Same Disclaimer as the Prologue: Based on v 3.5 Dungeons and Dragons Books,
Original Characters, original plot, but
powers/abilities/spells/skills/weapons/baddies/etc. taken from the books.
Chapter 1
As the first ray of dawn peeked over the distant mountain tops, the cover of the spell book slammed shut, leaving a trail of dust in its wake. The world was alive around Adrianna: birds sang, deer sprang about, and even the fish seemed a little more active. Patches of vibrant undergrowth glowed in the waterfalls of molten gold that managed to drift through the canopy, the golden rays of sunlight adding a new mystery to the docile forest.
All was at peace, except for the young wizard.
Four years had passed since her life had changed from a course of eternal servitude to one of power and mastery. Four years had passed since her mentor, The Master, had died and passed a horrible, but necessary, responsibility to her.
As he lay dieing in the Tower, the Master had passed on vital knowledge to her. Knowing he didn't have much time, he used a draining, dangerous, and desperate form of reverse mind reading to imprint his knowledge onto her mind. He didn't have enough time to pass on the organization of his thoughts, however, leaving Adrianna with all of the knowledge, but without a clue as to which fact went under which section.
Her thoughts were a chaotic hurricane of ageless knowledge, swirling around the calm section that she has managed to decipher and classify. It wasn't an easy task; the Herculean job nearly buckled her morale and will to continue, but Adrianna knew that if she didn't conquer the knowledge, she would surely go mad.
She had, however, gained enough foresight from the imparted knowledge to laden herself with rare provisions that she wouldn't have been able to obtain easily. The knapsack she had found was magical; it sported extra- dimensional storage capabilities as well as a spell that lightened the load significantly. Adrianna had loaded the old leather pack with every spell book she could lay her hands on, as well as spell components, money, rare magic items, and the Codex of the Fallen, the responsibility she had gained.
According to the Master's knowledge, the Codex of the Fallen was millennia old. It had come from the mind of a Prismatic Dragon who had been a paragon of his species, for he was gifted with the ability to see the future. The Codex held the major choices that the world would face, as well as the identity of the few who would decide the course of existence. The Codex held all that once was, all that would be, and all that could possibly be.
It was this responsibility that Adrianna didn't want. It was this responsibility that had been forced upon her by the Society of the Fallen, the society of wizards who created and manned the Tower of Arcane Magic. The Society of the Fallen had been founded by the great dragon to protect, and fulfill, the prophecy to ensure that life and magic would not perish upon the world.
Adrianna could sense that she was not even close to comprehending the full meaning of the Codex, although she was making daily progress against the disorder in her mind. Her daily meditation helper her gain ground; the complete relaxation allowed her to put drifting fragments of thought together to form a coherent piece of knowledge. She had another form of meditation, as well, one that was not hers, but was necessary for her survival.
She studied the simplest of her spell books every morning, reviewing the science that was magic. Wizards focused their power through knowledge; in the case of magic, it was the knowledge of the arcane forces of the world and how they could be manipulated. Magic for the wizard was an exact science: certain motions, words, and compounds needed to be performed in order to cast a spell. Because of the nature of these requirements, wizards recorded the spells they learned in their spell books.
Adrianna had taken all of the Master's spell books; her new realization of magic and its forces that the master had given her allowed her to be able to discern the different spell books form one another with a mere touch.
She had also discovered that she had a gift for understanding and implementing evocation spells, spells that involved the summoning or creation of energy far better than any other form of magic. This power had a down side, however; she could not comprehend nor cast necromancy and abjuration spells.
Adrianna's mind snapped out of the deep trance of thoughts when her hand brushed the shining, dragon scale cover of the Codex. The mere touch of the book and the knowledge it contained sent terror lancing into her heart. Adrianna retracted her hand much like the sky calls back lightning, and closed her sack. He delicate hand reached for her water skin, which was resting against a large oak, but it never reached its goal.
At that instant, the water skin was burst by a small, black, crudely made arrow.
Chapter 1
As the first ray of dawn peeked over the distant mountain tops, the cover of the spell book slammed shut, leaving a trail of dust in its wake. The world was alive around Adrianna: birds sang, deer sprang about, and even the fish seemed a little more active. Patches of vibrant undergrowth glowed in the waterfalls of molten gold that managed to drift through the canopy, the golden rays of sunlight adding a new mystery to the docile forest.
All was at peace, except for the young wizard.
Four years had passed since her life had changed from a course of eternal servitude to one of power and mastery. Four years had passed since her mentor, The Master, had died and passed a horrible, but necessary, responsibility to her.
As he lay dieing in the Tower, the Master had passed on vital knowledge to her. Knowing he didn't have much time, he used a draining, dangerous, and desperate form of reverse mind reading to imprint his knowledge onto her mind. He didn't have enough time to pass on the organization of his thoughts, however, leaving Adrianna with all of the knowledge, but without a clue as to which fact went under which section.
Her thoughts were a chaotic hurricane of ageless knowledge, swirling around the calm section that she has managed to decipher and classify. It wasn't an easy task; the Herculean job nearly buckled her morale and will to continue, but Adrianna knew that if she didn't conquer the knowledge, she would surely go mad.
She had, however, gained enough foresight from the imparted knowledge to laden herself with rare provisions that she wouldn't have been able to obtain easily. The knapsack she had found was magical; it sported extra- dimensional storage capabilities as well as a spell that lightened the load significantly. Adrianna had loaded the old leather pack with every spell book she could lay her hands on, as well as spell components, money, rare magic items, and the Codex of the Fallen, the responsibility she had gained.
According to the Master's knowledge, the Codex of the Fallen was millennia old. It had come from the mind of a Prismatic Dragon who had been a paragon of his species, for he was gifted with the ability to see the future. The Codex held the major choices that the world would face, as well as the identity of the few who would decide the course of existence. The Codex held all that once was, all that would be, and all that could possibly be.
It was this responsibility that Adrianna didn't want. It was this responsibility that had been forced upon her by the Society of the Fallen, the society of wizards who created and manned the Tower of Arcane Magic. The Society of the Fallen had been founded by the great dragon to protect, and fulfill, the prophecy to ensure that life and magic would not perish upon the world.
Adrianna could sense that she was not even close to comprehending the full meaning of the Codex, although she was making daily progress against the disorder in her mind. Her daily meditation helper her gain ground; the complete relaxation allowed her to put drifting fragments of thought together to form a coherent piece of knowledge. She had another form of meditation, as well, one that was not hers, but was necessary for her survival.
She studied the simplest of her spell books every morning, reviewing the science that was magic. Wizards focused their power through knowledge; in the case of magic, it was the knowledge of the arcane forces of the world and how they could be manipulated. Magic for the wizard was an exact science: certain motions, words, and compounds needed to be performed in order to cast a spell. Because of the nature of these requirements, wizards recorded the spells they learned in their spell books.
Adrianna had taken all of the Master's spell books; her new realization of magic and its forces that the master had given her allowed her to be able to discern the different spell books form one another with a mere touch.
She had also discovered that she had a gift for understanding and implementing evocation spells, spells that involved the summoning or creation of energy far better than any other form of magic. This power had a down side, however; she could not comprehend nor cast necromancy and abjuration spells.
Adrianna's mind snapped out of the deep trance of thoughts when her hand brushed the shining, dragon scale cover of the Codex. The mere touch of the book and the knowledge it contained sent terror lancing into her heart. Adrianna retracted her hand much like the sky calls back lightning, and closed her sack. He delicate hand reached for her water skin, which was resting against a large oak, but it never reached its goal.
At that instant, the water skin was burst by a small, black, crudely made arrow.
