Tallion Almas

Hello again, dear reader. As I told you previously, I wasn’t sure I’d have the opportunity, or ability to write this entry in my journal. Yesterday’s battle was a battle for the legends, both in its importance for the future of our world, and also in how much lives and souls it has cost. My hand grows weary already writing these little words, but as my body is depleted and earning for rest, my soul compels me to write down the events that have transpired yesterday. It will not have rest until then, and neither will I. For that matter, I think my soul will be restless for many days to come, however many the Almighty will see fit for me to see the dawn of.   In the morning that we arrived in Metherol, we spent most of it devising the plan I have already relayed to you in my previous entry. It took some time and a lot of preparation, and the whole city was brought alive by the hasty yet precise movements of the people within its walls. When we had a moment of reprieve, we have gathered together in one place, to say some words, and perhaps, say a last farewell to some of our friends, our family. How fond I have grown of the people that surrounded me at that time, and I have come to rely on them more than I do on myself. And despite that, I knew that I wouldn’t be seeing some of them again, and maybe they won’t be seeing me again. At the time, that maybe seemed like an almost definitely. When I had the opportunity to speak, I expressed this feeling to everyone present, and wished for all of us to d out best to meet again in this world. I only asked them that, in the event that I do not see the next day, for them to remember myself not as a magic man, a demon-boi, Eugen, Pullius, Tallion even a wizard; instead, I wanted them to remember me as a person who gave a damn, and gave it his bestest. After that, Eve pulled me aside, and said that she is sorry for how things happened and became between us. But I wasn’t sorry. Because while I lost a lover, I gained a life-long friendship tested in arduous trials. We then hugged, for the first time ever, as friends. Then we went to our battle stations, and as I looked into the eyes of my trusted friends once more, I knew that I have to do my best.   Then came the night. As a one-sided blinder, it covered us all, bringing with it the uncertainty of tomorrow, hell, even today. Dillen and Orman were both scared but stayed tall besides me as we awaited the approach of our sworn enemy, the bringers of death and despair. And then we heard it. A steadily rising thum, and rows and rows of purple eyes appeared in the night, accompanied by the howling of hatred and evil. Looking at them, I wondered whether I would become one in that horde come tomorrow. It’s quite eerie to look at something and wonder if the same thing is coming for you.   I have sent the ships we had in the port to intercept the pirate ships, but then I heard the screams of elves, and the gutural rasping of the undead that boarded the ships from below and began killing them. I immediately went forward and purged these abominations from this world, and commanded the elves on board to retreat and form a line in front of the gates. However, we were immediately blown away by an explosion fired by the pirate’s mothership. As soon as we recovered, I saw a man come forward on the ship and throw something at us. I tried deflecting whatever was thrown in our direction, however, I did not catch it. I immediately tried to sense where it landed, and hit it with a holy light. As soon as that happened, I was shown the visage of a shadow, a wraith… carrying Cato’s xenatine dagger in one hand, and a bane blade in the other. I knew that it meant, and ordered everyone to evacuate the port, and retreat behind the gate. I understood that this is a foe beyond their ken, and I was the only one who could stand between them and carnage. And I steeled myself in preparation for maybe the hardest fight of my life.   The visage dashed towards me with speeds unseen before, as Cato sprinted towards me as if bedevilled; however, in his rush, he did not mind his surroundings and fell down, losing his xenatine dagger. While the concept of a wraith loosing its footing is one I will eventually have to ponder, I seized the opportunity, and letting the will of the Almighty course through me, I have sent a mighty Holy Light onto the dagger, in hopes of rendering the connection between it and Cato’s soul broken. And while I managed to break the dagger in two, making it unusable, he still persisted and attacked me again, penetrating my light shield with relative ease. If not for the protection I have cast upon myself, I would have been dead for sure. You can’t beat a prepared person, and I was as prepared as they come. I smote him again with a holy light, the one thing he could not dodge or evade, and I felt his essence dwindling momentarily, only for it to spring back with tenfold power. Thus the waiting game began, to see who would last longer: me, or the bloodthirsty beast before me. But as our fight continued, his pirate crew joined him, and blasted us with the essence of decay and defilement, weakening our life essence considerably. At that moment, two things happened: the elder cleric who was assisting me came forward and told me to step back, and Bart signalled me, meaning that he found a necromancer for me to vanquish. At that moment, I had a dilemma to solve: to finish the fight of my life now, once and for all, and save the southern gate from Cato’s wrath, or go to Bart, and render a portion of the western front undead masterless. I swore once to become everything that Cato is, and knowing that he, given the same choice, would single-mindedly remain to finish me, with no regard to his party’s safety. But Bart was not just a party member, he was my friend, my brother. Thus I asked the elder to not die, and teleported to Bart’s aid.   