Post by Eldrin the Black on Jul 3, 2008 2:39:02 GMT -5
Battle at the Temple of Madyrn
Recent History
The Crown of Astriel, fallen maiden of Celestia, was a beautiful thing; purest white inset with gilds and silvers far beyond the ability of a mortal to craft. It was a relic of mighty power and for years past reckoning it sat in the vaults of the Temple of Adon, White Lord of Celestia. A remarkable and powerful relic this crown was and had been a boon to the temple that had protected it. Bringing luck and protection from evil, this crown was prized by the monks and Paladins who had protected it for so long. These monks, clerics and paladins had began an order venerating the fallen maiden Astriel; The Astrillien Order of the Crown (Order of the Crown for short). This order was pledged to protect and defend Lady Astriel’s crown and any follower of the goodly gods of the Divine Planes of Celestia.
They did well on their sworn duty and became heroes to all the folk of the land, common and noble alike. That was until recently. That particular temple of Adon has been destroyed by a mighty Lich-Lord and his growing numbers of minions, alive and undead alike. This Lich-Lord has apparently been gathering all the items of power he can for some plan that none have unraveled, yet. He secretly took the Crown away to the Mountains of Shadow near the burying place of his dead god Madyrn (Also known as the Well of Tears).
The impending battle
The last living Knight of the Crown Order has been found by an army advancing upon the Shadow Mountains. Rillia, Grandmaster of the order, was nearly dead from hunger and thirst when the goodly army found her. Since, she has been nursed back to health and has decided to march with the army upon the Well of Tears. During the march she has also beseeched the commander of the allied force to march upon The Temple of Madyrn and retrieve the Crown of Astriel. He has agreed and after the battle of the well the goodly aligned forces shall march upon the temple of the dead god.
Meanwhile, the Lich-Lord has set his defenses at his dead god’s temple and awaits the assault.
Ancient History
Madyrn fell upon the world like a shadow of evil and pain (in fact the word Madyrn now means “evil shadow” in elvish) from the deepest of the hells. He covered nearly half of the world in darkness and fire for almost 300 years. All the free peoples of the world had traveled to the east save for the ones who were captured and enslaved. After all this Madyrn was still not satiated; he planned to take his armies of datari (demons), un-dead and slaves and march upon the free realms across the oceans to the east. The Goddess Astriel beseeched her mother and father, Celestia and Adon, to stop the impending ruin but they would not listen to her. They only said, “Our master has his own ways, his own destinies and they are greater than even we gods understand.” When she further pushed the issue Adon’s ire was raised, “Daughter, we may only touch the world through our power (spirits) or by guidance through our faithful followers! We are no match in those forms for a god who walks upon the world as mortal! If we take form and go among the mortals then our immortality is stripped, by order of our master himself!”
This tirade stopped Astriel until the first scream of one of her followers pierced the firmament; a prayer for help as he was being tortured by cruel creatures of the pit. Then she looked upon the world and saw that the skies in the west of the free lands were black and blood flowed like rivers upon the ground. She could abide no more and fell to the world as a holy blazing star could only fall. With her fall her immortality had left her but her might as a goddess had not and she proceeded to tear through the dark army like a sacred flame in a dry, windy valley. Then Madyrn fell upon her with all his might and they fought.
The fight between the two gods lasted only for a few moments and Madyrn was defeated. With his dying breath he channeled all the powers of the hells his form could contain into himself and let it loose upon the face of the world. Like a dying star collapsing, a blast of unimaginable proportions was let loose and the very world was nearly rent in twain. Astriel survived the blast but only as a weak shell of the goddess she had once been. She was taken back up into the heavens by the very mightiest of Archons and brought into her mother’s house where she resides, powerless, but content, to this day.
Her crown was thought destroyed until it was found later by the followers of Adon in a marsh. They were commanded by their master to guard it and keep it safe from any who would use it for evil, and thus, mar his daughter’s sacrificing and noble deed.