Light of Fontan/TheGodsWar

The first events were Angus getting seriously wounded by two(!) lightning bolts.

Angus (Noble) was hit by a lightning bolt and seriously wounded.

But he survived whereas Reginald did not:

Reginald, Haruspex Maximus of Light of Fountain, Duke of Akesh Temple was killed in a lightning storm.

And before we had time to cope with that, Zedd also got hit twice:

Sir zedd (Noble) was hit by a lightning bolt and seriously wounded.

As can be seen, three lightning bolts to hit our knights is extremely bad luck. In fact it's so unlucky that we believe that a God was responsible for this. We have not managed to determine who it is, although we are certain it wasn't any of our main Gods.

First News

The first news we had was from Angus (who got hit first) and he had his scribe write this account:

Angus was walking through the woods on his way back to the capital from his prison when he saw a tremendous unit of enemy forces. This enemy unit was so unfamiliar to him! They had some kind of catapults, but instead of rocks on them they had huge white light balls surrounded with some kind of thunder sparks! Angus got curious and decided to take a closer look at this new kind of weapon. Had he got close enough, Angus was amazed from what he saw. The enemy was testing on some prisoners a new weapon that was fireing those balls causing every living thing to go into a shock situation when hit. Angus was watching with his mouth and eyes wide open, when he heared a general giving orders.

Enemy General: "Set the SHOCKWAVE ARTILLERY in line!"

Angus: "Sh..sh..shock..WHAT?"

As amazed as he was from the sight, Angus was backing up slowly, in order to return and tell everyone in his realm what he saw, when his feet came upon a branch. A patrol guard got alarmed and turned his head, seeing Angus trying to stand up.

Patrol guard: "SPYYYYYY!!!!!"

Angus started running away as fast as he could not wanting to get caught and try the new weapon, when he nearly heard a word from the enemy camp "..Fire...". Angus stoped running and he realized that no one was after him. He looked at the sky and he saw a bright white glow approaching by the time he turned to run the white glow had striked him and then dark.....

Angus was on a bed and mumbling.

Angus: "...Must...warn..i...must...warn...Shock..."

The healer approached him and tried to wake him up. Angus jumped up of his bed afraid.

Healer: "Relax and lie down"

Angus: "NO! I must warn everyone they are coming!!"

Healer: "Who is coming?"

Angus: "The Shockwave Artillery"

Healer: "The waht?"

The healer looked at his assistant with a smile on his face.

Angus: "White balls with lightnings and..and..they!"

Healer: "Milord, yes we know it and we have preapered your pink horse with wings ready for battle"

Angus: "Are you mocking me? I am gonna take your head for mocking me, let me go and warn the Paladin"

Healer: "Milord, take it easy. We found you in a shock situation! You were hit by a lightning, you probably saw a dream. Shockwave artillery...HAHAHAHA nice name"

Angus lied down on his bed again, considering his dream, more like a nightmare to him!

Obviously there was some kind of creatures (possibly undead) firing lightning bolts. For what purpose we have no idea as Angus was not a particularly high profile target.

Reginald's Ghost

According to Hannibal an image of Reginald was seen hovering over a lake during some kind of thunderstorm. Here is the account of events:

Hannibal walks out into the rain. Storm clouds brewing over the horizon, heading his way.

'Sir?' - shouted a priest of the church.

'Go back inside and dont go near the windows.' - ordered Hannibal. The wind was picking up, but Hannibal continued trudging through the streets of Fontan city. There were empty houses everywhere, left by the dead who starved.

Hannibal reached the city limits, the guards looking tired and cold. 'Open the doors' said Hannibal in a quiet, unassuming voice. The guards looked at each other and were about to refuse when they saw the shield Hannibal was holding. It had that enduring glow, neither threatening or weak in its appearance, but holding great power.

The doors creaked open slowly, the wind howling through, forcing Hannibal to readjust his feet. He closed his eyes partially before stepping into the badlands. Why was Hannibal doing this? Even Hannibal himself didn't know. The storm clouds were now over head, and lightning could be seen in the distance. He saw the flashes and turned to head that way.

