“The Year Travance Stood Still” or “Peace Comes at a Cost”

Celestial / Cosmic

The year 1220 was both special and surprisingly welcome. For so long had constant dire threats reared their ugly heads one after another after another; but in the year 1220 that stopped. The threats were different, more manageable by fewer heroes, less connected to the health of the world, more often mundane. Was this the beginning of peace?    

The Year Travance Stood Still or Peace Comes at a Cost
“This story is called the year Travance stood still; sometimes it is called peace comes at a cost.   Since its founding, Travance had been hounded relentlessly by the forces of evil and so reprieves from this assault were few and fleeting at best. For over twenty-five years this aggressiveness persisted without interruption, but near the beginning of the year 1220 something disrupted this discordant melody.     It was around this time that the Kormyrian civil war was largely won, despite losing a bit of its land to the opposing side. In the process of this victory however, the Kingdoms ruler, Count Sebastian Everest fell into a deep slumber from which he was unable to wake. Shortly after these events, danger in Travance notably slowed and soon after that it grinded to an almost unsettling halt. Most at first thought nothing of it, presuming it to be another brief moment of respite, but to everyone’s surprise, the peace continued. Peasants and Heroes alike whispered and spread wild rumors through the realm. Some said that the Dragons secretly returned and their aura kept evil acts at bay; Others said the Dark Clandestine of Travance had run its course and was finally over; On the fringes, a few gossiped that the Count and the Duke were a living metaphor of conflict and so their removal had brought peace. There were no shortages of those who would speculate, but the truth of it was known to no one at the time.     After several months of peace this was assumed to be the ever so common calm before the storm. Many heroes claimed that they knew in their hearts that it would come fast and harsh; yet the storm never came and that feeling eventually faded as well. Could this be what lasting peace looked like? Did the heroes of Travance finally win, if such a concept even existed? Baronial Feasts were not being held; the urgency to hold them was simply not present. No major threats came forward. The Count was in a mysterious slumber and the lords and ladies were focused on the prosperity and responsibilities over their own lands. Half a year had passed and Travance proper felt more and more like a ghost town, not often seeing heroes, and rarely if ever seeing troubles.     The feeling of peace would increase with each month. The mood of the calm before the storm completely subsided; the concerns of this peace being a diabolical trap dissipated and the notion of a great and powerful danger lurking in disguise passed. Yet even still, deep within the hearts of a few, this change somehow seemed wrong, though they could not explain why...”   Klarington looked up to stare at the small girl, eyeing her closely to see if she was still paying attention to his lesson. The two of them sat on large flat rocks situated under a great old oak tree, alone in the middle of thick grassy hills. The lush green landscape stretched out almost as far as the eye could see with the exception of small traces of civilization just beyond the tallest of hills. The girl was in fact still wide-eyed and starring his way, so he continued. “This is what I call an Eon Crossroads. A large time platform, in which the worlds outcome can branch out to different paths that are vastly different from one another. The last time Travance had been at one such crossroad was during the battle with Xualla. At that crossroad the paths seemed clear, win or lose. This crossroad was far more subtle and far harder to detect, but the difference between the worlds that could result, would be no less drastic."   “Which story is it?” The girl blurted out excitedly interrupting Klarington. “uh I mean… what happened? Was it the year Travance stood still, or did peace come at a cost?”   Klarington found the question and the reality of their situation amusing. “You don’t even know what timeline you’re in, child; you’ve never even heard of Travance” Klarington chuckled.   The girl slumped back down, realizing that the answer to her question was both, at least to her mysterious teacher…“So which of the outcomes do you prefer?” She asked sincerely.   Klarington pondered the question seeming to have trouble processing it. After a little while his brow furrowed and he got serious. “It.. doesn’t matter to me.” He said glaring through her. “When your bones become nothing but dust and the dust itself no longer exists, I’ll still end up in the same place doing the same thing regardless of the choices that you make.” He suddenly realized how cryptic and terrifying that may sound to a small girl, so he lowered his head and raised it back to her with lighter eyes and a gentler voice. “It’s not about me Lucy, it’s about all of you and the lives that you want to live. You will write stories together and share in adventures, sometimes beautiful and sometimes sad. There will be twists and turns that you never expected and there will be choices to make, Lucy, powerful choices. Sometimes morality will seem confusing, sometimes lines will seem blurred, sometimes walking up the stairs will bring you down and walking down will bring you up. Remember this, at the end of the day its not always about which choices are the right ones or the wrongs ones, its about knowing the truth.”   “What is the truth?” Lucy found herself whispering so quietly that she could barely even hear herself.   “That there is no right answer” Klarington replied, “There is only your story, and you will simply need to decide what is the story that you want to write…”   Loud and melodic bells rang out at just that moment and Lucy turned her head to see the castles parapets barely cresting over the high hills in the distance. She had wondered where the time had gone. It felt like they had just sat down, though she knew deep down that was far from the truth of it.   Klarington stood up cautiously. “You best hurry along” He said. “Your… real teachers will be looking for you soon, and I should quietly take my leave before I am noticed.”   Lucy turned and surprised Klarington with a fast and strong hug. Stunned for a moment, he had not realized that the girl had grown this fond of him, and he thought sadly to himself that perhaps he should not return again. He patted the top of her head gently “Go along now” he said in a firm, but kind voice.   She quickly scooped up her scrolls and ritual bag, packing it frantically. She raced towards the castle as quickly as she could, never looking back; for she knew that her real teachers did not appreciate tardiness.