Genesis in Mists, Some tales are best left untold...

[Necrotyk]

In times long passed, there existed a great city known as Xehel. It was a city of towering spires, golden parapets, and the grandiose architecture of a city built well on the backs of its people's labor. But make no mistake; this city was the essence and being of the ways of the arcane arts; the great towers surrounding the city's perimeter charged with an ominous energy, keeping the shileds of the city erect.

The city was run by a counsel of great mages, headed by the Grand High Warlock. This governing body kept the evils of the outside world just where they were: outside Xehel. Every cycle, the counsel would take to the towers and recharge them in a ceremony known Sh'ma Dakahl. During this ceremony, for a fraction of a second, the shields dissipate and the city is vulnerable; no one is let out or in.

However, on this Sh'ma Dakahl, something got in.

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Neil Cronus Tykiel was a member of the Minor Archmagi Association, a division of Red Wizards just beneath the Counsel, and the group from which new Counsel members are picked, and Tykiel was next in line to be promoted to the Counsel. The city celebrated him for being the youngest counselor ever admitted.

It was the day of his coronation, the afternoon after the cyclic Sh'ma Dakahl, that the first encounter happened.

Oh, this is the day. I finally have come to the pinnacle of my career, and now I'm on my way to the top...someday, someday... but Neil's train of thought was suddenly interupted by a man clad in a dark cloak in front of him. Neil was suddenly stopped -- the man had not been there or anywhere near but a second before. He stood there, in a dark hooded coat with silver tassels and a silver zipline, his gaunt frame simply blocking his way, but nothing else threatening.

"Neil Cronus Tykiel." the figure stated. Or was it a question? Puzzled, Neil continued past the man. A slightly disturbed well-wisher, he thought. "Neil Cronus Tykiel!" this time the figure, behind him, was more demanding. Neil turned to check for the man again, but he was gone.

What in the blazes? he thought. He turned back around and was again confronted by the mysterious figure. With a yelp and startle, he found his slightly disturbed well-wisher to be a little more forboding than he originally conceived. "Who are you?!"

The cloaked figure tilted its head to one side, looking the governor-to-be over, inspecting him. The figured circled around him, taking in the full extent of the red wizard. "Neil Cronus Tykiel. I have chosen you." The figured extended his hand, the black gloves glowing blue. Neil found himself suddenly unable to move.

"What are you doing to me? Who are you?"
"I am mist - fog, after a night's storm. I do not exist, and yet I am condemed to be a shell. I am Xonthr...and yet, I am the unknown - I am nobody." The figure, this Xonthr, moved around Neil, hand yet outstretched keeping him in stasis. "Long ago, the feeling inside me was stolen - all emotion, all existence - and I was left as a shell. I sought power to become whole again...but I failed. I have chosen you, Neil...my time is growing short." The figure kneeld down in front of Tykiel, staring at him from under his darkened hood. Neil looked into the dull yellow pinpoints under the shroud.

"I don't need your power -- I am a governing mage on the Counsel, I --" but he never finished. Neil found himself unable to speak, though he attempted...the man's hand glowed red now.

"Let me finish, boy. I am talking power beyond your wildest imagination!" he waved his arm and the world around Neil suddenly went black - images flashed past him very quickly -- a group of thirteen hooded figures, a secret meeting in an inn, a snow-covered town on a far away continent, a ruined temple, and lastly the figure, pulling back his hood as --- and just as quickly as the visions began, they ended. "Unimaginable power. I offer this to you, in return for my dying wishes fullfilled."

Neil looked into the yellow eyes, bewilderdly: Why is he doing this? What am I to him? What should I do? Then, the darkness in the back of his heart began to seep over him...More power? he thought, More power, yes...this could help my climb upward, very well.

"What must I do?"

This post has been edited by Necrotyk on Jun 28 2006, 11:31 PM

[Necrotyk]

That night, Neil stood before the Council of mages. Councilor Fohal, the mage stepping down and conceding his position to Neil, was speaking to the group, but all Neil could think of was that enigmatic man's words.

