An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of Derkylos.

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 large tome on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Derkylos' scribed in dull brown ink.

Author:    Derkylos       
Date:      Thu Dec 11
06:38:00 2008
Subject     Shadows Proposition (Knife of the
Dracart)


Walking back from his last encounter with the
black robed mage looking
for revenge Derkylos passes through the
town of vingaard stopping to get
some ale and bread. Derkylos
sits back and enjoys his ale, chewing on his
bread when necessary
when he heard some people talking. Now normally he
would not
eavesdrop but the words 'Legendary' and 'Black Robes' caught
his
attention, thinking this may be something new they would come
after him with
he listened to their conversation. 

Many minutes
after that Derkylos had figured out what they were talking
about,
apparently there is a rumor going around that golden dragon eggs
were
being mutated, of which Derkylos cared little, and that
there was a dagger
blessed by something, the men talking didn't
know what either, and that it
had awesome powers for whoever
wielded it.With this in in his mind Derkylos
set out, deciding it
would be good to do some research seeing as how the
mages lost it
if Derkylos could find it this would serve him two purposes.
The
first being the mages would not have another weapon to come after
him
with, the second obviously being a little more towards self
preservation
would be that he would have new powers defend
himself with. Either way it
would be up to him to find it.


Setting out across the solamnic plains towards the city of
palanthas and the
great library Derkylos was stopped by a man
shrouded in black robes a stench
that was ungodly. Derkylos
politely nodded to the man giving him a few
coins, this man
obviously needed it for a bath and some new clothing,
Derkylos
started on his way again. Before he got too far the man stopped
and
spoke 'You have the look of strength.' Derkylos stopped,
not knowing why
something just pulled him towards this man.
'Yeah, what of it?' Derkylos
stated, not wanting to be
delayed from his research for too long. 'And you
are in the
holy order of the stars, no?' Derkylos nods slightly confused.
'I
would like to employ you then, I need you to get whatever
information you
can from the holy order about any peculiar items,
rewards will come when the
information does.' Derkylos stares
at the figure, debating for a moment,
then finally nods. 'And
these rewards, what form will they come in? Coin?
Power?
Knowledge? What?' The dark figure grins 'In whatever form you
wish i
can give you any or all of these things, so the form is
your choice and
yours alone.' 'And if i decide to give you
such information? How shall i
find you?' As if the figure
disappeared in front of him altogether Derkylos
heard nothing but
a voice 'I will be here, waiting.' 

With that odd bit done
Derkylos continued on towards the city without any
incidents.
Upon reaching the town of palanthas night had fallen and
Derkylos
went to the inn paid for his room and sat down in his
bed, head swimming
with bits of thoughts of half run-on sentences
"'Crazy stranger looking to
me for information?' 'Wonder what
this weapon looks like?' 'Wonder if i'll
ever find it?'" Before
long Derkylos was fast asleep in his bed, still
sitting in his
meditation style. 

Author:    Derkylos      

Date:      Sat Dec 13 01:41:55 2008
Subject     Rodin,
Knife of Dracart.

Awaking the next morning Derkylos
stretches, walks out of his room and
goes down to the inn for
some breakfast. While eating breakfast Derkylos
decides to go for
a walk, coming out of the inn he takes a left down diamond
and
continues on, taking in the sights of the beautiful city. Upon
passing
the park he bumps into a member of his order, Rodin.
'Greetings Rodin, how
have you been?' 'Shove off.' was
the response he got from a fellow monk of
the holy order of the
stars. Finding it odd Derkylos shrugged it off but as
his fellow
monk passed he felt it, the urge to fight, to bleed, the urge
to
kill. Upon feeling this he knew there was but a single item
powerful enough
to nearly overcome his senses, the legendary
knife. Knowing that he must
have the knife, of course to save
everyone else from its wrath, Derkylos
swiftly followed Rodin on
his way towards the docks. Since it was mid-day it
would be hard
to find a place to subdue the monk, knowing it would be hard,
he
had to find a place that the noise would be expected. Moments
later the
idea smacked him hard in the face, literally. Caught up
in his thinking and
focusing on Rodin he had walked directly into
a sign for the arena. 

