The Cost of Failure

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Voices of the Wheel
Posts: 354
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:40 pm

The Cost of Failure

Post by Voices of the Wheel » Tue Jul 19, 2022 9:44 pm

A raven flew into the den with a fresh report, Lokras had failed in his task. Ishamael glowered, little progress was made in Mayene, Altara was barely successful, and now this a defeat on the Dark Road itself. He quickly rose and strode into the Vacoule. His gaze fixed on the bloodied dreadlord.

‘You have been nothing but a failure’, he seethed at Lokras.

The dreadlords eyes widened as Ishamael removed a cour’sourvra.

‘You would make a useless puppet,’ Ishamael began as he tapped the cour’sourva, ‘But sending you into madness likely will sow chaos in the southlands’

Ishamael whistled loudly.

A guttural snarl echoed through the Vacoule as a deranged trolloc warrior shambled in.

Ishamael dropped the cour’sourvra into a mangled paw of the trolloc, turned and quickly left the Vacoule.

The trolloc looked at the object briefly before clenching its fist, bending the golden wire and crushing the small crystal.

Lokras eyes went blank and he slumped over briefly.

Slowly he lifted his head, his proud glare replaced with a wild eyed look and a twisted snarl.

He began shouting nonsensical gibberish, pulling madly at his hair and tearing his clothes.

He paused as he regained his senses in a moment of clarity.

A bright portal suddenly opened up and Lokras raced through, shouting loudly as he disappeared in a blink.

Voices of the Wheel
Posts: 354
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:40 pm

A Troubling Dream

Post by Voices of the Wheel » Tue Jul 26, 2022 2:41 pm

Amys woke with a start and considered what she’d seen: few entered Tel'aran'rhiod intentionally and almost none in the flesh. It troubled her to see this man again but the more pressing matter was the shift in his demeanor. Only days ago, she’d spied the same man on a dusty road moving purposefully, as if tracking an animal or foe. Now he shambled about, wildly swinging a tainted weapon with no regard for where it might land. Had the taint taken him so quickly that he could no longer distinguish between the real and dream worlds? She needed to alert the other Wise Ones, for a new danger lurked in in the World of Dreams. She escaped like a whisper through her tent flaps on her way to find Sorilea.

Voices of the Wheel
Posts: 354
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:40 pm

Reclaiming a Relic

Post by Voices of the Wheel » Thu Aug 04, 2022 2:02 pm

Mitsuo sat admiring the guilds new prize, the legendary sword of Kirukan. The merchant had done well to recover it and more than deserved his promotion to master trader. He turned the blade over in his hands and grasped at the hilt. The balance felt a bit off and the sword looked worn, perhaps the master blacksmith would be able to address. He sat waiting wondering when the smith would arrive to examine the blade.

Suddenly, the greatdoor shook with a loud bang and crack of splintering wood. The guardsman jumped to their feet drawing their blades. Another strike followed as the doors buckled from the impact. The guards quickly rushed to brace the door, trolloc assaults were not uncommon in this area and they were more than prepared to defend. Mistuo was not worried, the Kandori Red Horse would arrive soon and the trollocs would be dealt with.

The room went silent again, the assault on the door had stopped. Mitsuo looked at his secretary and shrugged, it was nothing more than a weak attempt to breach the guild hall.

“Check the warehouse!” Mitsuo shouted to his secretary. This assault felt too easy, maybe they had shifted their focus to breaching a wall. The secretary rushed off to check the Guild’s stores.

A guardsman standing by the door yelped in surprise. “The door is burning!” he yelled out in alarm stepping back from the door.

The elaborate metal handles soon began glowing a bright red and quickly fell to the ground with a loud thunk. The guardsman readied themselves preparing for the continued assault. Mitsuo shouted back to his secretary, “Bring all the guards! The door is being breached!”

A detachment of guards rushed back into the room and surrounded the guild leader. The hammering of metal on wood began again. Where was the Red Horse? thought Mitsuo.

Without warning, the doors were split by a powerful force with smoke and debris filling the guildhall. A hurricane force burst of air buffeted the guards as they were pelted with debris.

A man dressed in black followed by a snarling trolloc stepped through the smoke. His eyes fixated on the sword. The man and trolloc growled in unison as the guards tensed preparing to attack. The man raised his hand, turning the air to fire and sending a torrent of flame through the guildhall. Screams echoed around the hall as the guardsman were burnt to ash.

Mitsuo struggled to move, frozen in fear by the carnage that surrounded him. The trolloc rushed forward bashing Mitsuo to the ground. Mitsuo watched powerlessly as the man picked up the sword and began cackling. The trolloc grunted and the pair left the hall as quickly as they had appeared.

Voices of the Wheel
Posts: 354
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:40 pm

Observations of the Spider

Post by Voices of the Wheel » Fri Sep 16, 2022 12:23 pm

She sat observing intently. This was her domain, only Lanfear came close to her ability in the Tel’aran’rhiod, but this man was here now moving through the dream ways not seen since the Age of Legends. He came in the flesh and not through the dream, sometimes bringing others with him and leaving them to face whatever nightmare was conjured around them.

She knew of his origin from the portal world, a companion of Saniago, but she still could not place some of the faces that appeared in the dream around him. In Caemlyn, a so-called Aes Sedai Queen appeared on the throne. In Tar Valon, the banner of the dragon was prominent and men in black coats sometimes appeared on tower grounds. In Cairhien, a long dead king appeared and faded out as the dream shifted. The man himself often visited a structure she had never seen before, a large compound just south of Caemlyn. It was apparent he was moving the Tel’aran’rhiod with memories of his life from the portal world.

She frowned. He was invading her domain and this would draw attention from the others. She would continue to observe his movements but if he started to attract more attention, she would quickly take action. She could not allow him to get in the way of her carefully laid plans.

Voices of the Wheel
Posts: 354
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:40 pm

Weaving a Web

Post by Voices of the Wheel » Wed Nov 22, 2023 11:25 am

She sat quietly waiting in the Tel'aran'rhiod, Lokras was appearing more frequently in her domain. Caemlyn, Cairhien, a ruined keep, and the seanchan continent were his usual locations. But this was new, Tar Valon with the dragon banner prominently displayed.

A tall man flickered and faded into the square soon followed by others wearing black coats. He stood surveying the area as if expecting someone to arrive.

The dream shifted suddenly. The men and the dragon banners vanishing replaced with the symbol of the Aes Sedai and the flame of Tar Valon.

Interesting, she thought. The Tel'aran'rhiod was shifting between fragments of this world and those of a portal world. What else would appear in the world of dreams and how could she use it to her advantage?

Another shift. The flame of Tar Valon fading out and quickly replaced by the dragon banner. This time a group of women wearing shawls of different colors standing opposite the men.

She was careful to hide her presence and watched several iterations of this shift. There was no pattern or purpose, but the shifts appeared to be someone sifting through memories of a different world.

The dream shifted again, this time in a different manner. She was in a great hall, a place that she did not immediately recognize. A voice seethed behind her, "You certainly live up to your name, slinking in the shadows and weaving your webs. You have been summoned, return to Shayol Ghul immediately."

She turned quickly startled by this intrusion in her domain. His eyes burned as bright as the torches in the hall. Startled by this revelation she fled the dream.

She woke in a panic. She had not been summoned to the pit in a long time. How long had Ishamael been watching her? She tried to collect herself but the infernal racket outside kept interrupting her thoughts. "Hot hat Lou and the show" echoed around the camp. She quickly dressed and slipped out of her wagon; she would find a quiet place to head north.

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