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Steel Dragon's "Tales of Orea"
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<blockquote data-quote="steeldragons" data-source="post: 6147991" data-attributes="member: 92511"><p>Alaria dashed into their chambers, feeling the tingling of magic pass over her as she moved through Keep’s mystical security barriers. She immediately dashed into the bedchamber she and Braddok were sharing these days. </p><p></p><p>Halaen raced for his own chamber (which he fully expected to be sharing with Fen and Pyrnion when they arrived to stay).</p><p></p><p>Braddok slammed the door shut behind them, bolted it and leaned against it heavily. Kandu pulsed its blue light in his hand.</p><p></p><p>Duor, who had worn his ethereal dagger to the festivities, showing off the green-flaming blade in attempts to impress the serving maids, headed for the chamber he and Jovias were sharing to get his other weapons.</p><p></p><p>“Stay here. Watch the door with Braddok.” the dwarf instructed his henchman.</p><p></p><p>The satyr nodded in compliance. “If I may, Master Braddok?” Jovias asked even as he pressed a hand against Braddok’s side to move him out of the satyr’s way.</p><p></p><p>When met with a look of questioning annoyance, the russet haired satyr simply smiled and pointed at his elf-like tapered ears and wiggled them visibly. Braddok took a reluctant step back and let the satyr minstrel press the side of his goat-horned head against the door. </p><p></p><p>Alaria immediately grabbed the Staff of Azanna and scooped up the satchel in which she’d stashed her pouches of spell components and the Ihs Repahl. as she swung around to rejoin the others in the living space/sitting room the emotionless voices of Keep emanated from the blue ball of light that floated in the chamber near her.</p><p></p><p>“<em>Portal shielding breach in the North Tower.</em>”</p><p></p><p>Alaria stood, stilled with alarm, facing the light ball as if it were speaking “to” her instead of simply reporting.</p><p></p><p>“<em>Level 4.</em>”</p><p></p><p>Jovias looked up at Braddok, his face full of concern. The warrior mentally calculated that they were, in fact, on Level 4.</p><p></p><p>“<em>Guest Chambers.</em>”</p><p></p><p>Haelan reentered the communal living chamber from the short hall that led to the other bedrooms, his shield and mace in hand. His gaze was glued to the window of that chamber and the dark shapes that seemed to be moving outside the wide tall windows of that room.</p><p></p><p>“<em>Suite B.</em>” Keep’s voices said immediately before the window pains flew open before him.</p><p></p><p>One dark cloaked shape was in the room, leaping effortlessly from the sill to the large round table where the party took their meals. Before anyone could react, the figure outstretched an open hand toward the large roaring fireplace and the chamber was doused in darkness as the flames were enveloped in a cloud of black.</p><p></p><p>A second dark figure moved through the window, seemingly crawling along the wall beside it. A single bound brought it to the wall near Haelan and a second bound brought it to rest, momentarily, above the darkened fireplace. The inky cloaked figure had a short dull black blade in each hand.</p><p></p><p>Haelan noted with alarm as a thick viscous fluid dripped from the edges of both blades.</p><p></p><p>“Beware! Their blades are poisoned!” Haelan managed to yell.</p><p></p><p>Braddok, in a single bound was upon the figure on the table even as a third appeared on the window sill. His swipe with Kandu took a large chunk out of the table where the “darklings” had been at the beginning of his stroke. Before the blade could land, however, it had jumped up to...and now stood?!...upon the ceiling!</p><p></p><p>The ShiDaeiri in the window lunged forward only to be surprisely halted and jolted back by the neck for a moment before, seemingly, flying backwards out of the window.</p><p></p><p>Pyrnion, outside the tower, heaved back on the inky black cloak, up, over himself and flung the figure from the window toward the hard stone courtyard below.