⚜The Conquest of Valynthia⒈⚜
⚜89th of Searing, Year 124, A.o.S⚜
⚜ The sounds of people working, cleaning, or just enjoying their lives echoed into the vampyre's ears as he walked along the path from the estate to the smaller houses under its purview. His little village had finally taken shape in his absence for most of the season. He needed to survey the new additions and see what coven support had come to aid them. So far he was impressed. From what he could see, some form of fortifications had been added to what they had already had in place, and he could see that the animals they had found within the warrens had been integrated and domesticated for the people to feed off of.
With the internal serveyance done, he set out to check the surrounding area, to see if wildlife had returned to normal. Some ways away from the estate he found himself checking the forest, and in that moment he could sense through the aether flux of the forest that things seemed to be normal. He could also sense that there seemed to be eyes watching him, far into the distance, he could smell their aetheric signature and could tell an order mage from the type of sensation their aether gave off. He contemplated confronting the eyes that had been watching him and wondered just how many scouts the new order had watching the village.
For now, he would let them be, as he saw no need to invite hostilities with whoever held the reigns of the order now. He didn't quite care if he was honest, as their authority meant nothing to him and his endeavors. He was happy to just be home now, after spending time in Kalzasi and learning a thing or two about magic and the manipulating of aetheric forces. Coming back to the village he was greeted by a group of children who wanted to play with him. Of course, the vampyre would oblige them, as he had come to be fond of the little ones and the sounds of their laughter made him smile. He was mid-play with the children when the laughter of an old man caught his attention.
"My my, it warms my heart to see such vibrant liveliness around here." the old man noted, using a sturdy walking stick to inch his way over to them. Even though the stick was solid, the old man was not, and he stumbled, almost falling on his face if not for the timely intervention of the vampyre. "Easy there good sir, no need to over exert yourself on my account." Dreyfus whispered, helping the man gain his composure. The old man chuckled as he patted Dreyfus's helping hand.
"Come now, don't make a fuss over my excitement. It just brings me back, reminds me of another place that was just as lively and vibrant." he added, as he instructed the vampyre to walk him over to the courtyard of the family estate. Seated upon the fountain within the grand courtyard the old man smiled, looking out as the villagers went about their day. "Seeing how much this place has grown brings back memories." The old man's eyes now looking up into Dreyfus's burning orbs. "Tell me, would you care to listen to an old man's tale as I feel nostalgic?"
Dreyfus didn't have anything important to handle yet, so he didn't see a problem with listening. "By all means, I am at your disposal." he said with a warm smile and a nod. The old man patted his hand again before turning his frail eyes back to the daily musings of the villagers before them. "There was once a place, south of Zaichaer, near the border of the Deadlands. It was a sprawling village just like this one, so full of life and wonder, that it grew into a city of unparalleled beauty, a jewel of magic and ingenuity during that epoch. It was known as Valynthia, a mountain city hidden within the peaks of the mountains that border the Deadlands. The founding family, the Valcurian Clan, were warriors and mages of exceptional skill and keen minds.
The last ruler of Valynthia, King Balsious Valcurian, was a just and benevolent ruler. With the love of his life, Queen Alvenia, they ushered Valynthia into an age of prosperity finding a massive vein of rare and powerful dragonshards along with other precious metals and gems. For a time, there didn't seem to be a worry or care in the world for the people of Valynthia, with benevolent and wise rulers at the helm what would they have to fear. But nothing is as it seems. Tragedy struck Valynthia as its queen suddenly fell ill, and even with all the help from their healers and experts, nothing could stop her from passing. For seven days the city mourned their queen, but no one took the death of Alvenia greater than Balsious.
It was......a devastating blow as for all his power he couldn't save the one woman he loved the most. A wound that would drive him to madness, and madness that would ultimately seal the fate of Valynthia. It's said from the obscure texts that Balsious searched for a means to bring his beloved back from death, cursing Wraeden for taking her. He tried all that was at his disposal in terms of magics that could do so. But when necromancy and summoning failed him, he sought......darker means to achieve his goal. If he couldn't retrieve her soul and return it to her then he would gather enough souls to fuel her body.
From there he consulted with shadowy figures, performing rituals of profane magics, and began to sacrifice the souls of his subjects in his twisted experimentations. Eventually, he concocted a ritual that would sacrifice the entirety of Valynthia's citizens to use the souls of his people to bring his beloved back to life. He cared not for them as they could always start anew, and rebuild their kingdom, seeing the sacrifice as just in his cause. Something however went wrong with his ritual and doomed Valynthia. It now sits there, nestled in the mountains, a corpse of its former glory" Those words hung heavy in the air as the old man finished his story, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Dreyfus could feel that it was more than just a story, but he wouldn't question the old man about it. Instead, a gentle hand reached to catch the tears as they fell, and wipe his face. clasping onto the vampyre's hand, the old man looked up at him, a look that one could only read as desperation. "I implore you to free them, the souls of the people of Valynthia. They are trapped, and if you are the miracle worker I've heard you to be, then surely you can do something about it." the begging man's hat had blown away as he pleaded with Dreyfus to help. But how could he? The vampyre has met his fair share of shades and ghosts but it didn't give him any expertise in such matters. However, he felt compelled to help, so patting the man's hand he stood to go and catch the hat as it flew, stopping it with a kinetics and yanking it back into his hand.
When he turned to give it to its owner, the old man was nowhere to be found causing the vampyre to reach out into the flux to find the old man's aetheric signature. He was rather curious to know where that man went, and more so now that he seemingly just vanished. He had questions and he could feel that most of them would be answered once he found Valynthia. It was odd that he had never heard of this place, in all his education, even looking over maps of the area he couldn't recall seeing it on the map, which begged the question if the place was even real. The inquisitive nature of the vampyre took over him as he now wanted to find this place, to see if it was real. As far as he could tell, it seemed forces unknown to him wanted him to venture to the lost city of Valynthia.
For now he would enjoy this day, as he was back home and he wouldn't let a mystery that seemingly fell into his lap hinder the peace of the village. Not today at least, as come tomorrow he would make preparations and head out. For now thought he would relax, as he deserved some respite before heading into another storm once again. ⚜
"Common Speech"
"Silandris Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"
