(NPC's: Westin's portrait by player Debbie Sutherlin; Alaax'in by Dee Dreslough)
 

The Imperial army had discovered Istien, and the gryphonriders prepared to defend themselves. Alaax'in, Westin, and others were posted to messenger duty, but were kidnapped during an Imperial attack by an unknown faction.
He fears that the remainder of the Gryphon Guard, greatly outnumbered by Imperial forces,
may have been completely eliminated.

This is a summary of events following the Blue and Rose class Y'cha.

**************

After their Y’cha (Bonding ceremony), Commander Ambier calls the newly initiated Uen Roug into her office and informs them of their first field mission: to find a man named Duerto in the small city of Sieta (a sort of suburb of Chihalla) and bring him back to the Academy alive. Not much was known about Duerto except that according to rumor, he knew how to locate the secret mountain passage between Zadiago and Uen, and the Commander wanted to find it. Zadiago’s borders, actually, had been closed for the past 30 years, ever since the Emperor went insane, providing the spark needed to inflame the already discontented citizens of Zadiago into revolting, a revolt which eventually became a full scale civil war...at least, that’s what happened according to rumor. Since Zadiago and Uen had been close allies prior to that time (together the Uen Roug and Zadiagan Gryphon Guard had worked to defeat the demon legions during the Dark Time - see the history page in the library for more details on that), Commander Ambier had made it
one of her goals upon election to re-establish diplomatic ties with Zadiago and Duerto seemed to be the first step to reaching that goal. Also, the Commander informed them that the Lt. who had previously been scheduled to act as their guide had had an accident and broken his leg, and since no other qualified officer was available in the area, due to a rigorous new inspection law passed by the Czar and his Council, Starlight, Commander Ambier’s Bonded, would be leading them on this expedition.

And so the group set off. [oh, but not before Angeli & Kalandra had a bit of a spat..Angeli tried to bully a younger girl one lunch period and Kalandra stood up to her, only to get injured herself. Ever since then there has always been a sort of tension between them, though it has gotten much better since we started the game] After travelling only a day, they were almost run down by a man on a horse, galloping wildly down the road...pursued, it seems, by a pack of large, supernatural looking wolves. There was a battle, etc.
During which it became apparent that Rhia had some knowledge of herbs. We won (of course), but not before Sirocco called a storm which he couldn’t halt, so the party was forced to quickly pitch their tents and get inside out of the rain. Kalandra was injured, and the man who they "rescued" turned out to be at least mildly insane, mumbling things about demons and conspiracies. He tells the group his name is Lurin and that he is a powerful mage...no one believes him. He tells them that the Demon Queen (daughter of the
Demon King of the Dark Time), has escaped from the Netherealm and is trying to kill him...again, no one believes him. Finally, Lurin grows angry and races out of the tent and into the storm, vowing that he must get to the Academy to warn Commander Ambier (whom he calls a "he") that the demons are coming to attack Uen and avenge their King’s death. The group goes out to fetch him and brings him back to the tent.

Eventually the entire story comes out (at least, according to Lurin):

Lurin, indeed, was a farmer in Zadiago. He dabbled a bit in the dark arts, but only to amuse himself in his free hours. Life was good until a deadly plague (Grass Fever) swept the lower plains, killing both his wife and beloved daughter. Angry and desperate, he turned more and more to the dark arts, searching for a way to bring them back to life. He ended up mistakenly conjuring the Demon Queen, who tricked him into letting her into his world by promising to bring his wife and daughter back to life in return for her
freedom. Lurin agreed and let her out, but instead of bringing his wife and daughter back to him, she simply locked their essences in the Netherealm with her, teasing him with their images, but never letting him touch. Instead she used him as her puppet...making him carry out necessary human transactions until she was strong enough to procure a body...transactions that eventually took him to Uen via avenues of travel unimaginable to those living in the tangible world. Sensing that the Queen’s power in Uen was lessened due to the distance he was from the hole in the fabric of the Netherealm where the Queen orchestrated all of her real world-Netherealm transactions, Lurin tried to make a run for it; hoping to make it to Pallahade so that he could warn the Commander of the demon threat (for they planned to invade both Zadiago and Uen...and then expand from there), and perhaps enlist the Uen Roug’s protection. However, he underestimated the Demon Queen’s power; she could still send her hounds (the weakest of her demon legions, but powerful all the same), and they had been chasing him since Chihalla.

