Kauotoc to Gillian: Be Safe

Dear Gilian,

by Sergey Musin

I'm a far way now from West Unun, dear Gillian. I think I'm in the north elf territories. It's a pretty land. The beeches have broad sweeping boughs and the leaves are like green clouds. I think N would have liked it here. She always wanted to come back to her home, though she could never remember it. Oh. Dear Gillian, the hemlock-umbels are tall and fair today. Who knew we'd lose? We even had God on our side.

I hope you receive this, Gillian. Treat the thrush well, it will have traveled a far distance. But you've always treated animals well. Everyone in Omkrondur ought to learn from you. Ah. I pray that you remain safe. If you see the white banners approaching you must run. You will lose the siege. Néla's child is tricky. My contingent was swept from the skies almost immediately. Pa was killed by a Dwarf King of all things, though the Dwarf was also killed in the struggle. You should have heard them when their king fell! It was an awful song. I don't think I've seen grief like that since Bennilar. I hope you forgive me for mentioning it. But it was like that. I won't forget Bennilar either, not ever. The taste and smell of high explosives on the lips and lungs. And then that silver slab, almost white. May God rest her soul.

When Pa died I realized that the battle was lost. You know that He was there? The Red Man with the spear. Now there was fire if you like! Every swing took off a hundred of our heads. My God. I was afraid. I ran. Yes. I was among the first to run. When I saw Him looking at me with those bright eyes - I still have them burned into my sight, like blinking stars or suns - I had to run. I wasn't thinking about anyone. I wasn't even thinking about N. I was afraid.

When the army saw me fleeing that was when we really began to die. A million of the Black-eyes must've died in the retreat. I crossed a chasm and then, as I was still hanging between the two edges, something awful struck me across the stomach. It was Kullarvo! The bastard had survived the initial assault. Well, we fell and we had a touse. I used a curse on him, one that made him easily suggested. Told him the truth about his wife -- with some embellishments, mind you. He went off.

Eílean then found me. She was mad that I told Kullarvo all about her. I had to kill her, in the end. I didn't want to do that. She had such pretty blonde hair, like mine was at the time. And of course, you always talked about how she had N's face. I didn't burn her or tear her up. She tried to enchant me, but I threw it back on her. I broke her mind. She leapt off the waterfall at the bottom of the ravine. Kullarvo went mad, too. I heard his sword accept his death pact. I closed my eyes, and let myself be swept by the river and off the waterfall as well, though I didn't die, of course. All the while I remembered that song with the tambourines. I fell unconscious.

I got swept along a stream and before I knew it I was alone with only some pines and birdsongs about me. I began to walk. I stripped myself naked. I always hated that armor. I knew I was in some strange forest that had never been explored when I heard the bird calls. They were fresh and new and different from the kinds of birds of Omkrondur. And the trees, now these were trees! Thick-trunked and heavy boughed, with heavy fruits. I hadn't realized Spring arrived. Well, this was about when I came to my senses and realized I had been out for far longer than I thought. I could see above me the waterfall from which I fell. I Bent my sight and saw the ravine was there as well -- and it was filled with greenery and trees when before it was bare and stony. I had gone into stasis, Gillian. Lady Marqôd does her work well. I fully recovered from my wounds. I pray this letter finds you.

I called the new woods Thar Endina, after your favorite poet. I thought it was fittingly peaceful and romantic. About every quarter moon cycle a heavy mist would roll in, rolling, moving, pulsing, sweeping across the landscape like a man sweeps a rug across the floor. It was heavy and thick, and the only thing that shone through was the sun or moon. I would lie on tree branches and wait for it to pass before moving on. It was cool on the skin. I thought, at times, that animals were prowling around me. But animals have always been afraid of me, and I didn't meet any on this journey either. Sometimes I thought Elves were prowling around me. But Elves have always been afraid of me. And when I killed the first that came too close, they kept their distance.

I made my way north. I told N that if we lost the battle she had to run north to a hideaway I prepared. I followed the river Ala and the stars for guidance, although the stars had partly changed. I never liked the night sky and this just confirmed it. I swore they were laughing at me as I trudged on night and day. Damnable lights. I also saw that Ishim's constellation had a new figure. I didn't like it. The new stars looked like they were stepping on his head. My unease only grew from that point.

