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Unforgiving lands - Now in hiatus - Details at last post
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<blockquote data-quote="Cerulean_Wings" data-source="post: 3964010" data-attributes="member: 55060"><p>Chapter 1 </p><p></p><p><strong>The House of Wisdom</strong></p><p></p><p>Berendes Mithrar, Patriarch of the Mithrar clan and Pledged of House Dagoth paced back and forth across the richly adorned carpet that was placed in the center of the no-less richly decorated chamber. It was dark outside, since it was close to midnight, but the room wasn't very brightly illuminated, since Berendes didn't require it. His fine cape flowed in every direction as he turned at the end of the carpet once again.</p><p></p><p>“You're ruining the carpet”.</p><p></p><p>The Pledged of House Dagoth stopped abruptly on his tracks and turned his head to look at the source of the words, the figure that was leaning comfortably against a nearby wall. It was a human male, looking to be in his mid-thirties, wearing nothing but a long sleeved black shirt and dark green trousers. His hands were covered with simple leather gloves, one attached to a black pearl in the center while the other one had a white one.</p><p></p><p>“So? There are more important things than this expensive carpet, Rudokai” Berendes replied, clearly annoyed by the remark made by the other man. </p><p></p><p>“And how's pacing from one end to the other going to resolve those “more important things”, Berendes?” Rudokai said with a calm voice, almost devoid of any emotion.</p><p></p><p>The nobleman seemed even more anxious than before after hearing this “I'm pacing because I'm nervous, and I'm nervous-”.</p><p></p><p>“-because you fear House Ganellar” finished the other with a simple gesture of his left hand. Once it was put in the open, the words sounded less important or impressive than they did in the mind of the Patriarch.</p><p></p><p>“And rightly so!” Berendes shot back, raising one angry fist in the air with great drama “We are the House of Wisdom, they are the House of Might. If it came to open war, their forces would surely overwhelm ours, and you know it”.</p><p></p><p>Rudokai abandoned his comfortable position and separated himself from the wall, folding his arms as he did “If” he began, with great emphasis in the word “it comes to open war. You seem to forget, thanks to your nervousness, that so far there has been no indication of Ganellar – or any other Noble House, for that matter – intending to assault us”.</p><p></p><p>Berendes paused before formulating his reply, and took a deep breath as he walked towards the balcony at the end of the chamber, his need for pacing gone. At least for the moment. He stopped walking half-way to the balcony as a flash of red caught his attention, but when he realized that it was the light of the torches reflecting on an ornament, he continued his walk without thinking about it for another second.</p><p></p><p>He was fifty six years old, and had witnessed the ever changing flow of power in the world for as long as he could remember. As a Pledged of House Dagoth, it was his duty to watch over the House and protect it from threats. He had accomplished this several times in the past decades, but never against another Noble House. Such a conflict would be the equivalent of two nations warring against each other, possibly dragging the neighboring ones into it in the process.</p><p></p><p>Placing both hands on the white marble railing of the balcony, Berendes took a quick look of the magnificent vista of the city of Ysalis, one of the biggest metropolis in the land. It pained him greatly that this fair place might be endangered from other cities or Houses.</p><p></p><p>“You speak the truth, Rudokai, but yet...” his voice trailed off, unable to put his thoughts into words.</p><p></p><p>“...yet the fear persists?” the other man finished for him, placing himself right next to him on the balcony. “Why should you remain paranoid, Patriarch? A couple of House Dagoth members have gone missing, some of the nobles are being harassed here and there – nothing that hasn't occurred in the past”.</p><p></p><p>“True” Berendes admitted. “But this time it feels different, somehow, in a strange and unexplainable way” he looked at Rudokai, who in turn was gazing towards the heavens above, a beautifully starred sky. “What shall I do?”.</p><p></p><p>It almost sounded like a plea, a desperate request for help coming from a child and giving it to a father. The child in this scenario happened to be one of the most powerful men in the land, and the father in question was in fact more than a thousand years old. Rudokai was one of the First, the beings created by the Gods at the dawn of time to guide the Noble Houses. Through the gloves that he wore, Rudokai was bound to House Dagoth, forced to assist the group no matter how big the cost.</p><p></p><p>Rudokai smiled, but only to put Berendes at ease, since the divinely-infused being never really felt anything. “If you have an enemy, cut it. If you have a problem, solve it. Is there an enemy to slay, or a problem to defuse? Since the answer is 'no', what must we do, Berendes Mithrar, Pledged of House Dagoth?”.</p><p></p><p>Only a certain few could talk to a Pledged in such a condescending fashion, and Rudokai was included in that minority. Berendes swallowed his pride and sighed deeply before stating what sounded to him as the obvious, yet something that he had refused to consider until now:</p><p></p><p>“I will send scouts to gather information on the matter, to see what the threat is, if there is one at all. No military maneuvers will take place until my suspicions are confirmed”.</p><p></p><p>Rudokai nodded, satisfied, and kept staring at the night sky for a couple of moments before turning around and walking back into the palace of House Dagoth.</p><p></p><p>“You know, it's quite the spectacle to watch mortal beings stumble upon solutions that were always right in front of them, like a peasant that runs through a forest, looking for trees”.</p><p></p><p>Since it was pointless to be angry at one of the First, Berendes merely pretended to ignore the remark and remained in his position at the edge of the railing, pondering. </p><p></p><p>“I feel like a blind peasant, running through the woods, running for my life, as skilled hunters track me down, slowly but surely” . </p><p></p><p>Malakhati the Scorpion had to restrain a laugh upon hearing this, for he felt it a very accurate representation of the present situation. Earlier on he almost got caught as his blood-red eyes reflected on the torchlight, and he made a mental note to be mindful of that for the next time. His eyes were the only part of his body that he couldn't completely hide, but he had ways of avoiding this little annoyance. Laughing inwardly, Malakhati left the palace the same way that he had entered.