The Eternal Palace: First Face ~Aldym Zorastryl

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 7:26 pm

Timestamp: Samheen 22th Morningtide
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Aldym's eyes were open. There was no recollection of waking up, no slowly rousing oneself from slumber. Simply a sudden realization that he was staring at something. His last clear memory was being picked by the old man after climbing the wall, but there was a nagging feeling. A sensation of having woken up before, but being too tired to understand it.

A horrible wailing could be heard from the outside, something no natural thing could have made. There was a crackling sound nearer, made by the fire. He was in a cave, a rather small one, but still large enough to protect him and the fire from the storm outside. Something was covering him, something made by the same thing than the cloak, but much larger. A few fish were on a wooden disk next to him. His clothes were at the by the fire, the blade resting on top of them.

Still, all this seemed secondary to Aldym. At the entrance of the cave, a huge figure loomed. Most of it was covered by shadows, but it's head could be seen, slowly chewing on something larger than man. It could only a bear, a white one, but it was the larger than any bear Aldym had ever even imagined.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 5:44 am

Aldym looked at the great onstrosity outside the cave, marvelling at it's huge frame - then his sense of self-preservation kicked in and he looked at his priorities. He shrugged off his covering and reached for his clothes, dressing as quietly as possible. He estimated that the bear was too large to get into his cave, but made sure his rapier was loose in it's sheath once he buckled it on, just in case - not that he expected the weapon to be much good against the monstrosity outside. He sat down next to the fire and reached for the fish, munching hungrily whilst he watched the huge form outside his shelter.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 11:04 pm

The bear watched Aldym move with eyes which practically yawned. Sitting there, it was impossible to deny that there was an intelligence behind those eyes. There was a shrill sound, one that send a chill through his back before he realized that before that, he had not been cold. It wasn't simply the fire, although it helped. Just, somehow, it was like at that moment he was unable to experience cold.

There was something else in the shadows, he could see it now as his eyes started to grow comfortable with the light there. A black mass, parts of it, similar to the creature that had attacked them by the coast. Only much, much larger. It might have even inspired fear, were it not torn to pieces with dark red blood splattered all around the entrance.

It, the word bear did little justice to the creature, lifted it's head and glanced outside, before once again returning it's attention to Aldym.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 11:36 pm

Aldym finished the fish and stood, checking he had everything, then walked towards the cave enterance and looked up at the huge bear-creature again - once again noting the intelligence in it's eyes. He was somewhat emboldened by his apparent immunity to the freezing temperatures and looked it in the eye,

"My name is Aldym Zorastryl."

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 6:04 pm

It seemed indifferent to Aldym's words, simply keeping it's eyes fixated on him. There was no fear or concern in them, then again it was hard to think of a way how he could have hurt it in any way. Not many flickers past before it suddenly looked to it's right, then slowly retreated from the entrance of the cave, showing the outside for the first time.

It was raining snow, so much of it that one could not see farther than a few paces outside. A figure appeared out of the darkness, dragging something behind it. Only after it reached the entrance could Aldym make out what it was.

"So you're finally awake." The old man let go of the male body, drapped in some sort of primitive armor, as he approached the fire.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 6:11 pm

Aldym nodded to the man, keeping his suspicions to himself, then knelt down to inspect the body his guide was dragging,

"So, where are we headed next then?"

Between discovering his inner power and his current apparent immunity to the deadly cold of these lands, Aldym was rather more confindent in his task - beginning to accept the bizarre chain of events that had taken him from the University of Magic to this icy cave.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:05 pm

The man grouched by the fire, holding out his hands.

"Well, first you take the armor and clothes off that man over there and put them on. It took me ages to find one of them that was your size and have him ambush me. Good thing that only trainees come here at this time. One of the senior warrioirs and that might have even been a bother." The cave shook as something could be heard crashing to the land. Neither the man or the bear seemed to care.

"By the way, that's Whitey. Agreed to watch over you as I went looking." The man took a fish and started to devour it. "So-" He spoke before taking the final bite. "Now you've got to decide which one of the Three you want to meet and whetever it's worth it. And trust me, it isn't going to get easier."

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 3:26 pm

Aldym stripped the body and gave 'Whitey' a nod of appreciation as he donned the dead man's clothes and armour. Then he sat as the old man finished the fish,

"So, what are my options?"

The young sorcerer was suprisingly calm, the shock of the frankly bizarre events of recent days had numbed him to the prescence of the Selkies and the enormous Whitey - though it has to be said that stripping a corpse of all it''s belongings wasn't exactly new to the Dortman.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 1:23 pm

There was a sound as Whitey tore another piece of the selkie corpse.

"Well, don't see the point of telling their names. Don't think they will mean much to you." The man leaned backwards, scratching his head. "So, you have to choose which element you want to learn."

