Prodigal Son

[Arkanan]

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 5:43 pm Post subject: The Prodigal Son Arrives

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The silence and darkness of a back alley among the streets of RhyDin are suddenly torn asunder as a vortex of blue light appears accompanied by the sound of a thousand screaming demons. The swirling light grows until it measures just over two meters in diameter, it's bottom edge hovering just over the ground and rising vertically. A shadow quietly emerges from within the eye of the storm, stretching until it barely clears the edges of the disc. A foot steps from the vortex and touches the earth, electric blue light flickering as the humanoid being blinks away the after images of the Beyond. Once the figure has fully stepped from the Portal, the vortex snaps closed plunging the alley back into darkness. The silence is broken by ragged breathing for a few moments until the being regains his sense of self. From the darkness comes a slightly rasping voice:
"Father, I have come." Footsteps sound quietly as the man begins his journey towards the Foreign Quarter of RhyDin. "I shall find those who abandoned you in your need, father. I will know the truth of their betrayal."
The footsteps recede into the distance and silence reigns once more.
_________________
Daniel sur Krollon Arkanan

Topaz
Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 7:02 pm
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Topaz sat on the couch in front of the fireplace reviewing the events of the evening. When she had first returned from Twilight Isle she had gone straight to her office and got to work on clearing her schedule for the Tuesday of the Keeper tournament. It had been quite some time since anyone had invited her to a girl's night out. She was looking forward to that more than to the tournament.
Her gaze lifted from the flames to the items sitting on the mantle above the fireplace. She again admired the artful pieces and took pleasure of their beauty. The vivid red rose preserved in glass still looked alive and contrasted nicely with the coal black one sitting next to it. Suddenly Topaz sat up straighter. Had the petals moved? That was impossible - or was it merely improbable? She got up for a closer look. Certainly the color of the bloom had not been quite that vivid. After a thorough inspection she was convinced the bloom had changed. But what did it portend?

Arkanan
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 7:32 am
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Dojo Darelir. With minimal aid in the form of directions, he has located the place that his father had so often spoke of. He opens himself to the auras of those within, hoping that his father's "teacher" could be confronted soon. He finds an alley within the range of his abilities and begins the process of waiting. He occupies his time in silent thought. His mind drifts to the past...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Daniel, come here," his father calls from the courtyard as the 12-year-old boy exits the stables.

"Yes, father," the boy replies as he nears and looks up at his father with undisguised respect.

"The time has come for you to set aside the ways of a child and begin learning the art of rulership."

"Father, the tutors have already begun teaching me diplomacy."

"There is more to ruling than the art of the diplomat, my son. When the demons return, for they surely will, you must be prepared to face them. You have two tools to help you with that. Your magic. And your strength."

"I can already use my magic, father," the boy replies with a smile as he brings an electric blue orb into being floating above his hand.

The older Arkanan smiles at the sight of his son using the same practicing technique that he had used as a child. "Very good, son. Then, it is time for you to learn to use this," he replies as he draws a scabbarded short sword from behind the nearby well.

"You will teach me, father?"

"I would leave this to no other, my son."
~~~~~~~~~
Daniel returns to the present, a slight smile on his face as he recalls the many practice sessions with his father. Then, a frown settles as he remembers the first betrayal.
~~~~~~~~~
17-year-old Daniel steps back, trying to regain his breath as his father presses the attack. He parries weakly, stumbles, and falls back to the ground.

"You must try harder, Daniel," his father insists. "We have very little time left before our practices will be put to real use in what I hope will be the last Great Demon War."

"I am trying, father. I just can't get the picture of Faren being torn to pieces in the skirmish last week. He was one of the best swordsmen in all of Thalesia. How can we hope to stand against the demons if they can reduce him to scraps?"

"You must not despair, my son," his father says as he lowers "Reaper" and offers a hand to help lift Daniel up.

Daniel takes the proffered hand and in that contact sees into his father's mind and hears his direct thoughts for the first time.

"If only... teacher... Xenograg... here... abandoned."

