An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of Vedic.

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 small volume on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Vedic' scribed in dull maroon ink.

Author:  Vedic
Date    Thu Mar 21 21:11:53 2002


Subject  me



My life to this point has been odd, at best *smile*.  It seems normal at some
points, yet unworldly at others, it might help if I relate it to you.

My parents have always lived near Caergoth, or so they tell me.  My father,
Owen, and my mother, Beris, tell me that they were married for years before I
was born.  I am their only child.

My father owns a family farm in the Vingaard basin, and I have helped him for
years to farm it, but I am no farmboy.  That's where the normal part ends.

From what I piece of their enigmatic pasts, my parents met somehow while Pages
to Solamnic Knights.  They fell in love and were married as soon as they
could.

Both Solamnic hopefuls, my father was devastated when a fellow recruit
shattered his ankle with a maul.  The clerics did what they could, but he
still has trouble walking.

He would have killed himself if it were not for my mother, who helped him
through this time.  She went on to become a Knight and served with honor under
the Golden Lady in the War of the Lance.

One stormy night, she returned, born upon a shield by two other Knights.  I
cried at her unconscious side for days while my father talked to them.

Several weeks later, long after the Knights were recalled to duty, my mother
woke up but refused to speak to anyone about her injuries, except that they
were scars of war.

After that day (I was about 12), she began to train me in martial skills.  She
never told me why, but I loved her enough to not question her.

My father's injuries got worse with age, and we could not support ourselves
with the fewer crops we could grow.

We would have been reduced to beggars if it were not for the consistent
mysterious payments my mother would get from the two Knights, bimonthly.  She
never told me what it was for, but I never asked.

As I matured, she drilled me more in Honor and Etiquitte.  My father's
strength waned and he began to help me too, since he knew enough from his
past.

For my seventeenth birthday, my mother took out a trunk from under her bed. 
In it was a sword, a shield, and a tabard with my family crest.

Nodding to herself, she gave me each after my father gave me his old hauberk,
which fit suprisingly well.

She stood near my father and told me that I was free to leave and make my own
life.  She knew that I would bring honor to my family and conduct myself with
civility.

I left the next morning, bidding farewell to my family, and welcoming the
future with a smile.



Author:  Vedic
Date    Wed Jun 12 15:59:22 2002


Subject  Vedic Briskos




This account is of my life up to this point: I was born an only child to a
family in the southern Vingaard Basin, farming the fertile lands for a living.
 We had a modest life that gave us enough to be happy, but not opulent.

My father and mother were both Solamnic sympathizers, and when the war with
the Dragonarmies loomed, they enlisted to be trained as Knights.

They met as Pages of Knights while training, and promised to marry after the
War.  They both excelled in their duties and were marked to become Squires
when an accident happened.

My father, while training with his fellows, was hit in the ankle by a flail. 
Because this was the age before clerics were widespread, his ankle never
healed correctly and he had trouble walking for the rest of his life.

He was discharged before becoming a Squire, but my mother soon passed the
ranks.  She was a Knight within record time and waited for active duty.  My
parents were married and I was soon born.

When I was old enough to walk, the Solamnic Knights called her into duty.  She
passed from legion to legion, finally resting under the command of the Golden
Lady.  Now I was old enough to have memories.

One night, when I was about four, four intimidating men brought a bundle home
on a tower shield.  It was my mother, and she was close to death.

My father took care of her, but for a week we could not tell if she was going
to survive.  One morning, she just woke up, pale and wasted, but alive.

From then on, my family worked the farm with myself doing many duties my
father could not in his infirmity.  Our farm did not bring us enough to
survive, but one of the four men that brought my mother home brought a small
bag of gold each month t to help us.  My mother never spoke about her
experiences under the Golden Lady, but she and my father slowly edged me
toward the Knighthood.  They trained me in proper mannerisms and bearing
without me knowing it.

As I grew older, they trained me harder and harder as my duties on the
farmstead increased, but I still had time to enjoy my freedom and life.

As I grew toward manhood, my parents gave me more freedom, which taught me
responsibility.  On my birthday, they took me to their room, as my mother drew
a dusty trunk from under their bed.

Inside, there was a suit of my father's chainmail and my mother's sword. 
Under these, there rested a tabard with our family crest emblazoned on the
front, the same symbol on my mother's shield.

After giving these items to me, they wept and told me that I was free to
choose my path in life.  I decided to journey the long path to Palanthas, and
now I am here.



Author:  Vedic
Date    Mon Sep 30 22:43:45 2002


Subject  Arrival at Caergoth




Breathing in the cold morning air, Vedic looked up to see his assembled
companions waiting in the keep's grounds for the trip to Caergoth to commence.
 Vedic smiled as the morning sun began to warm the frigid Palanthas morning. 
"Are you all ready?{" Vedic asked, rubbing his hands together to bring some
warmth into them.  They all nodded and took a deep breath, revealing a stream
of steam as their warm exhales met the cold sea air.  "Alright, We will
leave to Caergoth now.  I hope you do not forget anything..." Vedic
chuckled, knowing that each person repeatedly checked their supplies for
anything they might have forgotten.  Vedic turned around and faced the
sunshin, waiting for the clearance to leave.

Soon, a knight came from around the corner.  "The dragons are ready and your
gear is loaded , m'lords."  Vedic nodded and the four men walked to the
clearing behind the groom.

The two dragons were in the clearing, stretching their wings and trying to
warm their sluggish blood in the morning.  The groom bowed, "Everything that
you are not carrying with you right now is loaded on the dragons.  I would
suggest that you put everything In the bags on the side, so your hands are
free." He chuckled and moved out of the way.

