Fantasy Effírië

[Bard Bard]

(One on One with Jodyguru )



In the year 1242 S.R., the elven wizard Effírië cast the necromantic curse that shattered the elven homelands, almost taking elvenkind with it. The few elves that survived were left scattered and broken, with many carrying the curse within them and doomed to a slow death of decay.

Seventeen years later and the necromancer has yet to make a second move, though common sense says it is only a matter of time. Errond, the city closest to the elven homelands, is the site of a ritual performed every solstice to contain the necrotic magic of the Elvenlands contained within the forest. This spell, the Solstice Ward, is performed by two clerics of the Church of Life and two wizards of cycling guilds.

This year, Taina Cosgrove and Merek Ross are the two clerics to perform the ritual. Difficulties on the road had delayed them, and they now arrive in the evening of the 19th June, just one day before the ritual. You see the city’s wall not far off, your journey nearly done.

 

[Jodyguru]

Taina was leaning heavily on her walking stick. The long journey had taken its toll on the young human walking through the cursed Elven domain. She had been just an infant when the curse took hold, but the stories shared at her temple made her fear the dark necromancy that plagued so many of this land. Prepared to help those in need, she signed up as soon as the chance presented itself.

Seeing the city walls in the distance filled her with renewed vigor and she started towards their destination.

“Errond, at last! I felt like my feet were about to fall off. Brother Ross, do you know who is meeting us when we reach the gates?”

She knew somebody at the church told her the plans, but Taina was somewhat absent minded about small details. She had spent the whole journey reciting the Solstice Ward in her thoughts. She knew it needed to be an absolutely perfect incantation, and messing up would embarrass her, the deacon, and the entire church.

 

[Bard Bard]

Brother Ross was a tall man, aged and with hair to prove. He was kind of heart, and spoke warmly. "Yes, Sister Cosgrove. A messenger is s'posed to be waiting at the gates for us. They will notify Lord Astley, who will then greet us."

They covered the remaining distance in good time. Arriving through the gates, the messenger greeted them, then hastily made his way into the inner city. Scarcely two minutes later, the Lord Astley approached them on foot.

"Greetings, Sister Cosgrove, Brother Ross. I trust your journey here was fair?"

 

[Jodyguru]

Taina’s cheeks blushed with a rosy glow, and she bent a knee towards Lord Astley.

“A pleasure to meet you, Lord Astley. Our journey was quite fair, with some mild interruptions from a pack of wolves. It was not much trouble for us. I hope all is good in Errond, or well, as good as can be expected.”

She let out a small nervous laugh before rising. She hasn’t had much experience speaking to lords or important figures in the land. She could hold herself together speaking to the Deacon of the Life church. She had a scary feeling in her gut that he could have her thrown in a dungeon if she upset him enough.

 

[Bard Bard]

"All is well in Errond." The lord gestured towards the street directly ahead of Taina and behind him. Rows of stalls, the fabric canopies a forest of colour. All were empty, closed for the night, but would surely open in the morn. "The Solstice Ward is a cause of festivities here--a celebration of the continued security of Errond and the wider world from Effírië, and not one of exuberance of the fate of our elven neighbours, of course.

"Both of you have prepared rooms in my manor. As our esteemed guests, my servants are your servants. I presume days on the road has left you starved of good food? A banquet is to be had in honour of both of you, as well as the wizards of the Blue Tit Guild and in celebration of the ceremony as a whole. You arrive not a moment too soon--we were about to presume you delayed for another evening and begin."

 

[Jodyguru]

All of this was very nice, but she felt the pampering was a little too much. Taina preferred a simple living quarters with a window view she could admire during her prayers.

“A pleasant meal would be much appreciated. I’d love to see more of the city before the ceremony though. What time will the festivities begin?”

 

[Bard Bard]

"They have been going on for the past few days. Rest assured, though, that they will continue both before and after tomorrow's incantation. They should begin at six tomorrow. If you have more questions, I'll be happy to answer them once we're in the manor and warmed by a fire."

