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Scribe - Uriel
A long, long time ago, before the great mountains rose to the south, before
our people knew of the Oath of Intertwining, before the Ice Wizard sent
forth his hordes of Frozen Giants, there lived a young man by the name of
L'Hir. He was strong of body and mind, much like his father and his father
before him, for he was of the line of Min'har whose men are as the mountain
peaks, both tall and unyielding. L'Hir was also a cunning warrior, and had,
by dint of his talent and enthusiasm, been accepted into the Order of The
Hammer whose knights were renowned for their great acts of courage and daring.
Now L'Hir was betrothed to Rh'eanne of the line of Lohay'na, whose
daughters are as the marvelous spires of Rhin, both majestic and steadfast.
Rh'eanne's beauty was as the freshly fallen snow, bright and sparkling, and
her love for L'Hir was such that she would have given up the earth, the
sky, and all that fell between to be with him. They bound themselves to
one another one bright morning at the foot of The Endless Mountain,
swearing that where one went the other would always follow, that there
would be no one or thing that would keep them apart, and that their love
for one another would never fail. The two were married at the foot of the
same mountain, and sumptuous banquets and lavish parties were held for
seven days and seven nights in the manors of both families. All rejoiced,
for there is little that is more magnificent then true love and little more
joyous then to see two who have found it.
It came to pass that on the first night of feasting, while Rh'eanne was
walking with her mother, that they found themselves alone atop one of the
graceful parapets of the manor where the clear night wind blew softly and
the vast fields of snow stretched onwards for untold miles. They spoke for
several hours, and during their conversation they were spied by the keen
eyes of a wandering Wind Demon.
It should be mentioned, at this point, that at the time the Ice Wizard was
not at war with his Lost Queen, and was content in his labyrinthine caves
of sparkling ice with a small group of his frozen behemoths as his personal
servants. Our main foes were the Wind Demons, who sowed chaos and
destruction and misused the gifts bestowed on them. Then, more so then
now, they would dive from the skies in great numbers and lay waste to
villages and lone dwellings. They had no mercy and took wild pleasure in
killing and torture.
Upon seeing Rh'eanne the Demon returned quickly to tell his master, the
King of the Wind Demons, of this beautiful young woman. The demon found
audience with his master and said "my lord, this night I have seen a woman
whose beauty is as the freshly fallen snow, bright and sparkling, and there
are none who surpass it". Naturally, after hearing this the King of the
Wind Demons, greedy for all things, declared that he must possess her. And
so it was that he sent out a small group of Wind Demons to carry her off in
the night and bring her back to the Tower of the Wind where the King of the
Wind Demons would do as he pleased with his new trophy. The small group
made swift their return to the merry manor of L'Hir and Rh'eanne and when
they arrived it was the seventh night of feasting and all were asleep after
much wine and good food and dancing. The demons slid stealthily through the
slumbering mansion and found Rh'eanne and L'Hir asleep beneath a coverlet
or finest Khal'ish wool. And so, with a demon taking hold of each of her
arms and legs the infernal host made it's escape through the open window.
L'Hir jumped from the bed and grabbed for his sword but when he reached the
window the demons, and his beloved were slowly dwindling from view.
L'Hir cried out in anguish after the fleeing demons. Leaping from the
bedroom window to the lightly packed snow below he ran after them until
they shrank to the tiniest of specs in the night sky and vanished from his
view. The young hero ran with all his might, he ran as fast as his mortal
legs could carry him, his tears of rage falling like miniature diamonds to
the uncaring snows. It is said that the diamond path was made by the tears
of L'Hir on his midnight run after the fleeing Wind Demons. At length he
fell to his knees, his hopes and dreams wrenched from him on the final
night of his wedding. He knelt there, alone in the gloom of night, for
several hours. All the while he prayed to Borean for a way to find and
rescue his beloved Rh'eanne. After a time he fell asleep, and it is said
that, even in his sleep he continued his prayers to our great Master of the
North Wind.
