The Rising Tide (Act I.5, Pre-Veil & GF'd)

[Azurite]

Season of Summer
Era II
Era XIV Post Fractum
Month of Optia
Brightening 41

Glioca sat silently in the same room she had been in when speaking with Valarwen two brightenings earlier. The Emerald Mother had only left her sanctum to sleep late during the darkening and returning before the house awoke. None knew why she was so troubled as she sent away any that intruded upon her thoughts. It was unlike her to not take her daily walks through the spired gardens of Rosewood Manor, the members of the house and clans missed seeing her warm smile.

Her thoughts were mirrored in her eyes, dark shades diminishing the joy that was found there. Thoughts that were positioned around the Crown of Moonstone and the one that she had agreed to give it to, Hiriam Alicros. Knowing that none would believe her she had decided to keep silent on the matter of her distrust of the elderly priest. Valarwen had after all spoke her disbelief in Glioca when she had trusted in her to back her up on the subject, to no avail. There were few in the Elfhame that she trusted like she trusted Valarwen.

Calairiel Gil'dae was one such woman. Cala had been the personal assistant of the archmage druid for some time now and was trusted greatly. The young woman watched with ever open eyes, swooping through the intricacies of elvish and imperial politics speedily such as a hawk. The reason the letter had been sent to the young Arwen early that same brightening by way of messenger bird.

Cala my dear, I have a task that I would have you do. It is one that you do not have to accept as it could potentially prove dangerous to your person. If you do wish to aid me in the name of our beloved home then here is what you must do.

Go to the Catacombs beneath the home of Clan Mithania, Windsinger Keep. There you will find the tombs of our fallen ancestors, you will also find many other far more interesting things. Once there you are to search for any writings pertaining to the creator of the Crown of Moonstone and the Crown itself. The name of the creater we know is Car'hilan Anulindrael and he was a man of great skill, surely some remnant of his life was buried within the hidden alcoves.

You need not send a reply back to me. I trust you will do what you feel is right in your heart. Come to me when you have completed your task, if you choose to. If you do not then come to Rosewood Manor no matter for I would speak with you more on the subject.

My hope and my love go with you my Silver Hawk
The Emerald Mother and Thane of Silrosia
Glioca U'sionayl

[Calairiel Mynendil Gil'dae]

She had only just returned from Nexus Prime when the letter arrived. The one good thing about her job as Gliocia’s assistant is that she was given time to take care of her own personal business as head of House Gil’dae, which part of her absence had been. The other part was a much happier reason: Celebrating her honeymoon with her new husband, Nimavel.

The missive was read and laid down gently on the table as she considered the mission set forth. Part of her wished that Nimavel was there to talk to but she knew that she needed to make her own choices.

She trusted Gliocia, but part of her worried about the state of the Emerald Mother. Even before getting the letter, Gliocia was looking very unlike herself. Others didn’t see it because they didn’t see her on a daily basis as Cala did but it was there. An additional worry was added to her being…something that she wasn’t telling anyone.

Others had forsaken Syl’rosya but Calairiel wasn’t going to be one of them…and with that thought, she made her choice.

…

Dressed in her standard adventuring garb instead of the fine silk dresses she usually wore around the Combine. There in front of Windsinger Keep, Calairiel pondered what the future would hold…and what she would find within its confines.

Taking a big breath, she began the solo trek down into its depths.

[Azurite]

The Gil'dae leader experienced very little resistance from the members of the recently demoted Clan Mithania as she trod their ancient home. The lady being only spoken to once from one of the few remaining loyal members, upon hearing the reason for her coming they immediately stood aside. Who were they to stop the head of the 10th house of the Combine, one on a mission from the Thane no less. The clans hands were tied and they would have to deal with her being there for however long she wished.

There was more then once entrance to the catacombs that lay beneath the halls of Windsinger Keep, Cala would have to find one. Most were not hard to find, others were masked by growth of bush or tree until the unlikely finder fell within the hole that would deposit them within the ancient tombs. The lady was fortunate not to enter the catacombs in such a way, having found an entrance of granite that had been carved out by countless eras of water drainage from within.

The briny smell of the sea buffeted her with the help of the winds coming off the Elvish Gulf, it was cold, far too cold for summer. The clothes that the lady wore would need to be kept dry if she was to stop herself from catching cold, it would be difficult with even the air holding much moisture. The walls running with rivulets of clear water, small droplets assailed the lady as she took the first few steps into the ancient edifice.

The first few steps of any adventure was said to be like the first few pages of a story, it would set the mood and flow for the rest of the book. The uneven ground of the cavern floor was made even more treacherous for the lady with the accumulation of water. She would need to keep an eye out for her footing lest she fall and hurt herself on the hard ground. Going hand and hand with the dangerous footing was the darkness that began to creep up on the Arwen the farther she walked, hopefully she had brought some sort of illumination with her. With the darkness came a sense of chill, not the chill from the sea behind her, but an unnatural chill, one that permeated to the core of the young woman.

