SteelDraco
First Post
The sound of a crackling fire, burning low, somewhere close. A few quiet movements, as of someone rolling over in their sleep, and the slow, steady scrape of a blade being sharpened. From far away comes the low, chirping call of night birds.
A deep voice, lowered to a whisper, cuts through the quiet night. “T’shaa, is this thing on? T’shaa?”
Another voice, a woman’s, in quiet irritation, quickly giving way to worry. “What? Did Dra’kar spot something? Are they coming?”
“No, it’s not that. I just wanted to know how to work the mimir. It’s following me around, watching me. Is that what it’s supposed to do?”
The sound of someone rolling over, and an exasperated sigh. “Yes, it’s recording whatever it hears. I’m going back to sleep. And, for the record, don’t bother me with this again.”
“Sorry. I’ll be quiet. Dra’kar, I’m going to step out of camp for a few minutes. I’ll be back soon.”
The sound of a blade being sharpened stills for a moment. “Keep an eye out. They’re still close, and the scouting parties might have seen the fire.”
“I will.” Quiet movements, someone walking through tall grass, and then a thump, of a large man in armor sitting. A moment passes, long enough for one to collect scattered thoughts.
“This begins the tale of our rrakma, on the third day of the twelfth ten-day of the year, twenty turnings after the founding of Nath’kt’lan. We have set out into the wild, toward the monastery of Ach’ad’maal. We are to survey the jungle and lands between the city and the monastery, surveying for a suitable road and clearing the area of significant threats. And already we have found such – no. I must not get ahead of myself. I must *know* patience.”
“The rrakma band is comprised of six members. Myself, D’kel, a h’ranmar gith and a freeholder. Another h’ranmar, Lii’an, a curiously selfless warrior who is well-practiced at healing with her psionic arts. Dra’kar, a high githzerai soulblade from the city, another who *knows* the Scripture of Steel, as I do. Nalla, a zerthin and student of the Sai’yanad Monastery, where she studied the telepath’s art. T’shaa – whom was heard earlier – is a student of the past, one who seeks to *know* the truth of our histories, and learn what she can from our ancient home. Rr’ka journeys with us as well, a psion of Ach’ad’maal, where they learn the destructive arts of the *will*, to conjure fire and ice from their minds.”
“Our training completed four days ago; we set out the next day toward our goal. It seems to me that our training was cut somewhat short. There was an … anomaly, something that occurred that caused a problem for our trainers and the Sensorium that they were using to train us.”
“For the previous few days, we had been training for our rrakma-journey, learning our strengths and skills and battling as a group. We had progressed with some ease through the challenges they presented – only when fighting several ogres did we encounter any real difficulty, and that was more a factor of our own inexperience in battling such creatures than a fault in our own abilities. Now that we have met them with steel, the way of fighting them is *known* to us. We will not suffer such again. Our trainers were well satisfied with our progress, as it should be – we are the most promising of the rrakma-bands, the most skilled warriors and the most disciplined minds. We will *know* victory against our enemies. We had learned much from Senzi’s Reward, and it neared the time for our rrakma to begin.”
“We reveled the night before our next training session. To be precise, I reveled. I fear my rrakma-brothers and sisters judged me harshly for my ways, but I will not apologize for them. My blood sings with the zeal of a thousand generations of githzerai warriors, here on the homeworld, where we lived and fought and loved even before the coming of the *illithid*. Great deeds will be done here, by us, and I will celebrate them. If my rrakma will not, then I must be all the more joyous.”
“The Sensorium the next day placed us in a battle against fiends, creatures from the lower planes and their master. We triumphed, though we came to understand that we must learn to fight against those that cannot be seen. Much difficulty was had in locating and slaying the spellcaster who plagued us, making himself walk unseen and then casting magics at us to confuse and befuddle our minds. I myself fell victim to his mind-magics, though the unfortunate Neela spent most of the battle trying to collect her scattered wits. Dra’kar was most innovative, spreading a vat of burning charcoal over the mage, which allowed us to locate and kill him with some ease.”
“As we expected, the Sensorium’s creation dissolved, and we found ourselves standing in the small chamber that housed the sensory stone. We discussed the battles with those who advised us, and prepared to face a still-greater challenge, as was typical of the training we had undergone. Little did we expect what would, in truth, occur.”
