The Dark Night

[Steel DarKnight]

Steel walked briskly through the halls of Olympus. His footsteps echoed thru the halls of the ancient citadel. This amused Steel some, he had never noticed the affect before. The steady beat of his mailed feet upon the stone sounding once, and then once more back to him. Yes, Steel thought, curiously he had never noticed this before. Perhaps it was the fact that before his mind had always been occupied with some matter pressing to the empire. Or he thought, perhaps this unusual summer itself had some affect on the atmosphere of the castle…

Sadly, Steel knew in his heart why…

The fortress of Honor, whose very hearthstone was carved from the rock at the base of the altar of Honor, was dormant. Like a great beast in the winter it slumbered. The halls of the ancient citadel that had at one time bustled with activity now lay empty and quite. In times past Steel would have never heard the sound of his footfalls as the other noises would have blocked it out.

In looking around the hallway Steel noticed the most evident signs of change. Dust had settled lightly on the chairs, tables, shelves, books, and other various decorum nearby. It’s fine blanket lightly blurring the pictures upon the wall.

Those pictures whose creation was commissioned by the empire depicted great battles and events of the past. As Steel walked by he looked to some.

The great Battle of Trinsic were the undead were defeated and their master the Dark Lich banished.

The Battle of Cove, were the Orcish and then Savage Hordes were turned back.

The Second Battle of Trinsic, the battle to expunge the Juka invasion from the home city.

The Battle of Yew, were the forces of light desperately fought back the hoards in working to find a cure for the cursed sickness and deformity defiling the town.

The Battle of the Destard Peninsula was once again the Savages were pushed back.

Lying among the tables Steel noted the many volumes of the written history of the Guardians. Flipping through Steel reread through a few of the histories within

… The Empires formation from a group of three miners.

… The writing of the Codex

… The great split and the formation of the Valor Knights

… The reign of Gregory

… The battle for one mans soul and his return from the edge

… The succession of the Emperor Logan

… The conflict with the Army of the Sands

Gently, Steel closed the great volume he had been reading and placed it back upon the dusty shelf. Steel walked over to a closed window. Opening it he looked out. So many people have come and gone. Good people whom he had the honor of standing beside in battle. He had watched many of them enter, and many of them leave. Many Guardians Steel never knew, and may never have known, but not for the histories within those texts. Steel remembered some of the battles and events but some he knew only from the talk of the old folk of Trisnic. They spoke of a time when Trinsic was awash in purple, and the Guardians patrolled the streets diligently. But alas, those memories are fading and the younger generation of Trinsic no nothing of these times, or the Guardians

Peering out the window below Steel noted that the courtyard lay empty. The grass had grown high. In past times this would not have been possible. This field was often awash in young men and women training their formation skills, their feet pounding the grass down to a suitable level. In Steels minds eye he could hear and the sound of the Phalanx’s loud voices barking orders under the watchful eyes of the Centurions, and the Imperator. To the side under the old oak tree, the SOW would watch from the protection of the shade it afforded.

Slowly, Steel closed the window and sat down in the chair positioned next to it. Looking downward, Steel pondered the course of recent events. The realms had change, along with the people within it. The gods themselves had some hand in this as their sweeping changes and creations had altered reality to a very different state than what it first was.

The threats of the past had disappeared, the undead lords were in check and their activities and forces were isolated to a few catacombs. The Orcs and Savages had been greatly weakened by the constant onslaught of man. They retained but a small portion of the power they once had. The Juka had all but disappeared after the death of Blackthorne. Almost all evidence of the Army of the Sands had disappeared and the prophesized invasion had never come.

No enemies threaten the guardians or their holdings and thus the Order had no focus.

No longer did the young squires run about the castle tending to their Knights requirements, or studying the arts of war. Possible entrants to the empire had all but dried up. It seemed that the younger generation of the realm had little or no interest in the teachings of an old order. Or the honor and comradely to be found within.

Last week Steel had returned to the halls of Olympus. This was the first day of the week and often a time of rest. The Guardians often held a gathering as the day fell into shadow. Opening the great outer door of castle he had rushed inside. After quickly tying his steed to the railing he walked inside the center room with a hearty “Hail Guardians.”

Steel chuckled.

The room was empty.

Steel had later met with Senator Earwen.

The Senator had worked diligently upon Steels request to recover various ancient artifacts that the Empire had uncovered. Their coordinates were known, but the artifacts themselves were unattainable without a sizable force as they were heavily guarded. Plans were put forward. Strategies discussed and a time set.

At that appointed time Earwen had stood alone.

Yes, Steel thought, times have changed….

Standing up he quickly stretched and continued his way down the hall. He had completed what he had needed here and he wished to leave this place and its memories behind.

Opening the door he walked out upon the entryway. As always standing his lonely guard stood Tod the Sentry. The old warrior looked exhausted, almost as if he could fall at any moment. The late day had turned into night and Steel realized that the ancient sentry had not been relieved in some time. Steel felt pride at this old warriors sense of duty, even though no one would have noticed his leave, he continued to remain at his post.

