(Incomplete) Winter's dream - The war of elements 1

A figure moved closer to the gates and the guards stirred from their vigil, looking at the figure one lit the black lamp he help and held it up, “greetings warrior, what brings you to this place?”

The figure stopped and looked up at the guards and raised his hand, “a long time since anyone called me that, I come in peace gatekeepers. My name is Thirok of Isaldoor and have come to seek the guidance of your mage council. Please let me pass as I have news for your guard captain also.” The guards looked at one another and the light holder nodded his head, the signal was given and the gate slowly swung inwards to let Thirok in.

Thiro continued in slowly to make sure not to raise any alarms, it was the custom of all Nocturnus travellers to walk so as this was the seat of the council for Mages and their like. Passing the gate threshold he stopped and raised both hands in surrender, an imp jumped from the shadows and started to search him. Satisfied that he was not here in malice it quickly jumped away and withdrew in the shadows, a hooded figure emerged from the shadows and held up a lamp that lit up when it reached the apex. The face of the figure lay in shadows under the hood but Thirok’s was exposed, “I know of you, the captain of wardens spoke of you in my training saying that you were adept with knives and bows. Seeing that you are carrying a sword makes me wonder.”

Thirok smiled at this comment, “he has always been full of tales right up to the ones he spoke of winning the East Garden Wars single handed.” The hood was slowly taken back and a face of an elven lady shone through, “I think he would have laughed head off knowing what you just said, welcome and please forgive us for the secrecy. The council has been suffering from thinning ranks of late and this is the last bastion they have.”

“There is no need for that and besides that is why I have come in this night. Please take me to the captain first as that meeting is more urgent than the latter.”

Thirok was motioned to follow and a signal was given to extinguish all light, the dark as it were was not absolute as the trees around glowed faintly to allow the practiced to see through the night. Nocturnus was the only place in the realm where trees were their own source of light, the magic that lay within the forest had worked its way to the very leaves making it a forest of the enchanted. Thirok knew this place well form his early days as a soldier in the ranks of King Rijk the Fifteenth, he was then a ranger trainee for the wars of South Forkel Borders. Things were unusually quiet as he followed his guide, unable to speak he held his tongue till he got to a door that was carved into a trunk of a giant Paij tree. These trees grew taller that many castle towers if left and had a thick trunk to match, here they were used as guard posts and gateways to the underground passages.

Walking into the walkway Thirok saw greeted with utter darkness, it took a moment to adjust but before he could a lamp was light by the guide and motioned him to follow. “Tell me something, you have the best archers in the lands and yet you are trying to hide.”

“The new enemy uses the sky as a road, by keeping the dark absolute we have been able to misdirect them in many occasions. The mages have been moved to the underground sanctuaries because of this, and at this moment are in deep discussion what will be done. Our arrows do little to hinder the enemy so the Captain has ordered us to remain in the shadow lest the enemy learns of our true weakness.”

The journey took them to an underground lake where he was met by two more elves who were waiting on a boat. Thirok stood at the pier and waited as his guide spoke to the boatmen. Looking around there not much to see as the darkness was absolute beyond the light of the lamps. What he did make out was the boat which was elegant but simple in construct, it was carved out of a branch of the Paij tree so made for a strong and durable boat. The guide turned to face Thirok and motioned for him to get on, she however remained but spoke “they will take you the undercity and one will guide you to the captain. I need to return to my post. Fiweah lorthia [farewell and hope for light]”

“Kirq elihg tunr [to guide and protect].” Reposnded Thirok with a raised hand, the guide smiled at this and waited as the boat moved away. Thirok looked on as they moved towards the river entrance, the feeling of unease never left him even as he reach this place, the court mage had sent him with the messages on the invading armies from the west. Assassinations in the kingdom were getting worse as anyone who was loyal to the king were systematically being killed. It was worrying for the senate and this was also causing unrest in the towns as question of the king’s hold on the kingdom were filling the streets.”

Thirok hated leaving his post but it had to be done as there were very few capable of crossing the Roqir desert and fewer trustworthy for this mission. The captain had given him the letter to pass on here when he heard of this and also gave his blessings “the gods are silent right now and I feel as though they have seen what is to come and hide in fear for it, if we are to hold off the impending war we may need council’s aid.”

The word rang through his mind as travelled alone through the kingdom and deserts and still did, the war that was coming looked to end this age and usher a darker one some say but there was no time for this. The boat rocked gently as joined the stream and meandered it way to the intended destination, the elf at the helm used his mind to guide it while the one at the back used his to push the boat, the need for oars was eliminated and the use of two helped in times of ambush. Thirok sat in attention ruminating on the reports he read about the western army. They spoke of weapons that used water to propel spikes further than any arrow imaginable and other types of siege weapons that brought the fear of defeat to many wounded soldiers who were brought back from the west. This and the assassination along with the rumours gave a reason to the army to loose morale. Things were getting much more fragile after whispers of killings of mages reached the senate, the council was now very nervous and spoke of surrendering rather than standing against the oncoming army. The king was getting older by the day having to hear all this and as the captain spoke was also becoming paranoid, there were incidences of the king killing a few servants stating that they were trying to kill him.

All these thoughts helped occupy Thirok’s mind as the journey took the better part of the night, they kept going deeper into the tunnels and occasionally roots would protrude from the roof. The guide would call out for any roots that might reach the boat and all would have to duck rather that get slapped over board. This added to the security of the place as some roots were poisonous even to touch.

