CARAAMON: moved Cornerstone, The (book) to Cornerstone (book)

2011-09-20T18:28:36Z

moved Cornerstone, The (book) to Cornerstone (book)

← Older revision	Revision as of 13:28, 20 September 2011
(No difference)

CARAAMON: The Cornerstone (book) moved to Cornerstone, The (book)

2009-01-28T18:43:31Z

The Cornerstone (book) moved to Cornerstone, The (book)

← Older revision	Revision as of 13:43, 28 January 2009
(No difference)

CARAAMON at 08:34, 27 October 2008

2008-10-27T08:34:33Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:34, 27 October 2008
Line 29:		Line 29:
	Looking back on it, the draught the Elder Priest made may have been nothing more than rum and bourbon, giving us children a little false courage. The ravens may have been a small drunken Dwarf child's twisted vision of mere bats. But the experience was etched into my young mind and still resides as the marker of the day my childhood ended, and a guiding light by which my future would be navigated.		Looking back on it, the draught the Elder Priest made may have been nothing more than rum and bourbon, giving us children a little false courage. The ravens may have been a small drunken Dwarf child's twisted vision of mere bats. But the experience was etched into my young mind and still resides as the marker of the day my childhood ended, and a guiding light by which my future would be navigated.

			{{cat\|Book}}[[page type is::book\| ]][[guild association is::cleric\| ]][[race association is::dwarf\| ]]
	[[Category:Book]][[page type is::book\| ]]

CARAAMON at 23:38, 15 August 2008

2008-08-15T23:38:28Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:38, 15 August 2008
Line 29:		Line 29:
	Looking back on it, the draught the Elder Priest made may have been nothing more than rum and bourbon, giving us children a little false courage. The ravens may have been a small drunken Dwarf child's twisted vision of mere bats. But the experience was etched into my young mind and still resides as the marker of the day my childhood ended, and a guiding light by which my future would be navigated.		Looking back on it, the draught the Elder Priest made may have been nothing more than rum and bourbon, giving us children a little false courage. The ravens may have been a small drunken Dwarf child's twisted vision of mere bats. But the experience was etched into my young mind and still resides as the marker of the day my childhood ended, and a guiding light by which my future would be navigated.

	[[Category:Book]]		[[Category:Book]][[page type is::book\| ]]

Maintenance script at 19:28, 23 November 2007

2007-11-23T19:28:24Z

Show changes

Maintenance script: Book:BlcC moved to The Cornerstone (book)

2007-11-18T13:01:55Z

Book:BlcC moved to The Cornerstone (book)

← Older revision	Revision as of 08:01, 18 November 2007
(No difference)

Maintenance script at 01:51, 18 November 2007

2007-11-18T01:51:36Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:51, 17 November 2007
Line 1:		Line 1:
			{{WikifyBook}}

	<pre>		<pre>
	The Cornerstone		The Cornerstone

Maintenance script: New page:

 The Cornerstone By Lagerby Crimsonjaw  My most vivid memory as a child is being huddled in the small alcove of a cavern with my mother and siblings, together with other women and chi...

2007-11-18T01:39:42Z

New page: <pre> The Cornerstone By Lagerby Crimsonjaw My most vivid memory as a child is being huddled in the small alcove of a cavern with my mother and siblings, together with other women and chi...

New page

<pre>
The Cornerstone
By Lagerby Crimsonjaw

My most vivid memory as a child is being huddled in the small
alcove of a cavern with my mother and siblings, together with
other women and children of the Clan. Life in our Dwarven
Mining Community meant lots of moving around well away from
the main Cities. The tears were rolling down my mother's face
into her beard, her worry lines furrowed deep into her brow.
The din of battle echoing through the cavern sounded closer
now than ever we heard before. My father of course had been in
battle many times protecting our area. After each one, he
would gather the children around and recount the glory of our
victory. Of course his recounting was always told in such a
way as to not worry us; at that time I believed that a rock
troll was a small furry critter with sharp teeth and claws,
dangerous but not deadly.

The mothers clutched their children close, the children quiet
with concern and confusion. The battle had lasted longer than
any before. Standing on the stump of a broken off stalagmite
was the Elder Priest. Standing proud, the old dwarf's white
braided beard shook as he chanted. The sleeves of his robe
fell when he raised his arms revealing the ceremonial tattoos
of the Dwarven priesthood. He exuded confidence and pride. We
all joined him in many prayers to Kertigen, Everild, and
Chadatru. I was too spellbound by the fervent chanting and
prayers to notice that the battle was almost upon us. The
women gathered together in a hurried conference and argued
for a few minutes. They seemed to come to an agreement and
soon were heading out of the alcove, leaving us two dozen or
so children alone with the Elder Priest.

