View source for BNN:The Silver Gate 05/21/15

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<font color="#800000" size="15" face="Monotype Corsiva">The Silver Gate</font>
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<br>Posted by EM Malachi 05/21/15 

<br>The Stranger aligned the last gem in its place within the ritual circle. Mana began to pool between the four gems, pulled to the tower from each of the four continents. Pausing briefly to focus his mind, the Stranger whispered an ancient incantation, carefully shaping the mana into a delicate silver gate. When the moongate was stable enough for passage, the Stranger picked up his sword and stepped through.

Hawkwind, the Time Lord, solemnly watched the Stranger's actions. When the gate closed, he held his breath for what would come. It might have been minutes, an hour, or a day, but then the world shattered. The mountain range near the tower crumbled and shifted, cutting Stonegate off from the rest of the world. Where the gate had been, mana surged and made the gems vibrate until all, even the diamond, shattered.

The Time Lord pulled back his perspective to see the rest of Sosaria suffering the same Shattering. Mountains crumbled, and islands sank, reshaping the four continents. Mana storms and boiling seas doomed countless species to extinction. In the devastation, empires and kingdoms were lost forever. A single Sosarian timeline splintered into hundreds, one for each shard of Mondain's cursed gem.

Having seen enough, Hawkwind submerged himself in the currents of these timelines, experiencing the flux of five hundred years. There was a growing discord there, as if time itself were smashing against a rock. He knew the source of this turbulence: Shadowguard. Built by the awesome power of Mondain’s gem and maintained by Minax’s enchantment, Shadowguard was a fortress held separate from space and time, protected from even Hawkwind’s sight.

In the past, Minax had used the fortress’s safety to lash out against Britannia. Now, with the assistance of Anon, Minax was discovering what else she could do with the magics of Shadowguard. Her malice was a growing presence in the timelines. Equal parts erratic and brilliant, Minax could not be allowed to wield the power to unravel history itself.

To stop her, the Time Lord would need similar gems: a ruby the color of sunset, a diamond like frozen tears, a flawless imperial emerald, and a dragon’s eye sapphire. Hawkwind considered quietly plucking the gems from various points in history, but he was reminded of the scar given to him by the Shadowlord Astaroth. His mortal form had never completely healed after the incident in Moonglow. He could not do this alone, nor was this a time for secrecy. This was a time for legends.

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A nightmare had caused the early waking. As the great beast stretched its wings for the first time in half a millennium, it roared, scattering every living thing for miles. Taking to the sky, its ebon wings blotted out the sun, their every beat shaking even the eldest trees of the Corrupted Forest.

Claws tore into the mountain, cleaving aside stone to reveal the cavern where its hoard was hidden. Instantly, the wyrm knew not a piece had been taken nor touched. It roared its joy, causing a landslide on an opposing cliff. Scaled limbs sank into the treasure, raking aside gold coins and bars to reveal a cluster of gems. Two talons snatched up a prized sapphire. The dark blue gem reflected perfectly the black dragon’s eye.

The nightmare had forewarned that someone would be coming to take the gems away. Enraged, the dragon let loose a burst of flame that liquefied a pile of gold.
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