1. life as a nomad
Ashul was born to two unknown nomads of the Ishanae in 23 atnA. Both of his parents died shortly after his birth in the attack of some beasts, after which he was raised by the remaining tribe members. At a young age, his passion for music, dance, and song was evident, especially the handling of the hurpohorn, an instrument carved from a single log that sounded booming, deep melodies. This rumbling sound made it not only a tool of entertainment, but could also be used to deter a wide variety of threats. Ashul showed such passion for the instrument that he sometimes played it from the time he got up until the last hour of the night. Thus he entertained his companions and frightened the beasts, gaining great popularity among the ranks of the Ishanae. They had already heard of the council of mages, a human organization in the far north that had integrated other nomadic tribes into their ranks, but they had not expected to be met by them only three years after declaring their second human liberation war. The procedure that followed was no secret. First, the council's emissaries offered them help and food, shortly after which they presented them with representations and stories of their goddess, the Ame. Almost lovingly, they explained the falseness of the gods the Ishanae worshiped and asked to be allowed to show them the right path. Of course, they had heard the stories before and knew the consequences of refusal, so they accepted the generous offer to join the council.
2. life in the council
Towards the end of 41 atnA. Ashul and his brothers and sisters reached Alphis, the seat of the council. They were given a camp with the rest of the nomads, who were not yet fully integrated, and from then on they were assimilated to the council population primarily on a linguistic and cultural level. Unfortunately, Ashul proved to be relatively resistant to learning and possessed great difficulty in learning the unified word, which is why he did not receive a high rank in the military. Moreover, a life in Alphis itself remained closed to him, since the inhabitants did not share his love for the sounds of the hurpohorn at all and only very few people were granted a job as a creative artist. Thus, in the year 42 atnA. he was given access to the world shrine and became a mage. Since his transformation took place immediately after the magical upheaval, he benefited significantly from this event and showed above-average magical potential. Eventually, he was ordered to the southeastern front to serve as a simple foot soldier against the continued steady resistance of elves, dwarves, and other members of the intelligent races.
3. sound magic
Since Ashul was forbidden to practice the Ishanae language in the ranks of humanity, and he could only really rhyme well in that language, he soon gave up writing songs and turned to learning new instruments and dances. While the army of humanity rejected many parts of the original nomads, some things endured and art was a huge part of that. Thus resulted for Ashul the learning of supposedly more than half a dozen different instruments over the next two years, and when his personal magic manifested at the second level, it was as unique and unheard of as it was unsurprising. His sound magic probably represented how he understood music as pure emotion. Thus, his powers were reminiscent of those of the Aurarians. With his melodies he could awaken fear in the hearts of enemies and strengthen the resolve of his allies. Likewise, he could bring sleep but also heal wounds, making him an essential part of military formations. With the awakening of his sound magic, however, something else seemed to take root in Ashul as well. At irregular intervals, he began to suffer from seizures in which he would twitch back and forth feverishly, sometimes for hours, before fever and chills reached their peak. In the two minutes or so that these climaxes lasted, Ashul had to be immobilized while he began to chant, trembling wildly, in the language of the unified word, which he actually barely knew. Whoever was near him during these chants about heroes and their downfalls, their bodies and spirits began to heal even the worst injuries. As soon as this ability became known, Ashul was sent from one front to the next, sheltered there until the next fever came and he could heal the difficult cases before the process started all over again. It took five long years in which the generals and commanders, drunk with the joy of the healing powers, seemingly arbitrarily ignored the content of the sung lyrics.
4. death messenger
supreme leader Laho,
I address you regarding an incident of the chanting healer assigned to us by you. His healings were extensive, however one of the other soldiers approached me about the lyrics that made up his peculiar magic. The performance was about a soldier who used the "thunderous power" of the water and yet succumbed to the flames of a dragon, even though the beast had already suffered 39 wounds. Enclosed with this letter you will find an account of yesterday's battle, including the death report I wrote up of Korel Metz, a water mage who fell in the final moments of the battle. Scorched by the flame blast of a dragon, upon whose examination we found exactly 39 wounds. It may be pure coincidence, yet a couple of the soldiers felt uneasy and it would not help morale should this speculation not get answers.— letter from general Tso'men to Laho, 06.09.49 atnA.
