NEW! Sword of Truth Roleplay! SLOWLY BEING UPDATED!

[Calintz the Doppelganger]

Calintz nodded, they should get the book to Zedd and her brother. “Lead the way Mother Confessor, is there anything else I can do for you, before we leave tonight?” He asked, he didn’t know what he could do to help with the ceremonies, but he’d do what he could. He’d have to get his things from his room, as well as his weapons, though he supposed some different weapons would be ok. It’s just that he was comfort with his weapons, but a weapon was a weapon. He supposed the Mother Confessor had to pack herself as well, though he didn’t know if she’d want to take a weapon, he figured she would. “What needs to be gathered for this trip?”He wasn’t sure so he had to ask, he had lived off the land on his way here.  

[WEEB_QUEEN]

Amara shook her head. She knew that Calintz merely wanted to be helpful, but it would be best if she handled the preparations for their flight that evening.
" I thank you for your concern, but there is little else to be done, but for now, we are going to deliver this book to my brother and Zedd up at the Keep,"with that Amara turned and led Calintz out the way they had come, and led him through numerous corridors until they had reached the very back of the Confessor's Palace. Two double doors led out into a small paddock, where a horse stable had been erected. Stable boys went to and fro, tending to the care of the Mother Confessor's finest horses.
Once they reached the entrance into the stable, Amara turned to address a boy going around the back of the stable.
" Saddle up two horses, other gear is not needed, I am simply making a trip up to the Keep,"Amara smiled gently at the boy, as he nodded and immediately rushed off to do her bidding. Amara then turned to Calintz.
" When we go up to the Keep, I may have to leave you outside, there are numerous things of magic within the Keep and many barriers that I am not sure you will be able to pass...I on the other hand, have been passing those barriers since I was a little girl,"Amara smiled reassuringly, as she finally prepared to answer Calintz's earlier question.
" As for what must be gathered for this evening after the ceremonies...you leave that to me...you of course...will need other clothes, which I will gather for you, you will have to settle for some of my brother's old clothes....when we return from the Keep, I want you to return to your quarters..I will escort you, gather all that you need, then remain there, until I come back for you, I will be returning to my own room to prepare...,"Amara paused as the boy came back to her to let her know their horses were ready. Amara nodded and turned and led Calintz into the stable. There just down the row on their right, were two chesnut brown mares, saddled and ready for them.
Amara went into one of the stable slots and threw her leg over the horse once her foot was in the stirrup. She swung herself into the saddle and brought the horse out of the slot once the boy held the gate open for her.
Amara then paused and waited for Calintz.
As she did so, she spoke once more, as the boy went to holding the other gate open for Calintz to lead his horse out.
" I will tell the guards to your room that you will be allowed to go to the kitchens while I'm preparing not only my clothes, but our other horses, and some traveling gear. The guards will escort you there, and I want you to tell the kindly elderly lady I introduced you to earlier that I sent you, and that I need a few packages of strips of dried meat, bread, biscuits and water....,"Amara smiled calmly as she spurred the horse into a canter to lead the horse out of the stable. Once she was outside, she noted how the drizzle had even let up now, and the sky had begun to clear, the sun, shining directly overhead.

Smiling to herself, Amara knew for sure, the rain had passed for good.
 

[Galapagos James]

Darken hummed to himself, sitting on a large rock that afforded an open veiw of the sky above. He'd spent the rainstorm sitting here, his gear stowed in a rough shelted that added to a small outcropping of rock, letting the rain wash over his bare skin as he sang a rowdy drinking song his father had taught him.

The song was in High D'haran, and completely incomprehensible, but the tune was merry enough, and worked well with the sound of rain. Darken glanced over, to where the horses were. They were well-trained enough they hadn't done anything crazy, and now with the rain letting up, it was time to start out again, before the night caused him to set up camp or risk the horses breaking a leg.

