An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of Mordiar.

A little gully dwarf runs by and says 'Wordwrap Off 65 80.'
The gully continues 'Eyes hurt? Turn Color OFF!! (regular story dates)

Astinus says 'Enter the main library here to view only the author list.'
Astinus gently places a pamphlet on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Mordiar' scribed in vibrant purple ink.

Author:  Mordiar
Date    Mon Sep  6 12:15:51 2004



Subject  The Redemption



I laid in the bed of my home, the disease was now ravaging my body beyond
control, I convulsed in utter pain. I could feel death slowly creeping over
me, the light of the candles that lit the room had grown ever darker since I
had become sick. I closed my eyes and awaited the time that death would take
me in its grasp and my soul would depart.

Hours passed and the pain I had, I could no longer feel for I had gone numb. I
opened my eyes and could barely see, the light in the room was barely enough
to help me see. All of a sudden the door to my home swung open, a figure
garbed in all black robes walked in.

He walked over to my bed and looked down at me from beneath his hood, his
piercing red eyes felt like they were driving deep into my mind. Time passed
slowly as he stood staring at me, not moving, his gaze unfaltering. After
about an hour of this dark figure staring at me, he reached into his robes and
retrieved an object. He held the object out in front of him and looked at it
carefully, it was a necklace that was bearing a strange symbol. After studying
it, he bent over and put the necklace around my neck placing the symbol that
was on it my chest, he then took my hand and placed it over the symbol.

Standing back up he stared at me again for another minute, then he turned and
left closing the door gently behind him.

Slowly my symptoms began to recede, I continued to keep my hand resting upon
the icon that now hung around my neck. After a few hours had passed I was no
longer feeling the took my hand off of the symbol and looked down at it as it
dangled freely. As I stared at it I realized what it was, an upside-down axe
was hanging from the chain that rested upon my neck. It was all black except
for the blades of the axe which were colored blood red, the sight intrigued me
and I was almost confused by it, but after sometime of blank staring it still
didn't make sense. Knowing that I had been kept alive for a reason, it was now
my duty to seek out that reason. It was time for me to seek out the devout
followers of Morgion, hopefully I would even see the unknown person that gave
this charm to me that had kept me alive. I gathered up a few things that I
needed for travel and packed them into a sturdy backpack. Grabbing my armor I
quickly adorned it, then slung my swordbelt around my waist, and put my sword
into its sheath. Strapping on my backpack I headed out of my house, and into
the forest.



Author:  Mordiar
Date    Thu Sep 16 01:11:23 2004



Subject  The Beginning



The sunlight pierced my eyes like 2 gleaming daggers, I can't remember a day
that the sun seemed this bright in my entire life. I stepped into the shadow
of a nearby tree and looked around the forest. It looked like everything had
been utterly drenched in sunlight.

The trees, bushes, even my own house all looked like they had a white hue to
them. I figured it was just my eyes readjusting to the light after having been
inside for so long with my sickness. Squinting my eyes I left the shadow of
the tree and headed towards the village that was just a couple of miles up the
road from my home.

Having been a freelance warrior all my life I had traveled to many places, I
knew this forest, however, especially well. Considering it was where my home
is I wanted to know it better than I knew the back of my hand. No one comes
into my home, my territory without my permission, unless of course they were
looking to get killed. The people of the village generally treated me pretty
well whenever I came through, I guess they sort of saw me as a type of
guardian to their peaceful village. Most wandering mercenaries knew who I was
and would mind their own business when they came around, not starting any
trouble.

'Picking my way through the overgrown trail, I had finally reached the
outskirts of the village. I could hear all the commotion going on near the
center of the village, figuring that if the person that had given me this
charm was still nearby that is where he would be. I headed towards the
commotion in hopes of finding the root of my mystery, I passed a few people
along the way, they merely looked at me. Before I had reached the center of
the village I felt more like the people that were looking at me were staring.