*Anyway*, the storm broke and the Demon Queen (or, most likely, a projection of her), appeared in her chariot on a wave of tiny demon creatures and...well, absorbed Lurin back into the Netherealm, kicking and screaming (and using some considerable magic). The group, obviously not considered a major threat by the queen, was left to deal with a few of the nasty little demon creatures as she disappeared, muttering something not so nice about the Uen Roug, I believe. Starlight, who had been trying to contact Redtip
telepathically during the battle in order to gain access to the Light, collapses onto the ground. The group makes a stretcher and carries him into the tent, only to find that he is in a coma. Bummer.

Time passes. Shalowinn the stranger joins our group. (he and Kalandra flirt for a bit - she most definitely plays up on her injuries, leaning on him for support, batting her eyelashes, etc.,etc. - but eventually Winn and Athena hook up) Meanwhile, Shade postulates that Starlight is trapped in the Netherealm where he lost his essence while trying to connect to Redtip. (the NR is the ether through which all telepathic thought travels - see the Magic page) Essentially, he is in spiritual limbo and if they wanted to get him out they’d
have to go in and get him themselves. Luckily, Shade’s specialty is Netherealm travel and he selected two of the most grounded characters - Rhia & Maria, to act as anchors while he and several of the other characters made a circle around them and...well, separated their essences from their corporeal beings and slipped into the NR, still connected umbilically to the tangible world via the anchors and their mental connection with each of the "swimmers". (each character had to give the anchors one of their memories as a
link between the physical and ethereal worlds) Everyone else stays awake to watch and make sure that nothing goes wrong. Kalandra was in this group.

Anyway, it gets rather complicated since the NR doesn’t really operate like the physical world, but the party finds several "signatures" that might be Starlight’s and follow one to what appears to be a big green spot, but is, in truth, a hole in the fabric of the NR. The trail leads out of the hole so the group crawls through....

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, everyone is hungry so Angeli (now a PC) and several of the others begin cooking up some meet. The smell attracts a rather large, ugly, and abnormal looking creature with almost eats a character or two, but gutsy Angeli feeds it some of the meat and "tames" it. The creature, it seems, has a sort of telepathic link to humans, similar to the one the unicorns employ, and is semi-intelligent - it’s brainpower matching that of, perhaps, a mentally handicapped four year old child. And it keeps talking of it’s Master...

Meanwhile, did I mention there was another thread going on at the same time in Zadiago? Several initial players had expressed interest in playing gryphon characters, so I had started a Gryphon Guard thread which I can’t tell you two much about, except that the three PC characters (a lone gryphon and a gryphon-boy pair) as well as two NPCs (Alaax’in the gryphon and Westin the boy - who become important later on) are abducted while they are left alone at camp by demons, who have already staged their first major attack on Zadiago, and brought to a secluded clearing in the middle of some woods, beneath a very large hole in the NR. It is here they are to be used as sacrifices (gryphons are hard to come by and release incredible amounts of energy when sacrificed) by a little hairy man who’s apparently a powerful mage. There are already several bodies scattered on the ground: mostly animals, but there is one man and he is still apparently alive. Anyway, as you may have already guessed, this hole was the very same hole that are
Netherswimmers were crawling through and their ethereal selves suddenly found themselves in a strange clearing with three large bird-lions, one large hole, and a repulsive little man who looked very surprised to see them.

The man had actually been trying to use the hole to import a more powerful breed of demon into the tangible world, and now brought them forth, though for now they too were also in ethereal form. WIthout thinking the little man cast a spell to give them temporary corporeal bodies, but the party intercepted that spell so that they became "real" once more, as well.

Meanwhile, the PC who was partnered with the gryphon had escaped and was untying his fellows while the demons and Uen Roug began to fight. Frigah threw out a dragon illusion to give everyone more time to gather themselves and Electra added to the effect by providing heat for the "fire".

A great battle ensues and the players from both thread meet for the first time; unicorns and gryphons regard each other with mixed curiosity and awe.

Meanwhile there is a strange vibration on the anchor’s chord (they are already concerned since they lost contact with the travelers when they jumped through the hole). Elder Redtip & a frantic Cmdr. Ambier (distraught over Starlight’s condition) contact them, but they can do no better finding Starlight than the travelers did. They do, however, locate two strange presences in the ether which turn out to be souls who never made it to the next realm and were instead trapped in Nether-limbo forever. They agreed to help Rhia, Redtip, Maria, and Ambier find Starlight, as well as help to look for the travelers. (Rhia was at this time quite concerned about her Bonded, Electra) And so off they went, returning with the news that they had not found Starlight, but they had found the party off in Zadiago battling some demon creatures with gryphons...I don’t think Redtip believed him.

