Vjorica
Ib provided the background to Vjorica, the divided city, in 2856, on a branch that started at episode 674. This series of episodes that have not been deeply developed as of 12-Jan-2003. Knight Random introduced Irina, a citizen of Vjorica, in 20801, on a different branch, and there are two long branches that have developed. This summarizes these two branches.
Sir Fred is sent on a quest to slay the dragon and arrives at the two entrances of the cave, goes left, scares off a bear, and discovers a pool of lava farther on. He follows the lava to its source and sees a door to the volcano control room at the base of the volcano. He decreases the lava flow, and a passageway is exposed. Fred is startled by a creature, and draws his sword, but he finds that it is just a cat. Lord Fred follows the cat through a gently inclined passageway supported by colums for about half a mile, until it terminates at a large platform overlooking a gaping pit. Here he discoveres the obligatory naked woman chained to a treasure chest.
Fred offers to lighten the treasure chest so that the woman can move, as he cannot risk nicking his sword. A mysterious apparition arises from the pit and hands Fred an ancient scroll. He asks the woman, Irena, if she can read Vjorican. She can, but the scroll is actually in Geldan, and is therefore untranslatable by her. Fred decides to leave her to get the scroll translated [pick 'alternate' translation option] , but fortuitously, a wizard, Master Wincerind, steps onto the platform. The spell is magically encrypted, and the wizard offers a (very) loose translation of "The optitive maiden of the noose is requirement. Demolish flying red deer." Fred intrepets this to mean that Irena will need to go with him for success on his quest.
Fred asks Irina for more information about how she got there. She has an attack of conscience, and admits that she and Master Wincerind have engaged him in an elaborate confidence trick at the behest of a third party. They have created all these illusions in the cave in order to delay him. Wincerind storms off. Irena confesses to Fred that the third party is Sir Adrian of Tetrilonia, who engaged to duo in order to make Fred look foolish and cause Allaria to lose face in the eyes of other nations.
Fred and Irena left the caves, Fred still resentful that Irena thought him stupid, although noble. However, when they reached the cave mouth, they looked upon a desert that was not there before. Sir Fred suggested that Tetilonia was behind this. Irena insisted that it was Sir Adrian acting independently, and there there was no grand conspiracy. She explained that she had conned Sir Adrian as well, giving him a false map of the Southern Caves, which, by the way, had no dragon.
The pair see five columns of metallic golems marching quickly toward them, a silvery one leading a group of bronze-tinted ones. Fred wants to join the golems, and find out if they have anything to do with the havoc reported in Allaria. Both Fred and Irena are scanned through some sort of device that projects light and lift them off the ground. The golems determinte that they are not a threat, but insist that Fred and Irena join them.
The golems are completely indifferent to the pair in the long trek across the bleak desert. The golems seem unaware of the human need for food and rest, but once Irena tells them, they oblige. The lead golem informs them that the are to be taken to the Archetype, to see if their minds have information on 'the recent distortions from the stucture (the mine that Fred and Irena were in.)
The Archetype is a larger golden golem in the midst a complex that manufactures more goldems. Three structures besides the mine have also appeared recently. The Archetype is not satisfied that the silver Leader has done a thorough enough seach, and consumes him and 'reconstitutes' him with the same memories but a modified design. The Archetype consumes Fred and Irina in order to obtain their memories, finds nothing interesting, and sends their reconstituted bodies to the holding pens.
The action shifts to Master Wincerind. When he had left the cave, he managed to hide himself by means of a spell from the golems, but saw that they had taken Irena, and despite his anger at her indiscretion, followed her. As his water runs out, he approaches a silver pool of liquid. Cupping his hands, it forms into a praying mantis. Surprised, he drops the mantis back into the silver pool, and a twenty-foot mantis envelops him, informing him that he is to be taken to the Archetype. After hours of travel, their progress is stopped by a creature who seems to 'kill' the mantis, freeing Wincerind. The black creature flies and has the talons of a bird, is scaly as a reptile, but has the face and chest of a beautiful woman.
36 episodes as of 12-Jan-2003
Episode 22847 written on 2-Dec-2002 by Knight Random
Contributers: Knight Random [11], JH [11], Ib [3], Lots42 [2], No [1], Sir Paulito
[1], Josh Bieber [1], Sir Toby [4], unnamed [3]
As there are time jumps and many personalities in this line, here is a summary of some of the players
Cities
Camelyn - Capital of Allaria, Fred's kingdom
Tarnford - a village near the Southern Caves
Vjorica - A city 'in the Western reaches of the Havnheim', divided in half into those who shun magic, and those who embrace it.
The Order of the White Hand
Benedict, Father - non-magician and head of the White Order about 500 years ago.
