Tales From the Sentinel

7/28/2019 Tales From the Sentinel

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TALESFROM THE SENTINEL

#1:Candle in the Storm

Don't leave the light unguarded, Solka intoned, as he did every time he handed the watch over

to me, clasping my hand in his. I grasped his firmly in return.The night shall not touch it, I replied, as was tradition. Solka nodded solemnly, then took his

leave, shutting the heavy heartwood door behind him. The door, a deep red-brown, was the only

punctuating splash of color in the room. The rest was solid, unyielding black. I settled into my chair,one of only two pieces of furniture in the room, to begin my vigil.

The other piece of furniture was a simple, round table, about five feet in diameter, painted white

in a blatant defiance of the room around it; but the table was not important. It was what stood, proud

and alone, in the center of it: a single candle, over a foot tall, crafted in deep mahogany wax, Its flameburned white. This flame was the stuff o fables, a fire that burned soft enough to look upon with the

naked eye, yet shone brightly enough, even in so small a form as this, to be seen from miles off. Thus

was the purpose of its presence. A single window, reaching from floor to ceiling, faced from my towerto the East, allowing light to stream and spread in that direction.

My tower was one of eight, built by our brotherhood after the Great Shadow had begun toovertake the land, swallowing up all light and enveloping everything in its blackness. Sun, moon and

stars all disappeared, and even fires were dimmed or smothered... all but the white flame. Were it notfor the brotherhood, all the realms would have been consumed, reduced by the shadow and the horrors

that stalked it to pitiful ruins, cowering in the hopeless darkness.

The brotherhood began as a convergence of the wise men of the realms. Compiling theircollective knowledge, they were able to foresee our doom where no one else could, recognizing the

shadow while it still lingered at the fringes of our land. They sent forth in secret for men from every

corner of the realms: men of power, wisdom and religion; sorcerers, spellbinders, scholars, those who

knew the secrets of the Earth and those who delved and dabbled in ancient magics. Together they heldcouncil for a year, until the Shadow was on our doorstep. It was then that they began the building of a

great fortress, crafted of dark stone, with foundations that plunged deep underground. They raised eighttowers, each with one window: four facing in the cardinal directions, four for the in-betweens. Duringthis time, the brotherhood sent their acolytes throughout all the realms to every city, village and

stronghold while they held council deep within the great fortress. The Sentinel, they named it; a guard,

to watch against the night and safekeep the kingdoms of men.After three years, the Shadow had consumed the wild forests of the East and mush of the ice

lands to the North. It was on the eve of the fourth year that the First Council, as they are now known,

emerged from the depths of the Sentinel. They then commenced with the beginnings of a rite, a

ceremony whose secrets are to this day known by only the highest of the Council elders. Its purpose: tosummon the white flame.

Some say they created the first white flame, modeling its reality after myths that had been

present for centuries. Others insisted that it had always existed, and that the brotherhood had simply re-awoken it. Still other believed that it was kindled by the breath of a salamander, the last remnantspecies descended from the ancient dragons. But by whatever manner, it came to be, and an

undimmable light was brought into the world. And though it had begun in the Sentinel, the brotherhood

had also found a way to give the gift of light and life to all the realms.One master from each region had crafted a single, long candle from the elements that made up

their homelands. The candle for the Eastern forests was made of the dust and sap of the heart tree and

fossilized loam; the candle for the Northern wastes was an ice-wax compound, kept frozen by the

extract of a rare leaf known as Dead Man's Breath; the candle for the Western plains was made of ash


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from grass fires and the bone of the giant bison that were hunted by the natives of that rolling region;

and the candle for the Southern desert was glass, melted and crafted from the endless shifting sands.

The restNorthwest, Southwest, Northeast and Southeastwere likewise crafted from elementsunique to that region. Each master lit their candle from the great white flame that had been awoken,

which burned deep underground beneath the Sentinel, then carried it to the top of the tower that faced

towards their homeland. As these candles were placed, all the acolytes in each realm awoke a whiteflame in whatever place they had been sent. Through this ritual, all the flames in each region were

bound toand fueled bythe single, undying flame of that region's candle, burning bright at the top of

whichever tower faced in its direction. If a candle died, then so did all light in the lands it represented.Thus the purpose of the Watch.

The Watch was a sect that contained over half of the brotherhood, many of them young men;

acolytes, or new inductees, brought from all around by the Sentinel's guiding light. Our purpose: to

wach over the candles, as well as the great flame which still burned in the heart of the fortress, andprotect them from the forces of darkness. From this purpose stemmed the ceremonial words: when the

vigil was handed over to the next Watchman, the previous Watchman would always warn, Do not

leave the light unguarded, to which the new one would always respond, The night shall not touch it.

