The Harvest Moon Consortium

[Winterhawk99]

A Softened Hand, A Ridgid Faith

The cloaked figure carries the strange woman from the home of the Samurai Sensai to the Temple. Nothing stops him the Giant bees nest stays silent. The Great beastmen with horns make way for him. For they know even encumbered it is a foe too great for all their numbers. A master apprentice swordsman can not be matched in these lands. In other places yes but not here. The cloaked figure wears a Black robe: all creatures in the area know all to well, and the bite of the blade he carries runs deep.

All creatures make way for it. The woman he carries beaten almost to death is a strange creature indeed part elf part devil. She is physically beautiful but for the deep scars from whip and sword now lining her body fresh and bloody. The wounds tendings only partially stop the bleeding it drips off her body every few steps he takes. The way is not far but he hurries for time is short this day.

The Woman has no skin, she is scaled like a snake turned humaniod some would mistake her for yaunti but for the great black dragon wings on her back and elven ears. They tell a different story, a mystery for those who could not pick out the ancient race she belongs too.

At dawn he makes it to the temple of Sune. The priestess rushes forward from the small camp.

"What has hap.......Riknal! She has gone to far this time! Never have I seen such.....such...",she trails off a moment. "Take her to the lake I will need all my limited talents."

the Man takes the girl to the lake and wades in floating her body with her head just above the water to let the blood clean so the priestess can see the wounds as she works her magic.


As she works she asks him," Why did she do this Why riknal?" the Man considers her words, " I don't know Elpis I am the last of her students until this one. I have never seen the true ferocity of their kinds training. Since I am an elf the Sensai may feel I am more frail. There could be many reasons I don't know. I am not privy to all her thoughts just the ones she lets me see."

The priestes casts then casts again, "I believe there will be no scars Sune help us. Thank Sune you came to me and not another Sune can heal with no lasting evidence but she will have to rest."

the man bows, "She calls. I must go." The priestess grows angry, " Tell Niombi she is not welcome here."
Riknal bows again and says, "She has never been here and already knows. good day Elpis." the Man turns and walks off slowly each step measured with the beat of his heart.


The Woman wakes up after two days. Finding herself in a soft bed completely naked. she hurries out of bed knocking over a vase, wide eyed and frightened at suddenly being in a strange place. Elpis hears it walks to the bedroom she can see almost as good at night as in the day. As her shadow breaks the threshold she hears the tell tale Defensive warning a frightful hiss coming from the room. She steps away from the door. She speaks softly, " Its Elpis Lady Amielia. Please don't be frightened take as much time as you desire. Your Mistress will not disturb you here."


Amielia Henner-Tansu stands above the lake. Its a peaceful morn but here on these temple grounds it is always peaceful for Sunes grace and beauty is always present here. She holds in her hand not a sword but a small pendant of purest platnium. A pendant of a dragon.

A hand touches her shoulder she flinches slighly but makes no other move. Elpis speaks softly, reassuringly to her. "She's hard on you. I have never seen such abuse before Lady Amielia. Can you not find another in her steed?" Amielia shakes her head and turns to her. She bows slightly to the priestess, " I will be fine Priestess. I will learn what I can and move on if the ancestors accept me Bahamut willing they will see my worth." Elpis shakes her head, " Your people so brave yet so........it doesn't matter what I say. Just be careful Niombi is a masterful teacher. Shes never lost a student but she is hard and uncaring of them. Tell me though what is your story the full story do you even know it? There are so many questions of those who live here and know of you. your eyes? "Amielia turns her face from Elpis and looks away but nods"

Elpis leads her to camp where she can sit in comfort.


Amielia looks off into the distance while she speaks. Her long white hair blowing in the soft breeze of the temple grounds. Her black scales glistening from a fresh molt. she speaks not as herself but as an observer of times past.

It started many thousands of years ago just before what my world calls the first crown wars. The Elder fey'ri had protected araushunne as her royal guard since the elves first came to toril. My mother Ammothrawen was sent on quest little did she know that araushunne was exterminating the elder fey ri for a different kind one of mixed elf/demon blood. when they came to kill her the mage turned her to stone and buried her instead of killing her.

