation – just some of the tools the Homeguard have found to be effective.”, replied Marius, “And we can teach those who have the will to do what we must. So, who will fight for our homes and our dreams? Who has the courage to turn back this tide? Who will stand with New Britannia – who will stand with us?”
“Death to the offworlders! All hail, Marius! All hail the Homeguard!”, chanted the crowd,
as they began waving their swords, battleaxes, and sharp farm implements in the air.
Later, after the crowd dispersed, Marius secretly met the blonde woman backstage.
“I’ve missed you so much!”, exclaimed Marius.
“Me too!”, replied the woman,”It’s been so hard for me to get away from my husband!”,
as they embraced and passionately kissed.
“That went even better than I expected!”, said the woman, “I think we managed to recruit
another hundred members to our cause!”
“I know I am merely the public face of the Homeguard, my dear!”, replied Marius, “You
are the one writing the speeches and providing most of the financial support for training
and weapons. But Vastra, will you ever tell me your real name? ”
“In time, lover! Right now, I think we should concentrate on other things!”, said Vastra,
with a devilish grin.
