Ancient Messenger (HD and Gol)

[Golganneth]

A short tremble made the wooden houses shake on their foundations. Although it continued for less then five seconds the small earthquake had a magnitude strong enough to crack the road and even let some houses partially collapse. the terrified villagers came out to observe the damage to their homes when the trembling stopped. By a miracle no one was injured.

The rays of the sun touched the stone skin and the weak warmth was just enough to awake Golganneth. The confused man looked around while rubbing his head. He had a huge headache and seemed to fail to remember why. Suddenly it all came back to him. With renewed vigor the Earthen stood up and wiped the filth out of his long white beard, wich was actually an intricate series of mineral growths. After a short check to see his body was still in one piece Golgannethstepped towards he thought were houses in the distance.

The villagers looked strangely. They were all cleaning up the debris from the earthquake from yesterday and now a wierd looking traveller entered their village. It wasn't the intimidating, ornated battle armor nor the heavy warhammer and double bladed axe. It wasn't rare that adventurers came by here but this man seemed to be made entirely out of stone and rock. Even his beard seemed to be minerels clusterd together.

People were giving him strange looks and Golganneth didn't understand why. These creatures looked strange themselves. How could they survive with such weak skins. EH just shurgged it off and approached the first villager he encountered. It was an aging man. "Dear mortal, I am Thane Golganneth. I am here to discuss important matters with your leader. Bring me to your town elder.''. The Earhten asked in his native Titan tongue. The wierd look on the old man's face suprised Golganneth even more. Clearly this man should've understand what he would be saying. Titan was the most important language afterall. "Probably a senile'' Golganneth thought. "Can anyone take me to your town elder?" He asked again.

The villagers were quietly working while the traveller approached Sander, the leatherworker of the village. Probably he was asking for some directions. Alltough some people's interest was being absorbed by the conversation. Sander didn't seem to understand a thing what the stranger was saying. When they heard the newcomer yell something everybody's mouth fell open. What in the world was he saying? It was a language they never heard before. It even didn't came close to a dialect.

Golganneth rasied an eyebrow and streaked trough his beard. Why were these villagers standing there stupified for? Then Golganneth understand what was going on. They were clearly unknowing peasants wich weren't schooled in the high language of the Titans. It made perfect sense but it didn't made his job easier though. How was he going to communicate with these folksmen.

[HoudiniDerek]

Kimara Severn rode slowly to town, steering the reluctant ass through the streets of Elasen. A few houses had been recently knocked down and the peasants were out cleaning up the remnants and trying to rebuild. A huge crevice split the road where Kimara was riding and that caused the mule to shy away several times from going further.

"Odd," Kimara mumbled. Earthquakes, while common in parts of Valear, had not happened in the Ularian Ridge for centuries. It would take either a massive upheaval beneath the surface or some form of magic to cause such a disruption, especially as high up as Elasen was in the mountains. Kimara sat atop the mule and tried to ponder out the significance of it.

A booming voice brought Kimara out of the depths of imagination. The words had been lost on the wind, but there was an oddness about them that could not be immediately placed. A young villager dashed past and hurdled the crevice, headed towards the still-standing shanty next to Kimara.

"Mother! Father! A huge stone stranger is in town and speaking a funny language." The young child skidded to a stop when he saw Kimara upon the donkey. There was a curiosity there, but a fear that had been awakened on the other end of the village. Kimara merely nodded, smiled, and prodded the donkey forward again.

A few minutes later, Kimara arrived to see a stone man standing in the village looking around bewildered. The beard was what caught Kimara's attention. Few beings of Valear had anything of the sort. In fact, Kimara only knew of one culture to ever have had that look: The Earthen...the servants of the Titans.

Kimara rode closer to the stone giant, going slowly so that he could see there was no harm in the approach. Kimara stopped several paces back and slowly climbed down. Getting out a sturdy walking stick, Kimara ambled closer.

"Hello. My name is Kimara Severn. What are you doing here, Earthen?"

[Golganneth]

A deep sigh came from Golganneth's throat. Even with gestures he tried to explain the villagers what was going on. But because of his intimidating looks the people just got more frightened. Then he saw an elder figure approaching him. It talked to him in a language Golganneth couldn't understand but he thought that he reckognized the word Earthen or something similiar. "Who, in the titans name, are you? How do you know my kind?"

Golganneth streaked trough his quartz beard. If this one knew his kind then perhaps this elder could understand the titan language if he spoke clearly. Golganneth pointed at his chest. "I... am...Golganneth, the 72th Thane. I...arrived here...recently...to discuss...a matter...of life and death... with...your...lord. Take...me...to...him." Golganneth said with the matching gestures. The he waited and checked if his message was understood.

