Chosen Heroes

Stained Glass by iStockphoto.com\agsandrew

We start in a church dedicated to the Silver Dragon, Kormanthanagan. The tenants of faith speak of the dragon that saved the people of the forest from an aggressive empire and demons. Considered more myth than fact, the stories came from a time even before the Southern Kingdoms expelled evil dragon cults. Most people of the world today would not consider a dragon a force for good, except the people of the forest. And their faith brought them through many difficult times.

However, clouds began to gather again. Family members started disappearing. Rumors of attacks filled villages and gatherings. Monsters and threats spread across the forest. Over the last ten years, many of the people of the forest left their lands and migrated to the frontier town of Etonia. There, one church stood to the dragon that had saved their people in the past. Some came hoping to make a stand. Some of the people came to start a new life. Some came for guidance. They stayed and helped the city grow from a fishing village into the beacon of the North in a few short years.

The church took the refugees' rumors seriously and began to train knights in addition to providing shelter and food. The danger never stepped out of the shadows but continued to harangue the people of the forest- always looming over the city. A month ago, the faithful received a sign. An ancient artifact returned, a weapon provided by the silver dragon in the battles of the past. A young woman, Supheli, used the weapon to protect a village in the forest, activating a connection to the spirit of the silver dragon. High Priest Edwards believed the timing of this was no coincidence.

In the last week, one of the elders of the forest experienced a vision of an ancient evil coming for her, Acogzluk. Greed, envy, and avarice spread from this demon. Soon, it would come for all of the forest and Etonia. Its greed and desire to corrupt all those around it were insatiable. Oral stories from the time of the Silver Dragon told of mists that would sweep people away or bring out their greed and worst desires. Over the centuries, the people of the forest used faith, ceremonies, and the plants around them to keep the demon diminished. The old ways were no longer enough. Someone had unleashed the full power of the demon.

Silhouettes overhead by iStockPhoto.com\-Vladimir-

Yesterday, the knights of the church were summoned to a battle deep in the forest. Supheli had found the nest of evil that Acogzluk conspired within. The church building, constructed from ancient magical stone, responded to her need and opened a portal into the battlefield. The knights rushed to her aid and succeeded, but something still infested the forest and a nearby fortress. Supheli raced off after a shadowy figure that had unchained Acogzluk. Now, the knights needed all their allies to help reclaim the forest and find the source of the remaining corruption, Acgozluk.

Heralds' urgent calls echoed in the streets of Etonia. They needed city guards, scouts, Avast Library sages, or experienced adventurers. Messages sent via magic soared to allies asking for their immediate support. Plans were still being hatched as the knights held a small beachhead on the other side of the portal.

Three of those adventurers have assembled in a meeting room off to the side of the church's sanctuary. A map and papers fill the table. Tea and biscuits have just been server to all. In the room with the chosen heroes, a knight stands at attention by the door and a muscled warrior with a shield as tall as his chair sits beside a young sage at the table. An orange cat settles onto the middle of the table and yawns as High Priest Edwards enters the room. From here, the adventure begins...