The contact breaks, but, despite the garbled context, Daniel knows that his father is thinking of the man who had once taught him to control the darker side of himself. And, obviously, his father thinks that this man could help them but that he had abandoned his father. Daniel knows better than to intrude on his father's past; his father talks of those days with regret for their loss. But, he begins to see the cause of that regret.... Betrayal.
~~~~~~~~~
Once again, his mind returns to the present. His purpose sharpens once more, and Daniel continues to wait. He knows that he must put a face to each of the Betrayers before he can do anything else to avenge his father.
_________________
Daniel sur Krollon Arkanan

Arkanan
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 9:39 pm
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His senses enhanced by his hold on the Power, Daniel continued to survey the Dojo from afar. Earlier, he had felt the passage of a being of heightened power. Extending tendrils of magic, delicately searching for the source of the disturbance, Daniel began to realize that the Betrayer was now within the Dojo. He had not seen Xenograg enter, but he knew from the many mental contacts with his father in the past what Xenograg's aura was like. It had changed over time, of course, but Daniel had prepared himself for the effects of time.
Assuring himself that no one was watching him, he wove a cloak of invisibility around himself and levitated upwards. The magical probe that he had sent within the Dojo told him how high to go to be at the same level as the man he searched for, allowing him to make the probe more effective and give him a visual of Xenograg. Although this was not what he had originally intended, he decided that it would have to do. He now knew the face of one of the Betrayers.
Daniel settled back to the ground and released his hold on the Power. The tendrils of magic dissipated and he became visible once more. He then began walking towards the Inn where he knew many of the denizens of RhyDin dueled without lethality. As his father had once used the place to locate potential allies and threats, Daniel would do the same. And, perhaps, it would enable him to locate more of the Betrayers.
_________________
Daniel sur Krollon Arkanan

Arkanan
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 4:58 am
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Daniel departed the Annex via a Portal and emerged within the confines of his rented room in a run-down district of RhyDin. He unstraped his scabbard and lay Reaper atop the dresser, disgusted with himself at his performance in the rings. He sat on the edge of the small bed and went over what he did manage to learn while at the Annex. Making a mental list, he ticked the items off on his fingers.

Item one: Xenograg arrived and seemed as arrogant as he expected him to be. The Betrayer had not even recognized him despite having taught his father with the very blade that he now carried. Certainly, time had passed, but if he was such a good friend and teacher, then surely he would remember something.

Item two: Upon questioning, Azjah admitted to not knowing his father at all. Strangely, after asking about Topaz, Azjah said that she had known her for years. Perhaps the two had met after his father's departure from RhyDin. More likely, Topaz, and her friends, had not much cared about his father's departure despite his marriage to Topaz. Daniel began to wonder whether that marriage had given Topaz some sort of advantage in some way considering this new information.

Item three: Azjah stated that Topaz could normally be found on Twilight Isle on the second and third days of the RhyDin week. He decided to make plans to look in to this over the next two days.

Daniel knew that it was only a matter of time before he would find the answers that he looked for. And, with the intelligence gathered this evening, he found it very likely that he would find that they had all betrayed his father. He could fathom Xenograg's betrayal. A rival, pure and simple. He could even understand the Brothers Grim abandoning one of their own since the fate of RhyDin would not be affected by the fate of Thalesia. But, he found it difficult to understand why the woman whom his father had most regretted the loss of would betray him as well.

All things considered, Daniel considered the night a success on the one hand. The Duels would come with time and more practice. The competitors there were not like the demons he was used to. Nor was he used to the rules of combat. They seemed to restrictive to him, but he understood the need for them to make the competitions fair.

Once he finally drifted off to sleep, he dreamed of his father and smiled in the night.
_________________
Daniel sur Krollon Arkanan

Topaz
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 8:08 pm
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Topaz rubbed her eyes and stretched her sore back. Then she carefully closed the tome she had been working on and folded the protective wrapper around it before she picked up her notes. For most of the afternoon she had studied Krollon's book of prophecy. The book had been more difficult to read than ever before. She had been out practice to will the squirming runes into standing still long enough to make out a word. Though she had been able to decipher close to fifty words, it still wasn't enough to interpret any logical sense into them. There had been no explanation for the odd behavior of Krollon's art. However, a name was mentioned - twice. Who was this Daniel and why would the prophesies mention the name now?
