The Choosing

“You see!” Palayon speaks up suddenly, as though to someone you cannot see. “I told you they were made of the right stuff!”


Immediately in a shimmer of dark blue light a radiant female figure appears. It is the Sapphire lady, smiling pleasantly at you. “Perhaps, but they’ve many more tests to face first.”

“One’s I’m sure you’re cunningness will concoct shortly!” a dark voice replies, and you turn to see the shadow master emerging from the darkness between the bookshelves.

“Indeed!” Palayon replies “But from what I’ve seen, these young ones are more than able of creating their own adventures without our help from us!”

“You remember, Old man” The Lady speaks. “We were the last ones, some 50 years ago, as I recall. We four braved the world outside to bring light and hope…

“And food!” The shadow master pipes in, she gives him her sternest scowl, but it is lost in his mischievous grin from ear to ear. Slowly, the patrician façade melts, but only slightly.

“And food, to all the people of the city. It has been a long time.” She agrees.

“Indeed!” Palayon replies. “But our time is long spent! It is time for us to hand the burden, and the blessings, to younger hands.”

“Ah, those were the good old days!” The shadow master sighs happily “When the four of us were out in the multiverse, causing trouble, hoarding treasure, felling foes! Sad the minotaur couldn’t come today eh?”

With a sudden gasp the shadow master is swept up from his feet, and you hear the minotaur speak as she leaves her invisibility.

“And miss a chance to torment you, child man?” Miraculously, he somehow wiggles free and huffs, feigning indignantly as he stands surefooted on the floor.

“But sorry I’m late” She says. “I had some… work to attend to.”

“We’ve all become busy nowadays, haven’t we? No time for heroics now.” The sapphire lady speaks, and were she not the picture of serenity you might think you hear the edge of sadness to her tale.

“Pah!” The shadow master retorts cheekily. “Speak for yourself, blue pants. My life is still an adventure!”

“Perhaps,” Palayon replies, a mischievous smile playing on his lips, “but not even you have been able to travel outside the walls in many years, have you, master of shadows?” Then he sighs reticently. “It is time, and long overdue, for… others… to take on the adventure.  We need trade.  We need food.  We need raw materials... "

He turns to face you all “Well young ones, do you accept your choosing? Are you ready to take the adventure outside the city walls and explore the wider world?”

The Birthing

You hold out the Orizon crystal to the white mote of sand on the Loremasters desk, and suddenly the shuddering in the city ceases, and is filled with instead with a profound silence, as though time itself would stand still in reverence for what you are about to witness…

Instantly, all the colours fade from the crystal and it crumbles to dust. A glowing fountain, the full spectrum of colours, leap from your hand to fill up the shard… black, brown, red, then all through the rainbow to purple, then silver and finally gold. They all fall into the little grain of sand which begins to glow a brilliant white.

And that glow gets brighter, and brighter. Within moments the room is filled with the most blindingly brilliant white light you have ever seen, and you suddenly sense you are surrounded by a vast multitude of other souls – you are not alone in the room.

Then, suddenly, completely, the light disappears.

For a moment you all stand there, wondering what happens next.

“Oh.” Says Palayon after a moment pause. “I wonder if that’s …”

He is cut short by an enormous explosion. You are all flung backwards as a kaleidoscope of colours burst form the room, shattering the windows. At first the light itself seems to be tugging at your clothes, threatening to tare you apart, but after a moment it begins to subside.

Daring to look up, you see bright star trails of light heading towards the outer walls, imbedding themselves like meteors into it. The citizens of the city look up in amazement.

“Quickly! To the scopes!” Palayon instructs, pulling you up to look out at magical telescopes which allow you to see the outside wall of the city.

And all over that outer wall, hundreds, no, thousands of bulges are now clearly visible. It is as though the stones are tearing themselves from the rock, and indeed they do. First one, then another, the city wall fusing back together where the clods of earth and stone emerge. Some are huge, larger than a three story house, while many, many dozens are no larger than your fist. Some are like polished stones, some are clumps of dirt, and some few are glowing crystals.

Gently, the offspring of the city silently float around her perimeter, some few emerging to ‘peer’ curiously over the wall. They float down among the citizens, greeting them with affection and faith, never straying far from the city they call mother.

The majority of the birthing is completed in an hour, yet still for many weeks stones are emerging from that wall.

Finally, Lauresia has given birth.