[HoudiniDerek]

Kimara stood as the Earthen gathered his thoughts and spoke. The word "Titan" was the only thing that was decipherable from the first spouting. Then, the Earthen began to speak much more slowly and deliberately.

Kimara dredged up the few words that could be remembered and could understand the words "life and death" and "lord" and "take me to" but nothing beyond that. Kimara's skill of that language had been tenuous at best and the long lapses between practicing were not helping. Maybe if the two of them were around each other enough, that would change. However, Kimara had the feeling that the giant Earthen did not have a lot of leisure time.

"Kimara Severn," Kimara said, pointing to the wizened old face. Then, trying a hand at the few Titan phrases that could be recalled, "Welcome. I am a friend. I do not speak your language well." Kimara waited, hoping that no offense would be taken by something that might have been said incorrectly.

[Golganneth]

Golganneth looked while the elder person was struggling while trying to form phrases. His eyebrows raised when he heard titan words, altough broken words, from this person's lips. Lost in euphoria that someone finally understood him Golganneth took Kimara's arms in his gigantic hands and shoke them a bit wild while smiling wide.

When his feeling of bliss died away a bit he tried to talk to Kimara again. He pointed at the elder first. "Kimara" The he pointed at his chest. "Golganneth" Trying to make clear that was his name. "I...came...here to...talk...with...your...leaders." The Earthen said with the matching gestures. But he didn't think it would be completly clear. When streeaking trough his beard, wich he always did when thinking, he came up with an idea.

Golganneth pointed at the ground, gesturing they had to look. Nothing happened at first but suddenly a miniature, made out of earth, wich feateured Golganneth crawled out of the ground. The thing was the size of a human finger. Another figure appeared. The only special about it that it was wearing a crown of some sort. The miniature Golganneth walked towards the small and seemed to be discussing. After that they both turned back into dead rocks. Golganneth looked at imara to see if the elder got his point.

[HoudiniDerek]

Kimara saw the giant seem to sigh in relief, but was not prepared for the bone numbing arm shake that accompanied understanding of the message. As Kimara tried to get the feeling back in the crumpled arm, the stranger spoke again...this time more slowly and deliberately.

Kimara realized that the Earthen's name was Golganneth. The history was slowly coming back, but the names of the Earthen seemed to reflect their nature. The names were hardened and easy to distinguish based on sounds, much like different areas can be defined by the cartographical features.

The rest of the message was still broken on Kimara's ears and "leaders" was about the only word that got through. Then, Golganneth showed Kimara a miniature sand animation that showed a smaller Golganneth approaching somoene with a crown and conversing.

"Uh oh," Kimara muttered. Now the intent was clear. Golganneth was here to talk to the ruler of Valear. That was going to be difficult as there had been no ruler of Valear since the induction of the dwarves...the ancient relatives of the Earthen. Kimara was at a loss to explain, especially in Titan, that not only were there no more leaders over the whole of Valear, but that it was the fault of the Earthen and their distant cousins the dwarves.

Kimara motioned for Golganneth to follow and headed towards the mule. Clambering on, Kimara slowly rode out of Elasen towards the rising valley of the Selkia far below. They would bypass the Selkia on the way to Blaze Mountain where Kimara called home. That would take a week or so and that would give Kimara time to decipher the message of the Earthen and what to do about it. Kimara only hoped there was time....

[Golganneth]

Golganneth was relieved to see that Kimara understood his message but the rather uneasy look made him feel unsure wether it was good news or not. Even the fact that the elder mumbled in himself for a few seconds made him feel uneasy.

Kimara motioned to follow and with a small grunt Golganneth stepped behind him. Right next to the earthen Kimara appeared like a fragile thing. On his back hung a warhammer, a battle axe and between them a lute wich was customized for Golganneth's large size. "Perhaps I will be taken to the now." He thought. Golganneth smiled as he thought he'll succeed in the task his people placed upon his shoulders. It made him fill with bliss that he could make his kind proud.

On a steady pace Golganneth followed Kimara on the mule. They left the village behind and walked down into a vale. When he saw the forest his mouth fell open by pure awe. It was the first time he saw something like that. The pure magic of the large forest took away his breath. The earthen didn't had something like that underground. "Are there many other forests like that in Valear?"

[HoudiniDerek]

Kimara heard the Earthen begin speaking, but only caught the word "forests" in the exchange and something that sounded like "Valear." Kimara turned and saw Golganneth looking at the forest with awe and realized that this would probably the first forest, extensive one anyway, that he had seen. After all, the land underneath had more roots than actual trees.