When I reached the center of the village I saw many people milling about,
trading their goods with others, some just standing around and chatting with
their friends. A few people looked over and saw me and when they saw me they
stopped what they were doing and began to stare. Before too long nearly
everybody in the village square was staring at me and it was almost silent.
Feeling awkward I started walking closer hoping that maybe it was just an
initial shock for them to see me, but they continued to stare.



Author:  Mordiar
Date    Thu Sep 16 01:50:59 2004



Subject  Silent Malice



I stopped where I was standing, concerned at why they were all staring at me.
One of the older women, who was standing somewhat close to me, raised her hand
and pointed to the symbol that hung from my neck.

He's Cursed, the wicked demons inhabit his body! Only those of the cursed evil
bear that symbol! She shouted loud enough for the whole village to hear.

At this statement all the villagers started to back away from me, though I
could hear the sounds of swords being removed from their sheaths. A few of the
men of the village stepped out in front of the crowd and began approaching me
with their swords gripped tightly in their hands. The villagers that weren't
gripping swords had receded back into their homes, but I could still see their
faces poking out of their windows waiting and watching to see the coming
violence.

Pulling my sword from its sheath, I prepared for them to attack me. The first
one came at me with his sword raised above his head, he slashed straight down
at me, I quickly parried his attack and he came at me again this time stabbing
at me. I knocked his blade to the side and quickly made a return slash making
a lengthy gash across his chest.

Seemingly brushing off the wound he continued to attack me. His attacks were
greatly weakened though, we continued to clash our weapons until he finally
could no longer hold his ground, I made a quick slice across his hand causing
him to drop his weapon and knocked him upon his head with the pommel of my
sword. Out cold he fell onto his back, that is when I saw the cause of his
fatigue. The gash where my blade had cut him had already began to fester with
some sort of black substance. His blood had stopped seeping out and his skin
had become deathly white, though the wound was not fatal....



Author:  Mordiar
Date    Thu Sep 16 02:01:53 2004



Subject  The Unveiling of Terror



All I could do was stare at the festering wound, lost in thought, along with
the other men that had been preparing to attack me. I was brought to my senses
rather abruptly by the screaming of one of the other men. He was screaming
Demon as he ran towards me with his weapon pointed straight at my head. He ran
straight at me, deflecting his blade, he continued to move right past me.
Quickly turning after deflecting the blade I swung at the back of his knees
with the flat of my blade. Striking hard I had brought him to his knees, I
made a light cut across his back and raised the hilt of my sword and bashed
him, rather hardly, on the back of the head. He fell to the ground with his
face in the dirt, I stared for a moment at the cut I made on his back, it
slowly began to gather the same black substance, as flies began to float
around his unconscious body.

The other men began to back away, tearing strips off of their shirts and
covering their faces. At that point they had dropped their weapons and moved
far enough away that they had to yell at me for me to hear them.

We're not going to fight you, just leave, get out of here.

Taking a white cloth out of my belt I wiped the blood from my sword before
returning it to it's sheath. I looked at the unconscious bodies lying upon the
ground, maggots had already started to crawl around on the first man I struck
down. I turned and left the village and continued out towards the forest. I
passed the last few houses of the village, people were still staring at me
through their windows with fearing and hateful looks. I had finally reached
the forest, checking my bearings I decided that I would head for the nearest
city to this village. I pulled my cloak closer around my shoulders, and I
looked towards Kalaman....



Author:  Mordiar
Date    Thu Sep 16 02:45:39 2004



Subject  The Icon of Anguish



Walking amongst the trees I thought to myself, the fight with those villagers
hadn't even given me a challenge. After having had such a great sickness, such
a battle should have left me laying in a pool of sweat gasping for air between
hacking coughs. Though in a somewhat confused state from how I had left such
marks after striking them to the ground, I realized that I was in such a state
that I felt I could not be stopped. The agony of the disease that I had had
seemed like nothing more than a bad dream, reaching for the charm that hung
around my neck I clutched it tightly. As I did so it seemed as though the
shadows grew darker and slithered across the ground just to come in contact
with me. I stopped walking and stood still, watching the shadows as they crept
closer. As the shadow began to cover my face I released the charm, the shadows
seemed to jump back to where they were and the faded light returned to
surrounding scenery. Looking around in confusion, understanding somewhat of
the gifts granted by this charm, but not understanding the purpose of it.