The four men proceeded to load anything they had into the large saddlebags on
the dragons' flanks, and climb into the dual saddles on each one.  After
several short seconds, the groom moved out of the way and gave the clearance
to fly.

The two dragons gave their wings one last stretch, moving them slowly then
more rapidly to create the lift they needed to fly.  Within seconds, the six
were in the air, leaving Palanthas a shrinking blur behind them.  They headed
south, toward Caergoth, holding tightly onto the reigns in fear.  Vedic looked
up, the wind blinding him to tears, and watched the sky and the earth move in
a blur of color.  Behind him, Hyretl held on and looked at the dragonscales. 
Vedic tried looking over at the other dragon, but saw little in the teary blur
of his eyes.  After a few hours, the dragons dropped in altitude and
approached the sea.

Several minutes later, the four men stagged off of the dragon and back onto
solid ground.

Wiping the tears from his freeze-dried face, Vedic turned around and thanked
the dragons, having a couple men of the local garrison removing the giant
saddles and bags at their flanks.  Turning to the commander of the Caergoth
Solamnic garrison, Vedic saluted him, "We are here.  Will you take us to the
base of operations?"  The guards put the saddlebags on a horse-driven cart
and the retinue followed the main street down Caergoth to the Solamnic
garrison.  There, the commander showed the four men the layout and plans For
any improvements.  Vedic nodded at Hyretl, who went into his room to check his
spell components as Bevier, Halon, and Vedic discussed plans and command with
the commander.

After several hours of unpacking and settling, the true business was about to
begin.



Author:  Vedic
Date    Tue Oct  1 20:14:12 2002


Subject  Another Disease Incident




In Palanthas today, the sewers erupted with hordes of rats, led by a
festering, boil- covered giant rat.  The swarm spread across the city and
brought disease with it.  Hearing screams, I ran outside to see a sea of brown
fur wash over me.  Fighting my way out, I saw several other like-minded
individuals helping to clear the swarm from the city streets.

After slaying many of the diseased vermin, we came upon the leader.  It was
huge, reeked horribly, and leered with slavering jaws.  I engaged it
immediately, but soon found out that the bite carried virulent poison and
disease.  The bites from the rat caused sores to erupt, while bursting boils
covered everyone with corrosive acid.  Weakened and diseased, I ran to a safe
area while an unnamed cleric slowly undid the terrible plagues put upon me.

I would go out to fight the giant vermin, only to be blinded and diseased
immediately.

After fighting it blindly until it fled, I returned to the cleric, and while
my wounds were tended, I heard the rat's terrible death scream.  A mage had
slain it, and for this I am thankful.  We then methodically gathered all the
rats and burned them to destroy any remnants of the terrible disease left in
the city.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------

Recently, outbreaks of diseases creatures and men have been increasing.  The
disease causes apparent delirium, sores, burning, and superhuman strength. 
The diseased creature then goes insane, destroying everything in sight to help
its pain.  I strongly urge any citizens to burn any dead diseased creatures
they find to keep this from spreading.

The diseases carried by the unlucky host are very virulent and spread almost
instantly.



Author:  Vedic
Date    Mon Jan 13 21:58:58 2003



Subject  My Assistant



Recently arriving in Solace from the bustle and bluster of Haven, I rested my
feet and counted my meagre savings.  I sat in the inn, waiting for this day to
go by, so I could get to the next one.

I was sitting there when a little girl stumbled in.  She wandered around,
looking lost.  I watched her enter and leave the inn, then she came up to me,
asking where she was.  I helped her rest, when she told me that I had to help
her.

She said she was lost, and could not remember where she came from or who she
was.  She needed me to protect her like a good knight should, and I helped her
even though I was not what she thought I was.  She soon regained her memory,
and we spoke.

She said that she needed to go back home, even though she did not know where
it was.  She said it was by the sea, and we found out that it was near
Palanthas.  It was getting late, and she was only in her nightgown, so I
bought her clothes.

I had to sell the only gem I stole from Azure, and she noticed that I had no
sword, so we went to the weaponsmith in Solace and she picked me out an
antique Solamnic sword.  I accepted it regretfully and told her that we had to
get to Palanthas.

As soon as we were in Palanthas, I told Deliah, the girl, that we had to hide
from the patrols, since I was in trouble with them.  My "assistant" as she
called herself then used magic to make me invisible.  I was amazed since she
was only a child

We slinked around Palanthas and went to the grocer, when I had to become
visible to ask him for information.  He nearly called the guards but I
convinced him to help us.  He said Deliah's home was only a couple hours west
of Palanthas by horse.

Again, Deliah made me invisible and we ran to the stables where I bought a
horse large enough to make the trip quickly.  We climbed into the saddle and
rode out to Sansgrath, her hometown.

Arriving there, we saw the smoke and burned homes that was once her village. 
There were bodies everywhere, and it smelled terrible.  Deliah pointed out her
house, and I went inside.  Inside, both of her parents were dead.

Deliah, while crying, told me that her mother used magic to send her away when
people attacked her village.  I suspected bandits or pirates of some sort
because of the slaughter and fire.  We left after I dug graves for her
parents.

While back in Solace, she showed me more spells.  She can also use cards and
stones to tell the future, during which my hunters tried to reach me.  Her
magical powers seem strong for such a young child, and now I look for aid.

I need to find a wizard of the Conclave so we can find out about her family,
since her mother taught her all these spells and both are powerful wizards, I
would think that someone would know her and could take her to her family for
safety.

I just hope that the mages are not angry still over my assault on Tarantel.

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 876 books from Ansalon from before the great Cataclysm through today.'