Aurvandil

The sunlit.

Aurvandil

A land often referred as the land of the living, the land of light - Aurvandil was the region always facing the sun.

In its epicenter was a continuous hypercane forever swirling - a side effect caused by the tidally locked orbit. Even without the ongoing storm, it would still not be habitable due to the extremely high temperatures, gradually rising as you got closer to the center.

In the old tomes, describing the land before the end of the great war, the area, where the now raging hypercane existed, was once where the old kingdom stood.

Now the habitable land that remained, was divided and ruled mainly by men, dwarfs, and elves by the borders that had been drawn thousands of years ago after the end of the Great War. 

Apart from the three large nations, there were smaller factions, living on the outskirts and out in the sea.

The most well known were the ogres, goblins, merfolks, dryads, and trolls.

Once they were all a band of brothers, together in an alliance to vanquish the dark forces. Incredible sacrifices were made to ensure a victory. 

Times will always change, alliances will fall, friends of the past will be the enemies of tomorrow. Was it greed for power, or was there a desire within us to wage war? 

The inked pen stopped moving.

"Only the Gods know.." the man whispered to himself.

The old frail man, clothed in a worn-out robe, leaned closer to the parchment to inspect his work. On a wooden chair surrounded by large shelves, numerous meters in height and filled with books, he sat in absolute silence.

"Pehle!" He suddenly shouted out.

Footsteps could be heard closing in and a young boy not more than 15 years of age came running towards the desk of the robed man.

"Yes master Derec!"

 the boy squeaked out almost out of breath. 

The old robed man turned to the boy, who was gasping for air.

"Come closer boy," he said in a low voice.

The boy took a few careful steps forward. As he got in arms reach of the robed man, Derec got a hold of him, and pulled him down on his knees, bringing the boys face next to his.

"You've been sleeping."

- "No mast.."

"Silence! Your eyes are red! Did you hope my sight would be gone by now boy?!" Derec furiously shouted in the boys face and slapped him.

The old man pushed him back, and turned himself back towards the desk.

"Don't weep and don't ask for my forgiveness, just do what I ask you to do, understood boy?"  

"Yes master Derec," the boy replied as he got up and started to brush off the dust on his robes.

"Now then..." Derec began to say as he rolled the parchment together. "Take this and make me 10 copies, when you're done, place them here at my desk."

Derec passed on the parchment to Pehle, and made a flimsy wiff with his hand to discard him.

Once the sounds of Pehle's footsteps had faded away, he leaned back in a comfortable position and brought his legs on top of the table, letting out a long yawn.

"A generation of heroes and a generation of intellectuals, now nothing more than stories told in old books, forgotten by most... And here I ended up, in a generation full of fools and warmongers..." Derec muttered to himself while looking up on the ceiling.

Derec Lorhan was a renowned man for his vast knowledge of the worlds history, and used to be summoned to advise the kings that had come and gone, during his long lifespan. 

Many years ago, he was once eager to assist his royal highness with his insights and knowledge, as an advisor.

But as time passed, a hatred grew inside of him as the kings he served neglected his concerns. They only sought ways to gain more power. Kings fueled by greed.

He was ashamed of what his people had become. The kingdom of men had stretched itself outside the realms border, that had been drawn long ago, conquering land that was not theirs to take. 

Making the dwarfs, elves and all manner of beings despise them.

'And to think we once united the living against the dark to a precise victory... As the wave shifts from its peak to its bottom, so have we, as well sunk to our lowest through time.'

'Perhaps one day the tides will turn, and the wave will rise again... I hope I will yet live to see it,' Derec thought to himself.

While the thoughts went on, his eyelids started to weigh heavy and slowly went down to seal his eyes shut.

"Derec?!"

"Wake up!" The man said in a heightened tone while shaking Derec to life.

Derec awoke with his sight blurry, his body all numb and his neck in an incredible awful discomfort.

