Difference between revisions of "PRIMUS Database:Community portal"
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| + | I was looking at another summer of teaching summer school and a few yard projects when an old professor shot me an email. He was working on a dig outside of Jerusalem in a recently discovered Crusader castle. I wrote my thesis on crusading orders, still could read Latin, Greek, and a little Aramaic, and had experience on digs with Dr. Wilson before. He sweetened the pot when he told me he could find a spot for my wife and that the Pope would be visiting Jerusalem and possibly this site while we were there. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Doc worked us pretty hard - this project was sponsored by a private foundation and they seemed to be a deadline. Little did any of us know how deadly that deadline would become. | ||
| + | |||
| + | It was two weeks before the Papal visit when we had a breakthrough that our sponsors seemed to be waiting for. They shut down the site temporarily. My bride and I were hoping for a few days of sightseeing and relaxation. I slept in the next day to an empty room. By noon, I was getting nervous. That night, I got a phone call from Doc; he wanted me to meet him at a wadi near the site. | ||
| + | |||
| + | When I arrived, he told me he had been duped and the sponsors had some sinister intent. And my wife. There was evidence they had bought the cooperation of the local police, so we were pretty much on our. Doc was in SOG during Vietnam and I was a Ranger in the 80's. We decided to test our skills and infiltrate the site. | ||
| + | |||
| + | We took out a couple of heavily armed thugs standing guard around the entrance to the donjon and made our way to the labyrinth underneath. We were surprised when we discovered signs of 1930's and 40's technology alongside ancient iron torch brackets and modern glowsticks. We evaded the bad guys, now wearing robes and carrying spiked mauls, weaving our way deeper into the catacombs. | ||
| + | |||
| + | We heard the sound of chanting and crept towards it. We emerged on a natural balustrade overlooking a sloping cavern. At the bottom were several torches, a stone altar, and a couple of side tables. My wife was tied to an iron post near the altar and on one of the side tables was a pair of leather bracers - artifacts that were legendary for thousands of years. According to scholars and legend, these bracers were given by Michael the Archangel to champions who would use them to fight the powers of the dark. Pope Leo reportedly used them to turn back Attila and a nameless knight used them to crush the Old Man of the Mountain and his order of Assassins who dominated Aleppo. Rumor has it that it was used in the deserts of Turkish dominated Arabia during the Great War and again in the sequel some 30 years later. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Legend also stated that the bracers could be turned, corrupted, turned into vessels to channel great evil. Seems like a gang of cultists have spent decades digging up potential sites for a chance to strike a blow for darkness. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Doc came up with a plan. He would divert the cultists and I was to take the bracers, free my wife, and get out. I protested, and he admitted that he asked me to come not just for my expertise and experience but because he was instructed to do so by a 'being of light'. And he was told to keep that a secret until the right moment...and if there was ever a right moment for something like this, it was then. He told me that I may be a worthy candidate for the bracers. And - besides, he said with a sad smile, that was the only shot my wife had. To turn the bracers required the tears and blood of a virtuous woman. This was the only chance to save both. | ||
| + | |||
| + | He slipped off into the darkness and I waited. He didn't disappoint. I still have no idea where he found grenades and if he knew the walls would hold or was beyond being able to consider risks and benefits, but several explosions rocked the walls. Cultists scattered, charging down several tunnels. Two remained and I made short work of them. I cut free my wife and grabbed the bracers. Turning, I saw two men approach, joined by several things that definitely came from a very, very bad place indeed. Pushing my wife behind me, I sighed, said a prayer, and slipped the bracers on. I felt a Presence and a flare of warmth, light flowed around me. My hands thrummed with power, and I felt the peace that conviction and purpose brings a just man. Handing my wife my stolen AK, I formed a sword of Light and Will and met my foe. Human and demon fell that night and the catacombs were purged. I found Doc Wilson dead, surrounded by piles of cultists and creatures I recognized as hellhounds. Emerging from the lower catacombs, I was amazed to see camoflaged soldiers bearing arm patches of the Holy See. The Swiss Guards had caught wind and joined the fray...better late than never. They had apprehended one of the Magisters of the cult, and I discovered that there was a team that was going to attempt to kill the Pope as we spoke. | ||
| + | |||
| + | I called Power around me and leapt into the night sky, riding Light towards the Holy City of Jerusalem. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Pope was celebrating a midnight Mass with the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Coptic Pope when assassins accompanied by demons began cutting their way to the Altar. I dropped into the middle of this, and surrendered to the voice guiding me. I remember little of the battle, but I've seen it on television. I do remember being able to use the Light to heal those who were stricken down by evil intent and did so well into the following morning. | ||
| + | |||
| + | I rested in a side room and was called to an audience. The Holy Father informed me that billions of people saw the battle and knew who I was. He offered me a present, gesturing to a box on the table beside him. The Vatican has some pretty impressive tailors - the uniform within the box was certainly an improvement over my torn, filthy khakis and workshirt. He also offered a title and vocation. He told me it was obvious that I had been chosen to wear the Bracers and he asked me to be a champion, an agent for Good and Justice in a world besieged by darkness, hatred, evil, and discord. In return, the Vatican would provide for my needs and my wife, and would work to ensure the necessary credentials and clearances that the secular world demands of heroes and public officials. | ||
| + | |||
| + | My wife and I prayed and accepted the charge. I took the ancient title of Legate, and with permission to use the Grace of the bracers and secret magicks from the most secure archives of the Vatican, I will stand against the Dark. Wherever I am called, I will fight. | ||
Revision as of 19:51, 16 February 2014
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I was looking at another summer of teaching summer school and a few yard projects when an old professor shot me an email. He was working on a dig outside of Jerusalem in a recently discovered Crusader castle. I wrote my thesis on crusading orders, still could read Latin, Greek, and a little Aramaic, and had experience on digs with Dr. Wilson before. He sweetened the pot when he told me he could find a spot for my wife and that the Pope would be visiting Jerusalem and possibly this site while we were there.
