The Receding Mist

[yealls]

It was mid afternoon before someone nudged me awake. I could hear the others stirring from their slumbers as well. It felt somewhat odd yet familiar to be in the clan hall again. The mist of many memories floated through my mind as I got up. The mist changing the images of friends both living and dead. Past battles both won and lost. The mist continued to cloud my mind, taunting me with every image it played. Teasing me that more was to come. More travels, more battles, more deaths and more victories. The mist pushing me to prepare for what was to come. The mist finally vanishing with the growl of my stomach urging me to get something to eat. As I headed to eat I wondered what was to come. The mist would not give me the answer. I guess we will know soon enough. It was time to prepare for the next adventure.

[Kaetral]

With the last of the mist rolling out Kathara's personalities have finally duked out the major battle.

Kathara leaves his hut and walks towards Kindred's den. "My soul has at times been apart of all three clans, but nothing feels as good as reminding others that the light isn't always going to save them"

As he begins walking you can see the skeletal visage begin to take shape, and the malevolence that is Kindred begins to emanate from him like an aura of evil that will keep the good doers running. "Bellad taught me when i was younger, and I'm sure he'll teach me some more now that we are family again."

He gathers his full plate, his tower shield, a bastard sword, and begins to memorize arcane spells. All of these tools will reduce his enemies so that he may bathe them in the horrible evil that has cultivated him.

[Pants]

Sirnico would take a seat upon the throne with a huff looking to his long lost friend with a smile. He would then seem to look into the distance his aging eyes seeming to look over the hall. Sirnico would place his hand upon the hilt of his longsword a smile crossing his lips.

"Old friend it is time. A great evil is coming, the fires within Kindred are beginning to rekindle. I sense a new evil developing within their halls. We must rebuild Eclipse."

Sirnico would exhail rubbing he back of his head. His face steady but his mind raced with thoughts of the upcoming future.

"The offer is extended. Be a part of my council as my champion. We must bring in the young lady Raven to lead by my side. A new dawn approaches my friend. The light of Eclipse shall keep the vile of kindred at bay. It is time we went to war once more.
Inform the troops. Send out the messengers.
I have returned and by the glory of Hecate so shall fall Kindred."

[Tyr]

The demon that Tyr had awoken looked around. She had been sealed for what felt like an eternity. She smelled the blood and licked her lips in anticipation. The only thing more appealing than spilled blood was misery and despair. She strode from the mists that still rode across the eastern land. She could feel the darkness further west which led to the Kindred but there are some things she wanted to do herself. Ignoring the presence of followers she continued in search of Tyr the one who had imprisoned her.

***OOC Totals as of 10/27/2015***
Tino 5000 xp
Pants 25000 xp
Tarnos 10000 xp
Yealls 30000 xp
Syncat 20000 xp
Kaetral 15000 xp
Rulin 5000 xp
twanik 5000 xp

[Tarnos]

Unsheathing the sword on his belt, he kneels before Sirnico, letting the blade rest calmly on his palms. It glows dimly with white light around the length of the blade, it doesn't look near as brilliant as it once had.

"I have kept the Clan's weapon safe all of this time. It however, has lost much of it's power with time, as have I."

Lifting the blade higher up and bowing his head.

"I humbly accept your offer, and pledge every ounce of my spell casting prowess to protect you my Lord, the Lady Raven herself, and every member to wear our colors, with my life."

[Ael'Thas]

A full moon overlooks a forest of massive trees, each trunk bigger than a house. Rodents and insects skitter away from the only other source of light, an unnatural glowing orb that is slowly moving through the misty undergrowth of the forest. In the distance, an occasional roar and the lumbering of giant beasts can be heard. It feels like something is stirring in the dark depths of the forest.

The orb of light suddenly comes to a clearing, the only point kilometers around where the light of the moon can shine through the thick foliage of the tree tops. Somehow, the moonlight makes a perfect circle around a giant boulder that starts to stir as the orb of light comes closer. The ground shakes as a buzzing sound from the boulder becomes louder and louder, until it culminates in an ear shattering noise and a smell of magic fills the air. The ginormous stone rolls over, revealing a hole with steps leading deep underground. While rough, the tunnel is obviously not natural. But what could make something of this size, the width more than enough for a small army to march through without problems? And what lurks within?

