The Prophets IC

[afrenchpenguin]

One night, you have a dream.

The dream is at first an incoherent mess. Psychadelic visions and phylisophocal gibberish which eventually transform into a clear vision.
A toneless voice booms in your head: "You have been chosen."
The voice has no accent, no tonality, and no sound. You do not hear it, you feel it, as if it were made of the very essence of your soul. It speaks no mortal language but you comprehend its words more than you have ever understood anything.
You see the past. Your childhood. Things, people, and feelings that were once so real now fade. All that once was simple and good.
"Forget the past." booms the voice.
You see the present. Whatever situation you find yourself in feels empty to you. A pressing doubt fills your mind as you begin to question everything you do and have done to get yourself where you are right now.
"Forget the present."
Then, you see the future. The bright, ecstatic future. You feel it calling to you. Never before have you felt raw desire such as this. Something in the dark beckons to you. You find yourself in a small, dark tavern. Lonely souls drink away their sorrows. Two foreign figures now stand next to you.
"Nothing matters except what lies ahead"
The dark room is suddenly engulfed in golden light as the lifeless expressions on the faces of the people turn to joy and excitement. The bar transforms into the grand hall of a castle; before you are three golden thrones with a crown sitting on each. People fill the halls.
"Long live The Prophets!" the crowd shouts. "Harbingers of Unity and the Finders of the one true faith!"

Time freezes and the voice chimes in once more:

"A divided world.
On the brink of war.
Three Souls
Ride to battle.

The mortals' ill placed faith
In both gods and kings
Will be the end of all things
And the breaking of the world.

Darkness is coming
Save Them.

Ride Prophet
Take the name
All shall follow
Fear it and Love it

Be with Faith
Fear it and Love it"

Time resumes.

Friendly faces invite you to take your seat on the illustrious chair. You sit down, the two figures follow suit. Everything feels within your power. Whatever you want is yours. For the first time ever, you feel a sense of completion. All fear subsides and your soul rises.

"But should you fail..."

The blissful scene is broken by the pounding of drums. The faces of the crowd change from happy to frightened. Explosions and Fighting and Screaming can be heard from beyond doors. Seventeen frugally clothed figures walk in. You know their faces. Hundreds lie dead on the floor of the hall.
The ground opens up.
The sky falls down.
Darkness.

You awake in a cold sweat, breathing heavily and unsure of what just took place.
Every detail branded into your mind, unforgettable.

Though it never mentioned it in the dream, you happen to know of a place.
A small town in the mountains. You've never heard of it. But you know exactly where it is.
Sooner or later, the pressing name in your mind, you leave for Satus.

After days of travel, you find yourself in the mountains of central Mir, following the road of pravednost, you arrive in Satus. The road winds through a valley betwixt the mountaintops. The one to the west soars incredibly high, far above the cloud line and out of view. The higher up you get, you notice lush grass and large pines stick out from the half-melted snow as the cold makes way for spring. This road is notoriously dangerous, but you face no danger on your pilgrimage to Satus. The road dips down and finally you come to a clearing.

Three sections of road meet together at an intersection, and just past it on the northeast side, is a rectangular wooden shack with one completely open side facing the road and a small, stone chimney. Smoke bellows upwards to the peaks of the grand mountain. In this great mountain, directly opposite the shack, Is a marvelously crafted stone entrance carved right into the stone. Circular-stretching stairs pour out of the great wood doorway. Stone archways and columns line the edge of the elevated platform. Above it is what seems to be another story with occasional narrow windows. The perfect carving, engravings and discolorations in the rock give it a masterful but archaic look.

Between the shack and stone creation, in the road, three children play in the road with wooden swords while a tall man sits on
the steps watching, laughing, and puffing on his pipe. A rhythmic pang of metal on metal can be heard from the shack.

You notice as you walk down the road, on the two other sections of road that approach you, two figures walk toward the crossing.
The three sections of road meet, as do the three travelers.

Just below the town, a pale-looking Elf, a small Kender, and a Halfling stand in the road facing one another.

[Blueiji]

To Asasar Besnyn, the dream hadn't just been a mysterious calling, it had become his new life goal.

Ever since leaving his old Elvish village, Asasar had been at a loss for purpose. He was usually so goal-oriented, so precise. Being let out into the world with no guidance had been truly horrifying.