As soon as I got there, Bart bended time around us to show me where my target is, and after leaving him with my trusty cape, I let my magic become one with me, and blasted the death monger to hell with the lightning of heaven. Having left Cato in the trusty and secure hands of the cleric, I hoped that she would be able to stop him from advancing further at least for a while. I then continued my onslaught on the hordes of undead, slowly redirecting the bolts towards the necromancer I sensed near Nixie, killing another one . However, another one intercepted me, and forced me to exit this state, and I had to teleport to Nixie and fight the necromancer together. Sadly, before I could do any real damage to him, he disappeared in the midst of undead.   What followed, is unfortunately, the most gruesome and horrible battle I’ve ever witnessed or been a part of. Elven militia doing their best to withstand the horde of undead, my friends and me doing their best to stay the ungodly onslaught we were subjected to; but it was inevitable that our ranks would start closing up, and we started being pushed one against the other. At that point my mind flew to the magic orb that we picked up in our adventure, and I asked Nixie to pass it over to me. Then I concentrated my whole being into observing this orb, and trying to glance beyond it’s normal capabilities, searching for a way I could appropriate it’s electrifying capabilities. Having understood the way I can use it to enhance my purging capabilities, I have channeled my powers through my staff into the orb. I dare say that what happened next ism the absolute greatest explosion of arcane lightning that stroke the ground like the mother of all lightning bolts, and it obliterated 3 whole platoons of the enemy’s most elite forces. I have managed to create us some breathing ground, but through that rendering the orb completely useless for some time. I should study it more, to see if I could extract further abilities from this wondrous artefact.   Right at that moment, I had yet another crossroads. Bart signalled me and Eve, relaying to us the message that he has found a group of most remaining necromancers. At the same time, the flaming head of the elder sorcerer has fallen upon us from one of the castle’s windows, and Nixie with Gilders came running towards me, yelping through attempts to catch their breath that Cato is in the castle. I was enraged, absolutely livid at the lunatic that has taken even more innocent lives, and now keeps terrorising the whole castle. I found the elder paladin, Aosthen, and relayed to him what I have come to know. We decided to split the tasks ahead, with him going ahead to deal with the necromancers, and me going to deal with the crazed marsh-bastard, once and for all. We have both steeled our resolve, and went ahead. I promised myself that as soon as I am done in the castle, I would hurry to the help of Aosthen.   Thankfully, my friends did not leave me to face him alone. Nixie, Eve and Gilders have come with me, and I had a wonderful idea: I infused one of his bullets (he had an advanced gun from his dimension that still had some ammo) with the purging essence of arcane. We established that at the first opportunity of a clear shot, he will fire this bullet onto Cato’s dagger, while we shall stall him. Dear reader, perhaps you are already fully aware of the disdain and utter disrespect I had for Cato when he was alive; sadly, his preference for cowardly tactics has only been strengthened after his shameful first demise. He once again creeped up on us all, and tried to kill Nixie; unfortunately for him, we were prepared for this, and have sent all our protection spells upon Nixie, rendering Cato’s attacks insufficient to wound Nixie in any considerable manner. Gilders shot the magic bullet onto the dagger, throwing it away. I went for it, grabbed it, and smashed into the ground with the purging power of all my righteous fury, thus disintegrating the blade, and Cato as well. The last thing I remember Cato trying to do was to invade us with all the terror he gathered in the area. What a cunt way to die, but once again, he lived his life not much differently.   