Losnyr’s Tale

 

 

INTRODUCTION:  By Andy Cuson aka Mauriac (Andy Cuson has given me full

permission to use his intro for my story.)

 

I first must explain a bit about Mauriac. First off, he did not originate

in the Rising Winds, or in the realm of Amtgardia for that matter. He came

from a world (of my own creation) called Alteria. Secondly, his real name

is Losnyr Karidyne. Mauriac was a wizard that had dedicated himself to

mastering water magic in order to protect Alteria from a coming evil that

was to surface at an unspecified point in the future. But, seeing that this

would not happen in his lifetime, he sought out a worthy disciple and

trained him to the best he could. Shortly after the disciple completed his

training, Mauriac died of old age. The disciple, out of admiration for his

master, decided to take on the name of Mauriac, and hid his previous

identity by wearing the same kind of blue robes and keeping the hood low

enough as to not reveal his face. Losnyr was to be the twelfth to bear this

name, but until his predecessor retired, he was to wander from dimension to

dimension, training himself in different magical techniques. Several months

ago, Losnyr completed his training in Amtgardia, which marked the end of his

wandering. So, he bid farewells to his newfound friends and teleported back

home to complete his training with the previous Mauriac. But when he got

back, something was drastically wrong....

 

It was a beautiful day in Crusader's Cove, despite the after effects of the

conjuror's visits.  Now that he was out of the picture, things were back to

normal... relatively speaking.

Kaads had just walked out of the woods when he saw a figure suddenly

materialize in the middle of the field wearing blue, blood soaked robe. 

There was a huge hole in the man's right arm where it looked as if a spear

had been shoved through it.  As if the blood loss weren't already bad

enough, the man began to cough up even more of his life's essence.

"Mauriac... is th... ARE YOU OKAY??!?!?!"  Kaads ran up to Mauriac to tend

to his long-time friend.

"Healer!"

Kaads and one of CC's peasants carried Mauriac to Kai, a resident healer. 

As the words of healing passed through his body, the look of pain on

Mauriac's face began to fade, and his wounds stopped bleeding.

Still light-headed, Mauriac managed a weak "Thank you" towards Kai, and

Kaads helped him towards the old Moonlight Entourage hideout.

"Now, what the hell happened to you?" said Kaads.

"We're gonna want to find a comfortable place to sit," said Mauriac.  "It's

a looooong story.  By the way... how long have I been gone?"

 

 

Losnyr’s Tale:  By Denny Dombkowski

 

CHAPTER 1:  Discovery of Ruin.

 

      Mauriac arrived in the middle of a destroyed city.  He looked around,

confused.  Perhaps he made a slight error in his teleportation spell and

teleported to another planet.  He tried the spell again, but he arrived in

the same place.  Bewildered, he noticed a splintered plank of wood with

writing on it.  On closer inspection, he noticed that it formerly belonged

to the magic guild of the main city of Alteria.

      "NO!!!" Mauriac screamed.  His scream flowed in conjunction with 8 great

pillars of water, which surrounded him, released by his rage.  He collapsed

to his knees, crying as he tried to use his magic to sense any forms of life

on the planet.  None.  Save for one, which was slowly approaching him. 

Mauriac quickly gained control of his emotions.  He faced the direction of

his approacher, and charged up a fireball, ready to release it at any

second.

      "Losnyr, is that you?"  He heard in front of him.  Surprise overwhelmed

him.  Whoever it was, they had learned his first name.  Mauriac's tense body

eased a bit, but his fireball remained in hand.

      On the horizon, he saw a very, very old man walking very sluggishly towards

him.  He wore faded blue robes, which Mauriac noticed were much like his

own. In his right hand, he had what looked like the Oceanoid spear, an

artifact of great power used only by the great Mauriacs!  "How do you know

my name?!" Mauriac/Losnyr harshly asked the old man.

      "Because," said the old man, "Your predecessor told me, before he gave me

the title of Mauriac."

      "What?!" Asked Losnyr.

 

 

CHAPTER 2:  Deranral's Tale.

 

      "Where have you been during these long years?"  Asked the old man.

      "Don't change the subject old man!" Losnyr let out.  "I want to know what

happened t... years?"

      "Yes.  It has been 1000 years since any trace of you has been seen or heard

of."

      "But I've only been gone for a year!  I was training in the realm of

Amtgardia."  Replied Losnyr.

