Dark History 1 - Journey of Epith

[VermillionTwilight]

Personal Introduction


Greeting and salutations, one and all. I am Vermillion Twilight, and I thought i'd branch out from just my costume artworks and encompass the art of writing; for with writing, one may craft entire worlds in minutes with only a few strokes of the pen... or keyboard in this instance.
But of course, while to can make a world up in a few minutes, it takes true skill to formulate the ways of that world that can be as expansive as the strength of gravity, the formation of the lands, the monster, animal, plants and people and their local customs.

Now of course, I have a story behind my own character as we probably all do... or at least those with original names. But I shall leave that for another time, perhaps it should be made into an event: "What's your story?". An interesting prospect for the GMs to think over sometime.
As you can see, I enjoy using english formally and you'll find my wording is more like that you'd find in a proper book. Though, if you ever met me, you'd find I speak very little and prefer to just stand in silence.

In any case, I saw that this section was once full of life, and as an artist and budding writer, I shall revive the withered branches of this once vibrant tree with new chapters in the history of Isya. As for this chapter, it takes place after the fall of the Guiding Mage, Banon, at the hands of the now corrupted elven magician, Epith. (Original story here (http://fiesta.outspark.com/guides/story/4))

Well, as for the current chapters of the Fiesta Story, i'm not satisfied. Chapter 5 was a horrible joke and ruined any sort of continuity of the story. After all, in chapter 3, Teva relinquished most of her power by becoming mortal and created the GMs to help humanity, so why make angels who do the same job?

[VermillionTwilight]

Journey of Epith: Assault in Shadow

With the Soul Stone that once belonged to the Guardian Magi, Banen stowed within his robes and his fair skin tainted by the wickedness in his heart, Epith stepped through the open gates of the Uruga, the last Stronghold between the Dark Gods and the Elven Guardians whom stood guard over the realm of shadows beyond.

It was a windy night on the raised mountain top on which Uruga was so precariously perched. Even so, the moaning winds were not enough to drown out the roaring of magic spells and dark enchantments of Epith's encounter with the Guardian Mage, Banen. Had Epith's plan gone smoothly, Banen would never have had the chance to wound Epith so and the guards of Uruga would not have been alerted to the situation unfolding at the north gate. Now, with the guards headed by Elderine herself, mobilizing to defend their city against their own and Epith in no condition to fight them off, their bid to claim Uruga for themselves had failed and the only option was to retreat. However, with the words and false promises of the dark gods in their hearts and minds, Epith's followers were too hardheaded to realize this obvious fact and continued their senseless charge foward.

As the corrupted mages filed into one side of the massive square at Uruga's heart, they were met by the mobilized guard, standing with bows ready, their weapons trained on the unruly mages but not daring to fire.
With anger and insults filling the air of the dark town, one stepped foward from the Elven Guard, Elderine, wearing her white dress with gleaming, silver greaves, Spaulders and Breast Plate bearing the mark of Teva upon it's shimmering surface. Bow in hand, but not drawn. "Who among you is responsible for this uprising against one's own brethren! Send him forth and I shall hear the reason from the traitor's lips!" she called into the crowd.
Silence followed her challenge and the followers of Epith looked to each other in confusion, wondering why Epith was not present among them.
"T'was I, dear sister." said a quiet and yet stern voice above them. Had the wind and shouting not died down, he'd not have been heard. A dark robed boy descended slowly down the steps from the gate, still smouldering and smoking from his encounter with Banen. He was limping slightly and burned skin hung from his face and neck. Blood and soot merged as one on his darkened skin.
Elderine wanted nothing more than to go to her younger brother and embrace him and nurse his injuries as she did when they were both younger in the playground of the world. But something didn't seem right with him. There was an air of danger about him, and he wore an expression that one could only call hatred, an uncommon feeling in Elves, but was clearly present here between two siblings.
"What has happened to you, brother? What happened to your gentle smile?" She called to him.
At the sound of Elderine's voice, Epith's face registered a clear expression of anger as the poisoned words of Apoline rose from his heart to sound across the square. "What happened, you ask? I realized the truth, dear sister! You've been hiding it from me all along, letting me think that we were in this together!" came the words, and Epith stepped foward from his followers into the light of the burning torches of the square, revealing to all that this change of heart was more sinister than any could've surmised.
Elderine, shocked at the apparent change to Epith appearance, recoiled at the sight of the purple hue of what skin was still visible. "You've been plotting to have me do all your dirty work, and when this war is won you'll take the praise that I rightfully deserve!" he accused her.
"No, Brother! I could never do that to the person whom I care about the most in all of Isya!" she pleaded, a plea that landed on deaf ears.
Epith began laughing, a crazed cackling sort of laugh, stopping to say "But that's just it!" He continued, "You never cared about me! I'm just a piece of trash to you! I always have been! A footstool for you to stand upon! But Apoline wouldn't do that to me! She needs me, more than you ever did!"
Elderine, hurt by her brother's hateful words, knew that everything he'd said was not his fault and the evil in his mind could be clensed as long as it had nothing to grab ahold of.
"Brother! This is not you! It is the evil words and thoughts of Apoline that she had forced into your mind. You can still be saved!" She called to him, putting on the brave and loving face of the devoted sister she was.
She knew that Epith was a good boy and his soul could be saved if he was captured and the dark thoughts that were put into his head could be forced out by Banen's divine magic.

