Hall of Writings

Hall of Images

Hall of Science

Amphitheater

Exit to Lakelands

     A shaft of sunlight entered the room through a small break in the curtains. A man opened his eyes and looked around him. How did I get here? Where am I? Who am I? In his smallclothes, he stood up and looked around his room. The corner opposite the bed contained a small wooden stool holding a porcelin washbasin on top of it. The bed was well made and from the lack of creaking in his back; comfortable as well. The man peered towards the window - the only source of light in the room. It was daytime. Scents and sounds from a city were dulled through the window's glass. He glanced through the paned glass and saw a large span of a city of white brickwork. The vista indicated that he was in a story far from the ground. He looked back to the basin and walked to it.

     The man knelt over the basin and splashed water onto his face. It was cool and fresh -- so someone had been taking care of his room, he thought to himself. Though simple knowledge like his name, condition, whereabouts, predicament he could not recall; he did have advanced knowledge. He could speak. Think. Reason. And Cast. He felt an ability on the edge of his mind -- Magic. He washed his face and splashed water onto his body, then looked up in front of him. A mirror hung here, slightly crooked. As he straightened the mirror, he glanced at the face looking back to him...

     *Flash*

     A mage stands at the precipice of a large and high cliff. Beyond him the ocean lay, but behind him his world was crumbling; his friends -- gone. He turns his head to glance back at the majestic castle with the two tall towers of Fire and Light; red and white respectively for their power. A small band of warriors, rogues and mages move from the gate of the Palace. The pennents of Fire and Light, refelcting his somber mood, did not even sway this evening. "Leave, we must, King Aular. For the Fire has left the Alliance, and you cannot rule us all. We have held on as long as we could, but the Kingdom fails. Invadors advance, the castle will not last long. We go now. Light be with you..." He remembered the look on his friends face. "Leave, we must...Light be with you...." He utters one last farewell to his subjects, his allies, his friends...and taking a steadying breath, he leaps to greet his fate in the deeps ....

     *Flash*

     The mage looks around him. The room is entirely white, with no visible lines defining the walls, floors or ceiling. Yet this place feels solid. He reaches out to touch the wall...and keeps reaching. A dull glow surrounds the place radiating it with a natural visible sunlight. He hears a voice, soft and gentle. It sighes, and begins to tell him that he is safe. "You will not be harmed. You had not the right to do what you did. Heal now, and when you return, remember only this: The Light is withen you. You have but to see it for yourself....The Light is withen you." The mage looks towards the voice and sees the most beautiful women he has ever seen: a woman worthy of the term Goddess. Her hair flowed in blond ringlets to her breast, and her figure was sleek and thin. Her eyes radiated a green color that calmed him and filled him with a euphoria known only in youth. Her smile, he noted, seemed to curve up in a playful half-moon that complimented her face well. She wore a cloak of white, with an embroidered sun and dragon on the left side, near her heart. The mage smiles as his eyes grow weary. Sleep...he thinks. Sleep...and he drifts into slumber with a smile on his face. 

     *Flash*

     A secluded fortress approaches in the distance. It is well hidden by the trees and cloaked in a dulling spell of illusion. He knew the way, though, or he would have never found the fortress. "Forgotten by the masses it is," he thinks to himself, "and thusly well named." The white mare he acquired gallops through the grasslands as the town and fortress in the distance gets larger and larger. He looks beyond the town and focuses on seeing the fortress; his goal; through the concealment spell. To new beginnings, he thinks to himself. "TO NEW BEGINNINGS!" 

     *Flash*

     The small band travels forth, in cloaks of white for thier journey. "None will harm a Druid." explains the leader, a golden flared sun with a dragon imposed on the breast of his cloak. The symbol seemed almost familiar. They head towards a massive forest and the mage gets an odd sence. This forest will change us...he could get a sence of this. A Beginning...and an End. He shook his head and rode forth silently. 

     *Flash*

     The mage drew a blackened blade from his master. Yes....he heard it whisper in his mind. Death...Death...Darkness....Kill....destroy...Darkness. He took the blade and went forth. A familiar rogue stood there with a mortified look on his face. The mage raised the blade. His mind raced. "Kuros? I am killing Kuros?" he thought to himself. "AULAR OF THE LIGHT!" screamed Kuros. The mage turned, and saw the rising of the sun. Light peaked over the horizon in a orange and red brilliant blaze. Dawn...light..darkness...ideas tossed in the mage's mind. The sun peaked into full view, and it shone with a yellow flare haloed in a whitish yellow glow. A spark at the back of his mind recalled this symbol, and the green eyed goddess from his dreams. Words came to him, and he knew it to be an spell. The Mage smiled, turned, and raised the foul blade high. "I SUMMON...."

     *Flash*

     The world around him became as white as snow. He had been here before. The maiden..the beautiful woman from his dreams smiled. "You have done well. You, a mortal, have found your inner power." She motioned into the vast whiteness, and 5 cloaked figures emerged. 3 men and two women emerged from the blinding white background: A man in a cloak of deep browns and greens; a man in a cloak of red, orange and yellow; a woman in a cloak of blues and aquas; a woman in a cloak of greys; and a man in in a cloak of midnight blue and black. The woman in white bowed her head and the 6 formed a circle around the mage. The dream maiden in the white cloak spoke in a sing song voice:

     "In the Light as I find him, To the Light, Thus I bind him. Path of choosen, warrior right; To you I grant the Summoned Light." 

     The cloaked figures motioned a spell he could not identify and chanted words in a language he did not understand. Bright flows of visible energy, each reflective of the wearer's cloak, flowed from the circle into the mage. The mage tensed and closed his eyes. He felt a reversal; as the powers Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, and Darkness flowed from him outward. Only one power remained...

     *Flash*

     The man looked into the mirror and stumbled as his memories came flooding back. "The Light..choose...me?" He stumbled to the bed and sat down. Holding his head in his hands, he fought back the flood of knowledge that had surfaced. A flood that has not been there before. A flood of knowledge that he had learned in his lifetime, and more. Memories of men and women long dead swelled in his mind, till his head ached and he felt like his skull would burst. He screamed a horrible cry of pain as he collapsed and fell to the floor. He was dimly aware of steps running down the hall, and the door opening. The pain eased slightly as something cool hit his forehead. "A compress, yes, a compress," he thought. He felt himself being picked up, and felt the bed hit his backside gently. The comfort of his bedding eased him into a state of calm as he cleared his mind. He began breathing normally. After a few moments of normal breath, he attempted to open his eyes. The dim light struck his vision harshly, and he squinted them shut quickly. He blinked a few times to adjust to the light, and opened his eyes. Kuros was sitting over him holding a wet cloth, looking anxious. "Aular?" he said softly. Aular began to sit up as Kuros quickly dropped the cloth to assist him. Aular touched his temple and felt a small stabbing of pain, though much more controlled than before. "Kuros," he said, "have someone Gather the Druids, please. This cannot wait." Aular began getting up as Kuros assisted. "and, can you help me dress?" Kuros nodded as he helped Aular to stand and set him in the chair next to the bed. Kuros spoke softly, "You wait here a moment, my friend, and gather your strength. I will get Oneaus now." And with a final glance to insure Aular was stable in the chair, he darted out the door. "The Great Forest is but a beginning. We must stop them. I must find the others..." muttered Aular. He said a small prayer. "Light give me the strength. Light give me hope....."
 

Druid Aular