[i][h3]The Vale[/h3][b]The Crypt,[/b]
[b]Currently[/b][/I]

"If you truly wish to know what happened here, in a greater battle than just your eyes can bear witness to," The man plainly spoke, having come to a rest after a few steps, "One where you will need dispel your illusions of what is 'good' and what is 'evil'. Neither has any place here; to claim victory for one is to not only shut out another, but the third too."

The intent traveler, stayed by the monk's address, turned carefully to spy upon her. It was clear as he did this that his motions were more lively than before, that his apparent battle with Ruron, the Kingdom of Darkness and then the Heroes of the Light had taxed him, but no more now. However, rather than inflict any sort of force using this restored energy, that born of the dim flames that silently waved in each of the two stone halls, he was content to speak.

"[i]Ysgard[/i] is the eternal battleground, where life and death, good and evil are naught. It is only a place of heightened conflict, where the first answer to any problem is to arms. It is why warriors and heroes of all walks come here."

The [i]Green Man's[/i] fingers interlaced one another as he methodically adjusted a gauntlet, seating the leather and steel back to the hand, his voice returning in the calm wake, "I take it you arrived here because a call to arms was sounded. Balanced, above all things, must be maintained. Should it fail, the [i]Great Wheel[/i] will come undone and all things with it."

His piercing stare softened for a moment, realizing well his mysticism and recitation was not bound to get him anywhere with zealots. Unclasping his hands thereafter, letting them fall to just beside the plates that covered his figure, he rephrased himself and spoke far more plainly.

"You, like the others, are instruments of compensation; where there is too much darkness, there must be some light and in return too. Whoever or whatever governed that wisely brought you here, to a realm under siege by the dark, one of many at that. Foolishly you almost ensured the darkness' victory, because you refuse to accept the light casting shadows, just as the boy is lost to believe that by creating a great darkness, that the light is brighter than ever. However, with some provocation - and your near destruction - you were pressured into doing what was needed."

The man of mystery and oddity made his point more clear, perhaps a little too much so, as by any conventional sense what it was he was stating - a need for a balance of good and evil - was near heresy. Yet he did not flinch, not even so much as smirk or smile about it. It was said as plainly as if one had asked him what the weather were.

Yet for all this talk, the bard in the meanwhile could not discern any of the armored ghosts. The remnants of their equipment and gear in the tangible sense remained scattered wildly upon the ground, but the phantoms themselves, manifest as corporeal beings were nowhere to be found. This was in spite of the dwindling crowd, where each seemed to give their approval and vanished. Perhaps they had no need for he weapons and armor anymore, now free of the need to fight? Or perhaps their bones and remains needed be returned to an actual rest? Who could say, short of perhaps Valmjr?

Speaking of such a man, who used his trusted weapon to rise to one knee and soon stand, he glanced around from side to side and breathed a heavy sight of relief, uttering something about avoiding his calling again in the process - something that was unclear. He was not the only one, for Haemar carefully sprung to his feet from his back, resting standing and holding his head in his hands. The elf's reaction was not an unfair one, he had been beaten senseless and utterly pummeled, only to be returned to life by the magic of the two flames.

"But..." A familiar gnomish voice trailed in as the purple wizard intervened in word and step, "Why fight Birbin's friends, [i]Green Man[/i]?"

The man responded, completely untroubled to the question posed, "If the Light succeeded, it would be overwhelmed by the Dark. You yourself bore witness to one of the deepest darknesses to ever touch the land."

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[b]Score[/b]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2LIEQsZQew]Celestial Temple[/url]

[b]Map[/b]
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