Unti Family/Nerta/A4S2

Roleplay

Message sent to Everyone in Lux Nova

As his now meager unit settled down for the night, Grante sat down at his desk with a slight groan. He had suffered yet another wound while facing these horrible monstrosities and this one was taking longer to heal then the last few. There was a knock at his tent entrance, causing Grante to stiffen up and act as if he was fine. He never did like his men seeing him in a weak state. After a moment, his captain Warmund entered and upon realizing it was only his captain, Grante relaxed again, a groan of pain escaping him again. "What brings you by at such a hour? Should you not be resting as well? I know you barely fared better than me." Grante turned back to his desk to look over the last letter he received from an adventurer, who was in Grehk but had gone silent now. "I only got this scratch because you have to be at the front of every battle. If I wasn't so busy defendin ya, I'd be fine." Warmund walked over and laid down an old, dusty tome on the desk, its age clear from the wear and tear it had gone through. "But I am not here to bug you about that. I found this while checking on our watches for tonight. I'm not much for reading, but thought it might be of some entertainment to you. I know you nobles like to think of yourselves as 'learned'." Both of them chuckled as Grante put the letters aside and brought the book closer for inspection. "Do you even know what it is about? You cannot even make out the title of it." He gently opened it to the first page and was surprised it was in a writing he could understand. And there was the title, "Rituals of the Crystal Maiden". He chuckled, having never really dedicated himself to any religious reading. "So it seems to be some religious text here Warmund. Would you want to sit down for a bedtime story?" Warmund just shook his head as he left, wanting nothing to do with this craziness. Being left alone, Grante started to dig into the book, finding himself quickly emerged in it. And he quickly learned who this Crystal Maiden was and that she was to blame for Nova's current situation. The necromancers, undead hordes, all of it! And at the end, it mentioned other beings, collectively known as The Old Gods. There had to be other books depicting these gods. Especially about this Dark Mistress, who showed the first men to Beluaterra who the Old Gods were. And the Wolf Lord, as it seemed he would understand Grante's drive to free humankind of the shackles that are the creatures that roam the land.

Roleplay

Message sent to Everyone in Lux Nova

Having found some time to rest between the constant traveling the army had undertaken to repel the necormancers' forces, Grante sat down at his makeshift desk. Upon it sat a collection of dusty, neglected books from the libraries in Jidington. He had ordered one of his scribes to get as many books as he could on the Old Gods. There were not many kept throughout the city, and some were impossible to read due to either age or written in an odd language. But this stack would do. For now. Grante jolted upright from the book he was currently buried in. His captain had come in unannounced as usual, and caught him by surprise. "Warmund, what brings you at this hour? You know that I've sent this time aside to study these old texts. They could hold a secret that we can use to finally start winning this war!" Grante turned back to the book, knowing there was not much reason for the captain to be here for now. The camp was set, watches set, supplies in order. He had personally seen to it all. And having only 11 men also made it much easier. "Well, sir, a peasant had decided to approach the camp. He said he had heard rumors you were seeking information on the Old Gods and claims to be a practicing follower. I had the men take him to one of the many spare tents we have to wait your response." Grante pulled himself out of the book again as his captain tried to catch a few glimpses of it. He had grown curious as to what could hold Grante's attention so much. Noticing this, Grante grinned and pointed to a separate, small stack in a corner. "Those I have already read, if you are interested in learning more yourself. It is very interesting. Seems that the monsters were created by these Old Gods to rule these lands. And the undead are the workings of the Crystal Maiden. This religion claims that the true way to control this land is to prove ourselves worthier than these beasts. Which we are. While I still want to read more, this might be the path we, and Nova, must set ourselves on to be able to live here in peace." Grante marked his spot in the book and closed it gently before putting it back on the stack. "I will meet with this commoner tomorrow night. It is already late and I am sure both of us need some rest. But perhaps he can tell us if there are any actual temples or priests for this religion. While these books are useful, I am sure there is even more to learn than they can provide." Grante made his way to the rickety bed that was setup as Warmund bowed and exited the tent. "Perhaps there is hope yet for Nova. An unexpected path for sure, but possibly the strongest!" Grante muttered as he laid his head to rest. While this was going to help long-term, he knew that there was a lot of fighting to be had in the days to come.

