A Gathering of Dragons

Lightning flashed across the evening sky. Rain poured from the heavens and ran in rivulets down the hillsides. In the near darkness a single figure moved. Tired and weary, a man in black hooded robes hobbled down an ancient winding path clogged with brush and debris. The man continued to walk even as the path disappeared into a thick forest, stopping occasionally to rest and lean on an odd looking staff.

A strange silence pervaded the land. Not a single thing moved, as if the whole world was holding its breath. Waiting. 

The dense canopy grew thicker as he continued deeper into the woods. Soon, only a few drops of rain could be felt and the symphony of thunder seemed more distant.

The man stopped and looked around him, as if it finally dawned on him that the last bit of light had deserted him a while ago. He whispered a word, and three bright balls of light emerged. The spheres bobbed lazily around his head, and their illumination revealed an ancient forest. Immense trees as old as creation itself stretched to the sky. Here, strange flora and fauna grew, accompanied by equally strange creatures. But the man paused for none of it. He walked on as if he had known this place his entire life.

The winding path, once thin and overrun with brush and debris, became what was left of an ancient road. Broken buildings and statues strewn about told a story of an ancient and powerful civilization the forest could not entirely erase.

After what seemed ages, the forest broke into a large clearing, revealing the site of a bloody scene.  Bodies of man and creature alike littered the area. A magnificent tower completely untouched by the ravages of time occupied the center of it. Black as night, the tower blended in perfectly with the night sky; temporarily masking its immense size.  The stark contrast between the beauty of the tower and the carnage of the battlefield surrounding was sublime and unsettling a the same time.

The rain dripped off of ancient carved statues of robed angelic creatures that occupied large alcoves cut into the face of the tower.  A strange pillar of blueish light emanated from the top of the tower.  The column of light grew gradually dimmer as it reached into the heavens.

A second glance revealed an encampment a short distance from the tower.  There was a strange mix of Soldiers and men in brown hooded robes. They moved from tent to tent with a worried haste, talking in hushed tones. Always glancing uneasily at the tower. 

Two brown robed figures led by a heavily armored warrior cautiously approached the man, both conjuring light to penetrate the thick darkness.

"An' just who goes there, eh?" the warrior said as he trained to get a better glance at the stranger.

One robed figure leaned closer and whispered into the man's ear, "His staff.... he is from the high circle, Brodan."

"The high circle, eh?" said Brodan. "It's about time one of ye showed yourselves," he glanced at the immense tower, then began to mutter something about "wasting his time" as he turned around and walked back to the camp.

The two brown robed figures approached, bowed in turn and pulled back their hoods. The dim magical light revealed pale, worry worn faces. The taller of the two was a nervous middle aged man, who did his best to avert his eyes from the figure in front of him.

"I am Analexa, daughter of Taras," came a female voice from the second figure. "We are honored by your presence great one and we are relieved you have finally made it here. The situation is grim. We have managed to secure the tower at your command," she intoned with a worried look on her face.  She leaned in, and whispered "The tower draws them here, we wont be safe here long."

They paused for a moment, waiting for the black robed figure to respond. "It finally comes to this," He said, as he pulled back his hood. Strange black symbols tattooed on his forehead and cheeks starkly contrasted his long, snow white hair. Deep blue eyes fixed on the tower, and a grim look gripped his face. A large silver band with a bright red gem in the center rested on his forehead, denoting his high position.

"My lord," said Analexa. "The Great Barrier is in immediate danger of collapsing I fear we do not have much time. Where are the others?" said Analexa nervously. "Surely the others are on their way?"

Silence.

A sad look flashed over the white haired man. His great blue eyes clouded over with pain. "I am all that is left, we have paid a great price. Most of the great cities burn as we speak.... but we have managed to stop them," he whispered. "It may yet all be in vain if we fail here."

He stared off into the distance, as if haunted by terrible memories.  "The Great Barrier has protected our civilization since time unmemorable," he continued.  "Before it was erected, our people were hunted almost to extinction by a race of powerful creatures called the Naz'ran."

The man produced a small green book from some pocket inside his robes.  "This is all that remains from that time.  It tells of how the few survivors managed to harness the power of the souls of the dead.  Truly desperation is the source of the greatest creations," he intoned as he continued to stare at the tower.  "The power to manipulate the world comes from the soul, and our souls are truly at their greatest when we are faced with adversity.

"We are all taught from birth that everything requires balance," he continued.  "Day gives way to night, happiness to sadness.  We can never truly appreciate that which is good without the presence of evil.  This is the purpose that the Naz'ran serve in existence, no matter how terrible it may seem.  It was foolish of us to think we could be free forever."

Analexa spoke up, "what does this have to do with what's happening?"

The man paused for a second.  "According to the records in this book, the Naz'ran were poised to destroy the last of Humanity.  However, the wise men of their time somehow discovered a way to harness enough power to stop the invasion.  They built this tower and channeled the souls of the dead into it to create the Great Barrier.  It was enough to prevent all except the most powerful of Naz'ran from crossing its boundaries.  They thought themselves safe, but it wasn't long after this that a great and powerful Naz'ran broke through the barrier.  Bestowed upon this creature was all the terrible power the Naz'ran could muster.  No weapon could touch it.  A final heroic sacrifice was made by the Great Emperor himself.  He lured the creature inside the tower and sealed the doors, dooming his soul to an eternity of battling the creature inside the prison.  His selfless act in the face of destruction provided the balance necessary for salvation."

The two brown robed figures listened intently as the man continued.

"Inside this very tower lies the greatest hope, and greatest fear of our kind.  And so it has stood until now.  From what we have discovered, we believe that the ancient Emperor's soul has weakened considerably.  We don't know how, but this is why the Great Barrier weakened.  We are in danger of losing the tower entirely, and having that terrible creature loosed upon our world again.

Somehow, somewhere, inside that tower....we are losing the battle," he finished.

Analexa was visibly shaken. "It cant be true. This is terrible news! What can we do to help?" she gasped, as she uncharacteristically wrung her hands. "There must be something we can do!"

"Go," said the man. "Gather what is left of the order and leave this place immediately, you cannot help here anymore. Return to the Alistan.... to the Great Temple. The blood of many have ensured its safety, for now. I must prepare myself for what lies ahead."

Analexia turned to her companion and whispered a few words, and they both turned and ran back to the encampment.

The man gathered his robes and after a quick glance behind him, began to approach the tower.



-----------End chapter 1