Arivea

A warm breeze blew through the cavern. It was a nice sensation on Ilana's skin. She began to wake up. She woke up to a woman looking at her. Ilana was in a cozy bedroll only wearing her dress. Her collar was unbuttoned and her coat was hanging up on a coat stand. Ilana got up and buttoned her collar all the way up. "She has awoken, my chief." The woman said. Ilana wondered where she was at and remembered that she had fallen asleep in a cavern. Looking around, she noticed that this was a village in that very same cavern. "What is this place?" she pondered. "This is our home, the Isimanda caverns." The woman replied.

An old man stepped in. "It is just like the prophesy predicted. Wanderers coming to this cavern on this very day. They will become the heroes that ban the corruption from these lands." "Prophesy? Heroes? No I am but a simply death priestess who had been exhausted after a battle with a corrupted paladin. My bad should contain his head and that of two others." Ilana replied. The old man began to look through Ilana's bag. "So it is true that the clergy of Fanrea use the bones of the corrupted as utensils." He said.

"Personally, I don't like it. I mean I have to make bowls from skulls." Ilana replied. The old man then went over to her and said: "Take pride in your work. You cleanse the bones of the corrupted by putting your soft lips onto the rim of those bowls." "But my sect requires things like cannabalism and such unspeakable rules." Ilana objected. The old man then replied again: "In the void lands, what would you do when you cannot hunt? Some things are necessary for survival. By the way, you should check on the other one. A death priestess could maybe even help a soul."

After Ilana grabbed her coat, the old man led her to another person who had been found. Ilana held her hands over him and his aura seemed to be fine. "Don't have fear. He's fine. Maybe still a bit exhausted but it doesn't seem like he was hit by anything bad." She said. The old man bowed to her.

Jacob had no clue where he was. The sky was purple, the ground covered in charcoal gray rocks. Great spires of the same charcoal gray stone rose high into the sky, disappearing into the blue clouds. "Where in the names of the gods am I?" he thought. Not knowing what else to do, he began walking. Well, that is to say, he tried to. Jacob felt like he was walking in water; his limbs were difficult to move, and when they did, it was a slow, lethargic movement, much like when one is in a dream. In an instant, there materialized before him a strange creature, one he had never seen before and could scarce describe. It uttered a single command, "Wake up!"

With a start, Jacob awoke. As consciousness filled his mind once more, he rose slightly and opened his eyes. Standing over him he perceived a young lady there. This confused him almost as much as the dream. Neither man, woman, nor child had he seen in the long days spent traveling through the Void Lands; the last thing he expected was to see a young maiden. More questions flooded his mind, regarding his location, why he was there, the state of his equipment, and all manner of other things. Yet, he still managed to utter a greeting, "Hello?" Granted, it was delivered in the tone one employs when being accosted by some poor sot who believes to have met you a number of years, months, or days ago, however, it was a greeting, still.

"Hello?" The young man said as he woke up. "Hello." Ilana answered. "I just recently woke up here too. Obviously there is a village in these caverns. They call the caverns the Isimanda caverns. We seem to still be in the void lands though. My name is Ilana Mazywyn. I am a death priestess by profession." "Yes we found you two not far from here. You seem to be the heroes from the prophesy that tells us to two lost heroes coming to these caverns and becoming legends who defeat the corruption in the world." The village elder said.

"Where is my sword? I need to head out." Ilana said. Then the village elder said: "It is in repair. There was a big crack in it. If you like our smith can make you a better sword of black steel and we can supply you with equipment like armor." Ilana sat down and said: "Oh boy. I was expecting to be back to the temple within a week but it might take longer. I guess I will have to make an excuse to my superiors. Fine. Go ahead and make me a sword, however I will have to perform a ritual on it once it is done."