Chapter #1226
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+ THE ADVENTURERS +
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+ Epic VI +
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+ Many of the locations, non-player characters, spells, and other +
+ terms used in these stories are the property of Wizards of the Coast +
+ which has in no way endorsed or authorized their use. Any such +
+ property contained within these stories are not representative of +
+ Wizards of the Coast in any fashion. +
+ The player characters depicted in these stories are copyright +
+ 1991-2026 by Thomas A. Miller. Any resemblance to any persons +
+ or characters either real or fictional is utterly coincidental. +
+ Copying and/or distribution of these stories is permissible under +
+ the sole condition that no money is made in the process. In that +
+ case, I hope you enjoy them! +
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+ Alindyar 18th level dark elven wizard, illusionist +
+ Lyra 15th level female drow wizard, invoker/evoker +
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+ Date: 6/1/587 C.Y. (Common Year) +
+ Time: early morning +
+ Place: the Brass Hills, within the Bright Lands +
+ Climate: hot and dry +
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+ "You gotta do these things with style." +
+ - Hannibal Smith, from _The A-Team_ pilot episode +
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MCCXXVI. Alindyar and Lyra
More than a month had passed since the events at Chargrim's mountain
citadel and the subsequent return of Crown Prince Thrommel to Furyondy.
In that time, the Bright Alliance's wizards had not been idle; the pair
of dark elves, Alindyar and Lyra, had been particularly productive. With
the farmland situation squared away, Alindyar was able to devote his full
attention (and power) to helping his mate...and now, the pair of roadways
previously under construction were complete, and the next (and final ones
planned) had been started.
Lyra: The city beneath this plateau and its fortress...is now connected
to the trading village of Ul-Bakak. (she consults a small map that she
carries and uses for her planning) And Kalki's Leap, just south of the
Brass Hills, now has a similarly wide and smooth road leading southeast
through the desert sands, to Histak.
Alindyar: Aye, and construction of the final two routes is now underway.
Lyra: (nods) From Ul-Bakak, a final segment of roadway will lead north
and west, paralleling the coast perhaps three leagues inland from the
coast and leading to Hardby. That one is for commerce. (she folds her
arms) And the new road running from Kalki's Leap almost due west, out
into the peninsula there, will have a strategic and military purpose
once a new fort is in place - a fort, and then later a port city. But
all of that will first need a road.
Alindyar: They shall have their road...and then, perhaps, someone other
than the two of us can concern themselves with constructing forts and
ports, and ships, and whatever else a growing nation needs.
Lyra: Understood and agreed. But bear in mind that our - and by "our"
I mean all nine of us - willingness to undertake work typically left to
laborers...is the reason we've been able to do so much in such a short
time. Elsewhere in the Flanaess, wizards stay in their libraries and
workrooms with their noses buried in dusty books, never getting their
hands dirty. We've replaced a massive portion of the unglamorous work
with magic - and we've got a lot to show for it.
Alindyar: (nods, looking up at the house they've constructed on their
allocated site...and smiles, pleased)
While all of the other wizards were building or had completed towers of
some sort, the two drow had chosen a much different structure and design.
Their home was an actual mansion - a tall, narrow one - whose elaborate
outer walls appeared to me fashioned of large, polished wood. In truth,
this material had the strength and durability of hardened steel, as did
every single one of the shuttered windows along its four sides - and all
of the house's outer surfaces also bore powerful protective enchantments.
The manse was of a quality and appearance on par with the finest homes in
the Free City of Greyhawk - if they had been compressed to sit on a small
lot and rise high above the ground - and had a certain old, distinguished
look. All of the Bright Alliance wizards' new homes were unusual...but
of them all, this was the only one that resembled a conventional structure
that might be found in the nicer sections of any major city.
The unusual mansion was approximately sixty feet high - somewhat less
than most of the other wizards' towers - but the dark elves were not at
all concerned about such metrics. Their dwelling had five floors but no
basement or lower levels; instead, they built in additional protective
measures to strengthen the foundation and render it invulnerable to any
digging and magical travel (including extraplanar methods). As the house
was square without any tapering toward the top, all five floors had the
same dimensions - thirty feet on a side - and high, twelve-foot ceilings.
The ground level contained a high foyer spanning two floors, a cloak room,
and the bottom of a grand staircase that connected the first four floors.
