The Tomb of Simopr

Part 1

The beginning

The eagle descended out of the greyish read sky onto the now barren plain, it
had spied its pray
from miles away and elited next to the target and began to grasp it within its
talons.

Suddenly a hand shot out from beneath the sun-baked sands, grasping the claws
firmly within his
hands, Manor Shelldrake extracted him self from the trap he had prepared.

‘There you go my beauty’ he said as he slipped a hood over the eyes of the
eagle, gently stroking its
wings and head till it calmed down.
‘There, there my beauty, no need to worry I have you’ he continued, as his voice
soothed the beast
within his grasp.

Taking out a perch from a pack berried next to him he stabbed it energetically
into the ground, put
the leash on the animal and placing it on top of the perch he tied it their. He
retrieved the meat he
had laid out, brushing of the few sand particles that had attached themselves,
then cutting it with his
pocket dirk he divided the meat between himself and the bird, placing it near
its head, handfeeding
it as he slowly chewed on the other portion.

‘You’ll fetch a pretty price if I can get you back. Ie you’ll be worth at least
500 gold in the market,
but first we must teach you some manners.’ He said as the eagle bit into his
left finger, which had
accidentally come between it and the meat.

Manor Shelldrake was from the mountains in the east, an outcast from his tribe,
shunned by others
because of his interest in animals, his ability to understand them, to train
them, to almost mystically
commune with them, and that is what the tribe had disowned him for.

The bears had attacked the village in the dead of night. It mattered not to the
village that they had
instigated this by taking all the natural food the bears sought, what mattered
was the fact that
halfway through the attack he, Manor, had woken, stepped out of the lean-to and
saw the panic, saw
the devastation the four large brown bears had caused, then stopped them.

He walked up to the nearest creature and felt it, understood it, then spoke to
it, talking to its hunger,
its rage and then had led it into the surrounding forest, then had done the same
with all its
companions.

The village called him a witch, a magic worker, the shaman of the village said
he had an evil eye
and that he had called the bears to attack the village.

The village council judge him, found him wanting and exiled him forever, forever
to wander, no
one to speak for him, no one to protect him.

Slowly, over time he learned that the Clan was not everything, he could survive
without them, and
of course his power had helped. Creatures just seemed to like his smell, his
presence, his, well it
was hard to explain.

AT first when he had been expelled form the village the bears had been his
company, they foraged
for him, honey and berries and fish, it seemed unnatural, but he learned that
his wish was their
motivation, they would not willingly leave him, they where his willing
companions because he
cared about them.

Then over time he learned that all manner of creatures where influenced by him,
spoke with him,
not in speech of course, but he could scenes there needs, wants, and with some
of the smarter
animals, their desires. There was no reason he knew why he could do what he did,
it just happened.

If he had been a man or and elf he would have had a vague knowledge of what he
might have been,
but he was neither, his tall muscled frame stood 2.5 meters, covered in a soft
red, brown downy fur
that still showed signs of his recent moult, His tail was almost the same length
as his height, highly
flexible and dextrous, his two great feet where clawed with 5 sharp retractable
claws each, as were
his hands, although they where slightly bigger and has 6 appendages each, where
as his feet only
had 4 each. His ears stood near the back of his head and were proportionally
small for his head, yet
truly functional.

PART 2

After the Exile

It had come as a shock to him, the first time he had seen a human. The ugly
thing didn’t even have
fur, and the stench that it cast about it was abominable, of course at the time
he had not know what
it was, only that it had language and intelligence.

It had taken him time to learn that not all were like him their were others out
there, humans, elves,
dwarfs, Orcs, Gnomes and may others, even some that were a mixture of all the
above.

His gift with animals had helped, seems that some desired them as pets, others a
hunting beasts and
still others for sport, he didn’t like those type. Oh they had their uses, he
could always sell them
something, but he disliked them and rarely sought them out.

Mostly he disliked company, accept the animals that is, he always found them
peaceable, although
as time passed he realised that he was different form his friends, they
eventually died and left him,
whereas he continued to live, grow stronger, wiser, not older like they, no he
continued.

One day he stumbled upon ‘A SETTLEMENT’ or that’s what the humans called it.

It was the strangest thing, so like yet unlike his village, the fact that at the
time he was trailed by 2
cougars and a bear seemed in no way to account for the welcome he recede from
the people he
meet.

He was spoken to with genuine warmth and affection, (and it was only later he
found out that he
had been responsible for ending the settlements woes of wild beasts with his
arrival)

He came to like them and spent may years learning from them, living with them,
but they too
eventually left.

One day he came back from one of his extended trips into the forests to find the
‘Settlement’ mostly
destroyed, all his friends dead, their bones scattered to the four winds.

That was when he found the youngling, the ‘baby’; yes that’s what it was called
a baby. He knew it
was male, he could smell it clear thought the smoke and flames.

It was wrapped in a cloth near the water hole and had just soiled itself when he
finally found it.
Protesting his investigation of it, he picked it up, chewed some food for it and
fed it the masticated
treat. It when quite as it sucked vigorously on the food, extracting all the
goodness it could before
spitting out the (as yet) inedible portions.

He took the foundling to another settlement some 100 kilometres away, the home
of his friend’s
elders and left it on the doorstep.

The door opening and the elders retrieving it with tears and smiles finally
rewarded the screams of
the youngster, as he stood just within site so they would know where it came
from.

**
His loss brought the sickness again, that longing for home that plagued him time
and time again, he
decided that he would see his home again. Just a glimpse of the valley would
satisfy him, hold him
over like it had before till the next time.

Travelling day and night never stopping he finally reached his homeland.

He smelled death before he touched his home stone; the valley reeked of it, the
mountains sang of it
and the animals were nowhere to be seen.

Entering his homeland, his village, knowing he was the last of his kind was the
hardest thing he had
ever had to do.

Part 3

Life continues

The signs were easy to read, they told the story he had seen before.

Death had come in the from of invasion.
The long war had started and he had just witnessed its first act.

He never knew why they killed his tribe; he never knew the pains that had been
taken to blot out the
memory of his ancestry or the manner of his creation. All he knew was that once
again he had lost
that which he loved.

He waited for death to take him, to come in his lonely mountain village, but it
never came. Instead
the animals returned and once again he found peace in their presents.

Later, after he had rested, healed and come to terms with life, he decided what
he would do.
He would do something about this death that was taking his loved ones, so once
again he began to
journey seeking death and its may forms.

Along the way he met many who knew about death, a dwarf named Firebrand, an elf
whose name
he could never remember and a human who he found lost in the forests of Arnu.

The dwarf he found wounded after the forces of Lord Vladin had swept thought the
hills of the
Firebrand clan, like army ants, clearing it of all that made life worthwhile and
destroying anyone
who opposed them. Firebrand was the last of his clan, full of revenge and
purpose, Manor spent
time with him healing his wounds, showing him the animals and tending the graves
of those lost.