A drow priestess found her and awakened her in a place called anachrome. At first she was an evil ambitious woman that wanted to take the local city for her own but she was brought to the light of bahamut. How I dont know but though him and though the guild she started she became one of the great leaders for good in the land. they say she fought the god cyric himself along the fugue plane to save the soul of a friend. vanquished the guardian of the dead that plauged the god kelvenor. There are many other stories of her deeds.

Ameilia shakes her head and continues. Her death why I exist was a misdeed of cuelty. she was captured by a drow priestess a vile creature leader of her people. she force breed my mother to another elder fey ri she found trapped in a magic oil. though magic my mother had eight children in weeks and grew old. Adventurers saved us too late she died in her husbands arms we were spitited away to Vaasa a cold wasteland swamp half a world away.

The head priestess was aghast at our prescence in her temple. Creatures of Tiamat in her lair. but she eventually grew to tolerate us. Elana her second raised us until she died then the head priestess brought human samurai masters to teach us she and they were hard masters but not too hard. Only the Head Priestess new I was not suppose to have color to my eyes she marveled at it and said that was the reason she didnt kill us outright. She said we were a dead line and my mother should have been the last elder fey ri to walk toril but since we were here she would teach us of bahamut and self-relience.

She took me and had a mage place the tattoos of the 12 guardians upon me no matter how many sheds I go though they are still here to remind me that I am to serve Bahamut and no other.

Amielia bows her head. then continues

I was walking by an old portal one day one that was ignored because it didnt work it was ancient very ancient. I had walked by it a thousand times and nothing. This day.......This day as I walked by It lit up a light seeped out of it encompassing me and then then I was here

I've.....I've found a few friends here The Priestess shana, Jodro, Riko, and that little charming girl sweetpea the halfling or is it kender what she calls herself. And a few friends her like you priestess.

Thank you I must go back now. The elder fey ri walks off the temple grounds twoard her destiny and her pain. Elpis frowns and looks twoard the lands of the tansu.


A Ritual of awakening incompleted

The Woman sits on a rock in a lotus position deep in meditation. Her black leathery wings not quite touching the ground. She concetrates pushing the thoughs away. trying to clear her mind, but cannot. In the last months she conquered her fears of the enemy but in turn caused a lasting effect on her soul.

It Started when she entered tht red dragon lair with friends and found the horde of the nest. She had thought that Bahamuts blessing lay on her that day. She reveled in both the thrill of the chase and rewards it carried not the treasure but the fact that all knew she could do it. Gold is not the modivation for a creature like her. The greatest modivation from the Samurai, leaders of the noble families from the cultures where Samurai exist, is the fame of their name and the honor it carries when they do somthing truely heroic.

As they got home they found out that the dark lady Tiamat had cursed her friends that any evil dragon would seek them out to destroy all they had worked for. Amielia a follower of the good dragons was immuned to this for Tiamats followers cannot directly curse a follower of their enemy as the same apply to bahamuts.

Amielia set out to find a good dragon to find a way to lift the curse.


It was in a place of winds coming down from the northern mountains that she found her goal. As she prayed and meditated an avatar of bahamut himself came to her. He told her she had dishonored the pact of dragons and must rectify it for good dragons never intrude upon the home of the evil dragons they wait on the fields of battle (nuetral territory) to fight the foe on honorable terms.

To lift the curse; Bahamut commanded her to go to the land of the dead and retrieve the souls of all the young dragons that she had slain. Then reseed them in unfertilized eggs so they may have life again. Amielia got up and bowed to the great scaled one saying she would do it or die there. As Bahamuts avatar disappeared, Amielia walked twoard Sunes for just north she had set up a shrine to bahamut. There she would trie to perform the ritual without letting her soul twine with her blade
for to do this with an imperfect blade would mean death.

At the alter she called on her ancestors to help her not to judge her but to help her preform the task she must complete then drover her katana into her chest spliting her heart in twain. Putting all her concentration into her last breaths she pulled the sword out while holding her soul in place so that it wouldnt combine with the blade thus she achieved her goal and died in a temperal stasis as the dragons of bahamut guarded over her body.