      The old man looked surprised.  "The planet you were residing on must have

had a different concept of time than that of Alteria.  You may have stayed

there for one year, but while you were gone, 1000 years have passed here."

      A look of pain crossed Losnyr's face.  "Th-that's impossible... this can't

be happening..."

      "Do not blame yourself.  The destruction of Alteria.. and the very reason

why...” He dropped the Oceanoid Spear to the ground. "...this, once flowing

with the power of Alteria, is now just a useless trinket, is all my fault."

      Rage flowed through Losnyr's body, and he was having a very hard time

controlling it.  "What happened?  Who the hell are you?"

      The old man nodded.  "My name is Deranral Maltri.  5 years after your

disappearance, your predecessor, Kaytosi, started looking for another one to

take on his responsibilities.  He did not want to, but it was necessary for

the survival of Alteria.  Kaytosi, on his travels on the planet of Flaerie

(Editor's note:  Flaerie is Denny's (who plays Kaadiart AnaMayn) world.)

encountered me, a determined adolescent studying on his water magic."

      Deranral continued.  "He saw my potential, and took me as an apprentice.  I

went on many adventures with him in 2 years time.  Although retired as a

Mauriac, Kaytosi still adventured and fought evil on many occasions.  He was

in a group referred to around Flaerie as "The Elements", which contained a

wizard of every element of magic.  They were known as the most effective

team of mages in all of Flaerie.  But I am trailing from my point..."

      Losnyr interrupted him.  "Just get to the part that led to this!"  He waved

his hand all around him.  "I want to know what happened to my home... my

world!  And I want to know NOW!"

      Deranral sneered.  "Patience.  I wanted to know for a thousand years what

happened to you, and I just found out.  I am getting to what happened...

where was I?  Ah... well Kaytosi deemed me the next Mauriac.  I had enough

training with him on Flaerie to prove myself worthy, and Alteria at the time

desperately needed a Mauriac.  Well... I thought that I could be the best

Mauriac ever.  I had plans for Alteria... a way to eliminate all the evil

forces, all the monsters.  So I set up a world order...  I used my power to

rule Alteria, not protect it.  I thought that order was what Alteria needed.

  But, the very soul of Alteria did not agree with what I was doing. 

Because of this, the Oceanoid Spear, the sacred artifact that augments the

power of a Mauriac tenfold, did not agree with what I was doing.  Therefore

it did not work for me.  So I created a magical device that would harness

the power of the Oceanoid spear so it wouldn't have a CHOICE on who uses its

power."

      Losnyr was stunned.  How could have Deranral thought that what he was doing

was right?  He was using the very Oceanoid Spear against its will.  In

essence, it was the will of the planet he was trying to protect.  But what

Losnyr did not know was that the worst part of Deranral's story was yet to

come.

 

 

CHAPTER 3:  Losnyr's quest

 

      "I knew that Kaytosi, my former master, disagreed with my actions,"

Deranral continued."  I knew that he would eventually stand against me, and

with his allies he had a strong chance of winning.  So... I had him

assassinated."

      "WHAT?!"  Shouted Losnyr.  He grabbed Deranral by the throat.  Kaytosi was

Losnyr's master, and in many ways, his best friend.

      "Ugh..." Deranral gasped, as Losnyr regained control of his emotions and

let go of his throat.  Deranral then coughed and said, "My actions were

wrong.  I know that now.  What happened in the past is all my fault, and I

take full responsibility.  Anyways, I ruled over Alteria for 2 years, when

one day the Oceanoid Spear went out of control.  The device I put on it was

finally weakening.  The Oceanoid spear spun around before my eyes, and

finally broke free of the device with one gigantic explosion of energy. 

Everything on Alteria except for a small area around the spear was

destroyed.  I was in that area."

      Tears streamed down Losnyr's face.  "So there is nothing left?  All of

Alteria... gone?"

      Deranral nodded.  "But there is hope... a small hope."

      Losnyr grabbed Deranral's shirt, and yelled in his face, "Hope?  The planet

is destroyed!  Everything is gone!  How could there possibly be hope?!"

      Deranral wriggled out of Losnyr's grasp, and stood up.  "True time magic is

very hard to come by.  In order to actually go to another time period, a

spell must be worked upon for several centuries.  A spell that I happened to

have finished 50 years ago.  That is why I kept myself alive with magic, in

hopes that someone would come.  Someone like you."

      Losnyr was confused.  "Time magic?"

      "Yes," replied Deranral.  "The only time period I could work on a spell for

with my limited resources was the period right after Kaytosi's assassination

and 3 months before Alteria was destroyed."

