GLRP E&H Teleburiel: The Shattering of the Gem
Title: The Shattering of the Gem
Author: Arkady D'Rhys
In my youth, I was considered one of the greatest bards of the time. Mine harp spun notes to make the larks green with envy and the maidens wept at the beauty of mine song. Thus, when the calling came in a time of need, I was one of the four summoned before the king.
The miners of Minoc had unearthed a latent power that threatened the very lived of all in the city. A magical gem that pulsed with the power of the mountains about it, uncovered after all this time, was summoning the very elements of the earth to slay all in their path. Warriors were fighting bravely against the elementals, but the source was endless and thus their struggle futile. The gem would need to be destroyed if Minoc would be saved.
The finest craftsmen of britannia created four instruments, a lute, harp, drum, and a tambourine, each crafted from the magical wood of Reapers and cloth spun from the freshly gathered cotton near Moonglow. The creation was done at the four shrines of the virtues that stem from the bardic principle of Love and thus imbued with their power. The lute represented compassion, the drum, justice, the tabouriune, sacrifice, and the harp, spirituality.
We needed to be close to the gem and the notes we struck had to be perfect. Five times we would play our instruments while chanting the mantras of our respective virtue to invoke their power. As commanded we dressed in robes dyed the hue of the virtue we represented and set forth. Warriors and mages died in droves to clear our passage and their screams still haunt me today. When at last we were close enough, mine fingers trembled and I near failed. but with each note, my confidence grew and I took strength in the resolve of the others. When the gem shattered, the mountain shook and the elementals sank back into the earth. The four of us never spoke of that day or of the sacrifice put forth by so we could succeed. But I would not have them forgotten and will put their names in the tomes that follow.
