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Post by Dandin on Aug 23, 2010 16:32:00 GMT -8
Excerpts from the journal of Ardel Matif, second-in-command of the Army of Ris
Year of the Moon, Day 226
A new religion has reared it's head. It spouts hatred and destruction as it's core beliefs, and aims that nonsense at magic itself. Followers of this religion believe that magic is a vile taint upon the world of life. They say that because it's power is drawn from the world of Spirits, that it only belongs in such a place. We have dealt with such religions in the past with relative ease, but this one has ignited flames that seem impossible to quell.
It seems that because of the recent hard times the people have fallen upon, they are flocking to believe in this religion. It offers them a direction to point, something on which they can lay the blame, and other people for them to hate. Preachers have traveled to every major city, speaking to crowds numbering in the thousands. Reports say that those crowds have always been worked into a frenzy of hate, and that they cry for the blood of those who use magic. For the blood of those who support magic. For the end of magic itself.
We have sent people to speak alongside those preachers, or after them. They have not yet been successful in their arguments of reason. I told the Council that it would not be possible. You cannot reason with someone who has shunned the truth, and replaced reality with one of their own choosing. They all refuse to believe the truth that without magic their lives would be far harder than they are now.
I fear that we are running out of time. I fear that the world is about to fall into ruin. Madness is replacing reason. I fear a war is coming, and that the world will be forever altered by it. I fear we cannot triumph, and I fear that magic will be lost forever.
I fear for the future.
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Post by Dandin on Aug 23, 2010 16:32:26 GMT -8
Year of the Moon, Day 230
It seems that the Year of the Moon will be the final night before a new dawn. We have received numerous reports, and are now readying our forces. In all my life, there have never been so many mages in the same place at once. And more come each day. It won't be enough.
Even people who use magic themselves have come to believe in this religion. How that is possible I do not know. Nothing makes sense anymore. Millions have fallen to the wicked beliefs that those people preach. We have less than half of their number, and I no longer have any doubt that it will come to war. We have all the most powerful mages amongst us, but it will count for nothing against the vast numbers of the enemy. How many can we kill? A million? Two? Three? It would not matter. It seems as though the entire population of Narden is mounted and armed against us.
We are trapped now upon the eastern coast of the land. The sea at our backs, and innumerable enemies in front of us. There is no longer any choice but to fight. Diplomacy and reason have failed entirely. They demand we surrender either our ability, or our lives for their cause. Obviously, there is no choice. We must fight. I have lost all faith in humanity. I could not possibly count the number of people I have helped with magic when they needed. The number of lives I have saved. And now I am being called upon to kill those very same people.
I am off to a Council of War. The die are cast, the fate of the world soon to be decided, and I am afraid of the outcome.
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Post by Dandin on Aug 23, 2010 16:38:22 GMT -8
Year of the Moon, Day 237
Since last I wrote, much has happened. At the War Council, it was decided that we would name our army the “Army of Ris”. A fitting name, I think. We fight for truth, and Ris is the God of Truth. We have appointed generals and the like, and the army is now organizing itself for war. From what we hear, the enemy is now doing the same thing.
Our spies have gathered some small amounts of information about the plans of the enemy. Apparently they plan on eliminating magic from the world, and they do not care if they must use that which they hate in order to do so. We do not yet know how they plan on accomplishing their goal, although we have come up with a number of likely theories.
The most likely thing for them to do is to eliminate all resistance, and then attempt to lock magic away within the Spirit World. It also holds with their belief that magic belongs only there. Such a thing has never been attempted, there has never before been any reason to. A great many lives could be lost simply in the attempt at doing such a thing. The repercussions alone are frightening. This world has always had magic in it, and no one knows what would happen if it were to lose that connection. Of course that doesn't matter to our enemies, their beliefs dictate their actions, no matter how illogical they are.
I am to be at the head of a scouting party. We are to ascertain the exact numbers of the enemy in a given location. There are twenty other such groups moving out at dawn tomorrow. The army of the enemy is far too vast for us to only send one or two scouting parties out. The task should be a simple affair. From what we hear, the enemy does not seek to hide themselves, they are confident in their numbers.
War is coming once more to the world of Narden. A war of magic, the likes of which has never been seen since the dawn of time. The future is uncertain, though I can see nothing but destruction and chaos for years to come. I pray that I am wrong.
I leave now, to sleep, and prepare for my scouting mission. With luck, I will be writing within this journal again soon.
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Post by Dandin on Aug 23, 2010 17:19:28 GMT -8
Year of the Moon, Day 251
My scouting mission was successful, and we discovered that the enemy has numbers beyond even the worst estimations. We are outnumbered, at least ten to one. That in itself makes this struggle seem hopeless, but there is more. Something that has caused me to have a number of nightmares.
Another scouting party reported that the enemy has somehow managed to creatures of magic. Vile beasts, wretched things that aren't really alive or dead. It is assumed that they somehow managed to pull souls from the Spirit World, and then somehow managed to use those souls to create their monstrosities. Little is yet known about those things, though what we do know is enough to give me some of the worst nightmares I've had in my life. We know of no way to counter these things they have created.