I immediately stormed out to assist Aosthen, and have managed to arrive there in time to hear him, on the brink of death, standing his ground against 7 necromancers, and saying the words that have inspired me most: “You shall not win this fight, nor war, because you lack the one thing everyone on our side possesses, a soul”. As they were ready to give him the finishing blow, I barged into the room, and blasted them with my soul flare; our combined efforts have vanquished all the necromancers in a fell swoop. After that, me and Bart have patched Aosthen as best as we could, and I left to pour all my remaining power into blasting the undead fiends with the bolts from the heavens. Dear reader, you might think that at that time I was hopeful, that I believed all to be better now. It really wasn’t. My friends were being brutally attacked by the undead in one last push, and they were pushed back hard. Then, the elves shouted that help is coming from… Worania? As strange as that might have been, the help was much needed, as they began wiping platoons of undead at a time in their wild horseback charge. At long last, the remaining undead army has initiated a retreat.   The loss of life in this fight has been phenomenally high. Almost all our forces have perished, with the remainders of several platoons having been scrambled to the confines of the castle. I rushed to see my friends, and upon seeing Nixie and Bart, I had some sort of closure, knowing that they survived. We were shortly joined by Eve, Verfy, Dillen, Marc, Vas, Kelly, Isbel, Drenizek, and…. that was it. I could not find Heron but much later, among the undead killed in the square in front of the castle. I heard some elves saying that he was the last one defending the north-west wall, and has stood his ground against 3 platoons by himself, having been pierced through the heart with a chilling blade. All the mastodons have dies as well, running into the eternal war and with battlecries on their lips. Orman has also died in battle, facing one of Cato’s pirates, the kitchen brute with the giant knife. I found out later with some sort of closure that Verfy and Dillen managed to put an end to his madness as well. At that point, I believed I was heartbroken; unfortunately, it did not end there at all.   The leader of the horse-back platoon has presented herself as Sylvia Halvel, the leader of a refugee camp in the forests of Vaneolin. The reason for the refugee camp existing was that the United Front created by Damaschini has been decimated. Xantinia has entered Worania with Haldric as her king-figure, and had the backing of Maal the Lich King, an army of Ikains, and an orc horde. The most devastating news was rather that Ionolia has adhered to the United front, and have fought besides the armies of humanity against these forces, and have been totally, irrevocably beaten. King Yanis died fighting, so did the Great Ordinator; Usa Laominis is no more, so is the Marion temple and the Marion hill. That means that my father is no more as well, as well as all the wizards of Ionolia. The one holy place of humanity’s religion, obliterated into tomorrow, as instead of a hill remains only a crater where the Marion hill once stood. This news was devastating beyond my ability to comprehend it at the time, as I simply felt that I fell on my knees, all my power stripped from me, despair slowly creeping it’s way into my heart. All seemed lost, and after hearing that there are no news from the Nine Tomes and Legondol, the Elvish capital, is under siege by the strongest undead army in the area, I felt my legs turn to jelly. If the Primordial Beech falls, the end of the Elvish race is near.   Then something in me just snapped at the whole cruelty of the situation. At Xantinya’s cruelty. Her willingness to destroy everything for some made-up beef she has with the Almighty. So what if her elf has not been chosen to be king? So what if she is the primordial sinner? So what if she has an army bigger than anything the world has ever seen? Screw her. I searched through my bag until I found it. The insignia of a Ionolian mage, the one I took of after I grew disillusioned with their leniency, the one I did not feel belonged on my chest. As they have gathered their bearings and joined the United Front, as I heard how every single one of them has risen up to the fight, I felt that I was proud to be a Ionolian wizard, and that I am most likely the last one to bear this mark with pride. I have re-attached it to my chest, and risen up. I asked everyone around me not to weep, because the fight is not yet over. I asked them not to despair, for our fallen are watching us from above, and I myself do not want to be ashamed when I meet my father in the afterlife. Drenizek also rose up, and said the same thing. We cannot give up, not when we have accomplished the first victory for good, even if it is a short-lived one. And I will not lose hope that truth and justice   As long as I draw breath, my soul will earn for justice to be served to the usurpers. Justice for the loved ones we have lost. Justice to that bitch Xantinya, even if it would be the last ever act of my life.   Gilders looked at all of us, and said that even though he knows little to nothing about our dimension, he was drawn in by how we struggle and how we fight. We have decided to take him up on his offer, and have requested any help Lullaby and Bajid can provide in this fight. No. In this war.   Thus begins my war for the Almighty. May He help us all.

