Post by Katdoral on Nov 28, 2012 20:55:52 GMT -5
Heartwood. A name every human and demihuman on the World of Severall learns of, and fears. To the observer Heartwood is an enormous forest, baffeling sanity in it's enormity. This sentiment is seconded only by it's inhabitants, The Drow, who live in it's center within the tree city named from the forest itself. Here within the confines of their forest kingdom, seperated by thousands of miles from any intelligent threats, The Drow have not only survived, but excelled. With the collective drive of millenia old teachings, the Three Pillars unite them in a way no other race has achieved. Race. Church. Family. To The Drow, these are the principles upon which their great society has thrived. To Drow, no other race is worthy, no other race matters, all exist to serve them. To exemplify this trueth, their young are sent to patrol the forests of their homelands, to either live and be counted Drow, or die and be discarded...
But The Drow, powerful and ancient as they are, stand in emnity with a great many races, some even they are as yet unaware of.
The outpost of Loreneth stood along the very borders of the Drow town of Lightwood. Lightwood was a small Drow town of roughly 5000 souls, and it marked the Drow nation's most western borders. Well outside the Guardian Oak's sphere of protection, they instead relied on walls made from shaped living trees for their protection. Loreneth as it happened, boasted 30 Drow and served as a resupply station for the town's patrolling youths. While Drow are never truelly sleepy in nature, even still Loreneth was relaxed. Only a handfull of guards roamed it's walls, and mostly they passed their time admiring the forest.
One such guard, Kistish, was doing just that, studying a twisted growth of birch that always seemed out of place to him. He often wondered if perhaps one of the few druids that graced this place laid the seed for the unlikely tree. He would often consult his guardmate, Thurivin, about it. Of course, Thurivin never cared much for the chatter, she was one of those Thumless, a female who voluntarily forsook the magic that is the birthright of all Drow. The custom was an old one, and outdated by several centuries, but a select few still observed it.
Kistish was just about to ask her yet another time what she thought about it when something in the forest caught his eye. Turning to look to his right where he thought he'd seen movement, an odd sensation suddenly washed over him. It took a full second for him to realize what had happened, that somehow something had negated is natural resistance to magic, another birthright of all Drow. He opened his mouth to call out a warning, but no sound escaped him, at least, he should have been making sound, but nothing registered to his keen ears. Then a mass moved up his curious birch, something massive and impossible. A cat of some kind, but like nothing he'd seen or heard of, the size of a warhorse but sporting 6 massive legs, and Dark father it was fast! As Kistish pulled free his sword the creature leaped from tree to wall to him in what seemed like one elaborate single manuever. The force of the impact sent him soundlessly sprawling, his head turned to see his guardmate similarily engaged by two of these beasts, then the teeth and claws begin their work and lines and waves of pain blotted out his conscoius thoughts. All around the outpost similair assaults errupted, massive cat-like creatures leaping and leaving behind trails of blood.
In the span of a minute only the strange cat-like creatures counted as the living within the outpost. A ring of a dozen of them stood in the blood slick square, one waved a massive paw in a gesture and sound returned. Two of the beasts then flowed from one shape to the next, before where a beast stood now held what appeared to be two humans, male and female.
"Our assualt is a success Lord Tenshendis, no Drow remain, nor did any flee. And our scouting parties report that most of the patrolling Drow youths have been eliminated as well." Spoke the female, in obvious respect.
"Excellent. Have our wounded tended to, then we will join with the rest of our forces and move on Lightwood before the dawn comes. It is far past time that these carrion feel the bite of war upon their own soil, and the horror of what true retribution is." Replied Tenshendis.
The female's form flowed again back to the cat form and bounded off while Tenshendis leaped to the walls of the outpost and spied the distant illumination of sleeping Lightwood.
"Soon foulhearts, soon you will know the claw and the bite, and the vengence of the Tallinaar. Soon." With his proclimation sent, he too flowed to his true form and roared into the night, so that all the forest would know that the Tallinaar would stand idle no longer.
But The Drow, powerful and ancient as they are, stand in emnity with a great many races, some even they are as yet unaware of.
The outpost of Loreneth stood along the very borders of the Drow town of Lightwood. Lightwood was a small Drow town of roughly 5000 souls, and it marked the Drow nation's most western borders. Well outside the Guardian Oak's sphere of protection, they instead relied on walls made from shaped living trees for their protection. Loreneth as it happened, boasted 30 Drow and served as a resupply station for the town's patrolling youths. While Drow are never truelly sleepy in nature, even still Loreneth was relaxed. Only a handfull of guards roamed it's walls, and mostly they passed their time admiring the forest.
One such guard, Kistish, was doing just that, studying a twisted growth of birch that always seemed out of place to him. He often wondered if perhaps one of the few druids that graced this place laid the seed for the unlikely tree. He would often consult his guardmate, Thurivin, about it. Of course, Thurivin never cared much for the chatter, she was one of those Thumless, a female who voluntarily forsook the magic that is the birthright of all Drow. The custom was an old one, and outdated by several centuries, but a select few still observed it.
Kistish was just about to ask her yet another time what she thought about it when something in the forest caught his eye. Turning to look to his right where he thought he'd seen movement, an odd sensation suddenly washed over him. It took a full second for him to realize what had happened, that somehow something had negated is natural resistance to magic, another birthright of all Drow. He opened his mouth to call out a warning, but no sound escaped him, at least, he should have been making sound, but nothing registered to his keen ears. Then a mass moved up his curious birch, something massive and impossible. A cat of some kind, but like nothing he'd seen or heard of, the size of a warhorse but sporting 6 massive legs, and Dark father it was fast! As Kistish pulled free his sword the creature leaped from tree to wall to him in what seemed like one elaborate single manuever. The force of the impact sent him soundlessly sprawling, his head turned to see his guardmate similarily engaged by two of these beasts, then the teeth and claws begin their work and lines and waves of pain blotted out his conscoius thoughts. All around the outpost similair assaults errupted, massive cat-like creatures leaping and leaving behind trails of blood.
In the span of a minute only the strange cat-like creatures counted as the living within the outpost. A ring of a dozen of them stood in the blood slick square, one waved a massive paw in a gesture and sound returned. Two of the beasts then flowed from one shape to the next, before where a beast stood now held what appeared to be two humans, male and female.
"Our assualt is a success Lord Tenshendis, no Drow remain, nor did any flee. And our scouting parties report that most of the patrolling Drow youths have been eliminated as well." Spoke the female, in obvious respect.
"Excellent. Have our wounded tended to, then we will join with the rest of our forces and move on Lightwood before the dawn comes. It is far past time that these carrion feel the bite of war upon their own soil, and the horror of what true retribution is." Replied Tenshendis.
The female's form flowed again back to the cat form and bounded off while Tenshendis leaped to the walls of the outpost and spied the distant illumination of sleeping Lightwood.
"Soon foulhearts, soon you will know the claw and the bite, and the vengence of the Tallinaar. Soon." With his proclimation sent, he too flowed to his true form and roared into the night, so that all the forest would know that the Tallinaar would stand idle no longer.
