Emerald green hair caressed by the breeze that stole through the trees
around her, Sulan Ia'ver seemed a statue to any who saw her - that is, if any
saw her. The fact was she had taken extra care not to be seen. A year ago she
would never have considered such measures, but things were different now, since
the Proclamation. Since that time, she had learned to keep herself and her
precious baby out of sight, for his own sake.
There was only one child like him, so far as Sulan knew - one woman
before her had met the man, and he had not survived long after she met him.
She still thought of him as a man, though the Imperial Proclamations
continuously insisted he was a beast. The "lizard creature," they called him,
attributing a nearly endless stream of concocted monstrosities to him. She
knew better, but that mattered little against the word of the great Emperor
Landantine V.
So she had been forced out of her own great city of Celeste, relocating to
where she now lived in edge the Gloriana. She had given up everything to save
her child, and was confident that he would remain safe so long as she looked
after him. Then they had come - the Imperial guards, with horses and hounds,
had come searching for her. Their quest had very nearly been successful, but
they gave up early. That event had brought Sulan to where she was today; it
was a day she always feared would come. She stood, still as a statue, watching
as her precious Jade was marched away, not by the soldiers of the Empire, but by
the great Gloriana River. She could only pray that the great river could take
care of him.

* * * * *

Jade awoke with a feeling of deep contentment. He always felt this way
after dreaming of his mother. He relived his early memories for some time,
hoping (as he often did) that he could remain there. Finally, he found himself
again in the present, cruelly yanked from his reverie by his stomach's loud
protestations about being ignored. He quickly dressed himself, packed his
meager belongings - all clumsily crafted by his own fingers - into his satchel
and fastened his dagger to his side. Sighing and steeling himself, Jade set
out for his typical day, consisting of hunting for food, hiding from beasts,
and running from guards.
After only a few hours of searching, Jade heard the sound for which he
had hoped: the rustling in the bushes that told him he would not go hungry
today. He crept up on the bush lightly, dagger in hand. Suddenly, in a single
movement, he leapt from his crouching position, threw aside the branches, and
jabbed his knife forward. He was suddenly stunned as his attack was blocked,
and he was thrown forward onto the dirt. Finally regaining his wits, he looked
up upon his intended prey. Before him stood a creature the likes of which he
had never seen. She was scaly, and a little slimy…and she was beautiful.
‘She's absolutely unique,' he remembered thinking, ‘unlike anyone else in this
world…sort of like me…' Then the truth had struck him. He had stared agape
for several minutes until finally she had broken the silence. "My name is
Nalda," she had slowly said. All afternoon they had lingered in that glade,
slowly becoming continuously more comfortable with one another.
"So out of all of the places you could hide, why choose the Ackleberry Forest?
There's little protecting us from Celeste besides the Great Crystal Sea. Why
not the Serenwilde, or even the mountains?" Jade asked, still stunned by their
chance meeting.
"I'm not here to hide," she answered. "I'm here to hunt. Several days ago,
while passing through the Serenwilde, I found this stuck to a tree." In
explanation, Nalda handed him a poster bearing the royal seal of Emperor
Landantine V.

We, Emperor Landantine V, on this twelfth day of the month
of Elohian in the year of Our Holy Empire two hundred and sixty-four, announce
that it is Our Desire to witness the death of one nameless creature which has
beset Our Holy Land. We believe that this creature resides in the Great Inner
Sea. To the champion who brings proof if this creatures death, We shall grant
Our utmost esteem.

"I don't understand…you're here hunting this thing?" Jade asked, perplexed.
"Why do such a favor for the empire that put a price on your head?"
"I thought the same thing when I first saw it. In fact, I took it only so no
true champion could see it. But then I got to thinking…" Nalda's air shifted
and her voice softened, forcing Jade to lean in to hear. "I don't think I can
go on running forever. I'm tired. I don't want to do it anymore. I had to
find a way out. Then, I remembered this proclamation and thought, what if I
killed that beast? What if the emperor owed me his utmost esteem? I don't
expect an invitation to live in the Holy Palace, but at least maybe I wouldn't
be hunted. Maybe I'm just dreaming, but I know I can't go on the way I've been
living for so many years."
"Maybe you are a dreamer," Jade conceded. "But it's a beautiful dream." They
spent the rest of the night in silence, sharing, if only for a short time, this
life of their dreams.
That night, Jade slept very little. Nalda's dream continued to torment him,
refusing to relent. In his makeshift bed of leaves, Jade finally found peace
in the only decision he felt he could make.
The next morning, Jade and Nalda departed a united party, for the first time
embarking on a mission with purpose.