“The walls of the Sensorium were already beginning to change when the shockwave hit. It felt like a fire in my mind, staggering my senses and overloading all the pathways of my *will*. I fought it off, as did the others of my rrakma – but something unexpected occurred with the Sensorium.”
“We found ourselves in a deep, dark cavern, the walls stained with trailings of pinkish slime. A choking stench filled my nostrils, of sea-brine and the foul rot of a dir’gaz left too long to rot in the sun. Something skittered across our minds, long familiarity making us all recognize our greatest fear – we were in the presence of *illithid* and their workings.”
“Battle was joined almost immediately, and we knew Tar’kan’s Blade ((fear)) sharper than we had in all our training. Something had gone wrong – were we safe from real harm, as we had been in previous training sessions? Could we come to *know* death here, in this foul place far beneath the surface of some distant world?”
“The rrakma fought well. Several blind warrior-creatures were there, grimlocks, as T’shaa called them. Lii’an and the zerthin battled those. Rr’ka and I engaged several larger creatures, more ogres, these having had their brains removed and replaced with a tentacle of foul *illithid*-craft. Voidmind beasts, as I was told by Senzi’s Reward some time ago. I called upon my *will*, and grew to a size to match theirs, and met them with my steel. And yet… I failed. One of the foul creatures vomited forth from its tentacle-cavity a gout of greenish ichor, its touch sending my mind reeling. I found myself unable to act as the great things and the grimlocks attacked my companions. A tentacle found me, and squeezed me until I *knew* no more.”
“I awoke at Lii’an’s touch, still in the underground cavern. I did not expect to wake. The bulk of one of the voidmind ogres, now dead on the floor, was next to me. Lii’an seemed so small, when she normally towers over even me. I knew then that not much time had passed – my *will* had not yet failed, and I was still the size of one of the large beasts. My wounds closed, finding purchase instead on Lii’an, though not as great as they had been on me. She was taking on Elezpah’s Burden, suffering so that I might continue to fight. Her brow was creased in worry.”
“Get up, we are in danger. The *illithid* is here. T’shaa is dead.”
“I stood quickly and looked. I could see at the edge of my vision the corpse of T’shaa, the back of her head opened and her brain feasted upon, as is the way of the *illithid*. I could see the thing nearby, struggling with Dra’kar. Hope grew in my chest as I saw two more of the People, in the garb of zerthin. My spirits sank again as I realized they were battling with Rr’ka and Neela, and were obviously then thralls of the *illithid*. None of the People will harm another, if their *will* is their own. I exchanged a heavy glance with Lii’an, and she moved to engage the dominated zerthin, leaving me a path to the *illithid* itself.”
“I admit that there was joy in my heart as I raised my blade and charged toward the creature. I had trained long for the chance to test my steel against the ancient foes of my People, to bring death to one of the *illithid*, even if only in seeming, in a Sensorium. This was the purpose of my life, to bring vengeance, to defend my People, and yet… and yet I failed.”
“I saw the creature’s eyes narrow in contempt as I charged toward it. That alien mouth cannot sneer, as we know it, but that was its thought – it made that *known* to me. I have trained long in exercises of the *will*, in defending my mind against outside assault. I believed I would be the one to strike down the foul creature. And yet, as it released a mental barrage against me, I felt my defenses crumble like Yvon’s Folly. I stopped my charge and stood senseless, once again overwhelmed and left defenseless.”
“My companions fought bravely, I know that. I was able to bear witness to that much. And they triumphed – Dra’kar’s soulblade cut the *illithid* down, and Rr’ka’s energy blasts finished off the [I[zerthin[/I]. A hard-fought victory for the rrakma, and yet I had not been a part of it. I must congratulate them, and yet I know that their victory was not mine – I did not *know* victory against the creatures, only bore witness to it. All I came to *know* was failure, and the price of my own arrogance.”
“The seeming faded soon after we defeated the *illithid*, and we found ourselves once more in the Sensorium chamber. T’shaa recovered, though I believe she still carries the memory of her death as a heavy burden. The shaper who created the seemings for us suffers now as well, damaged by the shockwave that pulsed through the city, causing such disruption.”
