Editing Journal - The Crown of Wisdom (section)

==Into the Mountains==

We trudged through the snow once more, finding it hard going but determined to press on. After a full day we at last reached the foothills of the mountain range we had been headed for. After the wearying march we needed to rest once more, so I created another sphere of Cernurros for us, again shocked to find how warm it was after the snow. Cernurros was kind enough to grant us sustenance in the form of several huge berries, for which I thanked him and ate gratefully and well - a single berry providing sustenance as if I had eaten well; it even seemed to ease some of the pain from battle and the journey. Falcor, though, spat his out; apparently it didn't suit his taste!

Arad prayed to the Creator and allowed us to "nap", gaining the benefits of a deep sleep in a short time. About ten minutes later, though, he heard a cacophany of senseless noise in his mind that rose and fell in intensity. A few moments later a humanoid heat source flashed past at the edge of his vision. Arad moved so that he was near enough to wake us quickly and kept up a visual scan. A few minutes later he saw two shapes moving in a similar way and decided to wake us. We fired a couple of hastily made flaming arrows, catching a glance of some large, white, hairy, horned creatures just before we were suddenly plunged into utter darkness.

I sank into the earth and moved beyond where I thought the sphere edge was, popping up to see if I could see anything from there... but found myself within Cernurros and quite removed from Karmana! It took me a couple of minutes to, rather embarrassingly, ask for Cernurros' aid and guidance and then return to the others. Meanwhile Arad said a quick prayer to the Creator that removed the darkness, allowing them to see again even though nothing had approached close enough to be seen clearly. For a moment the plants within the sphere reached towards Falcor and Arad, almost as if to grab at them, but quickly stopped. I suspect Cernurros would not allow his realm to be controlled in such a way.

Arad tried to communicate mentally that we meant them no harm, but received a strange response that we could do "Him" no harm and are welcome in "His" realm, and that he approved of our selfless action. Again, I suspect that within the sphere Arad was reaching Cernurros and not the creatures he could see beyond the sphere. Falcor tried a more traditional approach, shouting in common that we meant no harm, and urging whomever was out there to converse with us. A deep, booming voice responded saying: "Leave, abandon this path." Well at least we had made contact. They told Falcor that continuing east up the mountains would insult them as this was a holy place and we were not welcome. No amount of reasoning seemed to persuade them, but for the time being at least they had not attacked.

We had no choice but to continue; our quest was necessary for the sake of Karmana and we would not abandon it. I said a prayer to Karmana that enabled us to move freely on top of the snow rather than being restricted by it, so at least we could move quickly, and for about a half hour it was easy going. But then a number of big, hairy creatures burst from the snow in a semi-circle around us. Snow sprayed around us as they erupted, and they roared with arms wide as a show of force. We tried to act passively, but as Arad reached for a staff two creatures took a step forward and half-screamed, half-roared to drop the weapon. Two others physically leapt at Arad, trying to pin or disarm him, and one stayed back watching us closely. One creature connected with Arad but didn't get a good grip so he was able to twist away, and the other just landed beside him. Arad used his mind to get one of them to stay at bay and not attack.

As Falcor and I had remained passive they seemed willing to talk for a moment, making it clear that they wanted us to leave their holy place. They did reveal that there was a temple here, one created by all the Gods, and it was the Gods that had created them to act as guardians. I asked whether Karmana was welcome at this temple, and they said that she was welcome but that it was not of Karmana. Falcor asked about Milada, and revealed the tear of Milada (although thankfully he did not activate it or we might have been stunned like last time he revealed it). At this they became much more relaxed, turning as another creature joined the group from behind them. He seemed older and bore a staff, and clearly had the respect of the others as they all turned to look at him for guidance.

The new arrival asked Falcor if he was the emissary of the Garden of the Goddess, and agreed that as an emissary he might be allowed to continue to the temple. He accepted that the sap of Cernurros also marked me as a representative of a God and that I might be allowed to pass, but Arad was a little more controversial. He did not know of "The Creator", and asked Arad for proof that his Creator was a true God and that Arad spoke for him. Arad prayed to the Creator for a blessing, and the Guardian (for that it was he bade us call him - his actual name was a guttural roaring sound we could not reproduce) held his staff up towards Arad as he did so. The staff glowed slightly, and he seemed to accept this as a sign that we should be allowed to continue.

He also advised that we would need an offering for the Gods, somehow sensing or knowing about Arad's dagger and its elemental stone and suggesting that it might be the most suitable. We suspected that this was because he had an affinity with water, though, and might not suit our purposes. He gave us names with meaning for them: Falcor was "The Emissary", Arad "He Who Speaks for the Unknown God", and I was "Mud Child". The others laughed at this name, but for an Elvrahum it was a name of honour and perhaps helped to put creatures with an essence of water at ease.

