Sentinel Mountains

Geofrey Lumarre materializes from the void.

Geofrey Lumarre vanishes into nothingness, but you get the feeling they are heading somewhere else.

Geofrey Lumarre has arrived, coming from Great Ellarian Forest.

Geofrey Lumarre vanishes into nothingness, but you get the feeling they are heading somewhere else.

Geofrey Lumarre has arrived, coming from Titan's Gate.

Geofrey Lumarre vanishes into nothingness, but you get the feeling they are heading somewhere else.

The Precursor has arrived, coming from Titan's Gate.

The light was changing...

Eras woke, and on the other side of the Sentinel Mountains and the great Titan's Gate giants and colossi rose for the beginning of the war to end the current age. The crimson of a dead star began to change the colour of the sky, and where mountain peaks didn't swallow the floor in shadow the strange and nefarious starlight bathed the mountains.

In a hidden place, fear and uncertainty took root. A man in red robes marched swiftly along a road that hadn't been seen by outside eyes for a thousand years. It lay behind the Titan's Gate, winding around the bases of mountains and valleys of sheer rock, and through tunnels lit by magic torches, and over lakes of crystalline water until a great chasm was found, hundreds of meters wide, that still held sand and stone from when the area had been little more than desert eons ago.

A bridge crossed the full length of the chasm, curving upwards narrowly to the centre, then back down again to where it touched the other side. There were no walls adorning the bridge, and as the robed man crossed he couldn't help but look down into the depths of a chasm that that seemed to sink into the heart of Gaia itself. There was magic there, great enough to hide the existence of such a place for all that time from all who tried to find it - all except a select few.

On the far side stood a great structure that was part temple and part fortress, a magnificent force of ancient architecture that held towers, domes and a great stairway that led up to a nestled doorway. Even the ground the structure was built upon was unusually flat, and as the robed man reached the far side of the bridge he noticed how the sides of the chasm seemed to be engraved and carved.



The robed figure looked upon it, and crossed the flattened ground towards it, and watched as a lone figure stepped from the temple's entrance and began to descent part-way down the stairs. She was a woman, young but deceptively old, and she held in her hand a staff wielded by only the highest members of her order. A few seconds later others followed her, men and women in religious garb, some wielding staffs, others chimes or other artefacts one might find on a priest or cleric, and all walking in an orderly two columns that split when they reached where the central woman stopped, and proceeded to move out to either side until a a line was formed across the length of the stairway.

Then even more came. From behind the line of men and women, from the towers and out-buildings and domes that surrounded the temple, hundreds more individuals began march. But these were not priests, they were armoured, militant and disciplined so firmly that not a single movement of muscle took place outside of a collective warrior synergy. They formed into battalion strength blocks, then marched down through the line of priests and formed up on the flat before the temple steps. More followed them, then more from the chasm itself, and from the mountains surrounding, and even from the bridge behind that had somehow gone unnoticed, and within minutes an army of thousands filled the area.

The red-robed man strode up along a straight road that cut the sea of warriors in half, stopping only when he reached the woman and the staff she wielded.

"We welcome your return, Grandmaster," the woman said to him with a voice that was too calm.

"It's truly happened, then," the red-robed man replied, lowering his hood. He was old, perhaps older than any human should be, and he had a beard that reached his chest and a missing left eye. "As I followed the road, I felt trembles of events taking place a hundred miles away, and saw the sky change."

"We believe the day has finally come. The signs are all here and we await your instruction."

The Grandmaster began to proceed up the stairs, but only the woman followed him. The countless others remained out there, where they would wait for what was to come. "All the signs? Even the glyphs?" The old man asked. The woman nodded, and even though he didn't look at her he could discern it. Soon they were at the opened temple doors, and the old man peered inside at the cool stone hallway he hadn't walked down in years. A sudden sense of homeliness filled him, and he stepped in and breathed deeply. The same musky, slightly spice-infused air was as present now as it had been when he was a young man, and he made his way down past several sets of open doors where white-robed women lay praying.