"Our city, a glorious testment to the knowledge and virtue of it's leaders, has ---"

"My wish is for the next Sh'ma Dakahl. As a councilor, you are one of the wizards who must charge the shields. I wish to present my power to you at the next ceremony, at the tower."

"Through knowledge and wisdom comes great power, and magic is the proof of this power. It is the belief---"

"Why at the tower?"

"--- that through magic ---"

"I've been told the view is beautiful - call it my 'dying wish' to be there when I go."

" --- we are capable of bringing peace and prosperity to our home."

"Do you accept the conditions?"

"So without further ado, I'd like to present a young man --"

"I -- I'm ...I---"

"--- to whom I offer my chair at the council - Neil Tykiel!" Neil stood to attention at the sound of his name. Rising, he greeted Councilor Fohal at the high podium above the streets of Xehel. Neil looked down, and began his speech the same way his last conversation ended.

"I accept."

"Good. You shall see me again then, at Sh'ma Dakahl." With that, the figure vanished again into the air. The fire in Neil's mind fanned as he hurried to the tower in the center of the city.

[Necrotyk]

In the wee hours of the morning, Neil tossed and he turned...he saw the images of the things the hooded man showed him: the snow-covered town, and a group of people mounting an offensive. A half plant-man hybrid in golden armor, a sorceror in orange robes, a warrior in a white trenchcoat -- there were others there, but their faces were a blur. There was also a man in black shades and a black hat...he seemed to be fighting this other group with a group of soldiers of his own. The hooded man was there, in the shadows, watching the conflict. He could hear him in his dream...

"I was once the proponent of this conflict, but then I was weak...I could not act fully without powerful allies."

The dream melded into another picture. A flat plain, swarming with giant, hulking creatures. It was twilight, and there were a great many people on the plains, slaying these creatures with magic or otherwise. There was also a town - a small town with high walls, and a single entrance. At the gate, the black-coated figure stood, his hood still up. Did he ever take it down?

"Unfortunately, my time was not permanent..."

The figure began walking...he rounded the wall to the west side. Neil followed him, running. The twilight was begin to become foggy. In the mist, Neil saw his benefactor, still walking with slow and even steps. From the fog, horrid figures, cloaked and hunched and gray, groped for the figure, as if beckoning him to another existence.

"This is why I sought you out."

The hooded figure turned again, and was now on the north side of the wall. There was another there - a mage, wielding an axe. The hooded man, from nowhere, produced a thin sword, approaching the mage.

"To carry on my work..."

The mage stepped back, and readied his axe. The hooded figure kept his pace.

"To lead my greatest achievement..."

SHIIIING! The sound of metal through metal could be heard. "Urk...euh..."THUMP. The hooded man's sword never moved as he advanced - there was another in his other hand, dripping blood.

"To be the newest form of sin--"

Neil began screaming, the hooded figure turning and speaking directly to him.

"-- to be the next Unknown!"

The dream faded as quickly as it came, and Neil awoke in a sweat. He looked to the moon, thinking,What in Oerth was that? The lunar celestian hung in the sky, giving no answers. All would be answered in a cycle's time, during the next Sh'ma Dakahl...

[Necrotyk]

Nearly a cycle later, the afternoon before Sh'ma Dakahl...

"This is absurd! Nothing can get in past the barrier, not even in theory! It is infalable." A greying mage sat at a round table, looking about at his peers. Others shouted in a noisy din, the sounds colliding in mid-air but none actually heard.

"The power source will never --"
"One day the shields will fail and --"
"Supposing that we consider alternate --"
"-- when the day comes that we --"

Only one of the mage gathered remained silent, learning and listening. Neil Cronus Tykiel watched as his fellows debated heatedly over the citie's defense. From his telling, this was a long-debated issue within the council, during all ages. It seemed, from the debate, that during Sh'ma Dakahl (and much to the public's ignorance) the barriers around the city are temporarily broken, and within the few moments it is absent outsiders could, theoretically, come through to the other side.