But upon receiving the vision everything had become clear. He had been given the rite of circumnavigation for a reason. He had bent sent on exodus for a reason. He had seen the vision for a reason. He had been selected for a reason. And now, seeing the same two figures from the prophecy, Asasar was once again assured that things were happening for a reason.

With an uncharacteristic smile upon his face, Asasar turned to face his newly-met companions. As he wished to greet those that the True God had dictated he would be traveling with.

"Hello fellow Prophets, I assume that the three of us received similar visions that led us here?"

It wasn't the most socially tactful or graceful greeting, but it did the job efficiently and with no nonsense, exactly how Asasar liked it.

[TheMac04]

Nate lit his last cigarette with his last match. It had been a two-pack kind of day. His head throbbing with the memory of the tavern he had spent the previous night in, and the cranial injuries sustained there-in, he flicked a few embers onto the ground before taking a drag and replying to the dead elf.

"Uh...hey. So you had the freaky vision quest dream too, huh? And you too? That's...yeah man, that's pretty weird. So do we uh...go inside or something?"

If he was anxious or stressed, he wasn't going to let them know it. He made a conscious effort to stop his cigarette hand from shaking.

[afrenchpenguin]

As the halfling ignites his cigarette, he catches the attention of the man sitting on the stairs.

He casually gets up, fixing his large hat as he goes.

He walks toward you, kicking up the dirt of the road with his boots as he goes.

[Blueiji]

As the scruffy looking Halfling responded to his question, Asasar examined him closely. The throbbing head injury, the carelessly flicked cigarette embers, the uneasy-seeming speech. This kind of behavior made Asasar uneasy. Not just because it could be the indicators of an unstable personality, but because it represented the exact sort of carefree and chaotic lifestyle that Asasar had never found himself able to understand.

Asasar would have gulped, but his adam's apple and swallowing mechanisms had long-since stopped working since the transformation.

This time a little less confident, Asasar responded.

"Yes, I too received the 'freaky vision quest'."

Looking up for a moment, Asasar noticed the figure walking towards the trio.

"It seems we don't need to approach just yet, one of the people of the village is approaching us instead."

[BanthaFodder]

Leaving his tribe for the first time was already putting an immense amount of pressure on Gee, but the little Kender wanted to know what life was like outside of the tribe, and the dream presented a perfect opportunity. Seeing the anxiety of the other two travelers had increased his own, and the approaching man only intensified it.

Gee nervously respondes.

"I...uh had the dream thing al-also. Sh-should we at-attack the man before he is close enough to attack us?"

Resulting back to his predator vs. prey instincts relaxes Gee, but only slightly.

[afrenchpenguin]

The scuffing of the man's boots in the dirt grows louder as he approaches the intersection.

He is a tall human, lanky and aged, but muscular. His long pipe sticks out from beneath the brim of his large hat. He rests his left arm on the hilt of an intricate dagger in his belt. He adjusts his hat and two friendly, aged grey eyes loom over each of you. He has a bushy, but well-kept mustache that hides a smirk. He refills his pipe with fresh herbs as he approaches Nate.

"Do you have a light, stranger?" says the middle aged man, his voice brings to the tense scene a foreign sense of comfort.

[TheMac04]

"Huh? Oh, uh, I'm out of matches man, but I can light you up with my cig here."

Nate held out the lit cigarette to the man's pipe and ignited the pungent herb.

"Always good to help a fellow mess out, right?" Nate hacked a coughing laugh and took another drag. "By the way, my uh..." He glanced quickly at his companions. "Friends and I are a bit lost. Do you know what's up with this place?"

[BanthaFodder]

Gee did not understand the purpose for the lighting of the stranger's pipe, and was still nervous.

"He could be dangerous."

Gee whispered, but without confidence.

[afrenchpenguin]

The man takes a long drag from his pipe and exhales releasing a waterfall of smoke from his mouth.

He scans the rest of the group, and eyes Gee with uncertainty.

"Thanks, friend." He brings his attention back to Nate.

"There ain't nothin' 'up with this place'; just a quiet little mountain town." He pauses, then continues now facing the rest of the group. "I saw this little meeting over here and I thought it was rather unusual, if you follow me. We don't get many visitors up in these parts, let alone 3, let alone 3 coming from different directions all meetin' at one intersection of road. So, my being the sort of authority figure around here, i must ask: what brings you folk to Satus?"