They walked for several minutes, through a central audience chamber, then several prayer rooms, down a set of stairs where the acolytes lived, then up another and back to the main floor. Eventually they found an old room, within which were a set of recently unlocked doors that led to a part of the temple most had forgotten about and never seen. The Grandmaster walked through them, gulping as he did so, with the woman following. Within they found two warriors guarding a passage, then followed a series of lit torches through a maze that had thankfully been solved before he arrived.

When they came out of the other end they encountered a wide, open hall. On the far side, a great stone door was covered in carvings of glyphs that glowed a bright blue. Some were words in an ancient tongue, others were primitive pictures of giants and monsters, and those who slew them. A warrior was trying to push open the door when the two arrived, but the Grandmaster knew that not even the strength of a colossi would open that door.

"Grandmaster! High Priestess!" The warrior exclaimed when he noticed them, stepping back and joining the other three in their guard positions.

"Your bravado will do no good here," the Grandmaster told the warrior, though he was clearly amused by the effort. He paused, watching the glow of the glyphs. "This day has truly been foretold, hasn't it?" He asked the High Priestess, as though finally ridding himself of any of the doubt that had plagued his long career as head of their secret sect. This was proof, exactly like the ancient scrolls had foretold, and to not believe at that point was to be a fool.

"We wait for you to open the door," the High Priestess said.

"If it can be opened," the Grandmaster joked. There was a slight pause of awkwardness, then he sighed and moved towards the door, brushing his hand over a glyph. "I should tell you all now. It is the duty of the Grandmaster of this order to keep the secret of this place, and I know all of you want to know what that secret is. It is here I must both disappoint and frighten you. The knowledge we hold of the secrets of this place extend no further than how to open this door. No-one, not since the people who originally built this place, know what's behind it."

The High Priestess seemed shocked. "So what we spend our lives in service of, what we guard, is unknown? We were told that we protect the light of Gaia, that this place is one of the most holy of our world. That when the time came, when THIS time came, the meaning of our loyalty would be revealed."

"And it may well be," the old man told her. "But to reach the light, sometimes we must step through the darkness."

He reached out, taking the staff from the woman's hand. She gave it up without a struggle, and the old man held up the very tip of it, tracing one of the glyphs with the end. "Hmm, I see.." he mumbled, before stepping back into the centre of the room. He raised the staff towards the ceiling, then muttered an incantation. Suddenly stone began to grind and a part of the ceiling opened up, a sudden ray of red starlight illuminating the end of the staff. The incantation was repeated and the ceiling closed, the remaining starlight absorbing into the end of the staff as though attracted by an unnatural force. While the others watched nervously, the old man took the staff to the door, then traced a glyph again. The blue glow turned to red, then he moved to the other side of the door and repeated the action on the other side. Then, he stepped back from the door, urging the others to do the same.

There was nothing for the longest time. The Grandmaster wondered if he had done something wrong, or if the scrolls were false, but just when doubt began to set in again the room shifted. Those within adjusted themselves to maintain balance, then the room shifted again. Moments later, the deep sound of grinding stone and splitting rock filled the room, and the great doors opened inwards to reveal a circular room the beginning of a downward spiral staircase in the middle.

The six looked at each other, then the Grandmaster lit a light on the end of the staff. "I think you four should come with us. Who knows what we'll find," he told the guards, before leading the way to the stairs. They began to descend, the air still and stale for millennia, the magic light the first that bathed the floors and walls for an age. There were not even grooves in the stone walls, and not even insects could be found there. One would expect small creatures scuttling away into the darkness, but no such life could be found in such a place. Only an increasing feeling of dread.

The bottom of the stairs opened out into yet another hall, which led on down towards a small stone door. It was locked, but the key remained in the door, and with a loud, echoing click the Grandmaster unlocked and pushed it in to reveal a large, square room... And light.

Magic globes hovered still in the air, bathing the room in a warm light. Around the edges, statues of heroic figures stood tall, and at the far end of the room six steps led up to a platform where a throne sat. Yet it was the middle of the room that caught their attention, for a coffin lay there, a heavy stone slab covering it. The Grandmaster and the High Priestess approached it cautiously, the guards not far behind, and when they reached it they all paused.

"This is... A burial tomb?" The High Priestess asked, looking around them for signs of disturbance... Or foe. "Who, or what, is inside that coffin?"

