The Summoned
The Tomb Plane: Protector's Encampment
"There are other planes from these - this is a lesson that the
wizards and magic-users of this world learned long before. Our people - that
is, the ancestors to the loremasters, used to have the whole world to
ourselves. Before the changes." Shaaron was sitting across from Asa now, her
eyes sparking. Clearly, she was enjoying the retelling of this particular
tale. Asa was listening, too - the young woman reminded him of Seeker or Paul
in her dedication.
"The changes started with events that did not originate here.
Travelers from your plane, ending up here, have filled in many of the missing
pieces. Apparently, there were three magic users from three of your planes -
Telan, Xanek, and Rokad - who had powers far beyond what our people could use.
This was the so called "Higher Path", and it did not come without its price.
Ones who were not disciplined enough were overcome by the power, and
transformed to demons. Legend says that even the triad were demons, though
they retained their sanity. The three fought against each other across the
planes, and finally destroyed themselves. Their destruction, however,
introduced instabilities throughout all reality. A nexus, similar to the one
that threads its way through your worlds, connected your Dark plane and this.
It was weak, at first, as it had not been caused directly by the meddling of
your wizards. But it was there." Shaaron's voice dropped toward the end of
this, sounding annoyed that the long-ago wars of another plane had spilled over
to her own.
"'The First War of the Summoners', it was termed. Seven hundred
years later, a child of demons stumbled upon the higher path, and attacked one
of your other planes. Your summoners were talented, but they couldn't fight
the armies off forever, especially not with one using the forbidden magic
against them. A weapon was needed." Shaaron seemed to perk up, as - even
though the results had been horrific for her world - she could still respect
what the warriors of long ago did.
"To understand what happened, you must understand the nature of the
Gatekeeping Rods. You have one with you, so I assume you already know that
they have within them a small fragment of the power of their creators. It
borders on being higher path itself, but none have yet been turned into demons
because of it. We don't know who thought of the idea all those years ago, but
it was them who were responsible for the way our world is today. Two of the
Gatekeepers - the one who held the Gatekeeping Rod of the Light Plane, and the
one who held its Dark Plane counterpart - came together, around the nexus to
this world, and tapped into the power of the rods."
"And thus, your world's Tomb Sword was created." Shaaron paused,
seeming a bit sad about the whole affair. "Travelers spoke of another plane
forged in a similar manner - the Halo Plane - but we do not know of this place.
As you can no doubt tell, we aren't exactly disposed to do research.
"When your hero dispatched the leader of the demons, he did so with
the Tomb Sword. Nathekiorion - the abomination that had plagued your worlds,
was now our problem."
"The records from this time aren't clear. What we do know is that
Nathekiorion came to our world, and laid it to waste. We tried to resist him -
entire armies perished trying to subdue one being - and failed. He constructed
this tower to be the seat of his rule, and took abode in the highest floor.
"But," Shaaron's eyes gleamed once more as she told the tale
of her people's resistance long ago, "what we lacked in force, we made up for
in subtlety. For Nathekiorion was trapped in this plane - he had power similar
in nature to that of the Triad, but he lacked the expertise to use it
effectively. He was crude and blunt with his power, when only the correct
application could reopen the path back to his world. Though he ruled ours, he
longed for the day he could conquer yours. Our wizards played on this.
"Though our magic users did not know how to access the higher path
- and they didn't quite dare to find out - they were very proficient with their
own, lesser craft. And Nathekiorion believed himself invincible. So when
our people presented him with an ornate chest, engraved with many runes and
radiating magical potential, he took it. And when he opened it, it was the end
of him." Shaaron's face practically shone.
"Our design was crude, but effective. The box was a trap, designed
to lure the most powerful soul near it into its confines, and then close
itself. The magic of its creation was woven into its form, with such skill as
we could not duplicate today. Though the enemy had magic of unthinkable power,
he still lacked the skill to navigate his way out of the box."
Shaaron's jubilation seemed to fade a bit as she continued. "Our
world was damaged beyond repair. Life began to fade, except for that near this
structure. We moved into it, and formed the Protectors, and all the other
groups. The Protectors have two important duties. The first is to guard the
nexus - for anyone who wields the Tomb Sword will inevitably strike someone
down with it. The Protectors are to protect us against the minions of evil that
travel to our land - minor demons and other such creatures - and greet the
followers of goodness, and recruit them to our cause. The Light Guard, of whom
your guide Jared was a member, is one such group that we've added.
"For the most part, the hardest thing we have to battle with coming
to our world are minor demons. Powerful, yes, but they have forgotten the
magic which spawned their ancestors, and so are mortal. And the Protectors are
far from powerless." she added, with a bit of a smirk. It faded, however, as
she continued. "Some time ago, a little more than a hundred years, one came to
this plane in the same manner as the last - powerful in such a way that the
Higher Path could be the only cause. He called himself Kanaos, and would not
be stopped by any of our people. The demon worked his way up the tower, not
stopping to explain himself to anyone, not even seeming really conscious of
what was going on. Other than to those who stood in his way, he harmed nobody.
Protectors died, however, as he was heading toward the one room which we are
sworn to guard above all others. The throne room of Nathekiorion - where the
box still stands - was the newcomer's eventual goal. We could only watch in
horror as Kanaos put his hands upon the box."
Shaaron shook her head. "Even today, we can't explain what
happened. We thought we were all doomed, right then. We were certain it was
over. But when the demon touched that box, he just... vanished. At the time,
we thought it was the box, pulling him in. But he hadn't opened it, so that
was likely not the cause. It was only later that we learned what had actually
happened. Once Kanaos entered this realm, the demon called to him - and
when Kanaos touched the box, it was Nathekiorion who pulled him in. To
feed."
"Ever since, we've seen signs that the power the box holds over its
captive is weakening. It's only ordinary magic, after all, and it would fail
eventually even under the most directionless of attacks. We suspect that
Nathekiorion has been able to project his will for a long time - he claimed the
newcomer, after all - and with the demon's energy added to its own, it was even
more powerful than before. This brings us closer to the day we must perform
our second duty, the most important task we have.
Shaaron looked up at Asa meaningfully. "The task of the
Protectors, which was instilled in them the moment they were created, was to
prepare for the return of Nathekiorion. On that day, they are to fight and
destroy the demon, once and for all.
"They are sworn to do this, or die honorably in the fight."
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