blizZAP
02-24-2012, 06:37 PM
The sun rises over Kohvelken Gorge, a great tear in the surface of Itharia. Deep in its basin dwell the strong-hearted ruffians known as the Mantle Dwarves. In one backwater settlement, a young woman opens her eyes as sunlight shines through her open window, flooding her face. She yawns loudly and sits up in bed, swings her legs over the side and leaps to her feet.
After a meal of baked ham and warm honey water, she steps out of her quaint home and into the already-busy street. Dwarven children run around and chase each other, swinging toy swords carved from wood. A delicious smell wafts through the street as dwarven husbands bake pies, cakes and various other assorted treats for their hard-working wives. Another woman walks up to her and greets her with a big grin.
“Pleasant morning, Tenerra!” says the other woman.
“To you as well!” says Tenerra, “how’s the old arm doing?”
“Oh, it’d be better if that boar hadn’t bit it while I was trying to turn it into chops!” chuckles the other woman.
“Well, Beritha, you know what boars are like here, so you have no sympathy from me!” says Tenerra.
“I know one thing,” says Beritha, “it’s far easier to just open a sinkhole and simply let the pig fall in!”
“Ah, but isn’t that a bit of a cheat?” queries Tenerra, “as opposed to the pleasure of bringing it down with your poleaxe?”
“True, there’s little pleasure,” says Beritha, “but sometimes shortcuts must be taken.”
“Very well,” says Tenerra.
After the women part ways, Tenerra heads out into the canyon to meditate. Most Mantle Dwarves don’t bother with trivial things such as rest and relaxation, but Tenerra has always believed that a calm mind is the key to unearthing the hidden potential of terromancy, a ground-shifting talent possessed by many Mantle Dwarf individuals. After finding a good, solid platform upon which to meditate, Tenerra sits down and closes her eyes. She focuses on emptying her mind, removing all thoughts and transcending to a higher level of understanding, the point at which she believes she will master terromancy to its fullest.
Hours pass by as Tenerra remains in a trance, the sun slowly making its way across the sky above the canyon. Mantle Dwarves are able to endure scorching sun with little food or water, so she knows she will be just fine as long as nothing disturbs her. At last, she begins to feel an incredible surge of energy fill her mind, slowly extending to her extremities. Her eyes suddenly open, emitting bright golden light. The land around her begins to warp and ripple, as though it were the surface of a stormy ocean. A startled greater monitor hisses and looks over at Tenerra, registering her as the source of the disturbance within the ground. It charges towards her and leaps with ferocity. Tenerra immediately snaps back to reality just in time to see the gigantic lizard flying toward her. She lets out a scream, and loses control of the land around her. A large rift opens beneath her, causing both her and the monitor to plummet into the deep, dark caverns far below Kohvelken Gorge. The ground above seals itself and settles back to normal, as though there were no disturbance in the first place.
To be continued…
After a meal of baked ham and warm honey water, she steps out of her quaint home and into the already-busy street. Dwarven children run around and chase each other, swinging toy swords carved from wood. A delicious smell wafts through the street as dwarven husbands bake pies, cakes and various other assorted treats for their hard-working wives. Another woman walks up to her and greets her with a big grin.
“Pleasant morning, Tenerra!” says the other woman.
“To you as well!” says Tenerra, “how’s the old arm doing?”
“Oh, it’d be better if that boar hadn’t bit it while I was trying to turn it into chops!” chuckles the other woman.
“Well, Beritha, you know what boars are like here, so you have no sympathy from me!” says Tenerra.
“I know one thing,” says Beritha, “it’s far easier to just open a sinkhole and simply let the pig fall in!”
“Ah, but isn’t that a bit of a cheat?” queries Tenerra, “as opposed to the pleasure of bringing it down with your poleaxe?”
“True, there’s little pleasure,” says Beritha, “but sometimes shortcuts must be taken.”
“Very well,” says Tenerra.
After the women part ways, Tenerra heads out into the canyon to meditate. Most Mantle Dwarves don’t bother with trivial things such as rest and relaxation, but Tenerra has always believed that a calm mind is the key to unearthing the hidden potential of terromancy, a ground-shifting talent possessed by many Mantle Dwarf individuals. After finding a good, solid platform upon which to meditate, Tenerra sits down and closes her eyes. She focuses on emptying her mind, removing all thoughts and transcending to a higher level of understanding, the point at which she believes she will master terromancy to its fullest.
Hours pass by as Tenerra remains in a trance, the sun slowly making its way across the sky above the canyon. Mantle Dwarves are able to endure scorching sun with little food or water, so she knows she will be just fine as long as nothing disturbs her. At last, she begins to feel an incredible surge of energy fill her mind, slowly extending to her extremities. Her eyes suddenly open, emitting bright golden light. The land around her begins to warp and ripple, as though it were the surface of a stormy ocean. A startled greater monitor hisses and looks over at Tenerra, registering her as the source of the disturbance within the ground. It charges towards her and leaps with ferocity. Tenerra immediately snaps back to reality just in time to see the gigantic lizard flying toward her. She lets out a scream, and loses control of the land around her. A large rift opens beneath her, causing both her and the monitor to plummet into the deep, dark caverns far below Kohvelken Gorge. The ground above seals itself and settles back to normal, as though there were no disturbance in the first place.
To be continued…