Editing Announcements - 2002/08 - Atonement (section)

== Teaser 1 ==

{{Microsoft Zone
 |  Link = <nowiki>http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ASHEeventteaser0802.asp</nowiki>
 |  Date = August 9, 2002
 | Title = Atonement
 |  Text =
[[Image:img_sword2.jpg|left]]
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<font color=#FFFFFF>'''(View the preview movie for the August Event [[Announcements - 2002/08 - Atonement#Video|<font color=#FFFFCC>here</font>]] --14.5 MBs.)'''</font>
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He moved quickly. It was necessary; he would soon be missed, and he could not bear the strain that it would put on his mother. He decided to go after the start of Alba'rel's cycle, slipping through the portal under an assault of acidic clouds and frosty air.
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Asheron had not yet stirred, and every day the color drained out of his face a little more. Borelean's mother dressed the wound every few hours, yet each new dressing revealed that the old one was horribly stained. The wound simply would not knit. When his mother slept, Borelean had tried to heal Asheron's wound using what little life magic he had been taught. It was to no avail. Asheron was dying, and Dereth with him.
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Rithwic was silent, save for the peddlers who mostly wept and wondered when Gaerlan's forces would return. Worse, they pondered where this Harbinger would rise, what it was, and how they would stand against it.
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Gaerlan had proven to be unstoppable. His armies had swept across Osteth into the civilized towns and laid siege without effort. Now they held nearly every city across Dereth in an ever-tightening grasp. For every elemental that fell to the blades of the Isparians, another would rise, followed by its brethren. Gaerlan had proven that he was immune to the barriers Nuhmudira had created to shield the Isparians from the Empyrean, so even the sanctity and safety of being within one's home had become unsure.
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In mansions maintained by the richest and most powerful nobles, panicked voices rose to question Gaerlan's intent. ''"Is he bringing back the Hopeslayer?"'' ''"Is it Bael'Zharon?" "The master Lady Aerfalle speaks of?"'' All these questions and so few answers. In a time before, his mother had stood by the side of many of these men and women and brought down a Shadow Spire outside Cragstone. Those days were now forgotten. Some muttered now that High Queen Elysa Strathelar was a corrupt noble who had secured her position through her friendship with Asheron. Regicide was never far from their minds. Borelean was young, but he was quickly losing his innocence about the world and the people who would one day be his subjects.
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During his mother's council meetings, he had listened to the councilors and watched the proceedings through a crack in the door. He knew that his mother was the strongest-willed person on this world, and though at times she was overprotective of him, her first duty was the safety of her people. Now, however, she knew that they faced a foe against whom they had no hope--none without Asheron. The Isparians truly were fledglings on this world. The magic at Gaerlan and Asheron's command was advanced far beyond anything any of them understood. That is, any except Martine.
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Borelean remembered when Bael'Zharon had first come to Dereth, how his mother had warned him that she was going to face grave danger and that he needed to be brave for her. He had not understood what she'd meant, until now.
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He passed the beleaguered Lugian Emissary speaking to a passer-by. ''"Have you heard anything about Linvak Tukal? Timaru?"'' the gray giant asked in a deep gruff voice. The passer-by shook her head and moved on into the night.
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Borelean stopped and looked at the Lugian as the first drop of rain fell from the sky. ''"Linvak Tukal? Are you worried that your home is in danger too?"'' he asked.
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The gray giant kneeled to speak to him. "Of course I am, little boy. Whoever this man is, he will not stop with your race. He does not mean to stop with any of us. He will fight until we are all gone." The Lugian managed a smile and stood upright once more. Borelean gazed up at the hulking mass of the Lugian for a long moment, then sprinted toward the portal as the rain intensified.
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The tunnels were easy to navigate. He wasn't the only child among those who milled within, so he easily made his way through the crowd without being noticed. He followed the passage upward and looked in on the throne room where Martine sat. Creeping silently across the floor and past the two slumbering forms outside, he pulled himself through a window and looked at the man.
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''"Why did you try to kill Uncle Asheron?"'' he asked without fear.
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The man's head, devoid of skin, twisted unnaturally as the masked face seemed to regard him.
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''"He's not dead. Not yet. You can make things right."''
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Borelean's words were met with silence.
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[[Announcements - 2002/08 - Atonement#Teaser 2|<font color=#FFFFCC>'''Continue with the story'''</font>]]
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'''Unlike any other gaming experience, the world of Asheron's Call continues to evolve. Join us, as we open our August Event, Atonement. Be sure to continue your part in this incredible ongoing story, and we'll see you in Dereth!
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