Steel slid his hand through his slightly graying hair. Pausing a moment as if to make a choice he placed his helmet on his head and saluted the Sentry.

“Although the night is often cold and dark, and brings perhaps things we may not have foreseen…. the morning, it always comes.”

“ I shall stand with you this night.”

Strength and Honor

Edited July 9, 2003 by Steel DarKnight

[LukkanMortain]

Mordred peers through the darkness of the Yew Empath Abbey, covering his head with his cloak, he makes passage through the woods. He must travel late in the night, almost early morn, for the lands known as Fellucca are crawling with evil. He passes from one house to the next, almost at a snails pace, to pass by the moongate unnoticed, hopefully. As he approaches the surroundings of the moongate, he can hear the cries of the innocent, the slayings, blood has splattered the walls of the nearby homes. Mordred continues past the moongate to the shore just above it. There, an old house, shows a candle in the window sill with a blue flame. The one he was told about in the parchment. Here is where his twin brother has been staying, the Dread Centurion, Lukkan Mortain.

He knocks on the doorway gently, not to awaken any murderers. The door creeps open on its own, A small horde minion gestures to the rooftop. As Mordred approaches the smell of daemon blood and grave dust irritates his nose. As he steps upon the roof of the small house, he sees a figure in black, long flame red hair, fading slightly to his age. The figure stands. slowly, and turns to reveal a broken arm, a leg in bandages, and a face scarred above the brow and along the cheekbone.

"Brother?!! What has happened, why have you sent for me?," replies Mordred.

"My brother," speaks Lukkan in a harsh, trashy voice, "I have been in the bowels of hell, and Ive seen much evil. These new lands have brought out the worst in the people of Sosaria. The new evil known as necromancy and the hints of great treasures within Doom have warped the minds and souls of the paladins as well as the sorcerers. I have spent the last months trying to stop the evil where it breeds, Yew, Fellucca. Long gone are the days, where evil was as visible as the morning dew. Now it takes other shapes, masquerades as good the turns on you. No one is safe, no one can be trusted."

"Here are your provisions you asked for," says Mordred handing him food, regents, and clothing. "Your arms?!! The red bands around them mark you as a murderer?!! What have you done brother?"

"Like I said, evil is taking other forms, the days of knowing a murderer are in the past, I have had no choice in this branding, but tis not permanent. That is why I have asked you here. I must wait out my pentance here in Fellucca, I am not welcome in Trammel or the new lands for 80 hours time. I need you to send a message to the Empire, for I only have contact with Marcas and Kodoz, they too are fighting the evil within Yew. I am laying down my spellbooks for a good long time, brother. The evil is strong and i am weakening. My soul resides in the strength of the Empire, and as we know the Empire is at a weakpoint. I fear for my life in the forests of Yew, my name has been recognized now. I am not safe nor am i skilled enough to ward off this evil. Upon reentering the society, after my murderer status has been relinquished, I am to return to Malas. There I will head up a resource force. Now is the time for rebuilding the greatness of the Empire. The treasures of Doom and the new lands have brought about a change I am not comfortable with. We have all forgotten the force the Empire had been and can be again, if we can commit to rebuilding the Empire. I will leave the lands of Fellucca until the Empire is strong again. We need supplies and resources for the betterment of the members, for skill gaining and use for wares. Then we need to gather monetary funds and strengthen our ranks."

Mordred lowers his head.

" I visited Olympus the other morrow, before I left to journey to you, it was sad. Hollow and empty, the books and chairs collecting dust. Steel Darknight left some writings stating the same fact."

"Ahh Steel, old friend, I do miss him," replies Lukkan. "And what of Senator Lora, and Senator Earwen? The Knight Cheblis, not to mention the whole ranks of the Legion??"

"All those members are still around, sans the ranks of the legion. They are dwindling fast. The Empire has banished all immediate evil within Trammel and Umbra. Noone feels the need to become warriors anymore. The crafts are drawing them in."

"Well then, the Legion has served its purpose, it has brought peace and tranquility to the lands."

A smile begins to arise on Lukkans face and a heartly laugh erupts. What the legion and the Empire have fought so hard to accomplish has seen the light of day. It has been so long in the making that the old warriors dont know exactly what to do with themselves.

"Run, brother," exclaims Lukkan smiling heartedly," Tell the members to pack up the weapons and bring out their working attire, tis time to rebuild the Empire, restock our wares, and most of all...........congratulate each other on a fine venture. I shall return when I can and we shall begin the resource force.

Smiling deeply, Lukkan's heart fills both with sadness and a great happiness. A long road ahead but yet a heavy burden lifted. The lands of Trammel seem safe, and that fills his heart. The ones who have guided him and given him direction shall now see the benefits of their work.

"Oh and one last thing, brother," states Lukkan," send a small pigeon to Steel, tell him this: The Empire has neither fallen nor faded away, for the deepest slumber reveals the truest revitalization."

With a firm hug and a swift farewell, Lukkan escorts Mordred to a safe portal to return to Trammel. Lukkan, body weighing down on his wooden cruthes, turns from the portal and walks towards home, grinning more and more with every step he takes.