It has been a rather long time since I’ve felt the urge to imprint my thoughts on paper. It seems that an eternity has passed between the last time I did this, and in all actuality, it indeed has. I am not that far from the Aclazar bay, I have even stepped onto land I have previously walked on, but things could not be any different. I could not be any more different.   Perhaps I should first give you, my kind reader, a short summary of the plethora of events that have transpired since last. After convening with my new party, we have departed to my home, Ionolia. My sweet home. We have talked to the Council of Archmages regarding the threats we have discovered, and pleaded for them to join the United Front created by Damaschini; all but one have not considered listening, and the one who did, helped us in purchasing wares for the road. He may not have done much, but without that help, we might have not finished the trip. After our failed attempt to wake up the Archmages from their lenient slumber, we have have been shown the very same prophet that first ignited our faith, the divine child. It has shown itself only to the first man to wander upon the Marion hill, and now it chose us as the ones to behold its presence. It let us know that the Black Sylph will come back to us in Dushen, and that we should go to where the sapphire path leads.   I knew that a tough road is ahead of us, I asked my party to regroup in my apartment in Marion, and went ahead to bid a last farewell to my father. When I saw him, something in me said that I should tell him of what happened. That might have been the first time I have ever seen him shaken, and he beckoned me to come with him; we both went ahead to my family home, in complete silence. There, he offered me 1000 gold to aid us in our travels, and a ring which he said is his greatest creation; but most importantly, he told me that he believes in me now, and wished me a sincere good luck in my journey. That last part was and willl remain in my mind as the greatest of the things he last gave me: his trust.   We departed to Alomir, and requested Damaschini’s boat with his seal of approval. I had the opportunity to contact Mazog, but just as with Damaschini, who worked closely with my father in Ionolia, I just couldn’t. Perhaps Llyaria’s death stood still too fresh a wound on my mind, or maybe it was the cutting disappointment I felt about their actions at the time. I simply went to the boat, and sailed away to Dushen. Later on, I would come to deeply regret not getting some early closure on these feelings of mine; but again, I feel like I was but a child in my mind. I was not even half the man I thought I were.   In Dushen, surprise awaited me, in the form of my previous “roommate”. The blasted Axiol, the demon, the bane of my integrity, has returned to haunt me. Not only that, but he returned at the same time as the Black Sylph, and used my hubris and my revolting emotions to hurt her so badly that she started falling apart. Dear reader, you might not comprehend the depth of my horror and despair when I realised that my inexperience and lack of action caused this gentle soul so much pain. I was not a man of action, I was but a pretender.   Thankfully, my party did not waiver as I did. Nixie came up with the idea to bring her to the Monument of Life, where she believed that we could being the Black Sylph closer to a sacred elvish place, and help her recover. We managed to do that, but she was irrevocably hurt, and we could only mend her on the way. I could only imagine the disappointment my party felt towards my actions, and my lack of good judgement; especially since they chose me to lead them in this path. It was no wonder that soon after they have decided that a new captain was needed, and Nixie was the one who was picked by most of the party and crew. They were right, I was nowhere near ready to lead such an important mission; I was too inexperienced, and way too unprepared. It was for the better in any case. While Nixie did not possess any experience leading, she more than made up for that with a steadfast heart. She may be cussing all the time, and she may despise me for the pain I caused the Black Sylph, but I decided to still help her in any way I could. But I needed to be better, to become stronger. That meant facing my demons, and you will find pretty soon that it got as literal as it can get.   At one point, we got close to a tall, dark tower, and as I fell asleep, I was confronted with visions of my dead friends, my dead party, and once again, my weakness got the better of me, as I succumbed to Axiol’s control and once again just the Black Sylph. But even worse, I also hurt my party. No, my friends. He made me hurt my friends. No! I hurt my friends, and it was all my fault for being too weak to resist him, so naive as to think that ignoring him would do me any good. And they still came to my help, they still were concerned about me. Even the Black Sylph came to me, and she hugged me as I was silently lamenting my inability to do anything. As I looked upon all of them, I realised that I would no longer abide such bullshit. I would no longer be a part of it. Axiol had to go. So I immersed myself into the depths of my psyche, creating a minds cape in which I could confront confront this bastard. As we fought, I could feel all of my friends being there for me, and I could feel the love the Black Sylph, or rather Sea, as she presented herself to us, exuded towards me. You may not believe me, dear reader, but I did not defeat Axiol with the power of my will, or my unrelenting spirit. No. The one thing that became my greatest strength, and Axiol’s downfall, was simply love. I was finally free, but we were out of time; Sea was fading.   