The air was heavy, almost all light had been extinguished and yet there was a reason for enduring this. The Books had written about the various orders of chivalry expected from a True Knight, but they still never could fully prepare a soldier for what was to come. Hannibal was drawn to the storm, similar to how he and the founder knew that they had to build the Temple of Light over the Pyramid. But as Hannibal was drawn ever deeper into the forest, the wildlife appeared to be doing the opposite and heading the other way. 'This happens in all storms' - thought Hannibal. Yet there was something different about the behaviour of the animals. Usually they are frightened and sometimes panicky, not like these particular creatures. It was hard to see exactly what they were in this light. There were creatures of various sizes and appearances, yet non of them were exactly like something Hannibal had ever seen before. They were also behaving slightly differently, as they often would stop momentarily to look around before proceeding, as if they were checking to see if any thing was following them.

Hannibal continued walking forward to the flashes of lightning. Now he could only hear the scurrying of creatures, for he was not able to see anything in the dark, just the silhouette of the branches ahead of him against the almost constant flashes. As he walked further the light was beginning to rapidly increase in intensity and brightness. A few miles ahead there was a luminous dome resting over the forest, with lightning strikes hitting it rapidly.

Even at this distance, the light was strong enough to clearly illuminate Hannibal's surroundings. He looked around and noticed that he was on the edge of an ancient crater, long since overgrown with foilage. The dome was situated at roughly the centre of the valley, occasionally shining a beam towards the ground.

Hannibal knew he had to head closer to see what was going on. As he headed closer the wind dropped and he could hear for the first time that there was no other noise. Nothing. The lightning was without thunder, and no animals left to make any kind of background sounds. His pace began to pick up with the desperate feeling of needing to find out what was going on. He was now in a grassy area running with his sword in one hand and the Shield of Light in the other. He could see something below the dome, but couldn't quite make out what it was yet. Just as Hannibal was about to run out of breath; he stopped. He was at the edge of a lake that was at the centre of this crater, with the Light Dome hovering above.

Hannibal squinted his eyes to see further and to try prevent the light from saturating his senses. But it was no use, the Light Dome was emitting so much in all directions that he could not see anything but white. He held up his shield to stop the Light Dome's brightness. Immediately Hannibal could see everything clearly, the Shield of Light acting like a kind of filter against the light of the Dome.

He could see over the lake now, as if it was normal daylight. There was a figure standing on the water directly below the Light Dome. It looked like ...Reginald? Hannibal couldn't understand what was going on. Reginald was dead, killed by a lightning bolt days earlier. 'This must be some sort of illusion' - thought Hannibal. The amulet around Reginald's neck was pulsing waves of light across the lake surface. Reginald's face was emotionless, lifeless to be precise.

Reginald looked over at Hannibal and mouthed some words. Something unknown was said that Hannibal understood. Hannibal dived under the water seconds before an explosion. Hannibal looked up through the water, but only saw white. Slowly the light faded and turned a blue colour. 'It must be morning' - Hannibal concluded. Hannibal rose from the lake.

The entire crater had been vapourised in all directions. The only remaining untouched feature was the lake. Every single tree, shrub and unlucky animal had been turned to ash.

Hannibal felt something clanging against his chest. Looking down he saw an amulet, Reginald's Amulet. He knew that this was a key part of any future developments for the religion. The Amulet has often been thought of as an object that can heal the wounded, perhaps even bring back the dead. It showed some elements of its power during the expeditions into the Catacombs. It also had some protective powers, although the true nature and potential had never been discovered.

Several hours passed before Hannibal arrived back at the city gates. Exhausted, but also filled with a new sense of duty. The guards looked uneasy, as if they weren't sure if letting Hannibal back in would be a good idea.

'Open the gates guards. I am back with important news for the Pontifex and Council.'

'Yes Sir' spoke the guards with a slight tremble.

Hannibal grabbed a guards horse and headed at speed towards the Council Chambers.

'Lycastus, Amraedil, Gale. I have something you have to hear!'

The Council looked weary with the war and overall situation. They weren't too energetic.

'OK Hannibal. Sit down and tell us what you have.' said Lycastus.

Hannibal dropped Reginald's Amulet on the table. It was still pulsing small beams of light. The council looked at it, but made no immediate comment. They were waiting to hear the story.

