Unholy Communion

Posted on June 16, 2000 in Uncategorized

Day 73, Year 538 of the Ascendancy

Late one afternoon on the 73rd day of Winter, I
found myself relaxing in the River Tunnel, listening to the quiet the
quiet babbling of the water. The air around me was quite cool, and
damp; and as I lay upon my boat being gently rocked by river water, I
fell asleep.

Chilling in the Tunnel

When I awoke, I sensed a cold from within myself.
At first I thought I had caught a cold from the damp air of the Tunnel,
but I quickly realized that there was something much more sinister to
the sensation. Feeling uncomfortable, I grabbed the ores of my boat,
and paddled towards Puddleby. However, as I made my way for town, I
heard several disconcerting sunstone messages. It seemed that several
other exiles had felt similar sensations. Some felt “very cold” while
others felt a cold deep inside them, like a distant anger. Garr sensed
the air around him charged with a great power, and the chill deepening.
By now, everybody was worried, but we could not figure out a pattern to
this disturbance; exiles of all proffesions and genders felt the chill.
However, after comparing notes, it seemed that most exiles who had felt
the chill were in the northern parts of the isle. My hunch was that
something dark was going down in the undine hut, and made my way
swiftly there. My hunch was correct.

Skeletal Guards

What awaited me in the undine hut was a peculiar
sight. Four skeletals stood before the ladder leading into the undine
cave, and a lone ‘Zo by the name of Garr stood silent vigil. Strangely,
the skeletals made no move to attack myself, or the ‘Zo, attacking only
when I got too close to the ladder. Garr warned me not to descend the
ladder, for the witch-priestess Lilit was conducting some sort of dark
ceremony. I thought it in my best interest not to get slaughtered by
hordes of undine, so I waited in the cave. Soon other exiles arrived,
and joined me in waiting before the ladder. Garr continued to persist
that we not enter the cave; he claimed that Lilit had somehow saved his
life, and as a favor, he was here to make sure nobody interrupted her.
However, curiosity overcame some of the exiles, and they stepped into
the dark portal.

Moments later, the same exiles stepped climbed up
the ladder, with looks of horror engraved on their faces. It was if
they had witnessed their own deaths; all the blood had drained from
their faces. The exiles that returned spoke of hordes of undine waiting
within, but strangely not attacking. The few that remained within tried
to urge more exiles to enter the cave, but none dared to move a step.
Time passed, and still more exiles milled into the hut. Now my own
curriosity was too much to deny, and if the undine were not attacking,
I reasoned, it would be safe for myself. I descended the ladder.

The Communion

What awaited me was a most shocking sight. Within
the cavern milled about at least fifty undead monsters, yet they did
not move to attack me. In the midst of all these beasts stood Lilit
herself, uttering strange chants, and between her chants, warnings for
us to leave. She claimed that this was some sort of “Communion”, and
that it was supposed to be peaceful, with no bloodshed on either side.
She warned us that if we continued to disrupt her ceremonies, she would
not be able to maintain control of the undine. I lingered in the cave
for a moment longer, marveling at the stationary undine, then fled back
to the hut lest Lilit unleash her army upon me.

Back in the hut, more exiles were sitting about
than ever, not knowing what to make of this strange event. A few exiles
had joined with Garr now, pleading for the exiles not to attack the
undine, and blocking the entrance to the cavern. Now, I did not know
what to make of this. Who was in the right? Should we go down and
slaughter undine who meant us no harm? Or was Lilit lying, and this was
all just some plot to summon an enormous horde of undine to unleash
upon us? I was confused, for ever since I arrived on this isle, and
came across the undine, they had always been creatures of unsurpassed
evil. The very world had been rent asunder because of them, during the
Ripture War(though I am sure Lilit would argue that it was our fault
for using the Soul Glasses).

Exiles began to argue with each other, tempers
flared, and finally the exiles protecting the undine were flung aside,
and a small army of exiles poured into the cave, and began to slaughter
the undine. Lilit lost control of the undine part way through, and now
everyone was fighting for their lives. The undine were all eventually
destroyed, but questions still filled my head. What had been the
purpose of this communion? Had it really been a peaceful meaning?
Perhaps Lilit started whole thing to set exile against exile, and place
doubts in the hearts of men and women, who until then had not
questioned the wanton destruction of undine. Or perhaps the Communion
had an even darker purpose. Only time will tell…(Check out a Vision
Stone of the Communion, some of the Dissension between exiles, and finally the Release of the undine.)

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