The Ghosts of the Past...((solo))

[Letho]

“Pondering will do you no good, Letho!” a loud intrepid voice spoke from above, making both the swordsman and the redhead recoil sharply. “What is it today with people creeping up on me?” passed through the gray haired man’s head as his eyes tried to bring the human figure into focus. Her white hair glittered in the renewed sun (that finally slipped from the grasp of the clouds and rekindled life in the nature around them) like liquid silver. Her robes carried the same color, the silvery white attire spreading the undoubted royalty of the woman that stood on the inner wall with her arms crossed in front of her. Her skin was almost sickeningly pale and it was the skin and the face that finally made Letho recognize the voice.

“Rheawien.” he simply said with no real accent in his voice. She was a good friend, as good as they came to Letho, but right now he was in the state of mind to send away even the fistful of those he called his best friends. “What do you want?” he asked sharply. The woman’s lips, thin and rosy, curled into a minute smirk before she jumped from the high wall, landing on her right foot as deftly as if the height was no more the two paces.

“Is that how you greet your queen?” she mused, teasing the man as she approached. And now the swordsman allowed a smirk of his own. Because yes, she was the queen now, the wife of none other then his own son Malagen, but below the title and the fancy attire, Rheawien was still the same one he met back in Scara Brae. Myrhia gulped audibly at the introduction of the white haired queen, certain that the woman was here to persecute her for what she had done. Still, she got up to her feet and took a place beside Letho, bowing her head low once Rheawien reached them.

“Perhaps.” Letho replied. “But the question still stands. What brings you to these accursed ruins?” his voice was a bit sharper now, making an unspoken statement that while she was one of the handful of those he called friends, he had neither the time nor the patience for some meaningless antics. Rheawien acknowledged this with a placid barely visible nod.

“She does.” the queen replied, her words making the red haired girl lift her head and look into the keen brown eyes with profound fear. But despite the strict visage, there was nothing she had to fear on the face of the white haired half-elf. “Did you really think that something of that magnitude could pass by me unnoticed?” she asked the girl, her voice unthreatening and mellisonant. There was kindness in that voice, and understanding and even compassion. The frigid bitch that Rheawien once was was nothing but a distant unwelcome memory these days, and she was actually the kinder of the two when she stood next to her king.

“Alas, I am not here to judge you for your transgressions, Myrhia. I know what you did and I am pretty certain I know why you did it.” the gallant woman spoke, leading the way back to the pond. She stared at the image for a couple of seconds, Letho and Myrhia standing beside her with eagerness nearly radiating out of their pores. Rheawien turned to face both of them. “I am, however, here to help you. I believe both of you suffer from this dimensional shift?” and the look on their faces was the only answer she needed. “Good. That is good. That bond can be used.” she said more to herself then to the two.

“Good? What are you talking about, Rhea?” Letho asked, perplexed by the words of the half-elf. Rheawien remained silent for a couple of more seconds, her eyes not looking at anything in particular, but rather just gazing at some undetermined point in the wall.

“I’m talking about sorting out this mess, Letho Ravenheart.” she finally said with a certain, unwavering tone.

“Really?” Myrhia asked, nearly grabbing the woman by the robes and pulling it like a little child that asked for a cookie from her mother. “You can help us?”

“Well, actually no. You can help yourself.” she said, pointing towards both of them. “I can, however, lead you onto the right track. Come on, let’s sit down. There’s another story to be told.”

[Letho]

“Letho, are you familiar with the Blade of the Judicator?” Rheawien started as the three settled down on the moist log, the swordsman sitting in the middle and the two females around them. All of them looked at the image in front, the pool displaying some random scene in Corone with the two walking on some random path with cheerful expression on their faces.

“Of course.” Letho replies, nearly insulted by the question. He was, after all, the Guardian, and his wisdom surpassed those of the mortals now. “The legendary blade, some say fabled, a remnant of the Age of the Gods. Some say the Creator himself crafted the blade to serve his deities as a tool of judgment.”

“Well, it’s good to know what some say. You need to find it.” she simply said, as simply as if she just told him to go and fetch her some water from a well. Letho shook his head. Myrhia at his side took her usual role, not knowing what the hell was going on.

