Lionguard, The Human Capital.

[Makon]

Everdane, long had the Humans held it as a military base, only right before the First Great War had it become the Capital of the Human Kingdom. King Karen Thaelon, the decendant of the ancestor who had created the fort in his name, now ruled. The Three Kingdom Scout Society was said to rule in a lair underground of Everdane, but nobody knew where.

The Guild of Falaon also made brief visits in Everdane, but mostly prefer Arasyl due to its magical attunement. Everdane, though did provide Falaon with some of the items that they required of a more physical nature. Everdane though still did provide some magical abilities in its great libraries that even the Elves had not mastered.

High Elementalist Athanos walked amongst the city in its magical quarter. The city of Everdane was divided into five Quarters; the Magic, Trade, Military, Dwarven, and Royal Quarters. The magical quarter provided a sense a ease to the Elementalist, the Aether was stronger here.

Soon, he met up with another Wizard, a experienced one at that. The Wizard was a Human Male, and with the ornaments and runes upon his spaulders and robe showed his ranking as a Archwizard. "So, Dagohn, what news do you bring me?" said Athanos. "Not much sir, the Doombringers are recruiting more and more, their taint is spreading slowly and covertly. I can feel it in some of these younger Wizards." said Dagohn.

Athanos stared into a group of apprentices. "Yes, their demonic shrowd is covering over a decent number of these younger ones, they see it as a faster way to more power, but it shall only lead them to their doom. We must keep the other agency wrapped around our finger to keep the Doombringers in check."

[Lithium]

Murzon slept well. Suddenly, he was awakened by a man in black. "Jhasir." Murzon spoke. The man nodded. "Did you get the information?" Murzon nodded, and handed him a stone with a recording of the dwarf nobles confession, and a journal stolen from the house. "Good.." Jhasir handed Murzon a paper. Murzon's new contract. "After this one, you get to goto back to Aklisan. Shadow be with you." Jhasir became invisible, and snuck out the room.

Murzon read the contact. He was to kill a Dhampir by the name of Jaklon Canrith, another member of the Doombringers. The Alliance knew he was a member, but he didn't know they know. Apparently, he was reported to be buying scrolls and artifacts used in some demon summoning rituals. Murzon rested until the day, then headed out.

Sneaking into the Dhampirs inn room was easy. Of course, when he entered the room, the dhampir was sleeping. Murzon prodded the dhampir until it awoke. "Huh, what?" Murzon spoke, "Jaklon Canrith. You have been found guilty of treason to the Alliance. The punishment is death." Murzon drew his blade. Jaklon growled, "Damnit! I will not give in!" Jaklon raised his hand into the airinto the air, quickly chanting. Beside him formed a imp with a sword in it's hand. Murzon sliced Jaklon's head off after the demon was summoned. Murzon then fought the demon, and within a minute had slain it.

Murzon slipped back into the day, and returned to the inn.

[Makon]

Tanis and Brugahn arrived at Everdane at mid-day, the one time that Tanis hated the most, there was no cover from the sun other then a building, and most of them had every window open they could. "So lad, where da ya suggest we start askin' about tha border?"

"You still have a few friends in the military, don't you Brugahn? Perhaps you should see what you can find from them, I'll go and use my own skills to see what news I can find." said Tanis, as he walked off towards the Royal Quarter. As he arrived in the Quarter, after crossing the water-way the city had between every Quarter, he worked his way around to the Military area.

Soon afterwards, Tanis placed himself on top of a large building signed as the 'Main Military Command Office'. Watching who went in and who went out throughout the daylight, one larger man, obviously of high ranking due to his uniform left the building, closed the door, and locked it. The two guards, who had immediatly saluted the man, went back to their posts.

Sensing the building with his limited Aether skills, Tanis didn't detect any magical wards or traps on the building, so he quickly teleported inside with a minor spell. Rumaging around inside briefly, he moved over to one desk in particular and searched it's contents, only to find a document pertaining to the situation.

"Deployment of the Dwarven military to the Defensive Walls has begun, Commander. I want you to send off some of our main guard unit to the Walls as well. Any Orcs attempting to come through shall be killed."

