An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of Aeveryja.

A little gully dwarf runs by and says 'Wordwrap is at 65. You change? 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 dirty book showing much wear on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Aeveryja' scribed in burnt brown ink.

Author:    Aeveryja       
Date:      Fri Aug 27
23:23:06 2010
Subject     Escape

"Will it hurt?" "I
promise-not a bit. Just stop moving." Aevery watched
her brother
heat the needle again in the candle flame. "Now, let's try
this
again-" "You sure you know what you're doing?" He rolls his
eyes and turns
his head to show his piercing. In his left earlobe
is a silver hoops. He
holds the second of the pair. She stares at
the needle as it slowly heats
and glows a light then deep red-
orange...

"There!" "That's it?" "Yup!" Reaching for the wash
basin, Aevery peers into
the murky water at her reflection. Under
the warm glow of the candles, she
turns her head to get a better
look at the piercing. The silver waves
slightly as she moves, and
gleams brightly in the light. "It looks cool, but
brother,
shouldn't we-" "EVERYONE OUT! GET OUT OF OUR WAY FILTH!"
Angry
yells and terrified screams erupt outside. Sounds of
breaking glass,
splintering wood, and contact of steel-tipped
boots upon flesh-then breaking
bones-fill the night. 

Boots
pound the pavement outside, vibrating the floorboards of any
shack
within range. Swiftly, brother begins packing what little
possessions they
have. He mutters under his breath and Aevery
catches the word "Purge". "Sis,
put that light out. NOW." She
dumps the washbasin over the candles, and
grabs her leather pack.
While strapping on her boots, she noticed brother
waving his
hands over the door. Tilting her head to the side, she asks
"Uh,
what are you doing?" He doesn't seem to hear her. He
continues the strange
antics, passing his hands in intricate
motions over the door and does the
same for the windows. "That
should do it." A question danced at the edge of
her tongue but
she held it.

Smoke floods the night sky-crowding whatever view
the shack's windows
provided. Carefully, brother pried apart a
few loose boards in a dark corner
of their abode. Aevery moves to
help and just as the small opening was
clear, the entire shack
shook violently. She didn't have to turn to know
that soldiers
were outside. "You first. You're smaller." Not willing to
argue,
Aevery crawls through. Brother swifly follows and reseals the
exit.
Crouching, they maneuver adeptly in the dark and wet alleys
between the
shacks.

Brows furrowed, she finally asks "Brother,
what'd you do back there?"
Grinning, he replies "Just made their
job difficult." Suddenly, the walls
beside them explode-a limp
bundle of rags flies out, followed by a hulking
figure garbed in
chainmail. "That'll teach-. Huh. Two little punks sneaking
around
eh? "What's that you got the-" Before he could get a better
look,
brother's leg lashes out-connecting with the mans's shin.
Reaching down,
brother gathers some dirt, mutters and throws it
at the prone soldier. The
ground shudders and shifts; it begins
reaching for the man. "You little
wit-" A slab of dirt slides
over his mouth, silencing him. His limbs are
similarly
bound-underneath solid earth.

They resume their stealthy flight
from the waterfront. No one notices two
small figures behind
dodging between crates and carts, always in the
shadows. No one
notices because the dark moon is in high sanction-cloaking
the
fleeing siblings in its dread light. 

Author:   
Aeveryja       
Date:      Sat Sep 18 03:51:21
2010
Subject     Finally

"Find Wayreth" were Brother's
last words before vanishing. "Who's
Wayreth?" were Aeveryja's
last thoughts then and thoughts now. Making her
way down Diamond
Street, Aeveryja shadows a pair of scholars deep in
discussion.
They arrive at a magnificent marble structure-the two
disappear
among the steps and columns. Carefully, she ascends.
The whisper of robes
and soft leather sounds from behind-she
whirls and crouches, read for her
assailant. "Aren't you a jumpy
one?" The Aesthetic chuckles and smooths his
robes. "My apologies
if I startled you." He picks some lint off his sleeves.
"No
offense, but you're obviously new here. May I help you?" Standing
up and
readjusting her black cloak, she nods stiffly. "Yes-uh, I
need to find
Wayreth. Where can I find him?" The Aesthetic grins
broadly and covers his
mouth to stifle a laugh. "Him? Child,
Wayreth is a forest! It's southwest of
Solace. Here-" He takes
out some parchment and a quill. Curious, Aevery
peers intently as
the Aesthetic inks "Solace" in the center and mutters a
few
syllables. The ink in "Solace" spreads and reaches outward. Line
swirl,
twist, and turn to the edges. The Aesthetic hands over the
finished map.
"This should help you in case you get lost." She
slips it into her belt. She
turns to the steps. "Child. Wayreth
is no ordinary forest-unless you have
magical interests, I
suggest you steer clear of it."