Darken spent his time dressing, letting the last of the rainpour come down as he worked the water from his body. He smiled to himself. His clothes were reasonably dry, and not wont to cling to him, heavy with water and trying to get him sick. Sometimes sacrifice was the greatest defense.

He got the gear on the horses again, and started leading the way for them again, using the stick he'd had earlier to prod at the ground again. He'd found a few deep holes hidden in murky water already, his caution paying in the fact the horses and he hadn't stumbled in any of them.  

[First Wizard Zorander]

Zedd moved closer towards the vortex shape created by the lines. He motioned Lophus closer so he could see what he wanted to show him. There was a bright dot, that seemed more radiant thatn the rest. Somehow, every line that passed by it seemed drawn closer to the dot and then together followed the line down deep into the center of the vortex, dragging the other close lines with it.

"See this line leading the others into the vortex? This, I believe, is Richard. Now, what you see now is only existence. The lighter lines are those without the gift. The brighter ones have the gift -- wizards and sorceresses -- and he brightest ones are those with both sides of the gift. Richard is the brightest one here because he's the first born with both sides in 3000 years. look at how he affects the people he comes in contact with." Zedd touched the line representing Richard. Letting his gift seep out into the field. Slowly, red and blue lines and shapes started appearing all over the place seemingly without any organization whatsoever. The already complicated array of lines and shapes became impossibly more complicated.

"You see, the red indicates Additive magic, and blue indicates Subtractive magic. Now, you can see how magic is existant everywhere even where the lines and dots are not. You can also see how the magic interferes and interacts with those lines and dots."Zedd let more magic seep out. More lines, this time yellow, appeared. "These yellow lines are Prophecy. See how they all come from the cener, where the magic originates? That would be the Tree of Prophecy. See how that too, is wrapped tightly to Richard's line? But this is what I brought you here to see."

Zedd traced his finger along a line of magic. It was a tightly twisted rope of Red and Blue. But it wasn't straight at all. It was zig-zagged and crooked and rebounded off line after line until finally reaching Richard's line. But Zedd saw something he didn't before.

Richard's line didn't end. Instead, it became a faded gray that continued down into the heart of magic and prophecy and seemed to spiral around the trunk as if tied to it.

Zedd started to point at it to show Lophus, but at that moment felt an icy stab like a frozen knife in his side.
Then again in his leg. Then again in his back.
Something was terribly wrong.  

[Calintz the Doppelganger]

Calintz pulled himself onto his horse after he lead it out of the stable. After making sure he was ready he turned to the Mother Confessor, nodding that he was ready when she was.

Calintz nodded as she spoke, then looked to her for a few moments before he spoke. “Am I to wait outside, or come with you into the Keep? Or would you like me to start preparing for the trip?” He asked, as he looked to the Keep. It was amazing to look at, from what he had heard, the mountain was part of the Keep as well.  

[WEEB_QUEEN]

Amara turned in her saddle after hearing Calintz come up behind her. For a moment, she listened to him speak, casually laying the palm of her right hand over the pummel of her saddle. For a moment, her emerald orbs drank the man in as she considered the fact that the Keep was well guarded. She supposed it could not hurt to attempt to take him in with her.
" You may come with me into the Keep, after all, who knows, you may just be able to pass all the sheilds, as I can, and if not, if you take my hand, I may just be able to get you through,"Amara smiled firmly as she turned in her saddle and glanced up at the Keep. Without further word, she dug her heels and knees into her horse, and immediately, the horse responded. The stable boys were just ahead, holding open a gate that led out of the small paddock and out into a back lane of the city streets. Amara chose her path quickly, a path that led from the back of the confessor's palace, and up to the Keep.
It would be sometime before they were finally upon the winding road that led up towards the mountain face where the Keep stood tall, and dark.
If Amara had not known better, when she was young, she would have thought the Keep an a fortress of pure evil.
Amara, while ridinging did not allow her mind to wander from the task at hand. She became intent, focused.
They rode along in silence for a long time, until at last, Amara began humming absent mindedly to herself.
 