</p><p></p><p>The creature fell, tumbling heels over head about half way to the ground before halting its descent in mid air and righting itself. With a buzzing snarling response to the zephari, it withdrew two short blades of its own and began floating, at a significant speed, back up toward Pyrnion. </p><p></p><p>The winged ranger withdrew his elegantly crafted hand axe and prepared to dive to meet the creature in battle. </p><p></p><p>Just before they were within striking distance of each other, the ShiDaeiri was shunted to the side by an apparently very solid beam of green energy. Flung several tens of feets to the side and down. </p><p></p><p>Pyrnion turned in surprise to see the othe end of the green beam connected to the teardrop gem upon Rhea’s brow as the glowing Emerald Lady came floating up beside him. </p><p></p><p>“Go! Help the others. Get the Ihs Repahl to the Great Hall! I’ve got this.” Rhea said forcefully.</p><p></p><p>Pyrnion began to protest until he saw a blue corona of light shaped like a dragon appear in the air not far from them. The Dragonmage-apparent, lord prince Montor, materialized in the air beside Rhea. As a thundering bolt of sapphire blue energy left the wizard and struck the still disoriented floating darkling, Pyrnion nodded and winged his way back around to the party’s chambers’ window.</p><p></p><p>Two sword strikes clanged loudly off of Haelan’s rounded shield. Haelan’s attempt to strike it off of the mantel had fallen short and now, the daelvar Hilltender was on the defensive, being forced back with slicing black blurs of blades. </p><p></p><p>*TANG* T-TANG*</p><p></p><p>The clashing of weapons occurred on the other side of the room simultaneously as Braddok did his best to battle the ShiDaeiri that had been on the ceiling...then back to the table...then the opposite wall...running along the wall back around toward the window only to launch itself again at the Grinlian warrior. Neither swordsman seemed capable of piercing the other’s deft defensive moves.</p><p></p><p>Duor now entered the fray, firing a art from his hand crossbow from the shadows down the hall and striking the darkling assaulting Haelan. </p><p></p><p>The creature’s cloaked head turned to face the dwarf in surprise as the dart stuck out from its forearm.</p><p></p><p>All Duor could make of the face were two narrow slits of bright amethyst. Something...there was something about the purple eyes that triggered a memory in the back of the dwarf’s mind...but he didn’t quite recall, only that he should be very very scared.</p><p></p><p>“Don’t like the light, eh?” Haelan took full advantage of the momentary distraction to call for Faerantha’s aid.</p><p></p><p>“<em>Yaix ar Yomarus Suprimus, benifica Faerantha urmu!” <cleric spell: Continual Light</em>> </p><p></p><p>With a chiming ring through their chambers, light burst into every room and corner, bright as the sun.</p><p></p><p>Both “darklings” were immediately stunned, halting their attacks to cover their cloth wrapped faces with this arms and hands as they buzzed and clicked and hissed their obvious displeasure and discomfort.</p><p></p><p><em>"Everx zaar!" </em>Alaria's voice boomed through the chamber.</p><p>Two bolts of violet-blue energy struck into the ShiDaeiri near Braddok. The warrior saw the energies surrounding Alaria’s outstretched hand in the doorway of the bedchamber.</p><p></p><p>Just then, Pyrnion surged into the room through the window and struck it from behind with his axe. At the same time Braddok brought Kandu down, deeply into the creature’s shoulder.</p><p></p><p>The ShiDaeiri hissed in apparent pain and faltered, but did not fall.</p><p></p><p>A third bolt of energy slammed into the back of the ShiDaeiri near Haelan. Duor fired his crossbow into the creature again, but it seemed to skirt off the dull black fine mesh of armor that encased its torso.</p><p></p><p>“Zzt! Hzzik’kikit!” one of the creatures cried out.</p><p></p><p>Both became surrounded in globes of blackness. The holy light of Faerantha pressed the globes inward until the shadowy darkness clung closely to the figures.</p><p></p><p>Shielded from the painful glare, the ShiDaeiri near Haelan struck out wildly and managed to clip the daelvar through his white “formal wear” and into his arm.</p><p></p><p>Haelan cried out in pain as the cut but then steadied his mind to fight through the burning sensation that infused his whole arm almost immediately. Damn! The poison! Haelan knew.