Once we had been granted permission to continue we took the time to rest in Cernurros' realm for the night and this time we were able to get a good rest without being disturbed. It was a clear, bright morning when we were ready to continue so we could get our bearings a little more clearly. To the south is what was Carseld, but it was blanketed in grey mist and fog; the Guardian had spoken of there being bad spirits there when I revealed where I was from, and I could see how that would be true. Our path was upwards, though, and we dressed for the cold and I prayed to Karmana to ease our passage which allowed us to walk lightly on the snow.

As we climbed we could see the Guardians at a distance occasionally, but we were not disturbed or threatened by anything. We were about halfway to the summit when we suddenly sank into the snow; Karmana's blessing had worn off, but we decided to continue our journey the hard way, forcing a path through the snow until at least midday so as to save Karmana's blessing for freedom of movement at the top. When we felt it was time to stop for lunch, what we could make of it anyway, Falcor set snares and we rested for an hour or so. I looked all around at the clear skies and mountains so close to my former home; I had not been so high except on Hope's back, and my people had never ventured into the mountains to explore. If only we had come in better times.

Arad alerted us with his mind that he could see a group of four of the snow creatures approaching from behind us at some pace. They seemed to be heading for us, but we weren't sure whether they were trying to warn us of something or even not focused on us at all. I scanned the skies in wariness, and could see nothing at all there, which in itself was a little unusual. I called on Karmana to grant us the ability to walk on the waters of her realm, but found that the connection to her was a little weaker, so I added "...and those other realms that she could reach".

As we watched the group draw nearer, a large beast erupted from the snow in front of them. It looked like an Elvradrak! We started running to join them and determine what was happening, and I asked Falcor if it was an Elvradrak, one of his kind, but he answered no! It seemed that we must defend the group from her. Falcor changed form to fly quickly down the slope, leaving me to pick up the various bits he had dropped to do so. Arad sprinted ahead as I paused to gather it all and then follow at a slower pace. Falcor's transformation got the creature's attention and her head craned round to stare at him. She quickly left the group and flew straight up to meet Falcor, going much faster than we expected. She screamed "I will never submit to you again, slaver!" at Falcor as she attacked, and Falcor was raked by her claws but managed to avoid her bite.

The beast let out an ear-splitting roar, and a crack of snow falling echoed in the distance. Falcor responded with claws and also bit hard at her. We ran to help and I moved to the side to get a clear line of fire, but Arad moved around to the opposite side so my bow wouldn't allow me to shoot! Arad loosed an arrow, but it just glanced off her scales. There was also a mental battle going on, with both Falcor and Arad able to attack her in this way. The physical ripping of claws continued, of course, and she finally managed to bite Falcor, causing him serious injury. His retaliation was no less bloody, though.

Arad conjured spears that he hurled at her, each one flying true. After that barrage she turned her head and spewed an icy blast at Arad, losing her grip on Falcor as she was distracted. Arad dodged the worst of it, but was still rimed with ice and in significant pain. Having been unable to use my bow, I had closed the distance and now used my boots to leap up into the air, stabbing my sword into her flank and dragging it down as I tumbled back to land in the snow beneath them. Falcor raked her again, and it seemed that she was getting weaker; not that it stopped her from fighting hard. Arad hurled more of the Creator's spears, each one striking without fail, and that seemed to weaken her further as she struggled to stay in the air and fight effectively.

Falcor used his unique power to heal his own wounds instead of attacking, but rolled with his claws still in her and pushed her down into the snow yelling "Stop! We are the same!" She spat back: "We are not the same, Slave Lord!" Falcor didn't refute this, as he still had no recollection of his former life, instead saying: "I am no longer your Slave Lord. There are few enough of us left that we should not surrender our lives." It seemed that the fight was over, at least, but "Death From Below" (as she was apparently known locally) would not submit to any rules, even requests to leave the snow creatures alone, calling them "slavery".

She seemed genuinely confused because the snow creatures were intruders on Karmana and He had once commanded the Elvradrak to defend Karmana from such things... but now he would prevent it? She spurned my offer of Karmana's power, but reluctantly allowed Arad to use the Creator's power to heal some of her wounds. She left in peace, at least for now, and warned of a Fire Wyrm that we would encounter at the summit. She described the temple as "all places in one place", which fitted with the Guardian's description of a place where all Gods were welcome.

After a fight where Falcor and Arad had both suffered, we decided to rest and recover before we continued. I again called on Karmana's blessing to speed our passage, and again she was hard to reach. It wasn't until the sun was setting in the west that we reached the summit, a red sky changing the snow to an ominous red before darkness enveloped us.