[Calintz the Doppelganger]

Calintz nodded when the Mother Confessor said he could come with her to the Keep. He followed her lead and dug his heels into the horse, the horse responded. He follow next her, as she took the lead leading them toward the Keep. After awhile of riding in silence the Mother Confessor began to hum softly. He smiled softly to himself as they continued toward the Keep.  

[WEEB_QUEEN]

After an hour or two, Amara had gotten them onto the winding path leading up to the Wizard's Keep, picking and choosing her routes through the city carefully, up from the Confessor's Palace.
At last, they were on the winding dirt road that took them up the mountain. From where they were, the Keep looked ominous and forboding.
Some time ago, Amara had ceased humming, and thus, left she and Calintz to ride in silence. Amara had far to many things on her mind to bother with idle chat. Her increasing worry for Darken had grown as they rode to the Keep. She wanted nothing more than to catch up with him, but nightfall was still hours away.
She had to catch up with him, and that was what she had resolved to do, wether or not her brother, or Zedd liked it. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but she cared for Darken, more than she cared for any other man.

A half an hour or so passed, and they had successfully climbed the winding road, and at last, had reached the entrance into the Keep. Amara glanced over her shoulder in her saddle to motion Calintz forward. There was a small courtyard with a paddock inside the entrance of the Keep, that is where they would be able to stable the horses. Leading Calintz inside, Amara dismounted, and led her horse into one of the small stables. She remained silent, as she went about fetching hay for the horse, and filling it's troph with water, and the other with food that sat just outside the stable.
Amara did the same for Calintz's horse, leaving the gate open for him to put the horse inside.
Waiting for Calintz, Amara offered a small smile.
" Welcome to the Wizard's Keep,"Amara spoke in a firm, slightly serious tone.
 

[Calintz the Doppelganger]

Calintz was amazed at the sight of the Keep up close, it was a lot larger then he had thought. He stroked Shadow’s head as he looked all over the Keep. After a few moments he looked back at the grinning Mother Confessor, and offered up his own smile. He nodded softly as she welcomed him. “The Keep… is bigger then I thought it was…” He spoke, still amazed by the sight of the Keep. He could also feel the magic within the Keep as he looked at it. “This place use to be filled with Wizards?” He asked after a moment.  

[First Wizard Zorander]

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. A chill ran down his spine causing him to sit up straight in his chair.

As he looked around, concern spread over his features as he tried to find an explanation for his sudden awareness. Nothing seemed to have changed. Zedd and Lophus were still up on the rock with their backs arched in an odd fashion. They hadn't moved since the magic had taken them.

But something was different. Zedd's face had changed. It was no longer focusing, but rather frozen in a terrified state.

Hack approached cautiously until he could feel that the magic would let him go no closer. He saw there was a tear running from Zedd's eye. Lophus aswell seemed distraught. He wondered if there was something wrong with the magic. What else could it be?

Hack looked around but there wasn't anything he could see that would be of any use. Zedd had specifically warned him not to touch anything for it could do terrible things. Besides, he didn't have the gift, so nothing would probably do anything for him anyway. There was only one alternative. Get help.

Hack turned to the doors and rushed towards them. He grabbed the handle and yanked it open. To his surprise, opening the door seemed to cut the spell and Zedd and Lophus' bodies fell backwards from the rock.

He rushed over to them. Lophus seemed dazed and kind of rolled to his side and sat up, looking around. Zedd on the other hand just layed there looking up at the ceiling breathing heavily.

"Are you two alright??"

Zedd looked at him. "Nonsense. We're alright, but had you not acted soon enough, what you had done wouldn't have worked. We would have been trapped. Bags, what did you do that got us out?"

Hack pointed to the doors. "All I could think of to do was go get help. When I opened the door, the spell broke and you fell from the rock."

Zedd took another deep breath. "Quick thinking. Well done, my boy. I'll be fine."

Hack turned to Lophus. He was still breathing heavily, but looked to be alright. "Lord Rahl, are you alright? Is there anything i can do?"  

