Ebon Skull Archives: Rune Artisem - Magus of the Arcane
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
This is reposted from OES documentation for the pleasure of the Atlantic Community. Story by Rune Artisem of OES.
Most childern in Sosaria grow up knowing and loving their beloved parents. A very few grow up hating their parents. I, on the other hand, had no parents to raise me. My parents, as I'm told, were a nobleman of Lord British's court and a slut on the streets of Vesper. When it grew time for my birth, my father was far away in Britain unaware for what was going on. As for my mother...well needless to say that only one of us survived my birth.I grew up in the slums of Vesper with a few other abandon childern and we took care of our own.
It was then that a strange man appeared. He dressed like a mage, but acted completely different then your typical mage, for he treated us, riff raff abandoned childern, like equals. He told us that he was a very wealthy man who lived on the island of Moonglow and that he had need of servants in his tower. He told us that if we would go with him he would make sure we would be taken care of, as long as we remained in his services.
Needless to say, we all agreed. The mage introduced himself as Monric, a former member of the Council of Moonglow. Monric had fashioned a ship the size of which I had never seen in my entire life to take us to Moonglow. He had a few servants on his ship that seemed quite nervous whenever he would be around. One servant even went as far as to put his hand on my head and say "May the Virtues protect thee" when Monric was away on another part of the ship.
We all thought the servants to be stupid slobs, for Monric was as polite and kind as anyone we had ever seen. How wrong we would be... After arriving in Moonglow, we had a full escort in traveling to Monric's tower. What I found strange about the escort was that the men escorting us where not that of the city guards, but knights claded in armor as dark as night. Not one of them spoke a word, not even to Monric. He would give his command, and they would obey.
When we arrived at the tower, all of the knights stopped and did not make the slightest move. We entered the tower and saw most wonderful things. Anicent relics, rare trophies, even a sample of the legendary Blackrock reagent. But the house reeked a horrible smell...the smell of Death...We where motioned to a rather large room with a few cots on them. Monric explained that this would be our room and if he needed us then he would speak through the communication crystal that was placed on a small table. He also warned us that under no circumstance were we allowed to wander the upper levels of his tower.
Weeks passed, and not once did Monric give us one command. Finally, after being in the tower for months now, Monric issued a command. He asked Ben (the rude bully of our group) to come to his study on the top level. Ben rudely replied that he did not know where Monric's study was. Monric politely responed that the gentlemen outside our room would escort Ben to Monric's study. Ben opened the door and saw two of the dark claded knights standing outside. However, something was much different this time, for most of the childern screamed in horror.
The knights were not wearing helments this time for this enable us to see their rotting heads...Ben quickly ran into the back of the room, trying to hide under one of the cots. One of the knights went after him, picking the cot up and smashing it upon the wall as if it was glass. He then grabbed Ben by the head and proceed out of the room. We never saw Ben again after this. This event repeated over and over during a time period of three years. I then knew it was my turn, for I was the last one left.
One day, Monric made his command for me to come to his study. Full of fear, I accepted my master's command. However, it was to my surprise that when I opened the door I did not see the dark knights, but Monric himself. He smiled and said to me "At last, my experiment for the last three years shall come to an end tonight. You are the lucky one, Rune..." He grabbed my hand and escorted me to his study. There I saw a huge stone altar that was covered with the bodies of the dead. The walls of this room where lined with shelves that contained ancient spell books. "Your thinking that I'm going to slay you right here, right now, aren't ye?" Monric asked me.
I replied, "That would be my thoughts, master."
Monric smilied. "That is not the case tonight Rune...What I have been doing for the last three years is preparing for my own death. By day break tommorow I will be dead, slain by the Order Knights of Lord British."
"How do you know this? And if that is the case then why do you not flee?"