I continued through the forest until I came to a good place to set up camp,
next to a small creek in a little alcove away from the trail. Walking over to
the creek I retrieved a canteen from my backpack. Pouring out the old water
that was inside of it I went to dip it in the creek to refill it with fresh
water. While refilling the canteen I looked into the water to look and see if
I got any injuries during the fight or if I got any blood from my enemies
sprayed on me. As soon as I saw my reflection I nearly dropped my canteen in
the creek, my face was hideous. Turning away, not able to bear the sight of my
face, I realized part of the reason why the people of the village were so
afraid of me. Not only am I wearing the symbol of an unholy god, I look like I
am cursed. Clutching the symbol that hung around my neck I felt some sort of
malevolence, a dark glow seemed to emanate from within my hand that was
gripping the upside-down axe. A rush of adrenaline filled my body, I could
feel something rising up within me. I let go of the symbol, but unlike last
time the feeling did not fade, I could still feel the effect of it's magic. I
pulled the cloth that I used to wipe the blood from my sword out of my belt
and placed it on my face, tying it so that it covered from the top of my nose
down past my chin. My face may be hideous, but from now on I will be the only
one that knows that. Any who find out will not survive long enough to tell
others, or even understand why....



Author:  Mordiar
Date    Tue Apr  5 05:38:53 2005
Stamp   1112697533
Subject  In Search of...(The Third Page)


My mug was emtpy after a few deep drinks, my throat was still parched, I set
the glass down and dropped a few gold coins on the bar before rising from my
stool. I casually walked out of the bar, everyone stared cautiously as I left.
Stepping out into the streets of the Lordcity of Kalaman I squinted against
the bright sun reflecting off of the road, piercing in the late afternoon. I
glimpsed around in blind hope that I might see a black figure standing in the
middle of the street. A flash caught my eye as I scanned and I quickly turned
back to look where it came from, but it was no longer there. I rushed down the
road in the direction of the flash, in hopes that it was something that could
give me a lead in my search. I had reached a dead end, run-down buildings
stood on either side of the road, the wall of Kalaman ended my progress in
this direction quite abruptly. I stared at the wall with a deep sigh, the wind
gusting about me whipping my cloak around wildly. There was another flash this
time I saw it clearly, one of the stone in the wall was reflecting light. Upon
closer inspection I realized that there was actually something embedded within
the stone, a small mirror like object. I bent down and looked carefully at the
mirror, there was something etched into it. There was a golden outline of a
hood and two red circles within the hood, the mirror flashed once again this
time reflecting directly into my right eye. I was completely taken aback and
stumbled slightly backwards as my vision went temporarily blue. I quickly
blinked my eye until my vision returned to see that the stones in the wall
were shifting around, seperating from the center of the wall, making an
opening.



Author:  Mordiar
Date    Wed Jun 15 02:02:58 2005
Stamp   1118818978
Subject  In Search of...(The Fourth Page)


Walking through the opening in the wall I was immediately encompassed in
darkness, the dank scent of aging, molding stones hung silently in the humid
air. Standing inside the opening I put my hand on the wall and began to walk
along the wall, then suddenly the opening in the wall started shifting again
as it closed. I was blinded by the complete darkness, I kept my hand on the
wall and continued to walk along the passageway by feel. I had been walking
for quite some time, two hundred paces by my count, before I heard the light
crackling of a fire. I hastened my pace, my hand still running along the wall,
as I turned a corner and saw a faint orange light a ways down the corridor.

Reaching the end of the passageway there were two torches adorning the sides
of the wall right before the corner. The passageway opened up into a large
chamber lit by five braziers that were positioned around a raised area of the
floor in the center of the chamber. In the center was a huge throne that
looked as though it was carved out of ebony, this throne sat behind an altar
which had a large upside-down axe etched in a crimson color on the front of
it. A small stream of a blood red liquid flowed lightly over the edge of the
altar and down into a hole. Moving closer into this large chamber I saw that
there was actually something in the throne, it looked like a large pile of
black rags...