“Our training was now over. It was asked of us that we investigate the cause of this disturbance, to travel toward the Ach’ad’maal Monastery. We are to eliminate any serious threats in the area, find a safe path for a permanent road, and discover the cause of the psionic shockwave, which was *known* to have originated in that direction. At least a part of this we have already accomplished – and yet, I must not get ahead of myself.”
“We set out to the south, toward the river. We encountered many creatures that were already *known* to me along the journey, including several kavu, a t’shaa, and several tasty tesh’tla that I found under a rock. Boiled with urdro root and a hint of ginseng, they were quite delicious, though apparently duk’kar stomachs are weak – Rr’ka was quite discomfited by the meal, unable to digest robust fare. If such is his *will*, I will prepare milder fare for him; perhaps a thin gruel would better serve his fllka palate. At the river, we battled an unusual creature – a large, hairy creature with a maw capable of tearing someone in half. As it nearly did me – again, I owe a debt to Lii’an and her healing skills. It was infested with some kind of parasitic grass – khol grass, I believe she said - which was not *known* to me. T’shaa thought it to be some manner of *illithid*-craft, but how could that be, here on the homeworld? Did their empire stay here, after we were taken from this place? Could there even now be *illithid* on the homeworld, spinning their plots and lies in the dark places beneath the earth? The rest of the rrakma seemed quite intent on destroying it, which I agreed with, but they wanted to follow the river into the mountains, far from our course and purpose. I disagreed, *knowing* that to eliminate a grass in such a manner was nearly impossible, its seeds having by now spread both far and wide. We will kill it when we see it, however.”
“We traveled west, seeking a ford across the river, burning khol-grass wherever we found it. On watch one evening, Dra’kar spotted a light shining in the distance, on the far side of the river. We decided we would head that direction when we could, to see if other thinking creatures were on our homeworld. The river proved a difficult obstacle, however, and only at the river fork were we able to ford, as I carried the group across. We lost several days crossing in this manner, but we had no boats, and no skill with them, in any case. Perhaps we should later contrive some manner of ferry, or conceal a makeshift raft on each side of the river.”
“We encountered a herd of kodo on our way back east, toward the light that Dra’kar had seen. They were near the river, and one of their bulls was in an evil temper. I argued that we should avoid it, and the group agreed. It saw us regardless our intent, and we were forced to put the vast creature down. Again, I found myself without a use in battle, its massive head-crest between my steel and any vulnerable flesh. I tried to crack its bony exterior, but it proved quite able to resist my blade. At least I managed to avoid its maddened charge, and not be skewered upon its horn, requiring Lii’an to once again save my life. The creature wasn’t infected with the khol-grass, just full of anger, in tune with one of its natural cycles.”
“We were now close to the light-source on the horizon, close enough that T’shaa went ahead, to investigate it. She came back just a few hours ago, with a tale that brought fear and rage to our hearts – there are githyanki here, on the homeworld. She reported that an astral ship, one of their war-vessels, had apparently crashed into the side of an ancient burial mound. There are perhaps thirty of them left alive, based on T’shaa’s scouting and the reports of a small creature that is mind-liked with Nallla. This must have been the cause of the psionic shockwave we experienced – they came through a planar gate at approximately the same time, and the failure of their magically-driven ship and the magical gateway at the same time must have caused the disturbance. The homeworld is not friendly to magic, apparently.”
“With this knowledge, we came to disagree. I believe it would be wiser for us to return to Nath’kt’lan with this information. Githyanki raiding parties and invading ships are a greater threat to Nath’kt’lan than we were sent out to deal with. If this ship found its way here, others may have as well, from other directions. I argued that we should return to the city, or at least make the threat *known* to them. Others argued that we should deal with the problem on our own, as hunting enemies of the People is the nature and purpose of the rrakma. They refused to return to the city, instead deciding that we should eliminate as many roving bands as we could, and then see what response the githyanki made, to see how best we could eliminate the encampment. I feel this is a grave risk – we are skilled, yes, but there are many opponents here, and they are of the same warrior stock as ourselves. We are forged of the same steel; only later did the githyanki fall to madness and corruption. I have learned much of the nature of pain since the beginning of this rrakma, though it has only been a few days. Our current path is one of great risk, and I can only hope that others do not suffer because we have betrayed the trust that they have placed in us. We are rrakma, and yet I hope that we have not fallen victim to Vilquar’s Eye in believing we can best this foe.”
