The Faerwind Guardians

[razziel]

Our story begins in a land called Faerwind (pronounced "fair"-"wind"). You can only get to Faerwind by boat, and only during the day. For at night, Faerwind Lake is haunted by the souls of the underworld. The island is home to the 5 Guardians of Faerwind. They protect the mystic book known as "The Lady". The Lady is a book of ancient secrets, spells, and records. It is said that The Lady was written eons ago by the first people of Faerwind, the ancient Elves. The lost spirits of the underworld will do anything to acquire it; they believe there are ancient spells within that will give them flesh and life. But the spirits roam because they did not pass beyond the barrier of light after death, a trait that is common among the evil... at least that is what they say. One of the Guardians, Raziel, believes that all of them are not evil, that some are merely trapped; disallowed to pass through the barrier and into the next generation in the tree of life. Raziel is a wraith... once a human, then turned vampire, then cast into the Abyss by Kain. The Abyss transformed Raziel into a wraith. Wraiths serve the underworld, but Raziel broke free from the grasp of the Deep Elder (the "God" of the underworld) and now serves as the only Guardian who can safely cross Faerwind Lake unharmed at night.

The Guardians of Faerwind - Five beings who live normal lives like you and me, except that they each possess great powers and strength; speed, agility, and strong-willed. The Guardians are the Elf, Vampire, Spirit, Dragon, and Wraith (Raziel - me). 

{Choose your character from the other 4, and create your "powers" and personna, and introduce yourself!} 

I will start...

I am Raziel, first born of Kain's abominations and his second in command. I was betrayed by Kain and cast into the Abyss, a point in the southern reaches of the land that surrounds Faerwind and the lake. I was human once. I served as a Serafan Knight. The Serafan were the humans' only protection from the Vampires. As a Serafan, I destroyed many of Kain's minions until that fated night when I faced him in battle. I was overwhelmed by his other-worldly strength and magic, taken in, and transformed into the thing I had dedicated my life to destroy. Having no other fate but the one I had been dealt, I served Kain a century. Until I would gain a new gift and surpass my Lord. I grew wings and could take flight at will; a gift Kain did not possess. Jealous of my new gift, Kain betrayed me, ripping my wings and having me tossed into the fiery Abyss like a common criminal. Centuries passed as I fell through the white hot fire; the agony was neverending. But I did not die. I landed softly at the bottom, in the Underworld, facing the Deep Elder. "I have saved you from complete dissolution Raziel. Now, you will serve me". I observed myself, my new appearance. My wings were still there, though tattered. My lower-jaw was gone, burned away in the Abyss. I wrapped my cape around to hide it. Yet I could speak. "I am beaten" I said in reply to the Deep Elder. "You are reborn! By casting you into the Abyss, Kain has unwittingly placed you on a path to destroy him" he replied with a very deep, thunderous voice. I could not see him. The underworld seemed like being underwater, though there was no water. I was in a spirit form, I realized this as I paced around and noticed my arm passed right through a nearby rock. I walked through the rock as if it weren't there at all. I turned, looking for the thing that spoke to me, "What am I? What is this pitiful form I have come to inhabit? What have you done to me?" I said angrily. "You are my wraith, my... Soul Reaver. No vampire stands a chance against you now Raziel. I have given you new life, new powers, and a new mission. Go forth, swallow the lost souls of the underworld so that I can spin them in the wheels of fate". I turned, surveying my surroundings. Glowing white spirits glided all around and I suddenly felt a hunger inside I'd never felt before. It was not like the thirst for blood, this was a deeper hunger. As if by reflex, I opened the cape from around my face and drew in all of the spirits that were around me. I felt them hit my insides and energize me. The hunger was gone and I felt completely invulnerable now. I heard something behind me and spun around, my form turned to mist as I faced a strange beastly creature with very long teeth. It growled at the place where I was standing but now I was behind him. I felt an itch as a sudden blast of light and energy erupted from my right arm, glowing with an electrical singe, twisty bolts forming into a sword of light, erupting right from my arm. The Elder's thundering voice startled me, "This is your weapon for those creatures who do not belong. This is your sword, your Soul Reaver. It will absorb the souls of those with flesh or without, and take life from them. Sieze the moment Raziel! Strike him down before he attacks you! Use your anger to destroy him!" Suddenly the beast turned on me and within a millisecond, I had turned to mist, flipped over him, then behind him, unmisted, and plunged the Soul Reaver into the beast's back. He screamed out in terror only for a moment as his essence drew into the Reaver, and into me. I felt his power fill me with new strength. The power was almost unbearable. Never had I felt so strong, so... energized. It felt like there was nothing I couldn't do. "This is my gift to you Raziel. Serve me and grow stronger as you devour souls. But be warned, you have weaknesses. Weaknesses that you must learn for yourself." 