[Blueiji]

Asasar, being compulsively honest, immediately answers the man.

"We're not actually entirely sure what we're here to do. For you see, we all came here following a vision."

Asasar pauses, realizing it may have been unwise to tell this stranger of the prophetic vision. Trying to change the subject, Besnyn poses a quick question.

"I'm sorry, we didn't catch your name good sir. What do you call yourself?"

[afrenchpenguin]

You see that after Asasar's initial response that the man's face changes expression.
"My name's Bishop Drusus, as I mentioned before i'm sort of the authority figure around here." He pauses for a moment, then goes back to what Asasar mentioned earlier.

"A vision?" he says.

[BanthaFodder]

Gee is confused by the interest. He had assumed that visions were common for "civilized" people, and that was how they learned how to live.

"Why is a vision so interesting to you? Has there been others recently that have come because of versions, or is this rare?"

[Blueiji]

Asasar glanced at the Kender. His statement had been extremely direct, almost rudely so. But at the same time, Asasar couldn't deny the effectiveness of such a direct question.

Turning back to Bishop, Asasar awaited an answer to Gee's question.

[TheMac04]

Nate dropped his cigarette and ground the ember into the dirt with his shoe. This whole thing was giving him a weird vibe, but he was trying to keep his cool. He thought about how he could really go for a drink right now.

[afrenchpenguin]

Bishop smirked at the innocence of the childlike creature.
"Well in most places of the world that sort of thing is fairly common, but the difference is, this isn't most places," he said. He extended his arms and faced the simple place behind him. "See this place is sort of untouched by all of the problems of the world. People out there in the world fight over all of their petty ideals, but we live here in peace. This town is technically part of Mir, so we technically have to follow all of their laws and faith restrictions or what have you. For the most part, they leave us alone though. So no. We don't get many visions up in these parts.
Bishop turns back to the group.
"Just as long as you don't go bringing any trouble with you, you're welcome to stay. It's a quaint little place, but I think you'll find you'll like it.

[TheMac04]

Nate squeezed the bridge of his nose in mild frustration. His head was really taking last night out on him.

"Wait, so you're not a priest or anything? I thought you said you were a bishop."

[Blueiji]

"Just as long as you don't go bringing any trouble with you, you're welcome to stay. It's a quaint little place, but I think you'll find you'll like it.

"Don't worry sir, we won't be causing any trouble. But, err, could you excuse us for a moment? I wish to speak with my companions privately."

Asasar turns to Gee and Nate, indicating that he wishes them to step aside with him for a moment.

[BanthaFodder]

Gee aproaches the elf with much interest in what he has to say.

[TheMac04]

Nate reached into his pocket for another cigarette out of habit before remembering that he had just stamped out his last one. He winced.

He shrugged at Bishop, then moved towards the elf with reluctance. The guy seemed a little uptight.

"Anybody else think this whole thing is really damn weird? Am I crazy? I feel like I'm probably crazy."

[afrenchpenguin]

In response to Nate, Bishop responds: "Name's Bishop. Even though its what my father woulda wanted, I never became one. Sorry, friend."

As the elf turns, Bishop says, "Do what you wish, i'm gonna get back to my boys." He turns and walks back to the small town.

[Blueiji]

"Anybody else think this whole thing is really damn weird? Am I crazy? I feel like I'm probably crazy."

"I don't doubt that you lack sanity, but I don't think it has anything to do with our current situation."

Asasar glances over his shoulder, and seeing that Bishop had begun to walk away, begins explaining himself.

"In our vision, we were told to spread the faith of the mysterious being who gave us our dream. Our dreams then led us here, to this godless place. These two factors, in combination, lead me to believe that we are meant to convert this small town."

Asasar took a short pause. Normally he'd take a breath here as well, but he had long ago ceased to require that form of self-nourishment.

"Of course, the question is; how do we accomplish such a task?We know next to nothing about this town, and even less about our god. How do we convert people to a faith we don't even understand?"

[TheMac04]

"I don't doubt that you lack sanity, but I don't think it has anything to do with our current situation."

Nate gave Gee a "who does this guy think he is" kind of look. He felt like the kender was the only one in this situation who had things figured out.

"Of course, the question is; how do we accomplish such a task?We know next to nothing about this town, and even less about our god. How do we convert people to a faith we don't even understand?"

"Woah, hang on there bro. I didn't know it was International Jump To Insane Conclusions Day. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I mean damn, we don't even know each other."