The man on the ground in Zadiago stirs as a familiar presence touches his mind and is gone. The battle continues. The hole begins to diminish.

Back at the tent, the party finally gets to meet the beast’s master - The Master (as we called him in all of our notes, though his real name was Isic) was actually a biological Frankenstein-type tinker of sorts - a man who creates new creatures out of the bits and pieces of other creatures, hence - the Beast. Not one beast, but a combination of many. Anyway, the Master is very angry because the party is trespassing on his land and he threatens to sic his beast on them if they don’t leave, but of course they can’t go since half of their party
is unconscious until further notice. An argument ensues. Katessa, the Master’s Patchwork Girl and Anastasia, his daughter, arrive. (they were test characters for two players we weren’t sure we wanted to admit. One was Barbara, the other left after a few days - it was a good system, I think) :) They soften the mood a bit... I think Misha also arrives around this time - Misha being another lone (PC) traveller. He and Winn immediately strike up a sort of friendly rivalship.

Meanwhile, back in Zadiago, Electra finally pins the little man and touches her horn to his throat, demanding that he open the rip. I think by this time most of the demons have been killed, but Westin is very sick and Alaax’in is extremely upset. Westin needs medical attention immediately, and since the Gryphon army seemed fairly decimated when they were abducted, Alaax’in decided they’d have a better chance if he hopped through the tear with the Roug and into Uen. The wounded man on the ground rises and joins the group just as the portal closes. I think the little hairy man was killed, but everyone else made it except one of the gryphon pairs (the PC had just recently left).

We all returned safely back to the tents and shared the experiences. We did however bring with us two of the people we met in Zadiago - a boy and his Gryphon - Westin and Alexin (spelt wrongly I know). We also brought with us a man from the Netherrealm who proclaimed himself to be a Zadiagan Prince from a previous timeline lost there due to magic and trickery in times past. After that we moved on to Sieta to find this Duerto fella - which we did after some trouble - the guy turned out to be quite a nasty piece of work.

We brought him back to the Academy. News from there includes the unicorn stables burning down, and the Headmaster Astrafal disappearing. We all graduated and completed our apprenticships and became full Uen Roug. Also a member of our Blue Class, Athena - and a Cha-mate, of us all perished from a wound - her Bonded Fathom also gave himself over to death which was rather horrific for us all.

After this we were called in for a new mission.

 Scene: the conference room, nestled between Astrafal’s (now Maudroy’s) office and Ambier’s Office. A long, oaken table is situated in the center of the room, surrounded by twenty-thirty cushioned oak chairs, with a large, ornately carved chair at each end.

A plate of tea cakes, a collection of ceramic cups, and a pitcher of hot omaku juice have been placed in the center of the table.

Commander Ambier is seated at one end of the table (closest to her office). Starlight is at her back. Seated to her right in Lt. Rhia and Electra and to her left, Lt. Rowan and Onyx. Next to Rhia sits (respectively) a sweet expressioned teenage boy the Blue Class knows as Westin and a handsome twenty-something man they know as Zadiagan Prince Hadrian. They are conversing amicably with each other, sipping hot juice between words. Next to Rowan are seated two unfamiliar men: the one closest to Rowan looks to be in his late twenties with dark earth-colored hair, bright brown eyes, a sharp, straight nose, and thin lips which curve slightly downwards at both ends. He nods in greeting as each newcomer enters the room. The other man is older, perhaps in his early fifties, with faded blue eyes; seasoned, but broad, handsome features; and balding raven hair, peppered with grey. He sits with one hand resting upon his chin and appears lost in thought. Both men wear the royal blue, gold, and white uniform of a Palace official.

At the other end of the table sits Maudroy, a tall, broad shouldered older man in his early sixties with neatly combed snow-colored hair, large, thick features, and icy blue eyes. He wears the Headmaster’s badge. Behind him stands his Bonded, Whirlabout, an aging sooty palomino.

Conversing with Maudroy is Elder Criana (with her Bonded, Splitoak), who is sitting to his right. To his left Elder Randoff is sitting quietly, nibbling on a tea cake and probably speaking privately with his Bonded Dancer.