The Elder Priest, pausing between chants, prepared a
concoction in a large ornate jar. He poured into the jar many
vials of liquid of differing colors, from murky brown to
azure blue. A mist seemed to rise from the jar. He then
approached each child, and had it drink from this mystical
draught; the larger of us drinking two or three times. He
told us that Kertigen would bring to us courage and
strength.

The draught tasted of fire and honey. It immediately eased my
fears somewhat. All the children seemed calmer. The Elder
Priest again continued with his chants, becoming more fervent
. We were enthralled now by the Priest. He seemed to grow
larger the more he chanted, the din of battle seemed to fade
from my ears. My head was swimming in the comfortable haze
the draught provided me. The Priest took a heavy stone staff
crafted from a stalactite and slapped it hard on the
stalagmite podium, releasing a loud *CRACK* through the
alcove. I could not believe my eyes but I swear that dozens
of Ravens appeared from the walls and started circling the
alcove. Kertigen must surely be on our side this day!

Taking advantage of all the commotion I made my way to the
opening of the alcove. On my hands and knees, I peered over
the ledge into the main cavern. The height seemed dizzyingly
higher than usual. What I saw froze me to the rocks. I saw
the dwarves of our mining clan hard at battle with many rock
trolls. There were what must have been hundreds of dead
trolls littering the floor mingled with the dead and wounded
of my kin. Blood flowed down the low cracks of the cavern
disappearing into the dark shadows. The noise of battle and
the smell of death was overwhelming. I frantically searched
for my Father and Mother to no avail. The women who left the
alcove seemed to be down in the cavern fighting tooth and
nail along side the warriors and miners.

I heard from behind me in the alcove another loud *CRACK* and
the Ravens that were circling the alcove flew out into the
cavern below. My heart pounded faster and harder. Surely the
Priest had gained for us the favor of Kertigen. The ravens
obscured my sight of the battle for some time. When the
ravens cleared out into the shadows, the battle was over. All
of the trolls were dead!

I cheered wildly, praising Kertigen over and over. Then
suddenly I was grabbed from behind and snatched back into the
alcove. The Elder Priest scolded me for being such an
undisciplined child, then gave me a sparkly wink. He stood,
instructed us to remain in the alcove, and exited the alcove
into the main cavern to help with the fallen. I still felt
the fire in my belly and the peace the draught gave me, we
all did, none of the children were crying.

Soon some of the women returned to look after us, some of
them wounded. I asked one of them of my Mother and Father.
She said to me that my Mother was fine and was helping with
the wounded, she knew not of my Father. I nodded and joined
the group of children at the wall. I made myself really small
and hugged the wall and shadows until I was at the opening
again. With one last look behind me to see if I had been
noticed, I scrambled down into the cavern.

I saw my Mother in the distance kneeling over an unmoving
Dwarven Warrior. I resisted the urge to run to her and
continued to search for my Father. I threaded my way between
troll bodies and weapons on the ground, awestruck at the
carnage all around me. Finally I saw my Father on the ground,
unmoving, surrounded by the Elder priest and two younger
priests. I ran to him screaming "Father! Father!"

One of the younger priests scooped me up before I could make
it to him and held me still. He said to me "Courage, young
Lagerby". Through the blurry lens of my tears I watched the
priests pray and gesture at my Father surrounding him with a
silvery corona. I prayed and prayed, pleading for Kertigen to
bring my Father back. The Elder Priest, already exhausted and
showing his years, raised his arms upward, made one final
plea, "Kertigen we beseech thee!" He collapsed into the arms
of one of the younger priest's arms. My Father gasped and
coughed. He was alive! I knew then and since that I would too
be a priest.

Later that night, my father sat me down, and told me not to
tell any of my siblings of what I had seen. He then told the
tale of the battle to all of us children. It was a glorious
story, yet there was no mention of dying; and I immediately
understood that he did not want to worry us unnecessarily.

Looking back on it, the draught the Elder Priest made may
have been nothing more than rum and bourbon, giving us
children a little false courage. The ravens may have been a
small drunken Dwarf child's twisted vision of mere bats. But
the experience was etched into my young mind and still resides
as the marker of the day my childhood ended, and a guiding
light by which my future would be navigated.

</pre>

Cornerstone (book) - Revision history