Drake's Tale--#3

It appears that my rather unreliable ‘host’ has finally permitted me to tell my story again. Given his track record, I am going to make the most of this opportunity. Please pardon the length of this post, but this information that will be needed if he and his allies are to have even a prayer of success in this endeavor.

Some of this tale has been mentioned previously, although others have spun the tale to suit their needs, instead of mine. You may rest assured that what I have to say is in fact The Truth.

In my youth, I was seen as the defective child. I had no visible manifestation of the power of the An’girasii running through me like Sorud and Nehmad did. In addition to their powers, they also had the physical stature that allowed them to dominate the normal humans around them, while I was seen as small even by the standards of the people of my home city of Ur.

When it was established that I would never grow out of my puny stature, I was ignored by my father. He also ordered my brothers to ignore me as well, stating that I was not worth their time or attention.

So as my brothers were personally tutored by Dracaar in how to harness their abilities and in the arts of war, I was left to my own devices. I spent my time learning how to be come invisible. I was not invisible in any kind of magickal sense, mind you, but invisible in the way that servants and slaves are invisible around their masters. Such folk are taught early on to keep to the sides, remain silent unless spoken to, and to be properly deferential at all times, head bowed, as they move from task to task, always keeping busy with some little task or another. Following those guidelines, slaves can slip in and out of the most private moments of their masters without being consciously noticed.

It was during a number of those private moments between Dracaar and my brothers that I learned of the true nature of the An’girasii. He spoke to them at such times in the harsh, foreign tongue of the An’girasii, a language I had heard previously only in my dreams, but I found that I somehow understood what was being said.

As I listened to him tell the stories of Creation and Destruction from the An’girasii perspective, I began to understand that Dracaar was not alone, but was instead one of at least several dozen other such beings who had come to this world with the goal to rule over it as gods.

Indeed, many of the names of other such entities that Dracaar told my brothers about, were names of myth and legend that the people of Ur worshipped as Gods, or feared as Demons.

Here is a snippet of one particularly interesting lesson:

Sorud: “Father, these people are so weak! Why must we live among them as we do? Why can’t we set ourselves apart as some of the others have done and just be worshipped as is our right?”

Dracaar: “That is a very good question, son. Each of the others, including Tiamat, has lived amongst these weak humans just as we ourselves are doing now. In other worlds, other places, we have come and conquered or ruled without having to live amongst the lesser beings that inhabit those places, however this world, this place is different. This is a world of flesh and bone. In order for our full powers to manifest here in this place, we must be born of flesh to a creature that is native to this place. That is why your mother, as strong as she is, is still human.”

Nehmad: “Is that why Sorud and I have to train so hard to come into our full strength, because we were born of a human mother?”

Dracaar: “Indeed. It is no small or easy thing, even for the Spirit of an An’girasii to access its full array of powers and memories once it is born into the flesh, as you two have so recently been. There is something about this world and the laws that bind it that prevents almost all Spirits, even those of us who are so much stronger than humans, from having access to the full knowledge of who and what they truly are.”

Sorud: “So both Nehmad and I are of the same order as you?”

Dracaar: “Yes. Both of you are strong An’girasii Spirits. Once you have learned how to fully manifest yourselves, you will come to realize your true nature and take your rightful place amongst us.”

Nehmad: “Father, what of our younger brother…”

Dracaar: “Shush Nehmad. His name is not to be spoken of in our language. His Spirit is weak and puny. He is not of our kind. Something went terribly wrong with him. Your mother’s human weakness must have allowed for a lesser Spirit to come during our coupling. He is not your brother. He is a human.” That last word was spit out like it was an insult.

Sorud: “So why was it allowed to live? Why don’t we kill him so that our name is not associated with something so weak?”

Dracaar: He laughed before responding, a deep, chilling laugh. “Ah Sorud, you are coming into your own. It will not be long now before you Awaken to your true self. But let me answer this question. When a child is first born, the connection between the Spirit and the flesh is not as strong as it will become over time. It is not immediately apparent with young babies in this world just what kind of Spirit has attached itself to body of the baby. For that reason, some patience is required. When that child was born, the body was small and puny, but the Spirit was strong and bright. I had great hopes that one of my ancient brethren had come through the Veil that separates our native world from this one. But while his Spirit showed strength and vitality for an infant, it never developed beyond the initial promise that he had showed. Instead, as he grew into childhood, his Spirit seemed to diminish even further, changing in ways that I had never before seen, even for a human. Once it was clear to me that he was not one of us, I resolved to study him for my own purposes. Once I have learned all that I can from him, he shall be sent to his death.”

Nehmad: “Will you give him to us, father? Can we slay him?”