A deep voice, lowered to a whisper, cuts through the quiet night. “T’shaa, is this thing on? T’shaa?”
Another voice, a woman’s, in quiet irritation, quickly giving way to worry. “What? Did Dra’kar spot something? Are they coming?”
“No, it’s not that. I just wanted to know how to work the mimir. It’s following me around, watching me. Is that what it’s supposed to do?”
The sound of someone rolling over, and an exasperated sigh. “Yes, it’s recording whatever it hears. I’m going back to sleep. And, for the record, don’t bother me with this again.”
“Sorry. I’ll be quiet. Dra’kar, I’m going to step out of camp for a few minutes. I’ll be back soon.”
The sound of a blade being sharpened stills for a moment. “Keep an eye out. They’re still close, and the scouting parties might have seen the fire.”
“I will.” Quiet movements, someone walking through tall grass, and then a thump, of a large man in armor sitting. A moment passes, long enough for one to collect scattered thoughts.
“This begins the tale of our rrakma, on the third day of the twelfth ten-day of the year, twenty turnings after the founding of Nath’kt’lan. We have set out into the wild, toward the monastery of Ach’ad’maal. We are to survey the jungle and lands between the city and the monastery, surveying for a suitable road and clearing the area of significant threats. And already we have found such – no. I must not get ahead of myself. I must *know* patience.”
“The rrakma band is comprised of six members. Myself, D’kel, a h’ranmar gith and a freeholder. Another h’ranmar, Lii’an, a curiously selfless warrior who is well-practiced at healing with her psionic arts. Dra’kar, a high githzerai soulblade from the city, another who *knows* the Scripture of Steel, as I do. Nalla, a zerthin and student of the Sai’yanad Monastery, where she studied the telepath’s art. T’shaa – whom was heard earlier – is a student of the past, one who seeks to *know* the truth of our histories, and learn what she can from our ancient home. Rr’ka journeys with us as well, a psion of Ach’ad’maal, where they learn the destructive arts of the *will*, to conjure fire and ice from their minds.”
“Our training completed four days ago; we set out the next day toward our goal. It seems to me that our training was cut somewhat short. There was an … anomaly, something that occurred that caused a problem for our trainers and the Sensorium that they were using to train us.”
“For the previous few days, we had been training for our rrakma-journey, learning our strengths and skills and battling as a group. We had progressed with some ease through the challenges they presented – only when fighting several ogres did we encounter any real difficulty, and that was more a factor of our own inexperience in battling such creatures than a fault in our own abilities. Now that we have met them with steel, the way of fighting them is *known* to us. We will not suffer such again. Our trainers were well satisfied with our progress, as it should be – we are the most promising of the rrakma-bands, the most skilled warriors and the most disciplined minds. We will *know* victory against our enemies. We had learned much from Senzi’s Reward, and it neared the time for our rrakma to begin.”
“We reveled the night before our next training session. To be precise, I reveled. I fear my rrakma-brothers and sisters judged me harshly for my ways, but I will not apologize for them. My blood sings with the zeal of a thousand generations of githzerai warriors, here on the homeworld, where we lived and fought and loved even before the coming of the *illithid*. Great deeds will be done here, by us, and I will celebrate them. If my rrakma will not, then I must be all the more joyous.”
“The Sensorium the next day placed us in a battle against fiends, creatures from the lower planes and their master. We triumphed, though we came to understand that we must learn to fight against those that cannot be seen. Much difficulty was had in locating and slaying the spellcaster who plagued us, making himself walk unseen and then casting magics at us to confuse and befuddle our minds. I myself fell victim to his mind-magics, though the unfortunate Neela spent most of the battle trying to collect her scattered wits. Dra’kar was most innovative, spreading a vat of burning charcoal over the mage, which allowed us to locate and kill him with some ease.”
“As we expected, the Sensorium’s creation dissolved, and we found ourselves standing in the small chamber that housed the sensory stone. We discussed the battles with those who advised us, and prepared to face a still-greater challenge, as was typical of the training we had undergone. Little did we expect what would, in truth, occur.”
