UNKNOWN LOCATION - December 6, 1998 - Atlan
Since he first introduced himself in the player-city of
PaxLair, the mysterious character only known as "N." never showed, but
instead used his minions and crystals of communication to plot and scheme
and manipulate.
Letter from Atlan -I-
A flash of light - pain - darkness.
When i realized that these people where minions of N. it was too late
already. They magically blinded me and then i felt the well known sensation
of a moongate. But this time it was different. Normally, you feel like
entering a tunnel and leaving it again. But this time, just when i felt
about to leave the tunnel, i entered it again.
An endless row of tunnels opened up on me, taking forever to cross. And
suddenly, the end. I stood blind and shaking in some vast room, as a voice
spoke to me:
"Ah, welcome Atlan, you are a bit late for dinner. *cackles* But i guess
you aren't hungry. Anyway, let me introduce myself. I am the one you refer
to as N."
Atlan: "N... what did you do to mine eyes? I cannot see anymore."
N.: "Ah, this a question we will analyse to some extent. For now,
take it as a precaution from me, for you are not yet allowed to see me."
Atlan: "Is... will this be permanent? Will i ever be able to see
again?"
N.: "This your own choice completely, seer. Learn and grow, or perish
and stay blind. It is a disciplinary measure... but i am impolite. Melina,
take our guest to his seat."
Melina: "Yes, master." I felt her guiding hand and heard her hissed
whisper: "Remember all you hear, we will talk later."
N.: "What are you talking, Melina?"
Melina: "I was just warning him not to slip, master. The floor is
rough."
N.: "Ah, well. First, we need to clear your mind of the unnecessary
ballast. You came a bit to close with your research. Maybe others will
proceed to do so, but for our task, i want your mind to be unburdened with
suspicions."
The seat was cold metal, and when i sat, shackles snapped around my
ankles and my head.
Atlan: "Ah. What is this? There is no need to chain me. You blinded
me, isn't that enough?"
N.: "Be still, it won't hurt you, Atlan...Vas An Wis, An Ex Wis!"
And again, darkness engulfed me... When i woke, i was dizzy and tired.
Someone seemed to have carried me into some sort of cell, for this room felt
much smaler than N.s hall.
Melina: "Atlan, i cannot speak too long. Here is pen and paper.
Record all you hear and feel, for your memory may play tricks on you. I will
try to send the papers to your friends. I must go now."
Atlan: "Wait! Why don't you just write it yourself and tell them
where to find us? Or, as you are at it, why not help me to escape?"
Melina: "I...i can't. He put a spell on me. I cannot act against his
will openly, or talk about anything. You will have to do it. I need to go,
or he might grow suspicious. Your friend Alanna pledged for your release,
and his... N. is willing to grant her an audience."
"Alanna! Will he blind her as well?" i asked bitterly.
Melina: "Not the same way you were blinded. A magical fold will do.
Hurry, he will call for you again soon."
With these words, she closed a door and was gone. Luckily, i was used to
scribble in the dark from my long nights of research. I only hope these
notes reach you somehow, my friends. Winfield, Mystarr, Green Dragon,
Katelynn and all the others. I do not know where i am, nor what N. wants
from me, but beside my blindness, i am well.
Please, hinder Alanna from putting herself into grave danger. I will
somehow find a way to escape, or at least tell you how to find me. I hope
Melina can send this to you soon, before Alanna can do anything foolish...
Atlan
Letter from Atlan -2-
Sweet Alanna, foolish Alanna.
The next time N. called for me, she was there. The Dark Omen had taken
her too now. But although my feelings -a mixture of anger, because of her
foolishness and pride for her courage and care- clouded my perceptions, i
noticed much more of my surrounding. Seemingly, the human mind can adjust to
about anything.
N.: "Atlan, welcome your disciple Alanna. She pledged for your
freedom, and i granted her the chance to speak."
Atlan: "Alanna! Why did you do this? This is madness, now he has us
both in his grip."
Alanna: "I had to do something. I couldn't let you take this burden
alone and stand back."
N.: "Heartbreaking. But now on to the more important things. You
asked me why i had you blinded. Well, the reason is simple. You were blind
from the beginning. You call yourself the seer of PaxLair, but you failed
your city, your friends and your land!"
Atlan: "But.."
N.: "Silence! Yes you failed them. You were hunting shadows. My
identity is not the problem you face in PaxLair. It will eventually become
known, not just yet, but soon. You heard the messages of the Great Earth
Serpent, but did you understand them? No! You bother the people around you
with your little essays on Balance, praising it! With that, you seal their
doom, for Balance will be burned out of your heads soon."
Alanna: "Atlan taught me the ways of Balance, thus saving my soul
from certain death. How can you speak that way of Balance?"
N.: "How i can? Because i KNOW and because i SEE, other than your
famous seer here! Did he tell you of his visions of apocalypse? The burning
of worlds and death-cry of millions he hears each night? No! Because he is
not sure what they mean, although it is obvious!"
Atlan: "How can you know that, i never..."
N.: "Ha! I told you i know and see. But i told you enough. It is time
you learn your lesson the hard way, Atlan. You will stay blind until you see
the truth. It is up to you to cure yourself and help your people. Do not
waste time on my plans and don't bother in stopping me, for you have bigger
problems at hand."
Alanna: "At least tell him how to see again!"
N.: "How can i tell the blind how to see, child? It is impossible if
they do not learn themself. I thought you would understand me, understand my
motifes. You are the only one to avert Gehenna. Let me take a look into your
eyes, i must know if you have got what it takes. Melina, lift her veil!"
Melina: "Yes, master"
At this moment, Alanna screamed and then sobbed. I nearly went mad and
began to shout, until i heard those words again:
"Yes...i see hope in your eyes, and even understanding, if only sparse.
It is hard for me to walk in the kingdom of the blind and see alone... I
will ease your memory now, but never forget what you learned. Vas An Wis, An
Ex Wis!"
When i woke again, paralysed, i heard N. talk to Alanna again.
N.: " It took you Compassion, and Valor to dare this Sacrifice for
Atlan. *sighs* Now you glimpsed the true nature of these so called
'Virtues'. They are your harsh masters and will lead your way to damnation.
Learn this, Alanna, child of prophesy, last daughter of eve. Gehenna is a
symptome but not the cause. If you can overcome it, you will face a peril
that is beyond anything you can imagine. This is a war won with faith alone,
a battle for your very essence and souls."
Alanna: "We can overcome Gehenna? How?"
N.: "Ahh, children, they never listen and never learn. Yes, there
might be a way, but are you strong enought to take it? And even if you
succeeded, would you not perish in the times to come? Anyway, i can't tell
you anymore. Know that i will fight you, for you are your own enemy. But for
now, you are free to leave. Take this wreckage of a seer back to his beloved
town and help him to learn."
Alanna: "We may go now?"
N.: "Soon, Alanna. I will have to do some additional adjustments to
your friends memory yet. In a few days, you are free to go."
Alanna: "What are you doing to him?"
N.: "The same i did to you, my child. I wiped unwanted memories from
his brain and cleansed his thinking. He will be alright soon. Take them
away, i don't want too see them anymore."
They took us to seperate cells and i had the chance to write this report
before they take me away again. I am not sure what i have forgotten, but i
hope i could help you with what i can recall. Hopefully, N. will honor his
word and release us unblemished.
NOTE: This is part of a continuing PaxLair Player Quest, not a Seer
Quest.
|