</p><p></p><p>“Duor! Alaria! Help! I’m hit!” Haelan shouted in abject fear and ducked the second blade’s swipe to rush back down the short hall toward the dwarf.</p><p></p><p>“Jovias, do something!” Duor shouted in command as he tucked the daelvar behind him and the two backed away from the approaching ShiDaeiri. He heard Haelan begin praying to his goddess in muted tones.</p><p></p><p>“Right. Right. Yes, Master. Right away!” Jovias stammered as he jostled the lyre strapped over his shoulder around to his hands and after a few plucks of individual notes and a solid strum took in a deep breath. Jovias began peeling notes on his lyre as he a harmony rang from his throat.</p><p></p><p>*<em>CDCFFCG-B-flat-AAAAAAAAAAA!* <DM’s note: Bardic magic, in Orea, is not conducted by “Arcane" magic. They are a way of accessing the natural energies of the physical world, as those used by Druids. Their magics are referred to “spellsongs” [not overtly creative, I know] and require an instrument and/or their voice, depending on the spell, to actuate the magical effect.</em>></p><p></p><p>There was a burst of light around the ShiDaeiri moving into the hall toward his master and the Hilltender.</p><p></p><p>The shroud of shadow around it disappeared and it was again staggered by the glaring yellow-white sunlight that filled the chambers.</p><p></p><p>The heavily wounded ShiDaeiri, stuck between Braddok and Pyrnion, ducked and bolted beneath the table between him and the magess in the doorway.</p><p></p><p>Alaria backed away in alarm as the dark shadowy figure emerged from the table (throwing chairs away as he did so) and managed to knock away the Staff of Azanna even as Alaria prepared to swing a shocking blow.</p><p></p><p>Its violet eyes were pupilless and glowed from the shadows of its hood. The slender eyes narrowed further at the astonished magess, then to the satchel beside her. </p><p></p><p>It grabbed the purse, using one of its blades to slice the strap around Alaria’s shoulder. </p><p></p><p>“NO!” Alaria protested.</p><p></p><p>In a whirl of shadow, even as Braddok was within a step of his mage lover, the ShiDaeiri turned back for the window. It ran up onto the wall, avoiding a swipe of Pyrnion’s axe and dove through the window.</p><p></p><p>”Are you hurt?” Braddok said quickly, turning to see the last edges of the inky cloak slip through the window into the night.</p><p></p><p> “STOP IT! IT HAS THE ORB!” Alaria was frantic, pushing past her champion without the slightest acknowledgement.</p><p></p><p>Pyrnion dove out the window after it without even a beat of his wings.</p><p></p><p>The second ShiDaeiri staggered and swung wildly with its blades. It seemed to the dwarf, satyr and halfing engaging it that it was entirely blinded by Haelan’s spell.</p><p></p><p>Pyrnion dove, his wings pressed closely against his body, his arms pressed to his sides. </p><p></p><p>The fluttering flowing inky darkness beneath him was getting closer and closer until, finally, it too stopped in midair and shunted to the side out of his path.</p><p></p><p>Wings immediately unfurled and pinions twisted to bring the winged man out of his dive and swing him around to rise back up toward his prey. Pyrnion noted silently at these wingless creatures’ ease of movement when not on solid ground seemed to match their fleetness upon it. The zepharim were nearly unmatched in all of Orea for their agility in the air. These intruders were an unknown challenge to him.</p><p></p><p>Now out of the painful glare of the light in the chamber, the figure dispelled his shadowy sheathe and unfurled a scroll from somewhere on his person.</p><p></p><p>*<em>Rhea, we need help!</em>* Pyrnion shouted out telepathically.</p><p></p><p>*<em>Do as the Chamberlain said and flee if you can. We are otherwise engaged. I’ll be there as soon as I can.</em>* was the disappointing reply, though definitely underlined with an unmistakable urgency and a fear that Pyrnion could perceive in the telepathic connection.</p><p></p><p>*<em>They have the orb!</em>* Pyrnion returned as he raised his axe over his head and threw it with all of his might.</p><p></p><p>From somewhere above him, he heard Alaria’s voice crying out into the night.