"Finally... Get your legs off that table and plant them on the floor." 

Derec looked at the man whilst waiting for his eyes to adjust.

"Merkhan? What brings you here?" Derec finally said.

Merkhan Yylos - one of the generals in the Kings army stood before him. An unexpected visit to say the least. Last time Derec heard of his whereabouts, he was told he'd been stationed far away from the Kingdom.

"I'm here to fetch you to a meeting of great importance, there is no room for delay... You will come with me at once." Merkhan replied with a stern look on his face.

'Is it really Merkhan standing in front of me? Did his new placement change him this drastically?' Derec thought to himself while bringing his numb legs off the table.

The Merkhan he knew had been a long time friend, a funny one at that. Somehow that part of him was nowhere to be seen now.

Derec got himself up and stood toe to toe with Merkhan, and gave him displeased look.

"This wasn't the greeting I would expect from an old friend."

Merkhan looked at him briefly, and then turned and took a step towards the door out. 

"Now is not the time for old friends to rejoice. Soon it will become clear to you as to why... Now come with me."

Derec struggled to keep up with Merkhans fast pace. Down the stairs, through the hall, out the main entrance, then crossing the courtyard entering the royal palace.

"WAIT!" Derec shouted out as he collapsed to his knees at the palace entrance. 

As Derec looked like he was about to suffer from a heartattack, Merkhan called upon two of the sentry guards standing nearby.

"Take turns to carry him and follow me!"

The two royal guards looked at Merkhan, then at Derec, then back at Merkhan as if they had misheard him.

"NOW FOR GODSAKE!" Merkhan shouted at the startled guards.

With the guards carrying Derec, they continued up the massive staircase.

The Kings palace was an enormous place, large enough to house a village. On the walls, there were beautiful patterns all made of gold, and large banners hanging, with the Kings coat of arms in blood red color.

They passed the throne room and finally stopped outside the great conference room.

Loud voices and laughter could be heard coming from within.

"That will be all, put him down on his feet and return to your duties."

The guards helped each other to carefully bring Derec down on his feet, and then gave a deep bow before marching off.

Unscaved and almost back to his old self, Derec straightened himself and nodded to Merkhan.

"Lets go inside." 

Merkhan opened the doors and the chattering from the people inside came to an abrupt end.

Looking inside, Derec could see the large round table with its seats filled with the kingdoms most valued individuals. From the nobles to the highest ranking generals, and then finally at the middle, in the opposite side he could see the King, with his advisors and strategists sitting close beside him.

King Berian Al'Dor III, a King not much different from his father, the predecessor. All Derec saw was a man in his 20's, who thought of himself as more of a God than a King. 

'Could he blame him for it, though? With a father like his, this outcome was to be expected.' Derec thought to himself while standing there with everyone looking at him in silence.

"Derec! You must excuse us for the sudden silence, you see none of us knew there was a ghost wandering inside of my palace... But now I can tell it's no ghost, it's just a decrepit old man by the name of Derec the uhm.. book... ehh hehe... Errh!" Berian who was at a loss for words looked around at the others present with annoyance for not being able to finish his punchline.

Immediately the rest of the members around the table gave out their most credible forced laughter they could manage.

"Alright, enough," Berian said as he raised his hand to silence the crowd.

"Derec be seated."

Derec bowed briefly and sat down at the last remaining empty seat.

"Now then... You all must be wondering why you have been summoned here at such a short notice!" 

"You see... Something has occurred at one of our keeps near the edge, in the Duskregion. The raven that was sent to me from keep was lacking in detail. So as I'm as eager as everyone else here to hear the full story!"

Berian paused and looked over at Merkhan and continued.

"General Merkhan here, has traveled a long way under the sun, to tell us what he has witnessed... Of course we would have begun this meeting sooner, but Merk' here insisted on bringing the ghost before commencing the meeting."

Berian shifted his eyes to Derec.

"And now that he is here. Let us begin."

