Collapse Eternia

It was a musky flame that illuminated the quiet and cold stone towers of Longar. The fortress at the far frontier, the border between the known world and the demon-scamed realm of the unknown.

Longar was a stronghold, a bastion against the darkness that threatened to engulf the world. It had stood for centuries, its walls manned by men and women who were willing to fight to the last breath for the safety of their home.

But now it was empty.

The gates were open, and the banners hung limply in the still air. The torches were unlit, and the watchfires extinguished. No one dared to enter Longar.

That musky flame came from the campfire of a few ambitious, and maybe a little haphazard adventurers that hailed from the far calmer and safer territories of the far south. It was a variety of things that drew men to the end that was the final frontier, as it was sometimes called. Be it wealth, adventure, the hunt for relics or the wish to understand a past story that had since been buried by revisionist historians and divine decrees. Regardless, the reason for travelling so far from home, were often a combination of those. But, the question remained for those few adventurers, why was such an important place abandoned; Or rather, not recaptured. The walls show clear signs of a siege and multitudes of bodies in full plate and gambeson were strewn about with weaponry in hand where the vultures couldn’t reach, and rip any such memorials away.

But, regardless. The quest to this place, done in relative secrecy, all in the hopes of understanding what happened during the Buried Age. That was the reason for their journey. And they were not alone.

The wind was blowing through the open tower’s window, rustling through the furs and leather that were used to insulate against the chill. The fire’s heat was welcome against the chilly gusts, and the small group around the campfire had more than one fur cloak pulled up around the easily cold mage. The wind was the companion that had descended on them not long before they reached this place. The chill grew slowly, but was easily noticed as the snowflakes began to pierce through the open window. The group saw that as it stood currently continuing onwards would be the last of their worries, as freezing would come first. They packed their belongings, with the female mage sneezing as she stood up, protected by two whole fur coats. Next to her sat the trustworthy wolf-dog Ölk, the companion of the ranger. Then across from them sat the other three, the frontsman Karlplate, the aformentioned ranger Luth and the healer-sorceress Plagia.

They had packed their belongings and moved down from the tower.

“We have to find an enclosed space without a damn window!” Luth shouted through the loud wind.

“We’ll get buried alive! We should head back instead!” Karlplate shouted back.

“The chance for getting buried alive or a guaranteed death through freezing?! I know which choice I’m making!”

Luth and Karlplate bickered back and forth for a moment before Plagia interrupted.

“I always love your attitude towards one another but we have to get inside quick before the storm gets worse!”

Plagia pointed to a compound attached to the walls.

“I saw earlier that there was a loose door there, we should be able to find shelter there.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me” Karlplate responded frustratingly

“There’s a whole goddamn tower on that!” He exclaimed whilst pointing towards the fallen tower that lay on the compound.

“It’s been there FOR AGES!” answered Plagia.

The mage, Maia suddenly sneezed and thus grabbed all the attention on her. Suddenly they all saw how she was shaking from the constantly colder temperature.

“Can we just go inside and get a fire going? I’m really cold” Maia said with red cheeks and a tear welling up in her eyes.

Luth and Plagia turned towards Karlplate that was looking towards Maia.

“Ah dammnit. Lets go inside before the princess freezes!”

Karlplate lead the way paving a path with his large shield through the wind and snow.

They had finally reached the door and quickly burst through in search of shelter from the storm.

The sizable room was filled with trinkets that thieves would’ve long had their hands on if they dared come here. A bear-skin carpet and still unused prototype oil lamps were in place right next to long extinguished torches. Plagia went around lighting up those torches with her flame-crest and then sat down at the table first.

The rest followed suit and sat down.

“These chairs are surprisingly good quality, it’s impressive they’ve lasted this long in this place.” Karlplate noticed.

“The wooduser speaks his word. You’ve got a narrow eyesight, it’s far more impressive that this building still stands.” Luth responded

“I’m from a family of LUMBER CRAFTSMEN. And how do you think this place would stand without the wooden pillars hidden inside of the stone walls?”

Plagia had a small flame eminating from her hand and Maia had her hands around it, warming them.

“You guys are unbelievable, you both would rather die than just not have an argument.” Plagia spoke up and stared at them.

“We’re just too different! That’s why we argue!” Karlplate answered with a smirk.

“Can’t you just get along?” Maia sighed out as she continued to warm herself up with her hands around Plagia’s flame.

The group was silent for a moment before Karlplate spoke again.

“Well we need to discuss what we do from now on. If we go back out in this weather, then we’re dead before the sun comes up tomorrow. But, again, our rations aren’t unlimited.”

