[Black Barch]An older evil. (Azurite, Pre-Veil & GF'd)

[Fidelis Meridius]

TS: End of summer, current era (will edit later)

IC: As the wind of change swept through the life of a lone Dark Knight it reshaped the landscape of his mind and soul. He had become far more powerful than he ever expected; Even the Dark Lord had linked himself to the unrivalled swordsmen. And now the wind carried the Jorelite northeast on the wings of the midnight pegasus, Blackwind.

Fidelis was a young player in the an ancient holy war. Only few wore a more sinister brand than the human did. Because of the choas that surrounded his life, he had become the fuel to re-ignite a much older war. He was the destroyer of honor, the catalyst of chaos in many provinces... until recently he was the demon of hate. But he was nothing compared to the creations of the Aeternians themselves. He sought to find these creations, to bring them out of hiding... to reclaim what had been lost to the Aetherians.

Chasing the suns accross the sky towards the horizon, Fidelis found himself above the seemingly endless forests of Syl'rosia. Most of the forest was enchanted by the elven people's and their culture. But there was a much darker portion of the woods, a place where the even the bravest would dare not go, for it was the creation of Jorel himself. His destination was the Blackbarch. What he would find there was uncertain, but the lust for the hidden powers of old drove him onward as an emerald gaze scanned the landscape for his destination.

OOC: Ack, sorry, i sort of have a halfway sort of writers block write now, and the lack of details I know on the BB doesn't help me much.

[Azurite]

The relinquishing light of suns added a mystery to the first forest that was first seen by any traveling from the east. The gold and white trees of the Restwood were calming in the failing light, here and there Fidelis could see small glowing orbs of the same two colors. The light show would grow in strength as the suns fell and the Restwood came to life with the fauna of the darkening.

Second of the forests surrounding the stockade city was the most magical of the triad forests. The Tawnleaf in its supreme held the lands north of the city for miles and miles as the giant trees and creeping vines held back the plains. Above the Tawnleaf like the Restwood were also glowing orbs of light, these were those of blue and silver white. The orbs were in far greater number then that of the Restwood showing that the Tawnleaf was the predominant magical forest between the two. In certain places through the canopy of the Tawnleaf, Fiddy could see half a dozen towers reaching toward the sky.

In a break the the forest directly in the middle seemingly springing forth for the two was the stockade city of Silrosia. The high palisade walls already coming alight as the militia lit the torches that were placed along the wall and in the spaced watchtowers. The city was far greener then most others in the Empire, but buildings of marble and roads of stone could be seen in the Imperial Fashion as opposed to the natural way of the Elves.

Then he saw it on the horizon, a darkness that plagued the day as well as the night. It was the gloom of the Blackbarch that held sway over the lands to the west of Silrosia. Fidelis could make out the black and ash color of the trees that loomed over the western palisade wall which was covered in a pitch looking icor. The strength of the Barch was not only present on the walls but in the sky also, for tendrils of black and grey smoke could be seen rolling in lazy ribbons over the deformed trees. The corrupted magic of the Blackbarch causing the areal affects over the forest were in stark contrast to the glowing orbs of the other two.

He was over the dark forest now and he could feel a strange chill as he flew over the barch. Looking over the side of his beast he could make out even darker shapes as they flitted over the scarred ground. In the far distance, for the Blackbarch was far larger then the other forests, he could make out the charred and blackened remains of a keep of some sort. Here the powers of the necromantic could be felt in full force as the lord of Aeternia pushed his insidious powers into the realm of the elves.

"Fidelis" A voice sound within his head. "Fidelis." Again the same voice but this time louder and more invasive. "Fidelis!" The third time was louder and came accompanied by a bolt that clouded the humans mind.

The clouds slowed his thinking and as he looked around him his eyes were also failing him as he began to black out. A quick look would assure him that his pegasus too felt the same malady, but he didn't need to look for he could feel it as the wingbeats slowed. Whatever had affected him had done the same to the dark horse which was slowly dragging the both of them towards the darkness below.