“Find it?” the swordsman said in disbelief. “That damned blade is lost now for over five thousand years and you want me to just find it. Oh, and would you want the Amulet of Clarity to go with that?” he said sarcastically, but his words broke against the calm woman like water on rock.

“Are you finished?” she asked silently. “I said I am here to lead you onto the right track, Letho. Don’t you trust me?” she turned her face now to look at the Guardian. They both smiled. She was one of the few people he actually trusted, and that meant a lot coming from a constantly suspicious man such as Letho. “While the Amulet would be a nice gift, I think you will have enough worries with the Blade itself. Yes, the Blade is lost over five thousand years ago and for all that time there wasn’t a single written evidence of its existence. But I went through some archives in Savion, and I came up with an interesting detail. You see, Nyd wasn’t always the land of ice. It was written...”

“Wait, hold on. Nyd?” Letho interrupted. Rheawien seemed slightly aggravated by his intrusion in her disposition.

“Just hear me out. It was written that Nyd was supposed to be the last refuge of the humanity. But five thousand years ago the last great war between the gods was fought and these godlike beings chose Nyd as their battlefield. The Creator was angered by the destruction of the heavenly land and it is written that he froze both his deities and the land in solid ice, cursing them to remain frozen until the end of this worlds would come. I believe that with the gods, the Blade was frozen as well.” she concluded. Letho’s hand passed through his beard slowly, his eyes looking at a swaying thread of grass in front of him. And it made sense... Well, enough sense for a desperate mind to believe it anyways.

“But how will we find it? Nyd is a huge piece of frozen land and we have knowledge where this Blade might be.” Myrhia asked timidly, almost afraid that her presence and her voice were unwanted. But Rheawien’s shoulders slumped at this question; because the woman knew the question is good and that unfortunately she had no answer.

“That’s just it. I don’t know. There are no maps of Nyd in the archives and as far as I can tell, there is nobody that lived on that piece of ice. I know it’s a slim hope...” the half-elf spoke nearly apologetically.

“Slim hope is better then no hope at all.” Letho said before he turned back towards Rhea, his eyes finally rekindling that part of the flames of determination they once had. “But what are we to do with the Blade? And why do we need the damned thing anyways?”

“Ah, the Blade. It is written on the ancient stone tablets that the Blade of the Judicator could cut not only flesh, but the soul of the person. It could hurt a man in such a manner that no wound could be seen, and yet the man would just die as if the blade struck his heart. I believe I could use the power of the blade to cut you, Letho.” she said so matter-o-factly that it scared Myrhia. Both the redhead’s and Letho’s eyes asked her to elaborate.

“I know you love Tayotihua, Letho.” she started. “But I know you love Myrhia as well. I think I could separate those two parts. One could live in this world, and the other in the dimension Myrhia created.”

A long pause followed. Neither the swordsman nor the lithe girl knew what to say. This whole deal seemed so unreal it borderlined with something from a fairytale. Letho was the first to break this enchantment of disbelief.

“Why... Why are you doing this?” he asked the woman, his question catching her off balance at first.

”Because...” she stopped, looking at the gray man. She allowed a faint painful smile. “Because just like Myrhia, I loved you once too, Letho, and I know that if I had the chance to do what she did at the time, I would do it... No matter what. I have a life now... But I want to give you two at least a chance.” she spoke softly, her eyes falling away from his own at the end. Letho remained speechless at her disposition. A soft warm hand wrapped around the pale one of the half-elf.

“Thank you, Rheawien.” the girl spoke, placing a soft kiss on the cold smooth hand of the Savion queen. The fair face of the elf broke at the gentleness of the teenager, and smilingly she allowed her other hand pass through the mahogany red hair threads of the girl.

“Thank me when you get back.” she said gently. “But go about your search from the other side.”

“Why?” Letho asked shortly as he got up to his feet.

“Because I said so, Letho Ravenheart. Because I said so.” she replied, getting up to her feet and rising Myrhia with her.

“Very well.” Letho said to the woman, placing his hand on her shoulder. “I will see you soon then.”