After that they travelled together for some time till they came upon the Elf.

Now that one was strange, it was almost as old as he was and it seemed to
understand his gift, his
powers, it, NO HE, had said something like ‘Natural Animal Mage’ or sum such
thing as that. The
elf too had been looking for death and once again Manor had helped heal him.

Once again they had travelled together till they had met the human. Now that one
would have been
at home with the clan, if he known about it, but Manor wasn’t likely to tell
him. He had spent too
much time trying to forget. It didn’t seem to know its name, so he named it
Scratch, after the cubs it
so reminded him of.

The war dragged on and the little group had some minor part in its ending,
mostly thought accident
and luck rather than through design.

Part 4

AFTER THE WAR

After the war the group broke up and went their separate ways.

Firebrand had found a female companion and had vowed to restart the Firebrand
clan, the Elf
returned to his forests to mourn and eventually mate, the human, it went off to
the small township of
Brandywine, south of where Tarant would eventually be, And, Manor he once again
went to the
forests.

This time however he was troubled by what the Elf had said and so sought out the
mages in their
hidden valley. He spent many years there, watching and learning, unseen from
prying eyes.
DR Halidar Moncrief had ensured that, the elf had seen to that, his privacy that
was.

He reached Adulthood while he was their and his power grew till it became second
nature to him,
Halidar said he was the most powerful Animal Mage ever to walk the earth, but
that seemed an
exaggeration to him, so he took little notice of it.

One day he left the valley, sure of at least on thing. There was nothing left to
be learned from being
there.

So began the Third journey. Manor travelled the land, tending the animals,
rescuing wayward strays
of all races and looking in on his fondly remembered charges.

The Elf had of course grown, but not aged and was now a Mage of some power
living in the
treetops, ever vigilant to protect his people. The Dwarf had died during his
stay with the mages, so
had the human, but the Firebrand clan knew of him and he was welcomed as one of
their own.

Unfortunately they seemed to like the undergrounds and a new fangled thing call
Technology,
which Manor viewed with suspicion till one of the younger Firebrands show him,
the secrets that he
knew.

The Human Scratch too had died but had managed to survive long enough to found
the family of
RIST, in which the oldest male was always named Scratch. It seamed that they
believed that they
owed a debt of honour to him, and they took seriously this burden.

Now some good came out of the meeting of these minds, the human, dwarf and Elf
clans remained
close and although, at times they drifted apart (especially during the Second
great war), eventually
they came together, brought by the common bond of loyalty and honour and
remembrance of their
common benefactor.

Then came the Second Great War.

Part 5

THE SECOND GREAT WAR

The second war started as most do, a squabble between a couple of egocentrics
over a smallish
piece of land that later became known as the wilderness of Arun.

Yes that Arun, the one that used to be a forest.

The trouble stared when Sir Hector Fits Walters-Smith and his rival Sir Johnoan
Mangis-Locklon
were having a friendly game of ‘WHO CAN BEAT WHO’, you know the one where you
gather
your troops for battle, size each other up and whomever is the stronger wins.

Well Walters-Smith cheated, he employed a Mage by the name of MONTI to act as
provocateur in
this battle and won a decisive victory for his side. This of course annoyed
Mangis_locklon
immensely (mostly because he hadn’t thought of this particular manuver before
his rival), but
basically, that’s what started the second Great War.

Now don’t misunderstand me I’m not saying that the great war wasn’t the result
of the Gnome
Homeland push or the mass migration of the Elfin population from the eastern
woods to Arcanum
central, Nor am I saying that the great dwarf battle at Tilbia, over the horde
of Vanstrecknen, had no
part to play in the great war. No rather I’m saying that if you have to start
somewhere you might as
well start at that point where you can establish a direct correlation between
the events to come and
the events that precipitated them.

Its just that if you look more closely you can find that as a direct result of
their disagreement, a
mage was employed for battle, which resulted in the total destruction of over
1000 hectares of
woodlands, which in turn dislodged the local fauna, which in turn made food
scares for the local
carnivores, which in ... ect. So you can see that just one result of there was
the increase in hunting
of small game buy very large, hungry carnivores.. and they just happened to
like Gnome for
breakfast..

As I said the second Great War started and Manor was not immune to its affects,
mostly because of
his love for animals, and partly because it was the first time that he was
directly asked to participate.

The Firebrand clan had not participated in the battle for the horde, nor where
they interested in what
it contained as they had wealth aplenty in the deep mountains, mining ore and
silver, however when
the war started they began to suffer terrible loses as there caravans were raids
by most of the many
waring sides for goods and treasures to pay for there current campaigns. Thus
one day the clan
approached their mentor for help in protecting the caravans from such attacks

Manor considered the request for months before finally assigning some of his
most cherished
animals as caravan followers, it was a decision that changed the course of his
life, as it was the first
time he had ceased to be passive about his role in the world, (accept for when
his animal had been
threatened.)

The war raged for years and finally, was not won, rather it petered out as the
resources of the
various factions were spent in useless endeavours, and except for the loss of
the Anur forests,
nothing much change in the world, accept that Technology had reached the masses
and that the
power of the mages was threatened.

Part 6

THE ARGUMENT

Manor retreated from the world and apart from his occasional forays out to see
his charges and old
companions (of whom the Elf remained the only original occupant), things began
to become quiet
for the wander.

One day as he made his way through the forests of old near his birth place, he
happened upon a
group of dwarfen labours making swords. This intrigued him because the blades
where of such
manufacture that the quality was beyond doubt, as was demonstrated most aptly by
the chief dwarf
Chritin Wheelhammer, as he quickly used the newly forged blade to sever the
smallish tree trunks
nearby.

So intrigued was he that he set his heart of owning a match pair of these fine
items, the only
weapons that had ever appealed to him.

i The argument started small enough, it began over the price of a tamed bear
that had been hunted
from the woods of Anur before their loss, and ended with the discussion of the
ledges of the
creature of the Forest and ways to capture it.

Of Course Manor was oblivious off all this, his new toys in his hands, after
some swift negotiations
it had been established that a smallish green Chitin gem from the larger forest
ANT would be
enough to cover the cost of the weapons. Needless to say, wealth was not an
issue for Manor, only
his animals and his small pleasures.

i They began the hunt full of themselves, weapons and spells loaded and ready
for action. What
their intent was, when they sighted the mythical creature is unsure, but the
grog and the excitement
would probably have proved enough if they hadn’t stumbled, unwittingly, upon
Manor as he made
his way back into the deepest forests to once again commune with nature (so to
speak).