Nate stuck his hand out to the dead elf and tried not to think about what his slightly rotted arm was going to feel like against his palm.

"Nate Erasmo."

[Blueiji]

"Woah, hang on there bro. I didn't know it was International Jump To Insane Conclusions Day."

Asasar's face irked at the suggestion that he was insane. Did this Halfling not see how perfectly and completely stable he was?

Nate stuck his hand out to the dead elf and tried not to think about what his slightly rotted arm was going to feel like against his palm.

"Nate Erasmo."

Wishing to satisfy the Halfling seemingly unnecessary request, Asasar put forth his cold, stiff hand and wrapped it tightly around the Halfling's paw, delivering a firm, clinical handshake. The touch of living flesh unnerved the Elf for a moment, reminding him of a time not too long ago when he was much the same.

Dismissing the memories, Asasar asks a short question.

"If we were not brought here to perform conversion, what is it you propose we were meant to do?"

[TheMac04]

Wishing to satisfy the Halfling seemingly unnecessary request, Asasar put forth his cold, stiff hand and wrapped it tightly around the Halfling's paw, delivering a firm, clinical handshake. The touch of living flesh unnerved the Elf for a moment, reminding him of a time not too long ago when he was much the same.

Nate grinned through the handshake, his face never betraying his discomfort. Undead had always given him the creeps.

"If we were not brought here to perform conversion, what is it you propose we were meant to do?"

"Hang on man, there's three of us here."

Nate playfully punched Gee in the shoulder with a calloused knuckle and turned to face him.

"What's your deal, bro?"

He smiled a bit.

[BanthaFodder]

Gee had stayed silent for most of the conversation, not understanding what it was about, but he could stay silent no longer.

"My name is Gee Darastix."

He felt a surge of confidence from the Halflings trying to include him in the conversation and decided to put forth his idea.

"If we are going to convert the town we should first make a religion to convert them to. Since we do not know a lot about the religion's god/goddess we must be vague, and we should start by converting our selves."

[Blueiji]

Nate grinned through the handshake, his face never betraying his discomfort. Undead had always given him the creeps.

As he was giving the handshake, the Elf introduced himself. "Asasar Besnyn, historian of the Abarri Grey-Elf people."

"Hang on man, there's three of us here."

"My deepest apologies, of course. I must have gotten caught up with the task at hand."

Asasr listened silently to Gee's introduction, and then to his suggestion.

"If we are going to convert the town we should first make a religion to convert them to. Since we do not know a lot about the religion's god/goddess we must be vague, and we should start by converting our selves."

Asasar contemplated this suggestion a moment, and then his mouth fell slightly agape. He was deeply impressed at how easily the Kender had devised a solution to their problem at hand.

The elf allowed his approval and support of Gee's plan to show on his face, but turned to Nate. As he wished to see what the Halfling would say.

[TheMac04]

Nate suddenly felt like he was in way, way over his head. It was like he had agreed to be thrown into a tank full of dire sharks, and then remembered the second he hit the water that he hadn't the faintest clue how to swim.

"Okay, wow, can we slow down a bit for a second here? Or maybe a few hours? I'm jazzed that the two of you are so gung-ho about becoming the next big evangelical sensation, I really am, but we don't even know what the hell is going on. How do we know what we're supposed to do? How do we know the vision we had actually was from a god that DOESN'T want to blow up the planet? How do we know it wasn't just some crazy chemical in the water giving us all fantastically lucid fever dreams? Sorry I'm not 100% on board with the theological gravy train here, but man, let's try not to end up the naive idiots who ended up resurrecting an ancient murder demon."

[Blueiji]

Asasar sighed, this halfling seemed to have little faith.

"I know that my heart is pure, no evil would be able to instill such a vision in me. For me, that is all the convincing I need."

[TheMac04]

"I know that my heart is pure, no evil would be able to instill such a vision in me. For me, that is all the convincing I need."

This was, in Nate's opinion, the most pretentious thing he had ever heard, and he had once spent a week sleeping on the couch in an apartment filled with philosophy undergrads. He wasn't in the mood to piss anyone off, however, so he awkwardly forced a laugh and chose his words carefully.

"Okay, buddy, let's just say I'm not exactly on that level of self-confidence in my own uh...devotion to our Lord."

He thought it came out way too sarcastic.