“The walls of the Sensorium were already beginning to change when the shockwave hit. It felt like a fire in my mind, staggering my senses and overloading all the pathways of my *will*. I fought it off, as did the others of my rrakma – but something unexpected occurred with the Sensorium.”
“We found ourselves in a deep, dark cavern, the walls stained with trailings of pinkish slime. A choking stench filled my nostrils, of sea-brine and the foul rot of a dir’gaz left too long to rot in the sun. Something skittered across our minds, long familiarity making us all recognize our greatest fear – we were in the presence of *illithid* and their workings.”
“Battle was joined almost immediately, and we knew Tar’kan’s Blade ((fear)) sharper than we had in all our training. Something had gone wrong – were we safe from real harm, as we had been in previous training sessions? Could we come to *know* death here, in this foul place far beneath the surface of some distant world?”
“The rrakma fought well. Several blind warrior-creatures were there, grimlocks, as T’shaa called them. Lii’an and the zerthin battled those. Rr’ka and I engaged several larger creatures, more ogres, these having had their brains removed and replaced with a tentacle of foul *illithid*-craft. Voidmind beasts, as I was told by Senzi’s Reward some time ago. I called upon my *will*, and grew to a size to match theirs, and met them with my steel. And yet… I failed. One of the foul creatures vomited forth from its tentacle-cavity a gout of greenish ichor, its touch sending my mind reeling. I found myself unable to act as the great things and the grimlocks attacked my companions. A tentacle found me, and squeezed me until I *knew* no more.”
“I awoke at Lii’an’s touch, still in the underground cavern. I did not expect to wake. The bulk of one of the voidmind ogres, now dead on the floor, was next to me. Lii’an seemed so small, when she normally towers over even me. I knew then that not much time had passed – my *will* had not yet failed, and I was still the size of one of the large beasts. My wounds closed, finding purchase instead on Lii’an, though not as great as they had been on me. She was taking on Elezpah’s Burden, suffering so that I might continue to fight. Her brow was creased in worry.”
“Get up, we are in danger. The *illithid* is here. T’shaa is dead.”
“I stood quickly and looked. I could see at the edge of my vision the corpse of T’shaa, the back of her head opened and her brain feasted upon, as is the way of the *illithid*. I could see the thing nearby, struggling with Dra’kar. Hope grew in my chest as I saw two more of the People, in the garb of zerthin. My spirits sank again as I realized they were battling with Rr’ka and Neela, and were obviously then thralls of the *illithid*. None of the People will harm another, if their *will* is their own. I exchanged a heavy glance with Lii’an, and she moved to engage the dominated zerthin, leaving me a path to the *illithid* itself.”
“I admit that there was joy in my heart as I raised my blade and charged toward the creature. I had trained long for the chance to test my steel against the ancient foes of my People, to bring death to one of the *illithid*, even if only in seeming, in a Sensorium. This was the purpose of my life, to bring vengeance, to defend my People, and yet… and yet I failed.”
“I saw the creature’s eyes narrow in contempt as I charged toward it. That alien mouth cannot sneer, as we know it, but that was its thought – it made that *known* to me. I have trained long in exercises of the *will*, in defending my mind against outside assault. I believed I would be the one to strike down the foul creature. And yet, as it released a mental barrage against me, I felt my defenses crumble like Yvon’s Folly. I stopped my charge and stood senseless, once again overwhelmed and left defenseless.”
“My companions fought bravely, I know that. I was able to bear witness to that much. And they triumphed – Dra’kar’s soulblade cut the *illithid* down, and Rr’ka’s energy blasts finished off the [I[zerthin[/I]. A hard-fought victory for the rrakma, and yet I had not been a part of it. I must congratulate them, and yet I know that their victory was not mine – I did not *know* victory against the creatures, only bore witness to it. All I came to *know* was failure, and the price of my own arrogance.”
“The seeming faded soon after we defeated the *illithid*, and we found ourselves once more in the Sensorium chamber. T’shaa recovered, though I believe she still carries the memory of her death as a heavy burden. The shaper who created the seemings for us suffers now as well, damaged by the shockwave that pulsed through the city, causing such disruption.”
“Our training was now over. It was asked of us that we investigate the cause of this disturbance, to travel toward the Ach’ad’maal Monastery. We are to eliminate any serious threats in the area, find a safe path for a permanent road, and discover the cause of the psionic shockwave, which was *known* to have originated in that direction. At least a part of this we have already accomplished – and yet, I must not get ahead of myself.”
