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Cydra: the Early Years
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 1508016" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p><strong>The Secret Origin of Rajah</strong></p><p></p><p>“This time there will be no escape,” Elcruche told Rajah cruelly. He flipped his long mane of golden hair back over his impeccable uniform. “If we have to, we’ll cripple you. Don’t make it come to that.”</p><p></p><p>How could he, a man raised by tigers, be important enough for all this? The question filled Rajah with dread. His entire world would soon be spinning out of control. The answers were not far ahead.</p><p></p><p>And Elcruche- did he know why he pursued his prey? Rajah wasn’t sure, and Elcruche wasn’t telling. His crew was very professional- very dangerous.</p><p></p><p>There would be no escape here.</p><p></p><p>A week into their journey Rajah was up on deck when suddenly the sky flashed from clear to overcast. It was not as if clouds had suddenly rolled in, but rather as if they were suddenly <em>somewhere else</em>, as indeed they were. Elcruche had piloted them through a seagate.</p><p></p><p>Another few weeks, during which Rajah was well-treated but always watched and given no chance to flee the ship, and he was shackled in orichalcum bonds and thereafter kept below decks. Two days later he felt the ship pull into a port. Elcruche and his men hooded Rajah and took him off-ship in the dead of night, quickly escorting him to a gaol.</p><p></p><p>There Rajah was left isolated in a cell for a time. The bars were orichalcum; he quickly found that he could not <em>dimension door</em> beyond them, so he sat to await his fate.</p><p></p><p><em>Where am I?</em> he wondered tiredly.</p><p></p><p>At the end of the hallway, a door opened up. A figure walked through, shutting it quietly behind him, then approached the cell Rajah was within.</p><p></p><p>The man was dark-skinned, with thin white hair tied back in a pony tail. He wore some sort of military uniform- medal after medal hung from his breast. He held a finger to his lips, urging Rajah to remain silent. And he held a ring of keys.</p><p></p><p>“Please ask no questions yet, my lord,” the man whispered as he began inserting the keys into the lock on Rajah’s cell one by one, searching for the correct one. “There is no time. I am General Rygarh, and I’m here to rescue you.” A key clicked, turning the lock over, and the cell door swung wide. </p><p></p><p>“Come,” General Rygarh murmured. “I will take you to a safe place, with friends.”</p><p></p><p>Rajah had little choice, so he followed Rygarh to the door he had entered through. Quietly, the general cracked open the door and then slipped out, motioning for Rajah to follow. He did, and found another man, with a long black moustache and a shaved head, waiting for them.</p><p></p><p>The man fell to one knee and bowed. “My lord,” he choked out softly.</p><p></p><p>”There is no time, Unso,” Rygarh reprimanded him in a low voice. “We must away.”</p><p></p><p>Unso rose, nodding, and shuffled a card out of a deck. “Grab hold of my hand,” he muttered, holding it out to Rajah; he did as he was bid. Rygarh put a hand on Unso’s shoulder. The card Unso was holding was starting to shimmer and dance with an iridescent rainbow of color- the picture on the face of the card, a small cottage before a stand of trees, seemed to gather depth-</p><p>“Step forward,” Unso instructed, and all three did so; and then suddenly they were <em>there,</em> before the cottage.</p><p></p><p>“Quickly, within,” Rygarh urged, and Rajah obeyed. </p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Dorhaus was a large continent to the west of Forinthia. Geographically, it is split down its north-south axis by the Bendrock Mountains, a long and strong chain of mountains that has long served as a political divider as well. The southern parts of Dorhaus were mostly split between two great nations- the Kingdom of Thule, on the western side, and Imperial Wotan to the east. The two nations were old adversaries; though currently at peace, it couldn’t last forever. </p><p></p><p>The Emperor of Wotan was Tovan IV. He had inherited from his older brother, whom it was whispered he had murdered. Indeed, the last empress and all other potential dangers to Tovan’s claim to the throne had also been murdered. </p><p></p><p>“The last empress had to die because she had just borne the Emperor a son,” General Rygarh told Rajah. “Tovan knew that if her child were to live, his throne could never be safe. So he had some of his most trusted agents sabotage and sink the ship she was sailing on, near Gorel.”</p><p></p><p>He paused. Took a deep breath.</p><p></p><p>“We have reason to believe that <em>you</em> are the rightful Emperor of Wotan.”