Paying no heed to the changes in the forest it caused, the orb of light floated down the stairs. Down and down it went, deep into the bowels of the Earth, until it finally came to an enormous cavern. Still it continued on, and in the flickering light you could see statues in the background - some of people, some of monsters. After what seemed hours, It finally stopped for the first time and slowly turned to the right, as if trying to pinpoint the location of a quiet sound. Suddenly it lurched forward a statue of an Umber Hulk, stirring the dust on the floor and the plaque in front of it, on which the words “Nightmare Badger, The Unyielding” could barely be made out.

Again it came to a stop, slowly rising in front of the statue and started to gently flash, like the beat of an old heart. It moved closer to the statue and started to envelop it in it’s light, growing brighter and brighter. And suddenly, with a blinding light that filled the whole cavern, the Umber Hulk was gone and it’s place stood a dwarf, naked as the day he was born.

“Wha … what has happened?” said the dwarf to himself, shaking his head, “Wasn’t I supposed to … “ and his eyes snapped up, catching a glimpse of the quickly fading orb of light in front of him. “I see”, he said, “the Gods stir again and I guess it is time for me to finally wake too”, his hand grabbing the handle of a bastard sword placed nearby, that promptly turned to dust on his touch. First staring at the dust on the floor, and then at his hand, he flexed his muscles and thought “I am as weak as a newborn kitten … but I have never let that stop me before”. Covering himself in an old tattered cloak he found nearby, he started walking towards the stairs.

Finally he reached the surface, shielding his eyes from the first light they have seen in ages, as the groans and creaks of the boulder moving back into it’s guarding position echoed behind him. He seemed to contemplate something, then as if years were falling from him his back grew straighter, his eyes grew brighter, his stride grew longer and more confident. Off he went, off towards the lands of Redemption, off towards the old town of Shandalar, off into the receding mists of the unknown forest.

[SynKat]

A forest, serine and pure, calm and beautiful. The dwarf was befuddled at where he had managed to stumble upon. Looking around he found all sorts of beings, a wide arrangement of wonderment. The list went to seemingly every spectrum of beast. An elf, a human, a zombie, drakes and dragons, a manticore, and much more. They saw him and approached.

"Welcome back! We've been waiting for so long. How was your trip?" asks the elf.

"Welcome back? My trip? Where is this?" The dwarf turns back and realizes the door wasn't there anymore.

A giant gust of wind booms as a red dragon lands next to the dwarf. "I'm sure you know that, SynKat. Think deep."

"SynKat? You know me? My name? I can't seem to remember..." wonders the dwarf.

"Your name? Our name! It's all the same. Come now, you haven't forgotten who we are. You have to remember for all of us." replies the human.

The dwarf strains and ponders about everything in front of him... how comfortable he feels in a place he doesn't even seem to know. "I'm... you're... we are SynKat." The dwarf realizes.

The forest disappears and the human continues to walk through the door to see the Eclipse clan hall. As he's walking around he notices what looks like a lord and a sorcerer kneeling to him. Guards immediately seize the human and detain him. "I mean no harm. I was brought here when I was unconscious, please. I am SynKat, you may remember me as a dwarf from night's past. Please, check the wound on my chest if you don't believe me!"

[Ael'Thas]

The dwarf strode around the lands of Dominia with a purpose. But underneath the firm image he projected, he was utterly confused. “What is this”, he thought to himself, “when did Stoneridge become a big city? Last time I was here, they were still looking for enough wood to be able to build the town, and now everything is made from stone. Just how much time has passed?”.

“Ah, this is more like it” he said to himself as he continued north, seeing the familiar gates of Shandalar. But the town was not his goal, not right now. Moving on the long road east he stopped at an intersection. “Interesting”, he thought to himself, “as far as I can remember my old clan hall, Chimaera, was north. But for some reason, the south calls to me now … ”.