The rest was torn off, but the message was clear. Exiting the building the same way as he came in, Tanis jumped down from the roof and walked to a pub in the Trade Quarter, a place where he and Brugahn oft met to discuss topics when they weren't hunting.

[Lithium]

The pub was quiet, besides the fact Murzon saw two very familiar faces walk into the pub. Murzon stayed in the shadows near the back of the pub, sitting with a few other operatives. "So, Murzon. How has your recent missions gone?" Murzon took a sip of ale, "Good. Both of my recent victims had no idea I was coming. A shame, really. The dwarf stood no chance...but the dhampir was a biter, you could say." The table laughed. Another operative was about to speak when the door to the pub slammed open. A sweaty man with a horrified look on his face scanned the room.

"Jaklon Canrith is dead!" An operative spoke, "That is our qeue." Before they got up, Murzon spoke. "Head in different directions, and make your way to the Underworld Beneath Everdane. I saw some people here I know." The group walked out of the pub, and immediately split up.

[Makon]

Brugahn walked into the pub as the group of men left, having to shove his way through them. Making his way to Tanis, he yanked a drunk from his favorite seat at the counter, next to the Dhampir. Any sober man stayed his distance away from the Dhampir, after over a century, the Dhampir were still regarded as some mythical monster, more then another race.

"So, lad, whatcha find?" asked the Dwarf, as he ordered a pint of Thunderale. "Plenty enough, Brugahn. First off, the Dwarves and Humans, atleast, are gathering forces at Agrahn's Walls in defense of Orc incursions, or to prepare for War, I am unsure which. The second thing I found it, is that the Assassin from Ironhammer we ran into, is obviously not just any Assassin." whispered the Dhampir, enough that the Dwarf alone could hear him.

Pulling his stein away from his face, Ale dripped down Brugahns beard and a loud belch resonated at the counter. "Tha be grave news indeed, lad. If we be goin' ta war with the Orcs, that be obviously some bad stuff. So, 'bout tha assassin, wha da ya think he be?". "Simple, remember what I told you, long ago, about the Three Kingdom Scout Society? He seems to be a member of their ranks. Either that, or there is a new, larger Assassin's Guild in Everdane."

"The Scout Society? I thought ya said that they be jus tha, Scouts, not Assassins." said Brugahn, who then finished off his Ale. "Things could be worse then we thought regarding the Doombringers. If they're now being used as simple Assassins, then the cult's ranks must be expanding, and that is a bad thing in any case."

As Tanis finished, a trio of men entered the pub, many eyes were drawn to them, Tanis and Brugahn's not of them. "You! Dhampir!" shouted one of them, Tanis turned to face the men. They were clad in red chain armor, and each wore a Shortsword and Shield, and their chest-plates with a emblazened seal of a firey fist. "You, Tanis, are wanted by the Demon Stalkers for murder! Surrender now and we won't have to kill you before you stand to our trials!". Many of the people in the bar left, or moved to the corners and paid the group no attention. The Demon Stalkers were fanatics, zealots for their own cause of purging Sylan of the demons that plagued it.

"So, 50 Years and you people still hunt me? I thought you're ultimate goal was purging demons, not holding your own trials for your own misdeeds gone wrong." said Tanis, as he got up, and made no motion for Obsidian Edge. "You murdered a Captain of our Crusade, we shall not stop hunting you till you pay for your crimes." said the Stalkers, as they moved towards him. One man foolishly grabbed Tanis by the arm. Using his Dhampir strength, he slammed his foot into the man's knee, causing the zealot to cry out in pain as his leg was bent backwards. Afterwards, Tanis slammed his fist into the mans face, knocking him out and down. The other two drew their swords and charged him, but the first fell victim to a blow to the head as Tanis jumped into the air, and brought his boot to the man's head. The Third, seeing his two comrades fall victim to the Dhampir, turned and ran from the pub.

Turning back to Brugahn, "I suggest we leave, the Demon Stalkers, while stupid and misguided, aren't a force to be reckoned with and wait for.". With that, the Dwarf and Dhampir both left the tavern, gathered a few supplies, and then left Everdane, going to the South, to the Walls.