“Then what do we do? Stay here?” Luth questioned.Karlplate turned to Luth. “Do you really think it’s wise to stay here?”

Plagia spoke up

“You’re both getting ahead of yourselves, we don’t know how the weather is going to be tomorrow or the days after. Who knows how it will actually look like when we start running low on supplies” Plagia took a short pause.

“For now we should just look around what we have here.”

Both Karlplate and Luth stayed quiet as they agreed with Plagia’s words. Karlplate and Luth started searching around. Luth stopped and stared at a box that was placed under one of the torches. He reached over and opened it, finding inside a black book that looked like a journal.

“Hey! Would you like to see this?” Luth spoke up as he waved around the black book before bringing it over to the table.

He placed the book on the table and sat down, flipping through its pages.

“Oh, even I can’t read this” Plagia said as she turned around to read the book and brought her flame closer.

“AAAAA” Maia shouted as she quickly grabbed onto Plagia’s arm.

“Turn off the flame!” Maia spoke with distress.

“Oh sorry” Plagia spoke up as she extinguished the flame and Maia sighed a breath of relief.

“Give me that book” Maia said as she took the book from Luth’s hands.

“I wasn’t done reading” He said with a flustered tone.

“And there goes our bookworm” He continued as Maia was engrossed in the book.

“You can read that?” Plagia asked.

“Yes, I studied it at the Ancient Library in my School of Magic.” Maia responded softly after a while.

“It’s nice that you’re all cozy and all but it seems like I’m the only one actually trying to find anything useful here” Karlplate said as he continued to rummage through the cupboards and inspecting the walls for any secret areas.

Maia continued to look through the book before stumbling upon a page that she inspected closer than any other.

“Find anything interesting?” Asked Plagia

“It’s written in a Dialect I haven’t seen before so it’s hard to decipher, it’s different than the other pages. It also contains what appear to be keywords to a spell.” Explained Maia

“I think it says something about opening.”

“You’re not thinking of reciting the spell are you?” Luth spoke up.

“I do” Answered Maia.

“It doesn’t seem to have any harmful elements to it, as I said it’s just keywords. It’s meant to activate another spell, and with these words about opening, there might be something.” Maia became lost in thought.

“Plagia, I hope we’re on the same page here that the snowstorm outside is already a big enough problem.”

“I trust Maia.” Plagia responded.

Luth sighed heavily as he rubbed his forehead and face.

“Karlplate is already crazy enough, I won’t last long with more of them.” He murmured to himself.

Maia then proceeded to prepare and read the spell out loud and after the tonguetwisting spelling of the spell suddenly the floor opened up revealing a staircase.

“Woohoo!” Karlplate shouted out.

“I told you I’d find us something useful while you guys sit around!”

“You’re pretending you didn’t hear Maia read out the spell?” Asked Plagia

“Of course not, but it’s ridiculous that she would be able to open a hidden door from a leftover book that no one else among us can read. It just leaves me.”

“Karlplate, your logic never disappoints” Luth mockingly agreed.

“Of course it doesn’t!”

Plagia looked sideways before standing up

“I’m glad you’re energetic Karlplate, now you can take the lead, Frontsman.”

“Ah, yeah, of course”

Karlplate picked up his shield and led them down the dark stairs and tunnels. After a few short minutes of walking with only their torches for light they finally reached a door.

Karlplate proceeded to carefully open the door with his shield placed forward in case of any traps, but nothing happened on the opening of the door. The light of the torches barely pierced into the dark room but not enough to describe anything in it.

“Careful now” Luth said as he nudged Karlplate to move forward.

Karlplate took the first step into the room and just as he did the room lit up with bright lights.

“What is this?!”

“A room that lights itself” Maia spoke softly out of curiosity and awe.

They all entered the room and saw before them a massive but compact library with all manner of amenities. Karlplate was immediately drawn to the miraculously fresh food stored in one of the sections.

They all ventured to explore the different corners of this place before all being called together by the loud magic amplified voice of Plagia.

“What is it, what did you call us here for.” Luth asked.

“Look at what Maia found.” She pointed to the skeleton clad in a robe that Maia was sitting next to, reading the pages of a short book or diary.

“There’s plenty of skeletons outside as well” Luth answered annoyed.

“Indeed.” Karlplate, whilst rare agreed with Luth.

“It’s not that, this is-”

Plagia was cut off by Maia

“It’s Sondred, the great magician-sorcerer of the buried age.”

Both Luth and Karlplate sounded their surprise and Plagia herself intently listened to the words Maia was about to say.