We made for the Well of Saphires, and Sea was home. As she rose up from the chair we made for her, she lifted her arms to the sky, visibly happy to be home. She made one last turn, looked us in the eye and gave us a last thanks. Then she fell down and broke down into starlight. Our quest has ended, and we have witnessed the real history, the chronicle of how the world came to be. But that knowledge was only for us to know, and we had to decide what we would do with this. I wish I could tell you the truth, dear reader, but at this time, I cannot do that. All you should know is that Xantinya, the cursed, dastardly abomination that is Xantinya is much more than we initially believed. Much more evil. And that we could only stop her with the combined mettle of as many peoples as possible.   We set out to Enneth, in order to bring the eldest elves in existence to our aid. They were indeed as wise as everyone believed, for they quickly ascertained the threat we presented them, and have decided to join us. We set out for Vaneolin, where we would seek the aid of the rest of Elfdom. Our path was arduous, and we have lost many on the way, both elves, and crewmates. We have fought undead, warlocks bent on destroying us, a lich lord and his minions, Fatorarkians with their wild magic, and even dragons. I was even captured by the Union again, for they have come into this dimension. However, we managed to escape, and have gotten an ally, Kelly. She has heart, but she doesn’t believe in anything but science. Some say that ignorance is bliss, but I was afraid that she would soon come face to face with the ugly reality of divinity and demons. And to my dismay, I was right as rain.   We have passed Sten, and to our dismay we discovered the protective bubble of light to be absent. I entered Vision, and have wandered towards the western end of Sten. There, I saw the Western Sight to be destroyed, and much more shockingly, the great dragon was dead in the water. I have also felt the presence of something else, far more sinister, in the water, but dared not to approach, for if it could kill the father of all dragons, I was but a pest to it, much too easily squished. The rest of Sten was languished as well, and sadly, even their greatest hero, Jacov, was slain after he single-handedly killed several dragons. Sten was slowly fading into non-existence, and the dragons were all moving to the east.   Upon arriving on the next pitstop of our journey, Yomen, we have managed to repel the attack of an azure dragon, and saved its people. I have organised the burial of the dead, and have organised an exodus of its people to Roib, hoping they would offer us some additional ships, but sadly, Roib tried once again to imprison its visitors, a course of action first started by the already infamous Evelon Roseld. He once again offered us 2 options to help us, both of which were extremely bad for us, and I have cautioned against this plan; however, my warnings have come on death ears, and Nixie accepted one of the lesser evils. Long story short, people died, we were imprisoned, both Evelon and Tersiolis have been found not guilty, we were set free with our life and freedom as the reward for our troubles. A fruitless endeavour.   As we sailed from Roib, we have fallen prey to the demon that begun haunting us and out ship. I felt something was different, but only too late was I able to bring attention to this, as I was already fighting a battle in my mind. My dear reader, you would think me crazy, but the boat itself attacked us; and while our bodies were attacked by it, our minds were assaulted by the menacing cackle of the despicable demon who was possessing both us and out beloved boat. In the middle of all this mess, I saw my friends divided. Bart was by himself, trying to control his fear and master our own. Nixie was trying to help Verfy, who made the mistake of pitting her will against the will of Hell. Eve was trying her best to help Bart, paying no heed to anyone else, Xebec was trying to help Verfy and was protecting her from the boat’s unrelenting attacks, and Heron simply got naked and tried to feel the desires of this demon; to each his own, I suppose. But this was not the time for us to stand alone, for this was not our purpose. This was not what we sailed out to do, and we could not pretend to wish to unite all peoples under a single banner if we could not work as one ourselves. I saw Sea’s mask, on which we have all left our mark, and I used it as a beacon to call upon my friends to come together and fight this plague. We managed to win that round, but sadly, Xebec was no more. The old me would have once again lamented his weakness, but I have grown. I am not all-powerful, no matter how much I wanted this to be true, no matter how much I wanted to be as such. Even Sea came to us as an angel, and asked us to never cease making noise, to never give up. Our whole journey was never meant to be a proud one, one of victory. We were never meant to win all the battles. All we can do is keep losing battles, if it means winning the war.   