Findalaran’s Journal: The Mission

   The journey has been far longer than any of us anticipated, and it is a worry that the Alfath show no signs of slowing. They should not have been able to last this long on their broken magics. There is some concern amongst my people that our magics will be depleted before the Alfath finally settle, but none waver in our commitment. Now, away from Tarros, I feel more keenly the burden of command. Ninety-eight souls look to me for direction. Ninety-eight souls entrusted to my leadership. Ninety-eight souls — my brothers and sisters in spirit and honor — sworn to follow me to doom and glory.

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   At last the Alfath have settled. It is a small planet but teems with life and its music, though different, is nearly as strong as Tarros. Thus far it appears the Alfath are ignorant of our pursuit, and for that I am grateful. While this planet seems to hold out promise that we may renew our magics, we do not know yet if it holds out the same promise to the Alfath. Though a sixth of their people did not make it here, the Alfath still outnumber us 10 to 1. I’ve no desire to blindly confront them. Our task now is two-fold: to learn what mischief the Alfath intend for this planet; and to learn the songs of this world so we may better foil that mischief.

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   The songs of Terra have proven suitable to our needs and we are nearly as strong as before we left Tarros. It is good our strength is recovered for I fear the Alfath are proving far more dangerous than we had anticipated. While the Sprytath have an inherent connection to all life and the elements that nurture it, the Alfath have always been a hateful, hurtful, vainglorious people. And so it is a worry that they have retained magic here on Terra. The worry is compounded with the discovery that there are other peoples on this planet. My scouts report the Alfath have been closely watching and studying these humans.

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   We should have realized they would not easily give up their ambitions. Denied the servitude of the Sprytath, the Alfath now turn their greedy gaze upon the humans of Terra. That the humans so closely resemble Tarrosians has made it easy for the Alfath to slip in amongst them, learn of their lore, and make themselves to be these creatures of legend. Monster is a more appropriate word to describe them! The mystery of their retained magic — as well as their missing comrades — has been solved. The Alfath have discovered they can power their magics with blood. They sacrificed their own to complete the journey here. Now they slake their thirst for power with the blood of humans.

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   We are too few to counter them but we cannot let the Alfath continue their subjugation of the humans. Scouts report that the Alfath use magic to bedazzle the humans with lights in the forests to lure them into traps. Others have reported on human children stolen from their beds. We intervene, but for every human life saved, we learn of two others who have disappeared. I have called a council and will propose sending two Lochfa back to Tarros. They will carry my request that Faytan send more Lochfa to help us eradicate the Alfath. As mission commander, it is my decision to make, but the taking of life — even Alfath life — should never be decided lightly.

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   The council is in harmony regarding my proposal. It was a relief that others also saw the need to finish the work that began on Tarros. But they disagreed with my choice of sending Toras and Minna, and instead put forth a solid argument that I go with Minna. They spoke the truth: Minna and I are the swiftest among us and the message will bear more weight if I bear it myself. I agreed, but with the caveat that I go alone, allowing Minna to remain and bolster our forces here. I turn command over to Toras and Aliss. Toras is a skilled tactician and should do well at protecting the humans. Aliss is perhaps strongest among us in the songs of Terra and is skilled at sharing her strength with others. I go now to seclude myself and prepare for my journey.

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