[WEEB_QUEEN]

Amara idly watched as Calintz stroked Shadow's head, and eventually, offered up his own smile, nodding as she welcomed him to the Keep. Standing in the small paddock, Amara could hear, just through the next entrance, the sound of water falling into the fountain and all it's small tiers.
She nodded when Calintz mentioned the size of the Keep, offering a knowing smile.
" You've no idea, this place, if one is not familiar with it, can be a maze in which one can loose themselves, and never find their way out again,"Amara's tone was serious, as her green eyed gaze flickered up to meet Calintz's.
Amara immediately began feeling the magic of the Keep as she turned and lead Calintz through an archway from the paddock, pausing at the top of the flight of stairs.
" From my understanding, back in my great-grandfather's time, many wizards lived here, but not just wizards, they're families often lives here, they're wives, they're children, and as the generations continued on, they're grandchildren,"Amara offered a gentle smile.
" After the great war so very long, long ago, none of them lived here anymore, but then, after all the struggle my parents fought through, we were here often, with Zedd, and Chase, and his family...Chase was a friend of my father's....he brought his family here to live, which included Rachel, who was but a small child growing up....when the Imperial Order under Jagang's rule had invaded the entire New World, and then the threat was defeated, and peace returned,Amara paused, smiling softly as she recalled the many happy memories she had of being here when she was a child, chasing her brother about, and playing with Zedd and her mother and father.
Such happy memories stirred a twinge of sorrow within Amara. Choking back tears, Amara smiled softly at Calintz.
" But now, it is simply me, Zedd, and my brother, we come here often...my brother spends more time here than anyone, other than Zedd..,"Amara smiled softly, turning on a heel and gliding effortlessly down the stairs. At the bottom, she waited for Calintz, her green eyed gaze taking in the fountain, it's water...spraying high, only to fall back down into the pool below, and the smaller tiers.
The sound of the water falling was quite loud. The stone bench that ran around the fountain was often a place Amara would sit and read.
 

[Calintz the Doppelganger]

Calintz listened to the Mother Confessor as she told him about the Keep’s history. When she mentioned the Imperial Order the fine hairs on the back of his neck seemed to stand on end. He remembered hearing about them from the Spirit Woman, though they were never attacked they had heard of what the Order was doing to the villages they did attack. Now rumors of a new Order were circling him, he had only heard rumors, no facts about this new Order.

Calintz followed the Mother Confessor in hashed, after hearing how easy it was to get lost and not be able to find your way. He followed her, trying to pay attention and remember which ways they took; but he soon gave up on it, if the Mother Confessor wasn’t here to lead him, he’d be completely lost.

After a few moments of silence, Calintz decided he’d ask her about the rumors. “I’m sorry to ask, but are the rumors about a new Order true?” He asked, not sure if it was a good or bad idea.  

[WEEB_QUEEN]

Amara began calmly walking around the large fountain, spraying water, and began heading down a rather large corridor, it's marble floors covered with richly colored, woven carpets, which muffled their footfalls. After a few moments of silence, and Calintz following close on her heels so as not to get lost, Amara paused at the sound of his words, at the very words he spoke. Stopping in midstride in the center of the corridor, Amara's smile faded, and her very bearing became grim indeed.
She nodded solmenly, confirming Calintz's worst fears.

" Except...this new Order..is lead by the alleged child of the Dreamwalker my father defeated, Jagang,"Amara paused, allowing the new information she was feeding Calintz to sink in.
" The only difference is a large one.....the ruthless murderes and rapists and simple minded thugs of the Imperial Order my father fought were......imperfect......blind fools who follow a faith blindly, taught it's doctrine with fierce faith and determination, believing in their leader every step of the way.....believing that their faith was just, and by destroying and conquering the entire New World, they thought they would bring salvation to those within the New World...those they believed to be nothing more than pigs, uncivilized people who were beneath them, and needed to be taught the divine ways of the Creator, under the teachings indoctrined by Jagang the Just, who was thought to be a speaker on behalf of the Creator, one who could hear the Creator's voice, thus, his wishes,"Amara took a deep breath before continuing.

