Greetings everyone.

A lot of people have wondered what the spirits that roam around the
world and communicate with some "lucky" individuals thought about us
ever since Apollonia has passed away. Well wonder no more. Since the
mysteries of the dissapearing consanguine has yet been figured out, and
with Ashtan still Fighting for her life, and the death of our deeply
loved Averroes, No one has communicated with these walking spirits.
These spirits have roamed the world since the begining of time watching
and observing us, learning our secrets and our desires. With this
knowledge some of the spirits have gained Forsight and have communicated
in a dead language understood by some such as Averroes and Apollonia.

Now I am sure you are looking at this news article and saying to
yourself "What is she blabbering on now about, geeze she is annoying".
Am I right?

I believe you should ask yourself this question instead, "How did she
know?" the answer my friend is this; The Ledgendary Shard of Alazhakna.
Now before I go on and tell you what this Shard is and the history of it
and what it does let me tell you first how I came across it.

A few months ago I was wondering as most of you where some of these
consanguines have dissapeared too, and so I figured there would be about
one or two people who would have an idea as to find out where they are,
One of them happend to be Apollonia, and with her dead it would be kind
of impossible to communicate with her directly, and the other person was
Averroes (This was months before He was murdered).

So I headed towards my old friend and ex-fience house to ask of if he
had any idea of how to remidy this predicament. He told me of the story
of Alazhakna the Forsaken. This is how I remember it:
----------
In times long forgotten, before the contenents alligned in the way in
which you are accustomed to now there were four main contenents in the
world, Only one of them were inhabited by mortals. The other three
contenents were just to baren to live on or cold, or wet (they even
called them Baroon, frooz, and demooop). Anyway on the one contenent
(coincedently called Sapience) a great communitly of mortals lived in a
city much like the ones some of us live in now. The City was ruled by a
shamen named Iffir, who like most of the citizens believed that the
spirits were the link between their own past and the present, and so
when a spirit talked everyone listened. Anyway Iffir was a sick man and
needed to confer with the spirits to appoint a successor to his title,
Iffir sent out for the communicator of the town. Hours later in steped
the most trusted man of the city named Alazhakna. Iffir asked for
guidence from the spirits and soon Alazhakna was in a trance, His hair
ruffled, his eyes sparkled, and his throat became raspy. Alazhakna it
seemed started to growl and snarl and scream Madly. After a few minutes
Alazhakna dropped to the floor exhasted. When he awoke He had a shiver
and talked to Iffir, He confered that the spirits have decided on a
replacement to the throne and that was (as you have allready guessed)
Alazhakna. Upon hearing this "advice" Iffir called forth the scribe of
the city and had orders that Alazhakna shall be the next in line to rule
(after all Iffir was childless). Luck was not on Iffir's side for after
the scribe had touched quill to scroll Iffir suffered a massive
epileptic seizure and died. Word spread quickly around the city of the
death of Iffir and the assension of Alazhakna.
The next day was quite a change for the citizens of the town for they
were all told to pay their taxes in advance for the next three years,
they were told that if they were unable to pay that they would be thrown
into the depths of the dungeon, those owing tax allready were to be
exicuted on the spot by tax collectors. The days and months that
followed were what the stories that were passed down from generation to
generation the Worst for anyone and everyone. The citizens were
restricted in every aspect of the word they could only work and sleep
and most of what they made went to Alazhakna. "A Tyrant he is!" could be
heard from most people under their breath when ever the subject of him
came up. This happend for the first three years, when a young man who
was actually a wizard in disguise went to see Alazhakna. The young man
who the wizard was dressed up to look like was by trade a shoe-smith
(the Story of the little shoe-smith will have to wait till next time)
who was there to fix Alazhakna for a new pair of shoes. Alazhakna was
unaware that the young man was actually a wizard in disguise gladly
stood on a scroll that he laid out to measure the size of his feet so
Alazhakna hoped right onto the scroll (which was actually the base of a
powerful binding spell) and with a puff of smoke seemed to vanish.
Beneath the scroll a small lump appeared to rise from the ground.
"Excelent!" said the wizard who was quite pleased that his spell worked,
and started to gather the scroll and (yes you guessed it a crystal
shard) walk out of the city when the guards came running in (after all
he was a quite noisy wizard).
Cornered by the guards the wizard told the guards that Alazhakna has
decieved the city by saying that he was able to speak to the spirits
when infact he was just a brillient liar who used his lies to become the
ruler. The wizard said, "As he claimed to speak with the spirits I
decided to make his wish come true, I have given him the gift of
spirit-talk!" The guards looked about puzzled to the where abouts of
Alazhakna "Ah!" said the wizard, "Look no further than this here crystal
shard, for you see He is now the gift of spirit-talk, While I could not
make him a spirit nor have him abuse his power as ruler anymore He is
safely inside the crystal and his power will embrace with who ever holds
it!"
Shocked and bewildered one of the guards asked to hold it. The wizard
handed it to the guard and as soon as he lay grasp to it his hair
started fuzzing up, his eyes sparkled, and his throat got all raspy,
momments later the guard screamed and fell to the ground, the crystal
landed on the ground. The other guards asked what happend and as soon as
the guard who touched the crystal was able to talk he said without
hesitation "Arf arf woor woof grrr!" "What?" said the guards when before
the guard could utter a word or sound the wizard sprang up grabed the
crystal and said, "Though the effect is temporary the imagery is true,
He will tell you that he has spoken to the spirits who only communicate
in a language understood by of all things dogs!" The Image will only
last a few minutes past the spirit-talk and then be erased from his
memory.
----------

