We have a three way tie, so I have chosen to open voting for ten days. You have one vote this time. It is asked that you do not vote for your own piece, enforced by the honor system. Original Contest thread here Spoiler: "Up Unto God" Up Unto God The stranger came among us at first light, the morning after the silver ship was seen in the northern skies. He came slowly over the hills leaning on a stick, for he was injured, and greatly wearied. We had not seen his like before, and he could not understand our tongue. We made him welcome and gave him warm broth. For many days he rested, and slowly regained his strength. Great was his curiosity about our people, and he attended to all we did and said. Soon he was able to speak to us, and we asked his name, and whereof he came. "Far from this place," said he, but would say no more. Many were his questions - he asked of the heavens, and the seasons and the spirits of the land, like one not of this world. Most particularly he asked about our people, and our nature. "Is yours the only proto-mammalian sapient species on this planet?" he asked, and we could not understand his words. We told him of the urkommites, who dwelt in the western mountains, the siljarons of the swamp, and the kymnobies who come south with winter. His interest was greatly aroused, and he scratched at a strange device, leaving marks that only he could understand. When we could answer no more of his questions, the stranger thanked us, and departed. The following year, he came again, once more weary from travel, his clothing ragged, his body scarred and dirty. But his eyes gleamed bright, and when he had taken food and drink, he told us of his travels across the world. "This planet is full of wonders," he said. "Can you credit it? I have been all across the land, and nowhere have I suffered violence or endured any form of assault. It is all most extraordinary." He bade us help him with a work he described as being of great importance. He took some of our able-bodied people to the coast, where we found the silver ship we had seen one year before, lying in a state of ruin. Under his direction, we laboured to repair a vital portion of this machine, so that the stranger could communicate with his people. When it was done, we asked if he would leave our world when his people came for him. He laughed at our question and said that he would not, for it was our world he loved, and he purposed to stay here for many years. Why then were his people coming, we asked. And he told us of a great project, a great enemy he called Chaos, and how our world represented the perfect weapon against this tremendous threat. We were much afraid, but he soothed us, saying: "Fear not, for we will shape your world into a shield that alone among the vasty cosmos can stand against the Great Corruption. It will take much labour, but here only can it be done. A few changes may be necessary, but any hardship will be worth the cost. First we will need portal gates. For that we must shift a few continents towards the poles, a work that I surmise can be undertaken by a sufficiently magic-attuned slann caste, much like those we have bioengineered on other planets. They require a tropical climate that does not yet pertain here, so we must first reduce the planet's orbital distance. That work will soon commence." We marveled at his words and asked each other what they portended. His countenance showed only joy, so his proposal was surely one that would bring happiness and prosperity. We asked what part we might have in his project, and his gladness increased yet further. "Your role shall be greatest of all. From you we shall shape the strong and noble species we have long sought to create: those capable of resisting Chaos itself. Of course there are other peoples on this world who are less desirable, but that is easily dealt with. We will give you a new tool with which to remedy the situation, one which you will surely need for many millennia to come." And so we asked what tool he would give us with so mighty a purpose. And the stranger told us, "War". Spoiler: "Of Wood and Whispers" Of Wood and Whispers “Be careful out there,” Hilya implored her twin brother, her hands firmly gripping his wrists, “don’t get yourself into trouble like you always do.” “I won’t. I promise! I’ll be back before you know it,” Yestril replied. “Sir Liadon said it’ll only be a day’s journey. A quick scout if you will. Besides, we will be having Quaru’uul and Yax’keldan with us.” Hilya let go of Yestril’s arms to turn and look at the two lizardmen sitting on a few crates behind her while they were sharpening their great axes. She put a lock of hair behind her pointed ear and let out a worrisome sigh. “They know their way around woodlands like these,” Yestril added. “I’ve heard Quaru say Yax has slain owlbears before.” Hilya chuckled as a loud voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. “All who agreed upon joining me on today’s journey gather your necessary equipment. I want to be leaving at a moment’s notice!” Sir Liadon's voice echoed through the campsite as he tugged on the straps of his knee-high leather boots. Both lizardmen stood up and made their way to the waiting elven man. A stout and muscular human in his late forties joined the group shortly after, as he secured the last piece of equipment to his backpack. Yestril sharply inhaled and started striding through the still-dewy grass toward the scouting party. He stopped