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Here's the summary of everything we've roleplayed so far! I had written up a great summary of our first two sessions, from the point of view of our characters, that's really funny. I couldn't find it for a while, but I managed to locate the original handwritten copy and have typed it up again. So there's a prose summary below, but if you like, you can also read this summary too; it's basically Dax and Jalinda and arguing over what happened. *G* Very funny! Plus you get to read about Mark's favorite scene, where Jalinda got drunk. =P Check it out below:
Jalinda, Dax, and Aedan were three friends who were training to be Waverunners. They met when they were first accepted as trainees of the elite fighting force, destined to spend the next five years in hard training. The Waverunners order is one of three military groups in the kingdom of Waterlight. There is the army, which is in charge of defending the kingdom from any outside threat (most of which take the form of dwarven attacks from the northern mountains). Then there is the city guard, a police force which has a unit in every city and town. And finally, there are the Waverunners. The Waverunners serve several functions—they are the royal guard, they are scouts, they are messengers; they take on dangerous assignments of all kinds, many of them fairly unusual. They are the elite of Waterlight's military, and their duties are to their king and queen, their kingdom, and their people. Their job is to aid and protect.
When a young man or woman wishes to join the military, they spend their first year in general training, usually beginning at the age of twelve. After that year, they choose which branch they wish to go into. The best students are selected to train with the Waverunners. There are three ranks in the Waverunners, each of which has been given a sort of nickname that has stuck and held. Regular Waverunners are called Runners for short. Trainees are often referred to as Walkers. Those of senior rank, the commanders in charge of training, administration, raising others in rank, mission assignments, etc., are usually called Riders, primarily because in the old days, when the Waverunners actually participated in battles during the Dwarven Wars, the senior ranking Waverunners usually rode horses, since there were not many to spare. When trainees reach the age of eighteen, if their instructors believe they are ready, they are allowed to undertake the trials to be raised to full Waverunner rank, on the next trial date. (Trial dates usually happen four times a year.)
Jalinda and Dax had both turned eighteen in the past few weeks, and their friend Aedan, while several years older (he had entered as a trainee at an older age than most), was also being considered for full rank. The three friends were to take their trials together. On the appointed day, they gathered before the trial room. When they entered, they first found themselves in pitch blackness. Then suddenly they were out in the open, in broad daylight.
Apparently it was a scene directly out of the dwarven wars, brought to life by magic. A Rider ordered the three to join the ranks of Waverunners, and then the charge was called. Hundreds of Waverunners rushed to meet the dwarves charging toward them. The battle was fast and furious, and Jalinda, Dax, and Aedan fought hard. After what seemed and interminable period of time, a Rider called that they had broken the attack, but the summer keep, a key strategical point, was about to be overrun, just beyond the hill to the north. He ordered all who were able to hurry to defend the keep. But just at that moment, two dwarves overwhelmed Jalinda and were about to kill her. Dax immediately went to her aid, and Aedan, after a moment of agonizing indecision, checked his progress toward the summer keep and turned back to help his friend as well.
After Jalinda was freed, the vision faded, and the three found themselves walking out into the sunlight again. A Rider explained that they had passed, because if there was one thing the Waverunners needed above anything else, it was to be able to rely on each other. By choosing to aid their friend instead of abandon her, even at the risk of defying orders, they had proved themselves worthy. Their skill in the battle had also shown their readiness to be raised in rank. They were handed their new blue uniforms, which were to replace the white of the Walkers. (Riders wore green.)
That night, the three went to their favorite inn, the Silver Crown, to celebrate. Not only did they have a wild and joyous evening, they also met Lady Analiese for the first time—disguised, of course, as a young man named Andrew. They were not to learn her real identity for some time, however.
Our three new Waverunners were soon assigned their first mission. It was a typical first mission, not very difficult: Queen Irelle was going out riding on the beach with a party of noblewomen, and the Waverunners were there to protect her should any danger arise, which everyone seriously doubted would happen. The three knew it was mostly a formality, but being trusted with the queen's safety was definitely something, so they were proud and excited.
One of the nobles, Lady Reyva, extended an invitation to the three to come to her mansion for tea, the day before the ride. Jalinda was to teach her first class in handfighting and weaponless combat, so she respectfully declined, but Dax and Aedan went, not wishing to offend a noblewoman. Reyva explained to the young men that she had wished to congratulate them on their successful trials, and she liked to meet new Waverunners, especially when they were to serve as her bodyguards as well as the queen's. Dax and Aedan were very polite, drinking their tea and saying all the right, mannerly things. Then Reyva began to cast a spell on them. She commanded them to do her bidding, which was to attack the queen when they saw the dwarves attack from the dunes. They were to kill the queen if at all possible, but they would not remember these instructions until the signal, nor would they remember anything strange about their meeting.