He was careful not to tell me my weaknesses. I knew that I would not serve him. I would not remain a slave in the underworld. I left the area where I had landed. The terrain was dark, glowing spirits glided about here and there, though I did not hunger for them (yet, I assumed). As I walked around I saw what looked like ancient dwellings, shattered and broken, decayed. But I could climb them. Looking up, I could see light... as if I were under the sea looking up towards the surface. I needed to find the highest point and try to abandon this dark place. I climbed old temples and buildings, jumping from one high point to another to get to even higher peaks. Eventually, I stood at the peak of the highest point I could find, but the surface was still unreachable. "How the hell do I get out of here?" Suddenly a familiar voice answered me, "Hello again Raziel" It was Ariel, the spirit who helped me many times during my servitude under Kain. "Why have you come here Raziel, you do not belong in the underworld with us dead creatures". I looked upon her, I'd never seen her this way, she was absolutely beautiful, glowing with a bright white light, very unlike the other spirits' dim light. "Ariel! I..." (I stuttered a moment, taken by her beauty) "I do not know where I am, or what I am. Kain threw me into the Abyss, I have changed..." Ariel interrupted, "You're a wraith now Raziel. But you are not like the other wraiths I have seen. In your spirit form, you glow with a blueish light. Wraiths are usually red. This indicates you do not serve the Deep Elder, and that you're a good spirit". I stood, not realizing I had kneeled before her, "He said that I had to serve him, because he gave me this... this, 'gift'". Ariel laughed lightly "He didn't give you anything Raziel... you were reborn a wraith because of the good inside you, and given the chance to live again. This was passed to you by the ancient Elven elders who once lived here, or as soom call them, Originals. They obviously chose you for something." I paced around her, contemplating, "Ariel, how do I escape this place?" She walked up behind me, wrapping her arms around me lovingly and whispered "You only have to will it Raziel, and you will be free. You just need to focus on a place in the physical world, and you will be there" She kissed me softly on the cheek as she started to fade away, "Call out to me when you need me Raziel, I'll always come to your aid...." her voice faded as her form did. I felt sad of her leaving me alone again. But, I tried to think of a place I could remember in the physical world. I remembered an island on a huge lake. It was a large island surrounded by a few miles of water all around. Just as I began to concentrate on it, the Elder God's thundering voice tried to stop me "You cannot escape me Raziel. I will not allow you your own will, I am your God... I am....." his voice faded as I pushed him out of my mind. My will was strong, a power that may yet serve me well, if I can just get out of this place.... I thought of a statue I'd seen, then remembered... Faerwind... I could see the lush island. I felt myself flying over its vast area... tall mountains, waterfalls dropping down into rivers, rivers flowed into various small cities... there it is. The Guardians' Keep. It's where 'The Lady' is kept. I'd heard stories of The Lady as a young human boy, and heard about some of its secrets as a vampire. 

Suddenly with a flash, I was standing before a statue in front of the Guardians' Keep. It had to be at least 10 times my size. It was an elven warrior holding a shield forward, with the other hand on the hilt of a sword on her back. She looked beautiful, yet powerful, strong. I'd never been here before, but somehow I felt at home. Ahead down the walkway, there were other statues... a dragon, a vampire, a spiritual being of some kind, an elf, and... me? I hastened my pace up the walkway to the last statue before the entrance to the Keep. I gazed up at it... it was me! But... How can this... "You must be Raziel" a voice interrupted my thoughts. I turned but no one was there except the Dragon statue. I walked closer to it. "HELLO!" it blurted out, startling me to mist. I walked around the dragon in my mist form, trying to figure out what was going on. I came back around to his face and in my mist form, I started to see the living Dragon in the statue take form, like a spiritual version existing with the stone version. "Ahhh, now you can see me, no?" I shook my head rather perplexed, "Y--Yes, I can see you, Haha! This is quite something!" The dragon snickered at me, "In your mist form, you can see into the spirit realm, Ha HA!" he paused, "You know me Raziel, we fought together in another life, another existance... on another plane of existance". I drew back from him and thought for a moment, "Yes... I don't know how, but I sense that from you as well... as if... we are brothers". The dragon cackled again with a thunderous laugh, "Yes! Yes brother! We meet again in this life, a new life, with a new mission". "And what mission is that, dragon?" He couldn't move much from the position of his stone counterpart, but he seemed to shake his head a bit, "We are the Guardians of The Lady, we protect the mystic book, 'The Lady', from the evil spirits trying to gain access to our world. Without us, they would gain control of The Lady and evil would run wild in this world." I loosened my mist form, giving way to my physical form and walked back towards my statue, but I could still see the Dragon's spirit form, I guess because I'd already revealed it to myself while mist. "How is it that my statue is here dragon? And are you a prisoner of your statue?" The dragon laughed again, "Questions, so many questions. But I understand your confusion. Our exisitance was foretold by the originals. The originals are what we call the Elves who ruled here well before our time, well before your time as a human boy. And no, I am not trapped here, its just one of the talents I possess. My true form is off on business with the others, looking for you" I turned to him, "Looking for me? Well you've found me it seems, or I've found you, hell I don't know anymore. I willed myself here from the underworld" I scratched my physical head, confused and perplexed at the situation. "No one can hope to understand destiny except the originals. We have a descendent of the originals with us, an elf who can answer all of your questions" with that, the dragon's 'spirit' vanished. I walked among the other statues... all of them felt like family to me. I felt that they cared very deeply for me and each other. And I felt an overwhelming pull inside the Keep, something drawing me in. I gave in to it (hell, why not? Can't get any stranger than this, right?)... I walked up to the door and it opened for me. As I passed over the threshold, the door slammed shut behind me. I was in a large section of the Keep. Various statues, paintings, and weapon & armor racks lined the walls. In the center a giant hearth with a fire roaring and rounded couches all around it, with tables covered with all manner of food and drink. I stood there staring at it all, "what, no coffee?" I said allowed, my voice echoing throughout the chamber. "Yes, sir... here is your coffee, dark roasted just the way you like it" came the voice of a tall, slender man wearing a black suit. I took the cup from his tray, then realized, in my physical form, I have a mouth! I laughed in spite of myself... "wow, this is good. Uhh, and who... are you?" He smiled "I am Belloc, I serve the Guardians" his voice slightly deep, and words spoken eloquently as if he were very well educated. Another 'Belloc' walked towards us with a large sack. I stepped back a bit "there are two of you? Twins?" then as yet a third 'Belloc' walked in with another large sack, the first replied "No, only one of me sir, but I can be in many places at once. This is MY gift, and I use it to serve the Guardians. If there is nothing more sir?" I looked at my steaming mug of coffee, it smelled fantastic, then gazed back at the first Belloc "Uhh, no... no Belloc, thank you kindly" The other two copies of Belloc dropped the sacks near me as they faded away and the first one said as he walked out "These are for you sir. They were left here by the originals with instructions that they are to be given to the wraith. I assume that is you sir. Just call out my name if you need anything and I will appear". With that, he was gone. 