Unfortunately they did happen upon our wanderer, seeing him they caught their
collective breath.
Never in their life had they seen so magnificent a creature, walking upright
with such elegance. It
was over 7 feet tall, covered in a fine multi colored fur, and walked with a
spring in its step. They
drew their weapons and began to follow our hero.

The hunt began in earnest, scout at the front flanked by a mage on the left and
a Tech on the right,
followed by two Orc porters a TIM and JIM Udcst, brothers from the upper reaches
of the river.

Now to say that he was unaware of their coming would be a lie, let us just say
that it amused him
that they would come to hunt him.

Manor blended into the forest quickly, doubled back and followed the hunters as
they continued;
unaware that he had outsmarted them.

They hunted for hours wandering here and there, till finally in their
frustration they started shooting
and destroying the local wildlife.

Manor reacted quickly, warning the animals of their approach and arranging a
little surprise for
them over the next hill.
Jim and Tim were the only ones not hurt in the coming melee, as their roles were
obvious, porters.

The party left the forest, vowing never to return, battered and bruised and
short two members as
both Jim and Tim had disappeared just after the ruchas had started.

PART 7

THE COMING DARKNESS
(Some history)

As most Historians know Great War was fought over the control of Magick as a
result of the war
the Mage council was formed and the teaching of Magick became bound into
colleges and skills
within these colleges.

We all today know of these colleges and their location in the hidden Mage city
in Tarant, only open
to those who study the arts. What is not general known is that Manor was for
some time listed in
one of their archives as a Magical creature of Myth.

Of course may adventures both Magically and non magically inclined set out to
find this mythical
beast, some fortunately never found him, others did and suffered a fate
dependant on his mood.
Some were adopted and learned forest law, one or two rare individuals were
killed and just once,
only once the seeker was shunned and actively hunted.

She entered the forest some time after the Great War looking to find the
mythical beast within,
which was, as ledged had it, a powerful mage from a past age.

She was in her own way a mage, not well liked but powerful enough that others
either avoided her
or treated her with a respect that bordered on paranoia. Perhaps it was that
she had chosen to study
the darker arts, of perhaps it was the fact that death seamed to follow her
every move that caused
this reaction, and suffice it to say that most of her remaining companions were
of the same bent.
Now I wouldn’t say they were evil, just dark.

Unfortunately for them Manor was neither dark, nor interested in darkness, his
forests and animals
having suffered enough thought darkness and wars.

They searched the forest for years and eventually found, now what they were
seeking for, but
something else they had not searched for, for of course the forest contained
things of darkness as
well, (that avoided Manor with a passion, as they loved their lives).
In the darkness within the old forest they stumbled upon a temple, half in ruin
berried almost
totally, guarded by great stone figures of DEATH, VENGANCE, DECAY and
DESOLATION.
They knew from the figures that something very VERY dark lay within but exactly
what would
have to wait because whatever lay within was also guarded by other things. Manor
was one of them.

Manor knew what was inside the temple, not with personal knowledge, but with the
knowledge any
animal has as to EVIL and DARKNES. Of course he had know exax6t knowledge of
the temples
contents, he just knew that what lay within should remain undisturbed, forever
if possible, but
Definitely as long as he lived, (and he did not know how long that was, having
already lived three
generations of the RIST family.)

Having set wards over the place he had left poisonous snakes, swamp things,
kites, wolves and
other creatures there to guard the place, more than enough for the casual
observer to find the place
that interesting to hang around, and if that failed a family of hawks was bidden
to seek him out
should all else fail.

Meredith Halley Simorp was her name and she was not easily dissuaded from her
goals, that she
would eventually pay the ultimate price for her stubborn nature and
dispossession goes without
saying, but it would take almost 400 years for that reward to bring its
recompense.

scratch - 09:00pm Apr 30, 2001 PST (8.) Mark Edit Delete Reply

PART 8

NIGHT DECENDES IN THE FORREST

Having defeated the temple guardians and destroyed the wards that guarded the
entrance Simorp
and her four Mage companions opened the Temple and entered into the dark eerie
depths.

Now of course we have all hear know the tales of darkness that stem from the war
of the Gods and
weather or not these tales were true was unknown, until Simorp and her
companions descended into
the bowls of the temple.

The hawks did what they were supposed to do and when to fetch Manor,
unfortunately he was miles
away, deep in thought, contemplating some matter or other that your narrator is
unaware of.

Unaware of this however, Simorp and her friends descended in to the depths
fighting the occasional
wear rat, Umerhulk and other denizen of the dark. Finally they made their way
into the main atrium
of the underground complex. (Who’s design was later to be repeated by Simorp
herself when she
designed her lair.)

Below them lay an alter covered ion mouldy fabric, littered with scrolls and
surrounded by the
bones of countless victims. They descended into the pit using ropes and walking
carefully over the
remains of the sacrificed reached the alter.
There they found the one thing that had been missing from the puzzle of who or
what this place
was.

Enshrined, as the altars centre price was a globe of light encased inside six
diamond crystals each
with a mage lock. Around these hovered runes of power that floated four to a
layer, 4 layers deep
around the object, finally surrounding all that was a glass sphere, with no
apparent join, upon which
where words written in a tongue unintelligible to any of them.

The object emanated power that filled the rooms and halls of the under layer and
they knew that (in
some way) that they were seeing a remnant from an ancient and deadly battle.

Fortunately for us it took almost 150 years to decipher the locks and wards that
guarded the artefact.
But unfortunately for us what was immediately apparent to the finders was the
knowledge that the
scrolls contained that littered the alter next to the centrepiece.

Having gained their objective the invaders quickly made their way out of the
temple and through
the forest in an effort to return home with their prise

PART 9

THE DARKNESS THICKENS

(a different perspective)
**
Occupants of the temple... No one ever thinks about them now do they, they just
waltz into an area,
kill a few family members, take their non-edible thingies out then leave.

Albeit they sometimes leave food in the form dead things, dropped scraps and
such, but on the
whole they cause more damage that they leave goodies.

Still they did do something this time that caused quite a stir, they left the
door open, I mean who
doesn’t want to go out !

Yes Yes I know some cant leave, like that thingy that’s all white and cold, or
those other thingies
that are live in the darkness below, (burr), yea those ones, but the rest of us,
well time to leave.

**
NB:

I cannot say for sure that’s what the creatures within the Temple thought, but
all evidence seams to
point towards the leaving principle I have just expounded.

The exodus from the temple began slowly enough with just a few creatures
leaving, but turned into
a mass exodus when the lower level creatures smelt fresh food, fresh air and
freedom on the wind.

Manor arrived during the middle of this frenzied departure and spent some time
defending himself
from creatures he had never seen, (well in such numbers anyway), as it seamed
that the Temple had
been the breeding ground for some of the foulest things he had ever seen.

Some time later, after the plague had left, Manor, Mad with anger for the fist
time in ages, made a
decision.

