27.12.2012 Views

(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

"For millenia I lay in languor, feeling the millions <strong>of</strong> footsteps across my<br />

walkways, listening <strong>to</strong> the mind-numbing murmurs <strong>of</strong> joy and wishes <strong>of</strong><br />

good fortune and prosperity. Until one day, long ago, it was time for the<br />

Festival.<br />

"They came from distant lands: magicians from Yudanii, whose coats held<br />

nine hundred folds and just as many secrets; alchemists from Braen Woods,<br />

who carried the Elixer <strong>of</strong> Truth; long-haired dancers <strong>of</strong> the Star People,<br />

wearing gowns <strong>of</strong> spun moonlight; shirtless men <strong>of</strong> the Takka spinning<br />

fire-staves and sweating with celebration. Each delegation came <strong>be</strong>aring<br />

gifts, thanking Ileron and its people for the gift <strong>of</strong> happiness, and for<br />

allowing them <strong>to</strong> see the dream <strong>of</strong> paradise fulfilled. They laid their gifts at<br />

the Celestial Court at the Palace <strong>of</strong> Ten Thousand Suns, each more lavish<br />

than the last, until finally, a young boy came <strong>to</strong> place his <strong>of</strong>fering on the<br />

altar.<br />

"He was small, and young, and terribly malnourished, but he came <strong>be</strong><strong>cause</strong><br />

Ileron barred no one from its pleasures. In a small box <strong>of</strong> pressed paper was<br />

a crystal sphere banded with silver, pulsing with a sickly gray light. It was a<br />

sensory s<strong>to</strong>ne, and it contained the memories <strong>of</strong> who you call the Nameless<br />

One.<br />

"I was intrigued, and for the first time I learned firsthand what it was like <strong>to</strong><br />

explore planes <strong>be</strong>yond my own. No dry books or texts on the Outer Planes<br />

were these, no, but experience, rare and new.<br />

"And so inspired I picked myself up from the world <strong>of</strong> Sen-Tau, taking my<br />

veins which once fed the people sweet nectar, my bones which once housed<br />

men and memory, the <strong>be</strong>ating <strong>of</strong> my heart which once kept faith and joy<br />

and hope. I <strong>to</strong>ok the his<strong>to</strong>ry <strong>of</strong> Ileron with me, leaving <strong>be</strong>hind only the<br />

people and the memory <strong>of</strong> what once was, fading like a fecund dream as if<br />

the city never existed.<br />

"For many years I fled and the Gods <strong>of</strong> Sen-Tau chased after me. Many times<br />

they tried <strong>to</strong> slay me and lay me back <strong>to</strong> rest on the world which I once<br />

called my home... where I once was home. But the people <strong>of</strong> Sen-Tau are<br />

scattered, wandering the planes and weeping with lament over losing what<br />

they never knew. Each year that passes more <strong>of</strong> the People die, and each<br />

year the power <strong>of</strong> the Gods fades.<br />

"And so I hid myself here in Sigil, the City <strong>of</strong> Doors. Oh such wonder <strong>to</strong> stand<br />

957

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!