The Beginning of the quest of the the Petrified heart of Stone and the Frozen heart of Jade

This is taken from the Journal of Elisa Shao Xoumian. Written in her own blood in the pages of her tome of entries and forbidden knowledge, which contains the entries of her travels and the forbidden knowledge she obtained from the Shing Jea Monastery on the island part of Cantha.

The day my life changed, the day my sight was taken from me, the day my sight was returned to me but not as others see, for to them I am blind. The day my life changed forever and I was scared, the day he found me and took me into his arms. I remember that day like it was only yesterday as the sights of that day were burned into my mind. That day was 11 years ago, I was 5, the wind was clam as it was any day, for the village I lived in was between two mountains and on our one border was the sea the other was a valley. We were a small village with only thirty or so people living there. Most of our village was shaman's or as most are called "ritualists". The village was very independent from the cities and other larger towns and the villagers welcomed anyone Luxon or Kurzik without discrimination or hatred, it was a place of peace where all were considered friend. We had little in the way of defense as most cultures were to far from us to bother with us, though on that day a stranger came wearing red with a red cape and a crimson skull on the cape. The stranger and his group were welcome and had asked to speak with the one in charge of the village. Our village elder met with the men and I remember hearing shouting and the stranger leaving in a hurry. The stranger was mumbling to himself about how the village would pay for not agreeing to his request. To this day I do not know what the request was but the village did not seem to be bothered by this and our day went on as usual.

Several hours later I was walking with my dad, his hand holding mine as we walked toward home for our evening meal. I remember his hand was huge and strong but gentle, as he held my hand, I will never forget the roughness of his hand, even though it was so rough, it gave me a sense of security. I did not know at the time, but it was the last time his hand would ever feel that way, I did not know I thought he was going to live forever as I had no concept of death yet. As we walked we heard loud shouting from outside the gate "OLD MAN I GIVE YOU ONE LAST CHANCE TO RECONSIDER MY OFFER!" my father stopped as I stopped. When I felt his hand let go of mine he had then turned to see the elder walk to the gate and out to meet the man. I do not know what was said, all I remember was the sound of gurgling and the elder falling to his knee's holding his throat and falling to the ground. Several young ritualists rushed to the elder and dropped in the same fashion, my father then spoke " run Elisa ring the bell then hide." I didn't move, why did I not move, it was like my feet were broken. I just stood there motionless. My father turned around and knelt down. " Elisa, Elisa" I could not respond all I could do was watch as the men and women in the red running into the town burning the house's and killing all those able to fight. My father shook me "Elisa, Elis..." I snapped out of my transfixed stare only to see the light in my fathers eye's dim and fade of life as a man pulled his sword out of my fathers back. There was a sickening gurgle and a spray of blood from his mouth as he tried to talk "Elisa.. I ..I...love you" another gurgle and more blood sprayed onto my face and clothes. "R..run Elisa....run" as he fell motionless to the ground with a sickening spray of more blood as the man stabbed him again thus making sure he was dead and then he passed by me and ran for the other who were fighting back but with little effect.

