So a little back story for this post. The Day the Wind Died was a project I started working on during the twilight years of the LA Chronicles. At the time, we had finished the largest arc in the section's history and a lot of hands made this happen. Of course, forum participation was winding down to a crawl by then and so finding active members was becoming more of a struggle. So I figured since the writing was on the wall, it was appropriate to pen the final chapters to the world we created. I regret not getting into Chronicles sooner, I feel I missed out on some fun writing and games. But I had what I had and I created a character that I adore even now to this day (even if I lazily put so much of myself into him). Many folks came into this project with me, some by request and others on their own. It was becoming something cool, although I wasn't entirely sure what. But people have lives and those lives took precedent over time otherwise spent writing. I can't fault anyone for that, it's just how it goes sometimes. But we couldn't keep the steam alive to finish the story and it was relegated to this infernal state of inactivity. Despite the beginning and the middle, I had always had an ending in mind. It was literally in the name of the story itself. It was the tale how the Viridian Knight, Jordan of the Whirlwind Spear, would come to face his final battle. And the costs that came with this outcome. What follows is the scenario that was established and the planned ending that was in mind. I'll start with the summary.
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After the events in Olimandias, the capital of the government known as the Alliance in Verden, Chikara Nadir of the Labyrinth became the latest of many avatars to house the power of the god of Chaos known as Lazu. The domain factions (or dorms as we affectionately call them) were scattered as their homes were destroyed by the immense power of this harbinger of calamity and the remaining soldiers and warriors were forced to join one of the two nations that arose from the ashes. The Empire of Koridai to the south and the Kingdom of Calatia in the North which were governed by Chikara Nadir/Lazu and Selena respectively. The two sisters raised their nations from the ground in a matter of years, amassing great power and influence over the parts of the continent that had not been totally decimated in the aftermath in Olimandias, where Lazu's curse had warped the land and surviving people.
After a great many adventures during the conflict between these nations, Selena was able to form a group of warriors to stop Chikara before her empire was to grow too powerful to handle. With their latent abilities and with the power of ancient weapons to counter the god of Chaos' power, they overthrew the avatar of Chaos and severed it's power from Chikara Nadir. It was not certain whether she, or Selena survived the aftermath of this battle.
---
Forward to the events of the Day the Wind Died.
-Part 1-
The two nations founded in the midst of the chaotic upheaval of Verden are now left without their respected leaders. Calatia rebounds from Selena’s departure while Koridai begins its downward spiral towards ruin as many of it’s leaders have either abandoned or disappeared from the nation. In the midst of the Empire’s chaos, Arch-Inquisitor Lucien has begun to hatch a scheme that will give him the reigns to the empire, eliminating potential threats while discovering certain secrets of the nation. This plan focuses around the last member of the Goddess’ inner circle, Solomon, the Grand Marshal of the Inquisition himself. Meanwhile, Jordan of the Whirlwind Spear recovers from his battles and hopes to continue his search Gwen, the woman he left behind in Verden, holding only the faint hope that she still remained alive somewhere on the continent. Sir Turtlelot wishes him well, hoping to find a new purpose with the sword of Diel in his possession. As he prepared to set off on his latest adventure, he is joined by Synile of the former Labyrinth who is seeking out his remaining kin, a Calatian woman named Eivor as well as the bard Jara.
"Lucien . . . I require the truth." Solomon asked.
"You have been sleeping for several weeks after you returned to us from your campaign . . . everything Sir Lester has told you is true. The Vangaurd has betrayed the empire and the goddess has left us-"
"LIES!" Solomon interrupted.
"THE GODDESS WOULD NEVER BETRAY HER PEOPLE! SHE IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, THE SYMBOL OF-"
"LORD SOLOMON!" Lucien reciprocated. A short pause followed. A quiet that lasted for a brief eternity.
"She has not returned since the day our forces took arms at the border of the Kingdom and Sir Drake betrayed us. I do not believe she has forsaken us, but she has left the empire and the empire is dying because of it."
Solomon's rage became fear, slowly churning in his soul.