Indeed, no one remembered anything of these events, and no one knew anything was wrong until dwarves spilled from behind the dunes during the queen's ride, howling and trying to get close to her. The Jalinda and the other Waverunners with her and her friends immediately went to protect the queen, shouting for her to ride back to the castle as fast as she could go. However, Dax and Aedan suddenly became distant and emotionless, and they then attacked the queen. Jalinda came between them, shouting at them and demanding what was going on. Sometimes the two seemed to be hostile, and at others they seemed to think they were still at a tea party with nobles. They attacked anyone who got between them and the queen, including Jalinda. The other Waverunners managed to turn the tide of dwarves, which was not as large as it had first appeared, and the queen managed to escape while Jalinda was distracting Dax and Aedan. An arrow hit her horse, which fell over, and Jalinda's leg was pinned and broken. Unable to stop Dax and Aedan, she shouted as they rode past her and raced after the queen.
The young woman named Bonita was hiding in the dunes nearby, however. She had met the three new Waverunners some days previously, and she knew how excited they were about their first mission, so she decided to watch and see how it went. As violence erupted, however, she was not sure what to do. Then, after disabling Jalinda, Dax and Aedan came galloping toward her, chasing the queen. As they thundered past, Bonita attempted using her illusion magic, not sure what it would do. Somehow, it dispelled the enchantment Reyva had placed on the two, and they reined in their horses, confused and not remembering a thing of what they had just done.
The dwarves had either been killed or had escaped; none were captured. With Dax and Aedan themselves again, the queen was safe, and some of the other Waverunners had caught up with her to escort her back to the palace. Others appeared to aid the injured Jalinda, and to take custody of Dax and Aedan. The two young men were now in serious trouble.
Dax and Aedan were confined to their quarters while it was decided what to do with them. Jalinda herself was free to carry on her duties as usual, as she was not implicated in the attack, but some officials kept an eye on her when they could anyway, knowing she was good friends with Dax and Aedan. The guys themselves had explained their side of the story, remembering that their memory went hazy after their visit to Reyva's, and they said they thought she might have had something to do with it. Officials were skeptical, and a trial date was set.
Meanwhile, Jalinda wasn't sure what to believe, but Dax and Aedan were her friends, and she trusted them, so she did what she could to gather clues about what really happened. After Dax and Aedan appeared to cause no more trouble, it was agreed that they might leave the palace in Jalinda's company or that of another Waverunner, but they could not leave the city under any circumstances. So Dax would go with Jalinda to help investigate. Aedan sometimes went, but he was dealing with severe guilt; he was not entirely sure that Reyva was responsible for the attack, and although he didn't remember consciously choosing to attack the queen, he did feel it was his fault, and perhaps he deserved whatever punishment he was going to receive.
During one of these outings was when Dax first met Ophelia, when she picked his pocket. He cornered her and recovered his money, and promised not to turn her in if she would help him. They soon became friends, and Ophelia was aiding in the investigation as best she could.
After a week or two, Aedan and Dax suddenly realized that they had not seen Jalinda for several days. After further inquiries, it turned out that no one seemed to have seen her. Dax and Aedan decided to defy orders and sneak out of the palace in order to look for her. They left a few hours before dawn, and their first stop was the Silver Crown. As soon as it opened in the morning, they were able to learn from the innkeeper that Jalinda had taken a room the previous night. Dax and Aedan went up to see if she was still there, but Jalinda and all her belongings were gone; left on the pillow was payment for the room and an apologetic note for leaving so quickly. The note was not in Jalinda's handwriting.
Dax and Aedan suspected foul play, and after some more investigation, with the help of Bonita and Ophelia, they learned that Jalinda had apparently been coming close to finding evidence that would expose Reyva's dabbling in magic. To keep her quiet, she had been kidnapped by one of Reyva's co-conspirators, Lord Devinaire. The four of them hurried to Devinaire's estates to see if they could rescue Jalinda.
Meanwhile, Devinaire was interrogating Jalinda, trying to find out what she knew. Jalinda was, in turn, being very uncooperative and rather rude—so Devinaire was beating up on her. Now, Devinaire had a servant named Gil, who was currently acting as Jalinda's jailer. He heard what was going on and did not at all like to hear his master hurting this girl. He began to think about what he could do to help her.
