Omnipotent View - Suel Mage-Killers |
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Posted on Sun, December 30, 2001 by Trickster |
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Longetalos writes "Little is known of the time before the Twin Cataclysms brought down the mighty empires of the Suloise and Baklunish peoples west of the Flanaess, and those fragments of lore that have survived the centuries often speak of the dark and terrible secrets employed during the bitter war that brought about the end of that era. Read on, and learn of one of these ancient secrets, the Suloise Mage-killers, an elite breed of assassins trained only to kill the wizards of their enemy nation.
Author: Longetalos
Omnipotent view - Suel Mage-killers
by Richard Di Ioia, aka Longetalos
ricdii@yahoo.com
Used with Permission. Do not repost without obtaining prior permission from the author.
"Welcome to the arcane library of Greyhawk, Master Mage. It has been a long time since your presence has graced these halls. What subject do you seek information on this evening?"
"I wish to learn about the Mage-Killers of House Lok-Nulsi."
"Humm, that is ancient history. Please follow me." The librarian leads the Master Mage deeper into the library. Upon reaching the correct bookcase he reaches up and pulls down a large leather bound book. "Here it is. This tome was written in the year 274 CY by an anonymous mage of the time. There are a few other tomes and obscure references to the House of Lok-Nulsi throughout this section."
"I assume you have read most of them?" asked the Master Mage.
"Yes, not much else for me to do while I am here. This section is not off limits to anybody, they are just tomes of ancient history in any case."
"Good, you can save me time. Briefly, tell me what you know of the Mage-killers and I will research the parts that of greater interest to me. I of course have access to the other sections of this library."
"Very well…"
Back in the days of the Suel and Bakluni war, both sides employed great magics. As the tally of fights became known, the Suel realized that their wizards were no match for the Bakluni elemental mages. The Bakluni wielded the forces of the elements, which by nature are of greater destructive power than the spells of the Suel wizards. The Lords of the Suel needed to redress this imbalance and decided to create an order of mage killers. House Lok-Nulsi was tasked with creating the training program. The brightest youngsters of all houses were sent to this new training program. There they learned wizardly spells and rituals geared towards killing other mages. The greatest military minds of the Suel Empire complemented their learning with tactics and weapons. Once a Mage-Killer was trained he was used against the Bakluni mages. His task was to strike deep into the heart of the enemy's army and slay the mages found there.
"That, in a brief outline, is the beginning of the Mage-Killers. On page 73 of the tome you have, there is a story of a mage-killer." The librarian reached over and flipped the pages to the paragraph mentioned.
"I was informed that the three Bakluni mages had a large tent erected in the center of the camp, with their concubines and guards in the outer chambers. The fight had been going well for the Bakluni, and our forces were close to being broken. After a night of meditation and learning their spells, I was convinced that the three mages could give the Amir his victory on the morrow. As they sat down together to dine and drink fine wine, I appeared next to them. A Bakluni mage was the first to act and cast a ball of fire in my direction. But, the ball struck a magical shield I had erected previously and was turned aside. I responded with darts of magical energy striking all three Bakluni mages in the chest. At this point several guards rushed into the room. I cast a quick spell and put them to sleep. Unfortunately, this allowed the Bakluni mages to regain their wits. All three cast their spells at me. As before, their spells struck a magical shield and were turned aside. I responded once again with a string of magical darts striking at my foes. Two of the Bakluni mages were felled by this latest onslaught. The third Bakluni avoided the darts and responded by encasing me in a cage of stone. With a wave of my hand and a quick cast I easily unmade the cage. These Bakluni spell casters were an insult to one as powerful as myself. The last Bakluni took this opportunity to try to flee. But this was not to be. As the Bakluni turned to run, I slowed his movements with a spell. I approached the last of my foes and with a gloating smile, slit his throat."
"I am glad that the House of Lok-Nulsi was destroyed along with the rest of the Suel Empire. I shudder to think of these kinds of killers running loose. Don't you agree Master Mage?" asked the librarian.
Note: assassin,
history,
suloise,
"
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