I will tell you a tale that will be told for as long as time. Last night would have held a different meaning than it does right now, if not for brave heroes. Most will never truly know that tonight comes only from the grace of humanity’s persistence to stand in defiance. This part of the tale starts with heroes of Travance. They are outside the dragons claw inn, waiting to hear word of the final two Nulls’ approach; the other three having been successfully trapped into the monolith. The unlikeliest of allies brought them the news of these Nulls. The first was Buckles the Mortal Hunter, now under the control of Lord Fallow who came to warn Travance of the purple Null’s advance and fight beside the heroes. Soon after, the outlaw Orophin entered town to warn them of the green Null’s approach. He affirmed to stay by their side in these last moments to fight for the survival of all mankind. When the world is most vulnerable, even those forces who oppose each other can stand together against a common foe. The battle raged on as the town stood in solidarity against their foes. The green Null was felled, and contained in the monolith. All that remained was the Null of creation, who had the power to unmake any crafted object. Was this a bad twist of fate, or simply poor luck? We may never know, but the Null of creation touched the monolith and unmade it, releasing the previously trapped Nulls.
With all five Nulls released, standing together, they latched on to each other. The air swirled around them ferociously and they became an evolved being; one capable of unmaking the world at an expeditious rate. The “Draft of Null” could not be perceived for it was everywhere. It reached out with its wide gusts of oblivion, and unmade whole buildings and large tracts of land. The world was falling all around the heroes of Travance, and they were being erased from existence one by one. Screams for missing loved ones began to permeate the battlefield. Those who were erased began to slip from memory, and those emotions where replaced with an unknown rage. Desperately, the heroes lashed out against an enemy they could not see. With a steadfast determination, they fixed their focus to see a tiny gleam of color in the air. Perhaps this was a window to the creatures that formed the draft. They fought against the glow with everything they had. As they combatted the gleam, it shifted through the colors of the Nulls. The battle raged on, moving from battlefield to battlefield fighting against this great and terrible unmaking.
Meanwhile, those who had faded from existence found themselves floating in a void. They struggled passionately to hold on, grasping onto whatever memories they could. Finally they found themselves facing down the enemy with a strange perspective, perhaps from the inside. The Five Nulls stood before them on a dark field and the heroes of Travance engaged in battle. The Nulls were somehow different, for the attacks that had once worked against them, no longer seemed to have an effect. It became apparent that they could not be defeated by traditional means. They assaulted each Null with the power they consumed. The heroes continued relentlessly until each Null became bloated and overfed to the point that it could no longer grasp onto the others. One by one, each Null fell off of the draft.
Without knowing of each other’s existence, the Heroes of Travance worked in unison to defeat the Draft of Nulls from without and from within! Against great odds, humanity prevailed. As the Draft of Null fell apart, all that it erased began to reconstruct into existence. The heroes took a moment to reunite with each other joyfully and emotionally; but quickly noticed the five Nulls on the ground immobilized yet slowly stirring. While the monolith was destroyed, the Heroes of Travance had left nothing to chance. A back up prison was created in the form of a large clear gem, and with it, all five of the Nulls were trapped within! Fiona and Miranda could not ferry the prison away to the deepdark as they had planned. The gem existed outside their realm of influence, and so a new plan had to be formed. It was decided that the gem would be taken to Myrinod the Weave Prison. The Sorcerers and Mages present opened a portal and immediately left to see the deed done.
Moments later, on the battlefield, before the heroes had the chance to celebrate or even claim their victory, loud otherworldly noises where heard as two monstrous creatures materialized from nowhere. It appeared to be the creator’s final effort to succeed. However, after all they had endured; the heroes were full of the blood of determination and would not be stopped now! They fought these creatures with the fury of ages, and some even reported miraculous feats of heroism. Whether those moments where a result of their inner determination, or an outside force was not truly known, nor did it matter. All that mattered was that the beasts were vanquished, and the gauntlet of this challenge to their existence was thoroughly thrown from the field! An aura of serenity washed over the land and they felt as if they were being watched and judged no longer.
That was night that was almost our last. The determination of humanity triumphed to allow tonight to come, and many more…
* * * * *
With the same discipline, precision and order, the refugees were evacuated from the city; they were escorted back to the proper. Most of them were pleased to find their homes unscathed and in good shape, but over the next few days and weeks, the common folk would spread whispers. Whispers about what happened in the proper while they were gone, about whether or not they were told the truth, or if it was all a distraction for some reason. Most were grateful and showed it, but some could not help themselves as far as gossip and rumor mongering goes. They openly wondered about the city. What was it, why had they not heard about it, and why was the access surrounding it so strict? Most spent their times in camps just outside the walls, but some were allowed to take their quarters inside. Those allowed to the inner spaces reported foreign architecture of great variety. The city itself was huge, far more massive than anything they have seen in the barony and quite possibly the kingdom as well. It was full of people of all walks of life. With the exception of the blood spirits that escorted them there, not a single one of them was a familiar face nor had been seen outside its walls. One siting of the Count was claimed, and one of the Baron, but neither source was certain. If a native was asked too much about it, they would shrug their shoulders and change the conversation. What was this hidden city that stood within the deep woods outside the proper? What was its true purpose? For some time to come it would be the focus of many rumors and provide countless entertainment for gossipmongers.
* * * * *
Myrinod the weave prison had found a new purpose. It would have been a shame for such a hauntingly beautiful place to go unused. It was first and foremost a prison, and its first new tenant was now the gem that contained the Nulls. There was still much work to be done here; sorcerers and perhaps even others would have their hands full. Magical anomalies and aberrations could feed the weave and make it stronger. What other creatures and beasts would need to be hunted down and delivered to Myrinod? There was much work and preparation to be done here indeed. Thankfully fate had chosen the right heroes for the task at hand…
* * * * *
Fiona and Miranda had enjoyed their reunion if but for only a short time. Their gentle and small interactions made it clear that they were sisters; but they both knew that their time together could not last long. They would have to be separated. Sisterly love is a powerful thing; but the one constant rule in life is no matter how powerful something is, there is always something more powerful lingering not far away. They were the embodiments of good and evil, forces that are opposed to one another. The sisters knew that eventually they would war again. They knew that their champions would one day kill each other in these wars; but it did not need to be everyday, and certainly not today. The two had decided that they would each go to their respective places of power and stay there to influence the world, perhaps for the rest of their days. They did not know if they would live forever or if they would slowly grow old and eventually pass on the forces to new vessels. For all their power, they did not have all the answers. The one thing they did know is that they were strangely thankful for the common enemy that allowed them to set their differences aside. They were grateful to the heroes of Travance who reunited them and restored a small part of their childhood memories. Perhaps they had even given them a tiny bit of their mortality back…