"What of Lord Steel?" He asked.
"Missing, he is presumed dead." Lucien responded.
"His holiness the Pope?" Solomon asked again.
"Also missing, some claim he has abandoned the papacy." Lucien responded again.
Solomon slowly walked over to his bed and slowly say down, his hands clenching his head. This was not the first time his faith had been waivering, but the strongest it had ever been. The goddess, a force of change and rebirth, the deity that Solomon pledged his life to . . . was nowhere to be found within the cradle of her empire. The quadrate was no more. Koridai was orphaned.
"What . . . what is this . . .WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?"It was said on that day, Solomon's anguished cries echoed throughout the captial and caused the entire Arbiter's Grounds to come to a complete stop.
Solomon is shaken to his core at the news of the Goddess’ disappearance and is convinced by Lucien to take a place of stewardship over the empire in her place. Leveraged against his own emotional instabilities and paranoia, Solomon agrees to protect the empire in the name of the goddess. General Shadow notices these changes in the empire and begins his own investigations in the goings on in the capital of Koridai, the Arbiter’s Grounds and discovers that Gwen is alive and well in the capital. He advocates for her to leave as his suspicions of the changing political environment grow grimmer the further he unearths while she warns him not to underestimate Solomon’s insanity. The general insists of sharing what he has learned with Solomon to expose the players trying to use him. Shadow’s investigations soon get the attention of Lucien, who frames the general of treason. Solomon, unaware of Lucien’s ploy goes after to arrest and execute Shadow and his men for their supposed crimes but is unable to apprehend Shadow himself.
The Calatian group begins it's descent from Snowpeak Jordan grows fearful of his new weapon, the black spear Cain Kazen and it's unknown properties while Synile deals with his own growing madness and violent tendencies from the effects of his cursed sword. Along the way, Jordan reunites with his old comrade in arms Ken Miyamasa, who has been affected by Lazu’s curse during the fall of Olimandias by his loss of his memory. The lone warrior joins the group, hoping to slowly piece together the man he was before in the company of a familiar friend.
"And what do you all believe? Are you like this man, this heretic who believes that such atrocities are true? Then what of Koridai? What of our nation? Do we forsake ourselves to allow this once shining land to perish like so many before us, to not realize our true destiny as the blessed flock chosen to be saved by the Goddess? Do you not remember the Cataclysm? Do you not remember when your neighbors and friends turned on each other with horrid bloodlust and became the cursed, who roam the lost Alliance like demons?! WHO WAS IT WHO TOOK YOU IN? WHO WAS IT THAT GAVE YOU THIS NATION TO CALL YOUR OWN? DO YOU FORSAKE THE GODDESS AND HER NATION AND THE FUTURE SHE OFFERED ALL OF YOU, A SHINING FUTURE IN WHICH ALL PEOPLES CAN SHARE IN THE UNLIMITED BOUNTY OF PROSPERITY? LOOK AT THESE LANDS! BARREN DESERTS AND EMPTY PLAINS UNTIL THEY WERE MADE FERTILE AND BOUNTIFUL BY THE GODDESS! NOW THEY ARE ROAMED BY WHORES AND VERMIN WHO INTEND TO DRAG US ALL DOWN TO THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR! The Goddess is not here with us because we as people have lost our way to make this nation, this empire a suitable home for the goddess! BUT WE CAN STILL GET BACK ON OUR TRUE PATH! THIS EMPIRE WILL BE GREAT ONCE MORE BY OUR FAITH AND OUR BLOOD!"
The soldiers cheered instantly, the old ways victorious. Solomon smiled as he raised his sword to the sky.
"Today, we take back the nation! Today we prepare for the arrival of the goddess! Death to the vermin! Death to the heretics! With our swords we will help carve a new world. With the bodies of our enemies, we will lay the foundation for the future!"