* * * * * *

For many days, the pair combed the massive sea to no avail. Finally,
they elected in despair to make a final pass through the southern tip of the
sea before giving up. Being that he had never before experienced a sense of
purpose, and consequently never the felt the despair of failure, Jade was
especially tortured by the admission of defeat. Fortunately, he was soon
distracted from his torment. On one of the few occasions when Jade mustered
the strength to lift his head and examine their surroundings, he was surprised
to see something other than water. "What's that beach over there?" he asked.
"Surely we're not yet to the Gloriana?"
"We couldn't have traveled that far yet," Nalda agreed. "But I don't
remember learning of any other beach around here. Maybe we should have a
look?" The couple turned and swam comfortably toward what was in fact a small
island.
"Think we're the first to ever find this place?" Jade asked hopefully.
"Apparently we're not." Nalda's voice had taken on a strange thickness.
Following her gaze, Jade found at its end a strange obelisk. Glowing around
its borders was a series of strange runes that neither could comprehend. In
the center they saw a very clear inscription.

Itecia Island for Planar Research, created and maintained by the Great Holy
Empire of Celest. No admittance is allowed without a writ of permission from
the Holy Emperor of Celest. Any found trespassing shall suffer the wrath of
our Holy Emperor, may his word never pass away.

"I don't understand…." Even if Jade had finished his sentence, Nalda
would not have been able to hear him. At that moment, their surroundings
erupted in a gut-wrenching scream of agony.
Within minutes, the two had tracked the sound back to its grizzly source.
Before them stood a huge, disgusting creature. It was clothed in dirty rags,
and so covered in filth that neither Nalda nor Jade could distinguish any of
its features. With one of its repulsive paws, it held a smaller, frail
creature against a rock wall. After only a brief second of hesitation, Jade
let fly an arrow into the back of the beast. A deafening roar told him his
arrow had found its mark and the furious beast, obviously not seriously harmed,
turned to meet them.
The battle lasted for only a short time. Strong as the creature was, it was
no match for the speed of the pair. Having finished with him, they cautiously
approach its still-living prey. The man did his best to rise to meet them, but
finding himself unable he arranged himself into the most refined seated position
he could manage. He was a short, stout old man with deep features. His face
was marred in many places either by scars of battle or scars of age. Falling
from around his neck he wore the emerald robes of an Aquamancer researcher.
"What is this place?" Jade demanded coldly as he approached. "Was that the
creature mentioned in the poster?"
In response, the man lightly chuckled. "So you found the poster, eh? I
didn't expect it to work, but someone came after all. You might come to regret
that decision, of course, but you're here now at least."
"What are you talking about?" Nalda interrupted. "We're here, and we've slain
the creature…what might we regret?"
"Well, for starters, you haven't slain the creature. Or rather, you have, for
which I'm grateful, but I'm afraid there's much more to it than that. You see,
the poster isn't entirely straightforward…it was simply to garner the aid of
warriors without causing a panic. The gorgog you killed was only one of
hundreds that we've created."
"You created?" What little love Jade had spared for this man of Celest was
quickly waning. "You created that horrible creature? Why? What purpose do
you have for such monstrosities? And why seek out hunters to kill your own
creation?"
"Now you've reached the point," the man said, his voice suddenly heavy. "Some
time ago, the Emperor commanded the creation of this island for private planar
research. We…manufactured these gorgogs for the simple purpose of exploring
the dangerous planes. We were not willing to sacrifice our own researchers,
and we could not recruit from the general populace, so we created them as our
explorers.
"Everything went well, for awhile. Then, about one year ago, we began to
experiment in creating more intelligent gorgogs. Apparently we were too
successful. One of these gorgogs, taking on the name Urak'thur, was left in a
room with the Amulet, which we had enchanted to control the gorgogs. We had
not even considered the possibility…but, however it happened, Urak'thur began
to function of his own volition. He stole the Amulet, and set himself up as
Lord of the Gorgogs. The poster you found was a simple attempt to gather some
brave mercenaries here who might help us. The Emperor refuses to publicly even
acknowledge the existence of this island, let alone the problems we face, so the
misleading poster was the best we could do."
"I have no interest in helping Celest," Jade declared adamantly. "Your people
have been trying to kill us our entire lives. You get only what you deserve."
"Not so fast," the man interjected calmly. "I know who you are…or, more
precisely, I know what you are. I am Elian, leader of this island and advisor
to the Emperor. I have been granted authority by His Grace to reward our
saviors with any gift I deem fit. I assumed that would constitute a great sum
of gold, but I don't believe you'd be interested in that so I make for you a
different offer. Return to me the Amulet, and I will allow you to choose any
land currently under the influence of Our Lord. That land will be given to you
to dwell and grow peacefully. You may treat the land as your own, without
restriction from our Lord. First, however, you must bring me the Amulet. So,
what do you say?"