That was where it would happen. After a
few moments they neared close enough
to the arena that battle
screams would be common occurrence and their battle
would not be
heard. 'I am truly sorry my friend.' muttered Derkylos,
loud
enough for Rodin hear and make him turn on his heels landing
a gruesome
punch in Derkylos' face. "I do not remember him
being this strong in our
last training session, is this the power
of the knife?' Derkylos thought to
himself just barely dodging
another attack, obviously meant to destroy
Derkylos' rib cage.
Concentrating more on the present Derkylos takes to his
martial
arts style of fighting and begins his assault. Through an
immense
amount of dips and dives Derkylos can hear rodin saying
'Derkylos, you can't
have this dagger, the power is too
immense.' 'I seek it for nothing, not
it's power, not it's
use. I seek it simply to have it, not use it.' Of
course
Derkylos knew this was a lie, he wanted the power, yearned for
it,
would even kill for it if he had to. It's odd being in close
proximity to
the knife he was feeling rather strange. Before
interaction with Rodin, when
he woke up this morning, he really
did just want it to have it, to keep
others from using it from
wrong or right. Ever since he was in close area
with the knife
the feelings increased, he knew now that the dagger
would
overwhelm him, but at this point he cared little he could
worry about that
if the time ever came. After a bit of dodging
and more gruesome blows from
Rodin Derkylos saw his opening, when
Rodin threw his punches, just for a
second, he left his chest
open. This was how he would have to beat him. He
did not want to
kill him, while yes he had a feeling for violence and blood
ties
with a fellow brother were more important which gave him hope
that with
some time he could deter the dagger from controlling
him. With another shot
from Rodin bringing him back from his
thoughts he once again concentrated on
subduing the monk. With a
shot that was intentional taken Derkylos brought
his fist into
Rodin's chest with all his might. That one blow coupled with
the
other small blows to vital spots Rodin all at once stopped
attacking and
fell over, unconcious. 

Apologizing one more time
Derkylos began to frisk the unconcious monk
searching for what he
was looking for. Tucked quietly in the back of Rodins
belt was
the dagger he sought for so much. Holding it in his hands
Derkylos
felt the burn, felt and loved it. The pain brought him
to the realization
that he needed to get out of here, out of the
city. If the guards found him
standing over a crumpled corpse
then they would be sure to arrest him and
confiscate any weapons
he had, including the dagger. Looking both ways up
and down the
street Derkylos spotted a guard to the south and walked
promptly
up the street to the north, briskly but not enough to
draw
attention. Not wanting to risk going by the inn to grab his
things Derkylos
walks straight out the south gate onto the
knights high road. After hours
and hours of walking Derkylos'
feet and body begin to feel the pain of the
previous battle, now
that the adrenaline rush died down, and he decided it
would be a
nice time to rest a short bit.

Taking a two hour walk off the
east side of the road he discovers a cave and
enters it, first
checking for previous inhabitants of course. Derkylos sits
down
and rests on a rock, taking the knife in his hands again he
begins to
study it. The first thing derkylos noted was that it
curved to fit his hand,
tight enough to stay there, yet not too
tight to cause discomfort, the knife
looked cold, freezing
almost, yet its touch was hot. It would appear as
though the
blade was liquid, or dipped in something liquid, yet that
had
dried up long ago from the air and the weather. As he
continued to study it
his mind started to fill with an
overwhelming noise. Voices, he could not
understand what they
were saying yet he could hear them crisply. Shoving the
dagger
into his belt he began to meditate, attempting to heal what
damage
was caused by the duel between him and Rodin, after many
hours and much
effort nothing occurred. Every time he tried his
head would fill up, he
could not concentrate on anything but the
dagger. After a few minutes
exhaustion took him over, he fell
into an uncomfortable sleep, dreams
haunted by a power that would
control him and yet satisfy him at the same
time..


Author:    Derkylos       
Date:      Sat Dec
13 07:34:07 2008
Subject     Final resting place (Knife of
Dracart)

Waking up the next morning not feeling
completely refreshed from
yesterdays battle Derkylos once again
sat on the rock. His mind set on
overcoming this dagger. 'If I
am going to have this to prevent all else from
using it I must
resist the temptations of it myself or fall pray to that
which I
am choosing to save others.' Taking the dagger in his hands
yet
again Derkylos feels the impulses surge through his head more
than when the
dagger was tucked away. 'I must resist this,
remember your training.'
Derkylos strains through all the
negativity to remember what the abbots
taught him back at the
monastery, the only way to overcome something is to
not try to
beat it but instead just try to neutralize it. The only way
to
neutralize this daggers animosity would be to stay positive.
With memories
of all the wrongs done to him, like being an
outcast from his family for
being only half-elven, or how at
first he did not exceed in the monastery.
Those were the first
thoughts coming to his head. After straining to fight
through
these he began to remember the days of laughing and playing
with
childhood friends, then even those turned to flashes of his
friends dying,
Derkylos saw himself standing over them with this
knife in his hand,
grinning madly. 'NO!' Derkylos fought
harder through these memories to bring
back those of the good,
this continued on through the better half of a day.
The memories
of good finally seeping through only to be perverted and
twisted
by those of the dagger. After a long time Derkylos found
it
necessary break his meditation, coming to the realization of
blood seeping
from his mouth from the mental stress, sweating,
out of breath, and very
much drained from the 'battle' that had
waged in his mind. 'I need rest, to
continue on like this will
kill me', but he could not bring himself to put
the dagger
down. 

