The History of the Dead Lands
The Four Forces started off the next day, combining the strength of their elements (Earth, Fire, Water, and Air), and used a powerful augury to contact their lords. I watched in amazement as a cloud of silvery ash sprung from the tightly formed circle of priests, forming into an image I will never forget. The picture of a beautiful being draped in robes of brilliant white appeared. The creature's head was shaped like an oval, and it's mouth and nose were missing. It's two, oblong, frosty- white eyes were the only things that made me think it was a head at all. Wisdom, peace and love radiated from it like rays from the crimson sun, and I soon knew that we needed this being to protect us. Jel'se'ah used her magics in conjunction with those of the Four Forces to divine that the creature we were looking at was human. "What happened to it?" I wondered aloud. "Could that be the form in which humans will evolve into? Is this the result of the Pristine Tower?" I asked (you are aware of the powers of the Pristine Towers, correct?). The visages of the four clerics appeared strange, and then they answered my questions in unison. The being was the result of the blend of power magic and the Way. The creature transformed itself into what we saw before us now. I was impressed. With research done with, the next month was spent preparing for the creation of the spell. Some debated that it would be wise to explore another line of defense, but I was blind to anything but the creation of that wonderful creature. I look back and see myself as foolish and impetuous, but at the time, I wasn't in my right mind. The being was stuck in my brain every waking moment, and when I slept, my dreams were filled with its surreal beauty. With Jel'se'ah and the Four Forces backing the idea, almost everyone eventually agreed to go along with the plan. No one could have known it ould turn out to be a disaster, everyone believed we were doing the right thing. As you know, we were terribly wrong... Over the next nine years, materials were gathered, ideas were shared, and the spell nearly completed. Meanwhile, Barria, my son, was advancing incredibly quickly in his studies of both magic and the Way. With my wife and I tutoring him using Hax, he learned to master his skills, and soon surpassed both of us in skill. Barria became a very respected member of Kyron, impressing all with his wisdom, great intellect, and charming demeanor. At first, Jel'se'ah was going to make the transformation, but when she became oddly ill, Barria was nominated to go through the change. Again, I was proud of my boy, but I was also afraid of what would happen to him if the spell failed. He, of course, didn't share my worries, and was rather excited about the whole affair. To think, I would still have my boy (in his right form) to this day if it weren't for Rajaat. We learned that Rajaat's armies were nearing Kyron just days before we were to have the spell ready. To help delay the approaching army, Bhra'go (the informal leader of the Giants who were living in Kyron) offered to send his people out to battle our enemy. Bhra'go felt it was his duty as none of the Giants were able to help with creating or casting the spell on Barria. The last thing I ever heard about the Giants is that they disobeyed Bhra'go's orders and ran for the mountains, at which time they were destroyed from the rear. Days later, the enemy had dispelled the last of the wards that protected Kyron with an enormous surge of spell energy. When I first laid eyes upon the human soldiers, I was shocked. They all appeared as lepers -- sickly and decayed. I had attributed it to the Gate to the Grey that had been opened by Gretch, and I was correct. They attacked like blood-thirsty drakes, tearing holesin the city walls with their hands, slaughtering babies, women, children. It sickened me, but I thought we would prevail. I quickly set up Hax and soon, every Druid, Preserver and Master of the Way in Kyron was casting the transformation spell. Barria sat in the middle of the room, cross-legged, face tensed from concentration. We readily began the spell, but soon stopped in horror. There was no plant-life to power the spell. The Champion's army had stolen it all when they destroyed the city's wards. We had planned for them to take
some
plant life, but not
all
of it! Leave it to a defiler to take far more than what they need. My mind was racing,
our
minds were racing. Then someone remembered the soldiers. Which made us think about the Gate to the Grey, and we then wondered if the Grey could be fashioned into energy. Hundreds of us becan claculating, figuring out how exactly we could power the spell with negative energy. 'Thump-thunp' soldiers were racing down the stairs to our subterranean meeting place. We had no time to mull over our choices. We chose, and we chose for the good of our city. We cast the spell. Our eye's opened at once, all were fixed on Barria. His face was so strained, so anguished. His lanky body was shivering, yet sweating at the same time. He let out a cry, and a great crunching sound came from his torso. You'll excuse me if I won't finish the description of the transformation. It pains me to write of it. He was supposed to be a being of pure beauty and peace, of glowing, white wings and a frail body. He didn't turn out that way. The negative energy twisted him. It warped his bones, mind and soul, and turned his skin a dark grey. But he was still beautiful to me. With a flap of his malformed wings, he burst through the ceiling of the meeting hall. He turned his anguish towards not just Rajaat's army, but to the people of Kyron, too. He had to be stopped, so the last remaining townspeople who were magically inclined, linked back up to one another using Hax. We used our last strength to pacify my child. And then the Obsidian Wave hit. When I emerged, undead and half-skeletal, from the murky, liquid obsidian, I surveyed the damage. Not a soul survived the ordeal -- my wife,my child, and Jel'se'ah were all dead. As I was the first to become reanimated, I sealed each of my three loved ones in a crypt of hardened obsidian, sealed shut with my magic. I couldn't bear to have them become as I had, one of the Walking Dead. It was a good decision. Now I protect that tomb from the likes of Gretch, as he would do anything to have my son added to his legion of Undead. I sit above his tomb each day and each night, thinking of what I could have done different, how I could have better protected my family, my friends, and my city. I start by blaming myself for all that happened, but I always come to the inevitable conclusion: It was Rajaat who was at fault. Never forget this.
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