Angeli, Starheel, Candace, and Sirocco enter...

Candace slips through the door, and, not forgetting Angeli’s previous slight, lets the heavy door slide through her fingers as Sirocco enters, forcing the younger girl to lift her hands up reflexively to catch it. Angeli scowls at Candace as she lets Starheel in, but is careful to smooth her features when she catches sight of the caliber of the current occupants of the conference room.

Almost simultaneously, both girls nod in deference to the Elders, Maudroy, and the Commander, flick their gazes appreciatively over first Hadrian, then the new young palace official, then finally begin to take strides towards the empty seat next to the prince. It was Candace, however, who reached the empty seat first, flashing a smile that doubled as a greeting to Hadrian and a triumphant "so there!" to Angeli, who glared as her angrily before finding a seat next to the older palace official. Their Bondeds exchange exasperated
glances.

Caira and Rosebriar, Tengu, Yana and Winter, Night Wind and Eventide, Kalandra and Sunstrike, Tani and Mirage, and Dalryk and Quicksilver enter...

The Commander nods as each new officer takes his or her seat. "Good morning, Privates," she says with a warm smile. "Please help yourself to omaku juice and cakes while we await the others..." she extends her smile to the rest of the company seated at the table. "And then we can dispense with introductions."

Aoife, Shalowinn, Brooksong and Azalea, Frigah and Windblade, Turak and Spirit, Nathan and Shade, Leto and Skyfire, and Rusalka and Ghost all entered and took seats. Angeli smiled at Turak from across the table, then turned her attention to the Commander, who had then neatly folded her hands upon the table, her eyes signalling her readiness to begin. The low hum of conversation dwindled to an expectant silence and the Commander began.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, Elders, and cornfolk, I have asked you all here today, because of an imminent danger facing not only our own country, but our sister country, as well - nay, perhaps even the entire realm. Most of you are aware of my desire to reunite Uen with our once-ally Zadiago to the north," she paused to pull down a map of Uen from the roller mounted on the wall behind her seat. She pointed to the grey area above Explorer’s Pass. "As many of you know, several months ago I received a dispatch from one of our
operatives in Sieta that a man by the name of Duerto had knowledge concerning the whereabouts of one of the last remaining mountain entrances from Uen into Zadiago. Zadiago, as you know, closed its borders over thirty years ago and very few people have been able to either enter or leave, so not much has been known about the country’s political situation until now. Through a fortunate accident, the Blue Class, while on their way to retrieve Duerto, stumbled upon three native Zadiagans through a series of rather... wayward circumstances," she shot a crooked smile first to Shade, then to Starlight, whose eyes glittered with amusement. "Two of them are seated here with us today. Westin, please stand up."

The sweet faced teenage boy stood and smiled bashfully.

"Westin is a soldier in what remains of the Gryphon Guard, the Uen Roug’s sister army."

"When Emperor-King Kerrimour went mad," Westin chimed in, "the peasants finally found their nerve to revolt and we had a full fledged civil war on our hands. Unorganized and unsupported by a majority of the population because of our Imperial ties, the Gryphon Guard lost over three quarters of our army and were forced to retreat to the mountains where we’ve been trying to rebuild our forces at Istien for the past few decades."

Leto raised her hand and Ambier acknowledged her. "Question. If the peasants’ were fighting for their freedom and the king had gone mad, why didn’t the Guard simply switch sides?"

Westin smiled. "It wasn’t that simple. You see, while the people believed that they were fighting for their freedom, the rich merchants who organized and funded the coup just saw it as an opportunity to finally seize power. They were successful, too...for a while. They killed the king, forced many of his family and followers into hiding - including a majority of the noble families - and reduced his army to a pittance. Still, I they underestimated the determination of Kerrimour’s clan and The Red Eagle Order, as those Imperials who thought they deserved the crown called themselves, rose fifteen years later to overthrow the mockery of a democracy that the merchants alliance created and re-instituted the monarchy." Westin shook his head. "They were struck to soon, though, and were overthrown within two years. Power has switched back and forth between the two faction numerous times, but it doesn’t make much of a difference. Both factions are just as bad - selfish brutes, all of them. Our people have lived in fear and repression for two generations now."

"As alarming as this is," continued Ambier, nodding to Westin that he could sit down, "the Blue Class uncovered something even more alarming during their mission, something that required immediate action on our part, though it looks as if our first measures have already failed..."