Vivien and the Scoria

Prologue: The Beginning

The Beginning.

28th Year of Indecision

Central Tower

9th day hour

The new Lord of Merasa stood at the top of the Central Tower in the Aernir city segment. He was a tall man, fierce and power hungry, with the typical fair hair and slim stature of the Udarah clan. He knew that his reign would be tough, and that many would oppose his new leadership in favour of a more relatable Lord, but he was the last Wraith Lord, and as per Merasan law, they had no choice. The rest of the Wraith Lords had died during the Great War before the Years of Indecision, leaving him the only remaining Lord of the legacy.

As he stood at the top of the Central Tower, he observed the comings and goings of the people who scurried through the streets like rats, and startling at the sight of his Fellan guards. The people of Merasa, certainly the more wealthy citizens of the Aernir city segment, had never seen anyone like them. Most had never been to the Badlands either, the traditional home of the Fellan, so it was hardly surprising. No matter, he thought to himself; before long everyone will know and fear the Fellan, and I will be indestructible.

The new Lord, who was known simply as Lord Tante, had great plans for his reign. He would restore the city of Merasa to its former glory, and he would advance the exploration of the Other-World portals. His name would go down in history as the one who breathed life back into the greatest city in the land of Pedair, and not even the ferocious Barbarians would get in his way. And it would all start in this day, the first day of the 28th Year of Indecision, now to be known as day 1 of the first year of Lord Tante's rule. The Years of Indecision, caused by the loss of any Wraith Lords to take over the rule of Merasa, would be rectified now that he had returned.

As Lord Tante planned his rule of the once great city of Merasa, the ordinary people who lived on the four mountains that contained the central segment of Aernir went about their daily business, oblivious to the rapid change that would befall the city in the coming days. The watchmen of the gates that protected the city from the rest of the land set out at dawn to relieve the night shift, each silently hoping that this New Year would be better than the last. The rest of the city's population slept on into the morning, taking advantage of the week of Haldenburr, the only time when they did not have to work to keep the city alive. It was the one festival that all the people of Pedair celebrated, and promised a brief reprieve from the constant fighting between the four cities of the land.

With weary hearts and tired minds, the watchers of the gates continued in their daily duty to their mountain. The fair haired Udarah watchmen set out to guard the east gate, carrying with them the hopes and prayers of their people that this New Year would bring a leader into the city that would return them from the pain of the Years of Indecision. Closest to the gate into the realm of the wraiths, the Udarah gate was equipped with a garrison of infantry ready to be mobilised at the slightest sign of movement near the gate. It was imperative that the Barbarians did not gain access to the wraith realm. If they did, Merasa and the rest of Pedair would fall.

The lithe people of the Air clan wished for much the same as the Udarah as they carried their heavy burdens to watch over the southern gate. Their city gate watched over the vast, dry, uninhabitable stretch of Badlands that led to the Barbarian settlement and the Lake of Air-Mata. Their defences were light due to the harsh desert conditions just outside of their gate, a dramatic change from the lush water-rich earth of Mount Air. Their heavy burdens consisted of precious purification stones from deep within Mount Air, their gift to the Barbarian settlement during this week of Haldenburr.

The fierce warriors of the Api clan employed the best defences possible for their gate, the east gate, for it bordered onto the Badlands and was the closest to the raiders and powerful Barbarian chiefs who lived nomadically on the land and were the main cause of trouble for Merasa. Those who did not watch the gate confined themselves to their workshops and armouries in the hope that their furious working would bring about a change in Merasa, be it a New Lord to lead them from the Years of Indecision or a weapon powerful to get rid of the threat of the Barbarians forever. They were not kind like the Air clan. They were the battle hardened warriors of Merasa, and they knew best of the troubles that the Barbarians and the continuation of the Years on Indecision brought.

But the wise Tanah people knew that a new Lord was coming. They knew that with him would come great destruction, to the people and the land. And so, in their wise ways, they warned their children of the dangers and put in place obstacles to safeguard their mountain, resting their hopes on a young wise man named Paddy Luca, who, they hoped, would keep Merasa alive. They left the north gate almost deserted, save for three guards, for no barbarian could reach them across the Stormy Reef that was the border of their gate.

And so, until the sun reached over the tip of Mount Udarah, and hit the peak of the central tower, signalling a new era, the people of Merasa lived on, thinking that this year would be just like the last 27 and would hold no hope for them. Years later, they would wish, just as the Tanah had, that the new Lord had not come at all. But, fate must play its role, and so it is written, the history of the city Merasa, and story of the new Wraith Lord.