Egann Gauvin, one of the last members of Koridai’s Vanguard still remaining in the city comes to the aid of Shadow, helping him free his men from the inquisition while helping them hide away in the city after becoming wanted men. As they evade the hand of the inquisition, Solomon brings the remaining factions of the military and the vanguard under his command to cleanse the city in the name of the goddess. Lucien employs his men to search for a candidate that might be of use for the future. Egann and Shadow both acknowledge Solomon’s growing threat to the whole of the empire. Together with his men, Shadow and Egann team up to prevent the mad Inquisitor from utilizing the full force of the Empire. They detonate explosive charges across the city to seal it's many entrances and exits to hold Solomon and his new forces inside the city walls. Shadow and his men escape the capital as Egann remains behind to handle things from the inside. Egann goes into hiding in the slums of the city.
Jordan splits from the group, attempting of overcome his growing uncertainty of his new black spear and tries to use it in battle. The spear severs his darker emotions and creates a reflection of Jordan from it's latent abilities. Jordan encounters his second self, only to be left near death by his more relentless and determined doppelganger. It’s cryptic words leave Jordan with the realization that he may be at fault for a great deal of his own suffering. Ken manages to find Jordan and brings him to safety to heal. During this time, the Calatian group faces further hardships as Synile's personality snaps completely under the pressure of his sword's curse and is taken over by the sword's bloodlust. Jordan and the others are unable to stop him and he escapes. Later that evening, Jara would sacrifice himself to save Jordan from a wild monster. Encountering his doppelganger for a second time, Jordan chooses not to fight his other self and embraces his faults with the vow of making good on his promise to find Gwen. The doppelganger reluctantly accepts Jordan's resolve and the two are unified once again.
Jordan was staggering, refusing to allow his own body to fall on the ground as his double stood just watching him struggle. It would not be sporting or honorable of either of them to engage in a fight as they were.
"I know how much you want to leave right now. You've grown so accustomed to just skipping off whenever trouble started to lurk it's head. Well, it seems that there won't be any skipping now."
Jordan fell to the ground, sitting on the cold earth as he clenched his painful wounds. The bundle of spears he carried over his shoulder fell and the weapons were scattered.
"Why are you doing this? Toying with me? Mocking me? I don't understand why." Jordan asked, panting heavily.
"Because I hate you. Because I hate the lies and the deceit and the selfishness and the delusions you wrapped yourself up in. Look at you, you've only gotten this far by throwing everything away and now you have nothing left. And you've been running . . . running and running to make everything better when you can't accept the change your brought on yourself."
"What change? What did I do?" Jordan asked.
"YOU LEFT! WHEN SHE NEEDED YOU, WHEN SHE JUST WANTED YOU THE BE BY HER SIDE YOU WENT OFF AND ABANDONED HER! AND WHEN THE CATACLYSM CAME SHE WAS ALONE AS THE WORLD CAME DOWN AROUND HER!" The double said, his remarks like nails on slate screeching through the ears and into the heart.
-Sornaiid, Two Years Ago-
"There's going to be a battle soon . . ."
"A battle?"
"Against the Alliance. There are some people aiming to put them under. I'll be leaving tomorrow to join them."
"Why? Why are you going to fight the Alliance? What have they done?"
"It's not just me. It's a coalition of the domains, the Fortress, the Woods and Ikana are going to take part as well. I've been called to help."
"But why? You don't need to endanger yourself, surely they have a force strong enough without you."
"I have friends who are going to be fighting in this together. I refuse to be a coward and abandon them after all they did for us. I've made up my mind and I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning."
". . ."
"Listen, you don't know what I saw back there at the Eagle's Talons. It was horrible! The people, the land, everything was-"
"And you took care of it, didn't you? Played the hero and saved that day, right? That's why you're here, that's why you always show up here! Because you always get banged up and then you crash here like I've got nothing better to do than tend to your injuries and then let you run off again!
"Where is this coming from? That's hardly even fair and it's not true!"
"Oh yeah? Really? Then explain it to me, what's going on Jordan?"
"I . . . you know what, forget it."
"No! Don't puss out on the question! You can at least EXPLAIN why you are running off!"
