Arc will have Order. Chaos must be eliminated. Only through Order will there ever be peace in the lands of Lost Souls. Chaos will be crushed through whatever means possible.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

An Unlikely Companion

I have met any number of strange creatures while performing various tasks for Ahrikol. Most recently, he asked me to explore a new glade which had appeared seemingly overnight near Losthaven. As I entered, I found it to be infested with spiders. Normally, this would have caused me little concern, but as I explored, the spiders seemed to get larger and more ferocious. I found an opening in the center of the glade that led to some caves; it was from here that the spiders seemed to be emanating. As I was proceeding, I suddenly found myself face-to-face with a figure in a suit remarkably similar to my own. Thinking that perhaps this was another ambush by a minion of chaos (they have been frequent of late), I prepared myself for battle. I focused all my concentration into one of the runes on my ring, and started a process that I have come to learn shoots bolts of highly charged energy at my opponents. A pity those orcs had to die in the experiments, they were fiercely loyal. As I raised my hand, the figure blithely removed his helm, and greeted me as a friend. I lowered my hand (little did he know how close he came to injury) and did him the same courtesy. "I am Beasty," he exclaimed, and an odd beast he surely was.

Beasty looked for all the world like an elf, but an elf aflame, and with an amazing set of wings that the suit of armour had previously hidden. This must be a phaethon, a creature I had presumed to be myth. He was armed with an equally amazing weapon - some kind of dagger that glowed and spit energies similar to my own. Fascinated, I wanted to ask him about the blade (I thought I could perhaps make use of it in my search for more advanced offensive magick), but he appeared... lost... as if a part of him had been ripped away. I soon learned that he was one of the legendary Rangers, and that his familiar, a great drake, had been grievously wounded in battle. After further conversation, and sensing only a moderate amount of chaos in Beasty, I decided to offer my help while the drake recovered. Law demands honor, after all, and I was curious to see how a creature of flame would fight.

Speaking of flame, I have recently been rewarded for my efforts on the behalf of Lord Ahrikol with a sword composed of solidified fire; a blade which I can summon at will. This has proven exceedingly useful in these web-laden spider pits. Additionally, I have taken on some peculiar physical traits: my hair and skin are slowly changing color toward the darker end of their normal range, and I have almost no appetite. I am growing concerned that, despite my precautions, my experiments in magick are having unforeseen side effects. I can only hope that Ahrikol will forgive my carelessness and restore me to health, for such is his power.

Gathering ourselves, Beasty and I headed into the corridors of limestone and spider silk. Almost at once, we encountered a particularly huge and grotesque arachnid; it smelled, almost as if it were rotting from the inside. We dispatched it quickly however, and I started to gain some respect for my new companion's prowess in combat. What followed was a seemingly endless stream of spiders of various sizes and types: ice spiders, electrically-charged spiders (as unlikely as *that* sounds), and gigantic spiders of every color. All fell before our blades and my magicks until, rounding a corner, we ran straight into a horde of the beasts, led by a pair of rachnei. These vile creatures I have encountered before, and I have learned to both fear them for their size and vicious temper, and despise them as heartless killers. As we fought the creatures, we were pushed back, back. My spirit was almost exhausted from the previous fighting, and this huge group had caught us unprepared. Beasty cried, "This is the band that hurt poor Bill," (for Bill is what he named his drake; an exceedingly odd name for a giant female lizard). As if the name alone was the key to some obscure magick, Bill herself appeared in a cloud of vapor! With a mighty roar, Bill threw herself into the fight beside us. Beasty appeared to take great courage from the drake's recovery, and threw himself into the fight with a wild yell, flaming fists striking enemies in rapid succession, and his glowing dagger plunging deep into the spiders. This courageous flurry allowed me a moment to recover, and I sent blasts of eskaris and fire toward the rachnei leaders. Still, we were sorely pressed, and even Bill started taking further damage. I steeled myself, and shuddered as I threw out my one remaining magick... necromancy.

Yes. I have secretly been studying these forbidden arts. Well, I say secretly with irony, for no one else in Yevath seems to care what I read or where my experiments lead. Indeed, I almost feel as if some unseen force is encouraging me down these dark paths. But that cannot be true. All I know of Order reinforces my belief that Order defines "good", and Ahrikol is indeed a great force for Order in every respect. As such, his great magicks would never allow true evil to reside within Yevath.

My stomach turned as I spoke the one word of necromancy I had commited to memory. Even before it passed my lips, a dark writhing stream of anti-life burst from my ring and in an instant consumed one of the rachnei. I grew sick at the results, and Beasty exclaimed in horror. Still, we had to fight or die. Bolt after bolt of darkness stole the life from the horde, each bolt coming slightly easier than the last. Beasty and Bill fought heroically, and at last the spiders were defeated. Panting in both exhaustion and revulsion at what I had done, I looked up to congratulate Beasty on his revenge. But the phaethon backed away in disgust, Bill snarling at his side. Lowering my head, I spun and strode away into the darkness.

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