"I don't know..." The Grandmaster said, deep in thought as he ran his fingers across it. A thin layer of dust came off, and suddenly he realised the air in the room was cleaner, fresher than he had expected. He looked up and around, then signalled one of the guards to go up to the throne and look around it.

"There's a small vent up here," the guard called down to him.

The Grandmaster wiped the rest of the dust from the coffin, then read the inscription revealed in the stone. A moment later, he looked up to the priestess. "This isn't a tomb. It's a bed. Help me with this."

The six took hold of the slab's edges and, with great exertion, slid it from the top of the 'coffin'. It fell to the floor with a loud crash, then finally looked inside.

Inside a figure lay, sleeping. A man, perhaps no older in appearance than his mid-twenties, yet the Grandmaster only had to glance at him to know that he was older than any of them in that room by far. The man had glaringly white hair and wore soft brown clothes that were still as clean as when they were first made, and a long, blackened sword lay at his side. When he examined the weapon, he realised that it was not a sword, but a great spear whose staff had been broken off, and that a chain lay around it, connecting the weapon to the man's wrist.

Suddenly he was taken aback, and looked around at the others with equal parts awe and fear. "That's the Titan Spear," he said. "This man is..."
"Syros," the High Priestess finished. "The Slayer of the Colossi."

The guards looked at each other, unsure.

"Not only did he exist, but he's alive," the Grandmaster said. "Here, right under the temple, this entire time."

"What does this mean?" She asked.

"That our time has come."

Slowly, the sleeping man's eyes opened.

On the wind, the call of a Champion, the cries of Gaia.

Though he had woken, the next hour made Syros feel like he was dreaming. Everything was so unusual, so strange, and his memory of events were scattered and distant as though seen through a mist. Moments were coming back to him of course, but he was so preoccupied with coming to terms with the here and now that he struggled to separate echoes of the past from the visions of infinite dreams. Those around him seemed both unnerved and amazed by his presence, yet simultaneously they endeavoured to explain to him his current situation in a language he had never heard, but somehow understood.

He had asked them where he was, and they explained. In a place they had called the Temple of Veneration, which was hidden in the Sentinel Mountains close to the Titan's Gate and a great desert. Syros had rubbed his head, not knowing what to believe. There had been no mountains there, nor a Titan's Gate. Nearly everything they tried to tell him was so foreign, so difficult for him to comprehend... But the reason was clear to him. He had been sleeping for aeons, and everything he had ever known had been reduced to whispered legends, ancient history, or ruins that lay beneath the remains of a hundred younger civilisations. They also told him of Eras, of the Colossi and giants rising, of threats from void of space, of an ancient prophecy he was now proof of, and of the sky turning crimson with the light of the dead star.

He took his Titan Spear and followed as they led him out of the 'tomb'. The Grandmaster of this ancient order, the High-Priestess, and four warriors walked with him up to the unbreakable door that had only just been opened, then through the inside of the temple that had been built to intern him.

"How close is Gaia to devastation?" He asked, in a tongue he didn't remember learning.

There was a period of silence before someone finally answered him. "We don't know," the High-Priestess replied. "But battles rage as we speak, and Eras makes his plays."

Eventually they came to where crimson light flooded in through open doors, illuminating part of the main entrance hall. Syros looked out from within, seeing mountains in the distance. The Grandmaster clapped him on the shoulder, then together he and the High-Priestess led Syros outside to the staircase with a staff raised into the air.

"After all this time," the Grandmaster spoke in a voice of magic that seemed to echo from the far mountains themselves, "our duty - our purpose - has been revealed to us."

Syros suddenly saw what the Grandmaster addressed. An entire army stood facing the temple, with a line of individuals who appeared to be priests standing in front of it, and an impossibly wide chasm and bridge behind. He touched the end of his spear to the ground, and his eyes fell upon the thousands of assorted warriors who wore armour that he had never seen.

"I reveal to you," the Grandmaster continued, "the slayer Syros, vanquisher of the Colossi, who has lain entombed and sleeping under our temple since the time of its founding. Our duty? To keep it hidden, and protect this resting place until such a time Syros was called to return to us in our hour of need. That hour is now, and thus our duties have been completed. But now is not the end of our order, it is merely the first step of the next road we must now follow. As you are all no doubt aware, Eras seeks dominion over our world, and he will use the Colossi and all else at his disposal to destroy or control all life upon it. In addition, threats from distant stars poise themselves on our horizons, and an age of war and struggle for our very survival is starting. Thus as Grandmaster Aldarnus of the Order of Veneration, I declare now that we have a new purpose: to aid, to protect, and to serve Syros in his efforts to preserve Gaia."

