Killian was a bright, eager young man, and they were having such a lovely time... it seemed a shame to ruin it with talk of politics, but the worst of the fires had died down once the barrier had fallen and the gods hadn't immediately smited them all for their temerity. "That's a bit of a tale," Jigano admitted wryly, "and one that hasn't fully ended yet, though we're shifting into the epilogue, I hope." He turned his head to keep an eye on the wall they now walked parallel to, heading west. "It was a monster out of fairy tales - or nightmares - by the time we Outlanders began arriving in such numbers. Only barely alive, but unable to die, whatever strange power drove it allowed it neither rest nor retreat. Any who came within its territory of the Spire were torn to shreds, but it never left that patch of ground, not in three hundred years."
Jigano took a moment to pause near another collapsed bookshelf, grinning wryly at his companion. "It was related to the Ascended, those not-exactly-vampires who follow the Voice. A guardian, an experiment... those who knew what it was for certain mostly perished in the unlocking of the Spire. Either way, it had venomous fangs and claws and a body like a whip, faster than anything mortal. Some tried to kill it for glory, and died. Some tried to kill it in order to reach the Spire, in hopes of bringing down the barrier. They died too. Some attacked it in grief for those who had been lost before... Others simply grew tired of living in a cage and walked empty-handed into its claws. For three hundred years, any and all who went against it were killed. Generations of those whose home this was lived and died with the bogey monster living right beside them... Until the Outlanders came."
Unfortunately this broken shelf hid no preserved treasures, and the bard stood with a sigh as he continued his tale. "We came with skills the Naturals did not have - experiences in war, in slaying monsters, in dealing with gods. We came with fire in our souls and a restless, reckless energy that defied being caged by the barrier. We came with arrogance and impatience and a blithe, willful ignorance of why there was a barrier and what a hundred generations of local people knew and desired." He fell into the storytelling cadences easily, his feet slowing in his stride as they had to pick their way across more fallen shelves and tables in the flickering dark. "One group of Outlanders arrived all together, from a place called 'Northhaven.' They had a charismatic leader and several powerful warriors - fighters and mages both, wielding spells and weapons with equal ease - among their number, and they had weapons imbued with magic and favors that they had earned from the local gods."
"And they cared not for the wishes of those who had lived here all their lives," he said grimly, an abrupt shift in the almost musical recitation. It was a jarring transition, and meant to be, to regain the audience's attention. "Even with hints surfacing that there was a reason the barrier existed, that there could be terrible consequences for it coming down, all they saw was a challenge to be overcome, a dangerous beast that had bested them once, and a high-handed chance to play saviors to a people who did not want saving. Or at least, who wanted to be involved with their own salvation. But this band of would-be heroes from another world took that out of their hands. Instead of working with them, they brushed the native people aside and fought without them. Fought...
And won." Jigano shook his head as the western wall came in view at the very edge of their lantern light. "At a cost. A personal cost, for them: their captain was killed in the beast's final vengeance. As it died it took him with it. But there was a cost for the rest of us as well... many Naturals were angered that their wishes, their traditions, their beliefs, their pride had been trampled on and cast aside. They turned not just against the four who had faced the Demon, and not just upon the Northhaveners who were the friends and family and supporters of that band, but upon all Outlanders. Or at least... most of us," he corrected himself wryly, walking up to lay his hand against the cool stonework of the wall. "Not all of them, but many. As you might imagine, it tested bonds of friendship and trust quite sorely. They felt betrayed. Some of us, myself included, who aren't from Northhaven felt quite frustrated and further alienated by that group's actions, which caused trouble for the rest of us. It all came to a head a few days later when the survivors of the assault on the demon threatened to breach the spire itself and the naturals banded together against them... but I'm probably boring you to tears, aren't I?" he asked wryly, turning to face his new friend but keeping the lantern held low so as not to blind Killian.
Jigano took a moment to pause near another collapsed bookshelf, grinning wryly at his companion. "It was related to the Ascended, those not-exactly-vampires who follow the Voice. A guardian, an experiment... those who knew what it was for certain mostly perished in the unlocking of the Spire. Either way, it had venomous fangs and claws and a body like a whip, faster than anything mortal. Some tried to kill it for glory, and died. Some tried to kill it in order to reach the Spire, in hopes of bringing down the barrier. They died too. Some attacked it in grief for those who had been lost before... Others simply grew tired of living in a cage and walked empty-handed into its claws. For three hundred years, any and all who went against it were killed. Generations of those whose home this was lived and died with the bogey monster living right beside them... Until the Outlanders came."
Unfortunately this broken shelf hid no preserved treasures, and the bard stood with a sigh as he continued his tale. "We came with skills the Naturals did not have - experiences in war, in slaying monsters, in dealing with gods. We came with fire in our souls and a restless, reckless energy that defied being caged by the barrier. We came with arrogance and impatience and a blithe, willful ignorance of why there was a barrier and what a hundred generations of local people knew and desired." He fell into the storytelling cadences easily, his feet slowing in his stride as they had to pick their way across more fallen shelves and tables in the flickering dark. "One group of Outlanders arrived all together, from a place called 'Northhaven.' They had a charismatic leader and several powerful warriors - fighters and mages both, wielding spells and weapons with equal ease - among their number, and they had weapons imbued with magic and favors that they had earned from the local gods."
"And they cared not for the wishes of those who had lived here all their lives," he said grimly, an abrupt shift in the almost musical recitation. It was a jarring transition, and meant to be, to regain the audience's attention. "Even with hints surfacing that there was a reason the barrier existed, that there could be terrible consequences for it coming down, all they saw was a challenge to be overcome, a dangerous beast that had bested them once, and a high-handed chance to play saviors to a people who did not want saving. Or at least, who wanted to be involved with their own salvation. But this band of would-be heroes from another world took that out of their hands. Instead of working with them, they brushed the native people aside and fought without them. Fought...
And won." Jigano shook his head as the western wall came in view at the very edge of their lantern light. "At a cost. A personal cost, for them: their captain was killed in the beast's final vengeance. As it died it took him with it. But there was a cost for the rest of us as well... many Naturals were angered that their wishes, their traditions, their beliefs, their pride had been trampled on and cast aside. They turned not just against the four who had faced the Demon, and not just upon the Northhaveners who were the friends and family and supporters of that band, but upon all Outlanders. Or at least... most of us," he corrected himself wryly, walking up to lay his hand against the cool stonework of the wall. "Not all of them, but many. As you might imagine, it tested bonds of friendship and trust quite sorely. They felt betrayed. Some of us, myself included, who aren't from Northhaven felt quite frustrated and further alienated by that group's actions, which caused trouble for the rest of us. It all came to a head a few days later when the survivors of the assault on the demon threatened to breach the spire itself and the naturals banded together against them... but I'm probably boring you to tears, aren't I?" he asked wryly, turning to face his new friend but keeping the lantern held low so as not to blind Killian.