The whole crew was devastated at Xebec’s death; he was their captain once, and he had great respect in the eyes of everyone on the boat, myself included. In the middle of our struggle, the demon kept insisting that the Almighty is dead on our boat, but I could feel his love and warmth even there. For me, this became a motto that I will keep with me, in my heart and soul, for all the troubles ahead: the Almighty is always there for you, for he loves us all. All you have to do is accept his helping hand. So I proclaimed my steeled resolve with a salute of my magic in the sky, and as a form of respect for the death of a man I deeply respected and cared for as a friend. After sending his body to rest, we have sailed ahead to the city of Nefim, the first elvish outpost on the western side. We were expecting a warm welcome for the elves from Enneth, and believed that after a long sailing, we have finally come to rest, albeit for a while.   Upon trying to go over the Gamble, a dangerous maritime crossing, I have entered Vision, and tried scouting it for any pirate ships. And I found them, alright. It was Cato’s ship, and the last thing I saw was a pair of ref eyes, and a hatred for life I only felt in one other living entity: Cato. The accursed betrayer who tried to kill Mazog when I have just started adventuring with my last party. I believed him to be dead, and the visages of him to be only a vision created by the demons who were pursuing us at all times. Or maybe I just wanted to believe him to be dead, but deep in my heart, I always suspected he would not simply fade into non-existence that simply. His body was destroyed by the very armor he wore, but somehow he managed to still exist. Perhaps a necromancer came to his last place of rest and resurrected him, offering him a body even more fit for killing. I dread thinking about what has happened to Alomir should this be true, but I have faith that Nerissa, Mazog and Damaschin would defend it should the need arise. Remember how I said that our journey is a series of lost battles? Well, this one almost broke all of us. Almost.   We tried going for Nefim, but the sight before our eyes has simply destroyed our hearts: Nefim was in ruins, atop it’s highest tower stood tall the three-pronged spear, and only death dwelled there. It has fallen, and we already discovered several boats sent to intercept us, all bearing the symbol of the fiery eye; after hearing about it from my friends, I always believed that Deos would become a problem, but for him to be the one behind this carnage, that was too much. We have abandoned ship, and took the most-needed possessions only with us as we escaped into the wild, all the while hearing the menacing song of a flute. At that moment I remembered that Cato had a bard that played a flute made of xenatine. Thus, my suspicion came true. Even if Cato is not here, his pirate crew is, and they will at least want revenge for their captain’s death, and I am their target, along with everything that is alive.   As we regrouped in a forest to the west of Nefim, we have seen that Metherol is also under siege by an army of undead numbering 12000 strong. But, the surprises did not end there. A bloodies and battered man appeared from the bushes, presented himself as a man named Gilders, the half-brother of a friend of mine named Bajid, from the dimension of Spirit. He came to us to find out the situation in our dimension, and to offer us help with the troubles at hand. We described the situation known to us prior to our leaving Alomir, and we have planned the way in which we can help the city of Metherol, and made our way into the city under the guise of dawn. We have decided that Bart will head out stealthily and search for necromancers, an when he finds one, he will signal me by going invisible. I will feel the burst of strong magic and will teleport to him, and proceed to annihilate any and all necromancers we find, in order to destabilise the chain of comand within the army of undead and make them uncontrollable, which will cause infighting between the undead, giving our forces a much needed reprieve. Verfy, Anevis and Marc will go to the north wall and protect it from the head-on assault, Xixi and 3 sorceresses will take care of the east part of the city, Heron, all the Fastodans, Nixie, Eve, and Miremis the elven sorceress will defend the western side, which is the most heavily assaulted side of the city, and I will defend the port together with Dillen and Orman, who will cover me should the need arise. I do not know if you will hear from me again, dear reader, for I will face the bane of my last party, the one who could only be killed by himself alone. I am almost sure Cato will be there, one form or another, and if I fail, the city, my friends, everyone will feel his burning hatred for life and desire to destroy.   May the Almighty help us all.