Author:          Mordiar
Date    Wed Mar 15 02:27:09 2006
Subject  Devious

A cool breeze crept through the night air, sliding between the buildings
of palanthas chilling the bones of the creatures that still stalked in
the darkness.  A billow of warm breath escaped the shadows as a slim
figure skulked from building to building.  Animals skittered about
underfoot as the figure approached the docks, making it harder to
maintain his stealth as he approached.  Coming to a dimly lit
intersection the crashing of the waves on the dock covering any sounds
that he made.  A mixed blessing as the waves would make it difficult to
hear anyone coming that might see him, glancing quickly in each
direction of the intersection more than once he saw no one nearby. 
Quickly creeping across the intersection and recovering to the darkness
of the shadows, he crept out onto the docks until he reached the
dockhouse.  Reaching into his pocket he retrieved a lockpick he had
acquired from one of his accomplices, and began unlocking the door.  The
lock was a simple one and was easily picked, slowly pressing open the
door just a crack and peeking inside he saw that all the lights were
off.  Pressing the door open just a little more he slipped inside and
examined the room.  Not a soul was present inside the building, he
pressed the door closed behind him and began looking for his objective. 
Finding a logbook resting on a table he skimmed through the dates and
times of arriving ships.  Running his finger down the pages he found
exactly what he was looking for...

"Just as I thought..."

Closing the logbook he returned outside and closed the door behind him
creeping along the shadows as he watched a guard pass through the
intersection he still had to get past.  The guard stopped and scanned
around, the guards gaze passed directly over him before the guard
continued on his route about the city.  Crossing the intersection the
slim man disappeared into the darkness of Palanthas...


Author:          Mordiar
Date    Mon Mar 27 02:30:16 2006
Subject  The Beginning

The sun had crossed the sky three times since he had crept into the
dockhouse to study the logbook of the tradeships.  The time had come for
him to make his strike, one that is quick and silent yet very effective.
Crouching in an alley near the docks, he looked out from beneaththe brim
of his hood.  He kept a close eye on the ship that could barely be seen
in the distance, it was the trade ship he had been specifically waiting
for.  The ship would be arriving at the docks in a couple of hours,
perfect timing as it would be just about dusk when it docks.

Time had passed slowly, but his objective had arrived at the precise
time he had anticipated, a cold grin passed over his face as he stood
up.  A group of rambuncous sailors piled out of the boat shouting at
each other, arguing over which tavern they would be going to.  A large
man emerged from the ship behind them, wearing fine clothes and the hat
of a traditional captain.  The captain walked across the dock and
disappeared into the dockhouse.  Now was his time to make his move,
quickly scampering over to the ship he crossed the boarding plank. 
Locating the entrance to the cargo deck he slipped inside unseen by
anyone.  Creeping about the boxes he nearly stumbled over a sleeping
sailor, frowning at this disturbance he reached into a pouch and pulled
out a handful of powder.  Crouching down he placed his hand on the
sailor's shoulder and woke him.  The sailor slowly came to and saw the
dark figure that awoke him before a cloud of dust engulfed his face, the
sailor immediately fell back into a deep slumber, eliminating his
potential threat.

Returning to his search through the boxes he came across a stack of
boxes that had "Palanthas" carved into the sides of each of them. 
Pulling a dagger out of his belt he pried a plank from the top of one of
the boxes and looked inside.  The box was full of bread and produce,
enough to make an impact yet not enough to cause an epidemic, though
once the contagion was started it would only spread.  Reaching into his
shirt he pulled a black tube out and removed the stopper from it and
sprinkled an odorless liquid into the box.  Replacing the stopper on the
tube and hammering the plank back into place on the box he turned and
left the cargo deck and escaped the ship un-noticed and meandered back
out into the city.

The Storytellers of Ansalon, The DragonLance MUD

Astinus points to the massive wall of books behind him and bids you to make a selection.

Authors: All|A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z
Astinus sighs as he recants 'We saved 878 books from Ansalon from before the great Cataclysm through today.'