Merkhan swept his eyes across the room, seeing as everyone was looking at him in anticipation, he lowered his head down towards the wooden table. 

Gathering his resolve, he let out a deep breath and then filled his lungs with new air and brought his head up with an adament look on his face.

"As some of you here already know, I've been stationed at Guardian Keep for the last 240 cycles."

Time was recorded and tracked in Aurvandil, much like a giant clock tower each city had one. An hour was called a stroke, 20 strokes later and you had a cycle. There were no terms for weeks, months or years... every cycle passing just added to the total amount. 

So far 482,530 cycles had passed since the system had been put in service.

"I left Guardian Keep 6 cycles ago, I've barely slept during my way here..." He paused and held his palm out, it was shaking violently. "From the horrors I've witnessed, the shock hasn't weared off as of yet."

He brought his hand down back on the table and continued.

"I was in my chambers when I got notified that the scouts had spotted something in the sky, coming in our direction. When I came out there was no doubt, something was coming our way. I ordered for the bells to be rung, and the soldiers took their battle positions with me on the wall, and the rest forming lines on the courtyard."

"I stood on top of the wall facing the horizon where the edge to the abyss becomes visible. As the flying object drew closer I could see it came gliding towards us on two great wings, several meters in width."

"It landed directly in the middle of the courtyard with its sights fixed on the Keep. We stood frozen for the first few moments, in awe and in complete shock."

"It was a monster not of this world. Apart from its wings it had dark blue skin and curled horns spreading out from its head, as well as several bone spikes piercing out all over its body, ranging in different sizes, and a long tail stretching 3-4 meters with a large fang at its tip... It looked to be more than 5 meters in height. Also, it was carrying a large cloth sack, strapped around its waist."

Merkhan paused and leaned over to poor himself a cup of wine whilst his resolve was visibly deteriorating. 

At the same time, Derec recalled a time many years ago, when he had been obsessed in reading about the various kinds of monsters, that once plagued mankind, one of these monsters fitted Merkhans description very accurately so far. If this was the same monster as described in the old tome - this was indeed very bad news.

After Merkhan had finished his cup in just one gulp, he continued.

"From its waist down it looked somewhat like its legs belonged..."

!-"To that of a goat, with hooves as feet, but much more muscular, and with thick black hair. Although they may vary from one and other, they're called Satyrs." Derec added before Merkhan could finish his sentence.

"Or am I mistaken?" Derec said while looking at Merkhans surprised reaction.

- "Precisely!" Merkhan burst out.

"I knew your invaluable knowledge would come in handy!" Merkhan said, showing some hints of his joyous true self, that Derec could recognize.

"Yes yes, although I must tell you this much Derec, interrupt Merkhan again and I will have you whipped for your lacking manners. You will speak when spoken to, old man." Berian looked away from Derec back to Merkhan.

"Now if you please could, I'd like to hear the rest."

"Ahem! Yes of course, your highness. Well, it didn't take long before chaos erupted. The men panicked, most of them could be heard screaming at the ehh... Satyr, in fear, some of them coward out and ran back into the keep."

"The situation for me was uncontrollable, I shouted from the top of my lungs for the men to stand down and get a grip, but my words could barely be heard with the loud screaming and yelling emitted from the men."

"The Satyr however, just stood there as if it was analyzing my men and their behavior. Not reacting to the footsoldiers, it glanced around even taking a notice of me and the men on the wall."

"It was then I saw the actions of a few men who would turn this chaos into something, I will never forget... On the opposite side, on the keeps watchtower, I could see three archers having their bows pulled and aimed at the Satyr. I tried to shout and wave to them not to release. Although the situation was chaotic the Satyr hadn't shown any aggression thus far..."

Merkhan paused briefly, it was clear to everyone that this next part wasn't easy for him to utter.

"Yes and then what?!" Berian shouted across the table while slamming his hand down.