HE WOULD HUNT WHATEVER HAD DONE THIS.

PART 10

DARKENESS ?

Manor began to track the menace that had unleased evil into his forest,
following the trail through
the darkness and through the day, never sleeping.

*
Simorp and her companions, two Elves, a Human, and a gnome, made their way
through the forests
unaware that they were being tracked, although some inkling must have reached
there minds
because one of the Elves, Marchen Finis Longshaft, an elf from one of the most
respected lines in
the glowing forests, began to feel uneasy when Manor began to trail them.

‘I say we are being followed’ Marchen said to no one particular
‘Don’t worry’ replied Simorp ‘very few could resist us, together we represent
quite a dynamic
force.’

Marchen looked pained, although he too wanted the power contained in the sphere
that they had
‘liberated’, he knew already that it was beyond him, his desire was not that
strong that he would
commit any act to achieve his goals, after all he still had some morals, unlike
most of the others
here especially Simorp.

Simorp quicken the pace, her half Elvin blood allowing her that extra effort.
The Human dropped
off the pace with the gnome, yet still managed to keep the others in site.

*
Manor was worried, his eagle had not returned and his travelling companions, 2
overlarge cats and a
tree dwelling creature he called ‘ROC’, (some sort of ape), were beginning to
tire, so stopping he
gathered his strength and sent his companions back home, two days journey away.

Looking round he sat in a trance in the centre of the forest, searching with his
mind till he found
what he sought.

The loud buzzing sound grew louder quite quickly as the swarm of wasps emerged
form the western
darkness that was the forest.

*
Simorp senses the magick, she stopped, turned to Marchen and said.
‘Your right. Did you just feel that ?’ He stopped, waited and felt nothing,
shook his head and
waited.

Simorp sat with a thump, the others that were lagging caught up, sat and rested
too waiting for what
they did not know.

Then out of nowhere Marchen felt that presence again as he shared with Simorp a
strange , almost
mystical bond that was almost control but not quite. Together they felt the
ripple in the laws of
Arcanum, that ripple that can only be caused by the use of Magick.

*
Manor finished , the swarm would not tire for hours so he rose and began his
hunt again.

*
Simorp and the others began to lay traps, poison, spikes, nets and pits and
moved on, now more
cautious, covering their journey as they went.

*
Manor speeded up, sent some of his followers on ahead to scout out the area,
checked his weapons
and began reciting one of his most favourite poems.

CRUSH !

So delicate
So fragile
That with just one touch
It I could crush

And crush it I will
For it gives out such a shrill sound
As I crush it firmly into ground
And it's such a happy sound

I will do it all again

So delicate
So fragile
That with just one touch
These fools I will crush.

CRUSH !!

Went the giant as he stepped on them all !

.. He laughed...

PART 11

HUNTING

He laughed as he made his way thought the tall moss covered tree, his path was
easy as the fleeing
felons had carelessly cast aside branches and knocked moss of trees that had
stood covered for ages.

His companions were growing restless, as well as hungry, so he released then to
hunt as well for
juicy grubs that made their home in the moss.

Simorp and her companions were busy, the traps had slowed them down, but the
benefit would be
great if, IF, it worked.

As they neared the outskirts of the inner forest Simorp called a rest. The
others handed round the
sphere and discussed opening it; only Simorp remained silent, concentrating...

Ever since she had first laid her hands on the sphere it seamed that her power
had increased, her
knowledge grown and she was currently exploring these feelings and examining
what now lay
within her grasp (ALMOST).

Manor continued to follow their trail, weaving in and out thought the forest
litter, occasionally
stopping to examine the ground, he found a trail of blood that was dripping
slowly from his prey.
Knowing that other forest animals would find the trail and not wishing to have a
disagreement with
some of them, (especially the rage lions that frequented the deep forest), he
began to urinate on the
blood, mixing his sent with that of blood, thereby discussing it, throwing any
would be trailer off
the scent of blood. He did this numerous times and in this way blocked out
over 100 meters of
blood trail.

Simorp was deep in thought when Marchen touched her shoulder, almost lovingly,
although that
time had passed, he sometimes still thought of her as his lover, especially when
her thoughts were
no longer turned to their current path.

She started suddenly at the touch that had been absent for ages, woke from her
thoughts and seeing
her former lover their, momentarily forgot her dreams of power. Second later
she remembered
them and the moment was gone, so was his touch.

‘WELL’ she asked

‘You must come, it is time to leave, the others are rested and soon we can
portal out of this place.’
he replied quickly.

‘How far’ she said gathering herself

‘About 4 hours till we reach the resupply point, then 10 minutes after that we
can use the scroll we
left there.’

‘I TOLD you we should have brought it with us!’ she said angrily

‘And I told you’ he interrupted ‘That if we entered the tomb, we could not be
sure the scroll would
be safe from what lay within’

After some thought she relented. ‘Yes you’re right she said as she finally made
her way to her feet,
not noticing the small pool of blood that had seeped from her right hand, the
one that had first touch
the sphere.

PART 12

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

Manor walked into the traps that had been laid, unknowingly, for although Manor
was skilled in the
ways of the forest and Mage (of sorts), he had few dealings with people,

The spikes thrust their way thought his foot with devastating force, driving
from his throat a
piercing scream that rebounded thought the forest.

Simorp and the others hearing the scream, smiled and continued hastily on their
way, only hours
remained till they reached the store they had secreted.

He fell forward as the pain crippled his foot, just missing the traps that had
been placed to catch
such a fall. Unfortunately his left arm tripped another trap, made from bamboo,
that had been
attached in the trees above, tripping the hail of darts that cut a swath thought
his companions and
finally into his back leaving traces of poison in his blood stream.

Manor knew he was in trouble and his current companions were unable to assist
him so
concentrating he began to form the symbols in his head that would summon more
appropriate
assistance. His concentration was interrupted as the poison finally reached his
central nervous
system. His whole body went limp as the deadly brew began its work.

Simorp and her companions began to relax, hoping that the traps had been
effective against their
enemy.

Hours past and they made their way breathlessly into the clearing. The clearing
was surrounded by
towering, Greater Forest Oaks that hung their canopy some 200 meters above the
forest floor,
shading the area in an almost impenetrable darkness that was only broken by the
shafts of light that
made their way through the canopy cover in the places where old branches had
fallen.

The lighting affects had an eerie effect on the area, casting shadows of light,
instead of darkness on
the forest floor.

Marchen slowed his pace and stepping forward spoke the spell of release, the
wards that had been
set, deactivated and in turn, the rest of the party broke there pace and stepped
into the shadow of
light.

Reaching out Simorp summoned an ORC Champion, and directed him to grasp the
chains that lay
covered in leaf beneath their feet, and then along with the other companions it
pulled slowly,
moving the trap door that guarded the stores.