halfway to look back at Hilya, who smiled at him. “Don’t go around bothering owlbears, Yestril! I want you back in one piece preferably!” she exclaimed. “No promises!” He replied with a smirk. Yestril swiftly joined the group as it had already begun walking towards the tree line of the imposing forest. “You ready, kid?” The human asked with a grin on his face. “Ready as can be, Ralm.” _____________________________________________________________________ For the first moments of their trek, the group walked in a straight line through the woods. Yestril happily took advantage of the fact that he could still see their campsite as he took turns looking at his boots and back over his shoulder every couple of steps, causing him to trip over several tree roots. After losing his balance for the seventh time in ten minutes the group halted and looked back at Yestril. Liadon sighed as he turned around and continued walking. Ralm got to one knee and helped Yestril to his feet. “You ought to be more careful, kid. These woods can be dangerous. We don’t want ya trippin’ over the edge of some cliffside and breaking y’ neck.” “Yeah… I’m sorry Ralm.” Yestril groaned as he dusted the dirt off his trousers. He stood upright and looked back one more time before he continued following alongside the group. He frowned. He took another glance to his left and right. He could not see the campsite anymore nor did he recognize any sign of a beaten path in his vicinity. “I could have sworn we had been walking in a straight line all this time…” he whispered to himself. “I… I must have missed a turn or two,” he added, shaking his head and waving away his thoughts, before joining the rest of the group once again. The further inwards the group travelled the more grandiose the scenery around them became. Where at first the lizardmen had to regularly duck to evade low-hanging branches, the canopy now raised several tens of metres above their heads. Their path through the dense ferns and low-growing foliage was accompanied by sporadic and faint rays of sunlight peeking through the canopy. Yestril tried estimating their time spent walking since they had left their campsite by trying to observe the altitude of the sun. However, he couldn’t see the sun through the abundant branches and leaves. What’s more, every part of the sky above him that met his gaze never seemed blue like he would expect it to be. Its colours varied from orange hues to deep set indigo as if the forest was encompassed in an everlasting twilight. “Gods, Hilya, I wish you were here to see this,” He thought to himself. Yestril looked ahead at the two lizardmen walking side by side, talking amongst themselves, occasionally pointing at a piece of flora. He smiled and continued his journey in silent awe for all the spectacles around him. _____________________________________________________________________ It was not long before the densely-covered forest floor made way for what looked to be an open field. The grassland went on for at least hundreds of metres before finally meeting the treeline again on the other side of the hilly field. The group drew up to the border of this opening in the canopy and seemingly awaited some sort of verdict from Sir Liadon. “This scenery here is called a glade, gentlemen,” He explained, leading the group onto the grass field. “Perhaps this is a fitting place to take a halt and rest a bit.” Yestril followed Liadon onto the glade looking down at the ground covered in mesmerising white flowers. As he kneeled to take a closer look, a cold sensation hit his neck. He shuddered and wiped the wetness from his neck while looking at the sky. As if mirroring the glade below his feet, the sky above his head was filled with thousands upon thousands of snowflakes. “Is that… is that snow..?” He caught himself saying it out loud. “This is rarer than a lizard in a library..!” Ralm blurted out. “Isn’t it supposed to be another five full moons before this shite comes falling from the skies again?” He muttered, rubbing his hands across his arms. Quaru’uul and Yax’keldan gave each other a silent look before deciding it was best to stay silent and make it back to camp without unnecessary casualties. “I suppose we could rest underneath the surrounding trees instead of here on the open glade,” Sir Liadon stated, also looking caught off guard by the sudden snowfall during this time of year. They all gathered underneath the trees again and sought out a rock formation that allowed them to take a seat comfortably for just long enough to finish a short meal. Ralm set down his backpack and opened it. He was about elbow-deep in his bag before rapidly pulling his hand out again, letting out a shout and walking two steps backward before falling on his backside. The rest of the group looked at Ralm and slowly traced his glance back to the bag, which was lying on its side now. It was the stench that hit Yestril’s senses before anything else. The strong odour of spoiled meats mixed with a fume that could only be described as malignant penetrated his nostrils as he saw mouldy bread and rotten fruits roll out of the bag, covered in what looked to be maggots and grubs. Yestril gagged. “Leave the sack here. It is of no use to us now. We’ll hunt something down along the way,” Liadon commanded, already having stood up and walked away from the mess. Ralm looked at Quaru'uul and Yax’keldan in confusion before standing up, quickly dusting off his hands and following