Kimara reigned in the mule who was happy to munch the ground beneath its feet. Kimara leaned forward on the saddle and looked at Golganneth. "Selkia," Kimara said, gesturing widely at the forest. Then, in more broken Titan, "The Endless Forest."

Kimara looked up at the sky and saw that darkness was going to overtake them in a few minutes. Steering the reluctant mule towards an alcove on the edge of the Selkia, Kimara slowly clambered down. "Rest," Kimara managed to utter in Titan. Maybe a meal and some rest would help Kimara figure out what to do with the Earthen...and whatever message he possessed.

[Golganneth]

The sight of the forest filled Golganneth with awe. It was more than five millenia since the last time he set foot upon the upper realm. During that time the landscape has changed completly. He nodded when Kimara said its name. 'It is breath taking.'

In his realm they even didn't see the tree roots in the Titan cities where the Earthen reside. The cities are close to the world's inner core, using its lava for their forges and creating imense structures underground. Altough an unkown society it was a very highly developed, keeping the ways of the Titans in high honour.

Kimara said they would rest here and Golganneth nodded to confirm he got the message. He sat down, letting his warhammer and battleaxe rest against a tree, and grabbed his lute. Altough it looked like his huge fingers couldn't get a single note out if the instrument, Golganneth created a very soothing, calm melody with his lute.

His fingers glided over the strings with such an ease that it seemed he didn't even touched the strings. The Earthen looked around while playing on his lute, gazing at the stars, and humming a small tune.

[HoudiniDerek]

Kimara made a small fire and began dumping different items into a small pot from a satchel that the mule had carried. While the water was heating and the stew cooking, Kimara listened to the Golaganneth's tune and thought back about the history of the Titans and the Earthen...at least what was left of it on the surface.

Valear had been made by the Titans, shaped to house the life forms that were present today. The Earthen were the guardians of the old ways that should be preserved if the Titans ever came back. However, after the Titans left, the Earthen had slumbered. There were no reasons given in any ancient text as to why...and as Kimara glanced obliquely at Golganneth from time to time...it did not appear that he knew why either...if he was aware of it at all.

At some point, the Earthen had awoken. Valear had changed, but not so much that it could not be gotten back on track. This is where a division had occurred in the underground realm. The two sides split: The Earthen stayed below in their cities of rock and lava and the Dwarves came to the surface and had to forsake the ways of their ancestors. Most of the history of the Earthen had been written or decoded by the Dwarves as they had spoken a language similar to Titan for years.

Granted, over the past centuries, that language had eroded and most spoke the language common to Valear as a whole, but there were still some pockets of them in Valear, especially on the slopes of Blaze Mountain. Kimara began toying with the idea of taking the Earthen there first. It might help get the message out before telling Golganneth that his mission might prove fruitless. Of course, it would be tough getting the Dwarves to agree. They knew Kimara and there was mutual respect, but Kimara wondered if the old hatred was still there after all this time...and that could prove disastrous.

Kimara stirred the stew absently and listened to the music. It was earthy and full of fire, but subdued as well. It drew a perfect image of the Earthen and what they did. Kimara stopped stirring and dipped out some stew and handed it to Golganneth. Maybe he would feel like talking after a hot meal before getting some rest...

[Golganneth]

A fiery tune echoed trough the dark forest while Golganneth was playing on the lute. Such an enchanting melody always brought the earthen back to the days of old. When the Titans still walked this very earth. Just thinking about his divine master took Golganneth's breath away. They were the pure embodiment of perfection. An aura of untamed might always surrounded them. The days of the Shaping were the ones Golganneth cherised most.

Then after the Shaping there was a huge gap in his memory. Only a big blur and when he was trying to think back about he felt a throbbing pain in his chest, like something tried to protect the memories from those days. The gap ended when the Earthen awoke from their slumber and discovered a freightening fact. Some of the Earthen tunred into a mortal shell. Those were the days of the Divided War, wich was won by the Earthen in the end. The grudge between the Dwarves and the Earthen increased when the Dwarves revealed various Titan secrets to the other races, like blacksmithing. thinking about that made Golganneth's blood boil.

Golganneth was quikcly pulled to the recent time when Kimara handed him some stew. A frown appeared. How was he going to explain that the Earthen didn't eat food like the mortal races. Again he streaked trough his quartz beard. First he pointed at the stew and shook his head. "You...are...flesh and bone. You need...to...eat...to replenish your energies." Then he pointed at himself. "I...am...an Earthen. We...don't...live...like your...kind. We are stone...alive...by...magic. In...theory...we...don't...even...live like...the...mortal races... would...define...it." Goglanneth looked at the elder to see if Kimara got his message and bowed to excuse him and hoped he didn't offended his compagion.

