Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 19, 2016 0:04:31 GMT -5
CHAPTER ONE: Departure
It was the earliest years of the Colormen's existence, and yet they had already proven themselves to the secret world of magic. Having made contact with several factions of good magic users, and making it clear to evil ones that attacks on Sodor would not be taken lightly, they were shown to be quite powerful for the amount of time they had existed at this point. So respectful were the Colormen, that the mystical creatures who lived on Sodor found that they were the only group of people they could interact with and not fear for their safety, even the species who were normally seclusive or secretive found that they could trust the Colormen with many issues.
And yet, there was one order of Mages and the mystical creatures they controlled that had rather sinister plans in store for the Island of Sodor.
It was the Order of Masteri, and the creatures they created: golems. The Order of Masteri was feared by many magical orders around the world, for only they held the knowlege of the impossible: how to bring life to unliving matter. Sometimes it was rather harmless substances, like clay, or mud, or sand, but in combat, there were three primary types the Masteri relied on: fire golems, formed from lava, ice golems, formed from snow, and stone golems, formed from rock.
Their golems were exceptionally powerful; their largest golems were so tall, it was said they could "dwarf the forest trees" and so powerful that it could take as few as 8 to destroy an entire kingdom. And yet, the Masteri mages had a fatal flaw: They spent so much time working on their magic for the golems and refining it, they gave no time to learning other spells for defending themselves. Indeed, in combat the Masteri relied entirely on their golems, while remaining far back and away from the main fight. And yet, they themselves were of little threat, barely able to put up a basic defense if attacked directly. They were also unbelievably arrogant; they believed that their golems were so powerful, no force on earth could equal them, and they would just march right over their foes.
The Colormen were no different, they thought. They just needed a larger army of Golems.
As the mages of the order were preparing for the coming conflict, one mage came up to his superiors one day and expressed concern.
"These Colormen are exceptionally powerful, good sirs. Fighting with them I fear could have disastrous consequences if we do not plan this through" he explained.
"What are you worrying about, Alabaster? You know how powerful our golems are. They do not stand a chance." One superior said.
"Do not be so sure; I have heard many a tale of them slaying the most powerful of beasts when Sodor is threatened. Heck, from what I hear they are the first humans to successfully slay a fire dragon AND a dark dragon without suffering loss" Alabaster said.
"Then our victory over such a powerful foe will be all the more glorious! Our golems are obviously more powerful, but a challenge is most welcome. It will make our inevitable victory all the more satisfying" another superior said.
But Alabaster would have none of it. "I do not let my arrogance cloud my judgement, and I can see that this is a foe we cannot fight blindly against, and see victory unscathed. Do what you want, but I will have no part of this war" he said, turning his back on his superiors and walking away.
"If you abandon this order, you will be disavowed!" A particularly high ranking member boomed. But Alabaster merely sighed as he walked away.
After gathering his things in his room of the Masteri Castle, he waited until the dead of night to leave. When all were asleep, he left the castle and never looked back.
Commanding a stone golem as a form of transportation, he came to a decision.
"they must be warned" he concluded. And he set off for the Island of Sodor.
He searched the island for many days and nights, but at last he found it: the Great Hall of the Colormen. Taking no chances, he took out a white cloth from his bag, and raised it high as he slowly approached the hall.
"Hello? Is this the Great Hall of the Colormen? Please, I must request an audience with your leader, I come with urgent news!" He declared. He waved the white cloth again "I come in peace!" He added.
He approached with caution until at last, he found himself surrounded by 12 Colormen... the Council of 12, to be precise.
"Hello there, sir... what be your name?" The one in red asked.
"Alabaster, of the Order of Masteri. Or at least, I was until several days ago" he explained.
"Masteri? The order that makes the Golems? What kind of news would they send a mage here for?" The one in brown asked.
"They didn't; I came of my own free will... with an urgent warning." He said.
"What sort of warning?" The one in black asked.