L'Hir awoke at the break of day, still in his nightclothes with his sword
half hidden beneath the snow. At first he was uncertain of where he was,
for he could see not only the vast snowy plains of L'Haan, but also the
rushing icy plains that his beloved Rh'eanne was passing over. For you see,
Borean had heard the pledge of the two lovers and saw within their hearts
that their love was true and had granted them that night, at the foot of
The Endless Mountain, the bond which would hold their souls as one. He
raised himself slowly from the wintry ground, and when he rose it was as
though his sword had been bound too the very snow, for all along the length
of the blade were worked small snowflakes, and they shone dimly in the
predawn light.
With renewed purpose L'Hir set out to find his beloved Rh'eanne. For many
days he walked alone, far from the cheerful lights of his people, far from
the paths he knew, to the great mountain whose peak breaks the sky. His
only guidance was the sight given him by Borean through the eyes of his
only love. Upwards he climbed, past the gnarled L'hemish trees, past the
point where no life would grow, not even the tenacious Iron Moss, past even
the great clouds that bring the cool snow to us. And so L'Hir passed
through the veil that separates our world from that of the wind demons, for
it is well known that the demons can visit our realm only through the
highest of peaks, where our world meets many other worlds and through which
the Wind Demons force their way through their lands of Chaos.
Atop the great mountain L'Hir came upon the portal of the Wind Demons and
passed through it, and found himself upon a great windswept plain of torn
and barren rock. Nothing grew there and the only thing visible as far as
the eye could see in any direction for a thousand miles was the great ivory
tower of the King of the Wind Demons. It lay far ahead of him and rose for
thousands and thousands of feet, a giant spear of white marble set into an
endless ocean of blasted rock and sand, and all about it swirled hundreds
of thousands of Wind Demons.
And so L'Hir walked through main gates that stand two hundred feet high and
walked up the spiraling stairwell to the very top of the tower where the
King's audience chamber was. He walked past hundreds of demons, who shrank
back from him, for his sword pulsed with the power of Borean, and each
snowflake burned like a tiny sun along L'Hir's blade of sturdy adamant.
Through the great doors of diamond that glittered like the moon L'Hir made
his way to the center of the room, at the very feet of the King of the Wind
Demons. The giant demon sat on his great floating throne of pure white
marble and looked down on L'Hir much as a Tundra Beast might look at a baby
Churr before it devours it whole.
"What brings you to my chamber unannounced, Son of Borean?" the King
boomed, and his voice was as a deep gong that sent shivers through the very
walls of the citadel, and upon hearing it even his mighty demon guardians,
standing like terrible statues all around the room, trembled.
"I have come for my love, Rh'eanne, whose beauty is as the freshly fallen
snow, bright and sparkling." L'Hir said boldly.
"She is quite a prize," said the King, "and I will not readily part with
such a prize unless you can bring to me a prize of greater value."
"How can I find such a thing?" L'Hir asked the demon King.
"In the treasury of the Wizard King there lies a diamond as large as my head,
that has no equal. Find it and bring it to me and you and your love can go
your way in peace…but be quick about it, for in seven days your Rh'eanne
will be frozen through and through so that she can sit forever as the
centerpiece to my banquet table."
Hearing the decree of the King of the Wind Demons, L'Hir's heart sank for
the journey to the caves of the Wizard King would take a week at least, and
he had no quicker means with which to reach them. Still, L'Hir was a proud
young man and knew well that a journey unstarted can never be finished so
he began the long trek to the labyrinthine caves of the Wizard King that
lay far to the west of the lands of his people. L'Hir passed through the
gate at the tip of the mountain whose peak breaks the sky and began the
descent to the world of mortal men. The climb was treacherous and it took
L'Hir a full day to reach the base of the mountain, where he collapsed from
exhaustion, for he had traveled far with little food and although L'Hir was
a hardy young man he was not without his limits. He tumbled headlong into a
large snowbank and fell asleep, Rh'eanne's name upon his lips. The wind
blew in crazed gusts around him and he was half buried in snow when he was
awakened by the sound of schooner runners grating over rock. He rose from
the white mound of snow he lay in to the sight of a small schooner not
fifty feet from him; it's captain and only occupant returning from a
hunting expedition. Crying out as loud as he could, L'Hir ran to the
schooner, explaining his story to the hunter, whose name turned out to be
Mheakha. The hunter agreed to bring L'Hir to the labyrinthine caves of the
Wizard King, and on the way told him how he had been on a small hunt, not
far from his home town of Hreaa when he had been pulled far of course by
mad winds that had carried his tiny schooner all the way to the foot of the
great mountain, whose peak breaks the sky.