Having moved the trapdoor, the companion was sent into the forest to backtrack
the trail and
dispose of anything that remained behind. (While Simorp maintained the spell
that is.)

Meanwhile in the forest Manors body bucked and kicked in convulsions as the
poison worked it
way into his sub neural system.

Marchen grasped the scroll, nodded to the party as they retrieved the rest of
the supplies, and sat
firmly on the nearby rocks as he bit heavily into the cram that he had just
unrolled from the Elf leaf.

Manors breathing became laboured and his blood had pooled into a red puddle that
began to make
its way into the nearby holes that the traps had made.

*
Twenty minutes later and Simorp began to recite the scroll, the portal opened
and the party stepped
through. Seconds before she entered she mentally released her Companion spell,
and within the
forest it disappeared.

PART 13

DEATH IN THE FOREST

Death came slowly and Manor recognised its face as it slowly wormed its way into
his mind.

It came in the traditional figure that we all expect to see, a skeleton dressed
all in black carrying an
overlarge scythe.

As his blood pooled into the ground, mingling with the soft earth that only
moments before had
been his friend he realised that this time he would be unable to defend his
friends.

Marchen drank deep from the beer that was sitting on the table. Looking around
the inn he relaxed
into the wooden bench, moving slightly to avoid the splinter that he had just
noticed.

Simorp and the others were over at the bar, ordering food, their secret prize
safely stored in the
rooms they had rented upstairs, hidden by various spells.

They returned and plonked a large green salad, dripping with oily dressing in
front of him, he
carefully picked out the green olives and mushrooms and put them into his bowl
that served as his
nibbles, threw the tomato into the growing mass in the centre of the table and
then reaching into
across the table took the sweet potato and asparagus that he had earlier ordered
and added them to
his mix and pored some of the sweet oil over it and began to eat again. It
wasn’t that he was
hungry, it was more that the food was there and after their adventure he saw no
reason not to
indulge his tastes.

‘To a successful quest’ said Halina Shoram, the human Mage as he raised his
stern
‘To a successful quest’ rejoined the others, Marchen was silent.

‘Now what ?’ asked Halina Shoram
‘Now, well now we tale our prize home and begin the work of understanding it’
replied Simorp
casually. The others nodded.

Death came closer and looked over Manor, it liked what is saw and began to count
the moments till
it would have its prize.

Manor opened one eye and saw death standing over him, waiting.

‘So you have come’ he said within his mind, unable, as he was to waste breath on
such trivia.
‘So your ready to meet me’ it said back
‘No not really, but what choice do I have, you’re here and so am I.’

Death laughed, (how something without lungs could laugh is beyond me, but it
did)

Manor laughed too, more out of the irony than anything else.

‘Now what’ he said
‘Now I wait till you are ready, then we will go together....’ answered death
’So what’s it like’ manor interrupted
‘Well... ‘ Said death as it looked closer at him, bent over and poked him in the
ribs almost tenderly.
‘You’ll just have to wait to find out’, disappointed death brushed his brow and
placed brush under
his head to support it. ‘It seams you will not die today. You have a remarkable
body you know’ it
continued. ‘Anyone else and we would be walking together now, but you, you will
recover, it seams
you have friends’

With that death pointed to a largish community of ants that was busily pulling
together Manor’s
wounds, stopping the life draining flow, and to the other animals that had
gathers, some to keep him
warm and some (like the bee) that delivered honey to his lips, food for his
need.

‘Are they enough to save me ?’
‘No not really’ said death as it started to leave ‘But company will be here in
time and I feel
generous today.’ And with that death melted back into the background of the
world.

PART 14

AFTERMATH

Death wasn’t finished yet. It walked off and stood just outside Manors vision,
waiting, keeping
hungry eyes away from their rightful prey, ensuring that help did in fact arrive
in time. Amused at
its own cleverness it continued on its never-ending journey of collection.

Manor’s hung between life and death and his agony only increased as his body,
still suffering from
poisoning, continued to twist involuntarily with each spasm.

Two halflings ambled thought the forest, collecting herbs, their garments
carefully blended with the
environment, their weapons drawn, the carry bags they held almost full, they
were currently looking
for some ingredients for both Healing potions and a local drink (called Mountain
brew) that was the
export from their smallish village.

As they carefully made their way thought the forest Manors agony reached their
ears and wishing to
ensure it wasn’t some dangerous animal they tracked the sound anxiously.

As they entered the clearing they saw Manor’s form on the forest floor
surrounded by all manner of
beasts that were obviously tending to it, approaching carefully they were almost
knocked back by a
large brown bear, till it smelt the herbs they carried, then strangely the
animals parted enough for
the Halflings to get their first full glimpse of what lay in the forest.

Odorf reached into his bag and clearing a space on the forest floor lit a fire,
frighting off several of
the creature, placing a small copper bowl on the flames he adde some water from
a skin, added
some herbs and mixed them with a stick he picked up.

Meanwhile Simis examined the form presented to him, he was trying to categorise
it but could find
nothing in his memory that fitted it. Obviously it was intelligent; obviously it
was a Mage of sorts
(hence the animals and their calm state), Just as obviously these traps had been
set to catch
something like this.

The herbs ready Odorf cooled then rapidly (and separated the leaves for the
potion) by swinging it
thought 360 degrees rapidly. Taking an even smaller cup from his side Odorf
collected the liquid
and as Simis cradled the creature’s head, he poured the contents into its mouth.

Then they set about removing the traps spikes, bandaging the wounds and laying
the creature on
safe ground. They left the ants where they were till they found some fishing
wire in one of their
packs to sew the wound.

Simis drew a vial from his pack and added it to the new brew that Odorf was
making.

‘Poison’ said Simis, Odorf nodded and continued to mix the formula.

Death, sure that Manor would survive withdrew the last of its attention from the
area concentrating
on other things.

Marchen woke to find his bed covered in sweat, his cloths lay strewn over the
floor and his books
were in a trail from the desk to the bed where he sat, now wide awake with the
revelation that had
woken him.

He rushed to the small parchment that lay on his desk and began to scribble down
his dream.

They had finally stabilised Manor, and were discussing what to do next when
others from their
group arrived, sending Fiden off to the village, the sat and lit pipes taking
turns to tend their charge.

Marchen was worried. He studied what he had written and swore, checked it again,
swore again and
reaching behind the desk took a bell and rung it. A smallish winged creature,
dressed in a tutto,
with slivery wings floated into the room, Marchen gave the scroll to the pixie
and said.

‘Take this to Simorp, and hurry’, the pixie darted across the room and
disappeared through a side
passage.

PART 14

INTERLUDE

Not all is what it seams and this is an issue I would like to address today.