[HoudiniDerek]

Kimara saw the disgruntled look on the Earthen's face and caught part of the message. Nodding, Kimara returned the stew to the pot and let it simmer while eating from the other bowl and watching the Earthen silently. Finally, Kimara finished and washed it down with a swig of water from a canteen.

"We must talk," Kimara said in Titan. "Why are you here?" It had taken Kimara a good while to remember those words so the stew had been a delicate, but necessary distraction. The longer the Earthen was around, the easier the language got due to its magical nature. Kimara understood magic and that made it easy to ascertain over time. Now, Kimara needed to make sure of the message before anything could be done and a plan of action to be taken. After all, Kimara doubted that Golganneth wanted to see a ruler to talk about the weather.

[Golganneth]

A sigh came from Golganneth and he streaked trough his quartz hair. '' I've come from the Earthen sanctuary bearing grief news.'' His eyes looked at Kimara. "In order to explain it i have to go back to the days of the Shaping. The Titans created this world to make sure other species could live on it. Before they were here valear was just a dead rock, beying constantly under attack from demons and the elements. The Titans and my kind, the Earthen, tamed the elements and sealed the demons." He paused a moment to see if Kimara could still follow him.

"Before the Titans left they entrusted us with the task of safeguarding this world. But they also left another defense for the newborn races incase my kind failed." Golganneth's eyes became stonehard. "Magic. The very lifeforce wich streams trough this plane, keeping it in balance. Unfortunate my people failed in their task as for some reason whe withdrew in a hibernation. When we awoke again the world was changed but there was another thing wich was more frightening. The magc energies were unstable. All because the mortal races didn't heed the 10 laws of magic. The 10 rules the Titans created wich every mage such abide by." Golganneth's huge stone fists clenched while he was become more enraged toward the foolish races. "Because of their foolish overuseage of this energy Valear itself has become unstable and has started to die. I am here to talk with your to find a way to stop this." Again he looked Kimara straight in the eyes. "So i should get to the as soon as possible."

[HoudiniDerek]

Ten laws of magic? Kimara had never heard of them before...and that was impressive to say the least. The idea of visiting the Dwarves beneath Blaze Mountain was starting to appeal more to Kimara, but it would not set well with Golganneth.

Kimara did know of the magic use and abuse by the different races of Valear. However, Kimara was worried that Golganneth had been asleep longer than he had thought. Originally, magic had failed in Valear because no one understood the premise and the thought of it scared the people. They had relied on science and technology for thousands and thousands of years. Only with the decline of the sciences had magic taken more root, first as a scientific hybrid...and now as the main source of the planet's industry.

Kimara rocked back in contemplation, realizing now that the magic was more finite than people realized. It came from the ground mainly and the Earthen helped protect the source in their underground cities. It was like anything...if you use too much without replacing it, it would be gone. Kimara wondered how the races and the land itself would survive with the loss of magic, especially since technology was not back in high demand at all...and few things required it now. That would not be good, Kimara mused silently.

"I must rest," Kimara said, the Titan coming easier with the passage of time. "Tomorrow we will continue on our journey and you can tell me more about your mission and the dangers." Kimara smiled and moved over to put the fire out and clean up the area. In a few minutes, Kimara was nestled on a blanket staring off into the forest...but it was a long time before sleep would come.

[Golganneth]

The stars decorated the black sky and Golganneth stared for what seemed like eternity. it was the first time ever he saw the stars. The last time the Earthen were on the surface the stars where yet to be created. Talking about creation, Golganneth wondered if there was a Vault nearby. These Vaults where hidden places underneath the earth to safeguard the Titan's treasures and were scattered all around Valear. Only the Earthen had means to track these down. So Golganneth laid his ear against the earth like he was trying to listen. The earth asnwered and granted the Earthen visions of a nearby Titan vault.

Dawn was starting to come while Golganneth was still walking trough the forest. Kimara might get nervous if he would see that Golganneth was dissapeared when he woke up but that was the Earthens least bit of care. Golganneth had to know if the Vault was still sealed. When the sun started to bathe the land in the first youn sun rays, Golganneth found the Vault. Hidden under an illusion spell wich looked like a mountain. It appeased Golganneth to see that the magic seal was still intact altough the entrance had a few marks of failed intrusions.

After he sped back to where Kimama was sleeping, he sat down. It wondered Golganneth why the elder had to rest. Couldn't the Titans create the other races like the Earthen? But he quickly shrugged of that thought. Who was he to doubt the will of their creators. He just waited till Kimara woke up.