 

[Jodyguru]

Taina hummed a little song and followed them up to the manor. Even though her feet ached, she wanted to explore the city. Perhaps after some rest she’d feel like exploring the city at night.

 

[Bard Bard]

They entered the manor, and proceeded into the dining hall. There, Taina and Ross were seated beside one of the Lord's sons and opposite to the two Blue Tit wizards dressed in correspondingly blue robes. One was weathered, a classic white beard nearly a foot long on his face. The other, sat squarely across from Taina, looked to be some decades younger. He had a trimmed mahogany beard and eyes set amongst early wrinkles.

The lord took the first bite into the prepared meal and, satisfied in it, began the feast.

 

[Jodyguru]

Sitting in the feast hall, Taina felt a knot in her stomach. Her anxiety was reaching a peak. She sipped some water, hoping that would calm her enough to eat.

“So... I know the Solstice Ward from the clerics side of things. I- I’m interested in how magic is used to complete the ritual.”

She took a deep breath and helped herself to some chicken and potatoes.

 

[Bard Bard]

The younger wizard cleared his throat. "Right. While you enchant the shrine, we wizards will conjure a web of sorts around the Elvenlands. Your life magic will run like a stream across the stands of the web, letting us encompass the entire forest with an anti-necrotic barrier."

 

[Jodyguru]

Taina was chewing and listening while the mage spoke. Once he was done, she wiped her mouth and stared at the plates on the table.

“I look forward to seeing it. I’d like to uh, say that we shall do a great job tomorrow.” She looked around the room and smiled. She felt unbelievably awkward and wished she hadn’t started talking.

Something about what the wizard said rubbed her the wrong way. Her life energy was not magic. It was the holy miracle of the pantheon that gave her strength. She wanted badly to correct this slight, so she looked to Ross hoping he had shared feelings about it.

 

[Bard Bard]

The wizard noticed. "Sorry, have I said something to slight you?"

 

[Jodyguru]

Taina’s face brightened. “Oh, no of course not! I’m... its just..” she looked at Ross, who was apparently lost in his meal.

“We don’t... consider prayer as a kind of magic. The life energy that i channel is granted by the holy pantheon. The eye of Horus has gazed on me and deemed my worship worthy of his grace.”

 

[Bard Bard]

The wizard looked dismayed; he hastily apologised. The wizard beside him rolled his eyes to his subordinate's reaction.

"I'm Cecil." Said the former with a smile.

 

[Jodyguru]

Taina gave the young mage a warm smile. She was playing with her food with a fork, feeling a little dismayed over how this whole dinner was going. It wasn't the kind of dinner chat she had hoped for, and she was worried that the mood had been spoiled. She looked up, feeling like she needed to salvage this.

"Cecil is a nice name. I am Sister Taina, or just Taina. I feel like our conversation got off the wrong foot, and I blame my too-honest eyes for that. I'd love to hear more about where you hail from, and what the Blue Tit Guild does, aside from the Solstice Ward."

While they talked, her eyes drifted towards Lord Astley to see what was occupying his attention.

 

[Bard Bard]

"And I'd like to hear more about yourself too."

At the head of the table, Lord Astley ate slowly, but persistently. He was engaged in small talk with some other nobles--one the lord of a nearby town come to witness the Solstice Ward.

"...I find it impossible to accept their statement on the matter." Said the visiting lord. "The Relvarden dwarves must have known the ships were freighters. Even if it wasn't, what right do they have to sink a Castellian warship? Those are our coasts too." Taina could guess what they were discussing--just a few days before her departure, the dwarves of the Relvarden Isles sank a fleet of Castellian merchant ships. Castell was asserting that the attack was a severe offence against the kingdom, while the dwarves were maintaining that the ships were, in fact, an invasion force launched against them.

"Regardless," Began another noble, "the Relvardens are strong trading partners..." Taina didn't pay attention to the rest of what he said, but she could hear the visiting lord scoff at whatever the noble had said.

