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Dantalian

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Elizabeth rolled her eyes, Seamus seemed to have “fun nights” with one servant girl after another. Not that Elizabeth took issue with it per se. She had her own “fun nights” with some of the young men around town, but made sure that she was getting something out of them and was a bit more selective than Seamus. Oh, how their mother would faint if she knew what her two younger children were up to. Yet, to Elizabeth's amusement, the final straw which caused Count Aeole to unofficially banish Skia was the exact reason Skia was NOT spending his nights in another's arms, and Elizabeth suspected that if their mother knew that reason she would faint just as surely as she would if she knew of Seamus' and Elizabeth's sleeping habits.
Smiling to herself at this thought, Elizabeth set out for home, not bothering to make sure that Seamus was following. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

12-Jun-2011 17:07:25

Dantalian

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Long ago, the gods walked amongst mortals, imparting their wisdom upon their followers, and granting blessings to the land. Over time, one of these gods grew in power, until he was considered such a threat that all the other gods formed an alliance to resist him. This god, who's name has been lost in the annals of time, was more powerful than any one of the other gods active at this time, but was not strong enough to face against them all. Thus his empire's expansion was halted, and the world was brought to an uneasy peace, with this most powerful god in a stalemate against the alliance of the other gods.
However, though peaceful, there were those among the gods and their followers who were not satisfied with this nerve-wracking situation, and thus, when a certain divine weapon fell into the hands of mortals, some in the alliance insured that it made its way to a certain ambitious general named Zamorak. Zamorak used this weapon to kill that most powerful god, and in doing so became a deity himself.
Contrary to the intentions of those who aided in the god's downfall, his defeat did not usher in an age of peace; rather, it disrupted the delicate balance that had been maintained between the two forces, and in doing so started the most destructive war to ever befall Gielinor; the god wars. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

20-Jun-2011 20:27:56

Dantalian

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God and mortal fought side by side against one another, some for their own greed and ambition, others for “the greater good”, but regardless of why they fought, the battles were on a scale that had never been seen before. Entire races and nations were annihilated, and those which survived were decimated and crippled. Eventually, the war reached such a terrible pitch that it awoke the ancient god Guthix from his millenia-long slumber, and gathering his few faithful followers, he put an end to the war by means of an uneasy truce, backed by a set of laws known as “the Edicts of Guthix” which threatened the full might of Guthix's power, that is, the power of Gielinor itself, being used against any who would dare attempt to restart these wars.
Although he had succeeded in halting the wars, not even Guthix could remove all the damage done to his beloved world, and thus, scars of the god wars can still be found upon the land. The most visible, and famous of these is one nearly every adventurer knows of; the Wilderness. Once a fertile land blessed with a diversity of flora and fauna, the Wilderness was reduced to a twisted wasteland by the terrible magic and divine powers used in the god wars. The potency of these magics were so great that even the dimensional wall was distorted, making it difficult to teleport into the Wilderness, and almost impossible to teleport out, thereby increasing the already severe danger a person put themselves in by visiting that evil place. But despite the Wilderness' danger, there are those who still call it home; the two major groups being fugitives and clans. These clans vary in their intent; some are honorable groups intent on “reclaiming the Wilderness” making it safe to travelers and clearing out the dangers, but most of the clans are bloodthirsty; killing for amusement, gold, or to further their influence and prestige within the Wilderness. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

20-Jun-2011 20:28:33

Dantalian

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Because of the clans, dangerous creatures, and lack of teleportation, most avoid the Wilderness with as much, if not more fervor than they avoid the plague with. Yet, on that particular day, a portal had appeared in the Wilderness, and a lone man emerged from it.
The man wore black robes with a red trim, and a necklace made of skulls. His black hair was long and meticulously groomed, and most notably, his eyes were the flickering red of flames.
Looking around the Wilderness, the man did not seem to be alarmed in the least, and after taking all of the scenery in, stroked his chin and said to himself, “Could this be Freneskae? It certainly looks the part; an ash and magma filled wasteland.” The man withdrew a small, glowing orb from a pocket hidden in his robes, and took one look before nodding and returning it to the same pocket.
“At the very least,” he mused, “This is the world that the orb was directing me too. So I might as well look around. Or...” he corrected, “I might just ask those people.”
In the distance he could see a group of three people, all of whom were running toward him; impressive since they all wore armor and the land was covered in stifling heat. The robed man's initial thought was to prepare to defend himself, but he was quick to realize that the warriors were human, not Mahjarrat and he had initially supposed. Since the man highly doubted that humans lived on Freneskae, he had decided that he might not be in the fabled world of the Mahjarrat after all, which made him all the more eager to converse with these warriors. Unfortunately, it seemed the warriors had no intention of talking; as they shouted a battle cry and drew their weapons. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