First let me say that not everything in this world is black and White, good or
evil, sometimes it
depends on when, where or how it is used, spoken or tripped over that makes the
difference.

Take our halflings for instance, some have always viewed this group as with some
suspicion,
mostly due to folk tales spread by word of mouth that indicates that halflings
are, or have been
involved in “thievery and pilfering”. Now of course this may be true for SOME
halflings, as it also
may be true of most races. But as a group halflings are no less honest than most
and a far deal more
honest than some.

These particular halflings would fall into the group of “More honest than most”,
due mostly to their
thriving export industry of healing medications, relaxitives, drinks and such.

Now some would say that SIMORP was evil but if any thought were put into this
statement it
would soon be realised that she never considered herself evil, out of the
ordinary certainly, but evil,
Never.

I’m not saying that her goals and purpose would have conformed to what we
perceive today as
“Normal” but for the age she was in, they were not that far form the normal to
excite attention.

As you are no doubt aware many Mages of the time were searching Arcanum for
forgotten Magic,
(much like they do today), some famous counsel Mages even considered using the
Dark arts to find
these missing treasures.

Note for instance Professor Hilderbrant Matic who spent 20 years searching for
the scroll of
Arnoria, (reputed to hold the power of life extension), only to find it after
using the dark arts to
located it deep within the catacombs on the Isle of Dispar.

When we take this into account we can see that Simorp was, at first, almost no
different from this
example, however at this point I would like to point out that there is one
crucial difference between
Simorp and our esteemed Professor..

Their aims.

PART 15

A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION

Problems arose on the third day caring for Manor.

They had had to clean up the usual bodily functions when they noticed that there
was blood in the
stool. Arguments arose as to what to do but since none of them exactly knew who
or what Manor
was it quickly became obvious they would have to go outside their small circle
to find help in this
matter.

Eventually after many hours of discussion Niagn Micros (a halflings familiar
with the “Mages” and
there “tricks”) was sent to find some help.

*
Meanwhile Simorp and her “friends” had retreated to the wilderness, on the
plains, near a fertile
valley full of game once there they had employed certain dwarfs (of dubious
repute) to begin labour
on a dwelling, and along with them Gnomes and various creatures. Like charmed
Scorpions and
bears and such (for the digging work, for the foundations.)

Niagn arrived in the small town of Hopewater (near the main stream), looking for
help and after
surveying the local scene decided that the “Dusty Frog” a local meeting
house/inn, was the
appropriate place to meet persons who may be willing to help.

After waiting two days observing the local “talent” he chose to approach a
smallish Half Elf Mage
of little repute who, was obviously new to the Mage business.

Josephus Klamour had been in the village for around six weeks, having newly
arrived from Mage
Capital, (which had only been in existence for about 5 years). One of the first
products of the new
training system Josephus was still new to the game (as the system was still new
within itself). He
cut a fine swath dressed in his leather-armoured jacket, grey hewed pants and
darkly colored cloak
that was covered in small stars near the base.

Niagn’s negotiations took little time and within half a day the Mage Klamour was
on his way to
“HELP A SICK ANIMAL”, that the village honoured, on its road to recovery.

Of course exactly what type of animal the halflings had was a mystery only to be
solved by going
their, but being a Nature Mage by choice Klamour was quite willing to “wait and
see” as the old
saying goes.

PART 16

AFTERMATH (OR IS THAT AFTERMARTH)

Klamour arrived in the village 2 days later, 6 days after Niagn left the
village, and fortunately
Manor was still alive when they arrived.

At first Klamour was shocked at the deceit of the halflings in bringing him to
their village to care
for (what was obviously NOT and animal) but as he examined the creature (well he
was their so he
might as well examine it), he noticed familiarities with creatures he
recognised, cats and other
forms.

Klamour’s charges doubled before he agreed to treat the injured Manor, and
trebled when he was
required to promise complete secrecy over the matter. Needless to say the
halflings were a bit upset
over the cost, but having taken Manor as their own, they eventually agreed that
whatever the price,
it was worth it to restore it/him (Klamour identified it as male), to full
health.

Days later Manor showed the first signs of improvement as he managed to keep
down a meal
without it running thought and out the other end. Two days later he was sitting
up in the bunk, eyes
still a bit glazed, but he was there. Three days later he spoke for the first
time and confirmed that
he was indeed intelligent (not that Klamour had any doubts by then of his
patients intelligence).

A week passed before Klamour decided that his patient was well enough to be
questioned, allowed
out and be taken for his obligatory toilet.

Two days after that Manor was sufficiently well enough to demonstrate Magical
skills that Klamour
had only dreamed about. Nor was lying abed and examining his wounds when he
noticed that his side still ached from obvious lesons, that had formed in the
healing process, (caused
in part by the ant bile that had helped to heal him), and noticing that Klamour
was unable to treat
this malady he had managed to concentrate long enough to speak the words
necessary to heal
himself of these problems

*
Simorp’s party had finally managed to erect the beginnings of their hideaway
when she suggested
that perhaps it was easier to go underground than create elaborate structures
above ground. They
all agreed and managed to find the beginnings of a limestone cave that had
stalactites and
stalagmites almost blocking the passage down the riverbed, near where they were
camped.

After exploring the caverns offered they decided to branch off these and create
their own area,
accessible from beneath the camp they had formed.

Commissions were sent out to various dwarf clans for the extensions and works,
but the clans were
told only what they needed to know and for the agreed price they were
blindfolded or slept till they
arrived at the site, and then returned ion the same way, thus after the initial
effort very few dwarfs
saw the surface or much past the area they were to work in.

‘So Klamour, you find me strange ?’ asked Manor as he sat in bed watching his
healer poke and
prod his recent injuries.
‘At first yes’
‘But now’ questioned Manor
‘To be honest. Now I’m not even sure that I should even let myself know that I
am treating you.
You represent something that I know, to the core of my being, is well,
unnatural, maybe even
wrong’

‘Do I ?’ Manor asked innocently

‘I had no choice in my birth, nor in my manor of creation, nor did I chose who
created me, nor the
purpose of my creation, yet despite all that here I am. I don’t appear to age, I
have some power with
animals and I serve no one but myself and the friends that I choice to have made
on my life’s path.
Further I have chosen to serve the land and those within it even thought they
know me not, or hunt
me if they know of me. Can you say you would do the same ?’

Klamour looked confused and angry, thought about what had been said then
answered.
‘No. I wish I could have said otherwise, but no.’
‘So will you stay or go once I am healed ?’
‘I.. I.. haven’t thought that far, we have much to do yet till I’m sure that
your body is healed’
‘Not that much friend... I call you friend even thought I know that you shudder
at my origins, dose
that surprise you ?’
‘Some ..’ answered Klamour ‘that you would call me friend, that is what I do not
understand. I have
done nothing but heal you, and for that I have been well paid.’

