(Interludes) Mytheas cut scenes
The black haired woman sighted in contentment, drinking her hot spiced mead. All the reports piled up on her desk were positive, peace with the Skraugs settlements finally achieved, the Ogrimarians were laying low, while still worshipping their dark lord fanatically, the cease fire in effect with the followers of Artherk. The “neutral” religions were alive and well, most of the population worshipping a god or another, even the Humanists paying lip service homage to the gods.
Opening her book, she started writing, the ink magically absorbed in the tome, going to join the thousands of such notes that detailed every step of the life of the woman. Those books were precious possessions of the followers of the god of knowledge. No other human had done as much as the woman to develop this religion, outlawed for the longest time in the realm of Goldmoon. And she had her reward in sight.
The signs were there in the night sky. The alignment announcing the return of the Harbinger were manifest, and she felt like the Human race would do better than their predecessor, that had been wiped out for not following the one command of the Overgod: Pray to your gods. And humans did pray to their gods. Raising from her chair, the woman took the reports and brought them in the archives, where a newly appointed Seraph took them reverently, not daring to look at the purple eyes of the woman. She frowned a little bit at that, but let it slide. The library had been feverish for the last decade, as the time of the Harbinger was drawing near.
Chosen One? Begging your pardon, this report just arrived.
Thank you Kristal, I’ll take care of it.
Chosen One… it was her title in the religion, a place of great honor, but the woman had never been fond of it. After all, she was only an orphan raised by Artherkians, but she had never belonged in that circle, because of who her mother was. Mechanically, she caressed the two feathers on her simple, leather bound, necklace, one pure white and the other dark as night, as she was going back to her desk. Looking at the wax seal, she smiled. This agent in the royal court was well connected and had always delivered.
Using a tiny bit of the magic that inhabited her, she warmed up her mead, taking the cup to drink as she started to read.
The cup fell from her hand, crashing on the ground.
Oh by all the gods, no, it can’t be… not now…. Not now… not when we are so close!
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The black haired woman felt the tears on her cheek as she closed the eyes on the deceased man, amid the burned and twisted remains of the creatures he had fought valiantly, to no avail. He was not the only one, in fact, all the guardians had met a similar fate in the last few days. She still examined the body but already knew the result, she would not find the seal. None of them still possessed their seal.
Shaking her head, she wiped the tears from her eyes and rose, looking to the heavens. The night sky had no clouds, the twin moons shining, and to the east, the alignment of the stars was only a few days away, signaling the Arrival, that the human race had worked so hard to prepare for.
This series of attacks against the guardians was not a coincidence, the attacks too coordinated. Someone wanted to do something with the powers of the seals, using the heightened magical powers that the alignment would bring. To what goal? The woman had been working tirelessly to find out why ever since she had received news of the death of the guardian of Light. And she was not closer to an answer, which frustrated her. Murmuring a quick prayer to the god of knowledge, that she had served faithfully for all those years, she turned to her companions.
Like the others. Cousin, sister-in-law, this is really bad, this is the fifth seal we have lost trace of, and I am tired of being two steps behind. Did your contacts managed to trace the remaining guardians?
The women she was addressing couldn’t have been more different if they had wanted to. One was dressed in a silken white robe, her golden hair framing a maternal face, more used to smiling than frowning. The other was taller, with broad shoulders, dressed in a black and red full plate armor that seemed to pulse, like if it had a beating heart of its own. Although from opposing religions, normally enemies, they had come to the summon of the smaller woman, family to both of them.
And they had the same reaction to her question, a resigned shake of the head. The scholar closed her eyes a moment and sighed.
Whoever is doing this is playing with the fate of our entire world…
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The night of the alignment happened and the plan was revealed to all with the power to sense the disturbance in the heaven given order of things. Watching with magical screening the black haired woman looked on with horror as the energy vortices appeared over the land, seemingly at random, causing natural disasters wherever they touched down. Grabbing her staff, a powerful artefact in its own right, and her magical bag, she ran to the teleporter room. Panicking acolytes and seraphs were running around, trying to do something, anything, to stop this disaster, and Kristal, a normally level headed scholar, trained by the woman herself, tried to stop her.
Chosen One, no! You can’t go there, you won’t be able to come back!
Let me pass, Kristal.
No! I won’t let you! We need you here!
Need me, Kristal? You are under the protection of our God here… I need to go protect those that aren’t as close to Him.
But what could you do?
The woman hesitated a second before answering, her solid purple eyes glowing.
I’m disappointed in you, Kristal. I thought you knew me better. Now let me pass.
Chastised, the seraph moved aside, tears in her eyes. The woman strode in the room and took hold of a rock engraved with a opened book that she keep on a necklace, beside the one that held 2 feathers, said a single word and disappeared.