[Lithium]

Murzon watched the three Demon Stalker members enter the tavern from the rooftop of a nearby building.. He then saw only one exit, running for dear life. He had not truly returned to the Sanctuary. He wanted to find out more about this Dhampir, and it's dwarf friend. Using one of the magic stones, he contacted the Sanctuary. "I need three Scouts and a Tracker with me now. I am going tracking." After a few moments, three scouts and a tracker arrived on the street below. At that instant, the Dhampir snd the Dwarf left the tavern, and headed for the gates. Murzon climbed down from the roof.

"We are going to follow the Dhampir and his friend. We must stay at a safe distance. As usual, we will wait for them to sleep." They followed the two through the city, and hid near the stables. When the two began to speed off on their horses, Murzon and his four companions mounted their steeds, and began to follow the dhampir and his dwarf friend.

As dawn began to get closer, Murzon spoke once more. "Ride a bit more slower now, but not too slow. They are bound to set up camp soon."

[Makon]

Ya don't get the concept behind the Dhampir and night-time do ya?

Tanis continued walking through the Night, and Brugahn followed as well, but in a somnanbulant state more or less. After crossing the plains for hours in the night, Tanis himself was growing weary, and dawn was beginning to approach. They reached cave that led underground, and they decided it be best that they setup camp there and rest.

Tanis propped himself against the cavern wall, while Brugahn simply laid himself down out in the middle of the ground. Tanis didn't simply doze off though, he kept his mind going, and his guard semi-up, though Brugahn was snoring away. Finally asleep, Tanis' dreams were dark, again of his village and the Demon Stalkers' crimes to him.

[Makon]

King Kalen Thaeron walked through the halls of his castle, his mind moving at a mile a minute. Stepping into the corridor with the King, Lord Ranthos Jarek walked alongside the King while reporting news to him.

"My lord, my scouts have identified more of the Dhampir traitors, and these ones are of the higher rankings of their caste. I think we should assume that these creatures have played us as fools all along." said Ranthos, he was the Elder Guildmaster of the Scout Society, and was a infinite source of information. "So, to what level do these Dhampir betray us?" "Simple, my King, they were spotted surveying the inner defenses of our Castles, and Barracks'. The Dhampir spotted by my Trackers were of the highest ranking of their order, it seems". The two men walked into a large, circular room, bustling with Dwarves, Elves, and more Humans.

"All hail King Thaeron!" shouted an announcer. Taking his seat, the King looked to the Lords and Elders of the Alliance Council that sat around the circular room, the Elves and Dwarves, and even the other Humans amongst the Council stared at the King, after taking a bow. They had all been called together to discuss 'a matter of the utmost importance', but for some reason, the Dhampir's ambassadors' seats were empty, for they hadn't come. Lord Turagon Watereye spoke first.

"King Thaeron, of what business do you have for us that demanded such importance and urgency, and yet the Dhampir have not yet come?" "A matter has arisen to my attention regarding the 'Dhampir' that concerns ALL of the Alliance that we have struggled for centuries to build. Lord Ranthos Jarek, Guildmaster of the Three Kingdom Scout Society, has uncovered, with use of his spies and trackers, that the Dhampir have been investigating our Inner Defenses within ALL of our cities, with utmost interest, almost what one would call an obsession". said the King, as he searched the Council for any sign of attention to his matter, all the faces met him with intrigue. His blue eyes and brown, medium length hair and beard setting his tone firm. "The Dhampir have always studied our cities minutely, of what magnitude is this 'obsession', do you think King Thaeron?"

Ranthos Jarek stood. "My lord, if I may.." started the Guildmaster, eyeing the King who nodded. "Lords and Elders, Allies and Councilmen, the frequency of these new 'incursions' is now extremely high. Before, we would catch one, maybe two at best, Dhampir per every three months attempting to penetrate our fortifications using Aether, or other skills, and were detected. Now, my Guild has found atleast fifteen within the past two months trying to penetrate and study the inner defenses of such buildings of importance, as the Elven Citadel, in Arasyl." Lord Turagon eyed the Guildmaster with a face of both confusion, and burning anger. "Why wasn't I informed of any of this?!" Shouted the Elven Leader. "Sir, we at the Scout Society keep things like this to ourselves, not to worry the Three kingdoms any further then they already are, what with the new Great War beginning."