[VermillionTwilight]

Chapter 1: Part 2 - The Dark Grasp


The Dark Elf, Epith stared across the shadowy square of Uruga at his sister, Elderine, wincing at the sight of her face as she tried to put on a brave face, another in a long line of lies she's put on to decieve him all these long years. But no more, now that he's heard the truth from one as pure as Apoline, he had to rid the word of her deceptions once and for all.
While his sister, on the verge of tears looked upon the injured face of her brother across the illuminated square of Uruga. Holding onto the sliver of hope that her brother's heart may still be saved, if she can remove the evil thoughts that Apoline has placed so carefully into his head. So long as there is no darkness upon his soul for it to hold onto.

Elderine stepped foward to speak once more to her brother, to convince him to see the light, but as she opened her mouth to speak, Epith began to laugh his crazed laugh. "Saved? What have I to be saved from? I am more powerful than you ever were! I even killed Teva's lapdog, that weakling Banen!" his words of victory were followed by cheers from his followers who'd stood in silence behind him.
And with that, Elderine knew that having committed the sin of slaying one of Isya's protectors, Apoline's dark grasp on his soul was complete. There was no way to free his mind of the Dark God's touch. So she stepped back among her archers with grief for her brother weighing heavily in her heart and drew her bow.
"Will you strike me down, sister? Did you finally decide to give up your lies and try to silence me? Come on then, sister!" he taunted. Raising his hand as to stop the coming onslaught of arrows.
With tears welling up in her eyes, she said quietly under her breath, "You are not my brother..." followed by the order for her warriors to fire, "Release!!" she yelled. With that one word, a hundred feathered arrows crossed the city square in a flash of moonlit steel. While many mages fell with the first volley, many more had raised their barriers, turning the speeding arrows to ash as they passed through the wall of dark enchantments before each caster.

With their bows empty, the Archer Guardsmen of Uruga watched as the first lines of dark mages fell to their deadly strike, but just as the dozens fell, the mages behind stepped foward to take their places.
The Dark Elf, Epith still stood alone, hand raised before him, untouched by the many arrows that had been directed at him. A smug expression across his bloodied face, safe in the knowledge that his magic could take all of their arrows and more without wavering. While his followers raised their wands ready to attack, he stood there, hand raised, as his opponents reloaded their bows. Why deprive his followers of the fight they came looking for? In his mind, he knew that he could decimate their numbers with several simple spells. So he stood there, happy to let his men let loose their spells so that Apoline's power could free them of the lies they'd all heard time and again from their foolish brethren.

