The land was still.
It was a calm evening on Maherty (May er tee).
Though this was not unheard of, it had surely been
rare recently. The open fields were gray and
shadowy. The early night air was fresh and crisp.
The stars were beginning to shine and the
neighboring world of Seycleuf (Say cloof) shown as a
bright orange hue in the upper reaches of the all
encompassing darkness.
Hahrarl’s (Hahr arl) head rested against his
triletritic (try leh trih tik) armor-pack. He had
seen a peaceful afternoon come and go gently, and
his tired body hoped he would see the evening and
night pass the same. However even as his eyes
scanned the edge of the fields before him, he could
see a white blur along the woods that marked itself
Whisking his way through the light underbrush of the Wahnay Forest, Naleun (Nay loon)
worked his way north in a constant, quiet run. The unchallenged master of silence, Naleun
was only detectable through sight, touch, smell, taste, or sende (sin day). Naleun had not
necessarily wanted to be silent this night, but this was his blessing and curse regardless
of his desires or needs. Naleun had never been able to speak or communicate in any way
through sound.
Naleun was, of course, an Artifact. Beings so mysteriously powerful and yet one with all
of Maherty, the Artifacts were among the most fascinating creatures that walked the land.
Known by the local peoples as ‘limbo walkers’, the Artifacts had existed longer than any of
Maherty’s other sentient beings. Not only gifted with special abilities, all Artifacts
also possessed immortality. Just as none had ever heard of their birth, none had ever
heard of an Artifact falling in battle or dying of old age. One could only guess about an
Artifact’s existence. They were the strangest of all Maherty’s inhabitants. After
countless centuries of co-existence with the Artifacts, it was no wonder why some of
Maherty’s natives came to believe that the Artifacts were the creators of the planet.
Of the nine Artifacts, Naleun was known as one of the most fearsome. Despite the fact that
Naleun was generally a peaceful being, his appearance did nothing to display this. Naleun
was, plainly put, a set of walking bones. It just so happened that his bones did resemble
those of an Alumera native, only thicker and seemingly physically stronger. Naluen often
doubted their strength, but he knew like all Artifacts, he could physically reform at
will. This ability often made the strength of his bones unimportant. It was also this
ability that seemed to keep him living forever.
Naleun rarely wished to intervene in the matters of his neighbors. He was famous for being
cooperative and polite amongst his fellow Artifacts. However his appearance had blinded
all of Maherty’s other inhabitants from his personality. Even the wisest of all of Alumera’
s wizards doubted Naleun’s intentions. Many believed he was the bringer of death, simply
because of his physical body. Though a few other Artifacts shared some physical semblance
to him, Naleun was set apart for other reasons.
Naleun chose not to clothe himself or wield any weapons. He rarely needed weapons. He
was, however, a very curious individual. Many did not know this, simply because his
special form of stealth kept him from other’s eyes and ears on so many occasions. Tonight,
he was curious as to what the Alumera peasants were up to. He would scout out there
campsite and observe what he could about the Alumera, then disappear back into the forest
from which he came.
The people known as the Alumera were a collective group of three races; the peasants, the
clan and the foresters. The Alumera were constantly at war with the Kin and their
followers. The Kin were spiritual beings whose power occasionally rivaled that of the
Artifacts. Through concentration and meditation, the Kin were able to form tangible
physical bodies or attach themselves to a host body. Unlike the Artifacts, the Kin openly
sought the death and destruction of the Alumera people. This feeling seemed to be mutual,
and the last several millenia had seen many Alumera and Kin die at one another’s feet.
Information about this ongoing war was both the stuff of legend and current
news.
Naleun had often secretly watched his fellow Artifacts form treaties with the Alumera.
Though the Artifacts generally desired little from the Alumera, they did enjoy commanding
some respect and fear from the Alumera races. Naleun had noted from his observations that
most Artifacts simply wanted some form of entertainment, choosing to participate in battles
occasionally or interfere in the Kin’s plans. Eternity, after all, was not all it was
cracked up to be. Some of the Artifacts were even believed to be mentally ill simply from
living too long. Naleun had lived curiously for as long as he could remember. He was
always interested to see what might happen next in the classic fight between the two
sides. His was usually a happy and occupied life.
What had ‘happened next’ several years ago had finally brought some change to the Kin and
Alumera’s war. It had also brought a renewed interest to Naleun’s hobby. A new side,
alien invaders called the Mayleen, had landed on Maherty. The Mayleen had hoped to secure
the planet as a new colony for their ever expanding species. The Mayleen were probably a
hated and feared species, as many planets had surely fallen before their empire in the
past. Maherty, however, had seemed to stop the Mayleen in their tracks. Never before had
they met rivals like the Kin. Naleun had watched some of the Mayleen forces even switch
sides, joining the Kin and bringing a new technological age to the Kin’s followers.
The Mayleen did have support though. Another alien race called the Kai had joined them in
their interplanetary expansion. The Kai had met their own defeat against the Miktai, an
alien species who had been oppressing the Kai for hundreds of years. Joining the Mayleen
had seemed the only possible way for the Kai to keep their own species alive. Together,
the Mayleen and Kai’s technological might created a force of robots and spaceships that
were altogether new to Maherty. As for the Miktai, well they too had sent their own forces
to Maherty in an effort to punish the Mayleen for protecting the Kai.