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 3:53 am

It took Aldym a little while to reply, images of his meeting with The Shadow beneath the University of Magic,

"I was sent here by The Shadow beneath the University. I was looking for the power of Ice."

He looked around and gave a rueful bark of laughter,

"Looks like It sent me to the right place."

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 7:50 pm

"It sends them all here, no matter which one seeks." The man rubbed his beard once more. "Ice, eh. That'd be Lisandra. I'd say you could have chosen a nicer one, but none of them are that pleasant. Still, to see her we have to go to the Eternal Palace and that ain't going to be easy. First of all, we have to go past them." As if it had been ordered, the ground shook once more.

"Whitey." The bear growled. "Mind cleaning up the Pathway to Eternity." The bear didn't seem to react. "Good. Thanks. Want to rest some more or are you ready to go."

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 2:50 am

Aldym nodded, scooping his own clothes into the fur he'd been lying on and tying it into a travelling bundle, then he went to the dead fire and smeared ashes all along his rapier blade- to prevent it freezing in the scabbard. That done the Dortman stood up and smiled thinly,

"Let's go see Lisandra."

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 8:33 am

The old man glanced at Aldym, then sighed.

"The young, always in such a rush." He stood up, flexing his fingers. "Whitey, do try to be on time." The bear didn't react, just continued to eat. The man drew the cloak around him tightly, then looked at Aldym. "Be careful out there. Although it may feel like your immune to cold, you just don't feel it. It doesn't mean that it isn't there and I would hate to have gone through all this trouble only to have you keel over frozen before we get there."

The man walked out, stopping to look at the sky at cave entrance, as a scream of inhuman origin pearced the air once more, this time so hard that for a moment it felt as if Aldym's ear's would start to bleed.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 7:42 am

Adlym covered his ears, then flashed the old man a slightly crazed grin,

"The locals certainly do how to throw a party don't they?"

He stepped out of the cave and looked around for a moment, waiting for the old man to set off,

"So, what's this Lisandra like then? You seem to know everyone around here."

The Dortman pulled the stolen furs tighter around him as he spoke, committing his elderly guide's advice about the temperature to memory.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 10:52 am

The old man started to walk off in the blizzard, holding the cloak tight to his body. Aldym had to keep near him at all times to hear his voice, something nod aided by the growing sounds of battle between... somethings from the heart of the island.

"Lisandra, well she's one of the Three. That would tell you a lot if you knew what that meant. She's someone older than most things have a right to be and too powerful for be comfortable with. Little patiance for fools, take that as you may." The earth shook once more. "Have you noticed by the way-" The old man suddenly stopped and looked around carefully, then continued on as if nothing had happened.

"That you've asked me about the island and the Three once, then gave up without asking again? Found it interesting and left pondering if you really just didn't care or if your lust for power is that great that you don't pay attention where you're seeking it. Either of those sound good to you?"

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 11:20 am

Aldym thought carefully before answering his guide,

"A man at the University once asked me how far I was willing to go to gain power. I said I was willing to dance with the devils, but they wouldn't take my soul."

He adjusted the ill-fitting furs before continuing,

"I might have only asked once, but I've thought a lot. Asking questions can often tell others more about you than you gain from their answers. It's odd you know - that man seemed to offer so much when I met him, but I was on some foolish errand of his when the Shadow found me and sent me here. It seems to me that perhaps that man and this Lisandra were once of a kind. Now he's in a musty room in the University hiding where whatever power he has comes from and Lisandra...."

The younger of the trudging pair swung one hand expansivly at the scenery,

"Lisandra has this. I think somewhere Lisandra took a risk that my old Proffessor couldn't stomach. He lords over the students and the common people sure but this, this is real power."

He looed quizzically at the old man and smiled faintly,

"And you? You're far more than any normal man your age has a right to be. Would you leave here now, even if you could?"

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 9:59 pm

The old man was quiet for the longest time, simply moving ahead. After some time Aldym realized they were going upwards on a hill and slowly, through the thick blizzard, silhouttes of mountains could be seen and something else. Ahead something rose to the sky, something which disappeared farther in to the clouds than anything he had ever even imagined. It could not have been anything made by nature, it's shape towerlike.

"My son was two when I landed here." The old man's voice was distant. "He could be dead already, my wife certainly is, and even if he isn't, who am I to him? No one. I have nothing to go back to, even if I had a chance. I'm what this island made me, something that doesn't belong anywhere else. There's nothing glorious about that. If you'd ask me that question even thirty yahrens ago, I would have been gone in a flicker." There was a great rumble from the heart of the island and as Aldym glanced at it's direction, something could be seen at the horizont. Something burning.

"As for the man who sent you on that task, I doubt that they were ever a like. There's something you have to understand, the Three, they're old. Really old. They were came here on the behalf of the First Kingdom, among the most powerful even then, and were forgotten for some reason. I doubt there's anyone around anymore who could be compared to them. If they decided to join, they could probably take the whole Isles without breaking a sweat. If they could sweat anymore." The light at the horizont was moving. For it to be seen here, it had to be huge.

