The Monks of Ages
Tadhg landed on something soft.It felt like a pile of feathers.He rolled down a short slope.He landed on his feet.He felt himself and found that he had not a scratch on him.He looked up and saw something that took his breath away.
The ceiling rose almost 40 feet into the air.Huge columns held up the roof.They seemed to be made of solid granite.They were immense.They looked like they had been crafted by gods.
Along the walls stood rows upon rows of shelves.They were stuffed full of books and manuscripts.The rows dissapeared in the distance.Tadhg could only guess at the length of the hall.
Tadhg watched as a tiny wizened old man walked towards him.
"You must be Tadhg,We have been expecting you" he said
"What is this place?" Tadhg asked as he stared around him.
"This is the hall of wisdom.You are welcome here at last" he said as another form came crashing down behind Tadhg.
"Ah,your friends have come as well."he said as he waited patiently for the group to arrive.
Aeryck jumped down the hole full hearted. He loved adventure when it presented itself, and what better fun than dropping down a blackened hole in the ground with no idea of what awaited?
At least, he hope it would be warmer down there.
As he landed much softer than he had expected, he saw Tadhg before him being addressed by another man. The room looked enormous. He could bask here for days soaking up all of the knowledge that this room must contain. But, for now, he had another perogative...he must get out of the way before another of his brothers came down and crushed him!!
Aethelmaer was feeling a little better, and was able to walk again, at least for a little bit. He was ordered to follow Tadhg closely, so that if anything should happen, he was there to stop it. Not like anything would happen in the presence of a monk. The group then came to a hole in the ground, he watched Tadhg, then Aeryck jump down, then followed and saw the huge spectacle of the room, flowed into his eyes. When he came in, he was formally greeted by one of the monks.
"Welcome, Sir Aethelmaer, my name is Trotar. You would do well to follow me please."
Trotar gestured Aethelmaer into a small room, Aethelmaer entered, then followed by the short monk. He closed the door behind him, and then turned to Aethelmaer. He raised his hands, chanted a few words, then Aethelmaer quickly fell into a deep sleep. The monk then lifted Aethelmaer into a bed, where he left him. Then rejoined his fellow monks in the Hall of Wisdom.
As the others came down the hole one by one, Aeryck surveyed the room. He had moved up next to Tadhg, standing before the monk. Perhaps it was his youthfulness, or perhaps he was just weary from such a long and arduous journey, but he had to ask a question...
"Okay, so aren't we here to learn about the name Marvalt?"
The monk simply looked at him for a moment, and then turned back to face Tadhg. He looked as if he was about to answer that question exactly.
"No way are you getting me to go down that hole!" Arutha exclaimed "your going down there" Jimmy replied "I never go down into a big dark hole in the ground especialy when an old man tells me too!" "well theres a first time for everything" Jimmy said as he shoved Arutha down the hole. "wha-" Arutha began to say as he fell into the hole.
as henery creaped up behind jimmy he say him push Arthura down th hole. henery cursed and ran at jimmy "il teach you to push my freind!!!!!!" he yelled and speard jimmy down the hole.
Arutha landed at the bottom of the hole with a small THUMP and the landing he noticed was quite soft but he didn't notice most of these things as he had just landed flat on his back and saw 2 people falling down the hole, he rolled out of the way of their descent but only just. after recovering for a few seconds from his fall he saw Jimmy (unconsious) and another he couldn't quite recognise.
"Qhoor Blimey that was fun" said henery as he landed on somthing realy flat "wherd that jimmy fellow go?"*looking down at jimmy under him* oodear me (thinking to himself(i realy shoudent have done that)) as he stared at jimmy and tryed to wake him up he heard a movement, drew his sword and put it up to the persons throat and said "dont make a move" as the flame light flickerd he saw the persons face "Arthura? that you ol buddy?"
As Aruutha saw his friends face and heard his voice he said calmly "hello Henery, I see you attacked my servant, and how in blazes did you get here?" while he said this he brushed dust off his clothes
The small monk led the group onwards down the hall.The rows of books seemed to stretch forever into the distance.
"How many books are there here?"asked Tadhg
"Countless in this hall alone.We have collected them for ages past.I am the oldest monk in the temple and I only know a fraction of what is here.Though there is a way we have of finding anything we want.Every manuscript,book or fraction of paper our agents could find is brought here.This the upper of 4 halls all about the size of this one." he replied as he gestured at the books
Tadhg's mouth opened agape.