If she had indeed brought along illumination and had forged ahead she would find the going easy, of course except for the obvious dangers. Walking for a few minutes before the ground began to slope gently downwards, the water trickling ahead of her, challenging her to get to the bottom before it did. The sound of the gulf fading away behind her, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks a fading song, now came the hush of the underground.

The slope of the tunnel continued on for a hundred meters or so before it leveled out once more to a relatively flat plane. Here the lady would be confronted by the first of her many obstacles, a fork in the road. Which way would the lady go, left or would she go right? To the left the sound of wind could be heard moaning through the caverns towards her, or was it away from her? The right was simple black silence.

[Calairiel Mynendil Gil'dae]

Calairiel was a different type of elf. She realize the reasons behind elven politics and while she didn’t agree with much that happened, she accepted the process that brought them to certain points in time. As such, she was respectful of those still loyal to Mithania and politely had asked their permission before venturing forth. She could have forced her hand, but it wasn’t needed in this situation. The House had no reason to deny the wishes of the Thane and therefore Cala had been allowed to pass.

Being a resourceful girl, she -had- indeed brought a lantern for the fact-finding mission. Most times, she wouldn’t have bothered, being a sorceress and knowing a spell for just that particular situation…but arcana being what it was in Syl’rosya at that moment, it wasn’t a good idea to experiment with the idea. A lantern would do just fine.

Finding the entrance and slowly making her way into the damp catacombs, she pulled the thick wool cloak around her tighter, glancing around to see what she was walking into. The light made the path easier but there were many natural obstacles. She went where the path took her, through the water and down the slope. Grateful that she had thought enough to change into her adventuring clothes before leaving on her mission, her tracking boots sloshed through the streams of water, bringing her to the fork in the road.

Oh bother…how she hated forks in the road.

The wind…or the silence?

Thinking quickly, she surmised that documents would most likely be kept in an area that was sealed from the elements…which left her the choice of silence.

Oh, she really hated silence…but that was the logical choice.

Glancing down the silent path, she sighed and began to move forward…keeping one hand on her Sai and soul praying to Carmelya to guide her wisely.

[Azurite]

Picking the path that was silent was a choice she would have to live with for the rest of her life. Perhaps if she would have taken the other path it would have been easier for her. If she would have taken the other path it could have led her to her destination far quicker. No, instead she decided to take the path of silence and it was a decision she would learn to live with.

The silence stroke Cala with the force of a hammer, knocking her back a step. It was so quite that she felt as if she was going deaf so mighty was it. This silence was not the quiet of the forests, but was an all encompassing one that heart the ears to hear, or not hear.

She could hear nothing while down this tunnel, not even the trickle of water that she could see around her feet. Something was very wrong and she could feel it in her soul, a soul that was tainted by the Blackbarch.

Cala felt the need to push on as she was never one to give up. The catacombs continued to descend further into the bedrock below Windsinger Keep. The walls began to smooth out and so did the floor as she came to another fork in the road. The left path was smooth and clear and led into the right path that was the same smoothness. It was obvious that use of the path had gone from left passing to right so it would be the obvious choice for anybody to make. Besides writing on the wall told Cala with an arrow pointing down the right path.

Rock of Absolution

Following the directing of the markings Cala eventually found her way to a large chamber. The chamber was at least 20 feet high and 25 feet in diameter and at its center a large obelisk of pure white stone sat pointing towards the roof of the cavern. Around the three sided obelisk was placed three black marble daises that seemed to hold three identical books wrapped in white leather.

Upon approach the Gil'dae could see intricate runes carved into the each side of the white obelisk. She was unable to read what the script said as it was jumbled and full of dust. That drew her attention to the three books placed on the dais around the tall formation.

Book I: Life

Book II: Death

Book II: Forgiveness

Looking at the cover of each book Cala was able to read the script, but which would she read first?

[Calairiel Mynendil Gil'dae]

The very air around her didn’t feel right. She didn’t like the sensations assaulting her senses. The only thing that made her continue was her duty to Gliocia and elfhame. The catacombs were certainly no place for the Sunday picnic.

As she made her way through the darkness, she was struck by the notion that the catacombs were an awful place to keep books or vital information! Her thoughts were confirmed when she arrived at the large chamber where the obelisk and the books caught her attention and once again the matter of the wrong place for books sprung to mind. There were better places for delicate types of things.

Most definitely would need to talk to Gliocia about that.

She circled the obelisk and read the covers of the books…as well, she tried to blow the excess dust from the script in the marble to see if she could read any of the runes. She didn’t want to stumble into anything dangerous, being a very cautious explorer.

-If- the script didn’t reveal anything that would cause her concern or she still couldn’t read it, she then would move to the book titled “Life”. Everything had a beginning…life was the beginning. Besides, she would have to go through all the books anyway and it seemed the best place to start.

With a soft intake of breath, she laid her hand on the book and gently opened the cover.