the elf. _____________________________________________________________________ In the following hours, the peaceful woodlands gradually made way for more treacherous swamplands. Unlike in the glade - which seemed to be in a permanent state of cold - the air surrounding the travellers in these swamplands was hot and dense and filled with an ever-present mist dancing around their boots, seemingly knowing every next footfall. Soon after the group found themselves wading through murky water reaching Yestril’s and Ralm’s waistline. With every step they made, the muddy floor seemed to grasp at their ankles trying to drag them under the water’s surface. “Ow! Daggers! I think something bit me..!” Ralm shouted. “Are you alright?” Yestril asked, trying to turn around to face him but unable due to the muddy swamp floor. “I’m fine. I’m fine. Just keep walkin’. The sooner we’re out of this shitehole the better.” It wasn’t very long after they had left the murky waters behind them before Ralm suddenly sat down against a tree. “Are you alright Ralmavir?” Liadon asked. “Barkin’ spiders man, my legs are crampin’. Feels like whatever stung me down there is makin’ my joints lock up or somethin’,” he groaned. The group looked at him with concern. “Well don’t just stand there! Help me get my boots off! I can’t bend my knees!” he shouted. Quaru’uul handed his axe to Yax’keldan and rushed over to release Ralm from his footwear revealing his foot underneath. To everyone’s shock, his entire leg was covered in bark and fungi as if it had been part of the surrounding forest for years. Silence filled the air for what felt like an eternity. “Go on without me,” Ralm whispered with his eyes closed, breaking the silence. “In hopes you find your damned acorns!” He shouted, slamming his fist to the ground. Sir Liadon sighed. “Stay with him Quaru’uul. Tend to his wounds as best you can. We’ll foregather on our return to camp.” The lizardmen shared a glance before Quaru’uul nodded and started lifting the legs of Ralm’s trousers. “Will you be okay, Ralm?” Yestril quietly asked. “Just make sure it's not all for nil, kid. Maybe those dumb artefacts Liadon wants to find in this forsaken forest can save whatever the hell this is.” He grunted, pointing at his legs. _____________________________________________________________________ The following part of the journey was quiet. Not the comfortable kind. Since Ralm’s incident, Yestril had become extremely suspicious of every thorny branch he encountered. The remaining three travellers stopped for a second as Sir Liadon gestured to do so. He frowned at his compass - which had been spinning in circles for a while now - trying to discern where to go next. Yestril heard the rustling of leaves in front of him and skittishly looked up. He stayed perfectly still with his eyes darting around from the canopy to the forest floor. Nothing. No movement among the trees. No beast nor man in sight. However, the winds had picked up. Making the whole forest seem to dance and sway. “It must’ve been the wind then, right?” he tried explaining to himself. He turned around to check the surroundings behind him. He looked at the ground as he saw that the swamp’s mist had caught up with them, crawling ever so slowly over the dirt below their feet. He kneeled to try and feel the dampness of the swamp in the mist. It was cold to the touch. He watched as the mist slowly trailed up his arms. The winds picked up again, stronger this time. Yestril kept his gaze to the branches above trying to ascertain whether the howling came from the trees or a creature in the distance. The mist had wrapped itself around his arm, all the way up to his shoulder as Yestril heard a whisper. “Yesss… stril…” Yestril shot straight up to his feet and looked at Yax’keldan in fear. The lizardman looked back seemingly not having heard the same thing Yestril had. Yax’keldan carried a stern look on his face Yestril has always known him to have. A chill went down Yestril’s spine. “Gods, Hilya, I wish you were here,” he whispered. After Liadon had given up on his compass and had chosen a direction out of pure desperation, the three walked in silence through the howling winds. The forest around grew denser with every step they set forth. “Yax, would you mind clearing the way for us? I do not want us getting caught up in venomous vines or constricting roots.” Liandon pointed at the flora in front of them. Yax’keldan tightened his grip around his axe and started slashing away at the greenery. Until he suddenly stopped. He stood upright with his scaly nostrils in the air. “Is there a creature nearby? Yax?! What did you s-” Yax'keldan abruptly put his hand up gesturing to Liandon to stop talking. Yax'keldan then slowly made his way through the greenery to his right until he was no longer in Yestril’s sight. “Should we-” “Stay here,” Liandon quietly interrupted Yestril. Moments passed. A few twigs snapped in the distance. Then silence. Yestril had never really heard Yax’keldan speak before, which made the following that much more terrifying. “RUN!” Yax’keldan’s voice echoed through the woods followed by the sound of bones breaking and a painful roar. Yestril looked fearfully at Liadon in hopes of hearing the next logical steps to pursue. Liandon stood up, looking as distraught as Yestril, frantically looking for a way to escape the green maze, as an arrow dug itself perfectly into his left eye socket. Liandon hit the ground with a dull