"Just two days ago, my best Tracker managed to spot a Dhampir attempt to infiltrate Everdane's Castle, and was taken down by one of my men, he was armed with an array of devices ranging from Daggers to Smoke-bombs. My conclusion is that he was going to attempt to assassinate high-ranking officials within the Human Kingdom." Lord Korgin Battlefist, Dwarven Military Commander, stood. "Bah, why should we Dwarves care 'bout this?" "Master Dwarf, you should care because just last week we captured two Dhampir attempt to penetrate the Dwarven Military Headquarters, armed just like the one that tried to infiltrate Everdane. I have also seen an increasing ammount of Dhampir working with the Doombringer's, and my men are already beginning to think that the Dhampir are actually some form of Demonic force, to strike at us from within."

A long pause entered the Council Room, and whispering and speaking amongst eachother, the room turned almost to a panic as the idea of the Dhampir being actually a form of Demons sank in. Rising, King Thaeron shouted. "Silence! What I am proposing, for all members of the Alliance, is that we hunt down, and exterminate the Dhampir, before they can cause any more problems for us then they already have!". "I, for one, agree with King Thaeron." announced Turagon Watereye. "I agree wit tha Elf, we need ta get'em before they get ta us!"

In one Council meeting, all had agreed with one conclussion; the Dhampir were to fall.

-------------

Keletahn Rasanor watched the people going in and out of the pub across from him in the streets of Everdane, it was night-time, and the Doombringers were about. With his long dagger up his sleeve, Keletahn was ready to strike down any who showed the aura of Shadow Aether he had grown acustom to seeing. To his right, a trio of Guards patroled the city streets, stopping at, and surrounding him. "What do you think you're doing, Dhampir?" said the lead Guardsman, as he drew his Sword.

Eyeing the man with concern, Keletahn replied, "If you must know, I am on my duty, watching for any Shadow Cult cells." The Guards eyed another, but the Captain didn't shift his gaze one bit. "By order of the Alliance, you, and all other Dhampir, are sentenced to death for conspiracy against the Three Kingdoms." said the man, swiping with his sword, but Keletahn dodged, only to have an arrow suddenly lodge in his chest. Swiftfully taking out the three Guardsmen, he pulled the arrow from his body, noticing the tip; Silver. Falling to one knee, the pain shattered through his body like Lightning, and he looked up to see a Guard with a bow inhand. Drawing back the arrow he had knocked, the Guard delivered one final blow to the Dhampir agent, killing him, with a blue light radiating from his wounds, and burning his flesh like paper to a fire.

All throughout Everdane, Arasyl, and Ironhammer, this scene was recreated many times over, and over many times even more. By night's end, well over a thousand Dhampir were dead throughout the lands, the orders to kill them sent to Cities, Villages, and Towns everywhere by powerful Wizards. At dawn, some of the remnants of the Dhampir gathered in a abandoned Manor. "We, what remain of the Dhampir's ruling body, have gathered here at this time to attempt to bring some order to this utter chaos. What I have learned, is that the Alliance Council met, last night at Dusk, and unaminously agreed to our executions, and why. It appears that Ranthos Jarek, the Headmaster of the Three Kingdom Scout Society, has given the Alliance Council 'evidence' that we have had our agents attempting to infiltrate secure Alliance positions, and assassinate officers of the Three Kingdoms."

Chaos roared through the Manor, it was magically shielded for sound not to leave the walls of the room. "So, what do we do now, Thorglan?" asked one of the attendants. "I can only think that we find some merit to Jarek's reports, and otherwise, have our remaining agents remain out of sight for the time being." With that, the mages in the room, along with scouts, used their own devices and spells to contact numerous agents in the city, fields, or elsewhere, and spread the warning. Not but thirty minutes into the process, the door to the Manor slammed against the frame, and then broke down, as Imperial Guards stormed into the Manor, Silver weapons drawn. "By order of the King, you all are hereby sentenced to Death for treason."

Due to the magical shielding, none outside the building could hear the screams as the Dhampir were all executed, though none would now come to the aid of the so-called 'monsters of the night' even if their death-cries could be heard.