20-Jun-2011 20:29:16

Dantalian

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The man sighed. He hadn't planned on fighting; but still, having to kill a group of warriors was no great lost to him. Pointing at the leader of the warriors, the robed man spoke a single word, “Canoeradl” and immediately, the leading warrior fell to the ground, blood seeping through his helm. The other two stopped in their tracks, and stared at their companion in shock. One of them, noticing that swollen, pus-filled flesh was pushing out of the helm's eye sockets grew nauseous and nearly collapsed.
While the warriors were thus occupied, the robed man pointed at a pool of magma and said “Ic aciegan
faecne cargast.” The warriors, still shocked by their leader's sudden affliction did not pay attention, and thus did not notice as some of the magma levitated from the pool, and, taking the form of a specter dressed in tattered robes, with a skull instead of a face, made its way toward the warriors. When the warriors finally noticed, the specter was already upon them, and before either could react, had grabbed one of them in a deadly embrace.
Seeing that his leader was dead, and hearing his companion's anguish-filled screams as he was burned alive by the magma specter, the third warrior decided that he was no match for the robed man, and without so much as a second thought, turned and ran as fast as he could.
The robed man rolled his eyes at this feeble attempt at escape, and pointing at the ground ahead of the fleeing warrior, said, “Banfatu aetfehath.” As if in response to these words, skeletal hands broke from the ground and grabbed the warriors legs, tripping him. Once he had fallen, more hands emerged from the ground and held him fast while the magma specter made its way to the warrior. The warrior struggled and slashed at the fleshless arms, but to no avail, and finally, the magma specter reached him, and fell upon him, granting him the same fate as his companion, that of being burned alive. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

20-Jun-2011 20:30:04

Dantalian

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Watching from a distance, the robed man shook his head in exasperation. “That was incredibly underwhelming,” he sighed, “It looks like this is another miss, there's no way this place is Freneskae... those fools wouldn't have lasted three seconds there.” Sighing again, the man raised his arms and began to chant the incantation which would cause him to teleport to a new world, but trailed off half-way through as he noticed a source of immense power nearby.
“Well,” he said, “I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look.” With this thought in mind, he turned and made his way in the direction of the power he sensed. After a few minutes of walking he was surprised to find a small, stone building standing intact near a cliff-face. Curious as to why such a building should remain untouched in this desolate wasteland, the man cautiously made his way over to it.
He sensed no one inside, but at the same time was aware that this building contained the source of power he had felt earlier. Thankfully there were skeletons lying nearby, and it was a simple matter to reanimate one and have it open the door and enter in his stead. When nothing attacked the skeleton, the robed man thought he might have just been imagining things, and was about to laugh it off when he heard a crackling voice call out from the building, “Well, what are you waiting for necromancer? Come in already.”
The necromancer froze in place, cursing himself for being so foolish as to not consider the possibility that whatever was inside might already know he was here. Likewise, he realized that his chances for escape were slim, if existent at all. Deciding not to risk it, he sighed in resignation and walked into the building.
He had expected a being of power, but he had not expected what he came face to face to; a skeletal being composed of flames and dressed in regal armor, wielding a battle axe nearly the size of it's body. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

20-Jun-2011 20:30:37

Dantalian

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The spell he had in mind should he need to fight, dropped from Mortimer's mind, and all he was able to do was stammer “Mahjarrat” in shock.
The entity started at the word, but quickly composed itself, and with a snicker replied, “Yes, I was one once.”
“Were one?” questioned the necromancer.
“It's a long story,” replied the being, “But we haven't been introduced; I am Zamorak, this world's god of chaos.”
The necromancer laughed at this pronouncement. He did not believe in gods, and was willing to bet his soul that this Mahjarrat had simply fooled the weak-minded inhabitants of this world, wherever it was, into believing it was a divine being. After all, to the uninitiated, the powerful magicks of a skilled Mahjarrat would have indeed seemed like the works of a god.
Zamorak's eyes glinted in annoyance at the necromancer's reaction, and he briefly considered blasting the said necromancer into a pile of ashes. But he quickly thought better of it; he was already seriously pushing the edicts by making himself visible on Gielinor, and such a display of power would likely cause Guthix to notice, which would mean hours of listening to lectures and complaining. Besides, this newcomer necromancer would probably be useful.
“So, your godliness,” chuckled the necromancer, “To what do I owe the pleasure of making your acquaintance?”
Again, Zamorak found himself force to practice restraint. To the god of chaos, it seemed this necromancer seemed to be set upon getting himself fried.
“I was watching your fight earlier,” said Zamorak, managing to hide most of his displeasure, “You are apparently a very powerful necromancer.”
“Get to the point,” the necromancer pressed.
“Well, I'd like to make you a deal,” replied Zamorak, “You use you're admittedly formidable powers of necromancy, and I shall reward you greatly.”
“And what kind of reward were you thinking of handing over to me?” questioned the necromancer. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