      Losnyr's face brightened a bit. "Are you saying we could go back and stop

this all from happening?"

      Deranral shook his head.  "Unfortunately, I have only enough power left to

cast this one spell.  After that, I will die.  You can go back, but it will

be quite dangerous for you.  My past self will try to kill you, as will most

likely the assassin of Kaytosi.  Chances are you will not survive."

      Losnyr stood firm.  "It is my duty to protect Alteria with my life.  It is

my home.  To not do this would be hypocritical to every belief I've ever

had."

      Suddenly Losnyr noticed a gleam in the corner of his eye.  When he glanced

in the direction, he saw what looked like two glowing blue blips shaped like

eyes.  He did not see them for a second when he saw them go out, as if

whomever he saw closed their eyes.  He did not sense any life around that

area.

 

CHAPTER 4:  Losnyr's Departure

 

      Losnyr quickly deduced that either the eyes were an illusion, someone was

astrally projecting himself or herself to spy on him, or he was going crazy.

  And considering what was happening to him, the latter theory wasn't far

off.

      "So what can I do?  Your past self is so much more powerful than me. 

Kaytosi is dead.  What allies will I have?" Losnyr asked Deranral.

      Deranral nodded.  "There is a way to revive Kaytosi.  I am sure you have

heard of artifacts known as "Orbs of the Will o' Wisp?"

      "I have.  All I know is they can restore life, they appear when certain

people die, and that their appearance is very rare."

      Deranral shook his head.  "They are not as rare as you think.  They will

almost always appear when someone dies who really shouldn't have, or who has

a lot to do with fate.  In this case, a twist of fate killed Kaytosi, and he

has a lot to do with the fate of Alteria."

      Losnyr thought for a moment.  "Yes, but I've heard those orbs will only

appear on the planet of Flaerie."

      Deranral nodded again.  "You are correct, and that is exactly where my

spell will take you.  In short, what you have to do is find the orb while at

the same time avoid my past self.  You must find someone who can cast holy

magic, so they can charge the orb with it.  Then Kaytosi will be revived."

      "But those orbs are very specific!  Each one can only revive the person it

is meant to, and they all appear in completely random locations!  It could

be anywhere on the planet, and I only have 3 months to look for it!" said

Losnyr, with a hint of panic to his voice.

      "You must seek out a man named Mortimer Nightingale.  Around Flaerie, he

his known simply as "The Lord of the Night."  He lives in a tower which acts

as one giant magical satellite.  He has helped those bearing the title of

Mauriac many a time.  Despite his... eccentricity, he is a good and

honourable man, and will be able to find Kaytosi's Orb instantly with his

magic.  If you are not familiar with the geography of Flaerie, his tower is

directly to the east of where I will send you.  I am going to send you to

the campground in which Kaytosi was murdered on a previous night..."

      Losnyr interrupted, "But what about Kaytosi's assassin?  Will he still be

around there?"

      "I doubt it.  And even if he were, he wouldn't be after you, yet.  He would

only go after whom he was contracted to go after...  And at the time I did

not send any contract after you.  I almost forgot.  Here is a picture of the

assassin."

      Deranral handed him a faded picture.  The picture was of a strong-faced man

with slicked back jet-black hair, with pale skin and blue eyes.  An

interesting aspect of his hair was that he had 4 large bangs hanging down in

front of his face.  The man looked very strong, and very maniacal.

      Losnyr nodded.  "Well, I am ready to go back."

      Deranral stood firm.  He pulled out a large, black scroll with white

markings on it.  He started to concentrate.  "Good luck to you.  My biggest

regret is that I am sending you to right my wrongs, and that I cannot go

back myself."

      "You survived for 1000 years waiting for me.  It must have been painful

living alone all this time, knowing you were responsible for the destruction

of Alteria.  That is redemption enough, and I do not hate you, Deranral."

      "Thank you..." said Deranral, as he completed the spell.  Losnyr

disappeared.

      With the last of his power used up, and a smile of hope on his face,

Deranral closed his eyes, and failed to open them again.

      As he was teleporting, Losnyr swore he heard two voices conversing with

each other.

      "There he goes!  You say he's coming to our time period?" said a

flamboyant, sarcastic voice.

      "Yes, that's what it seems." Said a low, wise voice.

      "When did he arrive?"

      "He arrives two days from now."

      "I'm on it!  This should be fun."

 

 

 

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