“We really need to get out of here,” the Sentry Knight said as he peered through the colored glass window framed with perfect marble. Thrashing through the city’s main courtyard, a rather large crowd armed with simplistic weaponry—most likely picked up from their homes and farms—threatened the peace of the well-known Zhaeyle. The Knight glanced back to his fiancée, who sat at the foot of the bed, partially curled up with her legs pulled to her chest. She was not herself this day and all because she had lost something very precious to her; the very loss of it made her ill and on the brink of insanity.

He carefully approached her and knelt down in front of her, placing one hand upon her knee. “Please, Aura, you have to get up. We need to leave now. It’s getting crazy out there and they’ll find a way into the tower soon.” He frowned and left her side only to begin packing her things. He was in a hurry and did not care much for the orderly way of doing it, for he merely shoved things into several packs—he only prepared the important things.

Aurora continued to stare straight ahead of her, rocking slightly as burdensome thoughts consumed her mind. I’ve lost everything. My world is gone. It’s all gone. The thoughts of loss could not be pushed aside and they could not be silenced. Her race prided themselves on their magical ability and now that she had been punished with a most terrible magic-draining curse—the dreaded plague that consumed so many already—she no longer possessed her abilities. She could no longer call upon the sacred words that conjured magic in whatever form she chose; to an U’naida that was the worst punishment one could receive. Magic was a large part of their being; it flowed through their veins just as blood flowed through any living creature. They needed it, just as air was needed to breathe; without her magic, she was now empty.

The woman trembled lightly and forced herself to stand. Turning to face her knight, she cast him a sorrowful gaze. “It’s so cold, Ruiqel. I’m so empty now …”

The man’s movements ceased and his eyes returned to his beloved, “N-no, you’re never empty. You can get through this, Aura. Just hang on.” He of all people understood the woman’s current position and he knew why she felt so empty. She needed magic to live and without it she could die. His plan was to take her to the city of Iliq’rae to see if the Magi there could do anything on her behalf, perhaps fuel her with temporary magical energies. He did not know what could be done, but giving up on her was not an option.

Aurora stumbled forward in her attempt to approach him, but the Sentry Knight was quick to react. In less than a second he was before her, catching her smaller form within leather-bound arms. She was getting weaker and he knew this; she looked incredibly pale. Shifting her so that her eyes returned to his, he looked upon her with much affection gleaming upon his softened gaze; it was a great contrast for a Knight whose gaze often sent fear into his opponents, his eyes able to turn confident foes into whimpering children.

“You’re stronger than this, Aura. You can fight this.” He sighed and helped her be seated upon the bed. He left her there for the time being so that he could finish collecting her things.

Several minutes later, the Sentry Knight gathered the two packs, his quiver full of arrows, and his magnificent enchanted bow. His sword was strapped to his belt safely and the bow was strapped upon his back. Doing the best that he could to balance the gathered packs within one hand, he came back to Aurora and gently took her hand. “Come, my love. We had best be on our way,” his words faded into a smile and began to lead her out of the room within the large tower.

Once they were outside, Ruiqel watched the maddening crowd warily as he attempted to lead Aurora past them without being seen. Most of them remained too occupied with a couple of guards that threatened to start harming them should they not turn around and leave. The man’s quick steps eventually led him into the stable, where a boy waited for the two of them next to the Sentry Knight’s horned horse. Ruiqel had already sent instructions for the boy to ready his mount so that they could be on their way as soon as they arrived.

“He’s all set, m’lord. Packed an’ ready t’go!” The skinny child seemed quite proud of his quick work and nearly jumped with excitement.

Ruiqel released Aurora’s hand and began tying the packs onto the saddle with the rest of them. After he completed that, he turned to the boy and handed him two gold coins. “For your services. Good work, child.” The boy’s mouth literally fell open and he started repeating stuttered words of thanks to the Sentry Knight. Ruiqel smiled with partial amusement and nodded his head, before he turned back to Aurora to help her up upon the horse’s saddle. Once she was secure, he mounted the steed, seating himself right behind her and taking the reins. With a gentle kick, the horned horse started out of the stable.

Once they neared the city gates, a few members of the crowd easily caught them within their line of sight. Terrified, yet hateful expressions immediately appeared and both weaponry and fingers were pointed in their direction.

“Look! She’s one of them,” a voice from within the crowd shouted. “Kill her, she’ll spread the plague,” another voiced shouted. Suddenly, people started rushing toward them with weapons raised threateningly; voiced shouts became indiscernible as all tones mingled and overlapped. The horned horse’s steps started to become uneasy, for the crowd was beginning to startle the beast.

Aurora’s eyes became wide with fear, even despite her feelings of overwhelming emptiness; she knew that these people desired her death, as well as many others that had become ill within the Tower of Aere.

Despite the horned horse’s sudden nervous actions, Ruiqel guided and pressed the beast forward. The steed obeyed the Sentry Knight almost immediately and quickly moved into a fast paced run out of the city gates. The horse never slowed, even as Ruiqel was able to glance back at the city behind them and view only blurred movements as people. The journey to the outskirts of the floating land mass was half a day’s ride, but it was to be pressed so that they would make it to the skyship’s port in time to catch the next ship to Iliq’rae.