Rheawien nodded, her heart jumping a little at the greeting of the Savion knights with which Letho honored her. “You’re damn right you will.” she replied. “Now go!”

They did. Myrhia took Letho’s hand and together they stepped into the unsightly green pond. The picture shimmered for a couple of seconds, and then the two bodies simply fell limp at the side of the pool. When the image stabilized again, Rhea could see that pair making their way on some random path in Corone.

“Godspeed, you two.”

((Continued in “To expedite, explore and extract...”.DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER BEFORE READING THE LINKED QUEST IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCLUSION AND YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS FOR THE LINKED QUEST!!!))

[Letho]

((Continued from over yonder.))

Even though on the other side of the portal months passed during the expedition to the land of Nyd and perils were exchanged before Letho’s eyes more often then socks on his feet, for Rheawien the dreadful journey was almost instantaneous. Because even as she dispatched the two into the other dimension and took a seat on the moldy damp log, the two came stumbling out. Letho fell on one knee, once again regaining his grayed hair and ancient looking visage, looking a bit like a prizefighter at the count of eight, bloody and bruised as if he just wrestled a bear. Rheawien didn’t find this surprising; it was Letho’s modus operandi to get in situations from which he barely managed to extract his already cracked head. Myrhia, not under the influence of severe fatigue and blood loss, managed to maintain her footing rather nimbly, helping Letho up to his feet. Distantly, almost like an afterthought of something obscure, Rheawien remembered the times when he would gruffly push people away when they attempted to aid him in such situations. It made her smile mildly.

But the smile lasted only a second, because it took only that amount of time for her to notice the glossy unearthly clear twinkle, a sharp reflection of the golden sunray that touched the legendary piece of metal. The half-elf saw her share of gallant and glorious riches; her position as the Queen of Savion certainly enabled her to do so. But even her breath stopped somewhere in mid exhale as she caught a glimpse of the sword.

“Letho! Myrhianna! You found it!” she spoke in an elated tone, approaching the due hastily. It was a deviation from her tranquil demeanor, but at this point the surge of emotions was beyond her control. There was a large part of her that was leery towards this whole Blade quest, a pessimistic thorn that kept repeating she was sending the two into their untimely doom. And now they proved that sliver of suspicion wrong.

“Aye. And believe me, it was not a small task.” the swordsman replied after he finally regained his footing, presenting the Blade to the white haired woman. Her suave exquisite fingers examined the weapon thoroughly, half in disbelief that it was the actual Blade of the Judicator and half in awe of the tantalizing power of it.

“I can only guess that it took something extraordinary to procure it.” Rheawien spoke again, but Letho and Myrhia didn’t see anything extraordinary in the events that took place prior to their acquiring of the Blade. Death of a good person could be described in various different manners, but seldom as extraordinary. The silence was the only reply that the half-elf got and after a couple of stoic seconds of it, she knew she would get no reply about the course of this adventure. “Very well. Are you two ready to proceed with this?”

Letho and Myrhia looked at each other. He looked so much older in this body, almost a harbinger of the things to come, and regardless of the handful of extra wrinkles and the silvery gray hair, she liked the vision of future. All he could do is smile in return. He was here by fate’s, Storm’s and Myrhia’s mercy and he had a chance to do something extraordinary. He seized it with a minute smile. “What is it that you need us to do?”

“You both hold the Blade, one hand on the hilt the other on the edge. Once I finish the incantation you both need to cut your palms on it.” she spoke, positioning the two and placing their hands on the right spot. “But I must warn you; there is a chance that this will fail and if that happens I... I don’t know what will happen Letho. This was never done before and...”

“I know.” the rough voice of the swordsman interrupted her. “But it is a chance” His eyes were set on the emeralds that were once again twinkling, reflecting the sun more marvelously then any blade ever could, even if it is forged by gods at the Dawn of Time. Yes, it was a chance, a risk that he had to take, because he couldn’t live without her anymore then he could live without Tayotihua.

“Very well. I will start...” but once again Letho cut her off.

“Wait! I need you to do me a favor. Once we... separate, I don’t want that me from this time remembers the journey to Nyd. It is a burden he doesn’t have to carry.” he said to the woman, making her face crumple in a pondering frown.

