Part IV: First Encounters

My escapades had lead me from the wartorn streets of Neraka, where the traces of Draconian blood will stink for a millenium, to the bloody plains outside the once great city of Evil. There I met my first companion. It was a brightly lit night, for the White moon was out in its full glory, whilst the Red dripped a sickly crimson. Resting in a cold, dark cave, I was woken from my sleep by sounds of battle. The clash of steel rang clear in the still air as were the grunts and battle cries of the fighters. Under normal circumstances I would have steered clear, but a battle in this age of peace meant ... An ally!

Casting a spell of invisibility on myself, I slowly crept into the open to investigate. It was a sight to behold and to remember. There out on a small hillock stood a magnificent figure of a knight in pure black armour, surrounded by a dozen Knights of Solamnia. In his hand he held a great black sword, of which he was slaying about with great energy. His shield held no device, only a glossy black, now feathered with arrows. His side was pierced by a lance, which by right should have killed him, except he was showing no signs of even being in pain. As he hewed around with effortless strokes, his silence was unnerving.

I could sense evil emanating from him in palpable waves. A score of bodies already piled around him. Yet slowly he was losing ground, as the numbers pressed on him. Indestructible as he seemed, the black knight would have been hacked to pieces before long. Gathering my spell components I cast a spell which 'blinked' me to the valiant warrior's side. I was still invisible, but the black knight turned towards me and nodded.

There I cast the most powerful spell I had learnt, bringing down a storm of hail and shards of sharp icicles, impaling some and driving the rest back a distance. Then, grabbing the knight's mailed arm, I 'blinked' again back to my former perch. The Solamnic Knights were regrouping and were angrily trying to locate us. It was then that I noticed my companion's eyes. Or the lack of. They were orbs of fire. My companion ... was a Deathknight.

Lord Ash, the Last DeathKnight

His name was Lord Ash, last Defender of the Black Rose, Knight Marshall of the Order of Takhisis. A Deathknight, the last of his kind too, after the destruction of Lord Soth by the Hero Crusader Honoric at the Battle of the Dark Planes. A Deathknight now stripped of his magical abilities, relying solely on his skill with his sword and brute strength.

His sword was his last remaining link to his semblance of life. Without the Black Moon he should by right be a pile of bones and plate mail, but the power of the sword kept him ... undead. With this silent ally, I travelled on to the Knights of Solamnia's stronghold. We journeyed by night and slept in caves and abandoned crypts during the day. Winning pass the mountains, we reached Prayer's Eye Peak overlooking Crystalmir lake. From there we crept down to Jakanth Vale and entered by night into the Town of Solace.

You must forgive me. My time is running out. I must in haste complete this journal. Suffice to say, it was in this town that I met and was nearly killed...by the love of my life. Yes. Even I of evil can love. But that is past now. Only hate remains. That is enough for me.

The townsfolk had managed to capture and were preparing to hang ...a kender. No ordinary kender, as I fondly remember Deebie Thistleknot. An EVIL kender, one of its kind. He was THE black sheep of his family. In fact, of his race. And overseeing this public hanging was the Crusader Liv Sa'Morri, of the noble Clan Avatar. The lady I loved. And lost.

The Lady Liv Sa'Morri

The rescue of Deebie should have been simple. We scattered the townsfolk easily and while Lord Ash dealt with the guards, I would free the kender. We did not count on the presence of a Crusader. If not for the timely interference of Lord Ash I would probably have been brained by a mace. Carrying the unconscious Crusader and followed by a giggling kender, we fled Solace as the town went up in flames.

Though bound and gagged, bleeding from her wounds, her pride and beauty shone radiantly. The Deathknight wanted to kill her, and take her soul. The kender wondered how much her equipment would fetch him in a market. But I felt... something...I cannot recall, but it was like ... Recognition? I forbade any harm to befall her. Throughout the journey she sought to convince me of the folly of evil, as I sought to explain to her the world's coming fate. But her stubborn pride held, as her belief in her gods of good. Neither of us gave way. Our nocturnal travels continued eastward, as we sought to reach Solamnia. Skirting the City of Midgaard was necessary, that one being the chief city of good, surrounded by powerful magicks. And lots of trigger happy soldiers. We circled southwards, passing through the desolated i''nir, former land of the goblins. Pardon the ink blot. I meant to say the M'idennir. The goblins have been an extinct race for the past 2 years. Entire populations exterminated. The signs of this genocide still remains.

Part I: The Defeat of the Great Evil

Part II: The Prophecy

Part III: The Departure

Part IV: First Encounters

Part V: The Recovery of The First Key

Part VI: Death of a Kender

Part VII: The Last Key

Part VIII: The Final Chapter