Ajax's Departure

As the world around you slips into shades of grey and the agony finally ends you find yourself drifting across a drab grey monotone wasteland. You wander for a thousand lifetimes through the tormented souls that have lost their identity, but their purpose is their own and they are lost somewhere deep within themselves, whatever motivations and aspirations they had in life have long since died and now they wander aimlessly, shades overcome with apathy and the heavy pull of the earth beneath their feet. But worse than that, they are what you will someday become. Screaming to the sky with the realisation that Ajax of the Black Claw is no more you fall to your knees and let darkness wash over you.

A shift somewhere either in or around you stirs your senses and you feel a pull, somewhat like you need to vomit and then in a flash you are bathed in light.
Every moment is pure torture as you realise that your nerves are burning and recoiling, your eyes sting as you try to open them, sharp contrasts baffle your tired mind, agony fills every pore of your being and as you force your eyes open you find yourself faced with a vast vortex swirling in a warm off-white sky.

Turning your head slightly to look around, you find yourself laid upon a stone table upon the peak of a vast pyramid, surrounding you are the cyclopean ruins of a vast city that stretches off into the distance and beyond the bounds of the city you see only silvery swirling mists.

Standing by your side you see a single white figure, its face covered with a vertically bisected mask. Dozens of colourful, prehensile tendrils emerge from behind the mask like a mane of thick fleshy hair, in a split second the mask flicks open revealing a horrifically alien morass of facial organs and orifices. I leans close to your face, you feel at once emotionally numbed and mentally drained by its very visage.
A soft voice in your mind soothes your worries, "The Awakener awakens. Arise Ajax of the Black Claw; lift yourself from your grave..."

Ajax gets up in a great degree of confusion.

Hauling yourself to your feet, your head swims in pain and for a few moments you fear that you will not be able to remain conscious, but a few deep breaths resolve the feeling and your surroundings fall back into focus. The pain in your flesh gradually begins to subside.

"Welcome back, Ajax of the Black Claw. Are you aware of what has happened?" says the spindly white aberration that stands by your side, an ethergaunt.

"I'm aware. I died, I went to the afterlife, it sucked. How long was I dead for? Who are you?"

…Long pause…

"And what do you want in return for bringing me back?”

"How long have you been dead....?" the creature pauses for a moment before you hear it's voice once more in your mind, "That would depend upon where you are in relation to the event of your crossing over. However long you think you have been dead, then it has been that long."

"I am one of many that watch over that which lies beyond infinity, it gestures to the vast dark vortex in the sky, and in return for your salvation I ask that you embrace your destiny, your ward is most precious, perhaps the single most precious thing in the entirety of existence."

“So the Kid is still alive? I thought I was in the afterlife much longer than that." Shakes head.
"Never mind I'm sure time works differently. So the deal is, I'm not dead and in return I guard the Kid no matter what, right? Fair enough I acknowledge the debt of Honour I owe you and will guard the child to the utmost of my abilities. But I reserve the right to still loathe Martell, that tight git."

“I do not feel that you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation, Ajax of the Black Claw. You and those who bear the mark of the fist bathed in blood are the ones who will decide the players in the final battle, you have already watched as the gates to the bone castle opened and fought back the dark thoughts of Xoriat. You have liberated, the wild madness wreathed in chains, the white tiger walks the face of Eberron once more, these have all been your decisions and others remain inert through your actions. Your path has only just begun….
It points once more to the vortex above, “Look closely, you will see a darkness that orbits the Horizon. Should that body reach the centre, then it is time to pray to your Gods that there is something beyond everything we know to exist, for at that point it will all cease.

"Hold on one goddamn minute. If I don't fully appreciate the gravity of the situation it's because we never get a straight answer from you types.

I may not know cosmic mysteries but I know we will work better if we actually know what we are trying to accomplish and what we are fighting against. All this enigmatic stuff is no help whatsoever.

Answer some questions, clearly and concisely for once”

The creatures face writhes with no emotions that you can fathom; you can however presume that it is not happy at being spoken to in such a fashion.
"We are forbidden from interfering with the paths that people choose to take, but ask your questions and I shall answer as best as I can. You have to understand that our minds do not work with any great degree of compatibility with some of the 'lesser' races and this usually results in confusion."