‘Yes I know, thought I call them friends as well, and they will not suffer for
taking me in, but I call
you friend because despite your knowledge of me, you sit and discuss with me
things I have not
spoken of in ages. You lighten my worry with your arguments and disagreements.’
Manor laughed

‘Yes even though I find amusement in your naivety, within you I sense the
essence of something,
that when grown, will one day be powerful beyond the measure you now have. You
have yet to
come into your power young mage and I think we should be their together when
this happens, I
have much I could teach you, if you would learn from such as myself.’

Klamour was shocked, his jaw dropped, he fell backwards as if he had been hit
with a ten pound
mallet, thumped onto his bottom and sat their amazed at what he had just been
offered.

Manor smiled.. It would be interesting times.

Part 17

INTERESTING TIMES

Manor continued to heal and about a month after his injuries, he was well enough
to once again face
the world.

During that time he wondered the Halflings village, helped with animal problems
and charmed
some forest bees to work for the halflings, thus making the collection of honey
less difficult.

Klamour thought greatly over Manors offer and decided that the opportunity was
to good to pass up
and so began to study under Manor.

Meanwhile Manor was also contemplating the Temple, and what it had held or to be
more precise
what it could have held that would draw such reactions from its invaders.

As time drew near to depart plans were made for four halflings and Klamour to
accompany Manor
into the forest to the temple to examine the remains and determine the probable
consequences of the
breach in its walls.

The trip to the temple ruins was uneventful and along the way Klamour got a
better idea of what
Manors training involved.

Manors style of training differed entirely form the arcane school philosophy of
“Learn through
reading” his was more along the lines of “Learn thought doing.”

At first this approach took young Josephus Klamour by surprise, he wasn’t used
to handling animal,
specially small green ones that stunk if you upset them.

The trip to the temple was uneventful after the party had sanitised the reset of
the traps that
Simorp’s party had laid. They arrived and made camp on the surface, checked the
surrounds, noted
the tracks and watched as Manor summoned some Glow worms, (they in fact turned
out to be glow
beetles with delicate purple / silver wings.

They made their way into the temple and slowly but carefully examined the first
level. On level
three they discovered the first of the script.

*
(IF you were to imagine a small pyramid, inverted then stuck into the ground
with its base as the top
and the pinnacle missing and opening into a two level reverse of this, then you
would have a vague
idea of what they were exploring.)

Now today all Mages are taught, as a matter of course, the two major languages
Fidorian and Elfin,
but few learn the dark languages such as Eciffus or Pathinau but in those days
most Mages learned
at least on of the dark languages to protect themselves from their effects.

Manor read the wall, followed slowly by Klamour who was quite as fluent in
Pathinau as Manor.

‘ALL HAIL THE GOD (untranslatable). Let us worship (Untranslatable), for she is
the bringer of
chaos.’ And so it went on describing attributes of the God all around the
walls of the level, mind
you the script was beautiful mingled with beautiful frescos depicting the
destruction of the world,
death and other dark tales.

The descended to the third level an were confronted by more script.

‘So shall (untranslatable) bring about the new age. Oh worship (untranslatable)
as (untranslatable)
strides thought the land, straddling the continents, seeing all that we have
done.’ And so to this went
on describing what the God would do when he/she/it arrived.

On the fourth level down it started to become obvious (if it wasn’t before) that
this particular God
was, (how shall I put it).. DARK, NO VERY DARK, mainly concerned with letting
all Arcanum
basically GLOW IN THE DARK as he/she/it ruled over the remains.

What also became obvious was that this particular temple was the storehouse of
one of the Gods
artefacts as throughout the script drawings of the treasure, stolen, weaved in
and out of the text.

Some texts even mentioned “A MOMENT IN TIME” and others “THE DAWN OF CREATION”
as attributes for the object.

On the fifth level the texts changed from descriptive to directional, what I
mean by that is that they
started to describe (without actually saying) the rights necessary for
communication with this
particular God. The texts also mentioned “A REALM” where this particular God
ruled over various
worlds / creatures and subjects from previous victory’s.

PART 18

EXPLORATION

They continued to explore the temple uninterrupted level by level till they
reached the halfway
point; there they encountered their first resistance.

The overlarge rats were fighting over the bones of some unfortunate comrade but
noticing the party
decided that they would prefer fresh meat to stale bones.

They attacked to be met by fierce resistance in the form of Halflings knives and
shortswords,
entanglement spells and a sudden blinding light that illuminated the whole
floor. They died quickly
and did minor injury to a halflings that had stepped to far forward to only
received a small nip for
his error. Klamour cast heal poison on the Halflings and Manor maintained the
light spell, but
subdued it to bearable levels as they continued to explore.

The next attack was slightly more serious as 4 salamanders, smelling the fresh
blood left by the rats
Made their way to the feast only to find there way blocked by even fresher meat.

This attack to was over quite quickly as Manor’s force wall and entangle spells,
coupled with
Klamour's summoned orc champion made short work of their for.

It was at this point that Manor’s skills revealed themselves in the full. First
he summoned a
Daemon, then a group of wasps, then what could only be described a smallish
flying animal that
Klamour was suer was a miniature dragon, all golden in colour.

There after the passage ways where clear for the next 3 levels as any opposition
left the area in a
hurry to avoid the onslaught that came their way.

The hardest part of the trip was level 16. It began easily enough with various
rats and snakes and
spiders fleeing, but soon became dangerous as they grouped together more afraid
of the invaders
than each other and when the Umberhulks joined the group backed by 6 large grey
rock trolls the
groups seemed to reach critical mass.

They attacked. The rush was confusing as each animal tried to break through the
party to some goal
beyond. And it was this fact that saved them all, Manor after the first few
seconds realised that
something was behind them, coming their way, chasing those in front, so making
motions he got the
party to step aside, released all his spells and hoped he was right. Most
creatures fled the coming
thing, a few took the casual nip to see if what they passed was worth worrying
about, which resulted
in their death.

After their passing the smells from down the passage confirmed that something
was coming their
way, heading for the surface and freedom.

Unable to decide what was worse, facing the coming something or the horde of
animals that would
be waiting on the higher levels, Manor decided to continue further into the
temple, only to de
sidetracked into a small room covered in frescos, and script, and it was here
that they finally learned
what the temples real purpose was.

PART 19

SOME FINAL WORDS

Let us leave this room till later, because the coming something had arrived.

The Brandlebrant had been trapped in the temple for ages, sure there had been
plenty of nice things
to eat, but it had wanted to leave, to find nice soft things. Then those NASTY
thing had come,
fought it and driven it back down into the depth of the temple, but they were
gone, it could no
longer smell them, so it had decided to go out, to find something better to eat
than spiders rats and
salamander, (although it would be the first to admit that those blood filled
things (vampires) were
nice and tasty, although it hadn’t seen any since it first blundered into the
temple complex some 200
years ago).

