Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jayne 03-08-07, 10:02 AM	Greetings, everyone. Just wanted to put this out there. . Jergrad d’Lyrandar continued pacing. He always paced at times like this. Towering over the half-elf next to him, the burly captain glowered at him. “What do you mean, lost?” How could we have gone from on time and on course to ‘Lost’ inside of four hours?” “I’m sorry sir, I’m trying my best.” The young navigator replied; sweat clearly beading on his brow. D’Lyrander didn’t blame him. The young human certainly was trying, though it still helped Jergrad to lash out. There was something unnerving about this fog, never mind that it appeared so suddenly. . “Get working, or perhaps it will be you we sell to the Lhazarrans.” Feeling satisfied, Jergrad continued his pacing. Other crewmembers continued scrambling around, trying to get any sort of idea of where they were, shouting out vainly to each other in search of any sort of way of breaking through the fog. He checked his compass. It was spinning wildly. Giving it a good shake, he set it down on the deck. If anything, it spun faster. Kicking it through the door, he continued Chances are that the Charts of Certainty wouldn’t help him either. The course they were on was a risk for sure, but cutting 15 hours off the travel time was well worth it. At least, was worth it. Thank the Host the elemental hadn’t had any problems yet. Then they would be in trouble. . A sudden cheer broke out from the front of the vessel. Running out to the railing, Jergrad asked the young ensign what happened, but quickly saw for himself. . “Land!” the young gnome cried out, his delight matching that of the rest of the crew, now also on the rails in a fit of exuberance. Like a knife, however, Jergrad’s voice silenced the cheers. . “Something ain’t right.” . As far as his eleven years captaining an elemental airship had shown him, most land towards the top of Khorvaire was fairly well forested, or at least green. Never before had he seen fields this shade of pale blue. The mountain they saw wasn’t right either. It was far too steep, unusually tall, and almost looked tiered, with small, visible concentric rings lining the mountain. . “Gallver, as soon as the cloud cover breaks, I want you to see if you can get us a bearing. I want to see which way we’re going before we go anywhere else. Helm! Full stop.” . Quickly getting cries of acknowledgement, Jergrad went back to his cabin. He sat down on his chair, pulling out his pipe, and attempted to light it. . “Allow me,” spoke a voice from behind him. . Nearly tripping as he spun out of his chair, he spotted his ‘guest.’ The xeno was thin, probably up to his shoulder height, and a pale, almost grey blue. From what he could tell, the creature was almost as surprised as he was, his arms raised in an open-palmed gesture. Dressed in a sleeveless robe, with an almost transparent undershirt hanging loosely from his arms, the being quickly regained his composure, and extended his hand. . “Perhaps I should introduce myself first? I am Kor’Vre Tau’N Sha’is’Nan, and welcome to the T’au Empire.” The alien spoke, his accent slurring his Common as he spoke his name. Jergrad couldn’t tell if this being was lying, its face was decidedly vague, with large, almost pure-black eyes, and a narrow slit lying where most other people would have their nose. It was that fact that scared him more than anything. It was the subtle things in life that one noticed first, and this was hardly an exception. It continued, his voice (or, at least, he thought it was a he) still oddly twanged, but definitively commanding. . “I am sorry if it may inconvenience you, but I must ask that you turn your vessel around, and continue to your destination.” . Jergrad finally composed himself, and his erstwhile fear gave way to anger. “What in Hells did you do to our ship? You stop whatever spell you put on this ship and let us land, or I swear I will pulp you before you know what’s even happened.” . Without even cowering (as so many other people had) Shaisnan or whatever his name was continued. “We have not done anything to your ship. The Vash'Aun'an affects most of those who have crossed its borders, and we would be willing to lead you out of it for a small charge. We cannot, however, permit you to land, without first undergoing a thorough inspection.” . Jergrad’s mood grew fouler. As if he had the time for a shake-down. “Listen here, Sir, I don’t take orders from anyone except my House-Lord, and I especially don’t take orders from a pompous ass like you.” Stepping towards Shaisnan with each breath, he finally got a reaction from the foreigner. . “Very well then, but we did warn you.” He headed towards the door. Opening it and heading out. Jergrad followed him. That’s when another of those subtle ideas clicked in his head. Those crew that he saw spot the man we’re nearly as surprised as he was, if not more so. Shaisnan was walking towards the far edge of the vessel, mumbling something in some language