-------------

Off in the mountains, Brugahn and Tanis kept a steady trek down the mountain-side, back to Taelon, and away from the gruesome battleground. As dawn passed, and the afternoon settled in, Tanis laid eyes upon a Village, engulfed in Chaos. Rushing to the village, he saw Guards pull a Dhampir from his home, and beat him to death, then kill him with the Sword the guard wielded. Turning his gaze to Tanis, the murderous Guard pulled free his blade from the body of the now dead Dhampir, and charged him.

Pulling free Obsidian Edge, Tanis met the man in armed Combat. "What in the nine hells are you doing?!" shouted the Dhampir. "Incase you did not know, filthyc reature, you're kind has been sentenced to death, by order of the Three Kingdoms!". Meeting the mans announcement with a cold, lifeless stare, the Dhampir exited the lock of blades with the guard, transported himself behind the man with a swift Arcane spell, and rammed his blade through the armored chest of the Guard. Falling to the ground with a face of shock and horror, the Guardsmen didn't even truely realise what had happened, but only that he was to die.

During all of the Brugahn just caught up with Tanis in enough time that he heard what the Guard said about the Dhampir. "Wha? The Dhampir ta be executed fer what? Existin'?". Calming himself from the adrenaline, "I do not know, Brugahn, but we shall find out soon, we must goto Everdane." Brugahn stared at Tanis for a moment. "Uh, lad, 'e just said the Three Kingdoms ordered yer death, an ya want ta goto the Heart of the human lands?" "We can infiltrate the ccapital through a network of tunnels I know of, and hopefully we will find some of the Dhampir remnants underground." With that, the duo fled the Village, with the lifeless body of the guard to be the only witness to Tanis' existance there.

[Makon]

Midnight, when the sun has fallen to the other side of the world, and the moon has come full circle, and the Dhampir are king. Tanis and Brugahn followed the walls of Everdane ever since they arrived at the far sides, avoiding detection in the night. Eventually, they came to a water pipe that flushed water from the lake Everdane was built on.

"I, alone, shall go on. You remain here, Brugahn." said Tanis, in a lowered voice to try and not draw attention. "Wha? An' let ya go in der an take all tha glory fer any battles ya run inta? I think not!" said Brugahn. "Right now, I can't afford to have you follow me in, meet me in the hills to the east." said the Dhampir, as he slid himself into the darkness of the pipe, as the water barely was a foot deep, but still made for uncertain footing.

In the darkness of the pipe, Tanis' eyes were the color of silver amidst the blackness, which they permitted him to see in. He did not dare strike a torch against the walls, for fear the light would give him away. Soon enough, he came to a large chamber in the sewers of Everdane, but in this chamber, were piled the carcasses of the Dhampir found within Everdane's walls. There were a great many...

[Lithium]

Murzon had been able to extract information from a guard who had to hunted dhampir that they were 'rumors' of dhampir in the sewers, but the sewers were off limit to civillians. So Murzon had gotten into his black suit, and at night, returned to the sewers. He already knew what to expect.

Everywhere were dead dhampir, all of them slaughtered, tricked into hiding in the sewers. He began to look through the dead, trying to find out if the dhampir he was looking for was dead. Murzon heard a noise. Footsteps. He silently scurried to the shadows, and made his way onto a ledge. He blended in perfectly with the darkness.

It was not a guard that came however. It was a dhampir. As the dhampir stepped into the light, he immediately recgonized him. "Where is that dwarf of yours? You should take him around more, there is always things in the shadows he could help you with." He paused, seeing the dhampir stop. "There is, however, a reason you are not dead. We must leave the sewers immediately, preferably the way you came out. Once we are back with your dwarf friend, we must goto a cave. There all will be explained. Such as, why I haven't killed you even though I worked for the Alliance."

[Makon]

Tanis had heard the human's breathing before he spoke, and already held a long-dagger in his hand, he normally had it hidden beneath his cloak. While Obsidian Edge was easy to grab, sometimes time wasn't the greatest of allies when in battle.

Keeping the dagger in his right-hand, blade facing down as his prefered style, " I can manage myself, Human. As for your offer....fine, simply because I only need to know who or what is behind this movement". With that, Tanis and the Rogue left the sewer pipe, and were back at the Walls. From there, they traveled east, into the hills. Occasionally, the Human would ask a question, or make some comment to create a reaction from Tanis, but the Dhampir never returned the comment, or answered.