"I'm from Jaroth," Begain Cecil, "a port city north of here, known for the wealth of merchants arriving from sea and the subsequent marketplace. My parents were innkeepers there--though my mother was a distant descendant of the wizard Madoth." He gestured towards the wizard beside him. "Perceval stayed at the inn during a visit to the city. He saw potential in me, and so enlisted my into the Blue Tit Guild to train to be a wizard. As for what the Blue Tit Guild does, our primary school of magic is abjuration." He paused, smiled. "What about you? Where do you come from?"

 

[Jodyguru]

Taina's eyes blinked, wondering a bit what events were going on outside of her current mission. It wasn't much concern for her, as politics were outside her realm of understanding. It was nice to know more about Cecil. She thought he was earnest and could potentially become a great wizard in the way she hoped Brother Ross would help her become a great and holy cleric.

Asking where she was from, Taina reflected a moment on an image in her mind. It was one that she hadn't experienced, but formed after hearing the stories of her home village being razed by orcs. For her, home was always at the monastery.

"I've lived with the church my whole life. I was raised in Cherrygrove, a township out in the mid east. When I was sixteen, the eye of Horus gazed on me, and I moved north to Astera to give a deeper study at the Cathedral of Stars. There's so much of the world I still haven't seen, and its... exhilarating to see it all."

 

[Bard Bard]

Nothing much could be said about the rest of the evening. night came, and the Lord Astley showed Taina and Ross to their quarters.

 

[Jodyguru]

Taina was more than a little disappointed with her lodging. Two small windows and a view of the adjacent manor buildings. She approached Brother Ross with a look of irritation on her face.

“You know, you could’ve backed me up out there. I was alone, defending the tenants of our faith while you were engrossed in your mug of wine.”

The young lady was miffed, puffing herself up like a disgruntled pheasant.

 

[Bard Bard]

"The wizard meant nothing of it. Ignorance is the enemy of faith though; I'm sorry."

 

[Jodyguru]

Taina let out an annoyed groan. "You apologize so easily while I'm still fired up about it. Really its that mage Cecil's fault for dragging it out of me. I really didn't want to talk about it in front of Lord Astley. Luckily he was busy talking to his people at the time. Horus' gaze!" She exclaimed. She had gotten some of her emotional energy out and was a little more tranquil. Ross could clearly see that she was calming down. "Apologies for my outburst. I simply... do no enjoy our dwelling. I also disdain trivial conversations."

"Brother, would you like to come with me on a small errand? I wish to get out of this manor and see the festival. I think the Head Nun would love to receive a trinket upon our safe return home."

 

[Bard Bard]

He smiled. "Yes, I think she would."

A short time later, the both of them were out on the streets. As before, the festivities were all but shut for the night. The roads were dark too, the sun now long gone and candlelight snuffed out, save for the glow of the occasional inn and the handheld torches by the half dozen who wandered through the ways.

A man, covered head to toe in a hickory brown cloak and hood bumped into Taina. After a hurried apology, he hastened off into the night.

From somewhere a little ways off, the slight note of music could be heard.

 

[Jodyguru]

Taina looked around remiss that the festival didn't seem to be going on anymore. She was close to giving up, when the sweet melodies playing could be heard in the distance. She was enraptured by it and continued on, following it and hoping to find the source.

 

[Bard Bard]

It wasn't hard to find the source. An open expanse, the intersection of four roads, lied before her. A pub sat in the ring of shops that circled a fountain. Atop a crate at the forefront of a store stood a halfling. He wore baggy breeches and a short-sleeved surcoat, stripes of scarlet and azure alternating across both. His shirt was plain ivory, though its cuffs were puffed. On his head sat a vermilion bycocket, the feather of a kingfisher nestled into its brim.

"...I see the golden years behind us,
I'm getting scared to move along.
My inspiration has subsided
Without a muse to keep me strong.
I can't remember our last victory--
Was it the past, or just a dream?
The world we grew to love has crumbled,
With my own efforts losing steam..."

As he sang, he strummed the lute he held with delicate precision.

((Song--Streets of Gold by the Aviators.))