Gothic
Page 18
CHAPTER 17
A weapon, that's what was needed, a weapon that could end it all in one fell blow.
Plans were drawn and the orders given for its construction and so it began. It would be an unusual weapon, one that would live and grow, its power coming from that life. Prototypes were made but failed as their growth was flawed. It wasn't enough.
As they kept on trying, spies that were placed amongst the faithful started to get wind of the plans and carried messages to their leader in his prison. He made notes and studied the information coming to him and discovered the problem.
It was simple. This realm was too much for it at this early stage of its growth, it was too aware of what it was and that was the problem. The knowledge of its purpose was too overwhelming. The weapon needed its own environment to reach its full potential.
The information was secretly filtered back, the discovery planted until it could be revealed without drawing any suspicion. It was agreed to create a new place for the weapon to grow and so it was. The Throne created a lush and verdant world full of life and selected a suitable place for the weapon to be left to grow without the burden of its creation to hold it back.
Three hundred were created and released into this new world with guardians to watch over them as they developed. Their job was like farmers: to see to the crops and tend them until they were ripe enough to be harvested.
It was going to be a long job. For them to reach their full potential and to remove any flaws would need several generations and until then they would be vulnerable. Until that time the guardians kept watch, guiding them gently from a distance and ensuring their survival. Over time they started to feel things for these strange new creatures their Lord had made. They started to feel empathy for them. Some of them even fell in love.
Orders came down. The time was ripe for the harvest. The guardians looked at the crop and felt a great sadness for them, knowing what use they were going to be put to.
The leader of the rebels had been waiting for this moment. His spies had made sure there was a weakness that could be exploited to create a gateway to this paradise. His best soldiers marched onto the new world ready to claim them as their own but the forces of The Throne arrived at the same time and fighting started once more.
Torn between their duty to their Lord and to their charges, the guardians gathered them away to safety until the fighting ceased. The battles were long and hard fought with more and more of this world becoming fractured and damaged until the guardians made a hard choice.
They imbued a select number with their powers, gave them the knowledge needed to carry on their work and the strength to carry it out. Finally to each they gifted a symbol to guide them, a symbol to be this world’s sword and its shield.
Together the guardians gathered and made their sacrifice. At the cost of their own lives they expelled the two fighting forces from the world, ensuring that they would never be able to live on the world they had made, and created a seal that would protect it from them in the future.
But the seal had cracks...