Soon, Dawn was breaking, and the Dhampir and Human made it into the hills, and Brugahn met them. "Was this, lad? Ya now bringin tha enemies own assassins ta our doorstep?"

[Lithium]

Murzon shook his head. "Dawn is breaking. We must get to the cave. Follow." He began to move, staying near shadows. They did get close to Everdane, but not near the walls. Eventually they came to a cave. Murzon quickly entered it. Inside the cave there was nothing. No people, no food. It was barren. Murzon did however, walk up to part of the wall where there was small writing carved. He then walked torward Tanis and Brugahn.

"The Alliance has betrayed the Dhampir. The guild master of the Three Kingdoms Scout Society,Ranthos Jarek, said the dhampir were plotting against the Alliance, and got the Alliance to declare genocide on dhampir. Yet it is a tenent of the Society to never exterminate an entire race. The Shadow Lord, the true master of the Society, called a meeting of those loyal to the tenents. Every officer of the society, and other members aswell, attended. I am one of those officers. The Shadow Lord gave us a new hideout, and ordered us to seek out any surviving dhampir, and bring them back to the hideout, a hidden cave network." He lowered his voice to near whisper, and pointed to the writing 'Olly' on the cavewall. "If you wish to live, you will approach that, and whisper 'Bella' to the writing. It will ask you a question, you answer 'I do not see colors'. Remember to whisper the passwords though, I do not want anyone overhearing them."

[Makon]

"Ranthos Jarek has been the guild master of the Scouts ever since the former leader died, this Shadow Lord of yours is an icon, nothing more, especially not a 'true leader' of the society." said Tanir, as he continued the process the agent had told him, then Brugahn followed, and then the man, and they were swiftfully teleported to an underground chasm.

"How do you know--" started the Scout. Turning, Tanis' eyes glowed light blue in the darkness, and seemed to bore a hole through the man. "You haven't seen the true dark-side of Humanity, as I have. Leave it at that". Stepping through the tunnel, the Man, Dhampir, and Dwarf came to a immense cavern, filled with more agents, and a decent mass of Dhampir.

Walking into the crowd of the Dhampir, they seperated themselves and stared at Tanis, as though he were something...else. Turning back to Murzon, "So, what now, Human?"

[Makon]

King Karen Thaeron sat on his throne in the Castle in the heart of Everdane, eating his Noon-hour meal. To his right sat his Military Advisor, and to his left, Ranthos Jarek, Guildmaster of the Three Kingdoms Scout Society. In the middle of the table, sat a map, unfolded and red and blue markers upon it.

The bottom fifth of the Taelon plains had numberous red markers upon it, while no blue.

"Thrandir, what do you advise? The main Guard forces are holding back the orcish waves for now, but I doubt we can hold for too long as is." asked the King, eating a few grapes and drinking his wine. Thrandir, the Military Advisor, stood up, and pointed to the terrain. "My Lord, right now are forces are holding in Villages, Cities, and other Towns along this area, and the orcs seem to not want to pass them by, but rather, sweep them away with them. What I suggest, is we pull our men back from these smaller towns, and bring them to defensive garrisons guarding a few of the passes. This would stop the Orcs, and provide our men some decent cover for the time being."

Nodding, the King looked over to Ranthos. "What news have you, Guildmaster? Have your agents uncovered any more of the Dhampir traitors?" Ranthos Jarek looked at a piece of parchment in his hands for a moment, and turned to the King. "My Lord, we have a situation a bit more serious on our hands then some mere traitors. It turns out, from a few of my agents, that the Elves of Arasyl, and their lord, freely harbour the Dhampir, and have been attempting to hide them from our eyes and ears. I think we can see where the Elves intentions lay, my liege."

Kalen looked at the map after hearing Ranthos' words. "So, the Elves have been subtley defying us behind our backs..." The King seemed to fall into a brooding mood for but a moment. "Have the Wizards destroy the Portal to Arasyl on our end. The last thing we need is for the Elves to come through and began attacking us from within. What of the Dwarves?"