thud before Yestril’s eyes. He had to cover his mouth to not let out a yelp of horror. Yestril started crawling as fast as he could, back the way they came. Only to discover that the ground he was crawling on was littered with skulls and bones. After crawling for what must have been an hour he found the courage to get on his feet and ran for what felt like another hour. He stopped to lean against a tree and looked back at the forest behind him. The trees were swaying more than he remembered. The winds howled. “Gods… Hilya…” he muttered, right before passing out. _____________________________________________________________________ Woken up by the warmth of sunlight hitting his face, Yestril sat himself straight up against the tree. He rubbed his eyes and the back of his head. He looked at his surroundings. This was not the tree he passed out next to. “This… this is where Ralm helped me on my feet. This very morning!” he thought to himself. He hastily hoisted himself up on two feet as quickly as he could while not passing out again. He quickly glanced around looking for any other surrounding details his memory could cling to. And there it was. In a straight line through the leaves and branches. Within eyeshot. The campsite. There she sat. Close to the tree line. Almost exactly in the same place, Yestril had seen her last. “Hilya!” he shouted, running straight out of the woods. She looked up with a confused expression on her face. “Yestril? Did you forget s-?” “Gods, Hilya, I’m happy to see you. I thought I’d never see you again.” A tear rolled down Yestril’s cheek. “Yestril… You’ve been gone for 5 minutes.” Spoiler: "A Different Place and Time" A different place and time Aetheric void, Temple ship Oyxl, Before the agesDarkness, without end. Nothingness all around. No light, no life. Only what was, and has been, between these walls. Yuq'al-takuil searched the surroundings with his mind. Nothing penetrated the thick dark void around the Temple city turned Temple ship, not even his magical perceptive abilities. Within the ship magic was roaming freely. The best example of it was the stasis that all Sauri and the non magic wielding Skinks were being kept in. Yuq'al-takuil, together with the other Priests, was taking turns keeping the stasis going in order to preserve the troops and keep the impact on the provisions to a very minimum. Beside the Skink Priests only the Slann Lord Xruzi’o-Ila was left out of stasis. He was in control of the ship, keeping it afloat in the void, with his mental powers. Simultaneously he scanned the horizons to pick up a glimpse of something, just a single thing that was not dark nothingness. Since they had escaped the catastrophic events in Lustria, and the world it was a part of, there hadn’t been contact with any other Lizardmen refugees. Neither had there been signs of other Temple ships even making the escape. Yuq'al-takuil stared in the distance as the chaotic events played out in front of him again. Footfall behind him pulled him back to the present. “Yuq'al-takuil, your presence is required.” It was Skink Priest Tak’ek Muntoc, he was of the same spawning as him. Although slightly smaller they both saw and treated each other as equals. “I would better not leave him waiting.” he resumed hastily with a smirk. Yuq’al-takuil turned around with a clearly fake worryful expression on his face before he started laughing: “You are always the punctual lizard, aren’t you? However, I will honor his request.” Both amusingly went their way. Yuq’al-takuil headed to the Eternity Chamber, the quarters of Lord Xruzi’o-Ila. He walked through the entrance with a little hesitation. Back in Lustria the doors to these quarters were sealed for years on end and heavily guarded from the inside as well. Nowadays the doors stood open and no guards were to be found. Like all other Sauri the Guards were dismissed from their posts and put in stasis, because there was not the slightest disturbance in the years of their voyage. The inside of the chamber was dark; the only light was a dim blue-ish green hue emanating from the palanquin in the middle of the far wall. On top of the palanquin sat Slann Lord Xruzi’o-Ila, cross-legged, his arms up, elbows out, with his fingertips spread touching either side of his face and eyes closed. “Please enter, no need to hesitate.” The words sounded without any movement of the lips, like they appeared out of thin air or they welled up in the skinks head itself. No matter how often the priest experienced this it still felt like an invasion of privacy. Yuq’al-takuil walked calmly forward with a bowing gesture: “You sent for me, my Lord?” "Do you feel it?" "I am not sure what you mean, my Lord." "I know you feel it too. You can smell it in the air, you can taste it in the water. The absence of magic on the other side of these walls. The nothingness that surrounds us. It exhausts me, all attempts to reach beyond it are fruitless. The Geomantic web is no more, no web means no nodes, no nodes mean no connection, no connection means no information, no inform...." The smashing of rock against stone interrupted the conversation loudly paired with heavy trembling of the whole chamber. In an instant the Slann Lord moved his hands from his head in front of his mouth, fingertips touching each other. A bright orange radiant orb grew in between his hands as he moved them apart and now his lips did move: "Warning to all priests! Collision in progress. Be prepared to