Elderine stood with her kinsmen, bow still drawn. Even after they'd exhausted their first volley and were busy drawing their second, she could scarcely believe that it was her brother's life with which she would end with her arrow. She'd told herself that he was no longer her brother, but such truth is one harder to shake than with simple words told to oneself for comfort.
Then the mages spells were upon them. Elderine sidestepped to avoid a great sphere of fire launched at her, and many of her archers lept to the walls or onto the roofs of nearby buildings to avoid the downpour of magic enchantments. But many were not so lucky and as the smoke cleared, the moaning of the injured, maimed and dying could be heard from all around. With so many of her fellow elves wounded, an intense anger built up in her and she once more drew her bow to full draw, the arrow's head levelled with Epith's heart. All the while, he still stood there, hand and barrier raised before him, a foolish grin across his blood-stained face.

Epith could see that his sister could not bear to fire at him. Was it out of love? Perhaps fear? No, surely it was out of pity. She felt sorry for him? Once more, his hatred and anger began to fill his mind at the thought that his sister felt sorry for him.
As Epith opened his mouth to throw another volley of hateful words at his enemy, something passed through his magic barrier and struck him full in the chest, knocking him from his feet and throwing him against his fellow mages.

[VermillionTwilight]

Chapter 1: part 3 - The call of Darkness


Pain ran through Epith's body while he lay on his side on Uruga's flagstone square at the feet of his fellow mages. He looked down his wounded body and saw the feathered butt of an arrow protruding from somewhere between his ribs.
Shaking with the pain, he reached his hand behind his back and felt the curved arrow head sticking out mid-way down his back. At the sight of the arrow, his followers stepped their lines foward to protect their wounded master and resumed casting their spells to buy time for him to recover.

With Epith out of the fight for the moment, the morale of the Archers was boosted and together they returned fire, downing a dozen more dark elves with their next volley. But many more mages were ready to back them up. Even so, there was now a gaping hole in their formation and their barriers could only shield them from arrows from a single direction. Resulting in archers cross-firing at their formations, taking down countless more enemies with each reload.
The mages realized that there was no way they could win and checked the condition of their master, Epith to see if he was ready to return to the fight. But when they turned, they saw only a trail of blood, heading up the stairs and into the darkness waiting beyond the walls of Uruga. Epith had abandoned them...

With Epith gone and the enemy's morale depleted, the few left surrendered or fled. Elderine, not fearing what hides in the darkness beyond the sanctuary of Uruga's walls, ventured out the gates following the trail of blood her former brother left in his wake in his hurry to escape. To finish what she had started and put an arrow through his wicked heart. It was the only way now to free his soul from the iron hard grasp that Apoline had installed upon him.
Then she saw him, the silver moonlight shining on his head. His hood was pulled up, but there was no mistaking him. The arrow still stuck from his back, pointing the way he'd come. So she loaded her last arrow, pulled the string back and trained it on the dark shadow hobbling between the trees towards the dark mountains to the north. Elderine slowly relaxed her grip on the arrow and it slid soundlessly from her bow and vanished into the darkness ahead of her.
She waited patiently as the arrow closed the distance between it's glimmering head and her brother's heart. Alas, the arrow disappeared somewhere in between and did not strike true. Her brother's shadow had vanished into the tree line beyond the hills and she'd no arrows to take him down with if she had pursued him, so she turned back to Uruga. It was then that she saw what had happened to it.
A pitch-black cloaked figure stood ahead of her, a gleaming red eye gazed lazily from somewhere within the hood which hid its face. A ghostly pale hand extended from within the folds of the stranger's robes and dropped her arrow on the ground at her feet.
"I believe this is yours" came a woman's voice from somewhere inside the hood.
Elderine knew who this cloaked woman was. She knew that the mastermind of this evil scheme couldn't resist showing herself at the end of it all, to take the applause for her performance and heartless puppetry.
Remaining expressionless, Elderine replied. "So you're the one behind it all, Apoline... I figured you would show yourself sooner or later." With that, Elderine turned and made her way back towards the faint lights of Uruga, careful to pay no attention to Apoline, knowing that it would hurt the dark goddess more if she ignored her.