"I'm not just running off! I have to be there! I have to make sure what happened at the Eagle's Talons doesn't happen again! I'm not some punk picking fights anymore, I'm going off to help make this world a better place!"
"Then can't you start here?! Can't you just stay put and be where I need you? Why do you always run away just to get beat up half to death and come back here? Why!?"
". . ."
"Damn it to hell Jordan! Can't you at least give me an answer!? I need you here . . . just as much as they do . . ."
"What if I'm not there!? What if I stay and everything goes wrong? What if there was something that I could do and I wasn't there to do it? What if Ken, or Goose, or Shadow, or Steel go out there and don't come back because I wasn't there?"
"I'm not selfish enough to say I don't understand that . . . but I'm sorry. You always go and you are gone for so long . . . Jordan . . . if you go . . . If you go then don't bother coming back here. I'm . . . I can't wait for you anymore."
"How can you say that? After all the times I've gone and all the places I've been I have never forgotten my way back and I have come back! Time and time again I always come back and this time is no different! I promise you that not matter where I go I will always come back because I . . . I'm not just the armor and spears."
" . . . Just go. Jordan, just . . . just get out of here and go . . .""Remember now? The last promise you gave her? And when you came back, she wasn't there. The house was in shambles and the village was in flames, the villagers had murdered themselves in madness. And that was the beginning wasn't it? The Grey Cloaks and Tiresias, you left them to fend for themselves against Solomon's Inquisition. Though the day was won, how many did you have to bury at Windfall? And then your new fellowship: the girl who despises you and your deplorable pride, the mad man who abandoned her, the warrior whose trust in you is dwindling and the old bard you left to be devoured as you escaped. Isn't this enough?!"
Jordan was broken, he sat on the ground as his empty eyes looked upon his double.
"There is no going back. Your betrayals end now." The doppelganger said, raising his spear and walking slowly towards Jordan.
" . . . no." Jordan uttered softly.
The double stopped.
"I will not show you mercy twice." he said, grabbing the black spear with both hands.
"I wasn't asking for mercy." Jordan replied, slowly getting up. He grabbed a spear, any spear he could find and used it to prop himself up.
The double said nothing.
"You're RIGHT, OK!?" He shouted back.
"When people needed me I wasn't there! I could list the reasons why I didn't or why I couldn't but the fact remains the same! I messed up! But reminding me won't change that!"
Jordan stuck the spear he was using into the ground, abandoning the weapon.
"You hate me? My selfishness? My delusional wraps or whatever you said? Well fine, hate me. But I refuse to let you make my failures DEFINE me! I know what you are now so if you are going to kill me then do it because frankly I'm tired of LOOKING at myself!"
Hoping to imprison anyone with connections to the now disgraced general Shadow, Gwen is brought in by the inquisition and is forcibly interrogated by Solomon. Lucien takes an interest in her after she manages to retain a strong will in the midst of Solomon’s savage nature. He removes her from her bondage, asking her to save the empire. Solomon enacts the Purge on the Arbiter's Grounds, slaughtering hundreds in the name of purifying the heart of the Empire. Seeing what Solomon is capable of, she decides to accept Lucien's offer to save the Empire. Meanwhile, Synile continues to slaughter innocent villagers and combatants alike, notably members of General Leo Crimson's Snakehead unit. The Dwarven general vows to bring Synile to justice.
"Do you know why you are here, Ms. Gwen?" Lucien asked, folding his arms behind his back.
"No sir."
"Then I shall be the one to tell you why it is I have gone through the trouble of saving you from a dungeon cell. Ms. Gwen I need to ask something of you."
"What is your request?"
"I ask that you save this city."
Gwen said nothing.
“I realize this must be a lot to comprehend. And to say it in such a manner must seem . . . surprising.”
“More like insanity." She replied, no longer feigning respect. And why would she after hearing such a request. The arch-inquisitor did not expect her to be so frank and was caught off guard.
“I beg your pardon?”