“What about you? Do you not wish to forget whatever nightmare happened?” she asked.

“No. I want to remember.” he replied, turning his eyes once again back to the redhead that looked benevolently at him from the other side of the blade. “I need to remember. She cannot be forgotten.”

Rheawien decided not to pry into this any further. Letho had one of his decisive unmovable looks on his face and any discussion was futile from this point on. She merely nodded solemnly and waited for the two to regain their proper positions. Her melodic voice started in a whisper, a mere audible brush of wind, but with every word it grew in power, losing the splendor and gaining sheer might. The nature around them seemed to bend and twist in accordance to these words, dancing the frenetic waltz through the grass thread and three crowns. Even the clouds seemed to whirl above their heads, creating a downy whirl high above their heads. The half-elf was shouting by now, wailing macabre words that shook the earth beneath their feet.

And then, when her shriek was at it’s peak and her hands reached for the heavens, she fell silent. Two palms slid down the razor sharp edge of the ancient blade. And the world disappeared in a fulgent flash.

[Letho]

***

There was something uncanny about waking up after a good rest. The pleasant ache in the bones that were dormant for so long, the crackle of the knuckles shifting back into their rightful place, the blinding blur of the first glimpse and the everlasting desire for another five minutes of bliss. It was just a portion of what Letho felt as he opened his eyes to the constellations of the Savion night sky. And despite the fact that he had no idea what he was doing sleeping with no roof over his head and on a rather bumpy patch of grass, he nearly turned over to get his additional five minutes.

“It’s about time you woke up.” a mellisonant voice prevented him from doing so and snatched him ruthlessly from the clutches of the sweet slumber. He jerked instinctively, turning towards the origin of the sound, hoping that it’s just Tayotihua playing trucks on him and sneaking up on him for god-knows-what time. But his keen eyes soon fell on a figure clad all in white, smiling kindly back at him.

“Rheawien? What are you doing...” he paused, looking around himself, his brow as furrowed as humanly possible. “What is she doing here?! What the hell am I doing here?” his mind tried to rationalize and explain why was he before the ruins of Osentia, sleeping beside Kristiniel’s grave. The half-elf at his site allowed a minute chuckle inspired by the utterly befuddled expression on his face.

“What ever do you mean, Letho? Don’t you remember, you called me.” she served the lie the best way she could, in a manner that only women can; with a semi-seductive smirk and the wily spark in their eyes. “You said something about hearing voices or having two worlds in your head. You weren’t making much sense back then though”

Ah, yes, he could remember the two worlds. Something about Myrhia possibly... And her spear in the basement. And... And... No. Nothing else. He just couldn’t quite reach for the memory for some reason. It was like looking into a thick layer of fog; he could see that something was most definitely there, but no matter how much he strained his eyes, it remained fuzzy at best. Still, the worm of suspicion was burrowing through his gut even as he ascertained the situation and looked at Rheawien for any trace of a ruse.

“Perhaps. Though this looks more like on of your mischievous tricks that...”

“Look, I don’t have time for your foolish conspiracy theories!” she disallowed the ending of his sentence, getting up with a frown and an offended look on her angelic face. “I came here to help you. You can interpret it any way you want. To think I even brought you a present.” she added with a shake of her head, implying to a wrap of clothing at Letho’s side.

Letho - who felt a little bit like that child in the middle of the circle with the covered eyes, who got spun around countless times before they let him stagger around in complete daze – decided to play along for the time being. His hands unwrapped the cloth, uncovering the remarkable craftsmanship of the adamantine bastard sword. The once weary brown eyes seemed to capture the reflected starlight from the blade and turn it into a pair of fickle flames.

“So, what do you want in return?” he responded after a several second of awe. Rheawien winced a little bit at the question, its intention unclear to her. “This is an adamantine blade, Rhea, and possible the finest one I encountered in my life. Nobody gives away such weapons.”

“Perhaps you’re right. Consider it more of a... deposit. And I need you to take real good care of it. This blade is extremely important for the future.” she said, slowly walking away into the darkness of the woods.

“The future? The future of Savion?” he asked.

