A crisp summer morning in Bimbole Woods. The ancient stones of the ruin are all covered in a light sheen of dew. The smell of grass hangs in the air. The birds of the nearby woods are silent...a presence hanging in the air, mulling their voices. On the flagstones of the ruin, the entire force of the Company of the Black Thorns stand. In the middle of the stone circle, Lirandel sits, kneeling, his head bowed.
My Thorns.
I am Lirandel Gwaedhon Mornereg. In my role as captain of the Thorn I have sought to stand strong in the face of evil. I have sought to guide and lead you.
I am Lirandel Gwaedhon Mornereg. I have spent the past two weeks in absentia. Alone, in voluntary exile. I have thought. I have shed blood. I have taken life.
I am Lirandel Gwaedhon Mornereg. I have seen my efforts bear too little fruit to measure up for the damage I have done. I have sought, and I have scouted, and I have claimed too little evidence to bring before you. Too little aid or comfort when you needed it.
Lirandel turns his head upwards, looking them each in the eyes, his cold marble stare for once replaced by smoldering fire.
I am Lirandel Gwaedhon Mornereg. It is in my blood and in my history to stand alone...but now I find I am in need of your help more than I had ever imagined.
He slowly rises to his feet, his words reverberating off the stones as he raises his voice.
He has put harm to our sisters. Tharynien fell by the edge of his blade. Kellidir suffered near fatal wounds. Lildarwen, shot down like an animal. Sayvara, our lieutenant, my Fire, was bodily taken by him to his unknown sanctum, to face Valar knows what. He has done harm to not just individuals among us, but to us all, my Thorns. He has dealt the Thorn itself a griveous wound.
The time has come for us to reclaim what he has taken, and pay him back in full for that which he has destroyed.
The old elf raises his mailed hand, the gauntlet crunching as he curls it into a fist.
The Company of the Black Thorn, when rallied to a common cause, will have the strength to take down this foe that faces us. I am not accustomed to asking anyone for anything. But I ask you now...help me, my Thorns. Help me by standing up for all that the Thorn stands for. Help me by standing by my side in the battle that is to come. Help me by displaying the full strength at your disposal, sharpening your weapons and girding for war!
I want you to scour these lands for evidence. Leave no stone untouched, no man unquestioned, no suspicion unregarded! We have at our disposal the martial strength to take him and his ilk down, and he knows this! His strength is in his stealth and in his cowardice! Take these weapons from him and he will stand no chance of defeating us!
In the blink of an eye, the Sword of Thorns is in his hand, glinting in the morning sun, raised high above his head. His voice booms off the stones as he nearly roars his final statement at them, slowly swinging the Sword down to point at them each in turn.
Stand ready, my Thorns! Stand vigilant! Report any information you recover to me and your fellow Thorns! Make not the mistake of thinking this is all about us! More depends on our success than just the reclamation of loved ones and our dues, it is the very safety of these lands that are at stake! When the chance reveals itself, we will strike! "As united we stand", my Brothers and Sisters! "Bound by loyalty, by blood and by cold steel!" It is high time we put these words to the test as ONE!
((As you may guess, this post is about getting this whole plot rolling again. Too long has passed without an update, various RL-issues playing in and complicating things, but rest assured that a conclusion WILL be posted as soon as it is ready. We post THIS post however, in the hopes that you all will continue to play off this rolling plot, and provide your feedback on possible sub-events (interrogations of shady characters, scouting-party trip to Ered Luin, that sort of thing) and to name what (if anything) you would like to see happening in all of this. We have at the moment an astounding number of plots going at the same time. We need to be careful not to let all of this drown out each other, but rather to let them play off each other, possibly even strengthening the whole as a result. Feel free to use us officers as conduits to get it moving in the direction you would like. It's what we're here for. ^^ Oh, and feel free to use this thread to post your initial reaction to this whole speech IC'ly...
))- Your loving cadre of Officer Scum,
Lirandel, Sayvara and Adjanah