"This is preposterous! An outsider has never set foot in our golden utopia. None have,"

One has, thought Neil.

"none would,"

Oh he would, he thought more.

"and none ever will!" the grey haired councilor brought his fist to the table with his last exclamation, momentarily buying a moment of silence within the crowded hall.

"Gentlemen..." the others looked to the alien voice -- the till-then silent Councilor Tykiel. "In my humble opinion, from the information I've gathered, the system we have is quite sound as it stands." He rose, pacing the circular table. "I do however, admit that if the outside world were to find out about our weakness, unseemly characters could very likely," Neil chuckled at the thought, to himself, "jump the border, proverbially speaking." Neil knew that when the powers promised him by that enigmatic man were his, the threat (if any) posed by the mysterious stranger would die with him.

Neil drew close to the Grand High Wizard. He looked upon neil with a quizzical but intrigued notion on his visage. The deep wrinkles in his brow were raised in interest. For many years, Grand High Wizard Cepturic served the council as a wise leader - he looked upon this young man with much hope and pride, seeing in him the same sparks of aspiration as he remembered he himself had long ago.

"I propose that, preceeding the Sh'ma Dakahl following tomorrow's, we devise a more permanent and more easily replenished arcane battery than our current method." Neil looked into Cepturic's deep eyes. "What does the Grand High Wizard think of this movement?" Cepturic looked back with smiling eyes.

"The movement is seconded." The aged wizard exclaimed, bordering exuberance. "We shall move directly to voting. All those opposed?" The group remained silent. "Wonderful."

"Wonderful." Neil smiled.

"Wonderful... whispered a shadow to the winds...

[Necrotyk]

The meeting concluded, Grand High Wizard Cepturic held back the young Neil Cronus Tykiel.

"My young boy...I'd like to confide in you." The two sat in the Councilor's chamber in the Council Tower. "I've been the Grand High Wizard for many many years, Neil." Neil simply sat and stared, awed and amazed he'd already come this far in such short time. "I've grown quite long in the tooth, and I know very well that very soon...very soon I may well pass into the next life."

Neil felt sorry for the wise old man and that it was likely true what he spoke. Feeling the need to comfort the aging sage, Neil spoke: "Grand High Wizard Cepturic, you'd never leave us. Especially not any time soon. There are magics to propel your life span for --"

"No, no, none of that. When my time comes, I want the Gods to see me for what I am, not some over-extende youthful shell of a man." He stood, pacing in front of the cozy yet grandiose fireplace. "I called you here, my boy, because -- well, you see I've always believed I would know my successor when I saw him..." Cepturic came to Neil, and put a hand on his shoulder.

This is it! Neil thought in the back of his mind.

"You, Neil, are my eventual successor."

The two left on wonderful terms that night, a joyous night. Neil, for once in the past cycle, had forgotten his greed and lust for power, and became quickly attached to the grandfather-like magician. Many stories were exchanged, many anecdotes reviewed, and many spells were taught. Cepturic seemed the happiest he was ever in years of being viewed by the public, or so Neil could observe. In the small hours of the morning, the two parted ways. Neil was happier than he could ever be. Neil was lost in joyous thought, when he tiptoed around the deal he made with a devil. That fellow in the coat...I don't need him. Power is formed by comraderie, not bargaining. This shall be a glorioius reign for the council.

That night, the Grand High Wizard, Cylus Cepturic, passed away peacefully in his sleep. His attendant said, in a report before the dawn broke, he was smiling.

The shadow in the room smiled as well.

[Necrotyk]

Sh'ma Dakahl came and passed, and Neil Cronus Tykiel assumed the position of Grand High Wizard. The ceremony went off, as normal, without a hitch - and without any unusual visitations.

In a meeting the following day, Neil seemed rather distant from the rest of the council. Where in Hrithgan's name was he yesterday? Staring off into space, he pondered the promise of the hooded man and the death of Cepturic, blissfully unaware of what was going on around him.

