The Four From Tilun
The tale of the Four From Tilun begins in tragedy... a story grim, yet promising... full of hope and wonder. I shall try my best to sum up the story from a unique perspective... that of brother left behind by an older sister called upon by great forces to fight for the survival of us all.
In the Beginning...
My sister once told me about the night of fire, the night the lizards came to slaughter and claim the island. Many would die... most in truly horrific manner as food for the invaders. At the time we had no idea who they were, only that fire, steel, and claw descended upon our quiet little world without warning... and without mercy.
A few of the more able-bodied stood firm, defending those of us too weak, or too young, as we fled toward the mountains. I can remember only vague impressions of the trip to the mountains, to the Orcs. Fatigue from the earlier day, confusion in my youth, and the dark of night contributed to my hazy memory of the moment. I remember clutching tightly to my younger sister's hand... afraid that if I let go I would never again hear her laughter and see the delight in her eyes as cakes were served.
The night was long, the journey hard... but eventually a glimpse of our elder sister, Hyacinth, was had. She had been camping in the mountains, near the falls... fishing with her friends. She was always doing that in those days. When I was young I knew only that she would fish for hours, bringing up fresh food afterwards. But now, as I'm older, I feel that she was simply in need of rest from us. It wasn't that she didn't love us, no. But as youths we were definitely a handful, to be sure.
She and her friends were sent by the village elder to acquire weapons of legend from the founding of our town with the ultimate goal of avenging the village. She was accompanied by two Half-Orcs, Krow and Grophan, and the drunken Dwarf, Thol. They were the most appropriate choice for the village, being the only 'group' with history together and the capacity to work well with each other. Except perhaps the Elven siblings, but none seem to know what happened to them.
My sister said that acquiring the items was fairly straight-forward, though why they were stored in some ancient crypt I'll never know. They set out on their journey then, moving through the swamp where the creatures came from. They were black of scale, these lizardmen, and were accompanied by lizards we had never before seen on Tilun. It wasn't long before they found the 'source' of these lizard-folk, an ancient ruin in the swamps, and were whisked away to the shores on the south part of Tilun Island.
During this time we made it to Orc Hold in the mountains and were given shelter in the night. They cared for us as best they could, being a small village themselves. At that point, any assistance was welcome, it was cold and miserable that night... and we had lost many to the claws and teeth of the invaders.
The Great Sands...
Hyacinth and her friends found themselves on the southern shores of Tilun when they stepped through the portal. There they found a ruined building where remnants of the lizards accosted them. Notes were found that led them even further south, by boat, to the Isle of Sands. It is there that they verified their routes upon finding more of the magically made lizards and lizardmen.
As the way back was lost to them, the group could only move forward with their explorations. The journey through the desert was fraught with perils the four overcame. Some with difficulty, some quite easily, but all successfully. To this day I really think that my sister hates sand because of this part of their journey.
Eventually they would realize a mage followed them, seemingly taunting them as they journeyed, sending things at them they had to fight. His appearances were always just out of reach of them... as if he led them somewhere. They followed of course, knowing nothing of the overall island except for tales heard as kids, knowing that this mage was linked to the slaughter of our homes.
The appearances eventually ceased as they entered into a tunnel in the low portion of the mountains. It seemed they were on the trail he wished them to be on. Knowing it had to be a trap, the Four continued forward... having no choice really. The tunnels were long, dangers lurking in their depths, but eventually opened once more to the light on the other side of the mountains.
The hilled valley they found themselves in was large indeed. In the distance they could see great stone pillars with what looked to be a Dragon flying nearby... a vast red beast that, though noticing movement for sure, made no attempt to fight them. Almost as though it cared little for the tiny creatures it saw. Given the location they seemed to find themselves, and hearing the tales growing up, the Four knew this great beast to be Ignatus, the Divine Red Dragon of legend... and they were glad of his indifference indeed.