Open Chronicles Fal'Coven

[Glitchwood High]

Liadain, deep within the ancestral lair of the elves. A massive sprawling forest known to many as the Falwood, the great piece of land holds many a secret. Dangerous, powerful secrets that span decades, possibly centuries, all hidden deep within it's groves, waiting to be uncovered by whoever should dare to intrude. However, there are things, places, powers far beyond the the imagination. Fantastic images, revealing themselves to only the most unique of adventurers. Which would bring us nicely to the Coven.

The Falwood, unbeknownst to many, has a deep an underground as it's trees are tall. However, vast as it is, it's 'Dark Under' is not completely natural, for the mystical arts that created the magnificence that would be Fal'addas have also meticulously crafted Coven, voluminous tree roots beautifully morphing and twisting themselves to conceal the Coven, wet dirt and fallen leaves having formed in ways so strikingly natural that only the heavily observant were to notice the oddities of their placement, made to conceal entrances.

A closer investigation at the inner workings of the Coven reveals an intricate, multi-layered maze of tunnels, massive hollow spaces, and magically constructed passages of air, carefully crafted to keep oxygen flowing. Worse still, to distill invaders of the Coven, natural holds of poisonous, underground gases litter the Coven floors, with the experienced aware of how to avoid or dispel them-leaving the rather unfortunate intruders to themselves, subject to slow, painful deaths at the hands of nature. And if the gases won't do it, the various traps will...

The few legends in existence of the place have never truly delved into it's depths. Tales of cave people, giant worms and even the bridge to the holy realm run rampant amongst the handful of people having discovered the place, willing to pass on their stories to others willing to listen. Few have even witnessed the terrifying caverns scattered across it. However, every tall tale and false myth all speak of it's true name as the Fal'Coven. And with that, we now enter the present, with another adventurer about to head into his depths

And as it turns out, there are other ways to find a way in.



A rather small, cloaked figure was streaking the skies resting above the Falwood, currently engaged in no particular activity. From the skies, the figure seemed human. But it turns out, only human enough, for they seemed to bear giant, axe-shaped wings, their color being an inhumanly flat, very-dark purple, giving off a warm hum. The figure, while in the air, seemed to leave temporary trails of brilliant pink behind him.

They seemed to not make any attempt to land, almost looking like aimless wandering-and to some extent, it was (Konin, at the moment, had no particular business with the Coven). However, the figure above was actually sweeping the area, looking for a rather unobvious signal, sign-whatever would have his attention caught. However, after a few unnecessary backflips, his search came to no avail.

"Well...isn't this wonderful. Once again, the Coven has outsmarted Konin Hayes." Above the towering oaks, he gave a sigh, before sharply diving downwards like a bullet, his hair being pushed back intensely by the wind as he dived into the depths of the forest before touching down safely, slowing down with an extremely sharp skid in the middle of the great forest, still looking unsatisfied. "No choice but the old opening..."

"Aestari Ordo!"

With his voice booming unnaturally, bearing an ominous tone, the ground beneath him began to radiate flashy, bright purple light from beneath it, visible for several meters around as an odd spot in the forest, as if a cluster of shiny crystals resided within the forest. Worse still, his eyes took on a slight shade of light purple as the first line was said.

"Aestari Fidelitas!"

His second line had the same unnervingly large volume of the last, except these new words seemed to have more weight and more power behind them, loud enough to have an echo, eyes ever taking on the unnatural, purple color, overpowering the pupils. The bright light, increasing in mass, took the form of a dim beacon, and could now be seen from the sky to a slim extent.

"Aestari Viribus!"

Finally, the white of his eyes had vanished, giving way to an eerie, solid shade of purple, giving the appearance of a possessed man, taken over by the forces of evil. Konin's body began to hover, feet taken off the wet floor as he rose into the air by a few feet. Worse still, it seemed that now, more people that he were speaking. Though none were present, quite clearly others were speaking, their voices having the same power, weight and echo behind them.