</p><p></p><p>Right through the solid stone walls, without making a sound.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cerulean_Wings, post: 3964010, member: 55060"] Chapter 1 [B]The House of Wisdom[/B] Berendes Mithrar, Patriarch of the Mithrar clan and Pledged of House Dagoth paced back and forth across the richly adorned carpet that was placed in the center of the no-less richly decorated chamber. It was dark outside, since it was close to midnight, but the room wasn't very brightly illuminated, since Berendes didn't require it. His fine cape flowed in every direction as he turned at the end of the carpet once again. “You're ruining the carpet”. The Pledged of House Dagoth stopped abruptly on his tracks and turned his head to look at the source of the words, the figure that was leaning comfortably against a nearby wall. It was a human male, looking to be in his mid-thirties, wearing nothing but a long sleeved black shirt and dark green trousers. His hands were covered with simple leather gloves, one attached to a black pearl in the center while the other one had a white one. “So? There are more important things than this expensive carpet, Rudokai” Berendes replied, clearly annoyed by the remark made by the other man. “And how's pacing from one end to the other going to resolve those “more important things”, Berendes?” Rudokai said with a calm voice, almost devoid of any emotion. The nobleman seemed even more anxious than before after hearing this “I'm pacing because I'm nervous, and I'm nervous-”. “-because you fear House Ganellar” finished the other with a simple gesture of his left hand. Once it was put in the open, the words sounded less important or impressive than they did in the mind of the Patriarch. “And rightly so!” Berendes shot back, raising one angry fist in the air with great drama “We are the House of Wisdom, they are the House of Might. If it came to open war, their forces would surely overwhelm ours, and you know it”. Rudokai abandoned his comfortable position and separated himself from the wall, folding his arms as he did “If” he began, with great emphasis in the word “it comes to open war. You seem to forget, thanks to your nervousness, that so far there has been no indication of Ganellar – or any other Noble House, for that matter – intending to assault us”. Berendes paused before formulating his reply, and took a deep breath as he walked towards the balcony at the end of the chamber, his need for pacing gone. At least for the moment. He stopped walking half-way to the balcony as a flash of red caught his attention, but when he realized that it was the light of the torches reflecting on an ornament, he continued his walk without thinking about it for another second. He was fifty six years old, and had witnessed the ever changing flow of power in the world for as long as he could remember. As a Pledged of House Dagoth, it was his duty to watch over the House and protect it from threats. He had accomplished this several times in the past decades, but never against another Noble House. Such a conflict would be the equivalent of two nations warring against each other, possibly dragging the neighboring ones into it in the process. Placing both hands on the white marble railing of the balcony, Berendes took a quick look of the magnificent vista of the city of Ysalis, one of the biggest metropolis in the land. It pained him greatly that this fair place might be endangered from other cities or Houses. “You speak the truth, Rudokai, but yet...” his voice trailed off, unable to put his thoughts into words. “...yet the fear persists?” the other man finished for him, placing himself right next to him on the balcony. “Why should you remain paranoid, Patriarch? A couple of House Dagoth members have gone missing, some of the nobles are being harassed here and there – nothing that hasn't occurred in the past”. “True” Berendes admitted. “But this time it feels different, somehow, in a strange and unexplainable way” he looked at Rudokai, who in turn was gazing towards the heavens above, a beautifully starred sky. “What shall I do?”. It almost sounded like a plea, a desperate request for help coming from a child and giving it to a father. The child in this scenario happened to be one of the most powerful men in the land, and the father in question was in fact more than a thousand years old. Rudokai was one of the First, the beings created by the Gods at the dawn of time to guide the Noble Houses. Through the gloves that he wore, Rudokai was bound to House Dagoth, forced to assist the group no matter how big the cost. Rudokai smiled, but only to put Berendes at ease, since the divinely-infused being never really felt anything. “If you have an enemy, cut it. If you have a problem, solve it. Is there an enemy to slay, or a problem to defuse? Since the answer is 'no', what must we do, Berendes Mithrar, Pledged of House Dagoth?”. Only a certain few could talk to a Pledged in such a condescending fashion, and Rudokai was included in that minority. Berendes swallowed his pride and sighed deeply before stating what sounded to him as the obvious, yet something that he had refused to consider until now: “I will send scouts to gather information on the matter, to see what the threat is, if there is one at all. No military maneuvers will take place until my suspicions are confirmed”. Rudokai nodded, satisfied, and kept staring at the night sky for a couple of moments before turning around and walking back into the palace of House Dagoth. “You know, it's quite the spectacle to watch mortal beings stumble upon solutions that were always right in front of them, like a peasant that runs through a forest, looking for trees”. Since it was pointless to be angry at one of the First, Berendes merely pretended to ignore the remark and remained in his position at the edge of the railing, pondering. “I feel like a blind peasant, running through the woods, running for my life, as skilled hunters track me down, slowly but surely” . Malakhati the Scorpion had to restrain a laugh upon hearing this, for he felt it a very accurate representation of the present situation. Earlier on he almost got caught as his blood-red eyes reflected on the torchlight, and he made a mental note to be mindful of that for the next time. His eyes were the only part of his body that he couldn't completely hide, but he had ways of avoiding this little annoyance. Laughing inwardly, Malakhati left the palace the same way that he had entered. Right through the solid stone walls, without making a sound. [/QUOTE]
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