Nerius Log #7: Ignigena, Part II

The Players

Anchises Tarquinius				Magus		(John)
Atratus						Magus		(Dave)
Daisy						Giant Lizard
Dedecus						Magus		(Chris)
Dirnano						Magus
Henry of Louten					Autocrat	(Shannon)
Insolitus Georgius				Magus		(Eric)
Jerard						Companion	(Henry)
Marbaid						Magus		(Billy)
Roberto Maria Jiminez-Pena			Magus
Rose Tourrante					Magus
Silva Ambages					Magus
Somnium Lupus					Magus		(Shannon)
Souris						Companion	(Ian)
Stagnum Os					Magus		(Scott)

**
** From the Secret Diary of Somnium Lupus

Here, I stand, mother, at the entrance to Ignigena.  It is a mighty
fortress that looms above me.  I feel very alone here, as if I were
away from your beauty, although I stand upon a high mountain made of
Earth.  Upon the entrance to this fortress are the words, "From fire
did we come, and unto fire shall we return," and this sends a shiver
down my back, for we have had ill omens upon this trip, as when our
dinner was burned badly one evening, by a cooking fire that flared
utterly out of control.  The others are looking at me, as I am lagging
behind, thus I will put my journal away, and enter Ignigena through
the hole that I have created in it's wall.

**
** From the Memoirs of Henry of Louten, Volume XII
** This volume was kept secret for many years, to help protect the young
** Covenant of Saint Nerius, which could have been endangered if others
** houses had learned of their discovery of Ignigena.

The story that I now write down is one of both victory and great
sadness, for, although we delved far into the mysteries of a lost
Covenant, learning many secrets, we suffered great losses as well.
Before, perchance, we thought we were invulnerable; nothing could hurt
us.  We had suffered minor defeats, as was the case with the mage
Wdenec, but they were setbacks, nothing more.  We had moved on,
essentialy unhurt.  However, Ignigena would prove that, despite the
Orders' great magic, we were still vulnerable humans.

I myself did not travel to Ignigena, but I have the story, in all
of it's sad and wonderful details from brave Stagnum Os, and several
more of the sorcerers who travelled there.  In my eleventh volume,
I spoke somewhat of the magi's journey to Ignigena, and much of this
commentary has been reiterated in Somnium's diary, recovered only
because Jerard was holding it at the time of tradgedy.  Now, I
will advance the tale, describing what happened inside the fabled
Covenant of lore itself.

The wizards had stood before Ignigena, preparing themselves for whatever
lay within.  Stagnum had protected them all from flame, to an extent,
and Somnium and Marbaid were busy creating entries to the Covenant.
While Marbaid was creating a stone ladder in the wall, Somnium was
making a tunnel to journey through.  Ever prudent, the companions
enter the Covenant, half through the one entrance, and half through the
other, and low and behold, Ignigena lay before them.

The Covenant, a veritible trove of history, was not unoccupied
however.  Within the brave wizards would find a pack of huge lizards,
and tribes of giant cockroaches.  While the wizards were undaunted by
these sights, befitting their status, Souris, the thief who had joined
with them, and Jerard panicked.  Jerard came to the conclusion that he
was faced by fire-breathing dragons, and soon a wild melee broke out.
Wild on the side of the companions that is, for the lizards cared not.
The magic-users would end this sorry scene, and, while Somnium spoke
with the beasts, one lizard, in a show of gratitude, attached itself
to Dirnano, and became a lifelong friend, although that period of
friendship would be a short one.

With their newfound lizard friend, Daisy, as their side, the fellows
continued their search of Ignigena.  Most of the buildings within
the Covenant had housed long dead grogs, but, at last, the wizards
would come to the realm of the wizards of the past.  At once,
the adventurers realized that they were not alone in this land
of Ignigena, for within they found fresh corpses of humans, but,
wizards being sturdier than the average mortal, they ventured in
none-the-less, unworried of thee events that fate might throw
their way.

They would find that the interior of Ignigena was indeed a large and
wonderful place.  At once, they came upon the council room of
Ignigena, a circular room marked by two odd statues.  One was of a
man, marred about the face, while the other was a mysterious beast,
with half a dozen arms of varying characteristics.  Surround the 
council room were four labs, and three passage ways, leading deeper
into Ignigena.

In many ways, magi are collecters, willing to brave any danger to
gain knowledge, and the wizards of Saint Nerius are no exception.
Thus, they set out to open up the forgotten labs of Ignigena, to
gain the knowledge within, so that it may benefit the order as a whole,
and thus was born the sorrow of this quest.  The first lab they
investigated was surely that of Arquare, who left us the journal that
led to Ignigena.  Souris was able to open the log with little trouble,
and then was molested by little more than a storm cloud.  Within the
sorcerers would find two books, one of which seemed magickal, and a
mysterious logged box.  Surely, the terrors of Ignigena seemed little
if this was a fair example.

