A silhouette in the dark

[Wolfrayne]

Night falls upon the FAI and a dark figure looks out over the surrounding area from up high. The figure watches below as adventurers and villagers alike scurry about to find shelter inside the walls. look how they cower behind their stone walls and burning fires she thinks to herself They think they are safe..yet the Lady see's all.. she see's the darkness inside your hearts.. the fear, helplessness & lonelyness She looks up into the dark sky. But despair not.. my Lady will set you free... a smile crosses her face as she dissapears in to the shadows She is coming...

[Wolfrayne]

A dark robed woman walks out on to the field, darkness swirls around and shadows can be seen on the borders watching. A shady character steps from the darkness his head bowed, two others approach. The figures gather around the shadows, a raven lands in the middle of the group... silence... The robed woman speaks... "The mistress has spoken and she is not pleased" a brief pause as she looks around at the gathering "We have a task"

[Wolfrayne]

Darkness falls upon the land once more, A dark hooded and cloaked figure sits comfortably on her chair looking intently at the beautifuly dark gem in her hands, the light around her seems to be swallowed up by it. It seem's others have been asking questions.. they will have to be silenced she thinks to herself as she stares into the Gem. The Mistress has been very clear about what must be done she looks up at a Raven perched on the window of the room I will not fail you my Lady The Chosen are on the move.

[Wolfrayne]

Night fell upon Baulders Gate, A man stood waiting in the shadows of a nearby alley. Without warning one of the shadows lept from the wall and a dark robed woman approached him. She looked him over, a look of disgust her face hidden by the black mask. "i..i have what y..you asked for" the man stuttered slightly, clearly terrified. She said nothing and held out her hand as he handed her a scrollcase. "They are all there" he said shaking slightly as she opened the case and looked the scrolls over. She reaches in to her robes and throws a small pouch of coins to the terrified man before stepping in to the shadows and dissapearing from sight.

These will do nicely She thought to herself as she emerged from the shadows at the edge of cloakwood. Taking the scrolls from their case she pulled out a large shadowy tome and transfered the contents of the scrolls to its pages Such difficult magic to get a hold of in the "Civilised" lands she mused Oh well they will certainly be of use to me, now i just need a worthy test subject A cruel grin crossed her face as she changed her clothing and headed towards the inn.

[Wolfrayne]

The two mages stood face to face nearly 100 paces from each other one hooded and cloaked in black robes which seemed to absorb the light around them, a cold almost mournful voice called out "You have fallen far sister.... It is almost ironic how i must now bring about your punishment" The other woman known to many as Lady Vol stood quietly looking at the woman she once called family. "No parting words of wisdom then?" Said the robed woman as she started to draw in more shadows "very well then"

Bright lights flashed as spells collided and wards dispersed magic in all directions, greens, blues and black lights screamed out in to the night as spell after spell was cast..... As sudden as it had started the battle was over, The robed woman stood over the body of her once kin looking around at the small crowd of people who had come to investigate. "Let his be a warning to all of you" she said as she cast another spell stepping in to a cloud of shadows and dissapearing in to the night.

[Wolfrayne]

Reborn in the Darkness



Nythara wandered the quiet dimly lit halls of the sanctum Library completely focused on her studies."I Trust your studies are going well?" A cold voice whispered seemingly emanating from everywhere all at once. Nythara heaved a Sigh as she argued aloud with the voice "yes yes now what do you want" she said with an irritated tone, She did not like to be interrupted in the midst of her work. "The Oracle wishes to see you" the voice whispered back "now". Nythara did not hesitate, while she loathed leaving her studies mid way, though there was absolutely no way she would or ever could refuse the call of the faithful. Heading out of the sanctum she found herself back in the crypt.