* * * * * *

Jade and Nalda agreed that they had no choice but to accept the offer. The
next morning, they left Elian and were on their way. They traveled around the
island until night coolly fell upon them. Exhausted, they sought shelter in
one of the islands many caves, assuming that the beasts would not enter there.
They soon learned better.
It was not three hours into the night when a noise made Nalda stir. She
suddenly bolted upright as her eyes caught shadowy movement. Almost by
instinct, Nalda leapt fluidly from her mat onto the shadow, joined shortly by
Jade in wrestling it to the ground.
The creature they held beneath them, while clearly a gorgog, was not the same
as the large beast of filth they had slain earlier that day. This creature was
much smaller, and did not even struggle with them. Rather than the dirty rags
worn by the earlier beast, he wore a brown tunic and trousers. He was cleaner,
and much frailer. Accentuating the difference even more, the creature began to
speak.
"I don't mean you any harm…I was just looking around. Are you after
Urak'thur? If so, we should be friends!"
"Keep talking," was Jade's only answer.
"I'm running away! I hoped to find you, or some of those Aquamancers.
Urak'thur is a brute; nobody wants to follow him they're just forced by the
Amulet. But not me, I'm smarter. I didn't always follow orders, so he had me
locked up, and beaten…beaten daily until I couldn't take any more. Finally, I
escaped! I want to help you take the Amulet, I would rather help the
Aquamancers any day!"
Though still not entirely trusting, Jade and Nalda were happy for the help of
the creature. They did not let him loose, but they did welcome his information
on the gorgog settlement. That night, with the help of this escaped prisoner,
they were able to concoct a plan.
"Urak'thur insists on a private walk each evening. He walks from his cave to
the coast, without a guard. Capturing him is quite simple - just wait by the
beach tomorrow evening during his walk; surprise him, and we all go free. I'll
wait here in this cave for you to return - I can't go back there again."
Nalda and Jade found everything as they had been told. They were able to
avoid the gaurds based on the gorgog's directions. The few guards that did
pass near them were easily spotted by the dull glow that surrounded them as
they were magically controlled, making them easy to avoid. The couple traveled
to the beach location that the gorgog had told them about, set up camp in the
trees, and waited.

* * * * * *

Finally, the two heard the sound of a large creature pushing through the trees
toward the beach. Weapons-in-hand, they crept toward the sound, staying out of
sight. As they peered at the large beast, they saw exactly what they had been
told they would. Before them stood a huge monster, much taller even than the
gorgog they had slain. He wore dirty brown trousers and left his broad torso
bare, save for a thin silver necklace. The giant crashed through the trees
carelessly, tossing everything around him aside.
Carefully drawing an arrow, Jade sighted and aimed for the creature's neck.
While he had made the mistake of shooting his earlier pray in the back, he
would aim directly for vital organs in his target tonight. He was confident
that he would not miss, even in this dull light, due to the faint golden glow
that surrounded the creatures head.
Suddenly Jade froze, motioning for Nalda to do the same. The dull glow, why
hadn't he noticed it before? Staring more carefully back down the path which
the gorgog had traveled, Jade was alarmed to detect the same faint glow some
distance away behind him. A trap!
Quickly, but silently, Jade led Nalda back into the trees and down toward the
beach. "Where are we going?" Nalda asked in a barely perceptible whisper.
"If it's a trap, shouldn't we be escaping the other way?" Jade understood her
concern, but still raced toward the beach. He knew they had to complete this
quest, even if it cost his life. He could not live the half-life on the run
which had entrapped him for so long.
Arriving at the beach unspotted, Jade discovered exactly what he had expected
- nothing. Or at least, what seemed to be nothing. Calling again upon his
keen eyesight, Jade scoured the area silently, while still remaining out of
sight. Finally, he returned to where Nalda was waiting. "There." The one
word, coupled with his pointing finger, answered all of Nalda's questions. The
two made their way silently to the location he had indicated, a shadow
underneath a huge oak. Before they were close enough to be seen, Jade stopped
and prepared another arrow. This time, after taking aim, he let fly.
They made their way together toward the arrow's target. When they arrived,
they found there the small, intelligent gorgog which had come to their cave.
Now hanging out of his brown tunic was a ruby amulet. They had slain
Uruk'thur.

* * * * * *

"You will not be publicly recognized for this," Elian told them after they
returned. "In fact, so long as Celest is concerned, these events never
happened. Privately, however, you have my gratitude. Have you thought about
your reward?"
Jade and Nalda had discussed this question several times, and had already
decided their answer. "We want the swamps. We could swim there, or stay on
the land if we choose. We could be close enough to Magnagora and Ackleberry to
gather whatever we need, but far enough to avoid their troubling eyes."
"It is granted. Go your way, and do not speak of this ever again." And Jade
and Nalda did just that. They traveled home, a home which they spent the rest
of their lives cultivating. They grew strong as a couple, later as a family,
and eventually as an entire sub-race. Their decedents lived happily and
peacefully in the swamp for a very long time, until finally, one day, they were
approached yet again with a request from the Emperor…that, however, is an
entirely different story.