</p><p></p><p>“<em>Arakness Aknis Arankinae!" <mage spell: Web</em>> A ball of milky white light flew through the air toward the floating cloaked figure.</p><p></p><p>The floating ShiDaeiri read his scroll and a disc of blackness appeared upright before him.</p><p></p><p>It looked up and swung an arm as Alaria’s spell struck while it moved forward for the circular wall of blackness. It seemed to shrug off the magic and the milky white ball flew off to burst into a patch of iridescent webbing against the wall of the tower.</p><p></p><p>“NO!” Alaria shouted again from the window, her eyes wide in disbelief that something just...”deflected” a spell right off of its arm? How was that possible?!</p><p></p><p>Pyrnion’s axe clipped the creature as it dove into the shadow disc and disappeared. The disc closed behind it and the winged man caught his axe in its descent. He checked the blade.</p><p></p><p>A small collection of chinks of armor was stuck to the lower-most edge. Maybe the ShiDaeiri had been killed as it fled. But that hardly mattered now, the zephari thought. The Ihs Repahl had been lost. He had failed in his singular task.</p><p></p><p>With a few beats of his mighty wings, Pyrnion came to land upon the broad sill of the party’s chambers.</p><p></p><p>The remaining ShiDaeiri had been bound to a chair with a cord of silver-white, whether by mundane or magical means, Pyrnion could not tell. Alaria stood over it with a hand of violet-red flames.</p><p></p><p>"Where did he go!" Alaria shouted in a fury.</p><p></p><p>Braddok pulled the hood off of the creature and lowered the wrap of cloth that covered the face from the nose down.</p><p></p><p>What sat before them literally shrieked at being exposed to the still hanging light inoked by Haelan.</p><p></p><p>All of the party gasped and a few took a step away.</p><p></p><p>Bound to the chair was the head and face of an elf. The hair was a silvery white. The eyes, that pupilleess violet, the skin a dusky charcoal grey. But the chiseled features, the shape the eyes, the pointed eyes...all distinctly elvish.</p><p></p><p>“Is that...what is it?” Haelan asked in his imminently innocent way.</p><p></p><p>“I never thought it possible...” Alaria said breathless. “It can’t be.”</p><p></p><p>“But it can, Stormrider.” came the voice of Celerion form the chamber’s outer doorway. The Lord Chamberlain edged his way into the room, his gnarled staff tapping gently upon the floor. He seemed, to all present, weak...older, somehow, than usual.</p><p></p><p>“A <em>dark </em>elf." the elderly elf stated matter-of-factly, with a discernable mote of defeat in his tone.</p><p></p><p>"<em>Those of the Blood of Shadow</em> have returned to the world.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="steeldragons, post: 6147991, member: 92511"] Alaria dashed into their chambers, feeling the tingling of magic pass over her as she moved through Keep’s mystical security barriers. She immediately dashed into the bedchamber she and Braddok were sharing these days. Halaen raced for his own chamber (which he fully expected to be sharing with Fen and Pyrnion when they arrived to stay). Braddok slammed the door shut behind them, bolted it and leaned against it heavily. Kandu pulsed its blue light in his hand. Duor, who had worn his ethereal dagger to the festivities, showing off the green-flaming blade in attempts to impress the serving maids, headed for the chamber he and Jovias were sharing to get his other weapons. “Stay here. Watch the door with Braddok.” the dwarf instructed his henchman. The satyr nodded in compliance. “If I may, Master Braddok?” Jovias asked even as he pressed a hand against Braddok’s side to move him out of the satyr’s way. When met with a look of questioning annoyance, the russet haired satyr simply smiled and pointed at his elf-like tapered ears and wiggled them visibly. Braddok took a reluctant step back and let the satyr minstrel press the side of his goat-horned head against the door. Alaria immediately grabbed the Staff of Azanna and scooped up the satchel in which she’d stashed her pouches of spell components and the Ihs Repahl. as she swung around to rejoin the others in the living space/sitting room the emotionless voices of Keep emanated from the blue ball of light that floated in the chamber near her. “[I]Portal shielding breach in the North Tower.