"How long did this place take to buld?" he asked as he looked at the monumental structure in front of him
"Written in the annals of our temple it tells of how the first monks came here and even then a 1000 years ago it was abandoned.But this is for the abbot to explain to you." he said as he led them through a side hall.
They came into a large room where a man stood.He had the look of a wrestler gone to fat.He had forearms that looked like tree trunks.
"Welcome to the temple of knowledge.I am bergon.I am the abbot.Please sit,there is much to talk about." he said as he waited for the group to sit.
Standing before the man who was apparently the abbot of this place, Aeryck was slightly awed. The man simply commanded the room, yet he did nothing out of the ordinary to do so. It was simply his presence that had a certain quality about it. This was a man who could certainly help them defeat the evil, if only through his knowledge (but, hopefully with more than that).
Later on that night, Aethelmaer woke up, wondering what had happened, and if his friends were ok. A few minutes passed, when finally the abbot, along with a few other monks, entered the room.
"Follow me, Aethelmaer. Please." The abbot spoke,
The abbot led him down the long corridor, down a few flights of stairs, and into yet another huge room. But this one was different. It didn't have any books, and had strange encriptions on the walls and floor.
"Step into the middle of this encription." The abbot pointed to the center of weird shapes.
"What are you going to do to me?"
"We are going to cleanse your body of evil."
Aethelmaer stood ready, at the center of the huge room. The monks surrounding him at the outsides of the enscription. Waiting for something to happen, the ceremony begins.
The group sat on the low chairs offered to them.The dust and dirt from travel stained the cushions.Wolfbane sat at Tadhg's feet.His ear was pricked up as if he was listening.
The abbot started speaking.His booming voice filled the room.
"First of all I should fill you in on this place.We are the monks of ages as you may already know.We have been waiting for this moment for centuries.Written in the annals of our history is one piece.It was written by the first abbot of this temple.He was a man by the name of Zoran.He was one of the group who cast the dark one into another plane when he first rose to power."
He paused and let this sink in.A few candles cast flickering shadows across the room.
"It tells of the person who became Marvalt.You may think he started out evil.No,he was a simple farm boy who lived in central Atamara.He lived with his father and one brother.His brother's name was Lycan."
At this Wolfbane seemed to shift uncomfortably.The movement was slight and only Tadhg noticed it.
The abbot did not notice and continued on with his story.
"They lived in a place near the present day lands of Foda.There was no Tara then.None of the present day kingdom's were there.You must remember when this was.1000 years ago."
He paused and took a sip of a drink he had at his side.A junior monk came round with a tray of drinks for the group.
"It is written that one day Lycan and Marvalt were minding sheep on the hills of present day Tandsu.A man came to them.The journal is mysteriously silent after this.It stops for years.The next we hear is of Lycan.It seems he is a hugely powerful man.The journal talks about a huge broadsword he wears.He was a very charismatic leader.Over the years he gathered about him a group of warriors.One of which was Zoran our first abbot.There are many pages missing in this journal but the next thing we can read in it is that this group went and threw a powerful necromancer down.This man was said to ha ve the power of the gods.But this group triumphed in the end.The name of this necromancer was Marvalt."
Tadhg looked around the room at the group.They all stared intently at the Abbot.He continued:
"This victory came at a cost though.It seems Lycan was destroyed as he struck the final blow that trapped Marvalt in the outer planes.After the battle Zoran came back to his homeland and started the temple.It is written in our histoory that he did this to stop the evil of Marvalt ever entering the world.This he did by collecting all the scraps of information he could find.He wanted to find all he could about this man.This is how we have continued ever since."
The candles flickered out.They had been sitting there for hours.It didnot seem like it.
"It gets late.I am sure you are tired from the journey.There are beds laid out for you.More I will tell you tommorrow.Now you must rest."
They were shown to there rooms.Tadhg would have been grateful for a bed if circumstances had been different.He knew though that he could not sleep.He did not sleep a wink as he thought on what he had been told.
Sitting in his room, Aeryck pondered the information that the abbott had told them. It all seemed a little one sided to him, as he began to analyze (as he so often did to everything). He could easily imagine another man - Zoran's equivalent, but working for Marvalt - who could tell the same story from the opposite perspective. But, of course, that is not how things were. The question would be, "What now?".
What were they to do to prevent this evil one from returning? and how would it help glorify Tara? There were alot of things to be answered for Aeryck's young mind, but that could wait for the morrow. He lay down and slept, albeit not a dreamless sleep...