"You can come out of hiding now" Nythara said as she looked around the dusky old tomb, While she could not see anybody in there with her she knew that someone would be waiting to take her to the realm of the lady. "you never know who is watching" said a seductive voice from the shadows as the Alu-Fiend stepped out of seemingly nothingness "place a hand on me anywhere you want and we will be on our way" the fiend said, her voice dripping with seduction, as was her nature. Nythara placed a hand on the fiend's shoulder who gave her a disappointed look before holding up a small gem. Shadows engulfed the two as they were both pulled through the darkness to the Realm of the Lady.

Nythara stood silently at first taking in her surroundings, At first glance one would think they were standing in the Palace District of Baldur's Gate were it not for the fact that colour was devoid of the entire world. This was the Shadow Plane, a place Nythara was become all too familiar with. Three figures stood before her, to her left stood a strange robed woman bearing a staff of pure Shadow. She seemed overly pale even in this plane of colourlessness. To her right stood the Alu-Fiend who had brought her here. In the centre stood an elegantly robed woman, The Oracle, behind her a fountain spewed with what appeared to be pure darkness.

"Why have you brought me here?" Nythara asked, her tone suggesting that she was both curious and yet already knew what was before her. “She doesn’t seem like anything special” the pale woman said as she looked Nythara over “You should be careful who you insult” Nythara responded, Her Pride taking the better of her. “INSOLENT WOMAN, I AM THE GREATEST SHADOW MAGE IN EXISTANCE” the woman shouted back, Her mind clearly not all there “LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU!” the woman said as she cast a spell enveloping Nythara in complete darkness, In this void nothing could be seen or heard or even felt other than excruciating pain, as though thousands of tiny razorblades were under her skin tearing her up from the inside out. Nythara collapsed to her knees as she tried to fight off the spell.

“Enough Seryna” The oracle said, the pale woman known as Seryna dismissed the spell and stood quietly. Her eyes still fixated on Nythara who had dared talk back to her.
Nythara stood to her feet Feeling slightly numb as the pain subsided, “This is not the time to be squabbling with one another” The oracle said with a stern tone, She pointed a hand towards the pale “This is Seryna, She is somewhat of a master with Shadow Magic as you undoubtedly should of worked out by now” She then pointed towards the Alu-Fiend “And I believe you have met Nazeera. She has a …. Talent you could say for certain situations” Nythara looked back up at the oracle “That’s all well and good but I still want to know why I am here” A smile crossed the oracles lips, her hood hiding the rest of her face “Oh I believe you already know why” The oracle responded. “If you wish to be part of the Clergy dear you will require the right….training, the Lady of Loss has seen fit to allow you to be tested. That is why you are here, we will see if you are indeed as devout as you claim to be” She paused for a moment, perhaps waiting to see how Nythara would respond. “Are you ready?” the oracle asked, Nythara looked behind her at the fountain of darkness before looking back at the Oracle “I have always been ready” she said, a smile crossed the oracles lips once more as she replied “Good then let us begin”.

“Do you know the Dogma of our faith?” The oracle asked “Of course! Must I really repeat the whole thing?” Nythara replied “Yes you must… now” the oracle said, It was not a suggestion, it was an order. “Very well then” Nythara said realising quickly that she should stow away her pride lest it be the death of her. “Reveal secrets only to fellow members of the faithful. Never follow hope or turn to promises of success. Quench the light of the moon whenever you find it, and hide from it when you cannot prevail. The dark is a time to act, not wait. It is forbidden to strive to better your lot in life or to plan ahead save when directly overseen by the faithful of the Dark Deity. Consorting with the faithful of good deities is a sin except in business dealings or to corrupt them from their beliefs. Obey and never speak out against ranking clergy unless it would result in your own death.” The oracle remained quite as Nythara spoke the creed of Shar. “And?” The oracle said as Nythara finished her recitation “Love is a lie. Only hate endures.” Nythara finished. “Very good” the oracle responded “But do you understand it? Do you believe it? Come, walk with me” Nythara followed the oracle closely, There was still much to do.

