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[Dwarmin]

"It's in our history, though it's the sort of thing that less learned people forget.

We're called the Autumn Empire, but a thousand years ago, we were the Summer Empire...it's all tied into the life of the Elven Queen who rules the kingdom...

I'll give you the quick version, the way I was told as a child. A long, long, LONG time ago the first Elf Queen, who was the most powerful wizard in the world, wept for the loss of her one true love, and wished time would no longer pass. She made it happen-bound her body and her magic to the lands we now inhabit to create an everlasting Spring. As long as she and her heirs lived, summer would never come-all of nature bent into a single season. In time, however, she died-and her powers passed on. The mantle of rulership was tied to the land.

Eventually, however, everything fades...her line of rule failed, and another of royal blood took the crown. They also inherited the original connection she made, but not being the original line, they instead embodied the season of summer. And so on, and so forth. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. All tied into certain bloodlines, which has at least made it easy to pick a successor. Our seasons are very long, longer than any human lives most of the time...and winter has always been foretold as a time of great cruelty and hardship...

Figure the Old Queen must have finally died." She finishes. "She must have been 900 years old by now. Wasn't a Great Ruler, but wasn't as bad as some I've read about. Not even Elves live forever.

I wonder if the Winter Queen will live up to her name..." Risey shakes her head.

Aldeth feels a strange sense of deja vu at this moment, but after a moment it passes. Well, it was probably nothing.

[Criptfeind]

"And I thought that this land was cold enough already. You say that there will now be hundreds or thousands or years of a cursed winter upon the land? How will the people survive such a blight?"

[Dwarmin]

"Kill the Queen? Elves at best live about seven hundred years-Queens live longer than normal elves, about a thousand if their lucky. I read our last Summer Queen lived to 1011, before she choked on a chicken bone..." Risey says, in a darkly humorous tone. "No...from what I recall, there will still be variations of temperatures as time goes on. Our growing 'seasons' will just be very short and very poor. I'd imagine many people will flee, if they can. That ties into the whole 'cruelty and hardship' thing. I read most of the Winter Queens ended up becoming conquerors of some sort, or they end up going to war against heir own desperate people. There will be a lot of hungry, angry people...even more than their are now. We've had plenty of humans not happy with being ruled by Elves. I don't think this will make them any happier.

Wish I didn't see it in my lifetime, but I suppose that's what we all would say."

[GiglameshDespair]

"Grim tidings for the small folk, then." She thought of her tribe. Even trees did not live forever with bare branches, and deer had not much to eat in the winter... and so neither did Kenku.

[Dwarmin]

"Aye, that they are. Can't really blame anyone, though. I don't know about the truth to that old story about the First Queen, if it even was her who did it, but I suppose it proves the old saw about the unintended consequences following acts made not exactly truly bad intents-and the dangers of Magic. It's just the world we live in. We'll manage, I'm sure...'

[Criptfeind]

"Hum... Hopefully we will be able to avoid the worst of it. At any rate, this whole elf fiasco was merely a diversion for us, the real reason we have come to this town is the mad mage who is about the area. We were hired to capture him. The changeling seemed to say she had some familiarity with him, although she did not really have any information of worth. I don't suppose you know anything of him Miss Risey?"

[Dwarmin]

Risey seems only further depressed by this line of questioning.

"...What, you're going after Mark? Figured he'd eventually attract the wrong attention...

Well, I know some. He was a good friend to me..back before he lost his mind, I and He were two of a pair. Him the new guy in town, me the wide eyed local lass. He used to tell me all sorts of stories about the big world I'd never get to see, and I lead him around, showing him the...sights, sure. He told me once he was going to do something everyone would remember him for, to unite the kingdoms of magic...but when he went to those ruins, he didn't come back for a long time. When he did, he was a broken man. Like he'd seen things he couldn't make sense of and...I always got the feeling he was trying to explain it to me. But, I'm no wizard. I couldn't make any sense of his talk of sandcastles and holes in the sky.

He did used to talk to me, though-before the whole business with the stone started up. He'd meet me in Toni's pumpkin patch, at least that's where I could find him when he wanted to meet me, whenever he was feeling...sensible.

But since he came into town waving that weird rock, it's like he doesn't recognize me. I say to him, 'Mark, you remember me?' and he just shakes his head, like he doesn't remember, and he's ashamed he's doesn't...don't believe everything you hear, though. He may be...sick...but, he's not dumb. He used to say to me he could predict things from speaking to the spirits in the air and water, and those things he told me came true. I learned about some sicknesses that swept the town before they happened, and had medicine ready. He never did anyone wrong who wasn't worthy of a lesson-like that Leonard Stream, who used to mistreat his horses so badly-Mark turned em all into pigs...