The second floor had several spacious guest rooms, while the third held a
kitchen and formal dining room and storage areas. The fourth floor was
completely devoted to a study/library and large workroom, with a separate
stairway up to the topmost level. That fifth floor was a series of suites
where the drow washed, dressed, and slept.
The mansion's interior featured floors and walls in various shades of
dark wood. All of its molding and other trim were simple yet stylish,
as was what little furniture the drow chose to possess. Aside from their
various magical protections, all of the windows were also enchanted to
tint themselves as necessary to moderate the sun's light. Thus, those
inside the home would be aware that it was daytime, but would never know
discomfort from the outside light. Similarly, given that both dark elves
preferred cooler temperatures, the interior of the mansion would always
remain that way, even if the desert air outside was miserably hot.
While it would have been possible to utilize extra-dimensional space to
make the interior of the house much larger than its exterior size would
suggest, Alindyar had opted for a more conventional means of construction.
Not only would magically-altered physical space have required additional
protections, but the two of them simply didn't need more space, as forty-
five hundred square feet was more than sufficient for their needs. This
was doubly true since they currently had no henchpeople, followers, or
students of any kind. They didn't even employ non-intelligent help such
as unseen servants, but rather used magical methods to attend to cleaning
and chores in their home. However - and especially given recent events
and their involvement in the Bright Alliance - they had recently began
discussing the need for some sort of guardians or helpers to complement
their magical abilities in battle or other dangerous situations. While
the outcome of this planning was yet to be determined, any future allies
who joined the dark elves would certainly be formidable.
As they completed work on the mansion and moved themselves and their
(relatively few) belongings into the new home within the ground of the
Bright Alliance's fortress, the pair of drow also took stock of their
possessions and capabilities. Alindyar normally kept only a handful of
useful items on his person when out and about: his cloak of protection,
one of the pair of rings that conferred protection and the ability to
communicate telepathically with the wearer of the other such ring, and an
amulet of plane shifting. He often carried his staff of power as well,
although for him it was more of a backup option than a primary weapon.
When a particular situation called for it, he would also have his small
bag of holding - which might contain the wand tipped with a small hand,
or his Prison of Zagyg, or perhaps even his wand of conjuration. Other
useful items (such as his infinite spellbook, crystal ball, mirror of
mental prowess, or the mighty reality-shaping paintbrush) were normally
kept safely in his home unless specifically needed elsewhere.
When it came to spellcasting, Alindyar had expanded his already-mighty
capabilities with a number of unique spells that he'd invented over the
years. Some of these incantations - such as Hollow Darkness, Distraction,
Helping Hands, Alindyar's Closet, and Disguise - were known to his closer
acquaintances. Others were not, such as the assisted-teleport spell that
reached into another's mind to securely learn a destination unknown to the
caster...a couple of more powerful and useful variants on the normal spell
of light...and the spell that teleported a non-hostile subject to a non-
hostile place known to the caster (to be fair, Parekh had independently
come up with a very similar spell).
As for Alindyar's mate...Lyra typically kept just six magical items on
her person when out in public: her cloak of protection, the powerful ring
that was the counterpart to the one Alindyar wore, a seldom-employed but
still useful ring of djinni summoning, her black leather boots of flying,
and two daggers (one of which was enchanted for more accurate throwing).
Few were aware of it, but Lyra actually possessed unusually quick reflexes
and a strong throwing arm - and could be deadly with a thrown blade. She
owned several other useful items that weren't usually carried, including
a staff of striking, two magical spellbooks, a crucible of melting, and a
blanket of warmth.
Lyra had also designed, tested, and perfected a number of new spells,
the bulk of which were already known to some: Platform, Silent Darkness,
Wall of Electricity, Safe and Sound, Controlled Blink, Chain Fireball,
Bubble of Force, Tongues of Lightning, Mass Teleport (a refined version
of which had been invented independently by Pallin), Secondary Teleport,
and Wizard's Cocoon. Other new spells that weren't as well-known included
an incantation to determine the age of non-living objects...twin spheres
of light which floated above the ground or floor...and a spell to keep the
subject cool amidst high temperatures.
The next new spell they planned to create would be as simple as it was
practical: they wanted verbal- and somatic-only spell options so that
they might free themselves if (respectively) their hands were bound or
their mouths were gagged. It was, of course, their intention to never be
in such a dilemma in the first place...but still, it was best to have a
contingency plan, just in case.