[/I]” Alaria stood, stilled with alarm, facing the light ball as if it were speaking “to” her instead of simply reporting. “[I]Level 4.[/I]” Jovias looked up at Braddok, his face full of concern. The warrior mentally calculated that they were, in fact, on Level 4. “[I]Guest Chambers.[/I]” Haelan reentered the communal living chamber from the short hall that led to the other bedrooms, his shield and mace in hand. His gaze was glued to the window of that chamber and the dark shapes that seemed to be moving outside the wide tall windows of that room. “[I]Suite B.[/I]” Keep’s voices said immediately before the window pains flew open before him. One dark cloaked shape was in the room, leaping effortlessly from the sill to the large round table where the party took their meals. Before anyone could react, the figure outstretched an open hand toward the large roaring fireplace and the chamber was doused in darkness as the flames were enveloped in a cloud of black. A second dark figure moved through the window, seemingly crawling along the wall beside it. A single bound brought it to the wall near Haelan and a second bound brought it to rest, momentarily, above the darkened fireplace. The inky cloaked figure had a short dull black blade in each hand. Haelan noted with alarm as a thick viscous fluid dripped from the edges of both blades. “Beware! Their blades are poisoned!” Haelan managed to yell. Braddok, in a single bound was upon the figure on the table even as a third appeared on the window sill. His swipe with Kandu took a large chunk out of the table where the “darklings” had been at the beginning of his stroke. Before the blade could land, however, it had jumped up to...and now stood?!...upon the ceiling! The ShiDaeiri in the window lunged forward only to be surprisely halted and jolted back by the neck for a moment before, seemingly, flying backwards out of the window. Pyrnion, outside the tower, heaved back on the inky black cloak, up, over himself and flung the figure from the window toward the hard stone courtyard below. The creature fell, tumbling heels over head about half way to the ground before halting its descent in mid air and righting itself. With a buzzing snarling response to the zephari, it withdrew two short blades of its own and began floating, at a significant speed, back up toward Pyrnion. The winged ranger withdrew his elegantly crafted hand axe and prepared to dive to meet the creature in battle. Just before they were within striking distance of each other, the ShiDaeiri was shunted to the side by an apparently very solid beam of green energy. Flung several tens of feets to the side and down. Pyrnion turned in surprise to see the othe end of the green beam connected to the teardrop gem upon Rhea’s brow as the glowing Emerald Lady came floating up beside him. “Go! Help the others. Get the Ihs Repahl to the Great Hall! I’ve got this.” Rhea said forcefully. Pyrnion began to protest until he saw a blue corona of light shaped like a dragon appear in the air not far from them. The Dragonmage-apparent, lord prince Montor, materialized in the air beside Rhea. As a thundering bolt of sapphire blue energy left the wizard and struck the still disoriented floating darkling, Pyrnion nodded and winged his way back around to the party’s chambers’ window. Two sword strikes clanged loudly off of Haelan’s rounded shield. Haelan’s attempt to strike it off of the mantel had fallen short and now, the daelvar Hilltender was on the defensive, being forced back with slicing black blurs of blades. *TANG* T-TANG* The clashing of weapons occurred on the other side of the room simultaneously as Braddok did his best to battle the ShiDaeiri that had been on the ceiling...then back to the table...then the opposite wall...running along the wall back around toward the window only to launch itself again at the Grinlian warrior. Neither swordsman seemed capable of piercing the other’s deft defensive moves. Duor now entered the fray, firing a art from his hand crossbow from the shadows down the hall and striking the darkling assaulting Haelan. The creature’s cloaked head turned to face the dwarf in surprise as the dart stuck