Along the way the winds favored the small ship and they reached their
destination in less then a day. The two stopped and made a small camp,
where they ate a light meal and L'Hir prepared to delve in the caves of the
Wizard King. He waited until the sun began to set and slowly made his way
through the twisting caverns of the Wizard King's domain, leaving behind
him a trail of small bones that L'Hir had taken from the hunter's schooner,
so that he would be able to trace his way back. After many twists and turns
L'Hir found himself in the throne room of the Wizard King where the Ageless
tyrant lay, asleep on his throne surrounded by his giants of crystalline
ice who slept curled around the seat of their fell lord. At the far end of the
chamber L'Hir could make out the small dais on which the diamond rested,
and he crept to it slowly, careful to make no sound in doing so. He gently
lifted the diamond from it's adamantine sconce and made his way, as slowly
as he had come in, to the cave entrance and the hunter's schooner which was
waiting for him with it's sails ready to be dropped at a moment's notice.
Jumping nimbly aboard the ship L'Hir and Meakha made their way to the great
mountain whose peak breaks the sky. They returned as quickly as they came,
the winds shifting on their departure and giving them steady force
throughout their journey.
L'Hir made the steep climb again to the very nadir of the mountain whose
tip is the aerie of the Wind Demons and made his way through the gate that
would bring him to the land of swirling chaos, blasted rock, and the
shimmering spire of the King Of The Wind Demons. Again he walked the great
staircase and came to the doors of the Ivory Tower of the King of the Wind
Demons. Seven times he knocked and on the seventh knock the doors opened,
and L'Hir entered the great hall where he gave the diamond of the Wizard
King to the King of the Wind Demons. Upon seeing the diamond the King of
the Wind Demons, greedy still for all things, stared in rapt fascination.
So lustful was he of it that he barely noticed when L'Hir and Rh'eanne made
their way from the great hall and down through the ivory tower.
The two lovers made their way back again through the portal between the
worlds and down the great mountain, whose peak breaks the sky and at whose
nadir lies the entrance to the realm of the Wind Demons, down to the small
schooner of Meakha, where they made their way back to the manor of L'Hir
and Rh'eanne.
But our story does not quite end here, for although L'Hir and Rh'eanne were
reunited after great hardships their love did not come without a price, for
upon waking and seeing his greatest treasure stolen, the Wizard King flew
into a great fury. After spending several days on the spells needed to find
who stole his diamond he determined without doubt that it was a son of the
Ice Queen. He vowed then that he would not rest until he had seen the last
of our people dead for the crime. Soon after he began to create hundreds
upon hundreds of his terrible giants to secure his revenge. He has not
stopped to this day.
L'Hir fought on the frontlines of the war against the Ice Giants for the
rest of his life, and many are the tales of his exploits. We will save them
for another time though, since the hour is waning. After L'Hir's passing,
his sword was placed on the wall behind the throne of the Ice Queen and
because of his courage and strength every knight's sword has been made to
match the sword of our greatest hero.
And so you see that L'Hir has taught us many things that we should well
remember. He has taught us that courage and conviction will be rewarded and
that love is more important than safety, for to sacrifice those that we
love for safety or security is to sacrifice ourselves. He also taught us
that although Borean is often only heard in the gusts of wind blowing off
of snowy peaks he will be there if the need is great enough and we have
faith in him.
Goodeve, and may Borean's breath guide you through trouble and confusion as
it did for young L'Hir.
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