The Lich Storyline

The most recent epic storyline in Platinum!

Summary

Coming soon!

Aiyaka

The Story of Aiyaka the Lich and Sorene the Shamed

Aiyaka was cursed from birth with natural beauty. Even in childhood, she carried a certain glow in her dark elven features that captured the attention of anyone who laid eyes upon her. Perhaps surprisingly, her personality mirrored her visage: she was caring, kind, charming, generous... well, you get the idea.

One day, Aiyaka moved to a quiet, obscure village. Little was known of her origins -- only that she came from a family immersed in the dark arts, somewhere in a distant city -- but the townsfolk found her a wholesome addition to their populace once they discovered what a delightful teacher she was. In schooling others, she taught all manners of thought, from reading and writing to deduction and logic. From time to time, Aiyaka helped those with skills in magic to hone their talents, but only in the manner of defensive and lighter arts. She favored hands-on games as methods of teaching, as it provided fun in terms of activity and kept the mind moving. Indeed, the townspeople felt themselves fortunate to acquire such a bright mind, with such a giving hand.

There was, of course, the problem of her radiant beauty. There wasn't an individual in the town who was not enamored with Aiyaka in some manner or another. She became the envy of every woman and the love of every man. So it was that the women tried to learn what they could from her to improve their own appearance, and the men pretended to need her help in a variety of skills, from magic to numbers, just so that they could come and speak with her. Never once did Aiyaka flaunt her beauty; she merely went along on her way, seemingly oblivious to the wake of emotion that she left in her path.

In time, however, the married men began to make excuses to come and see her, at the cost of spending time with their families and wives, just so that they could gaze upon Aiyaka. Wives grew jealous. The other women, those who were not married already, were also jealous, as Aiyaka took the eyes of the potential husbands away. The men, even, threw harsh words at one another as they competed for her attentions.

None of this was her fault, and while she did nothing to encourage it, the women and men began to believe that, behind hidden doors, in the still of the night, and when no one was looking... that Aiyaka infact encouraged the men.

It came to pass that one of the village leaders, a nobleman, came across Aiyaka one day, and so stunned was he with her beauty that he believed he was instantaneously in love. He immediately rushed home and broke off his engagement with his sylvankind bride-to-be. This sylph fell into depression and tears, returning to her home a fallen and discarded being. The sister of this sylph, one by the name of Sorene, was enraged to see her sister thrown out in such a manner, heartbroken, in tears, and so Sorene promised to make the woman who caused this, Aiyaka, pay for what had happened.

Starting the very next day, Sorene proceeded to begin a campaign of vicious rumors that tumbled from simple, small fibs into a storm that she could not control once started. As you well know, in small towns, rumors spread like wildfire, and often they branch into so many versions that finding the origin of the rumor is impossible. Sorene full well knew this, and because of this, felt no remorse in ruining Aiyaka's name -- Aiyaka, the one who had caused the nobleman to abandon Sorene's sister.

The rumors were nearly harmless at first -- that Aiyaka was listening in on other people's conversations, spreading false rumors about others... then it was that she was stealing from the bakery... the grocer... the local healers. Sorene saw that Aiyaka seemed to pass through these rumors without even blinking, so she began to tell others that Aiyaka was meddling in the dark arts, calling up forces she should not, that the town was not safe. When people laughted at this, and only few believed it, Sorene took it another step further and told others that Aiyaka was taking the men of the village to her bed, more than several each night.

With jealousy already flying high, it should not come as a shock that the town believed this. From that time forth, no one would speak to her. No one would let her buy goods from them. No one would allow her water from the well. Parents started to find reasons to keep their children from coming to lessons with Aiyaka (though many of the children snuck out to lessons anyway.) As the rumors continued to grow and spread, however, when Aiyaka was in the street, the women began to rip at her clothing and tug at her hair. Men would throw rotten fruit at her, splash mud up on her. They all tried as they might to mar the image of Aiyaka's beauty and kindness, since they now saw her as a spoiled, rotted individual.

Aiyaka, through it all, bore her pride, and knowing the truth in her heart, believed that others, too, would soon see matters for what they were. Her inherent faith in the goodness of mortals allowed her to wake up each morning and continue on.

Sorene had expected Aiyaka to leave town, to return to her home... but when she did not, Sorene planted the seed in one last lie, a final thrust of the hate and anger that the sylph had toward Aiyaka -- she inferred that Aiyaka was punishing and torturing her students, taking advantage of their weak minds and souls in order to corrupt them.

The town was furious at this and felt no need to refrain from chasing Aiyaka through the streets with burning sticks while throwing stones at her back, pelting her with slings and arrows. Aiyaka ran, for the first time in her life, away from others. She cried out in terror, in pain, in anguish -- but she especially cried out in denial of the accusations against her, of what others wrongly accused her of. Perhaps because she had so long remained quiet... perhaps because she had never closely befriended any in the town, isolated due to her beauty from the start... perhaps that is why no one heeded her cries or felt any desire to listen to her tearful defense.

Finally catching her, the townspeople took her in their grasp, her body battered and beaten with the force of their fists and kicks, and tied her up against a pole in the center of town. They piled stacks upon stacks of wood beneath her feet, and with hate in their eyes, set the logs afire.

As sparks began to fly from the wood and flames roared to life, the heat of the inferno could be felt by those nearby. Aiyaka, tears streaming down her face, could not have survived long in this. Her tortured screams ripped through the air as her skin began to burn. Yet, in her last act, as if showing that she could exert her own will and had final control of her fate, Aiyaka yelled out a dark, guttural chant, and took her own life with the resulting magic. The town saw this as an admittance of guilt, but Sorene knew better. Hiding behind the crowd, shadowing her face with her hands because she was afraid of what others would see in her, Sorene for the first time realized what she had done. Her guilt, the remorse, the shame -- they nearly ate Sorene alive in the time to come.

And thus, Sorene felt little surprise at and easily accepted the fate that was to befall her. For Aiyaka returned as a lich, several years later, destroying the entire town with barely a flick of her hand. Sorene knew that because of what she had done, Aiyaka's soul had gone up for grabs, and no one but Sorene was responsible for this. With what Sorene saw as a cross between sickening glee and great internal remorse in the lich, in what had once been a kind and beautiful mortal, Aiyaka killed Sorene. Then Aiyaka left Sorene alone -- bearing the mark of a blackened patch of skin, and unable to shed tears from that time forth -- in the midst of the stench of burnt, singed bodies and crumbling walls.

Out of Character credits

• GM Varulv - scripting, lich special effects and bug fixes
• GM Xayle - awesome QC-ness
• SGM Sirina - awesome QC-ness
• SGM Lothwyn - approvals for a great many cool things
• GM Liia - awesome painting for the Boss Lair
• GM Itzel - awesome painting for the Boss Lair
• GM Fazli - timely bug fixes
• GM Ildran - timely bug fixes
• SGM Khaladon - initial concept approval, Lich special effects
• GM Ikaan - story and boss lair concept, story coordinator

On the stage:

• GM Cirath:
  • Zsonn
  • Teodek

• GM Itzel:
  • Kivja
  • Nuil

• GM Bazar:
  • Occulace
  • Hod

• ASGM Kaikala:
  • Aiyaka
  • Sorene

• GM Ikaan:
  • Raviel
  • Victul
  • Xanalathos