“What exactly do you expect me to do to better this situation? I’m a nurse, I tend to the sick and rarely get thanked for it. I know there are things I am capable of but perhaps you should research your candidates for salvation a little closer. Besides, you are proposing treason against a man who knows killing as well as breathing."
Lucien smiled inwardly. No wonder Solomon wanted to break her so badly.
“I am aware of the current situation in our midst and I’m sure you know of what has begun to transpire here in the Arbiter’s Grounds. As we speak, people are being forced from their homes and driven into prisons or killed in the street. As a nurse, you must surely feel some sort of empathy towards the sorrows of the masses.”
Laying on the charms to guilt the soul, he knew he would have her after that.
“And as a nurse, I know there is only so much I can do. Besides, what have you done to prevent this Lord Lucien? I imagine a man in your position would have been able to do something about all this.”
She would be perfect. Gervais had chosen wisely.
“And yet here I am, speaking to you in hush as people die in the streets.” He replied.
“So you admit that you have done nothing to help the people?”
“My duty to the people is to convince you of taking on the task of saving this nation. What I am doing is enlisting your help because right now you are the only option left to us because you, Ms. Gwen, can save this nation by wielding the power left behind by the goddess.”
“Power of the goddess?”
Lucien looked around, preparing to speak of secrets usually brings the paranoia out of man, even one as collected as the arch-inquisitor. He took a deep breath and started.
“A power sealed within the Mirror of the Twilight, an artifact that predates almost everything within the borders of the empire. It’s origin is unknown but what is known about it has been kept secret since the inception of this nation. The goddess herself did seal a small portion of her power away within this mirror for reasons I do not know. Only the power of her ladyship the goddess can bring peace again to the Arbiter’s Grounds.”
“If something so powerful exists, why hasn’t Solomon used it for himself?”
“Solomon is loyal to the goddess to a fault. He would not easily defile any holy artifact within the empire unless he felt he had no choice. I am less reserved about using what little gifts we have left.”
Gwen pondered all he said, her mind torn with confusion and the stress of the situation. Her eyes looked away from Lucien, not able to make eye contact as she considered what she knew.
“I don’t understand why you have chosen me to do this. I am not the only person who can do this.”
“An individual who knows the pains of the people and the heart to burden yourself with their woes. I instructed Gervais to find a person such as yourself and from what he has told me, you fit the bill rather nicely. I’m afraid Ms. Gwen, that time runs short. I will need an answer. Will you help us?”
Lucien, who had underestimated Solomon's effectiveness in a seat of greater power, quick enacts his own plans to create a new Goddess of Koridai. After discovering many secrets of the Quadrate during the times of unrest and chaos and with Gwen as a volunteer, she is infused with a fraction of Lazu's power that Chikara Nadir separated from herself and sealed away in the Arbiter's Grounds most ancient relic, the Mirror of Twilight. Solomon, who thought he was the only one who knew of the Mirror's secret realized too late of Lucien's intentions and is subdued by Gwen's newfound power as the new Goddess. Lucien moves onto the second stage of his plans, hoping to control Gwen as another puppet to rule through.
During the descent down the mountains, Shadow and his men meet with Jordan and the Calatian group. They share the events from their own sides and group together to return to the Arbiter’s Grounds not only to stop Solomon but to save Gwen. They follow the trail of destruction left behind by Synile and see first hand what he had wrought. They almost have an altercation with survivors of the village until Leo Crimson comes to the aid of Jordan and the others. Shadow’s men are ordered to stay behind and aid the Calatian villagers affected by Synile’s rampage. The group take what they can to replenish their supplies and finally leave the Calatian mountains to traverse the plains leading towards Koridai.
"It was Synile," said Leo painfully. "All of this was Synile; I'm assuming something in these villages or Snowpeak set him off, but I'm having second doubts about chasing him. A lot more lives could be lost that way."
Still having his own doubts about the Koridaians' 'flight from toil and hardship', Leo decided to let the matter drop and waited for Jordan's response, one he expected would be completely shocked and horrified.
-Part 1: End-
Edited by JRPomazon, 26 August 2016 - 08:19 PM.