Hi all!

This email begins year 1440. The actions are due on January
18th (that's three weeks, to make room for various holidays),
and the next year begins in the beginning of February.

---+ Events for 1440

*Aryisa [-4]:* After 17 years of relative peace, a war
again rips Aryisa. This time, the conflict is internal;
although the rest of the Razanian coast is looking on
with a scavenger's interest.

*Ka'Shari [+3]:* A small group of Wanderers make a favour to
a local leader of a band of smugglers working in the region of
Talishara. Through her, they are exposed to a small, but very
thriving and prosperous trade on dragon-parts. The beasts that
fell in the Battle of Talishara were buried in a secret location
near Talishara (after they had been cleaned of the most
valuable parts: teeth, horns, etc.). The operation, that the band of
smugglers is a small part of, has been robbing the graves and
selling them at high prices for the past few years. It is all very,
very illegal, of course.

---++ Visions, part IV

The sleeping sickness had got worse and worse over the years. In the 
last few months it had got into a stage, where Delany could fall 
suddenly asleep in the middle of a conversation, while standing. His 
parents had hired a
personal guard to watch over him so that he would not hurt himself when
he fell down on such occations. Sometimes the fall woke him, but more
frequently it did not. His parents took him to physicians, to priests of
different religious orders (Shining Kar, Lhambra, The Numbers, Sign of 
Dawn), and - secrectly - even brought a magician to see him.
But nobody could help. And his parents could not afford a Miracle, not
with their other worries.

And the strange dreams were always there. After explaining the first
few to his parents, Delany had learned to keep his mouth shut about 
them. But the dreams were always there. And Delany did not mind, for the
dreams were another world for him. An escape from his physical 
condition. A second reality, as it were.

Today Delany had fallen asleep at breakfast table. He was carried back
to his bed, a glass of water was placed beside him (for he was usually
thirsty when he woke up), and he was left alone. All the while Delany
dreamed...

A small lizard run up a rugged hill covered in a yellow mist.
As the lizard ran through it, the mist formed strange shapes and images
in its wake: of places, and animals, and creatures, and symbols. The
lizard ignored them, and the images dissipated soon.

The lizard reached the summit of the hill, where a man was sitting, and
viewing a play of lights in the distance.

"Master, the Coven is now ready", it said.

"Good", said the man and stood up. He was a giant, over 3 metres in
height, and when he walked one could see all six of his arms. The
man walked briskly down the
hill, with the lizard, and the yellow mist following him. Around him, 
the hill deformed, slowly flowing into steep stairs under his feet, and 
into a large tower about him. The man, the lizard, and the yellow mist 
continued down the stairs.

Finally, the man reached a heavy door at the foot of the stairs. Without
slowing down, the man stepped towards door, which opened silently before
him. The door opened into a huge hall at the center of which three 
figures sat (or stood, for they were covered in layers of cloth, and it 
was impossible to say what kind of creatures they were). In their 
center, an old man stood, slightly bent, and leaning heavily on his 
staff. On the floor beside the old man, various boxes had been carefully 
placed.

The giant with six arms continued to walk until he stood just a little
away from the circle formed by the three figures. He surveyed the old 
man and the objects beside him carefully.

"Is everything as agreed?" he asked.

"Yesssss...", hissed one of the hooded figures. "The eye will
show the way to ussss... The blind king will open the lockssss...
And the heart will pay the price."

Satisfied, the giant gestured with his topmost hands, and the
yellow mist condensed and wrapped itself around the giant.

"Open the gate", the giant commanded.

The three figures started a high-pitched chant. The air between them
started to flicker and grow hot. The old man shifted uncomfortably, but 
did not move otherwise. The chant continued and with a sudden flash a 
bright circle opened before the old man. Although blind, he seemed to 
notice that something was there. He sniffed the air and with purposeful 
stride stepped through the circle. The giant followed immediately after 
him, but when he was about to step through the circle, his motion was
suddenly stopped.

"What?!?" the giant said with wrath in his voice, and glanced around
him.

"WHAT ARE YOU?" a loud voice echoed from somewhere inside the circle.

The giant tried to push through but failed.

"I am Therebani, the Lord of my Realm, and I command you to let me
through!", the giant bellowed.

"YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE. BEGONE", the loud voice said. With another 
flash the gate shut. The old man was gone, through the gate, and of the 
boxes only wisps of smoke remained.

The giant grabbed one of his arms at wrist, where the gate had cleanly 
cut away one of his hands and cried in anguish. The yellow mist 
surrounded the wounded hand, and the giant turned to face one of the 
three figures.

"What is the meaning of this!!", he demanded.

"Hrrr... hrrr... hrrr...", the addressed figure seemed to laugh driely
inside the layers of cloth. "We promised to find the way. We did not
promise an entry. Hrrr... hrrr... hrrr... And it seems you have to
find someone stronger to force it. Hrrr... hrrr..."

The giant seemed poised to strike the laughing figure. Instead he 
straightened, shouted, and the dome of the hall exploded away, letting a 
furious rain in from a black-clad sky. The giant stomped away from the 
hall, leaving the three figures behind him.

In his dream, Delany saw the blind old man cautiously making his way 
down the slope of a green valley. Already the landscape below him was 
starting  to change into a mixed forest of the Onagir homelands. Delany 
smiled in his sleep - it was good to have company in his dreamland, at last.

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