[2004/02] The Madness of Men

[Ziv]

[turbine]

Event Page at Turbine

Coldeve, 15 P.Y.

Quoted Fiction at Turbine

"It's the laughing, you see?" The guard was disheveled. His clothes were torn and bloody, his eyes set deep in their sockets, his skin covered with grit and his hair matted and greasy. He reeked of filth, and smiled to reveal teeth that were stained brown from neglect. He swayed from side to side in constant motion, eyes darting toward the walls of the hall and the shadows cast against them.

Elysa recognized him still through the grime and stenchRoderick Largent, once a member of her castle guard. He had been assigned to investigate the disappearances on Marae Lassel, went missing two months prior, and was found preaching in Zaikhal only a few hours ago. He stood before her now, flanked by two guards who watched him with wary eyes. She felt pity.

"Roderick, where have you been, what did you see?" she asked in a quiet and steady voice, trying to calm him down.

Roderick's eyes locked onto hers. Now his demeanor changedhe stood tall and stopped shifting. No more laughter, no more smile, only ice-blue eyes staring through her. The room seemed to warp; sound and light bent in awkward directions as he began to speak.

"I have seen the end. I have seen the coming of a tide that shall scour the face of this world and wipe clean the prophecies of the golden age. There will be a call to children who were forgotten, buried and lost. Their wrath shall be barbed with poison that courses through the veins of the world, and all shall rot. Auberean is forsaken by the light and so it shall be consumed." He cackled madly, but his lips did not move; his eyes still held hers in place and the room slowly turned dark. "First, there shall be a time of respite. The shadow will creep through its halls, falling silent but working, ever vigilant, while the warped souls of man are drawn closer to its call. The halls of the frozen city will be strengthened, a place of battle shall cull the weak from the land, Ispar will turn against Ispar. The heavens will break and a scream both holy and unholy will shatter a barrier that has long protected us all."

Flames burst up behind Roderick, and his crazed eyes bore through Elysa like knives. The wound in her back throbbed and the sound of blood roared in her ears.

"You ask me what I have seen? I have seen the folly of sending the Lightbringer away. Now the darkness shall grow, unchecked, unabated. You are the architect of this world's demise! Damned is your name!" The laughter began again and Elysa screamed in defiance.

*****

When she woke, Antius placed his hands on her shoulders.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Antius, recall all those investigating the Raven Hand." She touched her hand to one of his as she tossed the covers aside. "I need reports from all the cities, I need to know of anything strange that has happened there, anything that is¬ right." She pulled herself out of bed and moved towards her armor. "Get anyone that we sent to that damned island back here!"

Antius rubbed his face and ran a hand through his hair, "Elysa, where are you going?"

"The city of ice." She looked back at the bed, but he was no longer there. Across the room, he shouldered his armor. Elysa smiled, despite herself. "What are you doing?"

"Coming with you," he said.

"No, I need you to get me those reports, and bring our scouts back home." She strapped on one pauldron, then the other. "I'll take a group of guards with me. Please, Antius."

Antius nodded with resignation. There was no arguing with her once she had made up her mind. But even his confidence in her could not completely erase the worry. Heand Isparhad almost lost her once. "Be careful."

She smiled, "Always."

[Ziv]

[turbine]

Rollout Article

Four days without feeding, four days without wash and four days without any sign of his quarry. He drew a hand through his greasy hair and looked at the shreth beneath his boot. Hardly worth killing, true, but at the moment he would settle for a drudge. He spied the note on a corpse nearby, likely some poor sod who had wandered too near the pack of shreth. Kneeling, he caught the scent of crisp cold air. Snow was coming soon. The letter was odd, but it made him think of the witch. He smiled in spite of the aching pain within his soul and headed north.

*****

"What is it?" Wah Chon asked Ye Te. The two stood outside their shop doorways looking out across the town crossing. Snow fell, obscuring their vision.

"I don't know. I don't think that I want to." There was a long pause. Wah Chon started moving cautiously down the hill.

"What are you doin'?" asked Ye Te.

"I want to know what it is." Wah Chon snapped, startled and nearly leaping into the air. "Stop yelling, you fool!"

Ye Te shook her head. "Remember the last statues that appeared in town. These could be the same," she chided her friend. "Best you wear your armor and prepare to fight."

Wah Chon waved a hand at Ye Te to show her displeasure and stepped closer to the small statue. Her face became pale as she turned to her friend. Ye Te took a step towards Wah Chon, who turned and ran, slipping up the hill. Ye Te spied glowing red eyes and black wings through the snow. She grew pale as well as she retreated into her shop and slid the door closed.

[Ziv]

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from Rollout Article at Turbine

After the eruption of darkness on the island to the southwest, many adventurers assailed the transformed Caul in an attempt to discern its secrets. New horrors were discovered, as were new trophies and rewards. As the reformed Council tries to respond to this new threat, additional dangers seem to be found daily, some much closer to home.

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