3221
The Rise of True Rectitude
Slayer15855
The Rise of True Rectitude :: :: :: :: :: -Transcribed by the Arcane Mage- :: An Order, composed of the truest and most intelligent men and women, begin their rise. Steadily, the Order coldly calculates their every move, even resource they gather, every body they count. The Order remains engulfed in the cloak of secrecy, knowing in it's infancy, arrogant kingdoms and groups would happily kill the young with no remorse. The members remain secretive of their truest intentions for the Order, knowing the words passed along can alert the most corrupt of the Order's intentions... :: :: :: Rumour has it that this Order has erected their first bastion, yet it is equally as shrouded in the veil of secrecy as this Order's intentions and members are. Travelers who do perhaps stumble upon this bulwark by chance will be awed at the extremities this Bulwark was built upon and how the men whose masonry built the very walls survived in the climate. :: :: :: :: :: :: Travelling into the deeply encrusted lands of snow and ice of Northern Oren, the figure gasps in complete awe upon the awkwardly rigid form that appears through the blinding wintry precipitation. A citadel with an aura of glad tidings beckons this figure to slowly step backwards to take into account the enormity of this formation. After the long pause of minutes, taking every detail of the citadel to memory, the figure stumbles and walks back; suffering from the awe inspiring features that he just witnessed. Upon returning from his original location, it is deemed that the Order will dispatch a member of eloquence to beckon a meeting with those who inhabit this citadel in the North. :: :: :: :: :: The cries for amnesty, mercy, and beggings of rest, food, and shelter ring within Gaius's ears as he limps throughout the battlefield. Despite his injuries and the limping as a result, Gaius ensures his every step is carefully placed as he walks upon ground painted with blood and hosts the strewn bodies of humans, orcs, and elves. Witnessing and beholding the final siege upon the Keep of the Undead, Gaius tempers the cold as he fights the demons now placed inside him, the sights and sounds of death blow knots inside his stomach and a constant torture upon his mind. Yet despite this torture of what he witnessed, yet another thing he witnessed brings joy to his heart, the truest victory he has ever tasted, the redemption of those hundreds of men, women, and children that were slain by the devils themselves. Upon the success of the latest siege, Gaius heads back to the Order, smiling almost maniacally at the news that is on his tongue and wishing release as glad tidings. Upon returning to his Sariant Monks, Gaius reveals the heralded news and the men let out a cheer of triumph. As the chill of night sets, Gaius reveals a warning to his men and an urge that the Order must progress much faster to answer any future threats... this certainly cannot be the last trick up the sleeve of Iblees so to speak... :: :: :: :: :: :: The bustling of a newborn village keeps Gaius's senses alive and hearkens all that goes on around him. His title, Hochmeister, gives him complete control over Nuremburg and with it, the tiresome responsibilities. Despite the stress, he knows this village will thrive and grow and the military will alongside it. He gives greetings to two of his fellow knights passing along the freshly hewn stone path, already giving the path a beating of dust and dirt from their armoured bodies as they approach the Fort of Nuremburg to gather needed materials. Hochmeister Gaius is impressed with the progress, especially increasing due to the destruction of the Undead Keep, giving relief to the tested nerves of the Teutonic Knights so far. Gaius knows now that his Order have released themselves from the thick fogs of the mountainous forests, he must pay even more crucial attention and thought to the progress from here on out. :: Just as was spoken of days before, the calculated possibility of a reemergence has proven true. Lightning stands contrast on the horizon compared to the ink black night skies, the Knights pick up their pace along the stone paths to their homes to gather supplies. The Hochmeister marches his OrdenMarschalls Alizyn and Lunar throughout Nuremburg to answer to the heralds causing commotion within the town. Word brought of a figure sprawling out from a cavern, wretched in sight and sound as it ran swiftly throughout the woodlands. The heralds told of how the creature spoke of the Undead, of Iblees mocking the destruction of his Keep in the North and how he will rise swiftly back to higher station. Gaius sighs heavily and knows the time is closing, he must secure his position and empower the military structure of the Teutons and ensure that they can readily respond to any encroaching threat. :: With the events that have happened recently, it has become increasingly imperative that the Order begin to recruit the most honest and hard-working individuals of Oren and the other regions alike... :: :: :: The expansion of the town has gone very well, with newly linked roads being used in modest manner and new homes being constructed of the finest yew, stone, and fabricated with craftsman quality. Adornment of the streets with the wildflowers of the area and the roses of the thickest thorn crown have given the town a much more livelier atmosphere. The townspeople have shown gratitude to the Hochmeister for his wise civil initiatives in the town and many civil works have been planned for the town. The Hochmeister has sent a few of his Knights to act as messengers, to recruit from the lands the most intelligent and hardened men to act as Monks and fellow Sariants of the Order. :: :: :: :: :: :: With the influx of Sariant Knights to the town of Nuremburg, the terraced hills expand from the origin; the Fortress of Nuremburg. Rolling hills now flattened, sprawling streets and homes of various sizes and heights spring upon the freshly dug planes of land. Hochmeister Gaius issues his best agents to pursue espionage missions in the North, eager to start his next phase for military