Topaz continued to ponder the list of deciphered words as she returned the precious book to its hiding place and off and on for the next few days without coming to any conclusion.

Arkanan
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2005 3:44 pm
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Daniel once more arrived back at the small room that he rented in RhyDin. He had spent the evening speaking with his father's wife, Topaz. In the course of their discussion, it became apparent that Daniel's truth was not what he had been expecting. His mother told of the last battle that she had witnessed between Krollon and his own father. During that battle, Topaz's unborn child was killed and she was sent through a Portal by Krollon so that she would escape the destruction of the Crystals. Apparently, the Crystals, an embodiment of the Celestials, saved the unborn child's soul and caused it to be placed into another body. The Celestials then delivered Daniel to his father to be raised.
The revelation had come as a deep shock to realize that his mother had been residing in RhyDin all this time. Upon hearing more about the time after Krollon had left RhyDin, Daniel was also beginning to realize that the betrayal he insisted was there did not truly exist. As he sat on the edge of the small bed, Daniel could not help but wonder why the Celestials had sent him here, now. He understood that his mother was supposed to help him find the truth despite his hatred, but he now wondered what truth the Celestials were trying to show him.
He lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. His thoughts wandered as he tried to piece together everything that had happened over the past few days. In moments, he drifted off to sleep, a silent smile creeping over his face.
_________________
Daniel sur Krollon Arkanan

Topaz
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 4:57 am
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Julian pressed a glass into Topaz's hand and sat back down beside her. "That should be good news. Yet, you do not look it." Indeed, she was even paler than usual and looked to have been crying.

Topaz shook her head. "No, Julian, you see, I didn't give birth to him. Our unborn baby died in the same battle. It's unimaginable, but the celestials took him and made him live. All these years of grief, and they were alive. The crystals lied. They told me Krollon was no more and Thalesia was gone."

"You had better tell me the whole story."

Topaz nodded and after she took a sip from the glass she related the events of the evening.
"I had gone to the isle, intending to duel for a bit. Azjah was just telling me about a young man who was looking for me and that said young man was introducing himself as Krollon's son, Daniel Arkanan. The name was in the book. Before she could give me any more details Daniel approached me. He knew who I was. He addressed me by name before he introduced himself. His voice and words were accusing Krollon's friends and me of betrayal, Xenograg of all people in particular, and he said a few other uncomplimentary things, but his posture said something else."

Julian was familiar with Topaz's tendency to understate things and could imagine what those 'uncomplimentary things' might have been.

"He appeared unsure in his actions. He also mentioned he was in search of answers. I asked him to sit for a spell. He told me of some events in his recent past, Krollon raising him, a battle with demons that killed his father before Daniel could slay the demons. When I asked him who his mother was he answered that he didn't know. That he died unborn and later the celestials delivered him to his father. I remember reading fractions of that in the book of prophesies, only those snippets had never before made any sense. I then told him of what I had all this believed to have been Krollon's last moments. I didn't quite know how to ask him if he was the same 'unborn', but he knew what I wanted to ask and suggested we should both put our palms to the stones in the hilt of Krollon's sword."

"Vision-like flashes told of the battle, of the celestials taking the unborn's soul as it died, of them bringing the baby to Krollon, of him raising the child, of Krollon being slain by a horde of demons become one, of Daniel slaying the demon, of Daniel being sent to Rhydin by the celestials."

"Didn't you tell me that once the demon destroyed the soul he was dead with no return?" At the fairy's nod Julian continued. "Is it possible someone or something is lying to you now?"

Julian was about to ask again thinking she had not heard his question when she finally answered. "No. I don't think so. The vision flashes via Krollon's sword felt different. I think those were a message from Krollon rather than from the crystals. He was not always open, but he wouldn't lie. Daniel left shortly after that."

"The baby we had wanted so much now is a grown man and he doesn't know me at all. The Crystals should not have taken him; both. They knew. Oh, Julian, he's been alive all this time and now he is dead. "