Roleplay

Message sent to Everyone in Lux Nova

Sitting down in a plush armchair, Grante let out a sigh of comfort. There had been so much rushing around from battle to battle with the necromancers' forces, this was the first chance he has had to just relax comfortably for once. While this room was nothing compared to his estates in Ellornaal or his duchal seat in Jidington, the upscale tavern room still fit the bill for what was needed. He had taken note of the bath in the other room that he intended to relax in later. But first, there was some business to attend to. He could not exactly keep feeding this commoner forever, at least not without something being given back. Grante went about putting the books he had accumulated on the large desk as the door opened, his captain Warmund walking in briskly with a shocked looking peasant behind him. Seeing said commoner looked rather meagre, Grante motioned with a hand for Warmund to leave, as there was likely no threat here. "If you do not mind, I'd like to stay Sir. I have started to grow interested myself. This faith, it seems to truly understand us men of war." Before Grante finished noding, Warmund had made himself comfortable in a chair off in the corner. Being that there were only two now, Grante sat himself back down in the armchair near the desk. "So, you claim to know a bit about the Old Gods. Well, what is it that a peasant can tell me that I have not already learned from these books?" Grante waved his hand at the desk as the peasant snapped out of his shock at the mention of the Old Gods. "W..e..lll sir, it seems the..se are rather old books. H..hav..e you found anything on temples or those who actually follow th..e..m?" The peasant began looking over the books, though careful not to touch them until Grante nodded in approval. "Go ahead, but be gentle. They are old and I plan to have them transcribed when back in Jidington. You do not want my kindness to you to vanish in an instant." Grante then rubbed his chin in thought. "But you are right. I have only learned what I could in these books. And none of them mention anything such as a holy site even. Quite frustrating when trying to learn more." "Ah, we...l..l I mmight be able to help there. Be..s.ides books, ma..ny faithful pass down sto..ries. One such stor..y is the Eternal Flame, granted by the Dark Mistress to the fir..st fai..thful. Whi...le the Old Gods have l..ost sway with the nobles of the land, we comm...on..ers know the true ru..lers of the land. If you wish to kn..ow more, go to Agyr. There, yo..u will find all t.hhat you seek and more!" With that, the commoner suddenly had a confused look on his face, as if he did not recognize where he was. Glancing around, he quickly figured out he was in a noble's chambers, with that noble staring right at him. "Oh please sir! Do not hurt me! I did not mean to trespass here! I do not even know how I arrived here. I will do anything if you spare me. My family will starve without me." Grante sat in confusion for a brief moment, before he figured out what was happening here. "Do not worry, you seem to only be suffering amnesia. You were actually called here by myself to tell me...um...about....potatoes." Figuring it would be too confusing to explain everything, he went with what he figured all peasants cared about. And it apparently worked in this case. "Oh, I know much about potatoes sir." He takes a deep breath to go into a long lecture on the best way to scrape mold off your last batch, but Warmund had already grabbed the peasant and showing him the way out, knowing his lord would have him thrown out the window if that lecture occurred. With the peasant now gone, Grante made his way over to the window and stared out of it, contemplating his next steps. "So what now Sir?" Warmund asked as he entered the room again, closing the door. He did not make much sense of what had just occurred, and figured it was the cause of fever dreams or the like. "It seems we will have to take a journey to Agyr soon. And based by your look, I do not think you know what just happened. I believe we were just visited by one of the Old Gods themselves. Which one, I do not know. But it is clear that they want me to head north. Ironic, no? I spent much time yelling at that Heidr over going to Keffa, and now I might find myself making the same journey." Grante turned back to the desk and picked up where he had left off in one of the books. "But for now, we continue to Bym then back to Jidington. We must leave at the right moment to ensure Nova does not suffer in my absence."

Letter

Message sent to Everyone in Lux Nova

Nobles, It seems that Sir Guntram's journey north has already run into trouble. Could I get scout reports of Thromegor to see how large the enemy force is there? And while some might feel their gods have forsaken them, I believe something different is going on. I have begun reading old texts that mention these beings called the Old Gods, the gods of this land who actually created the monsters and ultimately control the undead. From my readings, I believe that these Old Gods are pitting us against their creations. They value strength, ambition, and power dedicated to them. They do not care for prayers, but the actions that you take. If we were to prove ourselves in the eyes of the Old Gods, we might see ourselves given the boons needed to properly defend our lands and prosper here in Nova. Any who might be interested in knowing more, feel free to send a message to me. I have started quite a collection of these books now. For Nova and the Old Gods,