" Under those teachings they destroyed nearly every city within the Midlands, conquering even the smallest of villages, plundering and ruining all within their path.......this new....Order...if it can even be called that....does not teach the same things as the last Order. The Imperial Order of my parents' time taught that self sacrifice the betterment of mankind and your fellow man was the more moral, just thing any one individual could do, could offer, to gain eternal glory in the Creator's realm after death,"Amara rolled her eyes, scoffing slightly, " They taught that any one individual who claimed their life was their own to live however they pleased to live it, was immoral, thus, earning them a swift death. They taught...no decision in your life, was yours to make, that you should sacrifice, limb, life, love, happiness, any wordly possession you had, any money you earned, any food you ate, should have been given up, to those who needed it more than yourself.....those people who needed it more were usually the soldiers of Jagang's army, which as you may or may not know....was massive.........so large, that......it was like a black sea of decay and death, bringing with them poverty, sickness and laying death to all those who deserved it in their eyes."Amara's emerald gaze hardened.

" Eventually, they were defeated, the war won, the Dreamwalker dead, those who despised the Order, were brought up to the New World from the Old, to live their lives as they wished, and all those who loved and still believed in the Order's teachings, were sealed away within the Old World again, by my father......there they would be left to wallow in the embarassment of defeat. All returned to normal here in the New World, and for many years now life has been wonderful, the world seems at peace again....,"Amara smiled grimly, " But within the past few years......there have been rumors that the barrier my father erected, has been failing, and is begining to fall....rumor has it, that the shield, has holes within it......thus, slowly, people from the Old World have moved up into the new, soldiers, massive, and horrifying.....and shortly a year after my parents passed away, our worst fears had come to pass. The shield was unfixable......the new Dreamwalker, we know to be the legitimate child of Jagang, and he released the magic that killed my parents....he released the magic that killed so many other gifted and mere humans, most had been children who within them, carried the potential of becoming children with the dreamwalker ability, children who were planted in women's wombs when they were raped by Jagang...they are all now dead, it seems this new threat, didn't want any siblings,"Amara fisted her hands at her sides, digging her nails into the palms of her hands.

" We went down near the Old World, to check the shield....and confirm the damage, and what we saw, was a massive sea of black, coming up from the Old World........the war has started again, the troops have been split, and this time, Jagang's child leads them into battle, his men....he's...smarter.............sharper...faster to act........strong....young..........his soldiers are experienced killing machines, built, strong massive men, yet men who are also smarter, stronger, faster, this time, we are dealing not with an Order that has come to destroy us and teach us their doctrine, they've come simply to destroy us, and take over the entire New World, and this time, they're numbers are four time as great as they were in my parent's day........this time, they have more gifted on their side, and they seemed well prepared.....the new dreamwalker has done his homework well...., in every area possible, he seems to know where to strike, when to strike, what we will plan to do in turn....,"Amara's voice trailed off as she allowed the full implications of the situation to become quite clear to Calintz.


She had not attempted to frighten him, yet if she had, she could not help it, she would rather him face the truth, then be blind to their position.  

[Lophus Rahl]

Lophus took a moment to regain his breath before testing his voice. The experience had shook him into a stupor from everything Zedd had shown him and the possibilities of what it meant.
"I'm just fine Hack."
Lophus raised his arm and rubbed the back of his neck as he was prone to do in situations where magic did something unexpected.
"Any idea what happened, Zedd?"
The distraught look had never left his face, though there was also something else there in his eyes. He felt an urgent pulling to the small book he always carried, but never let anyone else see. It was the most important and most dangerous book that the keep held. He kept it hidden from everyone with a powerful web created from both sides of his gift.

 

[Lophus Rahl]

((Sorry that I haven't been around as much as before. I've had a lot of work lately and have been kept busy.))