Part 4: The Darkness and the Light
WoD History
Part 4: The Darkness and the Light
Although the pilgrims had escaped the Demon King and defeated the Ophidians, their new home was not without danger. At the grand opening of Grimm McGee's tavern, darkness reared its ugly head. A demon leading an army of undead assaulted the place. Grimm, his lovely wife Lee, and the mage Tamla leapt to defend the new building, but even they could not hope for victory alone. A call went out, and other heroes answered coming to aid in the battle. In the end, the true evil appeared. Gizash, with a pack of hellhounds at his heels, joined in the attack on the tavern. The melee continued for a time, neither side able to gain the upper hand. Finally, Gizash called for a parlay. He announced that he was the ruler of these lands, and all would bend their knees to him.
Imagine the thoughts of these pilgrims, having fled from one Demon King to another. But, as has happened so many times since then, it was learned that Gizash was lying. The true ruler was imprisoned in Gizash's dark tower. Preacher fought his way into the tower and delivered to us our queen, Queen Lissar. Under her banner, we would fight the evil.
Soon after her rescue, she called an audience in her throne room. At the time I was newly arrived in the World of Dreams, but I knew it to be my duty to attend. With little training and little protection, I made the dangerous trek to Britain from my foster home of Trinsic (although a native of Skara from long ago, I had come to Trinsic to further my skill in battle). Many heroes of the realm attended and listened to her speech. Perhaps a dozen were gathered there, a massive number particularly in those early days. Among other things, she announced a need for an order of knights to lead the fight against the darkness. Still weary from her long imprisonment, she declined to pick her champions then, preferring to wait for a later tournament. At the end of her speech, all gathered swore our allegiance to her. As we began to disperse, news arrived about the location of Gizash. Filled with valor after the return of our queen, many set out to slay him. The actual outcome, I know not, for I felt unready to fight such a great evil.
The Queen's Tourney was the largest gathering up to that time that I had seen. Eight warriors, including Sy, Tarian McCord, Davian, Colbey, and myself were the combatants. I think there was an equal number of audience members as warriors. The rules were simple. A mass melee, with the last three warriors being knighted as the Queen's Champions. The field rang out with steel against steel as some of the greatest warriors in the world fought one another. In the end, Tarian McCord was victorious and made First Knight of the Queen. Sy and Colbey were also knighted. The world rejoiced, as we now had Champions to lead us against the darkness.