'Now that got your attention, hopefully you will listen to me.' - Hannibal was impatient with his revelations.

Several hours passed as Hannibal described the events of the night before. The Council spoke at length, but nothing new was concluded.

Hannibal wrote down some notes and then turned to Gale, 'I think that you should hold onto this Sir Gale', said Hannibal whilst holding Reginald's Amulet. 'I can't think of anyone else who would appreciate it more.'

Gale looked honoured with this decision, even if it wasn't exactly Hannibal's to make.

Hannibal said one more thing before exiting the room: 'You will no doubt have a great future ahead of you Gale. You have climbed the ranks quickly, and I am sure that whatever happens to this realm you will always represent the ideology of our religion.'

And with that, Hannibal left the building to return to his quarters. He was tired of this war, the death and destruction. But most of all he was angry with losing his friend Reginald. There weren't many stalwart followers of the religion, and most had come and gone. What had happened to Jerix, Tempest and Nnix? And if that wasn't enough two other knights had been hit by lightning and almost killed. Hannibal held his shield tightly. He hoped for better days, but hoping is never enough.

Confusion and Remorse

The knights of Light of Fountain did not take Reginald's death well. There were various accounts of the events and here are a few that were written down:

Amraedil's Song with his Vicious Harp:

Amraedil witness the handling of the Amulate to Gale...and he can't escape thinking of Brave Sir Reginald...

"Time for a Ballad to his memory" He says and uncovers his vicious harp

"Bravely bold Sir Reginald rode forth from Fontan. He was not afraid to die, O brave Sir Reginald! He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways, Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Reginald!

He was not in the least bit scared to be struck by the Gods, Or to have his eyes gouged out, by the lightning bolt; To have his kneecaps on fire, and his body burned away; And his limbs all hacked and mangled, brave Sir Reginald!

His head smashed in and his heart cut out And his liver removed and his bowels unplugged And his nostrils raped and his bottom burned off And his penis turned to a torch...

BRAVE SIR REGINALD"

pling plong

"Thank you, thank you!" Amraedil bows here and there

Gale's Vow

Gale grasped the amulet as it continued to pulse with light. There is suddenly a torrent of emotion surging through him. Four years ago, when he had taken up his father's bidding to become a knight of the realm, he did not expect this much to happen in such short a time. He remembered the duels with lord Tempest, the expedition to the Catacombs, meeting lady Chrysopoeia, and all that which has happened in the past four years. He has had some great times. Then, he remembered Gaara's leaving for the Far East, the sudden disappearance of lord Jerix and lord Tempest, and more recently, the freak lightning bolt that killed lord Reginald. Gale looked again at the amulet in his hand before speaking his reply.

"Lord Reginald had been a great friend and a devoted follower of the religion. I will guard this relic with my life and pass it on should a more deserving man come forth to claim it," then he turned to the rest of the council. "The survival of the realm is important, but the passing of a great man is also important. In this time of war, I too, have forgotten that. I believe we should hold a grand funeral, both to celebrate lord Reginald's passage into the great embrace of the gods of Light, and to allow our troops and troop leaders time to rest."

Reginald's Son

I greet you one and all, on behalf of the Von Borghoff Family.I am Reginald II , and I was the oldest son of my Father,Reginald..Your former Harpus Maximus and Dike of Akesh Temple...First , I wish to Thank those of you who showed kindness towards my father..I will Never forget that...I came to take up my father's mantle ; and serve this realm to the best of my abilities..My father kept very complete journals,so I do have an understanding of this Realm,and I humbly dedicate myself to the defense,and betterment of the Realm. In particular,the defense of The Temple,and The Light..The VonBorghoff's have followed The Light and defended it,and I will continue to do that. Those of you who were my Father's Friend; I salute you.

Zedd's Response

Goddamnit, getting hit like that.

Lightning's Response

Lightning is very frustrated with the past events. All these talks about Lightning storms killing nobles has had him questioned by his parents every time he came home. He entered an inn not far from the dock and sat down in one of the tables. The innkeeper came running out to greet him.

"Ten chugs of your finest ale please," Lightning said as he handed the man a gold crown. "Keep the change."