Histories Reawakening

by Swinky Merathai in Dark Ages

As the memories of the Kadath faded through time, stories were created with the little knowledge of what really happened on the dreaded mountain. As time continued the stories became even more falsified making the truth harder to believe.

Spring had just arrived, and the snow from the previous winter was melting rapidly. A traveler, who was journeying from Suomi to the base of the Kadath, overheard what sounded like a wounded animal. Being a kind-hearted, but yet cautious man, he stopped and approached the sound. To his surprise, he found a warrior, half frozen, and partially buried in the snow. Quickly, he helped the warrior out of the snow, and onto his wagon, then headed back to Suomi with the warrior.

When he arrived in Suomi, the man carried the warrior into the local inn, where the warrior could rest. The head Priestess of Deoch was called to cure the warrior of any sicknesses that he may have. The priestess immediately noticed the markings on his armor to be those of Glioca, yet she did not say a word to the others.

When the warrior was completely rested, the priestess confronted him, and asked him where he had found his armor.

"I dinnae find this armor that I wear. It was given to me by the goddess Glioca before I went to fight the minions of Sgrios on the Kadath."

The priestess was shocked to hear what this warrior was telling her. To her knowledge, all of those who fought the war against Chadul on the Kadath had perished over an Aeon ago.

"So warrior, ye are a follower of the goddess Glioca? What might yer name be?"

"Aye, that I am, and me name is Qezlain Moretei."

"And ye say were fighting against Chadul’s minions on the Kadath?"

"Aye, that I was."

"Tell me about what happened while ye were fighting on the Kadath."

Qezlain takes a deep breath and starts to tell his story.

"When I first reached the base of the Kadath, all that was to be heard was silence. There were no battle cries, no corpses, nothing. The first night I stayed near the base, around a few hundred feet up the mountain, and made camp there. During the middle of the night, I heard a sound of what seemed to be metal cutting into flesh. So I decided I should grab my armaments, and head cautiously to where the fighting was. When I came near the battle sounds, I looked up to see a knight in golden armor fighting a succubus. From that moment on, I knew I things were not going to be easy as I was told, for I had seen a legendary Knight of Hy-brasyl struggle with a succubus. As soon as the knight had finished off the succubus, I approached him, and congratulated him on his victory. He thanked me, and told me he was ambushed while waiting for the rest of his regiment to return from the battle. I asked him where I was supposed to go to join a regiment of Gliocans who were fighting against Chadul. He sighed, then told me that the area when Glioca’s base was, had been overtaken by Chadul’s minions and that those who were followers of Glioca we scattered now, with no one to guide them during their battles. He then told me to stay with him and fight among his regiment until a new base for Glioca was established. I agreed, and then led him back to my camp where we stayed for the night."

"When dawn arose, I woke to the knight giving orders out to his regiment. He was telling them that today would be their hardest battle, and that no matter what happened, that they would always be remembered for their bravery. He told them that they were about to face Chadul himself, and that many of them would most likely perish. After his speech, he came over to me, and asked me if I thought I was up to this battle. I nodded slowly, and told him I was there to fight for my goddess, not for the glory of winning the battle. He grinned at me, and told me to grab my items, and follow his regiment up the mountain."

After a short pause to catch his breath, Qezlain began once more.

"Slowly, we made our way up the mountain, facing creatures which I had never seen before. These beasts were stronger than anything I had seen in my experience, but the knight was taking them down as if he was stomping on an insect. We faced many creatures, some of which, many of our warriors perished at the hands of. Finally, what was left of the regiment, reached a cave, which the knight had said was where Chadul was hiding. We entered the cave slowly, not knowing what to expect. Keeping our guard up at all times, we finally reached an area deep within the cave, when a priest was standing. The knight told us not to trust this priest, for it was actually just an image in which Chadul was using to trick us. The knight drew his sword of Hy-brasyl, and shined its glare upon the priest, causing the image of the priest to fade, and Chadul’s true form to come out of hiding."

"Chadul was a hideous creature, one like no other. Before we could even move to attack, Chadul had cast Strioch Bias on most of our regiment. I watched as the brave men fell to the ground, and die a painful, yet quick death. Those who were not affected by the spell, quickly ran in to attack Chadul, but failed as there were sleep traps placed all over. I watched in awe as I saw the knight approach Chadul. He carried his sword, ready for the attack; yet, he had a slight grin on his face. I watched as the knight went to slice at Chadul, but failed as Chadul grabbed hold of him, paralyzing him instantly. I couldn’t just stand and watch any longer, so I pulled my sword from its sash, and charged at Chadul, and hit the hand that was holding the knight. Before I had time to realize what I had done, I chopped off Chadul’s hand, and carried the knight out of the cave. As we headed out, all I could hear was Chadul screaming in pain. The knight spoke to me, and told me to leave him, so he could finish what he had started. I nodded slightly, and started to run down the mountain, continuously looking back at the knight. Without realizing where I was going, I slipped, and fell of a small cliff, into a bank of snow, injuring my leg, I knew I was not going to be able to walk on it, so I decided to make the best of it and stay as warm as I could."

"Soon winter came, and the snow from the mountain was beginning to cover over me, I knew I was not going to make it through the winter, so I prayed to Glioca to protect me, not knowing what to expect. I fell into a sleep; I had no idea what was to become of me. Then, not knowing how long I had been asleep for, I awoke, and tried to stand, but I was half buried in snow, I moaned a little from the weight of the snow on top of me. Then a man came and dragged me out of the snow, and onto his wagon. Then he brought me here, when I awoke once more to ye."

Qezlain tells the priestess that that is all that he remembers about what happened. The priestess eyes him suspiciously, as if she does not believe a word he has said. Once more, Qezlain speaks.

"Could you please hand me my bag?"

The priestess nods and hands Qezlain his bag. Qezlain reached into his bag and pulls out a large object, wrapped in clothe. The priestess cringes at the foul smell that the item has brought into the air.

"What is it?"

Qezlain did not reply, he just started to unwrap the clothe from around the object. When he had gotten all of the clothe off of it, he held the item up to the priestess.

"I give you the hand of Chadul."

The priestess looked in awe at the withered hand that Qezlain had held up in front of her. From that moment on, the priestess knew that the truth of what had happened on the Kadath had finally been told. She told Qezlain she must be off to the temple. When she reached the temple, she sat down at a desk, and started to write down everything that Qezlain had told her.

Over time, the truth became stretched, and retold how people wanted it to be heard, the only true document of what really happened, is buried somewhere below the Temple of Deoch in Suomi. The Kadath ended up turning into a burial place for all of those who perished by the hands of Sgrios. Qezlain went off into the woodlands near the Kadath to rest for another Aeon so that he may once again tell the truth of the Kadath.