He slept that night, dagger in hand, not restful at all.
His dreams were
even twisted by the dagger which he still held,
clutched in his hand. He
awoke the next morning feeling no better
than he did the night before. Again
sweating, gasping for air,
and drained in general. 'I must seek a better
place, one where
I am comfortable and good energy will surround me.' This
meant
returning to the monastery where he once trained. 

Gathering his
things he wearily trudged on through the solamnic plains south
of
the knights high road he had traveled to get to his cave. After
many
hours of walking he finally reached his destination, only to
have his hope
shattered. The monastery lay in front of him,
completely in disarray. A
single temple stood, which used to be
gleaming and majestic, now with holes
in the walls. Where there
was once a bustling courtyard of monks in
training, was now just
an empty lot, overgrown with plants and weeds. The
once silver
shining doors were now turned what could only be described as
a
dark ugly green. This upset Derkylos, the place he had loved
was now in
disarray. Feeling the twinges of anger and malice
towards the masters that
once taught here Derkylos once again
started thinking the happy memories,
subconciously trying to
fight the dagger yet again. Walking through the now
empty lot
Derkylos started getting flashbacks of his training,
interactions
with other monks and his teachers. 'This is where
it will happen, if I
cannot neutralize this thing here then it
will not be able to be done.'
Walking over to the front of the
solitary temple Derkylos studies the doors
giving them a push.
Realizing they were blocked from the inside, possibly
rubble from
collapsed pieces of the second floor, maybe not who
knows.
Setting out his bedroll Derkylos cannot help but begin his
routine that he
used to follow when he still stayed in the
monastery. After his workout
Derkylos felt drained so without
giving the dagger, which was tucked neatly
into his belt since he
got to the monastery earlier today, Derkylos fell
fast asleep
being at ease for the moment. 

He awoke early the next morning,
feeling more refreshed than ever before he
once again without
thought did his morning exercises and sat down. Taking
some bread
out of his pack he munches on bread and sips on water from
his
leather skin he ponders on what could have transpired here to
allow this to
happen. After his breakfast Derkylos decided it was
time to try to battle
this dagger again, filled with thoughts of
happy memories from his dreams
the night before he pulled out the
dagger confidently. Once again staring at
it, as the feelings
started to surge through his body once again, he thought
he saw
the dagger blow a bit of red. It also appeared as if the pointed
end
of the dagger twisted slightly, almost as if to make a mock
smile at the
monk's efforts. 

The meditation started once again,
the battle started as well. Mind
straining to remember the good
times without being perverted by the bad. The
battle waged on
within Derkylos for many hours, he had one last shot and he
knew
it. Dragging up the single memory he has of his parents back when
he
was younger, Derkylos smiled. The way they held him and looked
so happy,
even if it was only for a moment, that single moment
was all he needed. The
concentration Derkylos set on this memory
was one that the dagger found it
hard to penetrate, after hours
of concentrating on the same moment he
suddenly felt a rush of
relief with in him. The sudden rush of calmness only
lasted for a
brief moment before it was broken, his parents held him, but
in
the twisted version his parents had held him only long enough
to take him to
the monastery. When his parents dropped them off,
instead of riding off
together his mother is slain by his father
who is in turn slain by elves who
banished him for his love of a
human woman. 

Derkylos then stopped his meditation, realizing
that nothing would ever be
able to neutralize an object with this
much force. Continuing to try would
be insanity and most likely
drive him mad. With that thought in his head
Derkylos then began
thinking of how to discard this weapon of immense power
so it
could no longer be used by anyone. Derkylos sat there thinking
a
while, when he realized the best place would be his current
position, no one
had been here in years it was perfect. Glancing
at the dagger in his hand
one last time he almost could not bear
to get rid of it, the touch was warm
and the power was trying to
entice him once again. Glancing around he took
note of a well
that had been covered in vines, 'This is where the
final
resting place of this object should be, away from those it
would hurt. No
power this great should exist and you must be
destroyed ' Derkylos said to
himself and to the dagger. Tossing
the weapon into the well, making sure to
cover it with stones and
rocks to ensure no one would ever find it. He then
packed up his
things, thinking it would be best to move away before anyone
saw
him and got suspicious of what he was doing in such a place,
Derkylos
then moved on making his way back to the holy order of
the stars, hoping he
would forget any such thoughts of the
dagger. 