out from its forearm. All Duor could make of the face were two narrow slits of bright amethyst. Something...there was something about the purple eyes that triggered a memory in the back of the dwarf’s mind...but he didn’t quite recall, only that he should be very very scared. “Don’t like the light, eh?” Haelan took full advantage of the momentary distraction to call for Faerantha’s aid. “[I]Yaix ar Yomarus Suprimus, benifica Faerantha urmu!” <cleric spell: Continual Light[/I]> With a chiming ring through their chambers, light burst into every room and corner, bright as the sun. Both “darklings” were immediately stunned, halting their attacks to cover their cloth wrapped faces with this arms and hands as they buzzed and clicked and hissed their obvious displeasure and discomfort. [I]"Everx zaar!" [/I]Alaria's voice boomed through the chamber. Two bolts of violet-blue energy struck into the ShiDaeiri near Braddok. The warrior saw the energies surrounding Alaria’s outstretched hand in the doorway of the bedchamber. Just then, Pyrnion surged into the room through the window and struck it from behind with his axe. At the same time Braddok brought Kandu down, deeply into the creature’s shoulder. The ShiDaeiri hissed in apparent pain and faltered, but did not fall. A third bolt of energy slammed into the back of the ShiDaeiri near Haelan. Duor fired his crossbow into the creature again, but it seemed to skirt off the dull black fine mesh of armor that encased its torso. “Zzt! Hzzik’kikit!” one of the creatures cried out. Both became surrounded in globes of blackness. The holy light of Faerantha pressed the globes inward until the shadowy darkness clung closely to the figures. Shielded from the painful glare, the ShiDaeiri near Haelan struck out wildly and managed to clip the daelvar through his white “formal wear” and into his arm. Haelan cried out in pain as the cut but then steadied his mind to fight through the burning sensation that infused his whole arm almost immediately. Damn! The poison! Haelan knew. “Duor! Alaria! Help! I’m hit!” Haelan shouted in abject fear and ducked the second blade’s swipe to rush back down the short hall toward the dwarf. “Jovias, do something!” Duor shouted in command as he tucked the daelvar behind him and the two backed away from the approaching ShiDaeiri. He heard Haelan begin praying to his goddess in muted tones. “Right. Right. Yes, Master. Right away!” Jovias stammered as he jostled the lyre strapped over his shoulder around to his hands and after a few plucks of individual notes and a solid strum took in a deep breath. Jovias began peeling notes on his lyre as he a harmony rang from his throat. *[I]CDCFFCG-B-flat-AAAAAAAAAAA!* <DM’s note: Bardic magic, in Orea, is not conducted by “Arcane" magic. They are a way of accessing the natural energies of the physical world, as those used by Druids. Their magics are referred to “spellsongs” [not overtly creative, I know] and require an instrument and/or their voice, depending on the spell, to actuate the magical effect.[/I]> There was a burst of light around the ShiDaeiri moving into the hall toward his master and the Hilltender. The shroud of shadow around it disappeared and it was again staggered by the glaring yellow-white sunlight that filled the chambers. The heavily wounded ShiDaeiri, stuck between Braddok and Pyrnion, ducked and bolted beneath the table between him and the magess in the doorway. Alaria backed away in alarm as the dark shadowy figure emerged from the table (throwing chairs away as he did so) and managed to knock away the Staff of Azanna even as Alaria prepared to swing a shocking blow. Its violet eyes were pupilless and glowed from the shadows of its hood. The slender eyes narrowed further at the astonished magess, then to the satchel beside her. It grabbed the purse, using one of its blades to slice the strap around Alaria’s shoulder. “NO!” Alaria protested. In a whirl of shadow, even as Braddok was within a step of his mage lover, the ShiDaeiri turned back for the window. It ran up onto the wall, avoiding a swipe of Pyrnion’s axe and dove through the window. ”Are you hurt?” Braddok said quickly, turning to see the last edges of the inky cloak slip through the window into the night. “STOP IT! IT HAS THE