"The Masteri are amassing a large army of Golems to come attack Sodor. I know not the exact day, but it will be within the next 6 months, I guarantee that. They have heard about you and your feats, and have decided to destroy you" he explained.
"Why?" the one in orange asked, confused.
"Honestly, destruction of villages, kingdoms and other magical orders is their idea of entertainment. That, and the fact that they believe their golems are more powerful than your faction" Alabaster explained.
"Man In White, can you confirm this?" The one in blue asked.
"Let me see... yes! It is true, I see it all with my helmet. They are assembling a large army of golems, and they already have many as is. Seems they are taking no chances" the one in white said, while wearing a helmet.
"Seems you speak the truth. Do not worry Alabaster, we will be able to take care of ourselves. As for you, we shall repay your actions. The Masteri are no doubt going to be searching for you, yes?" Man In Blue asked.
"Indeed; no doubt they want me dead" Alabaster explained. The Colormen exchanged glances and nodded. "Meet us in the West at this port town in two days. Trust us, it will be worth it" the one in purple explained.
......
When Alabaster came to the port town, the Men In Blue, White and Purple were there to see him off. A boat with supplies had been prepared for him.
"This will be the only way to ensure your safety, I am afraid. You must sail away from this place, and keep moving forward" Man In Purple explained.
"This is a map of the stars; it is your key to help you navigate, along with the other instruments provided" Man In White explained.
"Do not worry, your equipment has been charmed so that when you use it, you will understand it as if you have been on the seas for years. Just keep sailing until you find land, and where you land shall be your new home" Man In Blue finished with.
Alabaster had no family to speak of, having been raised by the Masteri as an orphan from a young age, even though he did not begin his apprenticeship until he was 18. It only took him a few seconds to come to a decision.
"Thank you; I guess I will be off then" He said.
As a final gift, the Colormen conjured a good wind to get him going, and Alabaster sailed on to an uncertain future. With nothing but sea on the horizon, and a map his only clue, he could only imagine what lay in store for him.
It was the earliest years of the Colormen's existence, and yet they had already proven themselves to the secret world of magic. Having made contact with several factions of good magic users, and making it clear to evil ones that attacks on Sodor would not be taken lightly, they were shown to be quite powerful for the amount of time they had existed at this point. So respectful were the Colormen, that the mystical creatures who lived on Sodor found that they were the only group of people they could interact with and not fear for their safety, even the species who were normally seclusive or secretive found that they could trust the Colormen with many issues.
And yet, there was one order of Mages and the mystical creatures they controlled that had rather sinister plans in store for the Island of Sodor.
It was the Order of Masteri, and the creatures they created: golems. The Order of Masteri was feared by many magical orders around the world, for only they held the knowlege of the impossible: how to bring life to unliving matter. Sometimes it was rather harmless substances, like clay, or mud, or sand, but in combat, there were three primary types the Masteri relied on: fire golems, formed from lava, ice golems, formed from snow, and stone golems, formed from rock.
Their golems were exceptionally powerful; their largest golems were so tall, it was said they could "dwarf the forest trees" and so powerful that it could take as few as 8 to destroy an entire kingdom. And yet, the Masteri mages had a fatal flaw: They spent so much time working on their magic for the golems and refining it, they gave no time to learning other spells for defending themselves. Indeed, in combat the Masteri relied entirely on their golems, while remaining far back and away from the main fight. And yet, they themselves were of little threat, barely able to put up a basic defense if attacked directly. They were also unbelievably arrogant; they believed that their golems were so powerful, no force on earth could equal them, and they would just march right over their foes.
The Colormen were no different, they thought. They just needed a larger army of Golems.
As the mages of the order were preparing for the coming conflict, one mage came up to his superiors one day and expressed concern.
"These Colormen are exceptionally powerful, good sirs. Fighting with them I fear could have disastrous consequences if we do not plan this through" he explained.
