From: pseudo@gacvx1.gac.edu
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: Caezar: Tarkhan part 2.1
Message-ID: <1992May17.192532.1@gacvx1.gac.edu>
Date: 18 May 92 01:25:32 GMT

Caezar leans back in his chair as Cromwell indicates he should tell more of
Tarkhan's tale.  Shrugging, he picks up where he left off, "The second part of
the Tale of Tarkhan might better be called the Tale of Philagnates for it
concerns him.  I fear that to understand it better I shall have to tell you a
bit more about my world.  Back before my empire, when the tribe of Imper was
just a hovel of namds living on a platau (sp?) in the Southern Desert, almost
before recorded history, was the height of the Caldurian Empire.  Caldur was a
pinisula separated from the rest of Duan Solya, my continent, by a range of
mountains called Barrier, for they were impassible.  Caldur is a rich land with
lush oak forests and many rivers.  At it's height, Caldur had a rich and
diverse civilization, centered on the city of Caldur, where the god-kings ruled
the land advised by a council of wizards and priests.  Finally one day the
God-King Devral was advised by his council that the nation could use a tour of
his royal person.  He could see the cities and people of his land, and they
could see him.  Fatefully, Devral decided that this was sound advice, for he
had been in the capitol deciding fairs of state for many long years without
ending, so he imbarked on his tour, leaving his council in charge.  He left his
city for the last time in the royal ship of state, sailing to the city of
Nichan.  He never arrived.  Somewhere at sea the 54th God-King's ship went
down, though whether through accident or assassination has never been
discovered." Caezar pauses to wet his troat.

"Needless to say, the caused a comotion in the capitol when it was found out,
but quickly the new God-King, Seralnak, was corinated.  Seralnak later became
known as the mad, but his insanity was scarely showing when he mounted the
throne at the age of 19.  Seralnak decided that the council has assassinated
his father, after all, had it not been their idea to take the trip, but he
feared the power of the wizards' and priests' too much to act directly. 
Instead, he quietly plotted and soon priests and wizards all over the land were
dying from accidents most starnge and suspicious.  By the time the council
figured out what was happening, it was too late, they had lost too many of
their number.  Then came the Night of Final Retribution, as it was later
called.  The Imperial Army swept through every town, takeing all wizards,
priests, and their families captive.  One of those taken was Lord Philagnates,
Keeper of the Tomes, a junior member of the council.  As Keeper of the Tomes he
was responsible for keeping track of all books of magic, and Seralnak wanted
to destroy all of those tomes, yet Philagnates would not tell him, even to the
point of denouncing his lord as a demon.  The god-king ordered Philagnates
tortured, yet still the mage would not speak.  Then the Seralnak ordered
Philagnates's family brought to the torture room and made Philagnates watch as
they were tortured and raped, down to his 9 year old daughter.  Finally
Philanates could take it no longer, and gave in, telling the god-king where the
tomes were.  After dispatching soldiers to find and destroy the tomes, Seralnak
ordered the torture to continue until all were of Philagnates family were dead. 
Then and only then, he ordered, was Philagnates to be allowed to die, and so it
was done."  Caezar pauses to look at his audience, especially Cromwell, before
taking a draught of wine.

"However, when the guards came to finally kill the agonized Philagnates, they
were in for a suprise.  For in his desparate attempts to free himself as he
watched his family slowly dieing before his eyes he had worked his shackles
virtually off the wall.  In that last moment, Philagnates broke his bonds and
cast a spell causing the whole room to be exploded in flames.  Then the burning
wizard broke for freedom.  However the alarm had been raised and he was hearded
to the top of a great tower, where as he was being backed into a corner, his
body badly wounded and growing weaker by the minute, he turned one final time
to the city an proclaimed, 'This I swear to thee, denizins of Caldur, I will be
back to haunt you and you children.  I shall level this city which has betrayed
me.  Nothing will grow here, nothing will live, all will know of the tratiors
of Caldur!  This is my curse on you.  This is the promise of Philagnates.' and
so saying he jumped, disappearing in mid-air."

"Philagnates knew several things at that time.  He knew he was dying and that he
could not prevent it.  He also knew of the supposed location of the legendary
crown of Tarkhan, a relic of a lost age, and item suposedly made by the
Banished God  himself.  He knew he was not strong enough on his own to fufill
his promise, but he knew that the crown would give him the power he lacked. 
However, he was not going to live long enough to find it as he was, so he
offered up prayer to Trilltya, Goddess of Death, to grant him his life for just
long enough to fufill his quest.  She heard his prayer and granted it, but at
terrible cost, for she made him undead, a lich forever, with a warped soul and
a warped mind.  Yet, Philagnates was satisfied and set out in search for the
crown.  He traveled the world searching for it or word of it.  At last, on the
continent of Harun Solya he found it, in an ancient temple where it was guarded
by a guardian naga and an ancient gold dragon, yet these were not enough to
stop Philanates when he was this close to fulfilling his ambition.  In a
titanic battle Philanates defeated the guards guardians and obtained the crown
of Tarkhan, a relic most evil."

Caezar takes a deep breath and leans forward onto the table, shivering as if
cold.  "The crown of Tarkhan was indeed, as Philagnates speculated, created by
the god himself.  Tarkhan had caught wind of his brothers massing against him
and had created this crown as a safty valve, for he knew that they could not
truely destroy him, but only banish him.  So he created this crown which would
bring him back from banishment, should he be defeated, and he hid it deep in
the earth.  The crown was designed to be found much later, after the gods had
relaxed their vigil.  It would drain life from whatever poor mortal used it
until that mortal died, at which time a gate would be opened allowing the god
to return to the world.  Then Tarkhan went off to battle, where as I told you
he was utterly defeated.  But the gods knew not about the crown and so they
never hunted it.  Eventually it was found by a race of lizards who worshiped it
and put it in their temple, till one day a Pantrekian priest say it and knew it
for what it was.  The lizards would not allow him to take it so he conjured the
mighty guradians who defend it until the day that Philagnates came."

"Philagnates took the crown and returned to Caldur.  Using the crown's power he
destroyed the god-kings palace and disintigrated the god-king himself.  Then
Philagnates conjured mighty fire swarms that raced across the city, laughing
manicilly as it burned up woman, children, and dwellings.  None survived
Philagnates wrath that day.  Then Philagnates turned west and retreated to a
mountain stronghold to live out his miserable eternity.  You might be wondering
why such use of the crown's power didn't call the god Tarkhan.  The answer is
simple.  Tarkhan had never counted on his crown being possessed by undead. 
Philagnates was already dead, thus could not be killed by the crown draining
his life.  Thus the crown and Philagnates vanished into legend and even beyond
that till they were forgotten."

"Time stands still for no one and time passed on Duan Solya as it does
everywhere.  Philanates attack caused a magicphobia to sweep the Empire which
was leaderless.  The nation resorted to quibbling city states, that agreed only
on their universal hatred of mages.  The mages of Caldur fled south where
eventually they would run into and ally themselves with the expanding Imper,
changing the courses of both their peoples."  Caezar pauses for a drink of
wine.

to be continued in the next post.....
Caezar S'Impersi'