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Hail heroes of this Honorable Halls. I, your mere jester Ace Dogg, have returned to take up again my tail. When last I spoke, I had just accepted a quest that would result in the destruction of Doggainia if I failed, and may still cause it even if I succeed. The quest of the Chalice of Power................ Scottie was dumbfounded, both by Breed Leader Carla's rare outburst of anger, and by my unhesitant acceptance of her charge. The entire halls was quiet except for his gasping and stuttering as he tried to get control of himself and grasp all of what had just transpired. Carla must have been waiting patiently for Scottie to regain his composure, for when his gasping had subsided, she asked him to recall from the ancient texts what the restrictions were on whomever was to carry out this task. The restrictions that he could recall were as follows. He who undertakes the quest for the Chalice of Power must have been sired and dammed by two separate breeds and be of noble birth. He must be accompanied by exactly four Doggs of noble birth to enter into Kerano. They will enter with him in precisely this fashion. In front him must be the greatest Mage in all the Land. This Mage must be the bearer of the Crystal of the Soul. To his aft, the strongest Warrior of Doggainia. This Warrior must wear around his neck the Onyx of Strength. To his left must be the finest swordsman in all of Doggainia. He must be the wielder of the Platinum Sword. To his right, must be the singer with the Silver Voice. The greatest Mage in the land could only be Scottie, as he is the sole Summoned Mage who did not perish in battle with the Silver Lady, as he was not within Summoning range. He also possessed the Crystal of the Soul. It was given to him by Terrier Breed Leader Tunneric to protect him from harm while Scottie accompanied me here to Dragon Court. The Crystal of the Soul, was the sole piece of jewelry that Scottie adorned himself with for it was the only one he either needed or desired. The Crystal has no inherent magic in itself, but on the finger of a Mage of high caliber, it acts as an enhancer of its wearer's own magic. It aids in the focusing of the Mage's magic, often making the resulting magic ten to twelve times more powerful. When active the Crystal reflects the state of its wearer's soul (hence its name). When the Mage's soul is strong the Crystal flashes and radiates a near blinding light. When the Mage's soul is weak, the Crystal only flickers and builds up a soft glow. A powerful talisman, but highly draining on its user. For every time that it is used, a piece of the Mage's soul is lost forever. The Onyx of Strength is an ancient talisman that has been handed down from generation to generation in the Bulldog Breed. As one of their kind has always been known as the strongest in the land (except once not too long ago when Wolfhound Breed Leader Whoric once held that honor, and the Onyx. But that is another story). As one of only a handful of the Bulldogs who survived the incineration of Borwane simply by being with me in Dragon Court at the time, Butch was also the bearer of the Onyx. It is for that reason that he could give the Anaconda of Laplappy more trouble then he was worth. When danger was near, the Onyx would turn dark black. So black it would almost seem to pull light into it, not allowing the light to reflect from its surface. And like the Crystal of the Soul, the Onyx of Strength was an enhancer of a gift. Sometimes, when in times of true peril, I have seen Butch sometimes seem to increase in mass in order to control the sheer strength that he would then possess. But whereas the Crystal of the Soul used part of it bearer's soul, the Onyx of Strength gave more permanent strength with each invocation. This would continue until the bearer would become so permanently strong in body, that the force of his mind would no longer be sufficient to cause his more powerful body to move, turning the bearer into a living statue. The swordsman and the singer, however, were then unknown to me. Who they could be I did not know. Flash was the finest swordsman I had ever witnessed, but he was not of noble blood. In fact, my all rights he was not even a member of my breed. Oh sure, his parents had been of my breed, but that meant little as no one knew who his sire and dame were. His parents had found him lost in the woods near their farm when he was but a lad of four. Flash could not remember where he had come from, who he was, or anything else about his past. Since he was found in a part of the woods where a forget spring was located, it was assumed that he must have drunken some of its water and forgotten everything. Since no one ever reported missing a child, it could be assumed that his sire and dame had done the same. Thus, he was raised by the family who had found him and we had become close friends over the years. As to the singer...who she could be was beyond my recollection. My dear Alexis had a fine voice, one the finest in the land, but her voice always lacked the perfection of the Silver Voice. My parents had always dismissed the Silver Voice as a myth as there had never once been a singer in recorded history who had possessed it, but if Carla thought I must go to Kerano, then there must also be a Dogg who possesses the Silver Voice to accompany me. My ponderings were interrupted by a loud *ahem*. I lifted my head to give the appearance of looking the *ahemer* in the face. Carla the Fair then asked me why I was still standing there, and not in the process of leaving to get about carrying out my charge. Well first off I replied that I had not realized that she had dismissed me (in the case of any other Breed Leader I would not have cared, but like I have stated before, most Breed Leader customs do not hold true when applied to Carla). Then, before she could get around to dismissing me, I mentioned that I had hoped that she would at least point me in the right direction to find the two of my future companions I knew not. Once again, I had the feeling she had expected this response and would have been fervently disappointed if I not replied as I did. However, she still complained loudly as to why she must always do everything herself, and that as it was now my quest, she had half a mind not to help me anymore. I patiently waited through the entire speech knowing full well that if Carla was going to carry on for so long, she must already know who the remaining two Doggs were, and where to find them, as it turned out, however, she also had one last surprise for me. I will let you ponder on that surprise, as I fear I hear the cock crowing, signaling that I must have been talking all night long. Ace Dogg of Doggainia |