20-Jun-2011 20:31:56

Dantalian

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“Anything you want!” exclaimed Zamorak, “Money, land, fame, fortune, women, you name it, it's your's.”
“Well,” mused the necromancer, “There is something I want that you might be able to give me. In fact it's the reason I came to this world in the first place. But I'm not sure I'm willing to take over the entire of this world for this thing. Taking over the world should take a lot of time I imagine, and I am in a hurry.”
“Fine,” sighed Zamorak, “Not the entire world then, just two countries.”
“Two countries?” repeated the necromancer.
“Kandarin and Asgarnia,” replied Zamorak, “If those two fall, This world's as good as mine. Take them over, and I'll give you the reward.”
“Do you even know what I want as a reward?” asked the necromancer.
“As I said, name it,” answered Zamorak.
“The secrets of the Mahjarrat ritual,” replied the necromancer.
“What?!” exclaimed Zamorak.
“Like I said, the secret of your race's ritual,” repeated the necromancer, “That is what I want as a reward for my assistance.”
Zamorak sat speechless, the necromancer's response was not what he had expected. On top of that, Zamorak wasn't entirely sure how the ritual worked himself. Oh he knew the basics; one Mahjarrat had to be sacrificed on the ritual altar, and in doing so the rest would be rejuvenated and have their power restored. But as for how the altar worked, or even what it was made of, Zamorak had no clue. He did vaguely recall that Lucien had been curious about it, and may have looked into it. But Lucien was strong-willed and would demand to know why Zamorak wanted to know about the altar. Given his view on humans, Zamorak didn't see him taking it well if he heard Zamorak wanted to give such secrets to a human. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

20-Jun-2011 20:32:53

Dantalian

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The two other Mahjarrat who might have known the secret of the ritual were Azzanadra and Sliske, both of whom would sooner cast themselves into oblivion than reveal it's secrets to Zamorak. And even if they could have been convinced, Azzanadra was sealed safely away (hopefully never to return.) and Sliske... Sliske was hard for his own allies to find. And even for a god, looking for Sliske was like searching for a needle in field of haystacks.
Zamorak considered making the promise anyway, knowing he couldn't keep it, but that would cause more problems; he would make an enemy of a powerful necromancer with the ability to traverse worlds, and as he had noted earlier, Sliske was still out there. The last thing he needed was a powerful necromancer being wooed by the servants of the THAT god.
So, with great annoyance, Zamorak decided to be honest. “I do not know the secret of the ritual,” he admitted, “BUT!” he quickly interjected, noticing Mortimer turning to leave. “I can show you the altar where it takes place, and, the time for the ritual to occur is fast approaching... it is only a few months away. If you wish, I can grant you protection so that you may watch the ritual.
The necromancer thought this offer over carefully. While not ideal, this would be a unique experience. Besides, this world seemed to have fewer Mahjarrat than Freneskae likely would, and there was no guarantee that the inhabitants of Frenaskae would be nearly so willing to negotiate with an outsider. However, staying here left one problem; the Council, who was pursuing him, and made it dangerous to stay in one place for too long. However, Mortimer corrected, if he agreed to the Mahjarrat's terms here, he would have a powerful ally, one which even the Council's mages would think twice about attacking. "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

20-Jun-2011 20:33:32

Dantalian

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Turning to Zamorak, the necromancer smiled and announced, “You have yourself a deal, Mahjarrat. Provide me the corpses, and I will make an army worthy of a god.”
“Excellent!” exclaimed Zamorak, “There's just one last thing.”
“Yes?” asked the necromancer.
“I like to know the names of people I make deals with,” said Zamorak.
The necromancer smiled to himself, if this Mahjarrat had truly been a god, he wouldn't need to ask for a name now would he? For a moment, the necromancer thought to point it out, but decided he could indulge the so-called god a little longer and so he replied, “Mortimer, Mortimer Leiche.” "He appears in the Form of a Man with many Countenances; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one."

20-Jun-2011 20:34:08

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