The disfigured Epith wandered aimlessly through the dark forest hopefully towards the frozen mountains of the north. He called for his gods, Apoline and Pagel to no avail. He had served his purpose and now that he had failed, he was no use to them.
As Epith wandered, dark clouds covered the moon and it soon began rain. With every step and every rain drop, pain racked his body until he could take no more and he fell to the ground. Crying in the freezing rain, he wished for death and waited for it's cold embrace.
Alas, what came for him was not death, but a voice. It was a voice he'd never heard before, it didn't belong to any of the dark gods with which he'd had dealings. It seemed to come from beneath his feet and it filled him with strength. It whispered to him "Travel to the northern lands, locked in ice and snow and make preparations for my release."
With the sting of betrayal fresh, Epith was reluctant to trust any other mysterious voices, but curiosity won out and he asked aloud, "What is in it for me, stranger? How do I know I can trust you?"
Just as the voice spoke before, it did so again. "I shall grant you anything that is within my power. As for the matter of trust, you can't. But do you have anything else to do?"
It was then that Epith realized that he had nowhere else to go, "So who do I have to kill?".
The voice laughed and then spoke once more, "No one... yet. Just bring that stone you have in your robes to me. I shall instruct you as to what you must do from there."
"And what shall I call you, stranger?" Epith replied.
And the voice said "You may call me master if you like. However, I would prefer if you called me... Legel."

And so, Epith began on his journey under the instruction of the entity, Legel. To the distant realms in the north, beyond the reach of the dark gods, sealed by a barrier of ice and snow. To the well of the world, Xedathol.

[VermillionTwilight]

The journey was long and tiresome and Epith felt pain with every step. The injuries inflicted by Banen's final incantation had caused more damage than Epith had first suspected and they were not healing properly.
While pondering the state of his body beneath the ragged cloak he wore, Epith realized he didn't even know where he was going, just that something was calling him, pulling him towards the Ice Barrier of Danrak at the furthest reaches of the first realm of Isya. One of the first teachings of the magi was that the realms beyond the Ice Barrier were void of life and frozen. Even the Dark Gods never extended their reach to the lands beyond as there was nothing there to corrupt, nothing to control and nothing worth destroying. Yet the entity calling himself, Legel instructed him to ignore such preconceptions and travel to the Ice Barrier, Soul Stone in hand. Without a reason to listen to this strange new voice in his head, Epith had blindly and unknowingly followed the instructions without thought of his injuries until just this moment.
As his eyes turned downward, Epith caught sight of the grisly state of his body through the rents in his cloak that let the chill northern air in. Whole sections of skin had been burned off and now lay painfully caked in dry blood, cracking painfully every few steps. For some reason though, the pain he should feel at so serious an injury was dulled, as if in a dreamlike state.
He reflected on his recent actions in Uruga. Urged on by the gods Pagel and Apoline, he had turned his magic against his sister, Elderine and tried to kill her. A fate she deserved for all the years of lying she's done to him, pushing him down to elevate herself as the Ruler of Elves. Remembering his reasons for turning against his own people, Epith was once again filled with confidence in his actions and all traces of guilt and sadness were driven from his mind.

"I see you've finally calmed down now." Said the familiar voice of Legel.
"I needed only to reaffirm my state of mind, friend. Once i've done as you have asked of me, I shall return to the Elven lands and finish what I have started." Replied Epith aloud.
"Your words won't reach me where I am Epith. Know that only the words in your heart call out to me."
"Is that how you found me? You heard my callings for assistance of the Dark Gods?" Replied Epith internally, using his thoughts over his words.
"Precisely. You're sharper than I first thought, young dark elf. Considering that you fell to the temptations of my... Children." Said the voice of Legel in a sarcastic tone.
"Children?!" Yelled Epith in reponse, forgetting that his physical words did not reach Legel. But just as words are said aloud, they are heard in our heart and mind.
"I am Legel, the origin of chaos, the god above all others and it is from I that the other gods were born." said the prideful voice of Legel.
A strange thought occured to Epith, one he thought quietly, though not quietly enough. For Legel heard his silent question and replied.
"If I am the creator of the gods, how was I sealed so easily? An interesting question with a very long answer. A goddess of my own creation sealed me at the well of Isya while I was 'creating' the other gods."
"The Well of Isya? You can't possibly mean the Well of Xedathol? That place is pure myth!" Said Epith absently aloud again.
"Myth or not, it is your destination at this point. I need the Soul Stones of Bijou to free myself from this prison in which the wicked goddess, Teva, has trapped me."
With no reason why he shouldn't listen to the King of the Gods, Epith said, "I shall bring this soul stone to you, my lord. I shall not relent until you are freed from the prison that your traitorous brethren have trapped you in.
Legel has suffered the same fate that has been placed upon the one in whom he sought council. Determined to bring vengeance to the dark gods that betrayed him, Epith found a companion with the power to do just that with the same objective as himself.
Epith grinned a sinister grin, knowing that all of Isya would soon feel his vengeance, then quickened his pace.