</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> Well, what the heck does Rajah do now? What does Rygarh want of him? And what are those cool cards Unso has??</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 1508016, member: 1210"] [b]The Secret Origin of Rajah[/b] “This time there will be no escape,” Elcruche told Rajah cruelly. He flipped his long mane of golden hair back over his impeccable uniform. “If we have to, we’ll cripple you. Don’t make it come to that.” How could he, a man raised by tigers, be important enough for all this? The question filled Rajah with dread. His entire world would soon be spinning out of control. The answers were not far ahead. And Elcruche- did he know why he pursued his prey? Rajah wasn’t sure, and Elcruche wasn’t telling. His crew was very professional- very dangerous. There would be no escape here. A week into their journey Rajah was up on deck when suddenly the sky flashed from clear to overcast. It was not as if clouds had suddenly rolled in, but rather as if they were suddenly [i]somewhere else[/i], as indeed they were. Elcruche had piloted them through a seagate. Another few weeks, during which Rajah was well-treated but always watched and given no chance to flee the ship, and he was shackled in orichalcum bonds and thereafter kept below decks. Two days later he felt the ship pull into a port. Elcruche and his men hooded Rajah and took him off-ship in the dead of night, quickly escorting him to a gaol. There Rajah was left isolated in a cell for a time. The bars were orichalcum; he quickly found that he could not [i]dimension door[/i] beyond them, so he sat to await his fate. [i]Where am I?[/i] he wondered tiredly. At the end of the hallway, a door opened up. A figure walked through, shutting it quietly behind him, then approached the cell Rajah was within. The man was dark-skinned, with thin white hair tied back in a pony tail. He wore some sort of military uniform- medal after medal hung from his breast. He held a finger to his lips, urging Rajah to remain silent. And he held a ring of keys. “Please ask no questions yet, my lord,” the man whispered as he began inserting the keys into the lock on Rajah’s cell one by one, searching for the correct one. “There is no time. I am General Rygarh, and I’m here to rescue you.” A key clicked, turning the lock over, and the cell door swung wide. “Come,” General Rygarh murmured. “I will take you to a safe place, with friends.” Rajah had little choice, so he followed Rygarh to the door he had entered through. Quietly, the general cracked open the door and then slipped out, motioning for Rajah to follow. He did, and found another man, with a long black moustache and a shaved head, waiting for them. The man fell to one knee and bowed. “My lord,” he choked out softly. ”There is no time, Unso,” Rygarh reprimanded him in a low voice. “We must away.” Unso rose, nodding, and shuffled a card out of a deck. “Grab hold of my hand,” he muttered, holding it out to Rajah; he did as he was bid. Rygarh put a hand on Unso’s shoulder. The card Unso was holding was starting to shimmer and dance with an iridescent rainbow of color- the picture on the face of the card, a small cottage before a stand of trees, seemed to gather depth- “Step forward,” Unso instructed, and all three did so; and then suddenly they were [i]there,[/i] before the cottage. “Quickly, within,” Rygarh urged, and Rajah obeyed. *** Dorhaus was a large continent to the west of Forinthia. Geographically, it is split down its north-south axis by the Bendrock Mountains, a long and strong chain of mountains that has long served as a political divider as well. The southern parts of Dorhaus were mostly split between two great nations- the Kingdom of Thule, on the western side, and Imperial Wotan to the east. The two nations were old adversaries; though currently at peace, it couldn’t last forever. The Emperor of Wotan was Tovan IV. He had inherited from his older brother, whom it was whispered he had murdered. Indeed, the last empress and all other potential dangers to Tovan’s claim to the throne had also been murdered. “The last empress had to die because she had just borne the Emperor a son,” General Rygarh told Rajah. “Tovan knew that if her child were to live, his throne could never be safe. So he had some of his most trusted agents sabotage and sink the ship she was sailing on, near Gorel.” He paused. Took a deep breath. “We have reason to believe that [i]you[/i] are the rightful Emperor of Wotan.” [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] Well, what the heck does Rajah do now? What does Rygarh want of him? And what are those cool cards Unso has?? [/QUOTE]
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