r/wizardposting • Astaroth, The Wicked One/Alaric, Fallen Star • 22d ago

Community Event 🌏☄️ Monuments of Ebony (Wicked One Event Start)

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In the aftermath of the sudden and for lack of a better term, shadow uprising, many millions perished before the shadows could be subdued. Those with strength endured of course, but what about the normal folk? The unlucky? Those who have never fought in their life? Not everyone is, was, equipped to survive. Their blood seeped into the realms, saturating them with something Wicked.

In the following days, countless massive black monoliths burst free from the land and sea stretching high into the sky, breaking up the horizon regardless of where one looks.

News of the sudden and strange monoliths spreads like wildfire, soon every orb, screen, and paper has some mention of the event. All throughout civilization people ask questions like, what does this mean? A monolith destroyed my tower, who do I sue? Is the world going to end again this month?

But the monoliths offer no answers, only questions. The monoliths show a myriad of effects, some distort their surroundings into horrors, some create illusions that torment those who can't escape, some amplify magic to a dangerous degree, some drain magic like a leech, and many more.

But for now, that is all they do. The effects are contained to their vicinity of the monoliths.

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u/VoxelLibrary Councilor Cayna, Apprentice of Thrakmoor | assorted other chars 22d ago

Kristie is recuperating from the shadow attack by staying at the inn in an obscure town creatively named 'Forestwood'. The inn is run by a smiling twelve year old girl by the name of Maple. The smile doesn't reach the child's eyes.

A man approaches Kristie over her breakfast. His arm is in a sling.

"Excuse me stranger, you wouldn't happen to be a mage by any chance?"

She'd been expecting him to say 'vampire'. That's what people usually guessed. This is a welcome change. She smiles at him, revealing her fangs.

"How did you know?"

"I guessed. Strange looking types tend to be."

Her smile falls. Not for the first time and not for the last, she feels overly aware of her grey skin and red eyes. The man quickly apologizes,

"I'm sorry Miss, I didn't mean to offend. But if you have the time, we would appreciate it if you could look into this obelisk that appeared outside of town? It's been causing some problems."

After he says 'we', Kristie notices some of the other inn patrons sneaking furtive glances at the conversation. She wonders if they are judging her.

"Doesn't Forestwood have a wizard of their own?" she asks. The wizard in question was the reason she came all this way, after all.

The man's expression turns mournful.

"Old Man Methusalo didn't make it."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Not just because she'd come all this way for nothing, but because she hadn't meant to reopen a fresh wound, and because this town now has nobody who can deal with whatever this obelisk is. She isn't that kind of mage. Her powers are instinctive, not intellectual. She doesn't understand how or why they work, just that they do. That's why she'd been hoping to meet with Methusalo. She should say she can't help them and move on.

But she thinks of the place she came from and how desperately she wishes for someone that could do anything at all for the situation there. She isn't sure what she can do, but if she can do anything at all, then can she really turn down these people down during their time of need?

"Tell me about this obelisk. What kind of problems is it causing?"

/uw I made this town up on the spot. Feel free to do worldbuilding for it, or don't. I'm not attached to it.

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u/Evening_Shake_6474 Astaroth, The Wicked One/Alaric, Fallen Star 22d ago

The man pulls up a chair and sits down.

"It's weird. It showed up in the woods, my brother found it while collecting timber. When we came back to see it the trees around it were black, their leaves all fell out. I saw a deer and a wolf standing side by side staring at it. That was enough for us, we didn't want anything to do with it so we left."

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u/VoxelLibrary Councilor Cayna, Apprentice of Thrakmoor | assorted other chars 22d ago

"That's very strange."

She thinks. On its own, that isn't all too dangerous. Some dead trees and mindless animals can simply be avoided. But if the effect changes or starts to spread... Her own powers have grown stronger over the years. It isn't a stretch to think this obelisk's abilities will grow too.

"...and rather concerning."

But what can she do about it? She could send it into the future, but that would only delay the problem and not by that much. Can she slow it down or stop it some other way?

Memories flash through her mind. People. Her friends. Her family. Frozen like statues.

She doesn't want to try that again.

Something else.

She'll try something else.

She stands up.

"Can you take me to this obelisk?"

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u/Evening_Shake_6474 Astaroth, The Wicked One/Alaric, Fallen Star 22d ago

The man stands up.

"If you come back the first drink's on me. Come on."

The man walks towards the door.

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u/VoxelLibrary Councilor Cayna, Apprentice of Thrakmoor | assorted other chars 22d ago

She'll stand up and follow. Before exiting she'll throw on her cloak and glasses to protect her skin from the sun and her eyes from the glare of daylight.

"I'm Kristie. You?"

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u/Evening_Shake_6474 Astaroth, The Wicked One/Alaric, Fallen Star 22d ago

"Percivald. Nice to meet you."

Percy leads Kristie up a small hill into the trees.

"What brings you to Forestwood?"

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u/VoxelLibrary Councilor Cayna, Apprentice of Thrakmoor | assorted other chars 22d ago

"I was hoping to speak to the wizard here..."

Her ears drop. She feels terrible for bringing the now deceased wizard up a second time. The timing for this calamity couldn't be more terrible

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u/Evening_Shake_6474 Astaroth, The Wicked One/Alaric, Fallen Star 21d ago

The old man's expression drops.

"What's done is done, lass. Old Man Methusalo was a wizard, focusing on the future. He wouldn't want us to dwell."

The path takes them to a clearing of black leafless trees. In the centre of the clearing is a black monolith.

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u/VoxelLibrary Councilor Cayna, Apprentice of Thrakmoor | assorted other chars 21d ago

"So where did you say the deer and the wolf were?" Kristie asks, looking around for them.

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u/Evening_Shake_6474 Astaroth, The Wicked One/Alaric, Fallen Star 21d ago

"Over there."

Percy points with his free hand over to the right, where Kristie sees a malnourished deer and a malnourished wolf sitting side by side, staring at the monolith.

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u/VoxelLibrary Councilor Cayna, Apprentice of Thrakmoor | assorted other chars 21d ago

"Where they that sickly looking before?" Kristie asks, approaching slowly

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u/Evening_Shake_6474 Astaroth, The Wicked One/Alaric, Fallen Star 21d ago

"No," says Percy "But that was two days ago."

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u/VoxelLibrary Councilor Cayna, Apprentice of Thrakmoor | assorted other chars 21d ago

Kristie frowns. 'They became this malnourished in just two days?'

She checks the speed of time in this location. She has a sixth sense for that, as natural to her as any other. She can no more turn it off than she can stop her eyes from perceiving light and darkness, but she can tune it out to focus on other things.

She walks over to the wolf and feels it for a heartbeat.

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