“Perhaps. Time will tell.” was the whisper that came as a response from the shadows.


SPOILS:

Blade of the Judicator – It was told that this adamantine sword was forged by the gods themselves at the Dawn of Time so that when the Time of Destruction commences, it would be used to judge the mortals. Because of that the blade was given countless enchantments, including the ability to eradicate a person from existence completely. However, as it turned out, the blade didn’t fall into the hands of the gods, but rather in the hands of Myrhianna Bastillien. The powers of the Blade are therefore sealed for the user until he or she is proven worthy. However, only Myrhia is unable to unlock or use any enchantment of the blade (via a quest). Letho can wield the blade, but it is and it will always be just an adamantine sword to him. The blade itself is rather plain looking, though perfectly balanced to a fraction of an inch. The hilt is shaped as a wing of an angel on one side and a demon on the other side. On the bottom of the hilt is a figure of a young girl holding a large blade on top of a high tower.

Temporal distortion – Letho now exists in two separate dimensions. In one he is a middle aged Guardian of Savion with Tayotihua as his wife and two children. In the other he is a young wanderer with Myrhia as his lover. The two can never meet each other, if one sells an item, they both lose it. ((NOTE: This isn’t really an ability, but rather just another timeline that can be rped. However, it is rather unlikely that I will ever play the timeline with old Letho because Creolady that played Tayotihua is probably gone for good from Althanas.))

[INDK]

In general, scores in quests weight the performances of each partner equally. In this quest, since Letho was much more active in terms of posts, I have weighted his performance a bit more heavily than Storm’s in figuring out scores. I decided this before I read the thread, unsure as to whether or not this would help or hurt you. I’m just telling you for the sake of explanation.

Total Score= 80.5 No comment

Introduction – 8 Letho, I liked the recap at the beginning of the solo. It’s unorthodox, but it does the job. Given the way that you organized your introduction, it was essential.

Setting – 7 The setting here was very well thought out, and was generally very complex. I would have liked a bit more immersion during the action scenes, something that would have been accomplished with a bit more interaction between setting and character. Letho, your biggest problem isn’t description, its choosing the right things to describe.

Strategy – 7 I don’t really have many comments here. This was generally well done in the problems you guys created and the ways that which you solved them. There was nothing startlingly innovative, but the real problems here were character issues, not strategy issues.

Dialogue – 9 I particularly loved Myrhia’s internal monologue when she decided that she wouldn’t do what Letho did because it was something insane. By and large, this dialogue really reflected the characters well, and had the few moments in there that were just memorable character lines. I could have done without Storm’s references to things I wouldn’t expect Storm to know, such as Kansas and Looney tunes. If he’d say something like “Damn, I’d kill to be back in Radasanth” instead of “We’re not in Kansas anymore” it would have more effect given that there is no reason to believe Storm would have seen the Wizard of Oz. I loved the line about God appearing to me in a grilled cheese sandwich though.

Character – 9.5 Very strong. I really liked the way that Storm grabbed onto his role. In many other writers’ hands, that would have been just a bit part, but Storm did a great job keeping this as “Letho’s story” while making it his own as well.

Rising Action – 7 This thread’s lower points were a bit too low for my taste. I felt that in the solo part, the thread just took a bit too long to build momentum. Otherwise, this was well done.

Climax – 9 Good work.

Conclusion – 7 I wasn’t really enamored with these conclusions. Storm’s had a bit of bite to it, but Letho’s fell a bit flat. Given what an important event this was for Letho, I would have liked more than just the little interplay with Rheawien.

Writing Style – 8 Letho, I noticed a bit of a problem with tenses, especially with past perfect. Otherwise, the writing in here was excellent, you really captured emotions brilliantly. Storm, great writing, too many typos. However, I love the tone you use. It really has a salt of the earth feeling to it that matches well with Storm’s personality.

Wild Card – 9 All in all, a great thread. I have my complaints, but then I’m a miserable bastard who just likes to tear people down.

Spoils=

Letho receives his spoils and 2000 EXP (I gave you a slight EXP cut in exchange for your spoil)
Storm Veritas receives 1000 EXP and 500 GP.

[Thoracis]

Rewards Added!