Aside from all this, neither of the dark elves had changed much over
the last two decades - although, granted, that span of time was but the
smallest fraction of their normal lifespan...a fraction that would likely
never see much in the way of new behaviors or viewpoints. Both of them
were both still in their physical prime, about five and a half feet tall
and thin but healthy. Both of them had distinctive ebon skin, long fine
white hair, and violet eyes (the shade of hers slightly paler compared to
his). Alindyar was analytical and verbose, and generally even-tempered
(except for those rare occasions when he witnessed any mistreatment or
abuse of women, which typically resulted in the swift and decisive demise
of the responsible parties). As for Lyra, she was fiercely loyal to her
mate, and went about her daily life and work with great efficiency and
drive. However, if she was betrayed, she had a vengeful streak to rival
any of the dark elves of the Underdark. All this being said, the two of
them - each from different drow cities in the Underdark and each having
found their way to the surface world before their paths intersected many
years ago - were perfect for each other: both were highly intelligent,
greatly enjoyed reading, and preferred each other's company over that of
others.
Obviously, they no longer inhabited or owned the old mansion within the
Free City of Greyhawk - that had been sold years ago - nor did Alindyar
still teach at the city's vaunted Grey College of Magic. These changes
had nothing to do with their membership in the Bright Alliance; it was
more that life in the sprawling, busy city really hadn't suited them, and
once they had finally realized that, their interests and activities had
shifted away from Greyhawk. At this time, those interests and activities
largely focused on making the Bright Lands a better place - one whose
people could live in peace and prosper. The dark elves also recognized
that being part of a consortium of extremely powerful archmagi brought
some measure of security and protection for them as well. While a very
few enemies might be bold enough to seek out and attack the two of them,
the number of foes willing to take on _nine_ such wizards would be even
fewer. Alindyar and Lyra's greatest hope was that the mere presence and
power of the Bright Alliance would completely prevent all of the typical
problems of a nation: crime, corruption, conflict, warfare...resulting
in something as close to a perfect, peaceful society as possible. They
had certainly seen the exact opposite of this during their early years
in the Underdark - and had been quick to agree to the idea of the Bright
Lands when Belphanior had first proposed it.
This, then, was the state of Alindyar and Lyra at the onset of Wealsun,
sixth month of the year and the beginning of the end of the early summer
season. As they relaxed within their dim, comfortable mansion atop the
massive hilltop fortress of the Bright Alliance, insulated from the heat
and dry air of the surrounding desert, the pair of dark elves were highly
pleased with recent events and efforts.
next: Bright Alliance member profiles, part two
map: http://www.peldor.com/world/atlas/Bright-Desert_1226.png
www: http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage: http://www.peldor.com/
email: tmiller@peldor.com
released: 9/11/2026
notes: The contents of this series of episodes will form the basic
building blocks for the character profiles that will be part of the
Bright Lands accessory I plan to someday write. Obviously, the details
for those people we've known since 1991 (Belphanior, the drow) won't be
as interesting to the average reader...but for the other wizards, this
is a good chance for me to flesh them out more, and for you to learn a
lot more about them. I'm looking forward to it - and it will require
some extra creativity from me - but fortunately I've been keeping notes
for years on each of these wizards, because I knew this day would come.
Regarding the two wizards profiled in this episode...one group of
Alindyar's unique spells listed above is already live on the website
and has been for a while; the second group (containing spells he used
in episodes 816, 842, and 903) will be in the near future as a part of
the site updating I'm trying to do while also writing new episodes.
Similarly for Lyra, the first listed chunk of new spells has already
been live for a while, while the others appeared in episodes 818, 819,
and 1196. So once all of this is processed, their spell lists will be
current (until they invent any more, of course).
A final thought, only shared because of the release date of this
episode: it's been exactly a quarter-century since the most horrific
and significant event in America since 1941. When I think about the
way the wizards are planning and building their new nation, part of
the intent is that they're hopefully creating a land that will never
see such a terrible attack - not because of the raw power of the nine
wizards or their ability to retaliate (although that's undeniable) but
because ideally that raw power will mean an effective defense against
any and all attacks. When I think of "utopia" I think of that. (The
only greater level of utopia would be a world in which no one had any
aggression at all, but that is impossible.)
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