"What are you worrying about, Alabaster? You know how powerful our golems are. They do not stand a chance." One superior said.
"Do not be so sure; I have heard many a tale of them slaying the most powerful of beasts when Sodor is threatened. Heck, from what I hear they are the first humans to successfully slay a fire dragon AND a dark dragon without suffering loss" Alabaster said.
"Then our victory over such a powerful foe will be all the more glorious! Our golems are obviously more powerful, but a challenge is most welcome. It will make our inevitable victory all the more satisfying" another superior said.
But Alabaster would have none of it. "I do not let my arrogance cloud my judgement, and I can see that this is a foe we cannot fight blindly against, and see victory unscathed. Do what you want, but I will have no part of this war" he said, turning his back on his superiors and walking away.
"If you abandon this order, you will be disavowed!" A particularly high ranking member boomed. But Alabaster merely sighed as he walked away.
After gathering his things in his room of the Masteri Castle, he waited until the dead of night to leave. When all were asleep, he left the castle and never looked back.
Commanding a stone golem as a form of transportation, he came to a decision.
"they must be warned" he concluded. And he set off for the Island of Sodor.
He searched the island for many days and nights, but at last he found it: the Great Hall of the Colormen. Taking no chances, he took out a white cloth from his bag, and raised it high as he slowly approached the hall.
"Hello? Is this the Great Hall of the Colormen? Please, I must request an audience with your leader, I come with urgent news!" He declared. He waved the white cloth again "I come in peace!" He added.
He approached with caution until at last, he found himself surrounded by 12 Colormen... the Council of 12, to be precise.
"Hello there, sir... what be your name?" The one in red asked.
"Alabaster, of the Order of Masteri. Or at least, I was until several days ago" he explained.
"Masteri? The order that makes the Golems? What kind of news would they send a mage here for?" The one in brown asked.
"They didn't; I came of my own free will... with an urgent warning." He said.
"What sort of warning?" The one in black asked.
"The Masteri are amassing a large army of Golems to come attack Sodor. I know not the exact day, but it will be within the next 6 months, I guarantee that. They have heard about you and your feats, and have decided to destroy you" he explained.
"Why?" the one in orange asked, confused.
"Honestly, destruction of villages, kingdoms and other magical orders is their idea of entertainment. That, and the fact that they believe their golems are more powerful than your faction" Alabaster explained.
"Man In White, can you confirm this?" The one in blue asked.
"Let me see... yes! It is true, I see it all with my helmet. They are assembling a large army of golems, and they already have many as is. Seems they are taking no chances" the one in white said, while wearing a helmet.
"Seems you speak the truth. Do not worry Alabaster, we will be able to take care of ourselves. As for you, we shall repay your actions. The Masteri are no doubt going to be searching for you, yes?" Man In Blue asked.
"Indeed; no doubt they want me dead" Alabaster explained. The Colormen exchanged glances and nodded. "Meet us in the West at this port town in two days. Trust us, it will be worth it" the one in purple explained.
......
When Alabaster came to the port town, the Men In Blue, White and Purple were there to see him off. A boat with supplies had been prepared for him.
"This will be the only way to ensure your safety, I am afraid. You must sail away from this place, and keep moving forward" Man In Purple explained.
"This is a map of the stars; it is your key to help you navigate, along with the other instruments provided" Man In White explained.
"Do not worry, your equipment has been charmed so that when you use it, you will understand it as if you have been on the seas for years. Just keep sailing until you find land, and where you land shall be your new home" Man In Blue finished with.
Alabaster had no family to speak of, having been raised by the Masteri as an orphan from a young age, even though he did not begin his apprenticeship until he was 18. It only took him a few seconds to come to a decision.
"Thank you; I guess I will be off then" He said.
As a final gift, the Colormen conjured a good wind to get him going, and Alabaster sailed on to an uncertain future. With nothing but sea on the horizon, and a map his only clue, he could only imagine what lay in store for him.