The Aclazar Harbor is just ahead. The ship is sturdy, and carries a lot of people on its shoulders. Sadly, I feel less the former than the latter. I don't entirely know why I even want to go there, I am afraid everyone will think me a crazy fool.   The end began on the 20th of April. We just returned to our dimension, having said an awkward yet longing goodbye to Lullaby and Bajid. We honestly didn't know if or when we would meet again, for the path ahead is difficult, for both us and them. The Black Sylph asked to join us, believing that she may find some answers as to what and who she is by talking to the Sylph from the Nine Tomes. We were happy to have her join us, and were making big plans to go to Ionolia in search of answers. We even planned to grab the bounties of the 2 cannibal chiefs from the Howling Woods, in order to further our financial situation. I was reluctant to take human life for profit, however, the needs of the party outweighed my hesitation, and we needed all the help we could get. Gold seems more and more to be one's best friend, wherever you are.   Gold opens many doors, and opportunities. As I walked through the streets of Aclazar, observing the busy life, the ships sailing away to their destinations, I contemplated about my own path, which I would most likely have to undertake alone. I don't really know if I can do this. I was helped so much by all of my friends, and they helped me see the world differently. Even Llyaria, who seemed to be the one who taught me the most about my hubris and showed me the mistakes I always make. If only I was stronger, more prepared... but again, power means nothing when your enemy is titanic in both might and cunning. My eyes landed on the door of a tavern, and for the first time in my life, I wanted a drink. I opened the door, and walked in.   We safely went through the portal, and when the blinding light subsided, our eyes feasted on a familiar sight: the Haunted Marshes. We decided to take the glyph left by Bajid to Yomen, where we would regroup and move forward. We passed through the glyph with hope for the best and a thirst for adventure. When I stepped off of the glyph, what appeared in front of my eyes was an unsettling view: a mountain range that surrounded us like a cauldron, with no apparent sights that would inform us of our whereabouts. I felt something wrong was afoot, and I was not wrong. The moment all of us exited the glyph, 3 individuals followed suit, and destroyed the glyph behind them, leaving us with no other choice but to fight them.   I immediately recognized the description of the Cloaks of Hell, the ones Cato reluctantly told us about. They immediately proceeded to bind us with shadows, draining our life force with every passing moment. Zarkuz didn't hesitate to use the staff again, and even though I pleaded him not to, he chose to ignore it. I had my reasons to ask him not to do it, but I could not fathom what would unfold next. The earth started shaking as the staff was sucked into the earth by an incredible force, and the mountains seems to tremble. Or what we believed to be mountains. While we dispatched of the powerless Cloaks, the mountains started rising.   While I was preparing to enjoy my first pint in proud loneliness, I noted two cloaked individuals in the back of the inn. One thing caught my eye, as his skin was quire literally on fire. I immediately thought of the Continent of the Elements, the fabled land I heard from Cato. That was the first thing in a while that peaked my inborn curiosity in a long while; I from my seat, grabbed three beers, and decided to introduce myself to get to know that person better. I rose from my seat, and walked towards them.   The mountain rose in a similar fashion. What we thought to be the peak proved to be a giant head, the surrounding peaks - two giant wings that darkened the sky with their shadow. I could not believe what I was seeing, as it seemed to be completely impossible. A dragon. But no ordinary house-sized dragon, it was the biggest one I have ever seen. Granted, that was the first beast of legend I have bore witness to, but that was completely beyond my wildest figments of imagination. For some reason, Damaschini and Llyaria bolted to the sky and to the dragon's head. I have followed suit by teleporting to the top, followed by Nerissa, and as soon as I got there, I saw them being held at bay by someone I immediately realized is the one named Xantinya. Her presence was overwhelming, and the display of power before me was equally as such.   