Blades of Fire: Part One, The quest begins....

[Bryanz]

Alone.

Yet it was far from the solitude of the peaceful. It was the isolation of a being alone in a crowd. Nay, it was two separate multitudes, mass entities, neither of which the lone being belonged. Yes, even now the sound of their conflict came to life in the ears of the being. They raged and stormed around him, their waves of hatred directed towards one another, washing over his spirit, some crashing and breaking upon the rock of his mind.

The physical world followed. A tirade of faceless undead monsters flew into view, mirrored by an army of dark elven warriors, their skin a homage to their realm. The battlefield flew from underneath, arriving with a thud under the being's black booted feet. Now the sound of thunder arrived, feet from all directions, and from the sky that descended upon the being.

He was assaulted from all directions, the weapons of the drow, the claws of the undead, the unrelenting hardness of the earth, the unbarred floodgates of the heavens. Even as the being looked up, a flash of lightning illuminated the dark draconic shape that he knew would soon arrive and end him.

It was the same story every time, the gripping and wonderful tale a grandfather has recited so often that his descendants could tell it with eyes hands and mouths fast bound. Yet this one seemed different to the being, a new story element . As the droplets of rain began their transformation into the rain of fire they were, the being felt the weight of metal in both his hands.

A sense of flame that was not of either army, nor the heavens, nor the earth, began to spread from what was the beings arms up into the head, the eyes with which he saw the firestorm crackling across the illusion battlefield. It was power of his own, linked twixt his mind, his form, and these blades he could see in his hands...

Then the instant arrived, the moment of the dream cut, where all inevitable parties, elements, enemies and moments happen at the cusp of wakening. The power within his being shifted, severing the tie to the twin blades, but growing more powerful than they had allowed. The firestorm hit, the armies collided, and the draconic shape descended. Again, the last thing the being viewed was the blood red eye that looked into his, moments before the gigantic black claw plunged into his own orbs.

As the being died, Bryanz Tyrefa awoke.
***
It was the same dream. Every night for the last six weeks, he had suffered this dream. He knew it could not be accurate truth, but also knew that dreams seldom were. What memory he possesed allowed him to understand that he viewed the end of his previous life. He had been passing it off as a punishment, but now, with this new element to it, perhaps it was more, like she had suggested.

"Again." the word was elvish, spoken in female voice, soothing from behind him. It was much more than a simple statement, and yet it too served as one. Bryanz turned his head from where he had sat up, looking back at her head resting on the pillow. While he was tense, sitting, she still lay there relaxed, calm. Yet her eyes were far from sleep worn.

His yes furrowed, and he nodded. Sharing all with her had meant they need not speak. However, he knew her next words would be aloud, even though he also knew what those words would be.

"You should go and see him." Aherne's voice fizzled with the magic of her races, usually this would calm him and he would join her in resting until the sun rose over the barrier hills and awoke the valley. This time, the dream difference prevented that.

He merely sat, his gaze shifted to the window. He knew that this signalled a change to her, but understood that she would not mind. Again, he nodded.

The coverings slid from his shoulders as he stood, and donned his clothing, not looking at his beloved as he did so. The matter was serious, he must focus. Still, remembering his promise, he turned his head as he paused at the door, and smiled at her, his lips forming a kiss that he knew she could feel even across the room.

Then he was out of the room, and flying down the hall, trenchcoat whipping his heels. He knew where the man was. The training grounds.

[Ruejan]

Early morning peace reigned over the Land of Light's training grounds, as it did each morning. Again a clear sky promised to deliver a warming sun from over the hills at the end of the Noresh valley, but until that time, even this place, a location dedicated to training, was quiet, peaceful. It was an unspoken tradition for all the patrons of Noresh not to disturb the quiet of the morn, yet this did not prevent acolytes and masters alike from beginning their training before the appearance of light.

Ruejan was one such patron of the Training Grounds, he chose to arrive here each morning as the first hints of light began to appear over the hills, a good hour before the sun chose to supply its light directly to the valley. Watching the slow increase of light before the arrival of its true source always felt somehow true of life to the Paladin, as he rested in the calm of the dawn.

Yet for Ruejan, calm was not the apt term. Those who, like him, chose to meditate in the breaking sunlight would all feel the peace in a different way, unique to themselves. For Ruejan, Edgemaster and Paladin of Spirit, the sense was of motion, dance, song. Nothing in nature was often truly still, and even single wing beats of insects made an impact on Ruejan, as he listened to the spirit element. Each morning he would marvel upon how though there was much action, how all elements acted on their own will, yet the combined effect was one of wholesome peace.

Here, floating above the sand of the training grounds, folded arms and legs, would be where Ruejan began his day, centering himself, and awaiting the arrival of those who chose to attend his lesson. Preferring to offer complete freedom to people, Ruejan's morning tuition was on the spirit, and each attendee benefited differently, as it ought to be. The common focus was on that which resided in all, the spirit, and by teaching others to learn to listen to their own, Ruejan was able to assist them in the enhancement of the skills they already possessed.

This morning was going to be somewhat different. Already the Paladin could sense the buildup in the Fire Element, being fed by the source that he had often felt moving about the Noresh grounds before. The usual calm and balance of the morning was already being tilted differently, everything rolling in the direction of the fire. At last, the amnesic Firemaster had decided to come and see him. He had known that this day would be coming, only the timing of it was unclear. Well, no more.

Unfolding his legs, Ruejan settled on the ground, and as he opened his eyes, the image of a fire approaching was replaced with the dark figure of the approaching Bryanz. It would seem that the lessons today would be on inevitablities, and most definitely on conflict.