Thrandir cleared his throat. "I had sent for aid from the Dwarves 3 days ago, and we have not yet heard word from the messenger." finished the advisor. Ranthos continued "My Lord, my agents from within the Dwarven lands have seen the Dwarves become more focused then ever in some certain project, I know not what it is, but they and I all wonder, and presume, that the Dwarves may have taken our Messenger captive."

The color seemed to fade from Kalen's face, first the Elves harbour traitors to the Alliance, and now, the Dwarves become defiant in Everdane's days of need. "Thrandir, dispatch a full battalion to the border-emplacements on the eastern plains, and have them guard that region from anyone."

~~~~~~~~

The meeting ended in the Castle, and Ranthos Jarek left the chamber-room, and walked the empty halls with his personal assistant in tow. "Did things go as planned, Master?" inquired the assistant. Chuckling for a moment, Ranthos mused over the facts in his mind. "Yes, perfectly. The seeds of distrust have been planted in the King's mind. First, he orders the death of the Dhampir, weakening their defenses against Fiends and Demons. Then now, he sees distrust and even hostility from the Dwarves, and then betrayal from the Elves. The Alliance's hour of union is all but over now."

[Makon]

King Thaeron walked through the halls of Everdane's Castle, and atlast came to his great chambers. Closing the door upon entry, and the King was relieved to find his own sanctuary still in order, as the passing days had driven him to the brink of breaking. Walking over to a table, the King was ready to sit down and relax, when a sudden noise shifted his attention elsewhere.

Standing back up, the Lord looked over his room, almost certain the noise he heard came from within, when a shape emerged from the dark of night. Out of the black, came a being which seemed to be of Nightmares, but what seemed like it was worse yet, to the King, was that it could speak.

"Greetings, King Thaeron, I am Raziel, leader of the Soul Reavers." At this point, Thaeron was almost too terrified at this...abomination that stood before him, to even call for his guards. "I would imagine that this Age does know nothing of our kind, so let me give you a history lesson. The Elves were said to hold all the knowledge of history, but they know not that this is merely the Second Age of Sylan. Before the recorded History began, there was another age, buried beneath layers upon layers of decay and ignorance that the centuries have wrought.

During this First Age, it was merely Humans that dominated the lands, but two Artifacts were provided to a legendary Warrior by the Gods themselves. These Artifacts, were The Defender's Shield, and The Warrior's Blade. Generic names, though they may be, these Artifacts carried powers beyond any and all reckoning to this Age. The Warrior eventually died of age, and the Sword and Shield were scattered. During this time, a new Emperor came to power, and with claims, he backed them with the powers of the Sword, which he now held. He kept his empire on the brink of collapsing, but a Rebellion ensued, led by a Warrior who had the Shield.

The Two met on the battlefield known as the Plain of Tears. The Shield and the Sword met, shattering eachother, and unleashing a wave of power so immense, that it shattered the land, destroyed the life on it, and all perished. The Gods, seeing their error in giving out these two tokens, recreated the Human race, along with others, in the form of the Elves recorded Aether Pool. We Soul Reavers are the dead Warriors of the First Age, brought back by the Nine Divines in service to guide the dead to their resting places."

The King was sinking in the imagine of this Soul Reaver, even as Raziel described this unknown past of the Planet itself. The Soul Reaver shared almost the exact image of the Reaver, unknown to the King, that Tanis and his group encountered in the Arakesh Desert. Leaning closer to glare at the King, "My name is Raziel, I was the bearer of the Enchanted Shield of the First Age, and now, I am considered by the powers that be to be the leader of my kind."

Thaeron heard these words, and nearly wanted to find his dagger and stab the creature with it, "I shall not hear these words of heresy, you foul creature! I shall head no council offered by a Fiend! Begone from my lands at once!" Raziel took this almost with amusement, Humans such as this 'King' were so foolish, and that eventually led to their Doom.

I would know...

"As you wish, oh great King, but now this, us Reavers shall be doing our Divine tasks, weither you approve, or not." With that, Raziel went to the Balcony, that stood over 6 Stories tall, and leapt down from the Ledge. Ranthos Jarek rammed into the room, with two Citadel guard behind him. "Mi'lord, what happened? We heard shouting and some foreign voice." King Thaeron gathered himself, and looked to his Guildmaster. "I know of one other being that seeks our downfall..."