[Triston]

Triston sat in the shadowed basement of his tower, stroking the coals of the forge slowly and thoughtfully as he was prone to late at night. Normally this time of night was one of quiet reflection and solitude, as where most times of the day it seemed, but tonight had been different.

First a vile murderer had tried to gain entry to Lioness Keep multiple times, but hed been thrown back at the gates. What happened to the days when if you defeated someone they simply left you to your brooding?

Then Lukkan had come by, looking for idle conversation to fill the hours while he waited out his sentence. At first it had been a casual, "how have you been?" conversation, but it slowly turned to what burdened both of their hearts.

"When was the last time you saw another guardian, in combat or otherwise?" Triston asked, with a cinical sneer on his face.

"Only when I asked one for aid, or had been asked for aid..." Lukkan replied slowly, knowing where this line of questioning would lead, but not willing to lie to his old friend.

"Exactly. We are not falling apart, we are falling away. For once we do not fight some mysterious shadow from the nether relms, but instead we fight the apathy in our own hearts. We move from one meaningless distraction to another, as though we are trying to keep the hands busy so that we cant listen to our hearts. What cure could there possably be for this ailment my friend?"

"Growth. We have taken to apathy because we have neglected our growth. It has always been the way of people to move to and from things, and that has been fine until recently. One member would leave The Empire for one reason or another, but only to be replaced by three. Then to be replaced by two, and then one. Now people leave and none come to fill their ranks. It is the apathy of jelousy and greed which now attacks this land, and no sword will fight it. The days of the legion are comming to an end, and the question is can The Empire grow into another kind of force, a non-militaristic one?"

"You would have us become userers and landholders like the other great guilds? Coveting money and items more then Honor and Comrodery?" Triston asked, seeming more shocked then he had intended.

"No my Brother." Lukkan replied with a sly smile that only a necromancer could give. Triston shuddered slightly. "I would have us bring our honor to the one place where it has never been before, for no group had enough conviction to bear it through. We will bring Honor to the marketplace." He finished with a grin, knowing his words of Honor being born would stir images of great conquests in the old warriors mind, only to drop them in the end. Him and Triston often enjoyed this kind of banter.

"So you wish for us to turn our swords and sheilds in for parchment and coin eh? Perhaps the marketplace is the battlefeild of this age. This Age of Shadows as they call it. So be it then, Lioness keep, along with all its resources and skilled artisans supports it. My one condition is that my Uncle Arms is involved every step of the way. I trust that is acceptable?"

"Of course." The Necromancer replied with a polite bow.

They conversed for a few more minutes to iron out the details, and Arms arrived fresh from the mines to hear the news. He was elated to say the least. Plans entered the works and dates where set tentativly. Throughout the night Lukkan and Arms chattered on, sometimes comming to real points, other times simply dreaming of how the empire would grow in this new direction. Triston sat in a corner sipping a glass of Occelan Brandy, watching the way the forge sent light through his red tinted glass. Perhaps this is the new battle to be won, he thought to himself. Did the rules of combate or nature of the enemy really matter? No, Thought the warrior. The nature of the battle mattered not, it only mattered to be fighting again. He looked down at his armour, bearing nics and cuts from countless battles that could never be wetted away. He would have to have his uncle craft him a more sutable suit of armour for a Lord, as for the first time in his life he actually had to look like one.

[kodoz]

*Kodoz has gone days without seeing many guardians. Amongst the few he has seen are Triston, Lukkan, Cat, and Leyea. He had met former guardians amongst his travels and his battles, and each was a glad time. But he realized that there were no longer a huge amount of guardians as there used to be. He had been told of Triston and Lukkan's plan and was at a loss. Lay down Mace and kryss and shield for pen and paper? Kodoz wasnt sure whether he was more afraid this plan would fail or if it would succeed. He knew that for the good of the guild it must succeed. But Kodoz couldnt simply give up his life as a valiant warrior. He browsed through his houses, and visited the empty Novitus Sanctum. It was almost like Christmas, not a creature a stirring except for himself. Kodoz sent by pigeon that his brother Ed would assist in anyway possible, and that Kodoz would gather resources of all manners. He missed the old days, but looked forward to the new. Truly now was the time to start anew, with the slate wiped clean, or close to it. True, they must never and would never forget where, how, why, or by who the guild was formed, but it would be a fresh start. Summer is the time for growth, and so we should.*

[LukkanMortain]

*parchment sent to Mordred Mortain from his twin brother Lukkan*

Dear brother, Im sure you are aware of the new direction the Empire is about to embark on. I need you to stand under Lord Arms, follow his direction, he will guide you to your deeds. Your skills of smithy.tailoring, tinkering and mining are needed in full effect now. He will iron out the details with you so you understand more clearly. I must enter the depths of hiding for a period of 2 weeks. I shall hole up in our Yew house with our cousin Darth Sidious. He will be producing runebooks and scrolls to donate to the Empire.

As me being a fighter, I was in the forfront of the family, times have changed, you know are the leader of the family, the main prescence for our family to the Empire. Give them my farewell, strength and honor, brother.

[KhioTong]

what a great story steel, i can feel it in my heart.