Some of our early battles have been fought, and some have encountered these beasts. They seem to simply absorb all magic used against them, and they appear to be impervious to physical assaults. I remain certain that we will discover something that works against them, I only hope we can devise such a method before it is too late.
We are defending a very large front. It spreads from north to south, in a more or less straight line. Most of the land is open, though there are a few choke points at which we are hoping we can stall the enemy as long as possible. Long enough for us to come up with some idea that can turn the tide of this war. But the enemy is implacable. Their numbers dwarf ours. Ordinarily such a thing would not matter at these various choke points, but there are simply too many, and too few defenders. They are mostly being overwhelmed within hours, or days, instead of months or not at all. There seems to be little hope.
Those people fight on. They give their lives so that we may have another dawn, another couple hours to think of something, anything, that might stem the tide of darkness. We must not give up hope. I will not let them give up. We will all fight until our dying breath if need be.
This is a war without quarter given on either side. We have already devised a plan to save those who believe as we do, if everything else fails. But it would be infinitely better if we could come up with something to win this war. It has only just begun.
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Post by Dandin on Aug 23, 2010 17:35:14 GMT -8
Year of the Moon, Day 289
Death. Death and destruction is all I have seen, all I can remember. Chaos. The number of lives lost, both friend and foe is appalling to consider. I have slain countless numbers of unknown people. More people than I have ever healed or helped with my magic. More come every day, there is always more fighting, more lives to snuff out. It feels as though my mind is slipping from my grasp.
After all this time, we are no closer to finding a way to stop what is happening. We have discovered a way to eliminate the enemy's beasts, but even that was but a minor victory. Their numbers are beyond vast. The number of casualties they have taken does not daunt the enemy in the least. They all fervently believe in their religion. They fight for what they believe is truth. The fact that magic has wreaked such havoc in this war only serves to solidify their belief that magic is evil.
Not one person I grew up with continues to draw breath in this world. They are now just one more corpse among the millions. There are great billowing clouds of smoke and ash, some of which I can see from where I now sit. The mages on the enemy's side burn all the corpses upon the battlegrounds. I fear to draw breath lest I inhale parts of a person. The enemy comes, marching with that cloud of death floating above them. Life has become a continuous fight, and one with only the smallest sliver of hope remaining.
It is nearly time for us to implement our desperate plan. It was devised as our last effort, but we never thought we would have to do so. We never thought that it would come to this, and certainly not so soon. This war began not long ago, but it is almost lost already.
The only chance our way of life has of surviving this extermination is to leave this land of madness. We will use our power to shear the earth itself. We will cut a straight line into the land, and drag our land away from the land with which we are now connected. We will become a separate continent. The council is asking for volunteers, in case such a thing needs to be done. In case. Myself, and everyone else on the council knows that this is what it will come to. They ask for volunteers because this will take so much power, that those involved will be killed in the effort.
All the members of the Council drew straws. All but two of us will perish in the effort of separating our land from the enemy's. Those two will remain to help guide and teach our people. I am not one of those two people. My fate is sealed.
I am glad it is almost over.
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Post by Dandin on Aug 23, 2010 19:22:21 GMT -8
Year of the Moon, Day 297
This is my final entry in this journal. The enemy is practically sitting upon our doorstep. Looking out from the Palace of Learning, I can see them marching steadily towards us, unopposed. They are akin to ants, the way the cover the land. And now, as I watch, they stop and set up camp, drawing out their victory. It seems like they want us to shake in our boots for awhile. But the final victory will not be theirs to have.
All the preparations have been made. What we are attempting is very delicate, and it will take enormous amounts of power. So much power, I am told, that I will die. Along with everyone else who is performing the procedure with me. Just a few more lives lost, nothing in comparison to what has been lost already. And by doing so, I will be ending this war, at least for a time. Hopefully for many years. Hopefully forever.
The light from their camp fires makes the stars in the sky disappear. What I am about to do will alter forever the shape of the world. Our homeland, the land of magic, will be forever separated from the land these people inhabit. I imagine there will be nothing but a sheer drop along what will become the eastern coast of their land to remind them of us.
I have but one more important thing to say here, in case this journal is ever discovered. We have written the information in many places, but the more there are, the better chance that information will remain until it is needed.
Through the use of spies, we have discovered how the enemy plans to end magic. Magic is linked, between the Spirit World and this one, the world of life which we inhabit. They plan to move where that link connects, so that it will connect itself to some object or other. Then, they will do the same with an object that they will place within the Spirit World. Thus, the link will not be destroyed, only contained within those two objects. Magic will still exist, but only within those two objects.
We know not where they will place this worldly object, nor where the one in the Spirit World will be. The only way to restore magic is to find that one object in our world, and follow the link it provides into the Spirit World. Once there, there should be a way to eliminate both objects and release the magic from its prison.
I only hope that one day someone will repair that which was ruined. Magic belongs in this world.
I go now to my fate.
Ardel Matif Second-in-command, Army of Ris
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