With this, many more meters around Konin began to shine with the same brightness of the once small spot, giving a heavily noticeable glowing spot within an area in the Falwood. Being the largest stretch of forest in existence, surely many parts of the forest weren't affected, but the spell could be heard from quite a while away. Either way, something noticeable was happening. It may have been a bit of an emergency rather than just personal interest-entrances to the Coven were to be guarded religiously.​

 

[Al'Kaliit]

The big spell's effect reached the young lady, which wad far, far away from her land. She used her battle armour instead of her usual clothing, for the space was unknown and her destination dangerous and misterious. Four mercenary guards walked with her before she shouted.

"Go! To the glowing purple! If the information is true, that's our dastination!"

And ran for it. Not very fast, slowed by the metallic armour that covered her torso, shoulders, forearms and shins. The rest of it was either leather or chainmail.Two sheathed swords.could be seen on her waist and a lance on her back. Eventually, though, she reached the point she was aiming for. She looked at the purple light, amazed, curious and excited.

The guards came right after her, all with full metal plating and greatswords or zweinhanders except for one, who wore leather and used a crossbow. None of them wore helmets, and the looks on ther faces were of absolute perplexion and fascination.

 

[Glitchwood High]

"Aestari perseveranti auctoritati EFFICIENTIA, REGALITATEM AESTARIEUM!"​

Finally, the spells had reached their climax. With this last line, starting from Perseveranti, each word was pronounced quicker it's syllables losing meaning, until the last few words were near gibberish-they were that scrambled. At this point, large stretches of the floor began to not just shine, but erupt with magical light! The beacon morphed into a towering pillar of luminous light, tall enough to outweigh even the largest treetops, remaining visible even in the steady sun.

The chant reaching his climax, Konin hovered further into the air, rising with a rapidly increasing pace, until he neared the edges of the aforementioned oaks, before the great bang of the spell has passed, returning quickly back to floor. Indeed, with his descent so was the disappearance of the spell's effects on the environment, Falwood's surfaces returning to their original, rocky state, the brilliant flashes of light fading away, giving way to the harsh sun far above.

However, while what was done prior was annulled, surely to be forgotten by those who had failed to witness it, the act performed now was nothing short of a miracle. What once seemed like a beautiful, yet natural piece of the rainforest floor became to twist and turn in a large diameter. Rocks, tree roots, even puddles-they all seemed to be as much as worthless goo as they twisted in a dreamlike fashion, morphing, giving way to finely constructed stone stairs leading underground.

A marvelous spectacle, with Konin grinning confidently, hands on his hips. "Well! I think I disturbed those oaks for like, a thousand years. But at least I've a way in. Plus, these forests are secluded!" Such a statement was to be immediately undone by the arrival of visitors. Not currently in view, but close enough for their footprints to be clearly visible. Thank god they were not present while he was vulnerable, however, their presence at any time...well.

Twhorngh. An otherworldly song rang through the air for some brief moments as a sword materialised within his right hand, radiating with energy. (Reference - https://imgur.com/HQMxkwP ) After this, he tightly gripped it with both palms, raising it next to himself defensively, his legs shifting into a preemptive battle stance. Alright, so someone's here. Someone annoyingly loud. They don't sound too hostile but they have multiple people with-

MULTIPLE PEOPLE? The horrors of this reality crossed his mind. Konin found himself quite the warrior but even he doubted he could attack so many at once. There was the possibility of attacking them while veiled in the forest, but then he had little idea of where they were, and missing would get rid of any chance for friendly negotiations. And dying and revealing the location of the Fal'coven wasn't worth it.

This is the worst idea ever.

And so, embracing the worst idea ever, Konin leapt down the stairs, heading into the Coven!
​

 

[Al'Kaliit]

The party watched as the spell became stronger. One of the bodyguards tried to step into the light, but Al'Kaliit pulled him back.