Taking one hand off the reins, the man gently brushed Aurora’s hair away from her right ear. Leaning in, he softly whispered, “It’s over now, Aura,” as a means of comfort to the woman he loved. However, both he and she knew that the danger and the conflict were far from over.

The Journey to Iliq’rae

The sky port was complete chaos when Ruiqel and Aurora arrived.  Many frantic people crowded the gates that led to the last ship docked at the edge of the floating land mass.  The guards that had once been posted at the gate were now tangled in with the crowd, many of them battling off the weapon-wielding denizens that wanted to force their way through without paying the fee of passage.

“Ruiqel …” Aurora’s voice was barely above a whisper, her eyes fixed on the mass of people before them.  There was no way around the crowd; they would have to go through them.

The man gently squeezed her arm, a reassuring gesture to the woman who was obviously nervous. The Knight’s gaze swept out over the crowd to assess the odds.  He knew the port’s guards would not last long against the angry mob and he was not sure what he could do to get around them.

“Captain!” a voice came from the left of them.

The familiar voice had the Knight’s head turning, relief in his eyes when he realized the words came from his trusted lieutenant. “Jaerick, you’re still here?”

“The last ship took off without all its boarding passengers,” the man said regretfully, “and many of these people had paid for passage with the last ship.  After that happened, all hell broke loose.”  While he spoke with Ruiqel, seven other armed men joined Jaerick at his side.  “We were hoping to gain passage with this ship instead, but as you can see—”

“We’re going to get through them,” the Sentry Knight stated confidently, as he dismounted and brought the beast’s reigns up to the front of the creature’s head in order to guide him.

“Captain?” Jaerick looked uncertain as he scratched the back of his head, glancing first at his superior, then to the ravenous crowd, “We’re going to get through that?”

“I need one of your enavials,” he hesitated and lowered his voice, “for Aurora.”

Jaerick glanced up at the ill girl, a sympathetic gaze sweeping over her.  He nodded once before reaching into his pack and pulling out one of the glowing vials from within, then handing it over to the Sentry Knight Captain.

Gratefully, he took the vial and said; “I used up my supply trying to keep her … coherent.  We’ve got to get on that ship now.” There was sudden anger in the man’s voice, not directed to anyone in particular, more so just at the situation they were all caught within.

Jaerick nodded and suddenly grinned, “I guess I should be used to these crazy tasks by now.  Leave it to us, Captain.”  His grin remained as he turned to the other men and said, “Hear that?  We’re getting’ out of here; spread out, hold off the crowd as best as you can, preferably without the use of violence.  Let’s get Aurora on the ship first.”

The sentry knights confidently nodded, each one of them spreading out to take position amongst the crowd.

To Be Continued …

After the Tearing tore the Saelentii world asunder, the remaining survivors struggled to rebuild their civilization and to establish a new world order. Pieces of land were scattered about, held afloat over a dark abyss—the endless void—by unknown wild magic, said to be left over from the magically fueled war that had consumed the feuding kingdoms. The sky was always drenched in a mixture of red, orange, and yellow hues, save for the time that night fell over the broken land.

A few years after the war ended, the people began to notice a certain emptiness. At first, it was disregarded; it was so small that they were able to ignore the minuscule nagging feeling inside of them. However, this feeling began to grow and it began to consume. Suddenly, there was an outbreak of madness, people being reported to have mysteriously gone insane, turning on brothers, sisters, and friends for no apparent reason at all.

Chaos plagued the city of Iliq’rae, as those seemingly immune to the strange illness panicked and the streets of their floating land mass became littered with violence. The royal family’s militia marched the streets, capturing and detaining any found with the illness; they were locked away in horrid asylums deep underground where no one could hear their horrified, maddening screams through the thick rock and soil.

While all of this was going on, the leaders of the Saelentii people remained safely locked away in the grand Citadel, haven to the royal family and to anyone else affiliated with them. The Saelentii public had never been aware of the real truth: the truth that their leaders have known all about the problems that would come to arise long before the madness began.

Read more…

Saka’il vur: The Shadowed Path is a side storyline that branches off Naelii: Plane of Euthadin’clys, an ongoing story that involves the klaiytus elemental weavers and their adventures. The Shadowed Path is set in a Forgotten Realms setting that many people are quite familiar with: Faerûn. The klaiytus characters in this side story journey the lands of Faerûn in search of the Saeculii, dangerous enemies from their own plane. Along the way, the members of Saka’il vur encounter many strange denizens, as well as struggle to fit into the foreign world. Few have discovered what the klaiytus are and where they are from, but those that have often pledge their allegiance, to journey alongside the group throughout the many nations of Faerûn. Unfortunately, in addition to unintentionally gathering allies, the weavers have also discovered the darker denizens of the plane; there are those that seek them out in order to exploit them for devious means.

Although the members of Saka’il vur have a main goal and purpose on the unfamiliar plane, the conflicts of their newfound acquaintances quickly become their own. So begins a new tale …

Storyline contact: telluricenergy[at]aol.com, biackthesky[at]aol.com, vermiIionskies[at]aol.com