Eusabius, Father - fl. 500 years ago. advocate of the Order of the White Hand. His mysterious death has upset the uneasy truce between the mages and the non-mages in Camelyn
Order of the White Hand - monastic order established by the Church 520 years ago as a compromise between killing all mages and magic without restriction. With the death of Father Eusabius, Father Benedict is trying to control a deteriorating situation between magic users and non-magic users. .
The Mages
Castellan the Heretic- aka Crucius the Fell aka Crucibal. A mage who is looking for the Fourth, and apparently leader of some sort of scheme.
Darius the All-Seeing - a mage of Tarnford, who is seeking the Fourth on behalf of Castellan.
Horkus the Wicked - a long-dead mage that has tainted the reputation of those with magical powers.
Oberon, Archmage - a mage of Hespan unwilling to conform to the rules of the White Hand. Has gained followers.
Zeitgeist, Baron of Axtun - A mage physically changed by magic, his mouth is sewn shut and his eyes are "completely black", but he has deeper powers of communication. He is sent by Castellan to take care of Fred and Irena when they are sent to the past.
The Warriors and Others
Fred, Lord - son of a tailor, but one of the last surviving warriors of Allaria.
Gerard, King - fl. 500 years ago. King of Allaria.
Irena - In this thread, a warrior with no magical talents born on the magical side of Vjorica.
Lord Fred is sent on a quest to slay the dragon and arrives at the two entrances of the cave, goes left, scares off a bear, and discovers a pool of lava farther on. He follows the lava to its source and sees a door to the volcano control room at the base of the volcano. He decreases the lava flow, and a passageway is exposed. Fred is startled by a creature, and draws his sword, but he finds that it is just a cat. Lord Fred follows the cat through a gently inclined passageway supported by colums for about half a mile, until it terminates at a large platform overlooking a gaping pit. Here he discoveres the obligatory naked woman chained to a treasure chest.
Fred offers to lighten the treasure chest so that the woman can move, as he cannot risk nicking his sword. A mysterious apparition arises from the pit and hands Fred an ancient scroll. Fred leaves to translate it [take the first of two options to do this.] After discovering that it is an exortation to free the woman, he uses his sword to cut the chains. We find that Lord Fred is not truly a lord, but son of a tailor with delusions of grandeur, and has been sent because the warriors with long pedigrees in Allaria have all be killed. Irena was born on the magic side of Vjorica, but has no magical ability herself. As there is no place for her in Vjorica, she left and hired herself to Aqualaria to kill the dragon. She was caught, and was left chained to the chest as an object lesson.
After an excerpt of the ravings of Vincent the Priceless [taken from 18998] on man's role in the universe, the story continues. The dragon rises out of the pit and scorches Fred and Irena into atoms.
In Tarnford, Darius, the mage that translated the scroll for Fred, summons two beings: Castellan and Baron Zeitgeist of Axtun. Darius informs Castellan that he gave Fred a false translation, and that he had been blasted to another time by the dragon. Castellan informs Darius that a Doctor Vincent has gone mad and is no longer a threat to their plans. Castellan hopes to find out who "the Fourth" was by means of the scroll, but although it is untranslatable, Castellan believes that Darius will be led to "the Fourth" by possession of the scroll. Baron Zeitgeist, a shadow of a man with his mouth sewn shut and eyes dilated, is sent to deal with Fred and Irena, who did not die in the attack.
Fred and Irena are mysteriously transported to the Camelyn (the capital city of Allaria) that existed 500 years ago. They materialize in a seedy part of town, and someone from the gawking crowd summons a mage from the order of the White Hand, and three monks are summoned to investigate. A blinded Fred lunges futily at the crowd, still attempting to kill the dragon. He stops the lunging when he hears Irena's voice. She can see, and informs Fred that the dragon is not there. Fred convinces himself that he really is hearing a crowd of villagers and not an illusion. At that point, the guard arrives, and Irena realizes that their armour is of a design 500 years old.
At episode 21051, when Irena notices the 500 year old armour, the story branches and rejoins at 23215. If one selects the second option (far to the west), the action shifts to the Castellan of 500 years ago, in Vjorica. He is impatient with White Order, and is now resolved on war. He reluctantly uses a seeing-stone from Horkus the Wicked, and sees a vision of a wraith, a knight, and a woman (Zeitgeist, Fred, and Irena) in Camelyn, although he has no way of knowing who they are. He sends three mechanical hawks into Camelyn to spy. The hawks can transmit what they see back to him.
Back in Camelyn, Fred is still blind, and connecting the events of 500 years ago with his knowledge of history. He is aware of a Battle of Vjorica that took place around then, and hears of the House of Heron, which his father claimed was his house. Neither the battle nor the extinction of the house has taken place yet. Fred's blindness lifts for a few seconds, and he sees Baron Zeitgeist. He and Irena are taken before the captain and Father Benedict of the White Order for questioning.
(If the first option of 21051 is picked, Father Benedict of the White Order is briefed by three monks to the presence of Fred and Irena. He wants to ask questions, and the captain of the guard approves, if done in his presence.)