He continued on his journey, memories of his past in the lands of Domina flashing by. “Ah yes, Kenwood Keep and it’s constant war with the orcs … and Cyric’s Realm, housing the most devout of all followers, dying by the hundreds to appease their God … ”. Suddenly another memory flashed by, a memory of a Gargoyle not fighting against him, but side by side with him. More old memories followed, of various comrades of old, but one stood out from the rest. “Shas’o Vior’la Shovah Kais Mon’tyr Badger … brother”, the dwarf said to himself, remembering his Draconic blood brother, moving in and out of sight like a shadow and dealing devastating attacks with his two kamas. “You always were the more bloodthirsty one of us, I guess it is your influence that draws me south towards Kindred … well I always did trust you with my life, so let’s see where this will lead me”.

Entering the Kindred moat, he eyes the goons standing guard for a while, before carefully coming closer to them, every muscle and tendon tense and ready to spring at the first sign of an attack. But it seems the goons felt the same thing as he did, as the goons, instead of attacking, filed around him and opened the doors for him. As he entered, he suddenly glowed red, a faint demonic outline appearing behind him. He put a hand in his pocket and pulled out a small stone, announcing his new Kindred membership to the world.

He stopped in the middle of the hall, looking around. While there were signs of recent use, he could tell that these were mere lowly grunts, barely better than common bandits. Kindred definitely has fallen since he saw it last, but he could feel powerful evil forces stirring around him. He sat down and centered himself, trying to get a grasp on the waking energies that will soon join him in the hall.

Deep in the dark pits below Dominia, he could feel Belad Sellie stirring from his sleep and closer to the surface, Belad’s old apprentice Kathara, after an internal battle of some kind, seemed to finally accept his calling and was moving towards the hall.

Further away other forces were moving about too. Turning his mental sight to the north, he could feel movement around his old home, the Chimaera hall. “I wish you all the best old comrades”, he thought, “if you do not get in our way we need not fight”. More troubling, towards the west in the halls of Eclipse, both Sirnico and Lady Raven have returned, as well as their Champion Tarnos … and with both Tyr and Hecate awake plus other members swiftly returning to their halls, this might pose a problem.

But then as if something slapped him, he felt an amazing power floating around Dominia. “So this is what called to me? But what is it? Could it be … ?” and suddenly in a moment of clarity he knew exactly what that power was. It was her, the Demoness, the one of many names, sealed eons ago by Tyr. It seems that she has not yet decided to grace us with her presence and was in search of the self-righteous Deity that imprisoned her so long ago, but once she returns to us we will be unstoppable.

A loud cackle grew in intensity inside the Kindred hall, turning into a roaring echoing laughter, making it sound like the walls themselves were joining in the laughter, and Nightmare Badger’s head snapped up, eyes glowing a faint red color, his face split into a monstrous grin. “I think it’s time I finally unleash my name upon the world!”.

[Kaetral]

"Where is that damned guild master." Kaetral mutters as he walks around Kindred hall in is barren gloom. "In fact, where are the rest of those twits; Not a soul in here to cheer my arrival."

Kaetral roams around the hall, and finally finds the goons ASLEEP! "Get up you lazy useless buffoons. Get out there and protect our hall. Useless bastards." The goons responded with a resounding sigh and began to march down the halls. "Ael'Thas, You invite us back to our hall yet it is empty, and still not we have no purpose. How much longer must we wait? I Know we have our standing orders to cause chaos, but something bigger must be going on if you have awoken from your slumber as well." Kaetral continues to search the old store rooms looking for something to wield that is more convincing than a rusty ol' bastard sword. However everything he touches turns to dust. "These are funny games, but damn I can't wait to smash some heads." Kaetral picks up a pen and begins to jot down where he would like to start that adventure.

[Pants]

Sirnicos eyes would narrow looking over the man before him. He would sigh for a moment before waving his hand as if dismissing the guard.

"Leave us guards. Kindred is stirring should you not be guarding the moat in case of attack? We will be fine here without your assistance."

Sirnico would seem to turn his attention back to the newcomer.

"A druid so far out of the forest? Its suprising youve wandered as far as you did. Usually your tyle makes their way towards Chimeara."

Sirnico would seem to smile his eyes gazing at the man.

"So tell me what brought you up this way?"

[SynKat]

"Ahh, where to begin?" Begins SynKat, "I know not from where I share kin. My memories only last til a fortnight ago. I awoke on a cliff side near the forest and had no recollection. I had no reason to stay where I was so I headed in the direction that called to me."