I mean, be gentle on him, if you can. He's probably not to blame for most of the things going on around here. Last rumors I heard were trolls and 'shadowfolk'-more like bandits, and a lot of fear. Fools wouldn't know a Troll if it rose up outta of the Swamp of Doomy and took their heads off."

[kj1225]

Akira looks worried.
"T-t-trolls are r-real!?"

[Dwarmin]

Risey nods slowly.

"I mean, I'm just a girl with a head for books and a hand for alchemy-haven't seen one for myself, thanks the Gods-but they're well documented. Ten feel tall, nasty teeth and claws. Can regenerate from any injury, even knocking off their ugly heads. They can only be killed with the bite of fire, or acid.

I told you I read alot." She admits, sounding a bit...well, embarrassed.

[GiglameshDespair]

Kawtari paused for a second.
"You said he was raving, yes? Tell me. Do you remember anything else he said? It could be important."
The strange green eyes of the Kenku seemed to bore through the viewslits of the helmet with a sudden fierceness.

[Dwarmin]

"Hmm. Make sense of his words and my poor memory, if you can.

'She watches us about our games with benign intent. Her thoughts are slow, but kind. She does not aid oft, because helping would be harming. They're watching her, watching us, waiting for them.'

'There's a hundreds tunnels to a hundred holes in a thousand million points of light which we call life. The holes and tunnels and lights are the way to the center, where they went when they saw the rim of the universe and realized the tide was coming in.'

'Tide goes in, tide goes out, and no matter how tall I build my castle, it's still made out of sand...and it will be washed away. But that doesn't mean I should not build one, nor spit in the ocean to spite it-it doesn't mean I would let Them destroy it before the sea claims it. It's mine, as you were once mine, and I'll keep it safe as long until the tide comes in...'

'Lost souls are like this. They are heavy. Eventually, you will let your soul go, and it will sink. The life of a man or woman is a chain of Voids, and the lifetime of each Void...is short. Colors run out, the soul leaves us, and eventually, everything falls into slumber.'*

Figure there's more, sure.
"

Spoiler: * (click to show/hide)

Got this one from Turgor.

[Criptfeind]

"The words of a madman to be sure. Who knows what is to them, if anything. But do not worry Miss Risey. The Baron was sure to let us know that he did not think the mage was harmful, and that we should be gentle with him. Hopefully he can be cured of whatever madness plagues him."

[My Name is Immaterial]

Aldeth looks to the sky, sadly as Risey explains the seasonal situation.
"I don't have any warm clothing. I guess I'll have to go shopping."
She turns to Risey again. "I won't let them hurt him, too much."

"The words of a madman to be sure. Who knows what is to them, if anything."

"I think I do. It's very simple, really..."

"'She watches us about our games with benign intent. Her thoughts are slow, but kind. She does not aid oft, because helping would be harming. They're watching her, watching us, waiting for them.'
'There's a hundreds tunnels to a hundred holes in a thousand million points of light which we call life. The holes and tunnels and lights are the way to the center, where they went when they saw the rim of the universe and realized the tide was coming in.'
'Tide goes in, tide goes out, and no matter how tall I build my castle, it's still made out of sand...and it will be washed away. But that doesn't mean I should not build one, nor spit in the ocean to spite it-it doesn't mean I would let Them destroy it before the sea claims it. It's mine, as you were once mine, and I'll keep it safe as long until the tide comes in...'
'Lost souls are like this. They are heavy. Eventually, you will let your soul go, and it will sink. The life of a man or woman is a chain of Voids, and the lifetime of each Void...is short. Colors run out, the soul leaves us, and eventually, everything falls into slumber.'*
"

Aldeth perks up in excitement. These 'ravings' were easy.
Things from outside watch and listen, but only a few try and shape. 'They' could be anything, but Aldeth has an idea or two.
There are openings in the walls of the world, which lead to places outside.
Ṱ͎̝́h̶̻̼e̼͠y̘̲ liked to talk about the unstoppable march of time and the insignifance of human creations. It was all horribly depressing, and probably what he was talking about with the sandcastles and the lost souls.
She explained her thoughts to the group calm and collectedly, in such a manner that as she spoke of things not of this world, it sent shivers down most spines.

[kj1225]

Akira gives Aldeth a pair of pants.

[Criptfeind]

"Sounds reasonable. But I'm sure there are many ways to interpret a madmans words. Perhaps we will ask him."