As soon as I returned to Lion's Arch I received a letter from someone named Sieran to meet me at the Black Lion Trading Company headquarters as soon as I could. Tired as I was, I went there immediately, as it was likely the person who was to introduce me into the Durmand Priory. I was correct, and this Sieran was actually a sister of mine, though no one I had seen around the Grove before. She is an excitable one, and meeting her was far less ceremonious than I had expected. I was rather nervous, to be honest, before I met her, but she was quick to accept me as a brother, as an equal. She seems not quite averse to rules and hierarchy, but quick to ignore them, as she elected to postpone my formal introduction to the priory to explore an old dwarven ruin on the way. I suppose some more experience and practice wouldn't hurt before I arrive.
–
It sure seems some force is choosing to give me some grand tour of Tyria. First I traveled through Kryta to reach Lion's Arch, then from there immediately to Ascalon, and now we're headed to the Shiverpeaks. We went there straight from Lion's Arch, as they were not far east from there. It was cold there, colder than I've felt in my entire life. Sieran showed me a trick of fire to keep myself warm, which was good to know. It turns out she is an elementalist as well, specializing in water magic. I had never thought of specializing, although I have taken quite a liking to air magic, especially since I can use it to get to places faster.
I asked Sieran about the dwarves she mentioned, as I had never seen any before. She said they were all but extinct on Tyria, except for one who is a member of the Durmand Priory. Apparently hundreds of years ago the dwarves conducted a ritual to turn their entire race to stone and retreated deep underground to fight the minions of the elder dragon Primordus. They seem a brave and noble people. I am looking forward to potentially meeting this dwarf she mentioned.
Sieran says the ruins should not be far from here. This should be exciting.
–
We found recent traces of dredge outside the ruins (Sieran says they were once enslaved by the dwarves and seek to destroy all remains of their empire) as well as a torn down Priory camp. There may be some of both further in this cave, so we're preparing for a fight.
–
We returned from the cave with some relics and writing and some priory explorers, but so much knowledge may have been lost. Sieran and I were ambushed by dredge soon after we entered the cavernous ruins, and though I tried to be non-lethal as possible, I may have killed some, which I am not proud to admit. Yes, they sought to kill us, and to destroy that which we sought, but I still hate to spill the blood of others. Still, what is done is done, I should not dwell on it. At least we were able to rescue most of the Priory expedition, apparently two of them were killed by the dredge.
What still concerns me, though, is how much knowledge was lost to the dredge. How much of it might have been useful, if not crucial, to fight the Elder Dragons? How much more has been lost, how much knowledge exists out there, but is forever prevented from being found again? The team gave us a set of writings found in the ruins to bring to the Priory for translation while they continue their search to see what else can be recovered.
Sieran and I are headed over. She says Steward Gixx, the current head of the Priory, should not be mad, at least for long, at our detour. We will see, I suppose.
–
We were able to reach the Durmand Priory by the next day, and once again I was amazed by the grandiosity of this world. The structure was built into the side of an imposing mountain, and we had to cross an uncomfortably high bridge to reach the place.
In the main hall of the Priory we met Gixx, who was indeed angry at Sieran, though that anger all but dissipated as soon as we showed him the writings. Anger became some mix of fascination and worry. The writings mention an artifact called the Sanguinary Blade, forged from the blood of Jormag, the ice dragon. We saw nothing of the sort in the cave, concerningly. Unless the expedition finds it in the ruins, it may be in the hands of the dredge.
Gixx dismissed the topic to give me what I suppose is my formal induction into the order. He told me a brief history of the order, how the historian Durmand led a group of scholars to recover as much knowledge as they could before and after the flooding of the old city of Lion's Arch. That became a founding goal of the Durmand Priory, to salvage what knowledge we can before it is lost (hearing those words from Gixx makes me feel somewhat more relieved). He then gave me the title of Novice, explaining that Sieran would be mentoring me in my early days in the order. She seemed relieved and excited to hear that. I was happy to hear that as well, Sieran may be a better mentor than some dry and dreary scholar.
There was something Gixx said (well, Durmand said) that I cannot help but remember. "Your power is only equal to the sum of your knowledge." How much power might the knowledge of this Sanguinary Blade give us? How much power might we have lost already from within those ruins?
https://preview.redd.it/05c3w014wnd81.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ef5f0b71b0567d66b8632e9f7b8f77cc7559d6cc
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/7tnnk9mk8nd81.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/7ox3vys1rnd81.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/jerjl8w3bnd81.jpg){kind=link}
No comments:
Post a Comment