The interrogation was cut short when Reyva arrived. She asked to speak with Jalinda and went inside, then came out again a few minutes later. Meanwhile, Gil was distracted by the arrival of Dax, Aedan, Bonita, and Ophelia, who had come to rescue Jalinda. When he found out what they were up to, he offered to help. That night he opened Jalinda's cell, and they managed to get her out and onto a horse, then ride away into the cover of the woods to the west. Gil came with them, preferring to aid them in finding evidence against the corrupt nobles rather than continue working for a cruel master.
They met up with an ambush of dwarves in the woods; like the attack on the beach, this was much farther south than dwarves usually came, and they were all very perplexed as to how dwarves could get so far south without been seen and/or stopped. Once they were in a safe, quiet area, they stopped for a rest. About an hour after dawn, however, Jalinda suddenly tried to attack Dax and Aedan. With the others' help, however, it was five against one, and Jalinda was soon subdued and tied to a tree. An hour later, she stopped her angry shouting and went back to normal, remembering nothing of the incident at all. Apparently Reyva had cast a spell on her, to make her attack Dax and Aedan and take them back to the capital, where she would turn them in for treason. The process was supposed to take no more than an hour, but Reyva had not counted on the sudden rescue mission and the number of allies' the guys had acquired.
A decision had to be made. Dax and Aedan had made things even worse for themselves by leaving the city expressly against orders, so they didn't dare return to the palace. They had to gather more information about what Reyva was up to. After some talk, they decided to go north to the Cyldaren mountains, hoping to find some clues about Reyva's past.
You see, when Reyva was thirteen, she and her entourage had been traveling through the pass and were caught in a blizzard. One surviving Waverunner made it back, having been unable to find any of the others still living, and he believed the rest were dead. However, Reyva walked out of the mountains a few months later, into the little mountain village of Teslev. Teslev was where Dax had grown up, and he remembered that day, having been ten years old at the time. They decided to travel north to Teslev, to see if they could find out just what happened to Reyva while she had been missing, how she survived the blizzard on her own, and why she claimed not to have been able to remember anything that happened to her during those months.
Gil and Bonita volunteered to come along with Dax and Jalinda, but Aedan, still feeling guilty for the wrong he had done, felt he should not simply run away, particularly when Reyva still might be after the queen. He decided to stay behind and hide out in the city, where he could keep an eye on events in the palace. Ophelia volunteered to stay with him. So the two groups went their separate ways, Ophelia and Aedan back to the city, and the others along the road north toward the mountains.
Meanwhile, Lady Analiese, Reyva's longtime best friend, was starting to suspect that Reyva was up to something. She knew Reyva had taught herself magic, but now she wondered if there was something more going on. If so, she was torn between her duty to her best friend and her duty to her queen. Should she tell anyone what she suspected if she didn't have proof? And should she tell anyone about the mysterious, disturbing dreams she'd had? These dreams showed Reyva climbing to the throne through fire and blood, laughing cruelly and not heeding the lives that perished in order to bring her power. Analiese grew more disturbed, but when Reyva offered her a place to stay as an alternative to living with her verbally abusive father any longer, Analiese accepted, even though her inner debate raged on.
As for Dax, Jalinda, Bonita, and Gil, they rode north along the rode, heading for Teslev. In the central plains on the edge of the forest, they came across a small village, but before they could reach it they were intercepted by a rider. The rider told them not to come into the village, for there was a terrible plague there and they would most certainly die if they fell ill. Dax and Jalinda held a hurried conversation. They were fugitives from the law, yes, but they were also Waverunners, and their responsibility was to protect their queen and their people. They felt they must do something to aid the villagers, even if it meant risking their lives. So they ordered Gil and Bonita to camp outside the town and not follow them in. Then the Waverunners went to see what they could do to help.
In the village they met a woman who told them more about the disease, and they also saw some of the victims. Apparently, this village had suffered from the same disease many years before. They had only one defense against the illness—a rare type of plant that grew in the swamps to the west. When made into medicine, this plant could save some lives; without it, all the afflicted would certainly die, but the use of the medicine brought their chances of survival up to about fifty-fifty. The problem was, use of the medicine would cause terrible, agonizing pain for two or three days, after which the patient either died or began to recover. It was risky, but most were willing to endure the pain in exchange for a chance of survival.