"Fidelis!" The voice thundered louder and all went silent as the Wolf of Jorel passed out, his body falling from the side of the horse as it too fell with him. Down through the chill air of the coming night Fiddy fell until he hit the first branches of the trees that barely slowed his descent. Limb to limb he fell as whatever cloth he wore ripped as the jagged trees tried to grasp and hold him. Down came the pegasus that broke the trees on the way down, snapping the pitiful branches off as he crashed towards the ground.

"Wake up..." A whisper of noise penetrated the dark haze that had enveloped the dark knight. "Open your eyes..." The voice sounded familiar to him through the darkness. "Rise Fidelis..." Now he knew the voice for it was the same one that had called his name before he had fallen asleep yet now it was kind and gentle, warm to listen to.

Once he did stand up he would find himself within a room lit by a number of torches along the walls of the stone chamber. The room was round in shape with a ceiling so high that it was last in darkness as the torches sputtered to shine light so high. The floor was made of a hard red brick except for a ring of black marble that was twelve feet in diameter and he was directly in the middle of it.

"Welcome Knight of Jorel to my home." Looking to where the voice came from Fiddy would see a woman as cold and cruel as any he had ever seen in his short life. Hair the color of the midnight sky hung in loose curls down her back, eyes of the same darkness shone with starlight as she looked at him. In contrast to her dark hair was skin the color of sun bleached bone, white and smooth yet strange in appearance. She had a remarkable beauty that would put the elves to shame, for she was human in shape and build, yet for all her beauty was a cold and dangerous air to her.

[Fidelis Meridius]

From atop his winged-steed, Fidelis observed the magical forest from upon high. His eyes studied the magical lights that escaped the trees occasionally. He had see some of Aelryia's magical glades before, but Silrosia seemed to dwarf them all; not only in size, but in wonder. He was trully amazed by the elves. Their ability to thrive in such a place was a testament to their kind.

As Blackwind cut further accross the sky, further and further into the western horizon, the Jorelite found himself above the Imperial Stockade. Never before did he have a reason to visit such a city, and upon first sight he wished he had done so sooner. He smirked to himself as he watched the guardsmen light torch after torch. In days past he may have taken their lives out of spite for his enemies, but the absence of hate left the men of the empire forgotten... for now.

As the darkening air whipped tresses of hair about, the Dark Knight gave a squinted gaze into blackness before him. This was no doubt his destination. It was a forest born of evil... not made. Every inch of it, all the way to the roots, was created of darkness.

As they approached, Fidelis could immediately feel the sense of change wash over him, and Blackwind was a bit more obvious in displaying it as he flew on nervously. The forest was hostile even to him, a man of Jorel. As he leaned over the side of the saddle to get a good look below, the voice in his head hit him like a punch to the face. "Wha... Who are you?" It was not the first time the Wolf of Jorel had his mind invaded by the presence of another. Therefore he had become accustomed to not overreacting. But this time was different. As the voice resounded his name over and over, the Master Swordsman could feel his mind loosing control as he slipped from reality.

Any feeble attempt he made at preventing himself from falling from his mount was futile. As his mind finally slipped from conciousness his body went limp. It was similar to the kinda limpness that being impaled by a spear brought on. Suddenly, with an akward slump, the human slipped from the saddle and began to tumble in a uncontrolled mess of limps, hair, and cloak as he fell towards the Blackbarch... and a likely death.

Then it was over... or was it? Heavy eye-lids flickered as the same voice aroused his senses once more. "What the feth?" Fidelis tried to put the pieces together as he tired to make out his surroundings. Slowly his vision came into focus, and he found his cloak in tatters, but aside from a lot of scratches, his leather armor was undamaged. Finally in the few moments of confusion came a real voice... A woman. She had a demeanor very similar to the human, but there was an extra wisdom there that would probably be due to the fact that she was much older than the Jorelite. In all her darkness, the woman still seemed to caring a strange beauty about herself.

"I could have hoped for a different welcoming..." The swordman spoke half-jokingly for a moment, but then he was straight to the point. "Where exactly are we, and his my Pegasus alright..." Fidelis paused for a moment. "I take it that there is no need for me to introduce myself... But I am Fidelis Meridius..." That was all he gave her, but more so with the intention of discovering her identity.