“Reveal secrets only to fellow members of the faithful. This is simple, Secrets are power, a well whispered secret in the ear of the right person has more power than the mightiest sword” the Oracle explained as her and Nythara walked around the Shadow Realm of Baldur’s Gate. “Yes I understand that part well enough, Knowledge is after all power” Nythara responded the oracle seemed happy enough with her response, for now. “Quench the light of the moon whenever you find it, and hide from it when you cannot prevail, Self explanatory really I would be very surprised if you did not fully understand” The oracle continued to speak “The dark is a time to act, not wait, The darkness is her domain and it gives us strength” “Yes I understand, As I like to say In darkness all men are equal, save for those who embrace it” Nythara responded.

“Consorting with the faithful of good deities is a sin except in business dealings or to corrupt them from their beliefs. I would hope you are not too stupid to do such things” The oracle continued to explain the meaning behind each of the parts of Shar’s Dogma. “Oh I would never do such things” Nythara responded “the only thing good about such people is how easy they are to manipulate” she chuckled as the oracle listened. “Obey and never speak out against ranking clergy unless it would result in your own death, I believe Seryna gave you a good enough lesson earlier” Nythara cringed slightly at the thought, the oracle clearly pleased with a lesson well taught.

“Never follow hope or turn to promises of success” The oracle paused “This part seems to confuse many people” She continued as she pulled out a small bottle of what looked like water and placed it on a nearby step. “Hold out your hand for me” the oracle demanded. Nythara held out her hand and the oracle took it in hers slowly looking over it before taking out a small pouch of black powder and pouring it over Nythara’s palm. The pain set in almost immediately as the powder started to disintegrate Nythara’s hand slowly; She fell to her knees grasping her forearm trying desperately to endure the pain. “Reach for the water; I know you want the pain to end…. Go on it is right there in front of you” the oracle said. Nythara’s eyes darted to her hand and the water desperately thinking of a way to make the pain stop, she fought through the pain and started casting spells at her hand in an attempt to sever it off completely. As she started to cast again the oracle stopped her, Waving her hands over Nythara’s damaged limb, healing magic took effect almost immediately knitting back flesh and bone restoring the hand to its original state. “Good.. I see you are not as naive as some might think, the water would have made the effects far worse than before, just as the promise of hope can be misleading. There is truth in pain and suffering. Well done”
The Oracle led Nythara back towards the fountain “are you ready now to show your faith, to prove your worth?” she said as they both approached the fountains edge, peering down in to the depths of nothingness “I have always been ready” Nythara responded “Good then kneel” the oracle said, Nythara kneeled down as she did the oracle pushed her head down in to the depths of the darkness.

Darkness, Emptiness &Nothingness. All 5 senses felt nothing and everything at once, Nythara felt her very mind on the edge of sanity, her very soul on the brink of destruction. It was a wonderful feeling and yet it was a horrible feeling, She fought hard to maintain her identity lest she lose herself in void. As she found herself fighting to keep her existence she felt the unmistakable pull on her soul, Her mind while in tact could barely comprehend what was happening, something was being taken from her and yet she was glad, Glad to loose whatever it was that was disappearing in to the void.

Nythara breathed for what seemed like the first time in a millennium as the oracle lifted her head back out of the black void that was the fountain. “You are free now” said the oracle in a pleased tone “Free of all fear, all doubt. There is no weakness in you anymore; the Lady has taken this from you. You are ready” Nythara smiled she was now ready to continue her training. “Nazeera” The oracle called out as the Alu-Fiends head looked over from the top of one of the buildings “Yes Oracle?” she replied looking a little flushed “Enough of your self gratification Nazeera, Come here and take Nythara back, we have to prepare for the gathering” said the oracle. “Right away Oracle”Nazeera replied as she slipped back down the building “You know the drill dear, place your hands anywhere and we can begin” she said coyly to Nythara who placed a hand on her shoulder once more and awaited the teleportation.



A few hours later the voices came back again “It is time Faithful, you know where to go” Nythara found herself once again in the shadow realm this time accompanied by many more of her Brothers and Sisters, The oracle spoke and the task was set, But the others would have to do so without her as Nythara had far more important things to handle and she had a long way to go yet.