The other three labs were all locked by magickal means that seemed
beyond the abilities of the magi of Nerius, for, though they are
quite powerful in their own right, they have not the experience of
a century behind them.  Various methods were tried to open the
door, but neither fist, nor hurled statue affected them.  Finally,
Marbaid, truly a master of the art of perdo, was able to open the
fourth lab.  Were that he were less skilled.  Brave Stagnum and Valiant
Somnium pressed into the lab, determined to free the knowledge, so
that it could benefit the Order, and their Covenant, and, when faced
with an inner door, they set at once to open it, confident in their
own abilities, as a magic-user should be.  And then the room exploded
into flames.

Stagnum lay badly hurt, while Somnium lay dying, his defenses, both
magical and natural, having failed him in this moment of crisis.  
At this moment, Dirnano burst in, followed slowly by Daisy.  Unthinking
of his own danger, within the lab of this mad Flambeu wizard, Dirnano
set out to heal Somnium from his mortal wounds.  Yet, the magic was
too unstable, or perhaps Somnium's wounds were too great, for in trying
to heal Somnium, Dirnano expended all of his energies, and the two
slipped from the world in twain.  Dirnano, due to his attempted act of
selfless healing, had slipped into Final Twilight, and we may now all
hope, that his soul is truly at rest, wherever it may lie.

The adventurers where sombered.  Where before they had been invulnerable,
now two of their number lay dead before them, and brave Stagnum, although
he lived on, was badly hurt, and sure that he would soon follow them.
Yet, the magi set the good of their Covenant, and what they could gain
for it, ahead of their own safety, and decided to press on with this
noble purpose.  Slowly, they explored around the area they were in,
and found that of the three mysterious corridors, one led into
a Library, which they could not actually get into, and one led into
an alcove with some slight treasures, including a stringless lute.
The last corridor, however, was the one they would take, for it
led downwards, and they all suspected that in that the direction,
both the Pearl of Wisdom and the Abyss did lie.

While Jerard and Stagnum stayed behind, due to Stagnum's wounds, the
others descended further into the lost Covenant.  As they descended,
they would pass another laboratory, but, they had learned their lesson
well, and, though mentally noting it for a future expedition, they had
no wish to enter it now.  Finally, they came upon a place where the
passage was blocked by a flow of lava, and, much to their surprise and
delight, it soon became obvious that the lava was made of pure vis.
The abyss, perhaps, but definitely a treasure worth fighting for.  
However, the magical aura of the area was very strong, and, as Atratus
tried to draw some it to him, he would be struck down by the power of the
area, and forced into a twilight, although not as final as Dirnano's, just
as deadly.

In certain ways this would be a boon, for, as Atratus walked out
across the lava, he revealed a stairway, hidden before, almost under
the lava itself, but a path across still.  Marbaid and Anchises would
follow their friend, ready to protect him if need be, for he was still
deeply within the grip of a magic too strong for him to control.  He
would not be the only one so controlled, for Souris had to be stopped,
lest she dive deeply into the lava, and the others were surely all
struck by some discomfort.

As Marbaid, opened a door, revealing the final resting place of the
Pearl of Wisdom, hidden on the far side of the lava, beyond the secret
stair, a dark entity; a being of the magic that was ever present in
the air of the cavern itself, finally revealed itself.  Out of the
flames rose a beast with half a dozen arms, varying in size and shape,
and he named himself as Vancust, former magi of the Covenant, and he
began menacing Atratus, a Flambeu mage as well, whom he saw as weak,
and not truly having the spirit of the house.  And Marbaid, with
Anchises at his side, held the Pearl of Wisdom, trying to use it's
great power to dig an exit for him, and Dedecus, returning to Jerard
and Stagnum, desperately tried to get his friends free from the dark
evil of this place, and all was chaos, surely, in the lost Covenant of
Ignigena.


** 
** From the Autocrat's Log, Covenant of Saint Nerius
** scribed by Henry, Autocrat of Stabilis Fidelis
** Summer, 1199

Four magi have arrived at the Covenant in the last week, all seeking
admission.  The first two came together, and they named themself
Roberto Maria Jiminez-Pen~a, a Spanish magi, and Rose Tourrante, a
truly beautiful woman.  They left twenty pawns of vis, and expressed
the hope that this would pay for their year of service to the
Covenant.  They left then, saying that I should seek them in Nort Sur
Erdre when the time came, and the magi had returned.  Next came Silva
Ambages, another beautiful sorceress who also wishes entrance to our
enclave.  She stays, housed in the infirmary, awaiting the return of
the Seniors. Finally, a Criamon mage named Insolitus Georgius also
awaits the arrival of the mages.  Surely, when the return, they will be
pleased to see the new arrivals.  Soon, our Covenant will be
overflowing, and then, we shall indeed be a power to be reckoned with.