The tower rooms were painted black to remind us that even in the light, the dark is always present; butthe white table, and of course the candle on top of it, were a reminder that no matter how surrounded

you are ny the dark, the light will forever be there to stave it off, if you only believe. I had been in the

watch for three years, and had said the words a thousand times... but I had never taken them for grantedonce. I had meant them every time.

I had heard stories of Watchmen being assaulted by Shadow forces while at their vigil, but put

little stock in them; the main enemy was sleep. The watch was a twelve-hour period of simple sittingand watching, afterhaving done one's dedications, chores, and study, plus whatever prayers one may

perchance include in their daily rituals. (This typically left about seven to eight hours of free time or

sleep; the wise generally chose sleep over indulgence.) So drowsiness would steal up on you more

often than not. But sleep,: the masters always warned us, and you leave your light unguarded againstthe Shadow; if your flame should falter and fail, then lives uncounted will fall to the darkness. One

man had ever fallen asleep at his vigil during my time there. Thankfully, his candle remained

unharmed. The man, however... some whispered that he still lived, somewhere deep in the bowels ofthe Sentinel. I prefer to think he no longer lives; death would probably be a welcome respite from

whatever punishment he suffered for his transgressions.

So, learning from his example, I took special care to not let sleep take me. It was not sleep,

though, that dogged my proverbial footsteps tonight; it was fear. Of what, I didn't know. It began as asimple, fleeting premonition, and I shrugged it off. But soon it grew more insistent, and harder to

ignore. It grew on me slowly, causing me to in turn glance about nervously, bite my nails, and tap my

feet. I made a futile attempt to whistle a tune, which died on my lips after but a few moments. I stood

up to pace the room, then sat back down again. Finally the fear started to emerge from my very pores asI broke out in a cold sweat, beginning to shiver, caught in the grip of a terror as raw and primeval as the

basest of paranoias. Was it darker in this room, or was it just my imagination? And all the scratching I

was suddenly hearing, like bone on rock... real, or just the productions of my fevered, delusional mind?A sudden gust of chill wind blew through the chamber, making dappled light dance on the walls

as the candle's flame guttered ever-so-slightly. It hit me then: no simple breeze could make the white

flame shiver. Where would a breeze be coming from, anyway?I turned to the window and saw, to my horror, that one of the enormous East-facing wondow's

eight panes was wide open. Open to the night without. I strode quickly on shaking legs towards the

window to close the renegade pane.

A massive force careened into my chest, bowling me over and throwing me to the floor. As I hitthe ground, the tight ball of shapeless blackness that had struck me unfurled and in an instant spread


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over the whole room. I tried to rise, but I was forced back to the ground by something I could not see. I

heard a low snarl, and I felt hot waves of rancid breath as they chugged over my face. The smell of

dampness, decay and death smothered me. I could still see the flame of the candle, but it was distortedsomehow, and shapes flitted back and forth in front of it, throwing dark, fuzzy shadows over

everything. I could hear shrieks and the frenzied flapping of unnumbered wings. My eyelids were

growing heavier and heavier, and my vision began to blur, but I could make out the shape of a tallsomething, hooded and cloaked in what looked like a torn-out piece of the Shadow itself. It moved

slowly forward, extending a shriveled black hand towards the light of the Eastern forest. I tried to

scream, to command the being back into the night, but the same intense fear that seeped through mypores caught the words in my throat. If only I could just disappear, run, turn my back and flee in denial

of what was happening, denial of my failure to uphold and protect everything I had ever learned an

believed.

I heard then the voice of one of the masters, a piece of wisdom from somewhere in my memory:

Only a fool does not fear the dark, he had said, but only a child tries to hide from it. I forced myeyes open and looked directly at the shrouded figure; its hand was descending over the precious flame,

ready to snuff it out. I heard its deep, ghastly voice, mocking me.

Don't leave the light unguarded, it growled.The night... I croaked. My voice failed.

The light will forever be there to stave it off, if you only believe. I felt air return to my lungs;

warm, thick, strong air. My voice returned, and though it was barely audible above the cacophony ofshrieks and howls and heavy, hot breathing, I began again.

The night... shall not... touch it!