It slowly made its way upwards, smelling the fresh winds that had made their way
down this far, it
could smell something strange in the air, not the same as those NASTY things,
although it could
just smell something like them, it also smelt a wondrous smell it hadn’t
remember from childhood,
small crunchy things that scurried and screamed and were very tasty, oh it
remember them and how
it had been fed them, oh they were so nice and juicy.

But something began to trouble its mind; it also smelt a smell of a wild animal,
something it had
never smelt before, and something that even it may find dangerous. Intrigued it
changed its course
and mad its way towards the smell.

Simorp’s camp had really progressed; in fact it had progressed far enough for
her to encourage
Marchen to travel with her over the mountains to Ravenswood, a small town
situated in the foothills
nearby. Their they gathered more supplies and Marchen was instructed to travel
to the new Mage
city to obtain certain rare books that they were bound to have their.

She returned to the construction site to overseas the final above ground
instillation and to decide the
fate of a wanderer who had stumbled into the works before they could be
concealed in false
pleasantries and fake towns people.

Marchen continued on and 7 days later wandered into what was to become Tulla.
He had little
difficulty insinuating himself into the colleges as his skills were excellent
and Elfin law was well
respected.

At first all he could do was research the area Simorp had wanted from him but
DARK Necromancy
was still new and although there was numerous notes and treaties on the subject,
there was few
actual arcane text on the subject. Having found this course eof research
unhelpful he decided that
research into the God of Arcanum was the only means to further his search for
the text she had
requested.

The Brandlebrant stoped, looked about and found the room from were the smell
emanated,
obviously too big to fit in it examined the opening looking for weak spots, it
had not gone far when
the smell came out of the room.

It had never seen such a creature before, it wasn’t that small and its tall well
muscled frame was
covered in a soft red brown downy fur, it had a tail that was almost the same
length as its height and
obvious claws on both hands and feet. The Brandlebrant was confused it knew
deep within that
here was something to be afraid of yet this creature was to small to be such a
threat to it. Testing the
theory Brandlebrant made a very small aggressive move, to be confronted not by a
counterattack, as
it had expected, but by voice in its mind.

‘Why do you attack me, I have not come to hurt you’ it said.

The Brandlebrant was even more confused. It knew language, it had been taught
before it was
released into the world, but it had been so long since anything had spoken to it
that it at first didn’t
recognise what had happened, so it continued.

‘I said, why do you attack me, I have not come to hurt you’ continued the voice

The Brandlebrant stopped, thought and thought, after all, all it really wanted
was to get out,
although a nice snack would be good, what it really wanted was to get out.

‘Ah so you wish to leave here’ said the voice ‘then maybe I can help’

The Brandlebrant was stopped in its tracks, it was obvious that whatever the
creature before it was,
it was definitely NOT something it should have for lunch, but the small things
with it perhaps ?

‘NO my friend they travel with me and I speak for them, come there is plenty to
eat, and your
hunger can wait.’

The Brandlebrant understood, food could wait, leaving would be better than
eating something that
was in ITS presence.

‘I am Manor the last of the Shelldrake people and you are the brandlebrant, the
eater, the fear in the
night, the slave of none.’

Brandlebrant looked into the eyes of Manor, examining them, wondering how he
knew of him.

‘Those who created me also created you, but we are the same, of the same mind if
not the same
blood. You came before my kind but we came from your kind and another. Those
who created us
knew we would meet if we were in the world and provided me with a means to
communicate with
you and your kind.’

‘Why’

‘There dark purpose is no longer, and I care not, for now know that they sought
to control you,
through my kind for their evil purposes. But they are no more and I control no
one, I offer my help
to you freely’

‘You are not like those that came before, they hurt me’

Manor sighed, looked at the brandlebrant and noticed its injured forearm,
stretched out his hand and
speaking slowly healed it.

‘Go, seek those who did this to you, eat only those that attack you or animals
and I will be pleased’
he said

‘YES !’

The Brandlebrant decided then and there it would find its enemies and eat them,
one by one..
Yummy crunchy things..

PART 20

THE END

LECTURE NOTES:

AT this point I would like to stress that your notes do not contain the
information on the temples
purpose.

I can see that some of you are disappointed in this, but I’m afraid you’ll have
to get used to
disappointment, as those notes are only available if you progress to the
Necromancy school and
pass the appropriate test assignments.

Yes, you at the back. I will take questions after the next presentation.

Before the next lecture please read Shellman's ‘HISTORY OF ARCANUM’ volume 6
summarise
into 10 paragraphs, also the following notes should also be considered:

? Manors primary race was old when our story began, being long lived (300-400
years), and
they came about when a group of Dark Mages in the northwest continent of Arcanum
decided they needed a new fighting force.

Yes, Yes I know there is NOW no northwest continent, but there was then !

? The PATHINAR were the real principles of the crossing that actually bore
Manor, how they
did this is unknown and should remain so, but what is know is that over
successive
generations and through means of powerful Magicks they mated Manors primary race
(The
Elfin) with a breed of large cat like beings, called the FELIN. This mating at
first produced
some very nasty offshoots, (some of which are still around today), but eventual
produced the
creature that we know now as MANOR.

Also some note should be taken for those who are interested, that Manor was the
pinnacle of his
breeding program and as such was primarily meant to be the future father of the
Mages warrior
race. Of course we all know that the PATHINAR were wiped out when the
Northwest continent
sunk into the sea some time 100 years before Manors birth.

Now I have no historical reference as the creatures that wiped out Manors clan
but all evidence I
have points to the Mage city as the origan of the force that destroyed his
people. Some believe the
remnant PATHINAR destroyed his race to prevent something or other, others
speculate that the
great Mage council, when they discovered the existence of Manors people
panicked.

Yes, yes I know that that is unlikely, but imaging the counsel finding out that
there major enemy the
PATHINAR had specifically created a race to eliminate them.

NOW to Final exams

As to that Students the final paper is due in week 48 this year, I shall require
a 12,000 word essay
on your reactions to one of the following the premises.

1. Discuss the counsel of MAGES political state and decisions made when the news
came
on the destruction of PATHINAR.
2. Discuss Manor and his effect on current Magic philosophy as well his the
effects on the
school of nature
3. Discuss the implications of Magic and its responsibilities to society, based
upon the
effects that occurred during the First war of Mages.
4. Discuss and analyse Simorp and her effect on modern Magical practice.

Thank you

The Next Lecture in this series of 20 will be in classroom 12 when we discuss
SIMORPS
RESEARCH OF THE DARK ARTS and its implications in modern history.

Class dismissed.

Oh, and don’t forget there will be a snap exam on the principles of the
conveyance college
sometime next week.