The Book of Humility "Pride flourishes in the absence of Truth, Love, and Courage." --Katrina, Companion of the Avatar |
. . . 'Twas the most beautiful of days, so the legends claim, but the townsfolk paid the sun and its shimmering sea no heed, for all days shone brilliantly over Magincia--"As they ought," the boastful knight, Nate, declared--and the nights were but tapestries woven for their admiration. Little was needed of a world outside their own. The plains of their isle abounded with game and provided fertile soil for crops, and fish were plentiful along the coast. Occassionally a foreign vessel would dock, her holds burdened with strange spices and fruits, her crew quick with rumors of the mainland being united under a single monarch. Again, the townsfolk paid them little heed, ignoring both their talk and often their trade, and soon very rare was the day when a foreign ship harbored on Magincia's shore. "All the better," Nate declared. "They are but inferior to us. And these Virtues they tote? How dare they humble those who need not be humbled!" 'Twas the shepherd, Katrina, who warned them when the first rumbles of earth were felt during their Celebration of Pride. She was not alone in her fears and others fled the Isle, sailing north. But the mayor scoffed them, Nate laughed, and the townsfolk drove Katrina away. Perhaps 'tis fitting, then, that she was the only survivor that day. The earth beneath Magincia cracked and sundered the city walls, while the skies and seas boiled with storms. Daemons spewed from the earth in crimson tides and descended from the skies like a fiery rain. A day and night the siege lasted and when all was done, nothing was left standing, save ruined pillars and the charred skeletons of mansions. Corpses populated the city, but none had been granted death, and thus undead roamed the streets, mourning their beloved city, and seeking in death what they had been too foolish to pursue in life. . .