Things Fall Apart

"These are no terrified peasants! This is an illusion of the Dragon!" But some doubt seemed to have entered Fred's voice. He stopped and seemed to grasp about for words. Irena remembered that even in Allaria one of the first things schoolchildren were taught was a spell to determine illusion from reality. Eventually, it came to him, and the peasants cowered back as Fred uttered the mystic words. This puzzled Irena. After all, this spell was almost universally known.

Fred was confused. "This... seems... real. But.. but why are we here? We were in the Dragon's caves mere moments ago! " He wasn't sure this was real. But as he began to think (however painful it was), he decided that he would rather fall before the Dragon than kill innocents. So he reluctantly sheathed his sword. He heard the murmur of the peasants die down a little bit, but could still hear a strong undercurrent of terror. The murmur was then drowned out by the hooves of horses. This could only mean that the guard were coming. Frederigo instinctively reached for his sword, but knew that even he could not defeat trained soldiers blinded. Frustration over his helpless state began to course through him.

He then heard the gasp of Irena. "What is it?" he asked.

"Fred... those soldiers... their armor is five hundred years old!"

This had not been a good day for Father Benedict de Vere, head of the Sacred Order of the White Hand. The books in his imposing chamber were in disorder, as he had not had time to reorganize them for far too long. He was losing on all fronts.

After the great crisis with Horkus the Wicked, many in Allaria had been inclined to have anyone who displayed magic ability burned at the stake. Pope Quentin the Fourth had sided with them at first, but backed down for two reasons. First, many were afraid that the magicians of Vjoirca would declare war on Allaria as a result. This would surely lead to a Vjorican civil war which would drag many other nations in and become long and painful. Secondly, Father Eusebius of the White Mountain had spoken out against it. He had stated that magic users were people, not demons, and ought to be kept under tight rein but not destroyed. Anyone else who said such things would have been ignored or, more likely, killed as a wizard himself; but Eusebius had built up quite a reputation for saintliness and many in Allaria would hearken to his voice.

As a result, the Holy Order of the White Hand was created. Of course, its head would not be a sorceror himself, as that would look very suspect. Father Benedict--a man with no talent for sorcery but a great deal of talent for administration--would be set up as its head. That had been more than twenty years ago. At that time, it had seemed to him that getting the Order established and gaining the acceptance of the people was a difficult task, but possible. Now, he felt otherwise.

Unsurprisingly, not every sorceror would submit to the White Hand and its harsh penalties for any practicioner of black magic. Many fled to Hespan, where restrictions on sorcery were still fairly loose, and became allies of the dread Archmage Oberon. Still others became rogue mages, terrorizing the kingdom. There were actually far less rogue mages then there had been, but their hatred of the White Hand meant that they often allied with each other and their attacks were much more concerted. This was one of the reasons why the Quester's Guild had been formed.

Then, just as it seemed that these obstacles might be surmounted, Eusebius died under what many thought were suspicious circumstances. It had been exactly three years before the coming of the Millennium. Most sensible people knew that it was just a measurement of time, but to the peasants it seemed like the end of the world. People were looking for antichrists everywhere, and the White Hand seemed like a convenient target. Even some nobles seemed to feel that way, which was why Eusebius-- who was considered one of the few voices of reason on this issue--had been assassinated. King Gerard now feared that the mages of the Kingdom once more would feel that they could not coexist with normal humans, but his solution--to have them all put to death--would surely only make things worse.

1. Now two seeming demons had come out of nowhere. Surely many would see this as another sign of the End Times. What would become of this?
2. Meanwhile, far to the west...
3. The cityfolk, alarmed by the strangeness they had witnessed and the savagery of the man had already begun to gather in larger numbers....

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