As the blade is driven though her heart; in a corner of the astral plane a memory is awakened and a Dark fury of vengence is taken.


In the land of the dead Amielia had to make many deals with the ones she had slain to get back to the land of the living intact and with the souls of the dragons in her blades with luck she carried many blades for they must hold near 2 score souls. one by one she colllected them always knowing they would breath again to strike terror into the peoples hearts of the land that is now her home. it saddened her.

As she collected the last dragon there was a shift in reality. She became dizzy and disoreinted and then she was back in her body. She rushed far and wide to find eggs to place the souls in. from end to end of sierra na. finally finding a clutch in a small box canyon north and west of the tansu lands. She placed her swords by them and all the gold she collected 1/2 million of it then buried the eggs treasure and all in the ground.

When it was done she waited long enough to hear the magical sound of swords shattering and the release of the souls as it happened two swords rose to the surface the one she drove into her heart and the tansu apprentice blade that was made for harboring of a samurais soul.

She walked away both distraught over what she was commanded to do and happy that her friends were once again safe.

She felt the scar on her chest. So many things she had done breaking tradition. What would the ancestors think when she went before them to be judged? What of the strange commands of Bahamut? The world to her once was black and white now the grey is seeping in. What to do she doesnt know.


Amielia lets all the thoughs wander and linger then pushes them back from her mind. What will come will come. Her faith remains on edge but she must trust the great Dragon for to not would mean death. She must step carefully now the ritual approaches. The devils of her ancestors will not be pleased with her. Thadra The archer general of tiamat will want her soul. She must find a way to bring back her faith.

the thoughts linger then she pushes them back again becomeing blank. With the last thoughts driven from her she can meditate in total peace. She will find a priest or priestess of Bahamut and bring back her faith.


Of the Few Samuria Masters that reach old age all of them realize that the stuggle of perfection and leadership lie not in the outward stuggles and reputation of the individual, but in the inward struggle to find peace in what they do and their function in life. When one word can lead to a death of another and one mistake mean dishonor to a family. it is the inward peace of the heart that must be found and maintained to lead and judge a family to a prosperous future.

If one fines this peace in their life it means they have a small chance of seeing another lead the next generation to their goals.

As She meditates and finds wisdom Amielia abandons her search for a priest and finds wisdom in a small human priestess. Thus the inward struggle begins.


The Two naked females pace eachother, blood soaks ones blade the other's clean and smelling of cloves.

Niombi standing ridgid looks at her paceing student. Her golden eyes flare with the energy......energy unrealized.

Niombi looks at the freshes scars on her. The Angel had chastised her badly the wounds inflicted were terrible never has she fought a divine servant nor one that was like her a master of Samurai. She then frowns at her student and prepares for the attack. Again the whirling of the two blades come at her and she defeats them by the barest of margins. leaving a line of blood across the Students thigh.

Ami was fustrated. Not once has she landed a blow not once on Niombi. She calmed herself weary from exertion she must strike at least one blow on this witch of a woman. She never like the Mistress. She could see Niombi wanted something from her. What she didnt know. The woman broke all bounds of tradition until for some mysterious reason she stopped and intitiate almost perfect training. What did the head of the Tansu family want from her? She didnt know? she calmed her soul and looked at Niombi there must be away. Again she pushes the thoughts back and looks at her two parctice swords.

She comes in this time tumbling to the ground and around past her strikeing low.

Niombi knew her students well and knew ami could tumble better than anyone she ever trained before but was not ready for the strange attack sequence ami laid out. As Ami droped under her blade and rolled Niombi tried to block her blades with her wakasaki catching one but the other seared her deep in the thigh. Niombi fell an Ami rolled past.


Ami came up and looked at the fresh blood on her blade questioningly almost in awe. She turned to see Niombi already dressing the wound. Niombi gets up and bows to her. Ami hears the words "I can teach you no more. Come back when you are ready to become a woman."

It was a bit melodramatic but Ami knew now that she was ready at least physically to withstand the ritual. Now it was a matter of faith and heart.


Story by Winterhawk