[HQ Ignorance] Scene 41: Arrival at Seguarane Forest

[Lev Lafayette]

In the few days that the journey took along the Deu
River, Anzhur pondered the doctrine of the New
Hrestoli Church whilst reading the good book. Despite
- or perhaps even because of - his internal
questioning, he found the strength to conduct a
ceremony to the Invisible God. Duty, Chivalry and
Equality is my credo, Anzhur thought. 'Duty' is to God
and on Genertala to our Fellowship; 'Chivalry' shall
dictate my behaviour to others; and with 'Equality', I
shall seek to understand the beliefs of others, for it
can only strengthen my inner faith.

"After all", he muttered, "'tis not the fault of the
barbarians that they have not fully understood the
word of the New Hresolti Church... It was only through
many years of introspection under the Syndics Ban that
we of the faith gained our enlightenment." 

And, his inner daimon argued, the barbarians had the
opportunity to discover their own truth.

"Leadership by example", Anzhur spoke a little more
loudly, dismissing his troubling conscience (what a
strange thing to have a conscience which argued
*against* his faith, he wondered) for the time being
and expressing the mantra of the Idealist State.

Bringing all of inner strength together in the cold,
dark twilight, Anzhur called the rump Fellowship
together an offered communual worship of the Creator,
or whatever name those present choose to give him. It
was from the latter criteria that both the others
present and the Fellowship's Guardian brought together
a blessing for their encounter with coming foe. When
Curses are uttered against those who are divorced from
either Solace of annhilation, Malkion finds another
way appropriate to the circumstanes.

In the darkness an aura imposed itself on the heads of
the fellowship, and even to their Mostal bargeman, who
had joined in the proceedings, even though according
to the scripture the time of the non-humans has
passed.

"Talor's Blessing!", exclaimed Anzhur, allowing a
smile to break his normally stern visage. "Truly this
is appropriate"

[Major victory against default resistance, augmented =
Talor's Blessing: Invoked just before a battle, this
allows those blessed to experience great joy while
fighting. For the duration of the battle, the devotee
is protected from fatigue loss, incapacitation and
gains additional skill at arms.]

Somewhat less excited by the blessing was Aalmon Far
Rider. The following morning as the party exited from
under the barge's tarp, they found Aalmon moving chess
pieces under the dull morning sky. As he named the
pieces and directed them they took various moves
around the board, and it was clear that he was seeking
the path of minimal, if any losses. Once again, it
seemed that Aalmon sought not war, but peace in even
the most improbable of circumstances. The many and
various moves took many hours, and tho' they
captivated Aalmon's attention, the others present grew
bored and wandered off to engage in other activities.

Eventually, as the Yelm began to set, the Mostal
called for the Fellowship that he would stop ahead.
The edges of a mighty forest were evident  on the
north side where there had been none before; it grew
suddenly, as if it were planted with only the most
minimal foliage, and indeed pasture preceding it.
Hailing the barge down from the edge of this forest
was a party of some score Telmori and their canine
companions.

But despite the excitement, none could shift Aalmon,
his eyes transf'xed upon the board in front of him,
despite storm clouds gathering and the heavy drops of
rain that fell upon his face. It was a most improbable
distribution of pieces to say the least and although a
number of pieces had been taken, they were few in
number - and the 'white' side had been played with a
significant handicap as well [minor success - can
reduce # of pieces 'lost' with a bump].

A small number of 'White' pieces had checkmated the
Black King, by isolating him with a distraction on the
other side of the board. Aalmon stared at the black
king and uttered a single word in incredulity.

"Theoblanc"



      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better sports nut!  Let your teams follow you 
with Yahoo Mobile. Try it now.  http://mobile.yahoo.com/sports;_ylt=At9_qDKvtAbMuh1G1SQtBI7ntAcJ