Slowly and almost imperceptibly, the sky lightened as the dawn light stretched its way across the sky, illuminating the ground ahead of the injured Epith, allowing him to see the land in which he travelled for the first time. Still in a dark forest of ancient pines, the ground was covered in a soft layer of pine needles, with here and there gatherings of small bushes, sheltered from the cold weather above by the canopy of widely spread pine branches. The trickling of a nearby stream ahead drew Epith's attention as he hobbled painfully through the halls of ancient trees, a welcome sound for the tired dark elf.
As he approached the partially frozen stream, his legs finally began to give way and the pain he'd been feeling since his confrontation with his sister hit him full-force as the dreamlike state of mind that Legel had bestowed upon him faded with the night. He managed to drag himself to the stream and took shaking handfuls of freezing water and slowly and painfully washed his injured arms, legs and face.
It was then, while Epith was attending to his injured torso that he saw the feathered butt of his sister's arrow protruding from beneath his ribs and remembered that she'd fired her arrow through his barrier. But as luck would have it, the arrow seems to have missed anything major and instead caused great pain rather than death.
Epith took hold off the shaft and gave it a small tug to see if it was stuck there. Fortunately, it was slick with blood that hadn't dried and could slide quite easily. Unfortunately however, the arrowhead was barbed and couldn't be pulled back out the way it had come without causing serious harm. With only one option, Epith wincingly stood and backed up to one of the wide pines that lined the rocky edge of the stream, wedging the arrow head against a groove in the bark of the tree.
Hesitating for a few minutes, Epith considered other less painful ways to remove the arrow. None of which would work as effectively as what he'd first planned to do. Drawing in his strength, he lurched sideways with the arrowhead sticking out of his back wedged firmly into the bark of the tree at his back. As much as he'd prepared himself for the pain, it was nothing like what he felt. As the sharp cracking sound gave way to a loud snap, Epith fell to the ground in a shower of bark. Writhing around on the ground like a beached salmon for a few minutes, howling with the pain he felt in his back he blindly took hold of the feathered shaft of the arrow and yanked the remaining piece out with a spurt of dark crimson blood.
With the arrow shaft held triumphantly in his hands, Epith fell into the dark embrace of unconciousness.

[VermillionTwilight]

Epith slowly awoke from his dreamless unconsciousness with the noon sun high overhead and foggily rose to his feet, grinding his teeth with the pain caused by his injuries every inch of the way. Slowly, he made his way to the defrosted stream and took handfuls of water and shaking, poured them over his head. The burning sensation in his head from lying unprotected under the sun for the past few hours had left his head feeling like a furnace and the cool water relieved some of the stress, if only for a short time.
Epith realizing that he'd lost several hours of daylight, began to search the folds of his robe for something to carry the water in only to find nothing. His cloak certainly wouldn't do. It was full of holes and leaked like a siv where there weren't. While his fruitless search uncovered lint, the soul stone and a rather drafty hole in his trousers he found none of his leather pouches which he used to carry with him to take samples of chemicals and poisons he found in the forest.
Epith stood there at the side of the stream, considering his options for he knew that it was a long journey to the Ice Barrier and he'd be unlikely to find many streams in the lifeless Ryndim Mountains in which the barrier sat guard at the edge of Isya.
Then he heard the voice of the god, Legel. "Why don't you freeze it with your magic, young dark elf?" A half-mocking tone in his voice.
Epith began to raise his thoughts to reply in the same manner that Legel spoke, but could find no fault with his suggestion so resigned himself to defeat and began casting the long and complicated spell that would freeze the stream solid for several hours.
With the spell complete, Epith gathered up several well-frozen ice crystals and stowed them carefully in the pockets of his robe, stood up and walked effortlessly across the frozen surface of the stream and under the shade of the dark pines on the other side. His pace quickening now that he was out from under the burning sun.