I sat on the couch in front of the warm fire, staring at the sacks and drinking my coffee. Yes, I was anxious to see the contents, but I simply had to finish this wonderful coffee first. As the fire crackled, I heard laughter from outside then the big door opened and 4 people came in. The door slammed shut behind them. I changed to mist (and my coffee mug hit the floor, drawing their attention). I hid in the shadows to observe them before making my presence known. But I wondered... if the dragon can see me... 

Okay... so, I don't know how you folks do stories here. I've been on forums where I did this sort of thing. One of us would start a story and create character "slots" for others to take and introduce their own part of the story. I've just done that, as well as taken one of the character slots. If you don't like the choices, create one and write yourself in! This is a story line I started more than 25 years ago but never shared and never added to until now. I've laid the foundation, some basic ideas about what is going on, and a small amount of background. This can be molded however we want. But, to keep with the storyline, there has to be a few tangible rules to follow when we add to the story: 

• 1 - The 5 Guardians are never against each other. Drama can happen between them, but ultimately, when it comes down to it, they are family and will do anything for one another. All of them have known each other in past lives (Raziel's past life as a Human and as a Vampire are open... if you write yourself into that somehow). Raziel and the Dragon new each other as Humans. I assumed BatDragon (Batty, is that Raven?? I don't know) would take the Dragon role. 

• 2 - The Lady is a book full of spells, history, and basically an encyclopedia of beasts, their known weaknesses, etc... You can read anything into this book that comes from your imagination. There is no limit and nothing too wierd. Picture the witch's book from that series called Charmed. Very much like that, except this book is larger, and magically has more pages than it looks. 

• 3 - Faerwind is an island, surrounded by a lake full of evil ghosts (spirits) that are active at night. There is a barrier around the entire island that they are always trying to find a way to cross. The barrier is invisible for the most part (a glowing "field") 

• 4 - You can create a character for anything... if you create an evil character (like a spirit) you can't just say you have the power to cross the barrier. However, you may find someone in the underworld who knows a way to get you across. The Deep Elder is always looking to get his hands (tentacles?) on The Lady and will use anyone he can manipulate to do so. Keep in mind, the barrier is extremely powerful. Even the guardians themselves have no control over it. But they are permitted passed because there is no "evil" in their hearts. Perhaps that would be a hint for those who would choose to be evil.  

• 5 - And on the "evil" subject... not all of the spirits in the lake are evil. Keep in mind some are trapped, the evil ones won't let the good ones out of site so they rarely reach the safety of the island. We are generally forbidden to help them, but do so anyway if the opportunity presents itself to do so. 

• 6 - The Originals... they will show up later in the story. They are my "wild card". There is something special about them. Please leave them to me until I bring them into the story.

Otherwise, please, go crazy... introduce your character. Be one of the guardians, or create a whole new character and fit him/her into the storyline. Create more than one character and manage them all into the storyline! I am eager to read what you all come up with. I haven't done this in years so I am excited!