[center][h1]Citadel Dundee[/h1][/center] The winding streets of the Citadel were alien to Leian, a Hain pilgrim from Alefpria. He had decided to explore the world, and the world seemed so alien compared to the orderly confines of the city he had called home. New people, new appearances, and new locations whirled in his head. A book by his side, he was sure none of these people could read Alefprian script, which meant that it would be worthless to steal. The journal was a record of his travels. He’d explored the territories of the new Marquise, the ruins that were left of old Xerxes. He’d wound his way to Messethalassa, and finally he had walked all the way to Citadel Dundee. In the years after the destruction of Xerxes at the hand of Alefpria, he had heard rumors about a new form of magic and grand projects in the citadel. Now, he was going towards an area in the middle of the mountain curiously called ‘The Staging Port’, whatever that meant. He’d travelled for weeks throughout the mountain, and he’d come to a rather large city that he assumed held the mysterious location. Maybe he’d get to see one of the grand projects the Citadel had been working on. In his pocket jingled strange round things, stamped out of metal with a picture of a mountain on one side. There was a small hole in one of the sides, that appeared to allow for string to be threaded through. Supposedly these small circles made of valuable metals would allow him to pay for things. He’d always lived on the outskirts of Alefpria, so he was unfamiliar with anything but barter. Nevertheless, he had procured those coins, as they called them, to pay his way through the mountain. He had seen traders at the edge of the mountain, the few who dared journey that far, wear them as jewelry, like some sort of mark of honor. He had no interest in that, he was a simple man with simple desires. He wished to perhaps write a book, but that was the extent of his dreams. Exploration was its own reward. He would document the many wonders of the world, and he would see that others could share in his adventures. When he could finally see the staging port in the distance, he was agape. There were thousands of.. Floating ships? Floating ships, in the sky? They had some sort of sails and galleys, and they flew through the sky with ease. He pushed through the crowd as best he could, running to the entrance to the grand docking structure. A shaft of light beamed down upon it, a hole in the roof. So this was the grand project the Citadel had spent so many resources on. He came to a collection of warehouses, and he continued on past them. Stopping a nearby batlike creature, he spoke, “Excuse me, where can someone get on one of those ships in the sky?” The creature looked down at Leian, saying, “Go to the bar straight from here. You can charter a ship.” and began to walk off. Leian did not stop the creature, though he was unfamiliar with their species. He had heard that the Dwarves had undergone some kind of change, but he never thought it would be so drastic. With that out of the way, he walked down the street, still pushing through crowds. Once he reached the bar, he entered, though he wasn’t one for drinking. He had to find his way onto one of these ships. Flying contraptions! An amazing prospect for an explorer. Looking around, he then realized he had no idea who to talk to to charter a ship. He asked around a bit, often confusing the men in the bar with his lack of knowledge, but eventually he was pointed in the right direction. A group of sailors, several batlike creatures, a lynx-like creature, and many yeti-like creatures sat in a corner, cheerfully drinking. They silenced when Leian neared, and watched him, as he fumbled his words, “Uh- excuse me, are you the captain of that.. A ship?” “Indeed I am,” said the lynx-like creature, putting down her drink, continuing, “what exactly do you need?” “I wish to charter a ship. Cost is no issue. I do not care where we go.” the Hain said. The captain nodded, saying, “Well, we have room for one more. Twenty coins, and it’s a deal. We launch tomorrow morning, if you don’t arrive, you don’t get a refund. Fair?” to which the Alefprian Hain nodded, scattering twenty of his coins onto the table. The captain invited him to drink, and while he did not drink, he did sit and learn of the crew all throughout the evening. More to put in his journal. The next morning, Leian boarded their ship, a large galleon-like ship with many oars and even some sail rigs. He was curious as to how it floated, however. But, when he went to the captain to ask, he was shushed. It was apparently a secret. That much he understood, they did not want their ships spreading to other empires. Petty politics always held sway in the land. Then, the call went out. “Loose the tethers!”. The ship rocked as the lines connecting it to the dock were cut, and the gangplank was retracted. Leian barely kept on his feet as the ship lurched away from the dock, floating towards an empty space in the port. “Heading South by Southwest!” came the second cry, and the ship was roused into action. The sails were dropped, and the oars began to work. The rudders in the back turned, and the ship began to list, turning to another direction. This time Leian did fall over, tumbling across the deck into a crewmember, who grumbled and lifted him to his feet. To him, it was a magical world of wonder. He could care less about losing his footing, he was flying! Then, came the third and final cry. “Full speed ahead, Albe’s Route, to the Wilder Company docks on Mirus!” That final part gave Leian a start. The moon? Wouldn’t they suffocate? When he confronted the captain about it, however, the woman just stated, “The magic will protect us from the cold.” to which he responded, “What magic?” “The magic that allows us to float. And, also, a word of advice. Don’t bring up the Empress in the colonies. There’s a reason she’s called our Enduring Majesty, the Divine Traitor. They’ve got cults up there, and a lot of them. As long as they pay their share of goods to the empire, though, they’re left alone. Nevertheless, nobody would miss a single Hain. So watch yourself on shore leave.” The captain spoke, searching her bookshelves in her cabin for something. Finally, she pulled out a scroll, which was exquisitely drawn. On it, what could be best described as a map of the solar system and the main routes. The Hain looked at it. [hider=The map][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/226930009732939777/377241689653510154/Neamh.png[/img][/hider] [hider= Summary] A Hain named Leian from Alefpria is exploring the world. In the few years directly after the Battle of Xerxes, he learned that the dwarves had some major projects. He finds out these projects were massive space-faring galleys. [They are powered by a new form of Lazarusian magic, based on secrets. As long as the workings of the magic is kept secret, then it works. Magic! More specifically, black box magic.] He charters a ship, lead by a Gryphon Rider captain, curiously without a Gryphon. They launch, and the next waypoint is a royal-charter company dock, on the moon Mirus, AKA Heartworm’s lair. The thing about Heartworm’s lair is that it leads to huge blowfly cults. The Empire doesn’t give a shit about it since they pay their taxes, though. I need to go to bed soon, so more to come on the spacefaring adventures of Leian! [/hider] [hider=Might Spenditure of Lazarus] 5 Might - Creating secret magic, 3 invested into Knowledge: Arcana. 2 Might - Jumpstarting the creation of spacefaring ships and a small spacefaring empire with the magic. Total: 7 might used, 0 left. [/hider]