Epith had limped on still in pain for several hours and nightfall was not far now. The dark pine forest had begun to clear away in the last hour or so, and now the soft bed of pine needles that had covered the forest floor had begun to thin and was giving view of the dark brown rocks beneath that gently sloped upwards.
Finally, the forest gave way into a tall wall of tightly packed bushes along the edge and with a short incantation, the forest wall was removed and epith could see beyond to the Ryndim mountains. A sharp wall of white and pale blue that looked like clouds rose from between the peaks of the mountain range that spread along Isya's northern border, The Ice Barrier.
The sloped, rocky side of the mountain wasn't too difficult for the wounded dark elf to climb, but it did put a lot of strain on his injured leg. As such, Epith's progress was at a snail's pace and he estimated his arrival at the Ice Barrier to be at around Nightfall. Already, the temperature had dropped considerably after he left the forest behind and with the steady climb towards the lowest of the snow-capped peaks it was sure to drop even further. The thought of the frozen lands on the other side of the Ice Barrier made Epith begin to regret making an oath to Legel. He was not dressed for the snow that is sure to be on the other side and already the impenetrable wall of ice ahead, which posed the obvious problem of getting past it.
"Surely Legel doesn't expect me to climb over the Ice Barrier?" he said to himself.
There was a loud bang like the sound of rock splitting, followed by several smaller cracking sounds further away.
Then the voice of Legel sounded, "I have opened a passage through the barrier. Though if you wish to climb over it, that's up to you. Just remember that the barrier is several kilometers high."
"I'm sure it'll be an enjoyable experience. My lord, Legel." Epith mused.

Nightfall closed in quickly in that cold, desolate place above the world. The pointed Icicles on the side of the vast wall of ice reached out like the massive lances of the gods. Fortunately, the spears of ice were only along the lowest secion of wall and were widely spaced apart so that Epith could walk between and in through a vast doorway in the brilliant wall of ice. This was not just a crack that Legel had created like Epith had first thought; It looked as though it had been carved. By anyone's opinion, the inside of the Ice Barrier looked as though it was a man-made castle, and the air inside only faintly held a cold chill that belied the barrier's construction. It was eerily silent in the frozen halls, broken only by several loud cracks that most likely had to do with the shifting of the ice.
Epith marvelled in wonder at the power of Legel for creating such a wonder in such a short time. Once more, Epith's train of thought was interrupted by that loud cracking sound which until moments before seemed to be natural, but now held a more deliberate rhythm that sounded like... footsteps. He was not alone.

[VermillionTwilight]

