IN A HURRY?
by Henry Livingston
"This one was told to me by the Mage of
Abilai and it still sits the highest on my shelf of favorites. To be
banished for a practical joke displaying ones talent as a Master Thief -
humph... I bet the thieves of my past wish for that from the Constables
that cut of their hands for stealing to eat. So with that being said
here is the story of the kid who would be a god... or as some call him -
Lando."
As early the newborn years of Abilai, the era of choice weaved the
thoughts of one God to do the unthinkable -.he stole a tooth out of the
mouth of the most powerful of all Abilain Gods - Panthe.
While the God of Light slept, Lease-Pha'il A'lando or Lando reached into
Panthe's mouth and plucked a molar from its oral home. Four days went by
before Panthe even noticed it was taken, but when he discovered it was
gone he cursed the tooth to only be used for good when it was whole
again, then with a thought he shattered the stolen molar into nine
pieces, which fell down to Abilai. These pieces were known as the
Carriers of Carnage - cursed pieces of the tooth of Panthe, and Lando
was banished to the Pantheon of Dreams for eternity so that he would be
separated from all of the Gods to prevent this event from reoccurring,
or until Panthe forgave him for his demented, yet criminal act.
In the Pantheon of Dreams, Lease-Pha'il A'lando was only allowed to
interact with mortals and only during their dreams. He was allowed to
pick them at random as they slept and do to them whatever he wished save
death. If a being became injured or died in his dream world, they would
awaken the next morning with the scarring from the actions of the dream
unleashed the night before. Lease-Pha'il A'lando was also given the gift
to control time in his realm, thus one dream cycle could last for many
years. One person could even grow old and die in this very real,
dream-like state as if they were on Abilai itself and wake up the next
morning unaffected by the time spent with the memories of the whole life
lived from it.
Lease-Pha'il A'lando appears as a 1/4 human, 1/4 Dwarf, 1/2 Halfling
child with a knack for playing. His games would kill in reality as he
searches for the perfect playmate. Those that enter the dreamland
remember its horror, his laugh they say is the soul stealer and all who
spend time there are generally paranoid of falling asleep for almost one
full moon cycle.
If a creature or weapon is created in Lando's realm he can send it back
with any chosen mortal he wishes and if a item, creature or weapon is
used by any being he can bring them both into his realm if they can
dream -the key is the mortal dreamer. The greatest of anything created
by Lease- Pha 'il A'lando is The Weapons of Bane. They are the Carrier
of Carnage pieces of Panthe's tooth that Lando crafts into Weapons of
Power. Unfortunately because of Lando's fascination with the bizarre, he
chooses the names of not-so-scary fruit to name these weapons. He
believes the "sticky" past fits the cursed weapons and allowed King
William of Crowe Haven's first born to have the first of these weapons
-Orange Bane. Laric spent 3 years training and learning how to use its
power then Lando sent him back to Crowe Haven. One by one Lando searched
for the pieces of the tooth to finish creating the set, making sure that
every weapon was different and most of all unique.
There are eight: Orange Bane, Bane of Papaya, Bane of Mango, Bane of
Mulberry, Bane of Banana, Bane of Pineapple, Bane of Kumquat, Bane of
Watermelon and Bane of Kiwi. Both Bane of Papaya and Bane of Mulberry
have souls trapped in them. These are the souls of two very powerful
beings that during their stay in the Dream Pantheon chose not to "play"
at Lando’s request. Orange Bane is the key piece with an odd inscription
in draconic on its hilt "The tooth will set you free ", Bane of Mango
has a piece in it that will create the ultimate Weapon of Power, Bane of
Banana and Bane of Kumquat are the unstable weapons, Bane of Watermelon
and Kiwi cannot be controlled as they are evil and intelligent as
Selinasse the Demigoddess of Darkness, and Bane of Pineapple is the
strongest of all the weapons.
Although each one of the pieces is cursed Lando creates inhibitors that
control each of the weapons. There are two per weapon: One is a gem set
housing to hold a specific "inhibitor" gem that allows the user to wield
the weapon at its "un-cursed" potential. The other is a necklace that
must be worn to use the weapon at its "full" potential.
It was mentioned by an Illumian historian that the Weapons of Bane will
be the undoing of the world by doing what they were meant to do for the
world. Me? Personally I think that all Illumian "predictions" lack a
degree of common sense, but then again, who am I to challenge the
knowledgeable? I'm just a Bard.