SynKat continues his story, "As I traveled I was rescued by a man named Tarlac. He was a cleric who had taught me much about this land. he spoke very highly of your clan and was kind of heart. He was a man I wanted to repay and protect... but I fear that I may have failed him seeing how he is not here. My only friend and the closest to kin I had. He was with me when we were attacked. He didn't even know my name... I didn't even know my name..."

SynKat notices the confused looks he's getting and states, "I found myself just moments before we spoke here. What I am and what I could be. No matter what I become I want to stay true to two things, however. I want to honor Tarlac in any way I can. I know he was a kindhearted and good man, so I shall be as well. And secondly, I want to bring justice to those that harmed him."

SynKat kneels before Sirnico, "I humbly ask you, may I become your kin and help bring justice to those deserving?"

[Tarnos]

Rising from his kneeling position, Tarnos turns to the newcomer as he and Sirnico exchange greetings and words. He would listen patiently to the two for awhile before turning his eyes towards his Lord.

"I sense more than just druidic magic in this one old friend. I believe this one has the gift of shape changing."

His gaze sweeps back over to SynKat. Dark green eyes filled with age that betray his youthful appearance.

"But you have no control over your gifts... do you?"

Turning back once more to Sirnico, he leans in closer so that his words are not as easily overheard.

"Sir, if I may? I know it's against normal protocol to grant someone membership so quickly without first having tested their character and skills with trials. But I sense much in this one. I would like to take him as my student. Not as a teacher of the arcane, but as a mentor and a protector to those around him for powers he yet can control. I would take full responsibility for his actions and any damage done in his training and journey."

[Ael'Thas]

Nightmare Badger returns from the arena below the guild hall, a bit dirty and slightly winded, but otherwise unharmed. Upon coming to the central hall, he sees a person in a full plate with arcane power withering around him, writing in a journal of some kind.

“Ah, you must be Kaetral” the dwarf said. “Sorry for not meeting you on your arrival, I was raining down below, it seems I lost much of my skills during my sleep. And go easy on the goons, part of their life-force was used as a jump start to wake us all up, they deserved their rest”. He drank from a canteen and continued “I am sure I felt Belad stirring even further underground, hopefully he will join us soon and we can plan our next move, for there are many old forces waking in the world, and his strength will be of great help”.

Looking Kaetral over, he says “now I am sure you also haven’t gotten a chance to flex your power lately, and I could use a sparring partner that will actually put up a fight. Those pests in the arena barely made me break a sweat, it will take too long to regain my skills like that … what say you?”.

Going back towards the arena, he looked over his shoulder. “Things are changing in Dominia … will you be swept in the flow like a weakling, or will you be standing tall with me in the eye of the hurricane?”.

[Kaetral]

During his meditation he senses a friendly aura approaching, but unsure of who it is he waits for the other to call. After hearing the approaching comrades name Kaetral responds."Hail Badger, Those goons may have played a part in our jump start, but the idea that those good goodies, or fence sitters could be outside should be enough of a jump start for them to get them out there protecting the moat so we can react in time."

Eyeing Badger's motion to head down the the arena Kaetral begins to follow him down. "The arena, I forgot all about it. A sparring match would be the perfect idea to shake off this dust. As for whether i'll stand or be swept away the answer is simple -- Time will show you just what I'm made of."

As an after thought Kaetral realizes Badger mentioned Belad. "Belad should be making an entrance sooner or later, he was never one to be left out of the fight. I wonder who else is going to be with us. Any news or scrying done on other members?" Kaetral's interest is also peaked by the fact that no creature was in sight during his journey to the hall. "What of the creatures that used to inhabit the surrounding areas? I seen not a thing, and the villagers were even a little more stale than they used to be."

[Tyr]

The demoness chuckled to herself knowing her plan was set in motion. She remained stealth sitting on one of the crumbled support pillars. The disrepair to Kindred hall was not fitting for a being of her power. Her presence was carefully masked as she watched the men walking around. The potential of her possible followers was small but among some of the most fierce. If they served her well and were successful they would be rewarded if they failed the punishment would be ...creative... She could split herself into an avatar if she wanted to join in with them. For now she would just watch and see what the Kindred had planned.