Our attempts to talk to her proved pointless, our attempts to put a dent into her were met with unrelenting defense and swift retaliation. We thought we were the unstoppable force, however, at that moment, we truly met someone who embodied the definition of an immovable object. She talked to the Great Wyrm (I decided to call him that until I find out more about it) in some unknown to me language, and then left, while we remained to lick our wounds. The moment we thought she left, she returned, and started talking to Miyun in Stenian, and then some other language; all I could gather was that she was talking her into joining her side. Llyaria tried her best to talk Miyun from leaving, and I helplessly watched, knowing that due to my standing with her, any of my words would ruin all of Llyaria's attempts to turn her back to the light.   When Miyun seemed to display some doubts about joining Xantinya, she leaned to her ear and whispered something which triggered a transformation in Miyun. She became more Circeks like, and for the first time, Miyun's eyes turned to Llyaria with a desire to destroy her. She stepped on the red dragon Xantinya was riding, and they took off. Llyaria tried her best to stop them, and seemingly entered the state she refers to as the Banana Power. The next moment, the Great Wyrm started moving, and I saw Damaschini and Nerissa plumetting to the ground. I quickly teleported to Nerissa, and directed her into the chest on Damaschini's back, and then pushed him into it as well. As I turned back, I saw Llyaria being blown by the wind like sand. She killed her. Xantinya killed her, even though all she wanted was to save a little girl from a lot of pain. What can men do against such reckless hate?   I approached the hooded figures, and discovered that both of them were women, and the other one was an elf. They seemed reluctant at the thought to be approached by a total stranger, but they accepted the beers. A good start. The moment I approached them, another dude approached us and asked if I was giving them any trouble; the fiery person said all I gave them was beer. I like her sense of humour; it reminded me of the old days, the banter, the jokes. We were soon approached by a rather short individual with a lyre. He presented himself as Bart the bard, a play on words I found funny. I seem to have met some entertaining people. The dude calls himself Heron, and the elf who travelled with Verfi was a seemingly shy elf by the name of Nixi. We decided to stay together for the evening and exchange stories of our exploits. Having some company for a change was also something I longed for, and I was curious about whether the fabled Continent was real; so I decided to tell them of one of my adventures in Alomir.   They told me that they indeed come from the Continent, and that is south of Worania. They talked about a great war that ravaged their lands, and then they said the name. Xantinya. They told that she was a horse-like creature, a xant. Is that another play on names? Alas, they never knew her to have the form of a woman, and they started wondering how the war in their homeland ended. For better or worse, we have decided to stick together, and make our way to the Continent, each for our own reasons: Bart was looking for the next big ballad to birth into the world, Nixi and Verfi wanted to go home, and Heron was just looking for an opportunity to get stronger. I was looking to find out more about Xantinya, and the Continent looked promising as the first place she let herself known to the world.   We decided to go to Ionolia first, so that I may ask for guidance from my father, and try to get a hearing with the Council of Archmages to warn them of the dangers that come from the west; hopefully, they will heed my words, but chances are slim. We may also find a place to earn an honest living, so that we may procure a boat large enough to carry us through the southern seas.   Looking back on the things that happened at the Great Wyrm, the way Damaschini was distraught by the loss of Llyaria and Miyun, the tears shed by Nerissa for her best friend, all seemed lost. We were broken, all of us. I watched helplessly as my trusted comrades left one by one, each to their own devices, going to mostly unknown destinations. Just like the ships in Aclazar, each one went on their own path, leaving me with the least likely ally, Zarkuz. The path back was very difficult, and we have looked death in the eyes more times than I would have liked; eventually, Zarkuz left me too during a storm that threatened to end both of our lives. I felt so afraid for such a long time, abandoned, alone.   But life has a funny things to bring people together as well. I met some new people, and they kept me company even after my outrageous stories and bizarre way of speaking; I cannot share with them the knowledge I have, as they are just good people who do not deserve to be plunged into chaos so soon. However, I fear that this meeting has sealed their fate, as the girls have already met Xantinya before, and if I am to tell them of the danger this world is in, they will inevitably have to become the defenders of this dimension; maybe even more. We may have failed to work together in my previous party, and they may have left me alone in my journey, but I do not blame them, it is a tough enterprise. I will do my best, and if my new acquaintances will decide to join me, I will make sure to right the things that didn't work, and create something stronger.   May the Almighty guide me on the right path.