"To answer those questions, I must explain my whole past to you... I come from a long line of mages that have served the city of Moonglow since before the coming of Mondain. Growing up for me was utterly boring and I found little pleasure to be in the services of the city. It was during one of my routine trips to the Lycaeum that I stumbled upon a book titled 'Vars Oros Necroism'. This book showed me the arts of a form of magic I never knew existed. The power over the living and the dead... Necromancy... I studied this art in secert, for if found I faced death. Over time, I had become very familiar with this art. Many a times, I would slay a peasent or street scum just to see what secerts I could unlock through Necromancy. It was during my career on the Moonglow Council that my fate was revealed to myself. We had just given the order to execute this mad witch from Moonglow. She had made quite a few annoyances, the most of opening a gate to Hythloth in which daemons escaped from and killed quite a few people. She was brought before us, for we had made the prepartions of a small trail. She ranted and raved telling us each of us would meet with horrible deaths. Her rants were ignored and by night time, she was dead. A week later, I suffered a dream in which the old witch appears telling me that for my crimes that I will die at the hands of the Order Knights of Lord British for experimenting in Necromancy. She also mentioned a date... Of course, I thought this to be nothing more then a bad dream. However, I learned in time that each member of the Council also had a similar, yet different dream. I found this strange, and pushed it into the back of my mind. Thirty years passed after that. I had been living in this tower, focusing more then ever on the art of Necromancy. It was then that a messenger arrived informing me about the death of a former council member. I meet with my old comrades, and noticed an unusal amount of fear in them. The member that had died, did so as the witch told him so some thirty years prior. During the next two years, many deaths of the former Council members occured, as the witch had said. For the first time, I was fearful of the future. Not at the fact that I would be dead, but at the fact that all my knowledge and work on Necromancy would be lost. To prevent this, I began research on a ritual in which my knowledge my live on. That ritual will now conclude it's self tonight." Monric said.
He paused for a bit and then motioned me towards a small flask. "This is the end result of my ritual. And ye my boy, ye are very lucky... Very lucky indeed... For when ye drink this potion ye will gain my knowledge... my memories... and my power." Monric said.
"How? Why me?" I asked in amazement.
"Do you not hate Lord British and his government?"
"Yes." I replied.
"Do you not feel that the people of this realm are weak and disguisting?"
"Yes." I replied.
Monric smilied. "Very rare is there a child such as you. This flask contains a necromantic potion mixed with the blood of your slain friends." With saying that, Mordric took a knife and slashed his own arm. I then saw him pour his own blood into the potion. He then muttered some magic words and the potion began to glow an eerie green. "It is complete. Take this potion and drink it. Your current memory shall remain intact, but it shall be that of a bad dream." With saying that he handed me the potion, but failed to release it. It was then that he said with a cold voice "Seek out the Order of the Ebon Skull... They will help you realize your true power and purpose."
With saying that, I nervously drank the potion. After drinking the vile tasting substance, I felt the same. No change had happened. Seeing the surprised look on my face, Monric smirked and said "The potion shall not take effect until after my death. It is now time that you go... The Order Knights shall be here within the hours, and this entire tower shall be burnt to the ground. I have made arrangement for ye to stay at The Scholar's Inn. Go there and sleep, for when ye awake ye will be changed."
Before I could do or say anything, Monric had opened a gate and pushed me in. I went into the inn, and told the innkeeper who I was. Apparently Monric had already paid him in advance. I went to my room and climb into bed. When I awoke, I was changed. The ancient knowledge of Necromancy was mine, as was so much more knowledge.
I stood up, feeling renewed and recreated. Within a second, I had teleported to the site of Monric's tower. The entire tower lay in ruin, Monric's corpse lay on the ground near the steps. I walked up to his corpse and with a simple wave of my hand I had revived him. He looked very surprised to see he was back in the land of the living. "I thank ye for this lovely gift. Now return to whatever hell awaits you." And with saying that I proceed to destroy Monric's very body with powerful magic. "I shall find this Order of the Ebon Skull, and when I do... Lord British, his government and his beloved Virtues shall all be cleansed in flames!" It was then that I began my search for the Order of the Ebon Skull.