"What I am trying to make you understand here is that they don't look at power the same way you do or that fellow you mentioned. They are power, it isn't something they seek, but how have they spend these years. By sitting here and sending those toys at each other. Lisandra won't care about your soul or what you would sacrifice in seeking what you seek, that's all insignificant. To her, your insignificant."

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:40 am

Aldym stayed mostly silent, but inside his mind was spinning - Lisandra was a hold-over from the First Kingdom? He pondered that for a minute or two, but that cold, hard icicle at his core began pushing his mind in other directions - even if Lisandra and her neighbours were of hte First Kingdom, they had still been mortal men and women once. Like Aldym. He couldn't hide a smile as he made the link and realisation struck him like a hammer between the eyes - the power these First Kingdom relics were guarding, it must be as old as them or older, certain the Shadow had seemed truly ancient. If he succeeded, would Aldym wield the power of a First Kingdom sorcerer? If that was the case, what could stand in his way? If the Three had used that power to become immortal scions of the magical arts, why not he?

He broke from his reverie and pointed to the huge tower that rose out of the mists some distance before them,

"The Eternal Palace?"

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 9:30 pm

"No. That's the Sky's Edge. When they were the Four, the fourth lived there." The ground was getting steeper. "We're going to use the path from there to go ahead, otherwiser we'll have to climb the ravine and you couldn't do that." He hopped ahead, avoiding a weak spot in the snow in which Aldym stumbled.

"After that, we have to get through those." He pointed at the horizont, where the large light was moving faster now and a great howl pierced the air. "And then you have to do exactly what I say. Alright?"

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Aug 18, 2005 8:29 am

Aldym nodded, recovering from his stumble and trudging on after his guide,

"So what happpened to the fourth then?"

He looked up ahead at Sky's Edge, and beyond to where the Three's huge creatures waged their battle. He hoped Lisandra's one was winning - it might put her in a more approchable mood. He cleared his throat, and resumed the conversation,

"So, we go past Sky's Edge, then to the Eternal Palace - where Lisandra lives - then to the Lion's Heart. Am I right?"

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Aug 18, 2005 9:06 pm

"If you make it, yes." The old man glanced up at the great tower. "As for the Fourth, before my time. But if you ask me, he happened to himself." The man stopped suddenly and it took a moment Aldym to realize that they were standing on a smooth path. The man started to walk down on it.

"So, what are you going to do once you get what you seek?"

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 9:10 am

"Once I find what I'm loking for here? Then I'll search for the Second Face. How I'll leave here I don't know yet, but I think that the Shadow might be taking care of that, same as It brought me here."

He stepped onto the path and began to follow his guide again,

"So, what do you know of this Lisandra then?"

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 8:34 pm

"You didn't understand the quest-" The wind picked once more, if Aldym could have felt the cold he might have curled up at that moment. Talk was impossible, all the sounds they made simply drowned in to the storm. So they just trudged along the path.

The burning figure came larger and larger as they got closer to it. Aldym had seen it from afar, but it had been difficult to imagine how large it truly was. It's height was at least fifteen paces and by figure it was like a man, it's shoulders width being three to four paces. It burned, a mass of flames that moved, a dark human-like skeleton visible through the fire. The mouth of it's skull was slighty open, it could be seen from even a great distance away, like it was eternally cackling. The holes were it's should have been, the fire there was different, darker.

It was struggling with something, a pale long vine-like thing, which was wrapped around it. It had to be at least twentyfive paces long to be able to have tied it in that manner, from bottom to top. It was a miracle the burning thing had not toppled yet.

"Understand now how they are. These are simply toys to them." The old man's voice could be heard again.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:39 am

Aldym nodded slowly,

"Impressive, very impressive."

His hand drifted down to rest on the hilt of his rapier, more out of habit than thought, as they walked slowly but steadily down the pathway. Then a thought occured to him,

"And Whitey? What of your ursine friend?"

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 12:42 pm

"Hopefully he will have cleared the beach by the time we get there, I'm in no mood of holding off Selkies. He's a bit lazy" As they moved along the path, Aldym realized that they were on a bridge of some sort. It was an easy thing to miss, it was extremely wide and the raining slow did little to improve visibility. Yet, it was there, with the ground visibily almost giving away several paces to his side.

Otherwise the surroundings remained the same as they got closer to the burning giant. A few dark trees, a lot of snow and a hilly ground. Always in the horizont there were dark figures, shapes of mountains.

"This might a problem." The old man spoke again, sounding extremely concerned, as they got nearer the struggling pair. They were still at least a marker away from them, but the man started to look around for something. "I don't see Kerensk's creation. This is bad, really bad."