OOC: I included conditionals just to make it easier for you and to keep things moving along at a nice pace. =-)

[Azurite]

Not being able to remove any of the grime from the giant obelisk Cala looked to the first book of the three. It's white leather cover was still soft and supple when it should have been dry and cracked covered in the same filth as the large stone. Clearly somebody had taken care of the books or had rebound them in new coverings recently.

With the opening of the book, which was smooth and soundless, Cala saw the pages for the first time. The book was filled was pages made of soft black velvet, the writing on the pages was in golden scrawl, perfect and fluid written by the most precise and astute scribe. It seemed ironic for a book titled Life to have pages of black velvet within it, or perhaps that was the point.

Greetings to you the one that has had the blessing to open the pages of this book. My name is Illoy Gal'thier and I was the one that penned the pages you now read. Within you will find in brief or in deep detail the lives of the elven royals and heroes of the past. I hope that while you study this you find that of which you seek.

Historian of the Confederation of Yew
Illoy Gal'thier

Undoubtedly the name was one that the lady had never heard before, the surname was of course known to her as the Gal'thier family still held a prominent position within the Combine as the sixteenth house. The strangest of it was that the book must have been countless thousands of eras old for it to have been written by an elf that lived during the times of the Confederation of Yew and for it to be as thick as it was. Somebody must have carried on the tradition of writing the lives of those elves that fit the criteria for holding sanction within the catacombs and subsequently the three books.

Turning the page Calairiel once again saw the same perfect golden script in the same handwriting from the previous page, Illoy must have written it.

It is my honor to write the first pages on this must illustrious of elvish peoples. He was the one that led our people during the dark days after the crash landings of our people on this strange continent. I of course speak of Horenth K'tala, may I add a personal note in here as I call the mighty man King Horenth K'tala.

The page and the next one hundred that followed gave a detailed history of how Horenth led the elves of Trelore from the crashed ships to the city of Kyathis and then into the forests of the deserted lands of the long forgotten human civilization.

"Interesting life he led no?" A voice that seemed so far away yet extremely close spoke from ahead of where Cala stood. "He should have been proclaimed King of our people, there was not a single elf that deserved it more." The veiled voice spoke again accompanied by a soft blue glow from the giant obelisk.

As Cala watched the obelisk radiated a soft warm blue light, the grime seeming to vaporize into thin air as it passed along it. The runes that were written in the ancient language also began to reshape themselves on all the three into a language that was ancient before even the time of the Treloreans. Once they had reshaped themselves they too shone with a silver glow until they were no longer readable and Cala had to cover her eyes they shone so brightly.

Once the light had receded and Cala was once more able to look she would be shocked to see what stood before her. An elf with skin of the lilacs, long straight hair to match and eyes of the deepest royal purple. The ears of the elf were long and trailed slightly away from the head of the tall, graceful creature that stood before her. The beautiful elf wore robes that had not been seen on the Medonian Continent in countless eras so fine was the workmanship and the hues it was created from. Yet for all his beauty the elf had a strange effervescent quality that made him almost intangible.

"Welcome my dear to the Room of Histories." The sweet voice of the elder elf spoke to her as he stepped forward away from the subdued glow of the stone.

[Calairiel Mynendil Gil'dae]

Cala quickly stepped away from the book, taking in the changes that were quickly taking place before her. She was a quick study but she didn’t recall any mention of talking obelisks or ancient elves appearing.

Once again, Syl’rosya had some surprises for her.

-Again-.

Perhaps others knew that this type of thing would happen, but Calairiel was new to these types of ‘surprises’…as well as cautious by nature. As the elf appeared and spoke to her, she backed up a bit more, laying her hand gently on her Sai out of habit more then anything. In contrast to her body language, she remembered her manners however and lowered her head in respect.

“It seems so. My name is Arwen Calairiel Mynendil Gil’dae and I’m here on an important mission from the leader of Syl’rosya to discover information on Car'hilan Anulindrae and the Crown of Moonstone.”

She couldn’t think of anything else to say. It seemed silly to lay out the entire story so soon, even provided he cared anything about it. No, simple was the name of the game for the moment.

[Azurite]

The elf walked closer to Cala, his deep purple and green robes fluttering over the ground as he came almost face to face with her. The lady could feel his sweet smelling breath, like that of lilacs, against her face which was a strange sensation as he was most assuredly not alive. He regarded her for long moments, his delicately curved eyebrows knitting together in thought a few times.

"So Glioca has sent you has she," is was not a question more of a statement as be backed away from her. It may have seemed odd that he knew who Glioca was, but he was apparently dead for countless thousands of Eras yet had written pages in the book since his death. "For information on Car'hilan and the diadem he created." He had his back turned to Cala know and a hand to his pointed chin.

"Tell me child, what exactly do you want to know about the crafter of the last royals crown?" Turning to face her he faded out of sight for a moment as the obelisk blinked and then came back to life.