by Chris Ware on Feb 16, 2012
The Story So
Far:
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week1">Part
1 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week2">Part
2 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week3">Part
3 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week4">Part
4 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week5">Part
5 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week6">Part
6 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week7">Part
7 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week8">Part
8 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week9">Part
9 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week10">Part
10 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week11">Part
11 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week12">Part
12 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week13">Part
13 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week14">Part
14 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week15">Part
15 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week16">Part
16 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week17">Part
17 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week18">Part
18
By Padraic
Greetings, dear reader. If you will remember, last week I talked a bit
about the region of Iron Pine Peaks and its connection with Crucia.
This week, I explore this a bit further and examine a group of heroes
that were closely involved in the capture of Crucia and who are now
thought of as protectors and wardens, watching over Crucia as she lies
trapped beneath the ice.
I am, of course, talking about the Icewatch.
In the Iron Pine Peak communities, there is no greater honor than to be
inducted into the Icewatch. They are the heroes of the north, the
warriors of the frost. Down south, children play Guardians and Defiant.
But up north, they play Icewatch and Blood Storm, and as the children
grow into their teenage years, they all hope to become one of the
legendary wardens of the ice.
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And just who are the Icewatch? Well, ever since Telara's defenders
first subdued Crucia, locking her away in her city beneath the ice, it
is the Icewatch who have watched over her prison. Making sure she never
breaks free. Making sure none of her followers try to unseal the
magical wards that bind her. The Icewatch owe fealty to neither Defiant
nor Guardian, and over the years this ancient order of wardens has
become a symbol of the fight against the Blood Storm, a symbol of
dedication, learning, and martial prowess.
The Icewatchs base of operations is called the Chancel of Labors, a
forbidding, sprawling edifice that serves as barracks, magical armory,
and one of Telara's greatest libraries. (Indeed, it is the contents of
this library that excites me the most. Not the battle-worthiness of the
Icewatch, not the legends of their battles, not the steely
determination with which they devote themselves to their task. Every
scholar worth his salt has at some point in their lives traveled to the
Chancel library. Their scriptorium is one of the most venerable in all
the land. They say it holds ancient scrolls written by the Gods of the
Vigil themselves. Plus forbidden texts written by the madman Melific
Dartrin, texts he swore were recited to him by Regulos himself and are
said to detail the end of the world. I hope to travel there sometime
soon, but I fear they would not allow Bran in.)
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The Icewatchs duties do not just lay in watching over Crucias prison.
They are tasked with defending the entire Iron Pine region, fighting
off any rift creatures who encroach into their territory, pushing back
the goblins and dark-souled creatures that are called by Crucias
powers.
And speaking of that, the Icewatch patrols have been running into
increasing numbers of enemies lately. Bandits, smugglers, and raiders
are operating out of the area, hiding in the caves that wind down
through the icy mountains. From the stories I have heard from Barik, it
seems to me that these villains are making a concerted effort to claim
the Iron Pine Peaks for themselves, hoping to rid the region of the
Icewatch. They have even gone so far as to attack Whitefall Lift, the
twisting elevator that moves travelers between Iron Pine and Gloamwood.
In fact, more and more creatures seem to be slipping into Iron Pine
Peaks from Gloamwood. Goblins have always called the ancient forest
their home, but lately they have been growing bolder, venturing out of
the dank trees and into the ice fields of the north. The Icewatch now
have to send patrols out into the forest to deal with these new
troubles before they grow worse.
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The deep, dark forest has always been filled with secrets and traps.
Fecund humidity drapes the trees in dripping moisture. Ancient trees
battle each other in decades long battles for the touch of the sun,
twisting up and around each other as they vie futilely for the light.
The vegetation is rotting and black, the roots pale white and anemic.
The thick, dark leaves cast deep shadows across the wet ground, shadows
that move and sway even when there is no wind. A thick,
jaundiced mist hangs over everything, so thick it almost feels like the
tongues of demons touching your skin. Perhaps the goblins are fleeing
something inside the forest. Perhaps the Icewatch are the lesser of two
evils, that they need to flee to survive.
If this is so, Im sure the Icewatch will find out. It is their job,
after all. And they are very good at what they do.
The Story So
Far:
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week1">Part
1 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week2">Part
2 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week3">Part
3 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week4">Part
4 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week5">Part
5 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week6">Part
6 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week7">Part
7 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week8">Part
8 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week9">Part
9 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week10">Part
10 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week11">Part
11 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week12">Part
12 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week13">Part
13 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week14">Part
14 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week15">Part
15 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week16">Part
16 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week17">Part
17 |
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/features/travels/week18">Part
18