The villagers were in danger of being wiped out, and while they had sent a messenger to the Waverunners, they had heard no response, no promise of help. Then Lady Reyva had arrived, bringing with her a medicine which cured everyone without fail, and without pain as well. The villagers were eternally grateful to her, and their town was safe once more. But the sickness had returned, and this time it was sudden, having hit only days before. So many were taken ill that few remained to gather the medicine or take messages; the man who had met them outside the village had gone for help, but it was questionable whether there would be anyone left to help by the time he returned. They had also sent people to gather medicine, but the swamps had grown dangerous in recent years, and the plant scarce; none had been able to find it before they were turned back by thick vegetation and swamp predators.
Jalinda and Dax volunteered to go to the swamp and bring back the plant. They were given directions and a description of what they were looking for, and off they went. The swamp was perilous and murky, yes, and Dax was almost dragged under by some tentacled thing, but they managed to find the plant and get out safely. They returned to the village, where the few villagers who were still healthy were able to mix up batches of medicine. Dax and Jalinda took an opportunity to relax, but Jalinda soon began to feel feverish and ill. Worried, Dax called for one of the nurses, and they got her into bed.
Jalinda had come down with the plague, and everyone was very worried. She took the medicine, however, knowing that she likely would not survive without it. The following hours were very difficult and painful. For a time it looked as if Jalinda might die. But somehow she made it through two nights, and by the third day, the villagers said she would likely live. She slept a great deal after that, and by the time she awoke, many others were starting to recover enough to return to their chores and occupations.
The villagers were very grateful to Dax and Jalinda, and when they rode out again a few days later, many came to see them off and offer their thanks. Some ways down the rode, they met up with Bonita and Gil, and the four of them rode off again.
Meanwhile, Aedan and Ophelia had been hiding out, but they soon decided they would have to do what they could to learn more of Reyva's plans. They were able to sneak into Reyva's castle and explore, and in the process they found one of her hidden workshops. Ophelia curiously picked up a few of the items and stashed them away. They were subsequently caught, but only after leaving and reconcealing the room, so no one knew they had found it. Reyva locked them up, planning to decide what to do with them later.
Upon closer examination, it turned out Ophelia had taken a small vial, a strange object of metal with a purple stone inlaid in it, and several other unusual items. Ophelia flicked a switch on the side of the metal box, and the stone began to glow. Jalinda and Dax were talking, and something from Jalinda's pack began to whirr and buzz. Taking it out, they saw that it was glowing. It was a copy of the other metal object, one that Gil had found in Lord Devinaire's castle and had taken when he left. It turned out the two objects were magical communicators, and the two groups were able to exchange information through them.
Aedan and Ophelia were able to escape Reyva's castle and make it to the nearby hills, where they hid and made camp some distance beyond the city walls. During the last few weeks, Aedan and Ophelia had gradually fallen in love, and they were glad to be safe and able to spend some relaxed time together, but they were also worried. Just after their escape, they had overheard a conversation on their communicator, between two of Reyva's followers. Apparently she had a new plot brewing. All they knew was that it was planned for the upcoming ball the queen was holding in a fortnight, and it involved doing something to the punch. Most likely it was another attempt on the queen's life, probably poison, but they weren't certain what. They discussed it with Dax, Jalinda, and the others over the communicator, and it was agreed that Aedan and Ophelia would have to do what they could to stop Reyva, since the others were too far away to make it back in time. Aedan and Ophelia have no idea how they will stop Reyva, however, as they cannot get into the royal palace easily.
Meanwhile, Dax and the others finally reached the mountain village of Teslev. Dax revealed to Jalinda that his parents had never approved of his wish to become a Waverunner, and he had in fact never told them when he began his training. He had said he was going off to buy farmland in another part of the country. He did not want to speak to his parents if he could avoid it. When they arrived in the town, however, they learned that it was nearly surrounded by dwarves, and there had been attacks on several of the outlying farms. Rumor said that Dax's parents had not been seen in some time, so he was forced to go to their home to check on them. Jalinda did not go in, but yelling could be heard within. Apparently his parents were all right, but they had found out about his becoming a Waverunner and were not happy. Dax would not speak of the conversation. The whole affair puzzled and saddened Jalinda, since she had wanted to be a Waverunner since she was young, and her parents had encouraged her and were proud of her when she was accepted as a Walker.
Now Aedan and Ophelia are trying to figure out a way to stop Reyva from carrying out her latest plot, and Dax and Jalinda are exploring the area around Teslev, trying to assess just how serious the dwarven raids are, and if they really are planning to lay siege to the village. They are also trying to figure out what the dwarves hope to gain from this, and then there is also their original goal, finding out what happened to Reyva all those years ago. The challenges are many, and it remains to be seen how they will surmount them.
The Waverunner Chronicles ©2001 Amy Unfred