Night of Sorrow: Caemlyn & the Quadrodome
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 63566
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The shoggoth was in the outer city of Caemlyn, the walled-in expanse where
the majority of the lower classes lived and worked. The stone and wood
buildings had long ago been made into shops and homes, stables and barns,
into what was necessary to serve the City of the LeigeKing. The shoggoth
looked up into the night sky at the balconies, and – closer to the
citywall – at the platforms of the guardsmen. The monster walked along
streets
of dirt and through a few plazas while making way to its destination.
The Outer Wall had but one main gate, made of iron and timber, and upon it were affixed two huge plates of bronze, one carved with the image of an eagle's head, the other with a lion's fiery mien (the emblems of the royal houses of Alaric and of Exultaine). The shoggoth was not walking towards an exit, however. It was seeking the Inner Wall and the second Gate upon which were burnished bronze panels, their images of sculpted gold and silver filigree, and their story - that of the Kingdom of Allaria. Along the left side of the gate were chronicled the Kings of the line of Alaric, the first king. Along the right side was the line of the House Exultaine. But the shoggoth cared not for stories of the past, it was intent on making a new story, a new tale, intent upon making this night ring with stories and tales and much news of death and destruction and woe. Though the Gate was closed for the night, there were two small gate-doors to each side. They were manned, of course; yet only one guard stood within each gate-house, Allaria was at war with no other kingdom at this time and so its level of alertness was not high. The shoggoth approached the left-sided door; the guardsman called for an identification, in reply the chained axe of the monster shot out and imbedded itself into the startled man’s chest. The brief noise did not reach the guardsman stationed at the right door. And so the shoggoth entered the inner city. It grinned as it smelled the life which surrounded it – this was where the high-born lived, and their servants and retainers and followers. It was here that grand mansions and gorgeous villas stretched out from the thoroughfares behind iron gates and stone balustrades. Wide stairways and overarching bridges led to and from grand ballrooms and exquisite music halls and a myriad other establishments of the finer pursuits in life. No dirt roads here, the streets were paved in smoothed cobblestones and led to the bell’d towers of the master guild halls, to the cerulean domes of the royal courts, and to the summits of the temples to the people's gods. The shoggoth made its way towards one such temple – the Quadrodome of the Siblings. It was so called for this temple, this church, was a perfect cube. Rham and her brother Rhom were the celestial protectors of Allaria, and this was their church. There were many other gods and goddesses in the pantheon that was worshipped in the Great Kingdom, and the divine assembly only grew with those worshipped in other lands – there was Berlin, goddess of might; Wyrde of the Grey; the god Boris, and many more. But for Allarians, and especially those of Caemlyn, the Siblings were adored with a singular delight. And thus the reason for the monster’s approach to the Quadrodome: it would violate this night a symbol of the holiness of this land, the symbol of this people's integrity. As it reached the steps leading up to the unguarded church it thought again of the Daughter Exultaine. In its mind it saw her as chattel, as a whore – but it also saw the woman as a danger, for she had wielded power, if even only briefly. The shoggoth looked towards the girl's castle-home, towards the last great wall of the city of Caemlyn and its last Great Gate. Unlike the other gates this one was not embellished with bronze or silver or gold. Upon its iron-bound door there were no skillfully wrought escutcheons of royal blood or heroic tableaux fashioned in gold and silver. The huge, massively wide gate was unadorned but for two plates of simple steel hammered into the oak and the iron of the imposingly plain portal. And upon the metal placards were emblazoned these words: Vanqua Noro Mir -- Venoro Que Nomas The words were written in the old tongue of the Empire (the original birthing place for the northmen; ancient, long dead, forgotten by many); in the common language of Allaria these words were translated: This far and no farther. It was a boast and a challenge and a warning all at the same time. This far and no farther, for beyond that mighty gate lay the inner sanctum of the King and his family, his mighty castle, his great redoubt, his fortress of stone and steel and iron: The Palatine. The shoggoth smiled, it had already taken up that challenge – and it was certain that, whether this night or in nights to come, it would breach that sanctuary and despoil it with the utmost contempt for all that the Allarians held dear. . . . (description of Caemlyn borrowed from WolfRun's ep. 50181)
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12/9/2006 4:49:24 PM
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