"We're not gathered here for some theatrical show Merk'!"

- "My apologizes... Your highness..." Merkhan muttered in a low voice with his cheeks red and his eyes all welled up. 

"The archers did not take notice of me. Time felt like it slowed down as the arrows, came flying towards the Satyr... Moments later they struck him. The Satyr let out an incredible deafening roar filled with pain and bloodlust, it was so powerful it had us all pushed off our feets."

"THEN AS I AROSE TO SEE WHAT HAD HAPPENED..." Merkhan stood up, no longer able to control his feelings, he described the carnage he had witnessed, with tears crawling down his battered cheeks.

"Bodies, cut in half, flying in every direction... In a matter of seconds, two hundred of my men had been decimated. Many of whom I've considered as close friends - was now laying there, unrecognizable and chopped up in small pieces, in front of my eyes."

"The rest of us stood there on the walls and watchtowers, spectating in horror and in silence, fearing we would draw any attention."

"This satyr - this spawn of evil - then took some of the dismembered limbs lying on the ground and swallowed them. It seemed pleased with the taste of our flesh."

"After having feasted on our dead, it collected some of our weapons and armor, as well as a couple of limbs which he wrapped around in cloth. As he had gathered these items and stored them in his sack he flapped his wings, and flew back from whence he came."

"A lot of children lost their fathers that cycle..."

Merkhan turned around and walked over to the window, outside he could see the whole captial before his eyes, it was a sight to behold. It reminded him what the stakes were, the reason he'd become a soldier in the first place - to protect his people. 

What if this monster would have descended down in front of my eyes at this very moment?

Would I be able to?... No, I don't even want to think what would have happened. Merkhan thought to himself.

"Merkhan, we have questions that need answers." 

Merkhan recognized the voice, it belonged to the kings most trusted adviser - Vizher Ol'darion. 

"Yes Merk', be a good boy and get back here." Berian added.

Merkhan turned back at them, looking at them all with determination in his eyes.

"Have anyone here, EVER tasted a defeat SO GREAT, it have left you feeling like nothing more than a powerless ant, twitching after being trampled by a boot?!"

Merkhans gaze had changed from being determined to being one filled with rage, piercing the eyes of the crowd like beams of lightning.

"DON'T ANSWER THAT! FOR I KNOW YOU HAVEN'T!"

With the crowd stunned, Merkhan quickly returned to his chair and sat down, taking a moment to calm himself.

Berian quickly whispered a few words into Vizhers ear, and not more than a second later, Vizher got up on his feet, and gave Merkhan a cold gaze.

"Merkhan, since we know your current condition and your lack of rest, we will overlook your scene of impudence. Do not forget you are in the presence of your King!" 

Vizher sat down and continued in a calm voice, "Now is there something you'd like to add?"

Merkhan sat there with not a care in the world for the warnings given to him, his cheeks that had previously been flooded with tears were now all dried up. His sight was set on a spot on the table with - the energy once seen in his eyes had now faded away - as he continued in a broken voice.

"I will tell you this much... For it is something I can tell you with certainty. That thing alone can slay an army of thousands, and if it turns out there is more than one - this nation could be brought down to its knees."

"And now that it has grown a liking to the taste of our flesh, I would anticipate it to soon return for more."

Merkhan leaned back in his chair, looking like he was about to fall into a deep sleep.

The nobles quickly stood up and formed a circle of their own, intensely chattering with each other.

The king, with his pupils leaned towards him on each side, did the same.

The rest of the generals had also left their seats, and stood together and traded their thoughts - one of them waving for Merkhan to come join them.

"You seriously want all these people to believe that this one creature could slay an entire army, Merkhan?" one of the generals said when Merkhan had joined thier small circle.

- "You said the arrows had pierced it, if three arrows caused it to crumble than a thousand should surely suffice." another one pointed out.

Merkhan looked at them with a small smirk on his face.

