An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of Kevril.

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 tattered paperback on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Kevril' scribed in rich red ink.

Author:    Kevril         
Date:      Sat Jun  2
19:21:54 2007
Subject     Malion

Coincidentally, I had
just finished my second week of boot camp.
Saige thought that it
would toughen me up, as if I wasn't tough 
already. Don't they
know that scrawnies does not equate to
weakness? Maybe in the
physical sense of the word, compared to
that brute, Merek, but
mentally, I was as tough as they come.
You had to be tough where
I come from, weakness is death. That
was the motto of the orphan
gang I came from, the NS13. I could
tell you what that means, but
then you'd have to join us, and
most people wouldn't want that.
But back to the relevant point...
 
The first week of boot camp
involved fighting techniques and a
specialized night session for
clerical spells for the Skull
inductees. Thorns' had a similar
thing, warriors got off easy.
After the first week was over, I
was considered battle ready,
still untested though. The second
week was how to fight in a
unit, and how to work alone in the
field, somewhat contradictory.
We were taught to survive on our
own: hunting, fishing, tracking,
etc. They then related that to
tracking and hunting prey, the
sentient kind. I'm sure you're
wondering how this all ties in
to the coincidence I first
mentioned. On the first day of the
last week, we were blind
folded and magically teleported to
an unknown place and had to
find our way back, bonus points if
someone brought in a victim.

I was teleported somewhere in the Taman Busuk, not too far
from
the camp, as I recognized the landmark that was nearby the
area.
As part of our training, we were told to stay out at least
three
days. I made my way down the mountain, when I came upon a
cave.
Figuring it to be a warm bit of shelter that I could use, I
lit
a torch and entered. At about the same time, another young
man,
a teen roughly my age, approached from a side tunnel. He
was
wearing tattered grey robes, and wore a necklace bearing
an
upside down axe. Momentarily stunned by the shock of
encountering
one another, we merely stood there gaping. Then, I
backed out of
the cave, where I could use my spells more openly.
He followed,
and the fight that ensued could have only one
victor.
 
I could tell that I was infinitely more prepared than
he. As I
slowly backed up, I muttered various protection
incantations.
My senses heightened three fold; I could taste the
cold that
eminated from the snow falling around us; I could feel
the
pine needles as they crunched quietly beneath my feet;
I
could hear him muttering his own incantations, far
different
than mine; I could not hear the aide he had, a wild
hog,
until it was upon me and speared me to the floor. I managed
to
wrestle it off of me, but he had disappeared when I rose.
I
slit the hog's throat, intending to make it a meal later.

This is where the coincidence occurs. Having just learned
to
track, I was able to put it to good use, following his
foot
steps in the snow. Quickly, I scrambled down the
mountain
after him to another cave. I squatted above it,
patiently
awaiting my prey, a spell at the ready. I saw him poke
his
head out and look around. I held my breath and drew back
into
the shadows. Apparently he felt it safe because he
emerged into
the open. I cast my spell upon him and
leaped down from my cover.
He grabbed his face, moaning
about the loss of his sight.
Quickly, I cast another spell,
aimed at dulling his intelligence.
As he started to stumble
around, his instincts took over, and he
uttered words of
magic to some unknown deity that allowed him to
regain
control of his thought process. He dove back into the
cave,
still blinded. I prayed to Takhisis, for her divine
power,
so that I might strike down this foe. I grasped snow
with
both hand and held them before me, staring deeply into
the
cave. Icicles formed from the snow and flew into the
cave. I knew
they'd found their mark, as his screams
penetrated the cold mist
settling down upon the mountain.
 
I entered the cave to find him
writhing on the floor,
bloodied and blind from Takhisis's cruel
might. I lightly
healed his wounds, so that he would live, albeit
in pain.
Praying once more to Takhisis, I magically bound my
peer
and left him there, intending to bring him back to
camp after my
three days were up. I tracked back up to
the first cave and found
the hog with a layer of snow
upon it. It wasn't long before I had
it ready to eat.
 
The night of the third day arrived and I
brought the
remaining meat down to the lower cave, ready to
return
to the boot camp. When I arrived, torch in hand, I
found
the cave empty. On the floor, in bubbling blood,
was the mark of
Morgion. I dropped the meat and fled
from the cave, fearing
disease. Fevers and chills
corrupted me as I fell to the snow.
Fortunately,
Takhisis is a powerful Goddess. As I lay
there,
praying to her, I became calm again, healed and pure.
I
continued my thanks to her as I finished my trek
down the
mountain. When I arrived at camp, I had
nothing to flaunt but my
stories, and I told them
despite all critics and non-believers.
At that time,
a wizened Thorn mage came from his tent, grey
beard
and all, and confirmed my tale, stating a Vision
from Her
Majesty as his proof.
 
I have four days left before I graduate
this awful
boot camp. Then, I will be able to serve Her
Majesty
completely. I am Hers, body, mind, and soul.
 
24 Hours
to Malion, this is with regards to my warnote.

Author:
   Kevril         
Date:      Mon Jun  4 22:25:57
2007
Subject     Dhavine

I wiped my blood-stained mace
on his torn, tarnished robes, more properly
termed rags.  As the
acidic spikes slid across his tunic, the threads pulled
apart
like cobwebs.  One of the spikes caught on his rippled muscles,
and I
tore it free with ease.  The acid helped with that.  I
dared not rifle
through his pouches, nor touch his coin purse. 
Strangely, I found that this
minotaur was a zealot of disease, an
affiliate of the deranged cult of
Morgion.  This was his second
follower I'd pursued in two weeks.  