The woods eventually dispersed and gave way to broad moors and dark green highlands. I had come to the coast of the northern ocean. I kept along the coastlines and fished when I felt like it. There were some curious green salmon, much larger than any I'd ever seen. I left the ones I didn't finish behind as leavings for my follower. You see, an Elf child was following me. She was following from a far distance and knew to avoid me when I fell into one of my rages, so I was glad to leave behind some food. I also felt sorry for killing her village, which I had accidentally stumbled upon while drunk on some nectar of a blue, conical plant from the southern woods. I had blasted the village and every living thing for a mile around, though she had survived. I'm guessing she would've made for a talented sorceress if we'd found her earlier.

I began moving eastwards. I knew that direction had been desertified earlier in the war, so I didn't expect the Elf girl to follow me. I summoned some gold trinkets and enchanted a net full of salmon to be imperishable and left it behind me. I also resummoned my armor and left it behind for her. With it, she could conquer her own kingdom -- especially, now as I've learned, in these less sophisticated times. I wonder now how she's doing?

Off the moorlands and towards the Yellow Ash Plains. You must never travel there, Gillian, they are worse than before. The poison only creeps more thickly on the ground, and the soil has grown corrupted as well as dry. I hoped to reach the outpost that was stationed near the center as it had a communication tower I could use to contact Omkrondur. But I grew ever more despondent by the day. My scrys were impotent, and any teleportation attempts would've been futile. I could feel Throne in chaos, even on this plane.

So I got lucky when I found the remains of the outpost. But all that was left was a broken antenna. The rest of it had been covered in soil and sand and shards of glass. I got my bearings. And I wept at the site. I wept for everything we had built and lost. I could only stand because I imagined N under the doorpost of our hideaway. She told me she would dance for me in the blue dress if I came back. I knew, even then, that she wouldn't be there. But it's what kept me going.

I decided to reach the city of Tan Imbil towards the northwestern coast. I hoped that it had escaped the ravaging due to its small stature and lack of military importance. It was the last of Lord Qumran's cities before he fell. The journey took several weeks. It was an awful trip. There was nothing of interest. But eventually I reached it, and I saw its ruins. Many of its glass towers still remained. But most of them had been laid low and broken. All the holes-in-the-walls that we used to visit had been either smashed, abandoned, or been torn out altogether. The sea had encroached on the western half of the city, and most of it was flooded. While I was there a tower fell, and the sound was like the crashing of a thousand-foot waterfall. I wept again. This time for the end of an age. If Tan Imbil had been destroyed, nothing of our civilization would've remained.

I decided to overthrow the city and burn the whole thing. But it would have taken the greater part of the month. It was too long. I decided to head north, towards N.

I made it, Gillian. I made it to the hideaway. But she hadn't. My runes were intact. I waited for a year, Gillian, but of course no one came. So now I'm sitting under the beech tree where she would've danced for me. The air is cold and crisp but the sun is warm, Gillian. We should've sailed east across that bay. Across the emerald waters. I would've taken N. You with H. And now the bugs are chirping, and the flowers shine crimson, gold, and blue in the daylight, more beautiful than I could ever make you believe it is. I need to rest. Gillian, I pray to see you soon. Will you be there? I loved that lullaby you used to play on the piano. What was its name again?

Your Friend and Brother,

Kauotoc, Lord-General of the 2^nd Chromatic Brood

by Sergey Musin

by Ted Nasmith

Type

Text, Letter

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The Altaic Country

A little traveled place. It is a pretty, untouched, northern land sparsely populated by Altaic Elves. It would've been warmer in the writer's time. Even in those older eras these lands would've been little discovered.

Omkrondur

The seat of power of Gevurah. A dark place.

Thar Endina

No longer an existant woods. The region has since become more arid and went through heavy deforestation. For a time, it was the seat of power of a large, pre-Elwëdorf Altaic kingdom ruled by a Sorceress Queen. The name Thar Endina itself is considered taboo.

Ala River

The river Oloo, today.

Morwin

A large constellation in which Tevil of Voice steps on Ishim's head. It is a sign of hope for good-doers and a sign of wrath to evil-doers.

Akkanemo

Was a powerful Sorceress Queen of the pre-Elwëdorf period. She was insane and was a cruel conqueror, but she conquered much. She wore a suit of iron that granted her many magical powers. There is little known about her.

Yellow Ash Plains

Still a blasted land. Nothing can grow here. Nothing can survive here long. Sometimes adventurers come to look for ancient goods, though they are usually disappointed.

Tan Imbil

There's no such remains of a city along the northwestern coast. It is clear that something cataclysmic affected the landscape millennia ago, but there are many such places in Tizüb. If it did exist, it would've been a decadent place, full of debauchery.

Kauotoc's Travels

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