Four Gifts to the Bright City

And so on the day of Freedom in the month Futility, the priestess of the cathedral devised a task for 3 of the bright city's adventurers. As she thought of this quest, Thirteen and Neq both felt a coming test.

Thirteen as usual threw himself into a fell mood, preparing his body and mind for combat. Neq however spent his time preparing his mind, believing this task would not be battle oriented. Senapphyr, a young thief, was with them, and she had nothing with which to prepare herself, such was the misfortune in her life. They were called, the three, to the cathedral, to accept their task. It was a noble one, for it was a tribute to the bright city, a display case salvaged from the ruins of old thalos, to be filled with items to represent the heart and spirit of the city.

So the three were commanded to find 3 items, one each, for this case. Thirteen and Neq returned quickly to the cathedral, Neq presenting a pale white stone to represent the innocence and beauty of the city, Thirteen carrying an elven sword and a lens. Senapphyr returned twice to the altar, having died in her own quest for items. It occured to Thirteen, that she gave then something that most would not recognize. She gave her very life, twice, for the city, for this task. He gave to her the elven sword, for she deserved most to win this game. She had presented to the altar a gift better than any mere item, something that could never go into the display case. Her own life was her true gift.

Where Neq and Thirteen took no risks in their endeavors for items, she went alone into dangerous places, ill equipped and unarmed, to find for the city some bright jewel. Indeed what she gave was not only her life, but the very spirit of adventure and risk that defines the bright city. And so remember when you look at the pitiful and mundane items in that case, each supposed to represent an aspect of the city... a pale stone for its innocence and beauty, a rune sword with the power to bless it's wielder to represent the magic and bladecraft of the city, and a lens to represent it's clarity and purity of vision... that a much greater gift was given and forgotten, as most great gifts are... the spirit and life of a brave adventurer, who true to the nature of this bright city died not once, but twice in an effort to gain something of beauty.