Harmony of Chaos; Chapter 1: Fallen from Grace
 

The sky was bright blue, and the head office shined with it's pure white marble. People were in the streets, children ran around, and laughed. It was a beautiful day, a glorious day.

Everyone had slept well, all were pleased, the fruit was ripe, the meat was good, and the harvest was plentiful.

Even the city guards didn't seem to care. The leaned casually down at their posts, taking their helmets off and talking with the bright and happy populus.

Then they heard screaming from outside the gate. Children looked worried, but mothers convinced it was some juvenile stunt tried to tell them that. Some guards stood and grabbed their weapons.

Then the heads flew in...the heads of the farmers. They'd been viciously severed, some torn off. They landed on people, leaving trails of gore, their mouths opened in endless screams.

The riders came through the gate. At the head was a man in a thick suit of writhing armour. His sword glowed with an internal light, and he had a large shield that had the skin of one of the children who'd been outside draped on it. Heads hung at his belt, and he chuckled. His horse was adorned in black armour that dripped with blood, and had grown wickedly curved horns. Behind him, hundreds of riders simirarily adorned came up behind him, but none looked at evil as him.

With a laugh he cried out and charged. He cleaved a woman in two, and beheaded her two children with one gruesome slash. The gaurds fell quickly, and people fled for their lives.

The riders ran through the city, painting the streets in blood. A noble's house was crashed in by the dark rider, and he charged in, spotted a black pole, and cleaved it in two.

His name is Crom, the Conqueror. He serves the Dark Lord. a voice whispered silently into the observer's mind. This scene will play out many times, but your task is to insure that it is never completed...

***

Kal's eyes noticed the world again. Like all wizards, he slept with his eyes open. Except now, he had thin traces of tears running down them. the slaughter had been....horrible. Children had been butchered like animals, head were used like jewelry. He rose to a sitting position and wiped the thin traces away.

He leaned down on his thighs with his weight on his elbows. Someone...no something, had just told him what he had to prevent. Funny in a perverse way. All his life he'd been trying to head stuff like that off, and now he was being told to do it. He grabbed his staff, and felt a sense of unity go through him. He rose, stretching as he did so. His robes were on a bedside table. They sheaned in the early morning light. He walked out and looked over Maikal, the head capital of the southern realms.

He'd been summoned there. Many many people were summoned, some who had never even been heard of, but were said to have...what was the word they used? Ah yes. Potential. The thing that was supposed to raise stable boys to be heroes and kings. They rarely survived long enough to tap this thing, this thing that was supposed to be of miracles. They rarely even survived.

Kal sighed, and leant on his staff slightly. What am I doing? he wondered.

That same voice creeped into his mind, You are showing the path...

***

Kal walked onto the balcony with several dozen chairs arrayed around it. He took a seat, and looked at the High King of the elves. The man was definetly mighty beyond comparison. But that didn't make up for all of their most recent problems.

First and foremost being the dissapearance of the Grand Theogenist. That weighed heavily on everyone's mind. Kal sat down, and moved his sword to a more comfortable position.

People around the balcony looked edgy. They'd been summoned to the largest city in existance, that was made to resembled a ten levelled peice of art. Even more so since they were on the tenth level. The level of kings.

Kings, heroes, and the mightiest warriors from all around were mixed with thieves, small children who were scroungers, and even, Kal himself couldn't figured this out himself, a frog. Who was supposedly embodying the most powerful mage to ever be, but Kal just thought the seers were using a bit too much purification oil.

He leaned back, and wanted to see how other members of the motly assortment would handle this pre-meeting anxiety.

OOC: We haven't started the journey yet....sorry. I really should've pointed that out better...

OOC: Ok, sry. I should have read better. I'll edit the post to better fit

Vace was in one of the back rows of warriors, leaning back in his seat comfotably, but also keeping a very careful eye on those around him, and on the rest of the assembly for that matter. He had learned that while there were idyllic places in the southern lands, there were also places where children would cut your throat for a gold piece, and Vace had learned his lessons fast. He had learned of some of the outside troubles when he traveled here from afar, and learned that some dark force from the north had been assaulting it for quite some time, and that the kingdom was in need. Always a sucker for a good adventure, Vace had immediatly signed up, and was now waiting for the introduction to continue.

OOC: Since edit is giving me trouble. I'll write it here

At the back of the room, Argriv sat uncomfortably. He was not suited for the hero work. If it were up to him, he'd still be living in his own small palace, in luxury. But his run of luck had turned against him since the Clasp. And now, he feared, he may be forced to defend those very nobles and gentrymen he had scamed and cheated to achieve his previous fortune. <Who else would be attending? Who would he be forced to fight alongside? Why me?> It was unfair. His father, his brothers; all had been powerful knights, and he... well, he had turned from that path long ago. How could he succeed where they had failed. Especially when his heart was not in it. Well, there was nothing to do about it. And besides, he smiled privately, there may yet be fortunes to be won...

Oddly enough Peter and James were quiet. then again they were sleeping. they weren't snoring so to tell you'd have to look at their eyes.

Yuniko stood in the crowd, shrouded by her long black robe. The hood was up, hiding her pale face. She shifted her weight onto her left leg nerviously, and then back to her right leg. Big crowds made her uncomfortable. She was a loner; she was meant to be watching the happenings from the shadows rather than in the crowd with the other people.

She spotted a pickpocket moving stealthfully through the crowd out of the corner of her eye. Knowing more pickpockets where probably in the crowd, she kept her ears and eyes open, if any tried to flinch anything from her, she would make them regret it.

Kishan stood at the back of the tier, leaning against a pillar. He'd been guiding some rich southerner back to the city from his "desert sojourn" when the summons had reached him, and so had simply remained in the city once he'd dropped off his "client".....who was damn lucky Kish hadn't done significantly more than drop him off, the bastard. trying to short him his pay.

Kishan waited patiently for the meeting to begin.

Zorha was sitting down in a chair somewhere, being pestered by a group kids. They would constantly ask for a snack or a doll. God damnit, I need to stop giving kids stuff...

Quickly, while no one was looking, Zorha got a wrapping with a small amount of food in it from his bag, and threw it at the kids. As they jumped for it, Zepha got up and ran.

OOC: Don't ask where the mothers are...

OOC: Drifters with no families, although it seems odd the collection of people that have appeared for this mysterious announcement...