Subject: RPG: Darkness falls.
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 22:32:43 PST
From: "Stana Hierspiel" <happydoodl@hotmail.com>

At the insistant urging of Sullam, Stana opened her eyes. And wished she
hadn't. It was too bright, the light hurt her. She snapped them shut.
     "No you don't." Sullam said. "We have to get moving now, or we'll b
sitting targets."
     ::Who cares?:: she thought ::It doesn't matter, he already found us
and we just started. What do we have that can protect us against him?::
She got up anyway, and was surprised at how weak she was.
      He looked her over critically, and nodded. Clip was staring off
moodily into the darkest heart of the wood. Without further words the
two moved as one into that direction.

    "We don't even know the name of this wizard." Stacey pointed out. "I
know Rashka said that we can defeat him and all, but how?"
    The forest refused to answer her. With a sigh she continued in after
Clip and Sullam.

    Later that evening she sat at the fire, too sore and tired to move.
She would have fallen asleep then and there but she would have to move
to lie down. And she wasn't at all sleepy-she was scared.
        "You should get the sleep you can." Sullam reproved, joining her at the
edge. "You'll need it."
        " The forest is getting more rotten as we move in. This area is
tainted." She replied "I don't like the way it's making me feel."
        He did not mention that she herself retained some taint as well, and
that she was likely feeling the most from that. Some things were better
left not said at all.
        "Clip's Alicorn is causing all this?"
        He nodded. "Under the wizard's impetus, something that brings
life-perverted to cause illness and death."
         Again she moved uneasily. Her eyes looked at the area around
and she shivered. She hated this place, this dankness, and was beginning
to wonder why she ever volunteered to do this. She hunched her shoulders
and grabbed her knees up to her chest, resting her head down.

        Sullam appraised her worridly, took a breath, and glanced around at the
pressing gloom. Then shrugged, coming to a conlcusion. If nothing else
it would pass the time for her.
        "You asked me about myself last night. I was born into a well to do
family South and West of here. Our family is an old one, traceable back
1500 years; to the discovery of the divinity."
        "Divinity? What's that?" she asked.
        "The Divinity, God, Goddess, Energy...Our family was a founder of the
Divinity. In other words they created a religion to gain power over the
people around them. They set the most charismatic among them as head of
this new faith but over the years have fallen victim to their own
subterfuge." He spoke in a narrative, with nothing in his voice to
indicate if he felt anything about this at all. "Over the centuries the
Order of the Divinity has grown and expanded into new territories. But
the group that founded it-the society within-including my family, have
continued to utilize others need to believe as a resource to be
exploited." he snapped his eyes shut. "I was chosen as the next to
lead."
        "You?!"
        He smiled with little humor in it. "Surprised? I was raised since age 5
to take over the position of leadership. By eight I was already telling
who was to marry and who was not to. I could have ordered anyone dead
and it would have happened. At first I enjoyed the feeling of power, I
felt like I was indeed "Chosen" to lead, that the divinity was with me.
I saw it in the air, the water, in every song or dance. Then reality hit
hard. I had friends die in my arms, I buried loved ones with my own
hands, prepared their burials myself, sent their spirits on their way
myself. Mourned them...myself. There was no comfort there at all. The
beautiful delusion of the divinity died. Soon I came to realize that
there was nothing but a sham overlaying it all. That was when the
"Chosen one" stopped playing the puppet. At my manhood ceremony a few
months later I denounced the group and left."
        "And met up with Rashka?"
        "Not at first. I travelled alot, picked up medicine and additional
fighting arts, painting, instruments. Anything really I could learn. But
there was never anyone that I could learn to better myself from.
Everyone taught me _things_, noone ever could teach me about Sullam." He
opened his eyes and scanned the woods. Then leaned back and closed them
again."I joined a Healer's acadamy at one time...and thought I was
finally home. I realized soon enough that the place was as infected with
as much mysticism and power playing as the Order of the Divinity. They
threw me out soon after that realization. I met Rashka soon after and
she was letting me protect her, and learn from her. Better she was
letting me have the time and peace to look at myself for answers."
        "Is she...dead?" Stana finally asked.
        "There is no death. Only change." he responded, and got up. "Now you
really do need to get some sleep. Or if that is too much to happen rest
your eyes. The days are going to get longer, the further in we get."
         Stana shuddered "how can a person survive like this?"