Arcadayn Journal:
Silverbolt's Story
So, you say that you want to hear the story of how I acquired my silver skin, do you? Well, we have been through some unusual adventures together, so perhaps it's time to satisfy your curiosity….
My family was not wealthy, but was very devout. They spent whatever money they could spare for my education, and my interests led me to study a great deal of scripture, law and astronomy. I decided at an early age that I wanted to join the clergy. After much tutoring from my uncle Volan, I was accepted as an initiate of the Order of the Spheres shortly after my sixteenth birthday. Our family's home is near Berigissel, and that is where both Volan and I served until my uncle was assigned to Theronton's temple about two decades ago. A few years before that, however, is when the adventure that gave me this skin happened.
By the time I was eighteen, I and a fellow initiate, Orthag Kullmast, had started to give thought to joining the Order of the Crescent Moon. We were well-versed in law and had some small experience working with the local constabulary, and hence we saw the "Night Watchman" as a logical god to serve. Then Orthag found a book telling of a "moon-pool" rumored to exist somewhere in the swamps of the Yangar River delta. Our curiosity was piqued, and we wondered if seeking out this site would help us make our decision about future clerical service, so we scoured the temple library for more information on this "moon-pool."
We learned that a senior moon-priest, one Ladont of the rank of Constellation, had vanished in the swamp while searching for this very pool just a few years before my and Orthag's initiations. This news convinced us to keep our research secret--we felt certain that if our teachers learned of it, they would forbid us from having anything to do with this mystery. We continued to gather what information we could on this missing priest and on the region of the swamp where he was last seen. Orthag had grown up on the edge of the marshes, so we felt less need for secrecy in learning about the swamp itself--it would seem a natural interest.
Several months went by, then we heard a report of an attack by lizard men on a village at the edge of the swamp. It was unclear from the initial report whether the lizard men or the villagers had provoked the clash, so a ducal magistrate would be sent to investigate. Because our teachers knew of our research on the delta region, and because Orthag spoke a smattering of the reptiles' language, we were chosen to assist this mission. This village had been visited by Ladont shortly before his disappearance, so we were quite eager to go.
While helping the magistrate defuse tensions between the villagers and lizard men, Orthag and I conducted our own investigation. Orthag found some lizard men who remembered Constellation Ladont, and who spoke cryptically about a part of the swamp beyond their home, which Ladont had entered against their advice, but we could not get them to speak further.
Eventually the public investigation revealed that the villagers were at fault, and the magistrate ordered them to make amends. The reptiles invited our party to their celebration of the judgment. During the festivities, Orthag pumped some rather drunken lizard men for more information, and gained a good idea of where to find the "moon-pool." We set out that night, hoping to find it and return before we were missed.
Around midnight, we found a smallish hill rising out of the water, on the crown of which was a dense circle of cypresses. Once we passed through this ring, we found a perfectly circular pool of water, untouched by the night-winds outside the trees, which brightly reflected the full moon's light.
We had been staring at the pool for some time, transfixed by its eerie beauty, when we had heard something coming through the trees. Orthag heard it first, and drew his sword as he jostled my arm to get my attention. His light push unbalanced me, and I tripped as I tried to turn. I fell full-length into the pool, and weighted down by my mail, sank quickly into the dark water. I struck the soft bottom, and felt something hard strike my hand. I instinctively grabbed at it. It pulled free from whatever held it, and I kicked off from the bottom.
When I surfaced, I could see that Orthag was fighting something vaguely humanoid. The moonlight reflected dimly off of its scales, so at first I thought it was a lizard man. But then it began changing shape into something larger and more snake-like. I realized then that the object I had in my hand was a sheathed sword. I pulled it free, and struck at the creature. The blade bit deep, stuck there, and was pulled from my grasp. The thing lunged at me, and I jumped backward into the water to escape its teeth. As I went under, I saw Orthag hit the creature, only to have his sword snap in two.
I dived again, hoping to find another weapon. I don't remember the search, but I surfaced with a silvery bow in one hand and a silver arrow in the other. Orthag was reeling from wounds, but had somehow recovered the sword that I had left in the creature's side, and was keeping it at bay. I somehow strung the bow and nocked an arrow--I don't recall doing it, and I've no idea where the bowstring came from, either. The arrow went deep into its eye, stunning it. Orthag stepped in and sliced halfway through its neck. It crashed to the ground.
When it stopped thrashing, Orthag looked over where I was coughing up water on the rim of the pool. As I stood and moved towards him, he muttered something blasphemous and backed away. He said something was wrong with my face, so I turned back to the pool to look at myself. My skin was far more reflective than it should have been. I wiped at the water on my face and the effect didn't lessen. That's when I noticed that my hands were also silvery, and that my clothing was slightly iridescent. Except for soreness in my chest from inhaling water during my ducking, I felt fine. I was soon able to reassure Orthag enough for him to let me bandage his wounds.
When I was finished tending him, we studied the monster's body. It had changed form once again after death, into a particularly loathsome-looking man, who may or may not have been human. We had not encountered any reference to this variety of shapeshifter in any of our studies. Orthag was rather insistent that we dismember it, and I lacked the strength of will to argue with him.
While he did this, I dived into the water a few more times to find out what else was hidden here. I found the perfectly preserved body of a mortally wounded man in Celestian vestments. From the circles of rank on his robe we guessed that this was the missing Constellation Ladont. A quiver of arrows was scattered around him, and a whip was coiled at his side. We were in no condition to carry Ladont's body with us, so we decided to take the weapons, and a ring of distinctive design which we found on one finger, which we hoped would prove his identity. We said all of the appropriate prayers that we could remember over his body, and pushed it back into the pool.
We stumbled back into the lizard men's camp around dawn, where we received a thorough tongue-lashing from the magistrate. We had to repeat our story many, many times during the journey back to Berigissel, and once back at the temple, the weapons were confiscated and we had to do penance for doing something so foolish and dangerous. However, our adventure had solved one important mystery, and had made us firmly resolved to become priests of Doshonor regardless of what punishments our masters might give us. In the end, the elder priests were merciful, and we were allowed to change orders within a year.
Yes, this bow and whip that I carry are the very ones I found in the "moon-pool." Constellation Ladont's weapons were entrusted to us when we entered the Order of the Crescent Moon, and our new oaths included one to use those arms only in the god's service. Orthag is the one who shackled me with this new name, "Silverbolt," in memory of our battle.
What has become of Orthag, you ask? I'm afraid that he has never quite been the same since that night. He is still a priest of Doshonor, but now he is a fanatical "Were-Hunter" who thinks all shapeshifters are some sort of blasphemy against the moon-god, abomination against nature, or some such thing. The changes he went through disturb me far more than my own. Some vital part of our friendship died the night I fell into the "moon-pool." I have had very little contact with him since we entered our new order--he left Berigissel soon after the ceremony. I pray that the god will protect all those who are affected by His cycle, whether man, beast, or both.
No, I have no direct evidence that the god Himself put this mark on me. I have no direct knowledge of His mind or purpose. But the priests who have sought out Constellation Ladont's grave since Orthag and I visited it have been unable to find it again, regardless of the phase of the moon. And my skin color has shown no sign of fading in the twenty-four years since it was changed. I have learned to grow accustomed to it, and to the strange reactions I frequently receive on its account. I use my skin to remind myself Whom I serve, and to remind myself of the oaths and duties I have embraced in His service.