“We set out to the south, toward the river. We encountered many creatures that were already *known* to me along the journey, including several kavu, a t’shaa, and several tasty tesh’tla that I found under a rock. Boiled with urdro root and a hint of ginseng, they were quite delicious, though apparently duk’kar stomachs are weak – Rr’ka was quite discomfited by the meal, unable to digest robust fare. If such is his *will*, I will prepare milder fare for him; perhaps a thin gruel would better serve his fllka palate. At the river, we battled an unusual creature – a large, hairy creature with a maw capable of tearing someone in half. As it nearly did me – again, I owe a debt to Lii’an and her healing skills. It was infested with some kind of parasitic grass – khol grass, I believe she said - which was not *known* to me. T’shaa thought it to be some manner of *illithid*-craft, but how could that be, here on the homeworld? Did their empire stay here, after we were taken from this place? Could there even now be *illithid* on the homeworld, spinning their plots and lies in the dark places beneath the earth? The rest of the rrakma seemed quite intent on destroying it, which I agreed with, but they wanted to follow the river into the mountains, far from our course and purpose. I disagreed, *knowing* that to eliminate a grass in such a manner was nearly impossible, its seeds having by now spread both far and wide. We will kill it when we see it, however.”
“We traveled west, seeking a ford across the river, burning khol-grass wherever we found it. On watch one evening, Dra’kar spotted a light shining in the distance, on the far side of the river. We decided we would head that direction when we could, to see if other thinking creatures were on our homeworld. The river proved a difficult obstacle, however, and only at the river fork were we able to ford, as I carried the group across. We lost several days crossing in this manner, but we had no boats, and no skill with them, in any case. Perhaps we should later contrive some manner of ferry, or conceal a makeshift raft on each side of the river.”
“We encountered a herd of kodo on our way back east, toward the light that Dra’kar had seen. They were near the river, and one of their bulls was in an evil temper. I argued that we should avoid it, and the group agreed. It saw us regardless our intent, and we were forced to put the vast creature down. Again, I found myself without a use in battle, its massive head-crest between my steel and any vulnerable flesh. I tried to crack its bony exterior, but it proved quite able to resist my blade. At least I managed to avoid its maddened charge, and not be skewered upon its horn, requiring Lii’an to once again save my life. The creature wasn’t infected with the khol-grass, just full of anger, in tune with one of its natural cycles.”
“We were now close to the light-source on the horizon, close enough that T’shaa went ahead, to investigate it. She came back just a few hours ago, with a tale that brought fear and rage to our hearts – there are githyanki here, on the homeworld. She reported that an astral ship, one of their war-vessels, had apparently crashed into the side of an ancient burial mound. There are perhaps thirty of them left alive, based on T’shaa’s scouting and the reports of a small creature that is mind-liked with Nallla. This must have been the cause of the psionic shockwave we experienced – they came through a planar gate at approximately the same time, and the failure of their magically-driven ship and the magical gateway at the same time must have caused the disturbance. The homeworld is not friendly to magic, apparently.”
“With this knowledge, we came to disagree. I believe it would be wiser for us to return to Nath’kt’lan with this information. Githyanki raiding parties and invading ships are a greater threat to Nath’kt’lan than we were sent out to deal with. If this ship found its way here, others may have as well, from other directions. I argued that we should return to the city, or at least make the threat *known* to them. Others argued that we should deal with the problem on our own, as hunting enemies of the People is the nature and purpose of the rrakma. They refused to return to the city, instead deciding that we should eliminate as many roving bands as we could, and then see what response the githyanki made, to see how best we could eliminate the encampment. I feel this is a grave risk – we are skilled, yes, but there are many opponents here, and they are of the same warrior stock as ourselves. We are forged of the same steel; only later did the githyanki fall to madness and corruption. I have learned much of the nature of pain since the beginning of this rrakma, though it has only been a few days. Our current path is one of great risk, and I can only hope that others do not suffer because we have betrayed the trust that they have placed in us. We are rrakma, and yet I hope that we have not fallen victim to Vilquar’s Eye in believing we can best this foe.”