repair hull damage!" Another slam shocked the Temple ship with an even louder grinding of stone and rock. Yuq'al-takuil looked above him in the chamber as a crack formed and widened across the ceiling. Glimmering black shards of rock shot through the cracks raining down upon Yuq'al-takuil and Xruzi’o-Ila. In a reflex the skink priest stepped aside and casted Mystic Shield above them, but the shards broke through like there was no shield at all. One of the shards struck the shoulder of the Slann. With a cry of pain the blue-ish green hue dimmed, leaving the room completely darkened. “Lord Xruzi’o-Ila!” No imediate response: “Lord Xruzi’o-Ila! Are you okay?" A soft pain filled moaning was all that he heard. “My Lord, how badly are you hurt?” “Hhhrrrmm… my shoulder…. ugh… pierced, but no … hhhmm… internal organs are damaged.” “Please hold still while I cast a mending spell.” Yuq’al-takuil raised his arm and turned his wrist whilst soft green energy dispatched from his fingers in a swirl. The light showed the Slann Lord fallen from his palanquin with a torn shoulder, the black shard glimmering at his feet. Yuq’al-takuil directed the spell towards the wound, but all of a sudden the energy was swept away from its path and absorbed by the black shard. “Excuse me lord, I will try it again.” The priest repeated the motions, but with a similar result. “What kind of rock is this?” “Anti magic matter,” mumbled the Slann, “I have heard of its existence… hhhgg… before, but hadn't yet encountered it… ugh”. “Anti magic?” pondered the priest “do you mean that it negates all magic it comes across? But how is that possible? And how do we get rid of it? And…” “Calm down Yuq’al-takuil, one step at the time.” Frantic steps sounded down the hallway growing louder and louder. In a hurry Tak'ek Muntoc ran around the corner into the darkened chamber. "What happened here!?" "Lord Xruzi’o-Ila has been struck by a shard of anti magic matter." Answered Yuq'al-takuil. "Struck by what?" "I know, I can't get my head around it either, but let us help him and mend his wounds." "Yes, of course, healing…" “No, that will not help at all!” Yuq’al-takuil responded “I tried it, but the rock absorbed the healing spell. We need to get him out of the chamber or see to his wounds in the traditional style” Since the light in the chamber had died the palanquin had collapsed onto the floor as well. The Slann Lord lay in between the rumble on the floor. Both Skink Priests stumbled towards him only guided by their touch and hearing. After a while they flanked him, each on one side, and tried to lift him up with no success. After a couple of attempts they settled on dragging him instead. Once outside of the chamber the Priests saw the wound clearly. Now, further away from the Anti magic rocks, the healing spells did take hold and mended the wounds of the Slann Lord nicely. "Thank you both for your help" Lord Xruzi’o-Ila replied, still visibly in pain: "what is our status Tak’ek Muntoc?" "The hull damage and breach seems to be limited to the Eternity Chamber, all the stasis Chambers are still operational and no other citizens were wounded." Tak’ek hesitated a little before continuing: "... there is one thing though, that is why I came up to the Eternity Chamber to see you, your highness. The ship has lost its course. We are no longer floating." Yuq'al-takuil and Lord Xruzi’o-Ila looked at eachother and only now noticed the small shift in angle that the ship had made. "The impact must have redirected us and your ability, your highness, to stabilize the ship must have been taken by the shard that struck you" "So we are no longer floating hmmm?" Pondered the Slann staring straight ahead. He closed his eyes and tried to raise his hands to the sides of his face. He immediately regretted it as a shockwave of pain swelled from his left shoulder. "My powers have been drained. I can't take control of this ship again." He sighed in disbelief, but spoke again: "if we are no longer floating it means we are either sinking or falling." While he spoke a third Skink came running down the hallway. It was a Starseer, appointed to scan the horizon for visible changes. "Your highness, your highness. There is a speck of light at the horizon. It has a green hue and is approaching fast. What should we do?" Both the Priests looked at each other before looking at their Slann Lord. They head his words as if they were not right there beside him. "We will need to brace for impact. Tell all priests to move to the lowest chambers and prepare a levitating spell. With all the power that we can muster, we might be able to slow down enough to minimize damage. Leave the posts at the stasis chambers as well. Get all of them and stay at the ready!" The three skinks ran through the hallway where the Starseer came from to inform all priests and get ready for what was about to happen. Ghur, Thondia, Thunderscorn Peaks, Age of MythSounds of battle and roaring of Draconiths and Thunderscorns alike echoing through the mountain range. The shear volume of raw power sends shockwaves through the rock hard ground, loosening stones, causing avalanches left and right. Dark clouds gathered, drifting in from every side as the air got cooler. Suddenly in the middle of it a small circular breach appeared and a flash of blue light struck from the sky down in between the mountains. Leaving an earthquake in its wake. Since this incident a different roaring was heard between the mountains.