“Well as it seems you need this particular lesser race. What is the child going to do that is so important?
Why won't he communicate with us?
Who is trying to kill the child?
Can we trust Martell?
How do I avoid going back to that horrible afterlife when I finally die?"

"The child is a vessel, it contains an element that was etched within a great Dragonshard and expanded upon by the giants of a land you know as Xen'drik. If the child dies, then everything it contains dies with it. The child is going to 'do' nothing, but he must survive."

"He is under the influence of a powerful poison that fogs his mind, which is already heavily clouded by the patterns woven into what was the blank canvass of his thought processes. The child will not communicate until the poison is purged, and even then it is likely that your lesser minds will not understand."

"There are many who would see the child dead, and they are not always what they seem. As there are also many who would see the child live, and they too can not be judged by their actions, although their motivations may be far removed from your lesser thought patterns."

"There was a time when Martell d'Cannith of the Midnight League was not to be trusted, but his actions moved the path of destiny and the realisation of the consequences changed his perspective."

"The only way that I know of that will allow you to 'avoid' your afterlife, is to avoid death. The elves of Aerenal and their Undying Court, or the followers of House Vol have both found pathways to salvation."

“I will take you back to Eberron; I believe you were headed for the village of Niern. Head for the ‘Sleeping Seacat’, you will need a guide through your next chapter, those that appear most unsuitable, are often those that you seek.”

The creature takes your hand and you both take to the air, flying through silvery space, passing through mists out of sight of the ominous vortex. In moments you find yourself standing on the outskirts of a small lakeside village. The afternoon is growing late and the lights of cottages are flickering in the fading of the day.
To the west the land is filled with thick woodland and a vast lake disappears over the horizon to the north and east.

"Thank you"

Very sinister, and very cool. The giants of Xen'drik were the guys who fought back the Quori and destroyed the 13th Moon, am I right?

You are indeed correct.

Seriously guys we need to find a way to not die or to get a proper afterlife. Being dead is horrible

And does it seem now that the ethergaunts are on our side? If so, you'll have to give up trying to TANKARD them all the time, Lorric.

Please do, it would be embarrassing to kill the people who just resureccted me

OK

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you have already watched as the gates to the bone castle opened and fought back the dark thoughts of Xoriat

.

Huh ? The Lighthouse maybe ?

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You have liberated, the wild madness wreathed in chains

Saeloth the sorceress, got to be.

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the white tiger walks the face of Eberron once more

That's got to be the Rakshasha

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Martell d'Cannith of the Midnight League

The Midnight League mean anything to anyone ?

It seems that we are within the thick of it....
Perhaps we should try and find exactly what it is that we are trying to stay afloat in.

(Translation for Ajax, sans metaphors: "I think we need to find out what's going on here!")

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Perhaps we should try and find exactly what it is that we are trying to stay afloat in.

I think we all know the answer to that. It is brown and smelly

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(Translation for Ajax, sans metaphors: "I think we need to find out what's going on here!")

Yes I got it thank you very much ( bloomin' elf, insulting my intelligence, mutter, grumble)

I have felt every since I had my first dream that the boy must be protected. It would appear that my feeling were right.

Looking like it. Which means I'm now honour-bound to protect the kid no matter how little Martell is paying us. This could make future negotations tricky

Madaxe McBrutal wrote:

And does it seem now that the ethergaunts are on our side? If so, you'll have to give up trying to TANKARD them all the time, Lorric.

Hmm nothing to say that ALL of the ethergaunts are on our side tho eh? And there's no need for them to be so sneaky if they are helping eh?

Ajax the astounding wrote:

Looking like it. Which means I'm now honour-bound to protect the kid no matter how little Martell is paying us. This could make future negotations tricky

Not at all, you just keep your mouth shut and let someone else (me ideadlly) negotiate

Not that Martell seems to give us a lot of option in that regard anyway mind ...

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Not at all, you just keep your mouth shut and let someone else (me ideadlly) negotiate

That's pretty much what I had in mind.

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nd there's no need for them to be so sneaky if they are helping eh?

I think it just comes naturally to them

Well hitting sneaky things seems to come naturally to me

Sneaky things other than me that is, I'm not a flagellant!