Finally they reached the entrance to the undercity and the guide raised a lantern he had under his seat. Another lamp shone from the distance as they got closer and a voice called out “Molor peghin jukghe? [Has the light guided you here?]”

“Ilor sheruk thied [The light has given me the path]” with that the boat moved closer to the entrance and entered. Inside the place was well illuminated and Thirok saw battlements he had not seen before, the place was fortified in every way possible as walls were built where there could and stakes driven where there was room for them. There were guard on ever post aiming a crossbow at the moving boat. This was unsettling at first but feeling of being in watched unnerved him further.

The boat was docked the single dock that was there and to meet him were two guard, one with a cross bow and the other a fighting pole. They looked sternly at Thirok and kept their distance incase he tried to attack any one. Slowly he got up and raised his hands and waited for the command to disembark from the boat. A call was made from the gate and bowman motioned him to get out and follow the guards. He walked along the uneven pier till he reached the end where there was a gate to enter the guard post. There he found an old friend, the Archer’s Commander, Jogertia of Innous and he looked pleased but at the same time held his stern gaze. The two guards quickly moved to close the gates and got back to their posts. “These are troubled times old friend, I hope the journey did not weaken your resolve.”

“The incidences at home alone are good enough to weaken them but I have held strong, I see that you have been busy with the place.”

This was Jogertia finally smiled, “yes, I have been working with the Rechneq colony to build many fortifications here. They are good workers and need no supervision once left to build, I am tired and the news I get from home make me even more. Come let us walk to the city and tell me what I have not yet heard.”

The then began their journey to the city which was an hour’s walk through a maze of catacombs, the catacombs were an anomaly as they were a hive built by the insect like Rechneqs. The under sity was formally built as a nesting area but several thousands of years ago they abandoned them and migrated to the hills where they created a new and more elaborate hive, at peace with the mages since the mages could communicate to them in their language the Rechneq served as unofficial builders and gaurds to Nocturnus. Moving from one tunnel to another bot soldiers spoke of news heard from different parts of the realm.

“The ruler of the eastern kingdom of Keyain has started massing troups in hopes to fight the new invaders and has asked Innous to join him, my people see this as an advantage since we have no proper army only farmers and merchants. What I do not understand is that the king of the glass castle has withdrawn from the entire war summit, your kingdom is also being watched carefully ever since the talks of monarch going mad. I do not understand what is really going on.”

Thirok looked ahead and thought what to say, “my king may have been poisoned because before the news of attack he was in good health but after the spate of assassinations of his allies in the court and city things started to wear away his mind. The army is faring far worse, those that have come from the war at the western border have been spreading rumours that the enemy is using cannons that you can hold with one hand to fire at the enemy and in some places a cannon that acts like a bow which shoots many arrows in the time it takes our best archer to fire two arrows. They say that the army uses water and steam to do all this not magic, this has troubles my ArchMage Julius, he sent me here and so did the captain of the guard. The journey was quiet as people were keeping to themselves in fear of the coming army.”

Jegertia looked troubled from hearing all this and kept it to himself, this news would kill a lot of morale for the soldiers here so it would be best that such information be kept at a minimum. The mages however were bickering over the farseers visions and this has forced him to use an iron fist to keep some of them in check. Because of the magic that was within the earth itself the side effect to it was that it cancelled out the magic once under the earth so the council hall was considered free from magic and any riotous act by any mages could be quelled by use of force by a guard if needed. Jogertia was also getting wary as the rumours of poisoning and assassination were coming through the halls and walkways of the undercity, news from murdered acquaintances were making an already nervous situation to deadly as news of a mage helping the invading army was circling the hall.

Thirok looked at his friend and spoke, “you look far more worried than me my old friend.”

“Yes… indeed. News that you will bring may add to the fire I’m afraid and with my forces stretch to their limits will not help morale. I am truly tired right now but know that I must keep on or we lose the sanity that still hold by a thread.”

As they walked the seemingly empty corridors Thirok asked about the queer need for darkness above, “sadly we have been attacked a few times by the scouting fleet of flying ships a few times and though did little damage the need to move everyone to the undercity was deemed the best strategy. The mages agreed and we decided to keep to the dark as this helped confuse the scouting ships on where exactly to attack. We have tried all the usual ways to attack and few ever get any results. The only way we could hempen the attackers is to use ballistae with fire arrow, but because they can be seen from above we have to cover them and attack at the very last moment, the canons they use are far more accurate and have caused a number of casualties.” Thirok stood amazed that the army had already made its way here even though their progress on ground has been slow.

They came to a great door that led to the city and here they were hailed by a hidden guard, Jogertia responded and the doors opened to reveal a wonder of a city. Built on and around the roots of the oldest tree the undercity was a marvel to beheld, houses were connected by well-built passage ways, a legacy of the Rechneq, and ledges held the homes of the inhabitants. The place looked massive as if the people looking were the size of ants, the central point of the place was the massive tree trunk that was used as a support of the entire place. The trunk was bigger than what was above the ground due to the magic repository, as magic used mana to move the tree was like a massive sponge absorbing it before it could get any further. The side effect of the tree was that magic could not be used here as it would be absorbed before it could get anywhere. Thirok looked at the place in awe even though he had been here numerous times, the scale is what struck him as even the massive palace at home felt dwarfed by this.

“It never fails to amaze me how you always look around like a child coming here for the first time. Come Thirok of Isaldoor we must report as soon as possible as the news you bring are grave indeed.”