The Shadow Deepens and Divides
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 24706
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There were only seven independent fiefdoms east of Allaria and west of
Hespan; Latham, Fenring, Elmeria, Sydathria, Wi'Sdom, Fluerin, and Lux.
Each had persisted through the centuries, through the violent winds of
change, holding steadfastly to their freedom and sovereignty. Not since
the Third Overland Trade War, which had plunged all of Havnheim into the
bloody conflict between Allaria and it's rival Hespan, had any eastern
fiefdoms or duchies been pressured to mobilize it's forces. Never had any
of the 7
proud eastern Fiefdoms swayed to the side of the Shadow. That was all
about to change, first the fiefdoms would fall, the duchies and kingdoms
would follow...
Huddled around a fire were a fat man dressed in finery, as well as his advisor. The spineless sloth was Count Phinneus Fog, the magnate of Fenring, who was desperately greedy and easily swayed by riches. They were parlaying with a man dressed in black ringmail and who wore an armband with a strange sigil; a black serpent devouring a white hand. "I think the arrangement I have offered is more than fair," the man said, his eyes gleaming as he continued to work his deception. "My Master harnesses a power older than the hills, the power you have seen rising in the last few years. The naive and outdated ideals of Good and Evil are now history. You are an enlightened man, my Master knows this. It is individuals like you who will forge the New Age of Man." Count Phinneus, his swollen, bloated head covered in prespiration, began to have misgivings. "Your offer is generous," he said nervously. "But to risk open war with Allaria and the White Hand! I - I don't know if I'm prepared to do that...""If you do not stand with us, then you stand against us," the man replied icilly. "Remember that you do not stand alone. There are a host of powers that will be behind you. In short - join the winning team! Havnheim must be cleansed of the old to make way for the new!" "'A host of powers behind me,'" the Count repeated with a heavy sigh. "Amoung them dark thinges from the underbelly of the Shreken?" The pale man burst into an almost mocking laughter. "Indeed. The wheels of war are turning in the Shreken, that is true. The dark thinges will be cannon fodder in the conflict. What beter way to purge those loathsome monsters than to use them as pawns for a greater cause. The ends justify the means."And so it was that scenes like this played out throughout the east. In the end, four of the seven independant fiefdoms fell to the influence of the Little Girl's fork-tongued ambassadors; Fenring, Wi'Sdom, Fluerin, and Lux. Together they came to form a Confederacy of Eastern Fiefdoms, united by a common cause. To destroy Allaria and it's allies. To destroy the White Hand. Utterly. Some, like Count Fog, were swayed by riches and promises. Others were swayed by fear. They had witnessed the growing omens of darkness, and were too cowardly to defy the rising evil. A black-clad messenger arrives in the capital of Hespan... "I have an offer," said the pale, black-clad man, bearing the sigil of his Master; a black serpent devouring a white hand.The King peered down at the sullen figure with unmasked contempt. "I will not deal with the Shadow," he scorned. "Your web of deceit will not spread it's tangled underworkings in the nation of Hespan." "You have not heard my offer," the pale man replied cooly."And I will not," said the King, his wrath mounting. "Then you die."The King was flustered by this remark, to say the least. "HOW DARE YOU!" he roared, rising to his feet. "No one threatens me within my own Hall! I'll have you hung!" The pale man made a simple hand gesture and the King suddenly fell to his knees, gasping for air. The chamber was strangely empty and silent, there was no sign of guardsmen or advisors. The King hadn't remembered dismissing them. He continued to fight for air and his very life, his lungs paralyzed. His face began to turn a a sickly blue as he stumbled toward the pale man, his sword drawn.Then another figure entered the throne room. A man who was amoung the King's most trusted advisors, Marchavio the Archmage. Marchavio chuckled as he watched his King slowly dying before his eyes. He had been plotting this for years, conspiring with the Shadow he had allied in his youth. "Your time is over, my leige," he said soothingly. "Please do not fight it, you'll only make it harder on yourself. You see, after you die I'm afraid we're going to need your body. My new undead puppet-King of Hespan will need an entact shell to use, so it won't be good if you go injuring yourself with all your flailing about and stumbling. Peace be with you, my leige."The King fell to the tiled floor and ceased all movement, but not before giving his pet tinkerer and alchemist one last, resentful glare before death overtook him. Marchavio leisurely strolled over to the corpse, checking to see if the King had indeed passed on. "It is done," he stated grimly. "So begins the first step..."The pale man came over to the lifeless heap of royalty, a wicked grin crossing his deathly features. "My Master will be most pleased," he stated happily. One of three super powers had fallen (Those powers being Allaria, Aqualaria, and Hespan). Far in the western reaches of Havnheim... Castellan, Dark Heretic of Vjorica, paced the highest chamber of the highest tower within that old, divided city. Even as the Little Girl spread her tentacles of deceit and treachery eastwards, the demi-powers of Hell (a.k.a. Erinye and her forces) and the Unseelie Court of Fey Wood spread it's influence and requisitions to the west. Their main goal, at the moment, was to stop the war before it started. Neither the greater powers of Hell nor those of the Heavens had become aware of the approaching conflict...yet. Both the Demoness Erinye and King Oberon wanted to keep it that way.The sorcerer Castellan had been offered a lucrative deal. His endless pursuit of immortality could finally be achieved. Though he was some 600 years old, the oldest human in Havnheim, his temporal magicks would only be able to prolong his youth. Now he could acheive his ultimate cause. But there was a price. To play the part of a Pretender was not his style! But that was part of the deal. When the Holy Order of the White Hand comes under seige, you are to come to their aid - to the aid of those who have branded you an outlaw. By this you will regain their trust and rise in power. they had told him quite clearly. Repel the Shadow, wherever you see it rising. Keep a watchful eye south, on the Shreken. You will be rewarded greatly, immortality will be yours. Baron Zeitgeist of neighboring Axtun, a shrivled wraith of man (nearly as old as Castellan), had been offered a similar deal. Both Zeitgeist and Castellan had been traditional allies, and together they schemed over the game of deceit they would be forced to play, at least until the Shadow was driven back and the scale of power was balanced again. Not since the destruction of the Great Empire had such an imbalance occurred.A messenger and harbringer of the Shadow arrives in the Court of Anna Flair, Queen of Gana, bearing the sigil of the serpent... "If I invade Gala, it will be on my terms," Queen Anna insisted, never willing to become anyone or anything's pawn. "My terms are quite reasonable," she continued. "I want sole authority of the Gap, of both Gana and Gala. In return I will give your Master tribute. If it's an immediate invasion you want, then I also demand that your Master delivers to me a living dragon egg. Is this acceptable?" The pale messenger pursed his lips and eyed the Queen darkly. "That will suffice, I suppose," he droaned. "My Master will be curious as to why you'd want a dragon egg, though. Very suspicous. Invade Gala and hold the Gap, you will get your land and your egg." Within minutes Queen Anna was readying her army for the sudden invasion of Gala. She would wage a lightning fast incursion, disregarding all of the old niceties of warfare known in Havnheim. This invasion was going to be ruthless and dirty.
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Ib (props to The Traveler, ep. 11025)
3/7/2003 7:06:01 PM
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