"We don't know what that causes to you if you're in there, dumbass"

The woman said to him, and the archer laughed a little bit. When it was done, they all waited a few seconds, finally interrupted by Al'Kaliit's voice:

"Won't you thank me for avoiding your body to become a rock, like your bain is?"

They all grinned, one expelled a "good one", and soon they were back on the move, until the archer spotted the flying figure landing, and we waited. We sang "From the Desert, I Came" in our heads, which has arround four minutes of duration then went into where the man landed. The epicenter of this magic. They wen't all downstairs.

"Apparently the information was correct, Miss"

"Apparently... But be carefull. Be on guard. Atack anything aggressive except for the mage. I want him to join me."

 

[Glitchwood High]

Those stairs were cold and damp, completely devoid of the distinct, ever-present hum of energy that the objects in Falwood were famous for possessing. Indeed, the stone making up that stairway was extremely ominous, as if taken off a gravestone. The stairs were not in pristine condition in the slightest way, and there seemed to be abnormally little light, as if the sunbeams were too nervous to dare enter the stairway.

This didn't seem daunting enough for Konin, who dived into the treacherous realms of the stairway without second thought. The clan's home was always Fal'Coven; however, there was always more than one way in, and this wasn't one he was particularly used to, much to his despair. So when he bounded down the stairs and came tumbling down into a cavern, the sight that would greet his eyes was almost too good to be true.

​

The Fal'Coven was decades, maybe even centuries, old, giving a suitable timeframe for the voluminous cavern of decay that stood before them. In this fleeting moment came the realisation of how old the 'Dark Under' truly was, how many inhabitants and moved in and out. The Aestari, as ancient as the clan was, were completely wrong to proclaim the Fal'Coven there's. They may be it's protectors now, but generations ago they didn't exist. They renovated the place, but didn't build it's foundations.

And right now, he was shell-shocked, completely beyond the current dilemma for a few seconds, taking time to absorb the tragic beauty of just one of Fal'Coven's numerous caverns, before being reminded of a cruel reality. "WOAH. Now...which direction to head in?" Konin was perfectly aware of the ancient traps and poisonous gases, and these creatures seemed to be casualties of war. No, that was impossible-how many? He couldn't afford to get lost. The only solution was to buy time. Buy time and pray one of the Aestari come along.


So, he simply turned around to face the strangers coming his way. Despite being pressured, he was forever cool and collected, staring at the visitors with his signature, small grin, sword still gripped in his hand, fearing an altercation. I mean, chances were they were savages trying to murder him. Or just people trying to murder him. (Konin had been 'round the block a few times, and his body count was...higher than expected.)

 

[Al'Kaliit]

"Miss... I don't like this."

Said one of the bodyguards, as they felved deeper into the uncanny stairs of the Dark Under.

"But you do like the money. Besides, if you find something in the Fairy's Grave, you can keep it"

"Fairy's Grave?"

"That's how we call this place.from whre I-"

And she was interrupted by the sounds of the amazed mage. They rushed down, one of the bodyguards slipped and fell into the cave. As the sounds of metal hitting stone came closer, the mage could hear a woman's voice saying:

"Jerst, you imbecile! Watch where you step!"

She didn't sound afraid. Jerst on the other side... He was freaking out. He was in the cave, somewhat next to the mage and his sword. In a sudden move he got up and unsheathed a zweinhander.

At the same moment, the rest of the group reached the caves. All of them silent except for the same woman's voice:

"Whoa! This place looks much more creepy then the legends say"

That woman came down holding a light on her hand. The source? An enchanted ring. She knew it could be dark, and she didn't plan on staying in it.

"So... Uh... You're the mage that opened this way huh? You're talented. By the way, you can sheathe the swords. Both of you. We are not fighting here"

She said, walking until she was in between both of them.

"I am Al'Kaliir. What is your price, Mr. Mage?"