"Well, it has to be here", a dark elf lord shoved his hand clad in a mitten into the center of a crumpled piece of a map depicting a region of Shining Spring. "This is where they met her... three years ago I think? I don't remember the number, but the hero who gave me this map said they met her in a cave beneath the foot of this hill on that year". Vapour belched from his mouth as he spoke, shivering with cold and desperately muffling himself in a coat cast above his armour.
"The cave must be that one, but it is small, no way a creature as large as the Sphynx could fit in!", the unholy necromancer lady smirked. "You shouldn't be so stubborn, just trust the locals, they cannot be wrong! They said the Magic fills the air after the New Year in these lands, and if you really don't heed my reasoning, think for yourself. They have customs, they should know better!"
The dark elf hemmed in vexation, but something in his companion's words combined with the severe frost made him consider a break. "Alright, alright! Why don't we make a fire in that cave though, I feel that if we turn around now my feet will freeze to the ground halfway back".
The necromancer shrugged. She was not as susceptible to cold as the living, but she volunteered to accompany the dark elf, and could not turn him down now.
The two kindled a fire and sat beside it, right at the cave entrance, down the hill crevice that gave them shelter from the hurling wind.
"What do you know of her?", the dark elf started to break the silence.
"There are legends. You cannot really be sure which one to take on trust, but they all seem to agree on the fact that she was a creature of unbelievable magical powers. Some factions call her the patroness of wisdom; us necromancers name her the Miracle-lady."
"We call her the Avatar of magic, I've heard that many times."
"So do the wizards, I believe. She was widely known in ancient times as a wandering perceptress, prophet and miracle-worker. She moved from one country to another, helping in many woes and multiplying her fame. She had a retinue of other feline creatures who always followed her wherever she would go; they swore to protect here and always strove to learn from her. You and I know them today as the Sphynx guardians, Sphynx warriors and the Sphynx immortals".
"But they still serve her, even though they joined the wizards, right?"
"Ah, they did not join the wizards willingly; actually, this is where the common root of those legends breaks into dozens of peers. There is no mutual understanding of what happened. Some nations say there was a great tribulation in a land where she arrived, others recite of some great woe that had stricken her children... those are among the most verisimilar ones, anyway". The necromancer lady threw a log into the fire and rubbed her hands. "Point is, at some moment many years ago she sacrificed herself to correct some huge evil or to prevent a terrible threat. With the last bit of her magic powers she teleported away, and her suite was just left behind. They joined the wizard faction to keep up their martial skills and to satisfy their thirst for knowledge, because the wizards were the most appropriate faction for that purpose in the land that is now known as the Empire."
"Indeed. Once a year many of them still go on pilgrimage to guard their patroness, I've heard them say that for the days she animates back from stone, she is vulnerable. That only happens around the Christmas day; she becomes so weary for company over the months that she teleports around the inhabited lands, offers trials of wisdom and works miracles. Where does the Christmas word come from?"
"Nobody knows. But the Knights call her the Redeemer, sometimes even the Savior. Whichever legend is true, she must have played a great role in the lives of the mortal factions."
"Of every legend there is a bit of truth and a gob of conceited, mercenary yarn!"
The lord and the lady squeaked as they jumped up to their feet. Right behind the hill crevice sat the Sphynx stretching her feline body and smiling happily at the two with her beautiful humanoid smile.
"My oh my, I told you! You just had to believe!", the dark elf shrieked out in rapture.
"But how did you come back to life?" the unholy lady inquired. "Doesn't the magic of the land fall on another date in these lands?"
"Other date, other time... Time is not important, mortal ones; only faith is. The gentleman is right; those who have enough faith to seek for me will find me, not necessarily on the date of the magical overflow! Remember this: faith feeds the bond between us, not time, and not even magic! The natives believe they will find me in January, and that's how it will be. For the time until then, they will simply not see me. But you will, those of you who have faith to see me on this day!"
The Sphynx peered into the eyes of the two companions, and purred contentedly: she saw some a small peer of understanding her words there.
"Now, which one of you will take the trial of wisdom first? I hope you prepared well; there were many changes in your lives this year, and I will interrogate you thoroughly!"
Lords and Ladies!
Those of you who truly bear the title by right (i.e. registered through LordsWM.com) will find the following features available on this Christmas period:
-The Sphynx offers her cryptical challenge. The trial consists of nine questions of different complexity about the world of LordsWM, earning a reward out of three options, the quality of the reward based on how correct your answers will be.
-After the trial is taken, you will discover your own personal deposit of the Christmas gift vault! There are seven compartments, each of them is locked with four trinkets, the trinkets being scattered throughout the Empire. You have a chance to loot a trinket in any victorious combat.. The central compartment may only be opened after all around it have been looted.
-The Sphynx and the Vault will be available until December, 27th inclusive. Until that time, troops and mana restore 50% faster.
Search for your Central Library membership cards, Lordship, for this year's trial promises to be challenging! |