It was to be general Tso'men's letter that changed the view of Ashul's forces. A review quickly brought to light that every single one of the fevered representations was a vision, most of which prophesied the death of a soldier of human society. Henceforth, Ashul was viewed more dubiously, did he only foresee deaths or did he bring them about? How far ahead could he see deaths and how accurate were his visions? A multitude of questions were to be clarified by further investigation, but even as the intricacies of his abilities were gradually understood, distrust of him reigned, especially with each passing day that the man aged. As he aged, his ability seemed to change as well, and his visions no longer concerned those directly present, but instead seemed to concern the distant future. He began to sing of technologies and other achievements that were still in the distant future, or even sounded like pure fiction.
5. heresy
What ultimately condemned Ashul happened in the last two years of his life. His visions currently reached far enough into the future for him to see a time when the boundaries between humans and intelligent races dissolved. His singing about the heroic deeds of elven knights or dwarven warriors led to open anger towards him and eventually he was ordered back to Alphis. Actually, he should have been well aware at that time of what awaited him there, yet he chose not to desert. Instead, he traveled back to the capital with a small troop. Allegedly, he spent the entire journey playing various instruments non-stop and happily singing songs in the Ishanae language until they finally stood at the gates of Alphis. In all this time he had not had to live through a single vision, yet they reached the city and stood face to face with a pyre erected for him.
my old friend,
I have just returned from Utiam. I know you advised me not to visit the city until we would be aware of the outcome of this story, but I threw caution and reason to the wind. From afar, I watched what Lortan had made of himself and I also watched those children fight this higher being. You surely remember my passion for the works of Ashul Abharaz, the singing prophet. One of his last works, "Elf in Chains" sang of the downfall of an elven woman who opposed a god. It may be hard to believe, but I saw the exact words of the chant play out before my eyes as Lortan abused Auril Emen as a living shield. Pierced by the arrows of friends. Perhaps I see opportunities and chances where there are none, but I have never forgotten your quest and your goals, and so I scoured more of the dead bard's works and hereby send you a transcript of his last words."— Excerpt from a letter from an unknown to Litheus Mascavone
6. Last Words
On 01.13.68 atnA. Ashul Abharaz was found guilty of heresy at that very pyre and was to be burned the same day. The documentation of this event reports that the accused did not resist. Neither did he attempt to defend himself, flee, or otherwise save his life. Instead, he merely wished to be allowed to play the hurpohorn on the way to his execution, which was granted. Thus, he played the beloved instrument of his ancestors one last time for about ten minutes before taking it with him to the pyre and igniting it. The following circumstances were documented by an unknown journeyman of the council.
The accused went purposefully toward the pyre after burying the noisy horn in the copse. He willingly allowed himself to be tied up and showed no sign of resistance. Even when the executioner stepped forward and set fire to the wood, there was no sign of fear or reluctance in his eyes. However, when the flames began to lick at his legs, a kind of seizure ran through his body that seemed to have nothing to do with the undoubtedly terrible pain. Instead of screaming, the condemned man began to talk confusedly. Both the first of these words, which were lost in the shouting of the people, and the final words, which were swallowed up by the roaring flames, are unfortunately missing.
Who are you? Can my words really not reach you? Are you the only one whose end my voice cannot reveal. A blow? No. A stab? No. Poison? Flames? Magic? No, no. There must be something, something capable of piercing you. It's getting clearer. I see it. The blood on the ground, bound in steel, the blood of...
7. legacy
Although he was condemned as a heretic, some of Ashul's legacy survived. For example, his sound magic enjoyed great popularity for a long time and is still one of the relatively common forms of magic today, although mages have become fewer. In addition, transcripts of the more than 800 songs he sang during his visions have been preserved. Throughout Uras, songs that sprang from his lips are often heard in taverns and on trails. The last centuries, which united the humans and the other intelligent races, brought his melodies close to them as well, and so nowadays Ashul counts as one of the few human artists who could make a name for himself in the ranks of other kinds.
Nice. I love the verse at the beginning and all the little details. :)
thank you very much, I really strugled with writing it :)