Author:    Derkylos       
Date:     
Sun Dec 21 07:08:09 2008
Subject     The post regrets (Knife of
Dracart)

Waking up, feeling cold and bloody from the
beating he recieved from the
mage, Derkylos first took a few
minutes to first realize where he was. He
sat up, feeling the
pains from his ribs and the back of his head, and stared
around
with a blank look on his face. "Where am i? What happened?"
were the
first thoughts to come to his head. Then he rememberd,
he had done battle
with the dagger and before he could overcome
it he put it in the well. With
that thought and not another he
strained to get up, after a couple tries and
some seriously
painful feelings, he succeeded. Slowly walking over to the
well
he looked inside only to find the dagger had gone missing.
'SHIT!' he
said aloud to himself and no one else because he
was alone. 'I don't really
give a damn about the mage he
deserves whats coming but that power must not
be released on
krynn, I must wield its power for control and not
domination'
he said. It was then that he realized it, the cold
feeling, not from the
weather or the lack of gear he had, but the
cold of being without the
dagger. The warmth of its blade, the
enticing power, without this he was
nothing. If he would have had
the dagger and just embraced it he would not
be laying here, damn
near naked. Realizing what he must do he decided to
rest for a
few days, heal his body with his mind, and then set out in
search
of this dagger once again. 

rest for a few days, heal his
body with his mind, and then set out in search
of this dagger
once again. Tower. Feeling the pub was the best place to
find
answers he walked inside and sat down, looking for the
person who would know
all the towns gossip. 'You, would you
please come over here for a minute?'
Derkylos asked the man
sitting in the corner, huddled in the middle of
another group of
men whispering like women. 'Me? Now why would i want to
do
that, eh?' was the mans reply. Derkylos stood up and walked
over to this man
'I will ask you one more time, will you please
join me at my table?'
Derkylos said with less patience. The
mans reply was simple 'No.'Derkylos
nodded, 'If that is
your wish then thank yourself' in a single swift
motion
Derkylos picked up the man and hurled him into the chair
that was sitting
across from where he was previously sitting,
'Thank you for complying'
Derkylos said with a slight smile
as he walked over and sat down across from
the now frightened
man. 'I'll make this simple, has there been a mage that
has
passed through this town in the past few weeks? Acting odd, even
for one
of those mamby pamby mages?'the mans reply came swift
and unsarcastic now
'Yes, was walking round, talking to himself
and would answer anyone who
tried to talk to him back, came paid
for a room and went to study, got up
the next morning and that
was the last we saw of him.' the man finally got
out after a
little bit of fear induced stuttering. 'Good, now since you
were
so rude to me you will pay for my ale, and my room as an
apology, go inform
the barkeep and you will keep your
limbs.'"I must find this dagger again,
its power was much too
comefortable, if i could have had that this would
have been
prevented, i must embrace the power and let it engulf me in
its
glory." Derkylos continued to think about this as he walked
to his paid for
room and laid his head down. Dreams had haunted
him that night, nightmares
had comforted him. The only dream that
stuck out in Derkylos' mind was the
one where he had the dagger
in his posession and was challenged by none. A
dream about
traveling the world where there was no war for any who sought
to
start one turned up dead, with a single mark carved into their
back. The
mark at this point was shrouded in a blrruy fog, but he
was sure it would
become clearer once he had the dagger in his
posession once again. 

Awaking the next morning, filled with a
sense of renewed need for this
dagger Derkylos had set out across
the Solamnic Plains in search of rumor of
this mage who attacked
him and last had the dagger, as far as he knew. Once
he had come
to the middle, or what looked to be the middle, of the plains
he
stared ahead, having an eerie feeling, and continued walking
forward
cautiously. After another few minutes of walking he came
upon a shadowed
figure once again, remembering when he had
started his quest that he had an
arrangement with this figure he
tried to walk around, to avoid questioning
but it was effort that
ought not to have been spent for the figure had seen
him already.
'Have you brought any news of any powerful artifacts that
we
had once talked of?' 'No, i have not been in the halls
much lately to have
time to do research for you.' Derkylos
started walking again, surely the
figure would not follow him.
'You know something your not telling me, I have
heard rumors of
a monk that possesed a dagger of quite some power, a monk
that
fits your description.' 'Well there are a dozen monks that
look like
me, go ask them.'The monk heard a slight rustling of
robes, then felt very
confused. Things that were stationery
started moving, walls appeared when
there were none, he could not
find the words in his head to speak. Locating
the robed figure
who was staring at him intently Derkylos heard two things
the
first was the voice of the robed figure 'I told you rewards
were great,
i did not mention failure would be deadly.' the
second thing Derkylos heard
was the bone crunching crack from the
figures mace smashing down on
Derkylos' head, before drifting
into unconciousness Derkylos reflected yet
again upon how this
would not have happened, if he had only kept the
knife..... 

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