Dracaar: “No. That is something that I cannot risk. As much as I believe that he is not of the An’girasii, there are laws that may not be broken. His death will have to be at the hands of others. Have no fear. There are no laws of any consequence that prevent humans from killing each other. In fact, it is something that humans are very good at. They can be made to kill each other with very little incentive.”

Sorud: “What laws prevent us from killing each other, father?”

Dracaar: “When you come through your Awakening, these things will be known to you. But it is good to discuss them now so that you don’t violate the law unwittingly. You must never slay another An’girasii.”

Sorud: “Why not? Haven’t you been teaching us that we are Immortal spirits, that if this body is slain that we will be able to take over another at our leisure?”

Dracaar: “Yes. All of that is true. But if you have not gone through your Awakening, you will have to be born again into the body of another human child. Once you have been Awakened, you will have the ability to take on the body of any living creature near you and modify that one to suit your needs. However, if one An’girasii slays another, things are different. A struggle between two of us not merely a struggle of flesh of bone, but of Power and Spirit as well. We are a primal race. If one An’girasii were to slay another, terrible things happen, the Spirits of both entities merge and change, becoming something dark and chaotic. The name we have for those creatures that survive such an event the Drashe’en—the Fallen. If you fail to honor the law and become Drashe’en, there is no return. There is only hunger and pain, suffering and loss.”

Nehmad: “Are there Drashe’en here in this world?”

Dracaar: “Yes. There are a few. We must always keep a vigilant eye out for them, for they are among the greatest dangers we face.”

Sorud: “How can the Drashe’en be stopped then, father? Can we slay them without suffering the same fate?”

Dracaar: “There are ways of dealing with the Drashe’en, but you will not be able to understand them until you have gone through your Awakening. Now, let us go train with our weapons, soon it will be time to test you in battle.”

Drake's Tale--#1

(This is the first in a series of posts that will be detailing Drake’s history in his own words. Pursuant to the agreement I have entered with him, there will be no content editing over what he has to say. Each of these posts will have the same title, above, numbered sequentially.—RB)

My story is a long one. But it must be told.

Six thousand years ago, I was born the third of three sons to Dracaar (having looked back on his blog, I see my not so literate host has misspelled my father’s name in more than one way) and Madeena of the ancient city state of Ur.

My parents were not married, although this was not in any way unusual in that time and place. My mother was the daughter of one the three powerful priest-kings of the city at the time. She was a powerful priestess in her own right, although her chosen deity was Tiamat—a faith that was officially banned within the city because of the propensity of Her advocates to inspire Chaos amongst Her followers. Due to my mother’s position in that society however, she was in no danger.

My father, Dracaar, was even more complex. He was the most powerful and easily the most successful general in the army of Ur. He towered over everyone else in the city. He was easily a foot taller than even the largest of his own band of elite warriors, standing nearly seven feet tall. Even among the social elite of Ur, he exuded a sense of power and a charisma that commanded respect and deference from nearly everyone who encountered him.

But my father was even more different than he appeared, physically. As you all know, my father was not entirely human. Dracaar was a member of a small but powerful race of beings who call themselves An’girasii, a word from their original language that means ‘the Chosen.’ These beings, the An’girasii, will be discussed at much greater length in future posts. Suffice it to say that they are extremely powerful Spirit beings who have their own unique physical forms, but who are also capable of taking human forms, as they choose.

When they chose to take human form, the An’girasii are able to interbreed with humans, something they have been doing for as long as they and humans have been sharing this world, which is to say a very, very long time. The benefits the An’girasii of this interbreeding will also be discussed later, but the benefits to the immediate offspring are rather variable and unpredictable. Those that survive long enough to be born may or may not inherit some of the An’girasii magickal talents.

My two older brothers, Nehmad and Sorud, were lucky enough to inherit both our father’s impressive stature and very visible vestiges of his magickal talents. I, however, was cursed with the stature of my mother and no recognizable magickal talent to make up for my smallish nature.

Growing up, I was left to my own devices. My two brothers were Father’s favorites and spent much of their time honing their warrior skills and developing their magickal talents over the weather. Sorud had the power to summon and control wind, while Nehmad reveled in his mastery over earth. Once I was old enough to feed and change myself, Mother left me in than tender care of the household slaves. The slaves were far more interested in making sure that they avoided the beatings that came with failing to keep the household running well than they were taking care of the runt of the mistress’s litter.

Mother was more concerned with developing her own considerable magickal talents and with the strategic forming and breaking of political alliances as needed than she was with raising any of her children. She was not a paragon of maternal virtue.

So my early years were spent staying out of the way of those were more important, more loved, more powerful, and more fearful than I was. Besides wishing that I was more like my older brothers, I spent most of my time observing and learning from those who were too busy to notice or care about me.