Doc worked us pretty hard - this project was sponsored by a private foundation and they seemed to be a deadline. Little did any of us know how deadly that deadline would become.
It was two weeks before the Papal visit when we had a breakthrough that our sponsors seemed to be waiting for. They shut down the site temporarily. My bride and I were hoping for a few days of sightseeing and relaxation. I slept in the next day to an empty room. By noon, I was getting nervous. That night, I got a phone call from Doc; he wanted me to meet him at a wadi near the site.
When I arrived, he told me he had been duped and the sponsors had some sinister intent. And my wife. There was evidence they had bought the cooperation of the local police, so we were pretty much on our. Doc was in SOG during Vietnam and I was a Ranger in the 80's. We decided to test our skills and infiltrate the site.
We took out a couple of heavily armed thugs standing guard around the entrance to the donjon and made our way to the labyrinth underneath. We were surprised when we discovered signs of 1930's and 40's technology alongside ancient iron torch brackets and modern glowsticks. We evaded the bad guys, now wearing robes and carrying spiked mauls, weaving our way deeper into the catacombs.
We heard the sound of chanting and crept towards it. We emerged on a natural balustrade overlooking a sloping cavern. At the bottom were several torches, a stone altar, and a couple of side tables. My wife was tied to an iron post near the altar and on one of the side tables was a pair of leather bracers - artifacts that were legendary for thousands of years. According to scholars and legend, these bracers were given by Michael the Archangel to champions who would use them to fight the powers of the dark. Pope Leo reportedly used them to turn back Attila and a nameless knight used them to crush the Old Man of the Mountain and his order of Assassins who dominated Aleppo. Rumor has it that it was used in the deserts of Turkish dominated Arabia during the Great War and again in the sequel some 30 years later.
Legend also stated that the bracers could be turned, corrupted, turned into vessels to channel great evil. Seems like a gang of cultists have spent decades digging up potential sites for a chance to strike a blow for darkness.
Doc came up with a plan. He would divert the cultists and I was to take the bracers, free my wife, and get out. I protested, and he admitted that he asked me to come not just for my expertise and experience but because he was instructed to do so by a 'being of light'. And he was told to keep that a secret until the right moment...and if there was ever a right moment for something like this, it was then. He told me that I may be a worthy candidate for the bracers. And - besides, he said with a sad smile, that was the only shot my wife had. To turn the bracers required the tears and blood of a virtuous woman. This was the only chance to save both.
He slipped off into the darkness and I waited. He didn't disappoint. I still have no idea where he found grenades and if he knew the walls would hold or was beyond being able to consider risks and benefits, but several explosions rocked the walls. Cultists scattered, charging down several tunnels. Two remained and I made short work of them. I cut free my wife and grabbed the bracers. Turning, I saw two men approach, joined by several things that definitely came from a very, very bad place indeed. Pushing my wife behind me, I sighed, said a prayer, and slipped the bracers on. I felt a Presence and a flare of warmth, light flowed around me. My hands thrummed with power, and I felt the peace that conviction and purpose brings a just man. Handing my wife my stolen AK, I formed a sword of Light and Will and met my foe. Human and demon fell that night and the catacombs were purged. I found Doc Wilson dead, surrounded by piles of cultists and creatures I recognized as hellhounds. Emerging from the lower catacombs, I was amazed to see camoflaged soldiers bearing arm patches of the Holy See. The Swiss Guards had caught wind and joined the fray...better late than never. They had apprehended one of the Magisters of the cult, and I discovered that there was a team that was going to attempt to kill the Pope as we spoke.
I called Power around me and leapt into the night sky, riding Light towards the Holy City of Jerusalem.
The Pope was celebrating a midnight Mass with the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Coptic Pope when assassins accompanied by demons began cutting their way to the Altar. I dropped into the middle of this, and surrendered to the voice guiding me. I remember little of the battle, but I've seen it on television. I do remember being able to use the Light to heal those who were stricken down by evil intent and did so well into the following morning.
I rested in a side room and was called to an audience. The Holy Father informed me that billions of people saw the battle and knew who I was. He offered me a present, gesturing to a box on the table beside him. The Vatican has some pretty impressive tailors - the uniform within the box was certainly an improvement over my torn, filthy khakis and workshirt. He also offered a title and vocation. He told me it was obvious that I had been chosen to wear the Bracers and he asked me to be a champion, an agent for Good and Justice in a world besieged by darkness, hatred, evil, and discord. In return, the Vatican would provide for my needs and my wife, and would work to ensure the necessary credentials and clearances that the secular world demands of heroes and public officials.
My wife and I prayed and accepted the charge. I took the ancient title of Legate, and with permission to use the Grace of the bracers and secret magicks from the most secure archives of the Vatican, I will stand against the Dark. Wherever I am called, I will fight.
