Changes

Fan fiction:Compendium of the Orue Agea

10,694 bytes added, 03:01, 16 February 2011

updated with two more parts

====~~Part IV:~~ Prophecy and Condemnation====

</center>

I now return to the prophecy above mentioned. The seer spoke the words “Two suns, one black one golden; two souls, one to condemn one to redeem.” Curiously, this prophecy was spoken in Modern Tongue, which I write in now but was considered vulgar at said time, and contains double meanings. “Suns” could be heard as “Sons” while “Souls” could be “Sols” –Ancient Tongue for “Suns.” This double meaning is intended to tie to importance of the sun symbol of perfection to the inner philosophical sun within man’s soul –a child or “son” of truth. By my own belief, the Son of the Black Sun was Tauch, who by his greed unintentionally revealed our highest secrets to the Burning Hells and set their plans in motion. He condemned the Orue Agea and even the world with his actions, yet according to prophecy the Son of the Golden Sun would yet redeem us of our failure. This pivotal event involves much deception and tragedy –I hope to properly convey this story in my next writing.

====Twins of Destiny====

</center>

Some three-hundred years prior to my writing this, the longest peace of the Mage Clan Wars was consumed by the savage inferno of Horazon and Bartuc’s uprising. Empowered by demonic magic, these two Vizjerei mages desired to rise above all other mages and even bring the demons to their control. The violence escalated to complete war when the two turned on each other: Horazon only wished to control demons, while Bartuc wanted to become like one. Their disagreement resulted with Bartuc joining the forces of Hell and fighting against his brother. The war was more than one-sided as the mage clans also began to fight themselves as well as the demons, each seeking dominance just as in conflicts passed. The battles eventually encroached on Melatras, with some mages seeking to study from the Library of Cedurnem to learn new techniques to use against their enemies and others attempting to persuade the Orue Agea to align with them. The Guiding Body refused to take part in the war through any means, which led many of the clans to declare enmity against the society.

Allow me to take this time to detail the circumstances involved in the attacks on Melatras, first beginning with the Guiding Body of the time. My thoughts first turn to Niyma Nadeo. She was a tall, slender woman with skin dark as deepest night and a hard visage that belied her kind nature. She was naturally empathic; she could sense and understand the emotions, behaviors and thoughts of those around her. In the deepest debates, she served as a master mediator and bound the Guiding Body together. Eltus Debal was a pleasantly plump man with fair complexion and short, curly red hair. He understood the flow of life energy; thus, he oversaw the agriculture of the city and cared for the nature environment around. Tsul-queng-sha was an elder lady of greatest honor and finesse. The many years behind her had given her face the semblance of carved wood and her pure white hair arrayed behind her like a waterfall. None of her time knew more of the body’s form or function better than she, for she was a head healer of the Restoration Center.

Jabir ibn Khalid al-Sadiq was a dignified man with brown skin, a neatly trimmed goatee, and intricate robes that lied upon the various tools her always kept about him. Through his imagination and intuition, he guided the engineering and architecture of the city. A natural mathematician, he designed new astonishing buildings to replace those that had fallen into disuse and therefore to function more efficiently than before. Kusunoki Zhang was a warrior at heart, his muscled form the result of countless years of perfecting technique with the blade. He had black hair and fair brown flesh, and was a master of meditation and the art of focusing body and mind. Often he claimed his greatest weapon to be the mind and oversaw training in the martial arts and swordplay. Fen-rah Vost was a tall, gaunt man of flushed complexion and yellow hair that served as the High Librarian. His focus was on arcane magics and natural mysteries, having learned to even manipulate objects with his mind alone. He was always a distant man, even with his own family –such was the nature of his inward mind.

Scoewyn Hethra was well built with chestnut hair, skin like snow and a smile that ease the hottest tempers; his emerald eyes missed nothing and gave off even less to others. He saw the connections between things: action and consequence, past and future, one person and another. This ability made him an excellent swordsman, being able to glimpse moves to come, and even make important choices that would greatly affect the future. A deep sense of morality instilled in him the need to insure the fairness and justice of the Guiding Body’s actions. During his younger, traveling days, Master Hethra had discovered twins that he foresaw would have great importance to the events of the world –though he was not sure how. He brought them to Melatras to train their talents and to allow them to reach for a greater destiny.

The boy, Sri-Kurah, had jet-black hair and hardened tanned skin that showed the years of honest labor in fields. He was a natural leader: charismatic, strong-will, brave, and of a simplistic mindset. He always watched over his sister with loving diligence, comforting and protecting her during the months after they left their home when she had trouble adjusting to their new life. As he grew into a young man he became the apprentice of master Hethra, learning to hone his bladework and to be a leader of men. His sister, Sri-Ajota, had equally illustrious black hair and beautifully supple skin. Her inquisitive mind led her to study the arcane arts under master Vost, her own studies eventually surpassing his own in certain areas. She soon fell in love with his son, Ilseun Vost, who was an expert metallurgist and studied with Sri-Kurah under master Hethra. A light-hearted young man of sandy-blond hair and quick wit, he quickly became Sri-Kurah’s best friend; the two treated each other as brothers even as they crossed blades in intense –yet always amicable –competition. The brother and sister were natural prodigies in their areas and along with Ilseun were expected to eventually take places on the governing body. Allow me rest and time to compose my thoughts before continuing, even now my joints ache from writing.