During the cycle before the Sh'ma Dakahl, the Grand High Wizards tower was converted into an arcane battery. The battery could be recharged indefinately, and could power the the barrier around the city infinitely with minimal maintenance: a perfect method of protection. The new system would come into being when the next Sh'ma Dakahl would be held - the old power in the towers would be drained at the time the battery began powering.

Neil Cronus Tykiel stood before the battery that day as it came online, scribing his insignia into its surface for all to remember under whose reign it became a reality.

"Well done, Tykiel, well done." A voice from behind him caused his blood to curdle - he had came. Neil turned from his perch to see the hooded man.

"What do you want?" He came down to meet his 'guest'. "You didn't show up at the lat Sh'ma Dakahl like you said." Neil told him, "Not that it matters. I don't need our deal anymore." The hodded man stared at him with his yellow eyes, and began to laugh insidiously.

"Do you think it's that easy?! No no no, my young friend, we have a deal. You get my powers - and I die from this world." He came to Neil, very close. "End of the stories." The hooded man looked up at the battery. "So, this is what is so well reputed as the Crystal of Xehel in the future? Ha ha...the worlds most powerful source of magic - what a laugh it is."

"What are you talking about?" Neil grabbed for the unknown man's arm, and was left with air. "What in ---"

"It won't be very difficult for me to die from this world..." the man lowered his hood...black hair covered his head. He raised his hand, and the crystal began to glow. "...when I never existed in it."

The crystal began to emit waves of magic - the black coated man was draining the crstyal. As the energy gathered in his hand, Neil recollected himself, and shouted above the din to him. "What are you!?" The man's other arm whipped around and Neil was blasted with force. Neil was knocked to the floor when a deafaning crack sounded from the crystal. Looking up, Neil could see the battery failing. "Why are you doing this?"

"I am what is left over from the transformation of a powerful wizard - I am his shell, what is left of his former body. He delved too deep into a world that he shouldn't have, and tansformed himself into a grotesque hybrid of worlds that should never meet. Damned Geomancer..." The figure turned, he had sharp features and dark skin, and golden the golden yellow eyes he could see before under the hood, which were accented by two sharp white marks below them, like scars. "The only thing left of me is this shade, this whisp - I hope to ascend to another existence with this power. Of course..." he extended his hand back towards Neil again, ", I won't leave you unrewarded."

The barriers were gone for some time now...the city was in turmoil. Creatures from the outside were terrorizing the streets - the mists of the outside were billowing over the skyscape. It reached the center of the city now, and began to fill the tower as the transformation began.

"Ah, a little mood. Perhaps we can draw on a little...influence?" The man said. Neil felt his body twisting, turning. The energy filling him was immense, but awful. It felt like he was burning - dying slowly, but being empowered. He breathed in the intoxicating mists, trying to keep his mind cleared. "Soon, soon you'll see the world I came from - the world I left to find my heir and my ascendence."

Neil felt the spark of life leave him, and the world around him began to darken. "Welcome to death, and your new life."

[Necrotyk]

Neil awoke - everything was dark around him, and he could feel himself sopping wet. It seemed to be night; there was no light at all to tell the blurred images around him from each other. He attempted to stand, and he could hear the voice of the hooded man echoing around him.

"Enjoy the new world before you - I've opened the doors, you must carry on now as I did - half existing. Goodbye, Neil Cronus Tykiel." Who? Who is this? He didn't know anyone by that --..

"Ne...Cronuh...Tykee..." his senses were starting to come back to him. "Neil...Cronus...Tykiel?" The crsytal! He remembered! He staggered about, trying to become adjusted. The crsyatal was destroyed, he could feel the shards around him. Neil wandered towards the exit of the tower...what he saw would change his life forever....



In legends handed down, many have told of the lifeless prince of a long-forgotten and fallen empire of magic and industry, who cause the catastrophe that lead to his kingdom's destruction. He made a deal with the devil and was doomed to exist in a half-life, like so many mindless abberations of undeath...some say he still roams the lands to this day - his real name he has long forgotten, but with his pallid, undead form he now calls himself...Necrotyk.