Julian wrapped his arm around Topaz and let her cry at his shoulder. "Then you would now be complaining that they should have taken him because he could have saved Thalesia at least, if not his father."

"It doesn't feel like good news." Topaz had mumbled the words into Julian's shirt and it took him a moment to connect them to his earlier statement.

Topaz
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 2:59 pm
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"Silly girl. Of course it is good news. Julian was right," Topaz thought to herself as she looked out the window. "Things do look better in the light of day. I may not have powers to change what happened, but I sure do have the power to influence what happens next. I will be happy about having a son instead of unhappy about the years lost. He did seem to right away like the idea of having a mother, and he did sort of ask for my help in finding some answers. Though I do wonder to what degree Daniel actually is my son. His soul, but not his body. Yet, magic doesn't follow the same parental laws..." Topaz turned away from the window and set her coffee cup on the desk with a deliberate motion.

"It's time to quit pondering and to start acting." Topaz stepped from her office into the hallway. The guard straightened up at the sound of the door opening.
"Walter, has Major derKorst returned yet?" At the guards nod she continued before he could reply orally, "Good. Be ready to accompany me to House deGorol. We will leave within the hour."

Topaz
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 3:01 pm
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Topaz looked around the basement of House deGorol, the place in which Krollon had practiced control of his powers and those of his father. The entire time of their marriage she had been here only twice. Krollon had not wanted her to witness his struggles, but more so, he had not wanted for her to stand right next to him should he lose control of those powers.

Everything appeared to be in order here as well as inside the house. One of the words she had gotten from the book was deGorol. At first she had translated the passage as 'Daniel the truth seeker', 'gorol' being the Thalesia word for truth. Now she was convinced the missing space between 'de' and 'Gorol' was no accident. "What is the connection?", she asked. The cavernous room didn't volunteer an answer.

Krollon also had fashioned some of his gifts to Tormay and her down here. The rose, for example. The change of the bloom inside the glass globe had made her consult the book of prophesies again only a few days before meeting Daniel. And Tormay's clowns. The ones Tormay had insisted were talking with him after Krollon's death. Had those voices really been the result of Tormay's fairy magic and childhood wishes, or had Krollon 'visited' Tormay? Tormay, however, was not around to ask and neither were those figurines to be found anywhere.

Topaz
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 3:02 pm
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The afternoon found Topaz in a grueling practice session at the Atrebla arena with Max. This afternoon Max definitely had the upper hand. Suddenly the tip of her blade sank to the sand and Topaz froze mid-step and Max's thrust connected harder than he had intended.
"What the blazes is wrong with you?"
"There is no dust." Topaz sounded as stunned as she looked. The implications of that realization sinking in unfroze the fairy and she sheathed her blade with a fluid motion.
"I have to go find Daniel."
"Wait a minute! First you just let me hit you and then you want to run off without so much as a rain check?"
"I'm sorry, Max. You're right. I don't even know where to look for him. Still, will you take a rain check on the practice?"
Max did, and at his insistence Topaz told him of her meeting Daniel and her trip to House deGorol earlier that day.

Arkanan
Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2005 11:40 pm Post subject: Continued search
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The darkness once more is shattered by the howling of demons as the lightning blue Portal opens and allows Daniel to once walk within RhyDin. His face appears nearly decades older from his trials in worlds beyond this. A scar now runs from the right corner of his left eyebrow to his ear and then to his jaw despite his innate healing abilities.
"Rest, at last," is his only comment as he begins to walk the streets of RhyDin.
He now wears only the black robes of a Balancer with no weapon prominently displayed making him look more a monk than a warrior. But, he walks with his head held high and his eyes searching the darkness. It is enough to deter the few footpads that look in his direction as they see the slight blue glow and the arcs of electric energy dancing along his hands.
To those who have the knowledge, it is obvious that he has fully accepted his lot in life as a Balancer and has given himself to the magic. If anything, the dancing flecks within his eyes give away the depth of his devotion. He talks to himself as he walks the streets, a mumble not heard among the background noise of the people around him until a small lull occurs as he enters a more unused alley.
"Now, to free my father."
_________________
Daniel sur Krollon Arkanan