Ceridwen the Historian

UP: Sonoma

    The evening before last, I received a message from Frederick of Nujel’m reading, “Your presence is required at the palace as soon as possible.” The captured thief, Teryon, had given the location of the two missing books, after a week of interrogation. Though clearly a pawn, knowing nothing of the import of the books, he was privy to the city which they had been taken to. Magincia.

    With the help of friends from Britain and Yew, and even strangers of Magincia, the two books have been found. The first book was found in a building that must have been Sage Coralon’s lodging. The Insidiae had paid this Sage to search the books for any leads regarding a magical flame of some sort. He was found in Harris’s Tavern by the Sea reading the second missing book. Startled and confused when the men entered, he grabbed the book, threw it into his pack, and denied having any knowledge about it or the Insidiae.

    Sage Coralon was no experienced liar. After the subject turned to jails and punishments, he broke down (after a final frantic attempt to get away) and admitted his work for the Insidiae. He explained that he took the job only because it looked innocent enough and was good money – even if it was for a group of thieves. In his own greedy way, he felt it justified.

    I had time to read through a good portion of the two books, and now present less sensitive excepts from one. Hopefully they will shed a bit of light on this whole ordeal, by giving a bit of a background on Sindl and the Flame that the Insidiae wants. Any locations and details have been removed.

    “Work on fire was all but abandoned after that terrible incident. In fact, it was outlawed on Verity isle and surrounding areas. This news reached the mainland quickly, all the way to the home of an almost hermetic, eccentric youth named Sindl. She had left her home in […] before she turned fifteen to travel northwards and leave human civilization completely. Here, a hidden genius showed itself as she taught herself the intricacies of magic in all its forms… She became fascinated with heat and flame – imagining such natural power being harnessed by humans for numerous purposes: from defense to technology. This fascination formed itself into an obsession.”

    “She had enchanted a staff to protect herself from fire as she worked to create the most dense flame imaginable. She called the very forces of the sun itself to a pedestal in the center of a stone chamber she had built for this ritual. When all was done, and the room stood black with soot, a circular flame stood floating above the pedestal. Her staff, also, had turned a bright red color, having received a portion of the sun’s energy.”

    “This staff came to be known as the Staff of the Sun over the ages, and has been lost since Sindl’s death thirty years later. The Flame she kept hidden, for its power exceeded even her expectations. If any were to find it, they would enjoy entirely too much sway over the world, for it acted as a portal into the Plane of Fire.”

    (all taken from The Origins of Flame Based Magic, Sage Jeremiah)

From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Monday, February 8th 1999