As the booming footsteps drew nearer, Epith sprinted across the smooth floor of the entry hall and took shelter behind a massive, ornately carved pillar of ice that supported the roof of the chamber several hundred meters above. Where the echoes of those mighty footsteps, like shifting ice reverberated back down to where Epith stood concealed. Suddenly, a mighty gust of wind roared through the halls, drawing with it the massive doors, echoing loudly as the heavy doors of crystaline ice grinded shut.
"Intruders are not welcome within the Ice Barrier!" Boomed a loud grating voice, as inhuman sounding as the door that had just trapped Epith. "Come forth and meet thy fate, mortal." The voice commanded.
With the only means to escape sealed off, Epith's only course of action was to either dispose of the Ice Barrier's caretaker or make a run for doors at the other end of the corridor. Which of course, would mean he'd have to pass within plain view of the monstrous sounding creature that now challenged him. Epith considered his options only momentarily, before stepping out from behind the frozen pillar to stand face-to-face with his opposition.
Raising his voice, Epith announced his presence to the creature that stood cloaked in mist before him. "I am Epith, servant of Legel! You will stand aside and let me pass, foul demon!" His voice echoed off the roof and walls to reach the ears of his hidden foe. The fog that concealed his opponent started to dissipate to reveal the enemy within.
From the shroud of mist came the familiar grinding and clattering of steel on steel as an armored knight in full plate armor, several times the height of a man stepped forth. His ice blue armor, shone transparently in the strange luminescent light that seemed to come from every surface inside the Ice Barrier and his helm's visor covered his face, but a faint and sinister red light shone out from between the slits between the ice-blue steel. His blue cape, trimmed with gold, flowed in the chilling wind that came from within the endless corridors of ice barrier to part the mist that concealed the massive guardian.
There was a long silence as the wind that parted the fog died down and Epith assumed a solid stance, hand foward, ready to deflect any attack cast his way. However, to his surprise, the Guardian bowed awkwardly, it was clear his armor was not designed to bow by the horrible grinding sound it made as he leaned foward.
"I have been informed of thine coming, Epith. For I too answer to thy master, Legel." Echoed the words of the ice-bound knight across the empty hallway.
"My name is Xanthor, I am guardian of the lands beyond. Tis my duty to stop intruders from passing beyond this barrier as set down by my father, Bijou." Continued the knight.
"I was unaware that the cowardly god created monsters." Replied Epith acidly.
"I was thy first creation of Bijou. At the request of his brethren, I was created of the ice barrier as it's eternal protector." Xanthor replied, missing the foul tone in Epith's voice.
"You may rest thy body here, Epith, servant of Legel." Decreed Xanthor. With that, the frost-clad knight turned and boomed away back down the empty halls.

Just as Nightfall comes early in that high, frozen place above the world, so too does the dawn. Though little difference is noted in the highest reaches of the ice barrier where Epith rested in a massive bed, in a massive chamber, in the massive side of the solid wall of the Ice Barrier that stretched up kilometers from the peaks of the mountain range that it spanned. The room's vaulted ceiling remained illuminated even in the darkest nights, as if the whole barrier had absorbed the light over a millenium and trapped it within it's frozen surface for all eternity.
Awoken by Xanthor's irritating patrolling of the corridors, and the annoying booming of ice shifting and settling as the sun's warm light hit the wall. Epith pulled back the cerulean silk covers of the bed in which he lay and put his bare feet upon the cold floor. Though it was made of ice, the floor seemed no colder than a floor of stone. A peculiar trait of this strange building that seemed to defy all logic, yet it existed nonetheless.
Epith searched the room for his ragged clothing that he cast off before he fell to sleep in the soft bed, but could not find it. Instead, he found new clothing laid out for him at the foot of the massive bed by someone who must've put it there while he slept. It surely couldn't have been Xanthor, he'd wake up the dead if he'd walked and he didn't seem like the type that would carefully select clothing that fit and lay it out neatly while an unwelcome stranger slept.
In any case, Epith was still standing there quite naked, in the partially transparent room, looking out across the vast ocean of trees and mountains to the land from which he'd come. His injuries had also been bandaged while he slept and he felt little pain from them as he gave the now-closed hole in his chest a brief poke.
Feeling the chill of the room beginning to close in on his nether regions, Epith pulled on the dark blue, long-hanging linen shirt, which appeared flimsy at first but held warmth well. Another mystical curiosity of the ice barrier. He pulled on the hose that had accompanied the shirt, and wore the loose-fitting black trousers over them. Feeling a little exposed, Epith searched for remaining articles of clothing that he may have overlooked. Hanging on the corner of one of the bedposts, was a black and red tunic and a belt, which he put on over the shirt and fastened closed around the waist with the belt, also solving the looseness problem of his trousers.
Dressed in the garb of the Ice Barrier, Epith stalked quietly from his room mid-way up the southern face of the Ice Barrier in search of the person whom laid the clothing he now wore. If they prepared clothing for him, perhaps they also prepared breakfast?