preparedness. Gaius knows that the first moves of the Order in the military aspect will be crucial to the success of campaigns that the Order may pursue. Rumors that the strongest servants of Iblees may have fallen back onto guerilla tactics and inhabiting Snowy Fields secretly has given Gaius a start for his spies to start searching for any organization amongst the Undead. Trusting his agents well, he sends them off with morale raising words as he turns his masonry skills to the next task, a barracks fit for training Knights of the Teutonic Order. :: :: :: :: :: :: Gaius stammers in utter amazement as a man appears before his eyes, greeting this mysterious man, he is responded with the gift of calling this man The Wandering Wizard. Gaius gives this Wandering Wizard a tour of the town of Nuremburg, at the end, the Wandering Wizard exclaims extraordinary wishs of great success for the town, somehow brightening the day of Gaius's, weathered down by the past hours of hard labour and sweat inducing activities. :: :: :: :: The grunts and shouts are Sariants ring along the cold stone walls of the Duel Arena in Nuremburg, accompanied by the stretching sounds of arrows being nocked in place and the whirl of missiles plastering across various bullseye targets. The Brethren have made great strides to train for military campaigns, hopefully the training will finally pay off... :: :: :: :: :: :: Gaius enters a rustic tavern, noticing the cabaret entertaining the folks sitting upon wooden stools and along tables filled with food and drink. Scanning the faces are merriment and intrigue, Gaius finally finds who he is looking for and approaches in a nonchalant fashion. Reaching the tavernkeeper, Gaius and the tavernkeeper sit amongst the more populated side of the room, entranced by the musicians seducing their drunken minds with instrumental jubilee. Leaning into their own conversation, Gaius and the tavernkeeper trade many a word before heading their separate ways. Gaius shifts a parchment scroll from his left to right hand and back again, eyeing the contents contained little by little. Gaius walks carefully throughout the crowds gathered in the main square of AlKhazar and walks out the main gate to meet a few of his Sariants gathered on the King's Road. :: :: Sliding his hands against the grime riddled walls of the dimly lit sewers, Gaius steps ever so carefully through the briny liquids of waste and decay as he navigates the sewers. Upon reaching his destination, he wipes his hands upon the mail skirt to rid them of any residue and commences grappling onto a ladder and pushing himself up step by step. With the lift of the trapdoor, he peers around the edge of the opening and hoists himself up and out from the hole and crouches to belittle his figure in the city. Skipping along the paths intertwining within the city, Gaius climbs and moves amongst rooftops and picks a spot that gives him clarified view of a hooded man sitting in a shop, his hand gestures tell that he is awaiting a guest. Gaius whispers, 'Black Hand' and furrows his eyes to notice any other details in the shop that he is missing... :: :: :: As both men's breathe began to synchronize with each movement closer, Gaius tilts with his last step and leaps at the man he was trailing within the forests of Oren. Gaius's dagger thrusts into the figure, quick and serene is the process, but even quicker is the process to gather the limp body and orchestrate its defiling within a nearby cesspool. The lagoon blossoms and blooms with velvety red as the body begins to float ever so slightly along the surface of the water, Gaius sifts through the man's pockets for any parchment or maps, then looks around and starts to dart amongst the oak... :: The rustling of forest decay cloak the conversations amongst the group of men traversing the Tundras of the North. Hochmeister Gaius and his Teutons, making up the left column of the army peer silently across the landscape, now billowy white in soft snow in search of any lingering spies. Accompanied by the House of conDoin, Cataris and his nobles make up the right column and then citizens of Kramaroe filled in between. It was only hours before when Kramaroe was razed by what was perhaps an attack by the Black Hand, Gaius and Cataris answered the pleas of the residents misplaced by the disaster and mustered their men to the ready and marched forth from AlKhazar. Weary of any stragglers, Gaius and Cataris move through the woodlands to spot any possible heathens wishing to take count of the impending force moving through. Gaius, with information gathered from his tavernkeeper, speaks of a tower made of stone and obsidian, but then stares in stark surprise as the tower seemingly appears from within the fog as they move steadily forward. Ordering his men to spread looser and to find hiding places, he moves forward with Cataris and hear a faint whimper. :: :: Upon closer examination, a woman lies upon a dirt mound near a destroyed home, with a creature of sorts crouched across her. Gaius and Cataris unsheathe their swords as quietly as possible, but the creature peers at the two approaching men and sneers, flesh dribbling from its mouth and flashes its blood caked teeth at them. Drawn back, the two stare in horror as the woman chuckles and sighs hysterically and beckons them with greetings, the creature lifts itself up and presents itself in a more humanlike form, a necromancer it calls itself. Gaius and Cataris glance at each other then call their men forward, the necromancer skips backwards from the mutilated woman and shrieks threats of death and dispair. Upon hearing a rush of yells and crunched leaves, Gaius turns about and attempts to yank a man by his linen shirt, but misses as the men of Kramaroe rush forward and scream curses and wishes to relinquish their revenge upon this necromancer. Cataris and Gaius both curse the ill disciplined and order their own Men to stand in rows behind them as they look around and notice new faces shifting about the grounds. The Sariants and men of conDoin assemble and brace themselves as Cataris and Gaius call out to the strangers newly arrived...