I asked Averroes later on what happend to that wizard and that shard,
and he told me that no one seemed to know, but the spirit-talk spell was
not only used on Alazhakna the forsaken, but on countless other ruthless
people who have since dissapeard. Averroes told me that the crystal ball
that Apollonia used had the same affect on it aswell as to how she could
answer any question.

I decided to seek out a spirit-talk object be it the crystal ball of
Apollonia or any of the others that have yet been unearthed. Figureing
it a good start to my discovery I went to the swamp where Apollonia's
hut lay in shambles. I asked a few people to escevate for me as much as
they could, but no one came up with anything, not a page, a book or even
a rod was found. Something drawn me towards Apollonia's headstone,
something I have no understanding of but I did go and when I looked
around there I knowticed one thing was odd, all the sounds of the swamp
seemed to quiet as I steped near a rock laying near her grave, as if it
a sign for me to search I threw down my pack and used my bastard sword
to dig around the rock. I diged for about ten minutes when I hit
something hard, as I brought it up out of the ground I was in awe of the
beauty of this object which I found. I went to the river and washed off
all the dirt and muck that was clinging onto it and discovered that it
was a crystal shard just as Averroes had stated, it was small in size
fitting comfortably in my tiny impish hands and as my skin touched clean
crystal I felt transformed...
I seen the world get dark, and before I new it I fell to my knees and
when I looked up a whispy apporition stood over me and said "Caera is in
danger!" I looked again and everything grew of light.. the next thing I
knew was laying down next to the shard on the river bank and I just
recieved word that Caera has had an accident. I screamed out and to my
surprise I heard people shouting back to me in a language I didn't
understand. I talked to Althalus who told me that I had screamed out
some animal like sounds, I havn't yet told them that I new of Caera's
danger before it happend.

So now as soon as I end this note I shall offer myself as a conduit to
every and all who seek to know of their futures... For a small fee of
100 gold. If you go to the remains of Apollonia's shack I will be there
offering my service to you.

Hopefully in time I will be able to use the Spirit-talk ability to find
the answers to what happend to the missing consanguines.

Misty Storm



Penned by my hand on the 23rd of Slyphian, in the year 126 MA.