====Times of Trouble====

</center>

Their peaceful lives were shattered when Bartuc sent his armies to occupy Melatras and forcibly take the Orue Agea’s knowledge for his own use. Whatever remained human in Bartuc had slowly perished under the demon power that enveloped him –leaving him a truly loyal leader of demon armies and twisted cultists. Their soldiers marched on the city: vicious demons, mad cult followers and possessed wild beasts. With a savagery the city had never known, the army layed siege to its defenses through blade, machine and magic. Catapults launched from afar flaming amalgamations of corpses and festering feral demons to spread chaos. Swarms of vile creations spewed through the streets while wicked spellcasters unleashed unspeakably evil incantations upon the inhabitants. To the horizon there was only bloodied weapons, ravenous maws, and the look over murderous anticipation in the eyes of thousands. Yet they were met with fierce, unyielding resistance by those that would not give in to their terror. Though much death and pain was wrought on the city, the invaders finally withdrew after much loss to both sides. Perhaps most grievous of these losses was that of Ilseun who bravely stood with his warriors against the invaders to keep them from the Citadel –his sacrifice rallied the peacekeepers to fully repel the invaders from their beloved lands. Bartuc went on to ravage the world with his insatiable bloodthirst, eventually falling by the hand of his own brother. Although saved from invasion, a spirit of unease and despair fell upon Melatras, the scars of war ever fresh in the minds of the people. Many had lost their lives in the chaos and more families had been sundered by maddening slaughter.

Sri-Ajota never fully recovered from the lost of her love, and lost herself in grief and her studies of the arcane ties of reality. Meanwhile, her brother took a more active role in the protection of the city, determined to ensure that such an invasion never took place again. He attempted to comfort her in her pain, but she grew detached and became almost obsessed with her research. It appears she pushed the boundaries of the soul and mortal energies further than anyone before –perhaps hoping to somehow regain the love she had lost in death. To do so, she would have to learn how to lastingly bind a spirit from another realm to our world, for Ilseun was truly no longer of this world. But the one who felt the loss most of all was Fen-rah, his mind seemingly deranged by the death of his son. He became more and more secluded and ill tempered, disappearing for days at a time within the library and always refusing to say what he sought there. Over a few years Sri-Ajota could not fail to see something deeply wrong with her old master –beyond grief –thus she began to secretly study his behavior. I cannot yet say how it was exposed, but Sri-Ajota made a startling discovered: Fen-rah, in his grief and desperation, had been slowly corrupted and possessed by a demon.

Maybe it was her studies of reality or her closeness to her master that allowed Sri-Ajota to perceive the wicked spirit that had clouded his mind –of this I shall reveal later. Regardless, she revealed to her brother the true nature of the city’s despair: the demon was a Nightmare, a first-hand creation of Diablo, the Lord of Terror, himself. The Nightmares, a deadly breed of what is known in the Western lands as the Hidden, were formless demons that preyed on the fears of mortals and twisted their minds. Sri-Kurah stormed into the Citadel and confronted Fen-rah in the council chambers before the entire Guiding Body. Enraged at being discovered prematurely, the demon revealed himself as Run Azar and charged Sri-Kurah. Run Azar was the leader of the Nightmares and one of Diablo’s most trusted lieutenants; his name alone brought fear to the minds of mortals. The two enraged in a fierce duel, with the Guiding Body barely able to protect themselves, much less assist. The demon lashed out with the mystic powers of his host body and the hell-fury spells of his true nature –all the while demonstrating masterful swordplay. The damage to the Citadel was extensive, Sri-Kurah doing all he could to protect the others as well as attack the demon. Yet he was unwilling to murder the father of his best friend, withdrawing from a killing blow several times and trying to reason with Fen-rah. His hesitation at last took its toll, as Run Azar disarmed and prepared to kill him. Ignoring his own safety, he pleaded with Fen-rah to remember his son and to fight the demon’s control. Sri-Kurah reached Fen-rah at last, who resisted Run Azar’s control just long enough to apologize to Sri-Kurah and whisper his son’s name…then plunge the sword into his own heart. Run Azar, suddenly bereft of body, attacked Sri-Kurah’s mind and attempted to possess him; but the man’s indomitable will would not yield to his control and forced him out. Determined to succeed in his mission, he rallied the other Nightmares that had infiltrated the city and attacked the Orue Agea from within –cloaked in incorporeal shadow.

Holyknight3000

2,918

edits