"I see now that I've left out, one little detail from before... You see the arrows did cause it pain, however, I wouldn't say it caused it an actual injury."

The generals looked at him with confusion.

"Meaning, what exactly?!" One of them asked.

"I mean that the spots on its body, where the arrows had pierced it, had already healed up in a matter of seconds."

"I'm therefore confident that our weaponry won't do more than to cause it some temporary pain. Steel will not destroy it, it will only fuel its anger."

"Our best chances on learning how to defeat a creature like this, is sitting right there" Merkhan said whilst pointing his finger at Derec who hadn't left his seat.

Derec sat there leaning on his elbow and drumming with his other hand on the table, pondering over what would happen next. 

"They'll probably want me to tell them everything I know about this fiend and their kind... Strenghts, weaknesses and so on... They're going to want to know how one can defeat it." Derec whispered to himself.

"With a trap perhaps? Hmm, no... Satyrs are known to be very cunning. This one also seems a bit strange, not even throwing the first punch. Carrying a sack, and collecting items - not strange - intelligent, thats what it is. No a trap won't be of much use."

Then it hit him, Derec stopped playing with his fingers on the table and took a glance around him, everyone was still discussing in different groups.

He leaned back and started to rub his chin with his fingers.

'This could be the oppertunity I've been waiting for. It's a bit of a risk... but if I play my cards right, I could, in the long run, get rid of this disgusting brat we refer as our king.'

'The wave will rise again,' Derec thought to himself while trying to hide the smile, that emerged on his face.

'As soon as this meeting is over I've got plenty to do... I'll have Pehle fetch me that grimoire for communicating with demons, but right now I've got to ensure these people that there's nothing to worry about.' Derec concluded as everyone was seeming to be finishing up their internal conversations.

Vizher stood up and called everyone to return to their seats.

"Now then..." Berian said and took a closer look at Derec.

"I must say I can't bare myself to listen any further to Merk's sniveling stories... So Derec, you who obviously know a thing or two on the subject - should we really be so frightened as Merk here suggests?" Berian asked with a smug look on his face.

Here goes my vows, to hell with them. Derec thought to himself while seeing as everyone now was looking directly at him.

"I have no doubts that what Merkhan have shared with us, is true, Satyrs were once our greatest foes during the great war."

"However the reason it didn't stick around to completely annihilate everyone at the keep is simple - Satyrs true weakness is sunlight."

It was a lie. Although they preferred darkness, light didn't do much more to them, than causing a slight blurr to their vision.

"If the Satyr would have stayed any longer, it would have eventually collapsed and died. Thus fearing it would come flying into our kingdom and slaughter us all, would be absurd. It would come crashing down from the sky, long before it even got close."

"So no, we have nothing to fear from this creature. I will however gladly accompany Merkhan back to Guardian Keep, to help him improve its fortification incase there would be any attacks in the future."

Berian smiled.

"You see Merk? All that crying for nothing and you almost had us all worried hahaha!" 

The rest of the crowd joined him in laughter, except for Derec. He couldn't wait to get back to his chambers, and start hammering the nails into Berians coffin.

"Haha well, I guess we wasted enough time here listning to the two of you. Derec, proceed with your propsal, you shall go with Merk' back to Guardian Keep along with 400 soldiers, and the supplies to fortify. The arrangements shouldn't take more than 2 or 3 cycles, meanwhile Merk', if you're reconsidering a change in occupation, I'm quite sure the Theatrical Guild will take you in, after seeing your performance here, we will all vouch for you!"

Merkhan didn't even react, his eyes were fixed on some spot on the ceiling, almost as if he had left his body, leaving it like an empty lifeless shell.

Vizher stood up again.

"That will be all, this meeting is now adjourned... And what has been said here, will be kept here."

Derec glanced at Merkhan while leaving the room.

Should I let him in on this? No, that Satyr slaughtered his men... And Merkhan would probably not even understand the reason why I must do this. Oh well.