I magically bound his hands
and feet, beyond what a carnival contortionalist
would attempt. 
The clearing we were in was small, too small to accomodate
the
disease that coursed through His fanatic.  The grass turned black
and
spiked, not dead, deadly.  Methodically, I kicked his
unconscious body to
the edge of the clearing, where the trees
began to mutate into wicked
things.  Not that I cared for this
forest that played host to so many of The
Rustlord's followers. 


The edge of the clearing was two fold.  It also served as the
beginning of a
steep ravine.  Finding a thick branch for
leverage, I was able to roll the
minotaur out of the clearing. 
As the branch began to turn black and barbed,
I threw it after
the rolling sap.  The only sounds to echo out of the small
canyon
were of sliding rocks and the tumbling stick, both of which
ceased as
the two objects splashed into the creek.  

I abandoned
the two and made the return hike back to camp.  It was the
final
day of my three week boot camp.  Strength had descended
upon me as quickly
as an aghar would a rat.  The past week had
been honing my strength, honor,
and clerical prowess.  Chain of
command was tossed in as an added bonus, but
all military
recruits were expected to know enough to follow orders.  The
camp
had been my home for the past three weeks; finally, it was over. 
It
was the locus of strictness, it was the locus of independence,
it was the
habitat of enlightenment, it was the habitat of
unlearning, it was the abode
of freedom, it was the abode of
bondage.  

24 Hours to Dhavine

Author:    Kevril     
   
Date:      Fri Jul 13 07:13:55 2007
Subject     The
Return


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

It
had been long since my feet left their impression upon the desert
sands
of my people.  Near to a decade ago, I left the place I
called home for
foreign lands.  I sought fame, riches, women; I
sought what any tribal youth
dreams of but on a grander scale. 
The petty tribal quarrels resided below
the clouds of my
ambitions.  

Now, nearly nine years later, I return.  I bring no
fame, no riches, no
women; I bring maturity, knowledge, and the
clerical talents of a malevolent
goddess.  My adventures from
Solamnia to Icewall, from Kothas to Neraka,
have shown me the
workings of a complicated world.  Listening to the humans,
the
dwarves, the minotaurs, has created a vast well of knowledge
about the
viewpoints of each race.  But my people do not care of
the rift between
mountain and hill dwarves, nor of the brutality
of the minotaur's colliseum.
They think only about fame, riches,
and women.  

I have felt the stirrings of the people that I have
talked to.  There is an
anxiousness in the air, a readiness. 
Already, I have seen Knights gathering
their armies.  Enlist? 
Doubtful.  My usefulness goes beyond a pike holder
and a meat
shield.  My Queen has enticed me to join her Knights, but I
am
not one for formalities.  I have come to realize that I can
make a name for
myself, leave my stamp upon Krynn.  

I am the
stamp and my people are the ink.  With their blood I will make
my
mark.  They have no clue of my intentions; they cannot think
past the three
themes of their life.  Once I have gained the
support of my tribe, I will
bring the other tribes of Khur under
my flag.  Coercively, peaceful or
violently.  The more people the
better, but only the strongest will survive
in the end.  If the
weak die in the process, it is nature's way.  

As I have
mentioned, the return is at hand.  I bring back various
trinkets,
even the armor of a Knight of Takhisis.  Riches and
shiny objects impress. 
Thin wisps of smoke float on the wind in
the distance, invisible to the
untrained eye.  The tribe resides
in the same place it did almost nine years
ago.  My return should
be interesting. 


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

To
quote Sirrion: "Madness? This..is...Krynn!"

Author:   
Kevril         
Date:      Wed Jul 18 06:27:47
2007
Subject     Tribal Recognition

The return could
not have gone better.  

Honestly, I expected hostility of some
sort.  Undoubtedly, I knew, the tribe
would not take well to the
desertion that had taken place so long ago.  I
returned, though,
bearing the captured armor of a Knight of Takhisis and
numerous
trinkets that awed and amazed them.  It amazed me to think how
like
them I used to be.  My worldly travels had changed that.  I
sought fame,
riches, and women, but on a far grander scale.  To
be famous?  I'd rather be
infamous.  To be rich?  I'd rather be
obnoxiously wealthy.  And to have
women?  How many women resist
flocking to the powerful?  I explained my
travels in great
detail.  Many of them were too absorbed in my various
items, but
a few of the smarter ones could see my plan.  They knew
that
glory would fall on the followers of my triumphs.  

It was
not long before word had spread to the closest neighboring
tribes,
and men came, curiously, trying to find what kind of
deserter returned to
lead his people to their deaths.  But upon
our becoming acquainted, it was
obvious that my men would rarely
die, should they provide not to be weak. 
That was the standard
by which I allowed men to flock to: be weak and die,
the strong
go to war.  

While the men returned to their tribes to spread
the word, I had a meeting
with the shamans of my tribe.  Mine was
a small tribe, most men consisting
of shamans and healers.  The
magic was strong in my community.  The
warriors, the fighters, I
knew, would come from the other tribes.  Victory
was waiting in
the wings.  

The meeting went smoothly.  These men were not
stupid; it was apparent that
they were aware of the fame, riches,
and women that were coming with this
war.  They accepted me as
their wartime leader, with which I was content
because that is
the only thing I need them for.  

As the shamans dispersed to
spread the word, I was hospitably granted a
tent.  Outside of my
tent I left a parchment and ink on a table.  Each
morning, when I
awoke, I found more names added to the list and more tents
camped
around mine.  My numbers were swelling rapidly.  I was going to
milk
my lands dry of fighting men.  I held my stamp over Ansalon
at the ready;
all I needed was the ink.  

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

Dedicated
to the Flamer.

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