The Grandmaster finished speaking, then turned towards Syros and bowed. Next the High-Priestess bowed, and then the other priests followed her. A moment later, the thousands of gathered warriors bowed as well, and Syros looked upon all of them with an inescapable feeling of being overwhelmed by both his environment and his situation. Once again, the hopes and fears of an entire people fell heavy upon his shoulders, and once again he knew he would have to battle on their behalf. He looked up at the sky, his eyes narrowed at the distant Eras, and he wondered if the dead star was looking back at him.

Then he heard it, a request for assistance on the wind. A call to Gaia's Champions, which Syros answered. "I am here," he called out to the sky.

Far away, Frendor heard Syros answer the call. Can you here that? he directed his thoughts towards Zirkonia. In his mind Frendor saw an ancient order, with thousands of warriors ready to serve Syros, but would they be enough? Where were the rest of Gaia' champions?

Frendor felt the cold stare of Eras, but was re-assured by the friendly breeze of wind in his hair. The time was now, let all the champions arise together in unison, but who would lead them? Who would unite all of Gaia against Eras?

I wonder how Syros and his followers will respond to the arrival of a dragon with an elf?

Zirkonia picked up speed, excitement coursing through the mind connection. She dove for the Sentinel Mountains, her silhouette growing against the pink sky as she began her descent towards the assembly.

Syros has answered your call, Zirkonia thought to Frendor. She began to tell him all about The Precursor with hope in her words.

Frendor listened carefully to the ancient legends of the Precursor, with awe and fascination. Surely he was now interacting with vast forces beyond his understanding! He had never met one of the ancient champions, nor yet one of the Ithquent; he was still too young.

In the distance, he could start to see the outline of the vast army of Syros, with an important looking man and woman standing beside Syros himself, gazing up at Zirkonia as she approached them.

Just in time, Frendor remembered to suspend the illusion of a frost giant, Terakon Luvinair, following the dragon, so that the followers of Syros would not mistake him for one of the Collossi.

Frendor prepared himself to gently slide down from Zirkonia to greet Syros.

"Hail Syros, Champion of Gaia, and Slayer of the Collossi. I am Frendor Falcon Wind, a humble elf, and this is the great dragon Zirkonia. We come to warn you that one of the Collossi, Asvith Thyrm, has awoken and is causing devastation all around Gaia. We have used our limited powers to distract and slow his progress, but Gaia will not be safe until all the Champions are united together."

In the skies above the clouds, a strange shape winked into existence, and began to move slightly, a keen eye could make out it's artificial, bulbous nature.

High above, the clouds began to move slower. There was something odd going on above the planet- again. The great pink glow in the skies remained, but the clouds- while moving at a pace slower than molasses- seemed to be dissipating.

Zirkonia descent, the illusion remaining behind, and landed gracefully near the gathered crowd. She bowed deeply to Syros after she landed, only rearing her great head up again as Frendor introduced her.

It was then, from the south, a giant rumble came. She looked to Frendor, worried, and then to Syros. The Colossus?! Were they too late?

Frendor closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. His mind strained to sense what was about to happen. He felt a premonition of thunder, lightning and strange bolts of energy from a large metallic object crossing the sky.

Giant blue wings cast a shadow over the land as the blue dragon Alkirina flew over dunes that turned to steppes that turned to foothills and finally in the great Sentinel Mountains. Living up to their name as they rose like mighty warriors to cut the desert from the forests beyond.

Worn from her flight Alkirina landed on one of the peaks. All the signs plus the words of her friend Jiy'la had worn on Alkirina's mind. She had to check this out for herself and to see what all the things she sensed where.

Alkirina took a look back south but she shook off the thought of going back. Unfolding her wings she took to the air again heading deeper into the mountains much farther north then she had traveled in many years.

Soon she hoped to find answers and soon she would find the others that too looked for answers.