ORB!” Alaria was frantic, pushing past her champion without the slightest acknowledgement. Pyrnion dove out the window after it without even a beat of his wings. The second ShiDaeiri staggered and swung wildly with its blades. It seemed to the dwarf, satyr and halfing engaging it that it was entirely blinded by Haelan’s spell. Pyrnion dove, his wings pressed closely against his body, his arms pressed to his sides. The fluttering flowing inky darkness beneath him was getting closer and closer until, finally, it too stopped in midair and shunted to the side out of his path. Wings immediately unfurled and pinions twisted to bring the winged man out of his dive and swing him around to rise back up toward his prey. Pyrnion noted silently at these wingless creatures’ ease of movement when not on solid ground seemed to match their fleetness upon it. The zepharim were nearly unmatched in all of Orea for their agility in the air. These intruders were an unknown challenge to him. Now out of the painful glare of the light in the chamber, the figure dispelled his shadowy sheathe and unfurled a scroll from somewhere on his person. *[I]Rhea, we need help![/I]* Pyrnion shouted out telepathically. *[I]Do as the Chamberlain said and flee if you can. We are otherwise engaged. I’ll be there as soon as I can.[/I]* was the disappointing reply, though definitely underlined with an unmistakable urgency and a fear that Pyrnion could perceive in the telepathic connection. *[I]They have the orb![/I]* Pyrnion returned as he raised his axe over his head and threw it with all of his might. From somewhere above him, he heard Alaria’s voice crying out into the night. “[I]Arakness Aknis Arankinae!" <mage spell: Web[/I]> A ball of milky white light flew through the air toward the floating cloaked figure. The floating ShiDaeiri read his scroll and a disc of blackness appeared upright before him. It looked up and swung an arm as Alaria’s spell struck while it moved forward for the circular wall of blackness. It seemed to shrug off the magic and the milky white ball flew off to burst into a patch of iridescent webbing against the wall of the tower. “NO!” Alaria shouted again from the window, her eyes wide in disbelief that something just...”deflected” a spell right off of its arm? How was that possible?! Pyrnion’s axe clipped the creature as it dove into the shadow disc and disappeared. The disc closed behind it and the winged man caught his axe in its descent. He checked the blade. A small collection of chinks of armor was stuck to the lower-most edge. Maybe the ShiDaeiri had been killed as it fled. But that hardly mattered now, the zephari thought. The Ihs Repahl had been lost. He had failed in his singular task. With a few beats of his mighty wings, Pyrnion came to land upon the broad sill of the party’s chambers. The remaining ShiDaeiri had been bound to a chair with a cord of silver-white, whether by mundane or magical means, Pyrnion could not tell. Alaria stood over it with a hand of violet-red flames. "Where did he go!" Alaria shouted in a fury. Braddok pulled the hood off of the creature and lowered the wrap of cloth that covered the face from the nose down. What sat before them literally shrieked at being exposed to the still hanging light inoked by Haelan. All of the party gasped and a few took a step away. Bound to the chair was the head and face of an elf. The hair was a silvery white. The eyes, that pupilleess violet, the skin a dusky charcoal grey. But the chiseled features, the shape the eyes, the pointed eyes...all distinctly elvish. “Is that...what is it?” Haelan asked in his imminently innocent way. “I never thought it possible...” Alaria said breathless. “It can’t be.” “But it can, Stormrider.” came the voice of Celerion form the chamber’s outer doorway. The Lord Chamberlain edged his way into the room, his gnarled staff tapping gently upon the floor. He seemed, to all present, weak...older, somehow, than usual. “A [I]dark [/I]elf." the elderly elf stated matter-of-factly, with a discernable mote of defeat in his tone. "[I]Those of the Blood of Shadow[/I] have returned to the world.” [/QUOTE]
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Steel Dragon's "Tales of Orea"
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