After a few moments all that was left was corpses and a few screaming children that were quickly silenced by a blade or spell of some sort the smell of death was strong in the air and the smell of burning flesh and wood was also heavy, however my senses seemed undisturbed by these smells as if they were something I was used to. As I stood there starring at the men and women in red, the air although heavy with the stench of death seemed calming, then all was black, was I dead?, is this what it is like after death, a black void of nothing?. There in the darkness I stood not moving, not breathing just standing there as questions raced through my mind, until I saw it. My father holding my hand and I was again happy, then the scene changed again I saw my father but it was not like before it was him on his knees, the life fading from him, the sword in his back, the spray of blood, the sword being ripped from his body as it fell and the blade again plunging into his body and the man in red again passed me, the images kept repeating for what seemed forever. to this day each time I sleep the images are all I see repeated burned into my mind. standing there in the darkness and as these images kept appearing I heard a voice." Child...Child come to me" the voice was not my fathers, it was cold and lifeless. What could it be? again the voice came." Child...Child come to me." For some reason I followed this voice until I didn't hear it anymore. The images we gone as well. I stood there in the darkness again, then I felt the cold, it turned my veins to ice and my body shivered at the cold as in the darkness something began to arise from it. What was happening I could not tell as it was to dark to see then. All I could see was a bleach white skull clothed in a large robe that seemed to blend in with the darkness. I did nothing but stare into the hollow eye sockets of the skull until the mouth moved and the voice came again." Child I have beckoned, you have come, you stare death in the eyes and yet you show no fear." There was a short pause but my eyes were transfixed on the skull." I am Grenth, master and lord of the dead and although you are not old enough to have the gift of magic granted to your people long ago when we gods left the world, I am granting you my power over the dead. "You will serve me, and the dead will serve you" again a pause. " Though I grant you this power I am also going to take something from you as payment for my gift child" and with that he stretched out his hand and the dead rose all around us. " This will protect you for a short time young necromancer" he stretched out his boney hand in a gesture for me to take his hand. I did so willingly, and with that he was gone, the darkness faded and there was a searing pain in my eyes, they burned with furry and I heard myself scream in pain as the world as I saw it stated to go dark. " He took my sight" I screamed in my head. The last images I saw were of the dead minions of Grenth arising as promised and of the fearful look of the men and women in red then all was dark but the spiritual energies of the living and dead were visible to me. For a second I stood there taking it in, the comfort of the smells of the dead and sounds grew stronger and my sense of touch heightened as my body quickly began to compensate for my loss of sight everything changed that instant as I stood there. I then saw the sprits move toward me, there hands raised and the faces looked angry, the bonds of the boney fiends to me glowed red as did the energy the minions gave off. The world was different now and the anger and hate inside me swelled up as the spirits of a transparent blue color rushed toward me and with a single thought the minions began to attack the transparent blue sprits. Quickly they faded as the minions began there attack just by the shear will of my thoughts. As each transparent blue energy faded a dark blue color took its place, then from the dark blue glow a red thread leaped to it as another fiend arose and began its attack. The thread of red energy seemed to be emanating from me. It was the energy that bound the fiendish creature to my will. This was not know to me at the time but at that time I did not care as to what it was as long as those that were in my village were dead. as the last of the transparent blue energies fell. I remembered the words of Grenth. "I am also going to take something from you as payment for my gift child." My sight was his payment for his gift. although my sight was gone I still knew I had passed out as the colors of the energies had vanished.

I know not how long I laid there surrounded by the copses and the lifeless bodies of the minions but I awoke when a man touched me. " This one is alive, search for others" I remember his voice as he picked me up. " Look at this massacre were to late." There was another voice but not like the first, not calm or soothing but gruff "we have found no others Master Togo". The name Togo stuck in my mind as I stared at the energy which was also translucent blue but I felt safe as if it were my father holding me. "what is this?" came the gruff voice again. " They seam to be bone fiends, but why were they motionless and lying around the girl" came the soothing voice of Master Togo. "I can answer that question master Togo" came another voice though this one was cold much like Grenth's and as her spiritual energy came close it was not translucent blue but red much like the minions. It would not be until much later that I would learn that those who served Grenth gave off the same reddish spiritual energy of the minions. "This girl summoned them though I know not how, she is far to young to command them or control them yet it seems as though she knows how to summon them which is another mystery as most of my pupils have trouble summoning a minion let alone a fiend. " There was a silence and I seen the energy that was holding me look down at me. "Humm well little one, it looks as though you are the only one left but be not afraid for I will bring you to a safe place" he looked back up. "We go to the monastery and is anyone willing to care for this child ?" there was no answer. "Well then little one, I guess I will care for you" and that is all I remember from that day.

Master Togo took me to the monastery where he cared for me like a daughter. I never talked after that day except for with Master Togo. Though he encouraged me to talk to others, I never did. He often told me that I had the voice of an angel and should talk more so that others my hear me but I learned to talk with my hands and my teachers accepted this and learned as well. By the time I was eight most of the people in the monastery also learned to talk to me with their hands and I lived there in relative peace. Being blind I was often teased by the other girls and boys but this did not bother me. In classes with my teachers I learned to write and read, reading was hard as I could not see the letters but with a simple spell and some of my blood, the words would become alive to my sense of touch. I quickly devoured books and tomes until I ran out of things to read.

While looking for things to read I stumbled upon some of the forbidden tomes and scrolls of the monastery library. Tthese tomes were forbidden to all, even the necromancers due to their powerful spells and there knowledge of the dark arts. I began to read these and found that the spells and knowledge was almost second nature to me. By the time I was 12, I had already learned to summon and control bone fiends and I began to delve deeper and deeper into the tomes and scrolls often falling asleep with them in front of me. I then began to write my own tome and jotted down many of the spells and knowledge of the scrolls and tomes I had found. When I was 15 they found me reading these tomes and banned me from the library but before I left I had finished more then half the tomes and scrolls that were there and had even managed to hide a several in my tome which they let me keep. I began my studies that same year under the headmaster for the necromancers that were in the monastery. The classes were simple and often the headmaster would get angry with me for knowing to much, but even though we disliked each other I still respected her and wrote down all that she taught. With her teachings and the forbidden scrolls and tomes I had read I quickly graduated at the age of 16, the youngest to ever graduate from the schooling of there respected headmaster, which brings me to the present day. but I must go as Father Togo wishes me to go down to the merchant and get some supplies he had ordered.