that Jergrad would have otherwise never bothered to listen to, and gave a small wave. . Looking around, he saw no evidence of any other of the blue-skinned pirates, and then the full realization hit him. Where was his ship? Quickly pulling out his pistol, Jergrad quickly loaded it and took a shot a Shaisnan, hoping that injuring the man might stop him from doing something brash. With a flash of light and powder, the shot clearly missed the Tau, and Jergrad watched helplessly as the man stepped onto the railing, gave a quick nod towards him, and dove off the side of the ship. . Running up to the edge, Jergrad got a glimpse of Shaisnan as he flew off, what had appeared to be a shirt now stretched out into membrane wings. Within a few moments, the Tau had completely disappeared from view. Silence ensued, and realization hit Jergrad like a warhammer “Man the guns! All crews to deck! Prepare to engage and repel! Helm, get me moving and get me moving now!” Jergrad barked out orders, crew running around him in a frenzy of action and confusion. . An explosion rocked the vessel, sending some poor soul screaming off the port side of the vessel. Looking around, Jergrad spotted a sleek shape barreling towards them, looking entirely unlike any airship he had ever seen before. With wide, sweeping fins and a pronounced, almost hammer-like prow, the vessel flew overhead, two, cavernous openings in the rear channeling furious winds, buffeting the smaller vessel. It began turning, and Jergrad got a glimpse of its entirety: it resembled a tremendous ray with its tail missing, painted in a speckled wave pattern of grays and blues, a round symbol emblazoned upon each wing. Fearsome weapons lined the front edge of the vessel, as well as smaller ones mounted on other parts of the ship. It lined up for another pass. . “Prepare for impact!” he cried, but by the time the remainder of the crew could react, it was too late. With a sharp crack, the front edge of the vessel turned a stunning blue, and Jergrad d’Lyrandar, long time servant of the Nations of Khorvaire and House Lyrandar, died in a burst of wooden fragments and metal shards. . Captain Swordwind looked on, feeling a shred of sadness for the bizarre man. Those vessels that resisted, he knew, had to be destroyed; there was no question about that. He felt that sometimes, if contact was made with more grace, perhaps the other vessels would listen to their warning, but knew that it was a hopeless effort. Not everyone could embrace the Greater Good. . “Pilot, let us rescue those who survived, and then have us return to Vior’la. We must warn the Castes about these rogues. Perhaps they can be made to listen in the future.” . With that, the young Tau looked on at the spectacle; the fiery remains of the Gue’la vessel slowly sinking into the Vash’Aun’an, a handful of crew clinging to lifeboats bobbing along in the wind. He sighed. Every Tau’cyr, more and more vessels sailed, on both air and sea, through the murky depths of the Clouded Skies towards the Tau Empire. Some saw the light of the Greater Good, others, like the ones that had just died, resisted. On more then one occasion, vessels escaped the patrol craft, and, according to their agents within the Mainland, told their governments of the Tau and the Clouded Skies. He shuddered at his next thought. Earth Caste scientists reported that, within the next few kai’rotaa the Cloud banks, long hiding the Tau away while they struggled through the Terror, would dissipate, leaving the landmass open to potential discovery. He feared that, once that happened, it wouldn’t just be lost sailors finding the Empire. . Aun’ui Tol’ku Ben’tu’sin walked up beside him, and placed her slender hand upon the chair, her voice filling his mind like a choir of cooing doves. . “Do not worry, young one, the Mainlanders have always been slow to accept the Greater Good. Perhaps it may be necessary to go out to find the Faithful, rather then let its call draw them here.” Swordwind smiled, murmuring, “Change is the only constant. The wise adapt. Let us see what the Gue’la do when Change turns against them.” The Tau are a race on the rise. From savage people to the adept masters of their realm inside of 200 years, the Tau represent a threat never before encountered within the realm of Eberron. United in purpose, the five castes of the Tau Empire are ready to expand from their collecction of islands into the realm of Khorvaire as soon as the Vash'Aun'an--the Clouded Skies-- vanishes. With select agents already within the various realms and organizations of the Gue'la populace, the Tau are poised to begin their so called Third Expansion and become one of the great nations of Eberron. [[[Almost all of the information on the Tau should be in my sig. What I need you all to help me with is to help me place the Eastern Empire Or deflate me a little, it doesn't matter a whole lot. Tau'va: For the Greater Good.
Cifer 03-08-07, 10:23 AM	Sounds like Riedra and the Dreaming Dark to me. Nothing we don't have already.