98. Flesh, bone and breath

98. Flesh, bone and breath

I have travelled back in time to the Battle of Glenumbra Moors, and in doing so have taken upon myself the guise of another.  The wraiths and ghosts that I faced previously are now very much flesh, bone and breath, and as I am forced to battle, I find I must palliate my conscience with the belief that by killing them, I am but fulfilling their destiny.  And kill them I must, for if I am to fall, then Glenumbra as it is… was… will be… would never be.

Sometimes it is best not to consider things too deeply.

S.K

97. All light creates shadow

97 (a). All light creates shadow97 (b). All light creates shadow

A monster from the past has been brought back to lead the werewolf assault upon Glenumbra.  To stop it, we must re-discover how it was first killed.  The mages guild has mustered in number upon the moors and use their talents to open a doorway into the past.  I grow sick of magic ritual and ceremony.

Magic itself does not decide whether to kill or heal; it is but a manifestation of a decision that has already been made.  It is as guiltless as moonlight.  But all light creates shadow, and it is in these shadows that our greatest dangers lie in wait.  Magic is blameless, but it cannot be trusted.

S.K

96. The Glenumbra Moors

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The battle-worn moors of Glenumbra, where the ghosts of a conflict long past fought are cursed to patrol ever more; never to reap the peace of afterlife that soldiers sacrifice deserves.  These wraiths and ghosts still carry deadly blade and spell, and they take their ire out on any hapless living being that misadventures upon their fateful moorlands.

Soulless warriors who fight on despite the greatest loss of all, in a forlorn endeavour to appease the tortuous emptiness that abrades the abyss where their souls should lie; fighting on for cause, despite the ever dread that their inner essence shall remain barren forevermore.

It all feels very familiar.

S.K

95. One or another

95. One or another

I wonder whether Gloria Fausta’s proposition to sacrifice herself for another is but a warrior’s yearn for martyrdom, or a flight from an erroneous sense of guilt for her inability to right the wrongs of her ancestors.  Either way, I am once more cursed to find myself having to weigh one life ‘gainst another.

How can one make such a judgement as this?  How would I want the scales balanced if I were the one being judged?  Which should weigh more, deeds done, or potential deeds to come?  In the end I am… was, but a soldier, and can only make honest judgement under that perspective.

In these times of turmoil and conflict, I would rather have a soldier standing beside me, than a politician standing behind.

S.K

94. A man of vision

By way of ritual, Gloria is able to make use of the captured werewolf’s spiritual connection to its sire and gain us a valuable glimpse behind the enemy’s curtains.  Our worst fears are confirmed.  The tumult of Glenumbra is not, as first thought, the result of disparate foes seeking to take advantage of a country standing on the precipice of war.  But rather, the cultists, werewolves and bandits are but three prongs of the same trident, forged by one man whose sole aim is to conquer these Breton lands.

This Reachman Angof must be a man of great vision, determination, and endeavour, to have fired up the hearts and minds of so many of this country’s disillusioned and desperate to the point of subversion.  To defeat the Bloodthorn, we need slander his vision; for without followers, what is a visionary but a crazy man with a beard.

To achieve this we must break the trident… we must retake Camlorn.

S.K