Walking clear of the entrance,
Aeveryja takes out and unfurls the map.
Committing it to memory,
she crumples the parchment and clenches her fist.
There's a brief
flash of red-orange, and she opens her fist. Ashes trickle
down
and drift away from her palm. "Magical indeed" she thought.

Fog
and mositure cling to the cloak, dying it a cool grey. An
occaisional
silver gleams from the rune filigree along its
lining. Mist and the
occasional blade of grass slide along the
soft cloth. A dark shape looms
ahead. Summoning words she heard
brother recite so many times before, Aevery
clutches her cloak
and melts into the wispy tendrils. "Damn trees..."
Skirting
danger, she continues under her veil-emerges from the fog,
trips
over a low boulder, and nearly collides into the gates.
Metallic sheen
giving them away, they soar, only to be swallowed
by the sea of foliage
above. Metal bars shimmer and
waver-insubstantial. Aevery reaches out a
dirt-covered hand and
hovers near the bars, feeling the air shift and
spark.

Too
exhausted to care, she shoves. Nothing happens. Her mind screams
and
thrashes. "Open damnit! I sacrificed too much for this. I'm
tired. I'm
hungry, and I really need to pee. I'm lost in these
freaking forests-one
tree tried to trip me and another tried to
crush me with its swinging
branches, and cut me with dagger-like
leaves. Just open already!" The gates
remain impassive before the
silent venting. They just didn't care about
animated trees and
the danger they pose. Growling, Aevery throws her pack
down and
sits against the boulder.

Fatigue sets in. "What is 'this' you
have come for?" a voice intones in her
head. Muttering a few
choices words, she says outloud "I don't know..." and
surrenders
to rest. Chill air swims across her still form as the gates
open.
Silk robes glide over grass and earth and settle before
her. Aeveryja
vaguely remembers getting up as she finally drifts
away. 

Author:    Aeveryja       
Date:      Wed
Nov  3 00:14:24 2010
Subject     Sorcery-Part 1

Pus
oozes, drips, slides from various gaping pores. Boils swell
and
burst-yellow fluid wells. Barely any skin and fur left;
remnants bubble and
cling to the bones-slightly marred and
cracked. Pan over. Healthy. Slightly
red and swolled around the
eyes-but alive. Nodding once, Aeveryja dispels
the magically
heated cage, opens it and grabs the rabbit. Check
pulse-quite
fast-examine pupils, breathing, etc. One thing left
to do.

Holding the animal with both hands, she mentally summons
an image of home: a
burning waterfront flooded with smoke,
screams, and steel upon bone. Flames
erupt from her hands and
instantly engulf the rabbit. It endures the initial
5 minutes
before its resistance is overpowered-still another hour before
the
solution wears off. The form squirms helplessly-red orange
tongues turn
crimson as they eat through fur, skin, and organs.
Nearby flasks fog up as
condensation takes over; a beaker of
water begins to boil. Brother gives a
wry grin before vanishing
towards the barracks.

An explosion rocks the barracks, jolting
Aevery out of memory. Hands
weightless-save for ashes trickling
in a staccato towards the stone floor.
Moisture clings to and
slides down necks of flasks, and water pools around
the beaker's
base. No bloody mess-fire consumed even the life fluids.
Echoes
reverberate off the obsidian wall outside her room. Aevery
hastily covers
the oozing cage and gathers the ashes into a vial.
The door opens.

Deszie stands there in flattering blue-silk.
She's a year older.
Shoulder-length red hair cascade in waves
down her face and settle lightly
around the neck. Sky-blue eyes
glare at her grey-robed friend. "Aev, have
you-Why's it so hot in
here?" "Because you walked in." She puts a hand on
her hip and
purses her lips. "Funny. Have you seen my spellbook?"
Aevery
cocks her head to the side, assumes a mock expression of
deep thought. "Hm.
No. I haven't seen a red leather bound book
covered with runes and stretched
lamb skin." Deszie growls in
frustration. "Gosh Dez, I can see the steam
pouring out of your
ears." Grinning, Aevery mutters a few words. "Ok. Ok.
Behind
you."

Deszie whirls around to face a book floating and twirling
in the air. She
grabs it and storms out. Humor gone, Aevery
wonders why so mad-not like she
needs the spellbook anytime soon.
Blue silk renters the room- "By the way,
Highmaster Falkore will
be lecturing in 2 minutes. I don't think he'll
appreciate late
apprentices." "Like I care what you think." Smirking,
she
disappears. Aevery places the ash-filled vial among similarly
filled tubes
in the tube rack. Grabbing a black-white quill, she
sketches the remains of
the failed rabbit and burns the
remains-collecting its ashes in another tube
and placing it in
another group.

Rearranging her linen tunic and dusting off her
wool pants, Aeveryja takes a
gray leather bound journal, an ink
well, and the quill, and races out of her
room. She ticks off a
silent spell locking her room and turns the corner.
"Lateness be
damned" she thinks. "I'm more interested in the new
apprentice."

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