The explosion that followed was blinding. I heard myriads of agonized screams as fingers ofwhite fire shot out and struck at the shadows like burning whips. The cloaked figure dissolved, and the

pressure holding me to the floor was ripped away as the last vestiges of the Shadow creatures fled out

of the still-open window. And as quickly as it began it was over, though the white flame, flickering

mellowly atop its red-brown candle, seemed to burn a little brighter now.I lay there, drained of my strength, watching it flicker and sway until my brothers burst through

the heavy heartwood door, picked me up, and took me off to see a healer. As they took me down the

hall towards the tower stairs I caught sight of my replacement, a younger Watchman with a terrifiedlook on his face. I managed, with the last of my strength, to extend my arm and grasp his hand as he

passed. He nearly leaped from his skin, but I caught his attention and he looked me in the eyes. I

gripped his sweaty hand firmly and muttered, Don't leave the light unguarded.

Stunned, he replied: The night shall not touch it. ***

#2: The First Knight(OR: The Tale of Day and Night)

An excerpt from a volume of histories held in the archival libraries of the Sentinel.

Ages ago, when the Earth was still young, when its far, dark reaches still lay unimagined, and

shapeless horrors haunted the seas and the jungles and the deserts, there were two great powers: theDark and the Light. The darkness sought always to overcome the Light. So it has been since the

beginnings of time and space, when the first star was placed upon the face of the Great Nothing (called

the Void by some), and so it will be until the end of times.

Now it came to be, in the age before the Age, that the powers of darkness awoke a being out ofthe bowels of the Earth, where the seas of fire rage forever, that was their handiwork, done in secret


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where the Light could not see. It became the first god of darkness, and it's name was Rakkahro (called

the Great Ba'ael by some.) He took the form of a great serpent, fearsome and filled with the fires of the

Earth; this is why, to this day, all the great serpents breathe fire which is hotter than any other.But it came to pass that the gods of Light saw the creature the darkness had made, and they

were wroth with anger. They shone the brighter in their fury, and for a time were able to hold the

serpent at bay. But soon the beast grew bold and ventured from his void hiding places in the unformedcorners of the world, swallowing their light as he went. Too far from Earth, the gods of Light could do

no more. So they turned their myriad eyes instead to the creatures of Earth to seek out a hero upon

whom they could bestow their power.After a time, the gods of Light in their heavenly seats saw that the first Men had emerged from

the dust; and they saw that Man was strong, and that Man had heart and mind. So they chose one of

them (whose name shall never be known,) and sent him a vision. So he left his people and wandered

into the desert, where he waited for four days. During this time, the gods of Light determined that theywould each give something to assure the man's victory.

We will give him a weapon, said the Star Gods, the million who are one; and so They did.

One of their number was sent to Earth with a weapon. But as he fell from the sky, he lost control and

crashed into the ground of the desert. The ground shook, and the man was afraid; but the star, with itsdying breath, said, Do not be afraid, child. So the man went to the place where the star had fallen,

and in its place was a a shining Sword.

Then the Moon God said, I will give him protection from the beast,; and so he did. Out of theunyielding metals that formed his core, he fashioned a suit of Armor, and sent it to the man in a dream

(for the Moon God has this power).

Then, lastly, came the Sun God's turn; but he did nothing. The Star Gods spoke to him: Whydo you do nothing? They asked, but the Sun God did not reply. Then the Moon God spoke: Have

you, the greatest of us, nothing to give the man? he asked, but still the Sun God did not reply. Then the

Moon and Stars became angry, and distanced themselves from him.

The man was given one day to prepare. Then, on the sixth day, the spirit of the Dark came. Fora day and a night they fought. The man was strong, but by midnightthe eve of the seventh day and

the dawn of the eighthhe was weary. He had a sword; but the serpent''s teeth were like swords

themselves. He had armor; but the serpent's scales were like armor as well. He began to despair, and hecried out to the gods of Light in his own tongue (which is no longer known in this world), but his

strength began to fail, and he fell.

The serpent drew himself up for the killing strike, and the man cried out once more. And lo and

behold, as midnight passed and morning dawned, the Sun God showed his face. His light, shone fromafar, danced across the armor made by the Moon God and blinded Rakkahro. Seeing that the Sun God

had given him a chance, the man rose and, with a mighty cry, ran his sword through the serpent's heart.

(So it was that the man became the first knight by slaying the first dragon; and to this day, man hunts

the children of the great serpent.)And though the Moon and the Stars begged the Sun God's forgiveness for doubting his wisdom,

he would not forgive them; rather, he sent them away from him. This is why, to this day, he will not

appear in the sky with them, nor they with him. ***

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Tales From the Sentinel