by Brant LaDorn
"The Flower of the Mist"
Masalla is most noted for her conquests of the world, her shaping and pruning of the various provinces into what we think of today as the Known Lands. But Masalla has always had her secrets, too.
One of these secrets has been kept for a string of long centuries, past the times of the original Loredae reign, and into the murky depths of unrecorded history.
But what is now shrouded was once revealed.
Long ages past, before many of the Masallan mines were spent, or even discovered for that matter, one dark hole in particular yielded up a great fruit. Never mind that the mine gave nothing to show before or after this event, for the gem that came from this black deathtrap was beyond the scope of mortal comprehension.
The miners called the rock ‘The Flower of the Mist’, for the discovery came on the mistiest of misty mountain mornings, and the gem gleamed like a budding flower.
Oral traditions detail the mountain where this rock was found as the famed Allione Mountain (pronounced ‘al-lee-ohn’), or the ‘Mountain of Mist’, near Kirijad on the main isle of Masalla. Other historians and sages believe the source to be the ‘Swallow-water’, a huge gaping hole that leads back and down into impossible depths. However, given the physical nature of the two possibilities, Allione Mountain fits the descriptions so well there can be no doubt that she is the source of 'The Flower'. Even today, she is a dangerous rock, for as appealing as her mountain meadows may be, she is quick to confuse any traveler with her thick and mysterious mists. Many lives have been lost to the fickle Allione.
However, this particular morn so long ago, the miners had reason to rejoice. After many days of toil and labor in the rocky damp, they had finally been blessed.
The raw stone they freed from the earth shone a scintillating rosy pink, with a deep purple-mauve center, more beautiful than any mountain flower. The gem is said to have been so heavy and large that two men were needed to carry it.
Of course, many things are said about the Belle D’Allione at this point. Stories abound regarding its original resting place; some are true, most have been fabricated.
What we do know is that the rock was considered sacred, and housed in a temple of stone in one of the original cities of Masalla. The initiates of the deities believed the stone was a gift from the gods, and that its powers were not to be used by any but the chosen ones. Here again, oral traditions suggest to us that the ‘chosen ones’ were either specially raised and instructed religious devotees, or individuals who were granted divine permission on ceremonial occasions.
The destruction of this temple is well known. Many stories have been passed down concerning its unusual demise. The best example is Silta’s story, a tale traded from grandmother to grand-daughter through the prestigious Silta line.
Thick clumps of mist heaped round the sacred hill, clotting here and there so as to make seeing impossible. At first the Anda (high priest) told the worshippers that they were being visited by a deity and to lay flat upon the ground in prostration. The followers did as they were told.
But no sooner had they placed their bellies to the grass when they heard the shrill cry of the Tallar’s horn (The Tallar was the keeper of the Belle D'Allione and other sacred artifacts). The people could feel the rumble beginning, strong enough to blot out the ceaseless crashing of the ocean.
The people panicked and began to scatter in fear. Temple stones started to topple and a great crack split up the center of the inner sanctuary. The precious Belle D’Allione fell through it, as much as the Tallar tried to keep the sacred object from disappearing. His noble body was found later, crumpled and crouched over the altar . . .
-As told by Lady Avaría Silta-
Earthquakes are nothing new, but the this one is believed to be the largest earthquake experienced in Masalla. Numerous stories from this time period mention a massive 'thunder releasing from the earth'.
Although the marvelous gem was lost and did not reappear for many years, a legend sprang up around it, as so often happens when any two notable events occur in synchronicity.
The ancient Masallans believed that the stone would bring great fortune to whoever possessed it. And great misfortune as well. Furthermore, the people believed that the gods were angered because their precious ‘Flower’ had been taken from them, and so it made sense that whoever found and returned the stone to its birthplace would be blessed with an even greater treasure by the deities themselves.
From this first occurrence also came the saying: "In mist shall I come to you, and in mist will I depart."
The Belle D’Allione had taken its first step in influencing the world.
It was not until the Loredae family came to reign, over nine hundred years ago, that the stone was seen again.
A groom at the King’s stable was out riding along the shore early one morning, giving daily exercise to the King’s stallion. The autumn mist had not yet made way for the day’s sunshine, and thus the groom nearly tripped over the strange object in the sand. Sliding off the stallion, the groom bent to examine the item and was soon astounded at his miraculous discovery. Rigging up a makeshift carrier, he used the King’s stallion to drag the stone to a secret place on the shore. Later, he returned for the priceless artifact.
While most men would be dreaming of how to gain both wealth and prestige with such a gem, the King’s groom was planning something entirely different. He wanted the attentions of the Princess. With her hand in marriage, wealth and prestige would be soon to follow.
The groom presented the King of Masalla with the gemstone, waiting for the right misty evening, and planting tales of ancient magic and mystery in the King’s mind. Recognizing his opportunity to possess the most valuable stone in all of Masalla, as well as a sacred relic with potentially hidden powers, the King readily accepted the groom's request.
All did not go as planned, however. Some say the King was responsible, others blame Princess Loredae, for everyone knew how loathe she was to marry a simple stable boy. Whatever the case was, the groom’s body was found washed up on shore the night before the wedding, the mark of Lazerra’s bandit gang carved upon his chest.
After the scandal subsided and the Princess was properly engaged to a suitable noble, the King had the Bell D’Allione cut into one giant stone, eleven large stones, and eighty-seven small stones. The cut was pondered on and worried over for more than a year. The cutter wanted to keep as much weight of the original stone as possible. In the end, even the dust was saved for special uses.
The King was not to be happy for long. Not content to display his ‘Flower’ at the main palace, he decided to tour the stone, sending it to several Masallan cities so that the isle might know of his success and wealth. Although the stone was heavily guarded, one fateful misty morning a savage Sereg attack left the King without his gem.
Even though the Belle D’Allione does not definitively show up again until the Mor’Duraan reign, there are a few mentions of its appearance in the interim. Legend has it that the famous warrior-bandit Jaralor, known also as the ‘Unicorn’, held possession of the stone, (only the large one, for none of the others have ever been recovered) and that it was the ‘Flower’ that lent him his great success. Adherents to this story cite that Jaralor’s final battle on the plains of Sheldfield was a failure only because of the dense and impenetrable fog that shrouded the evening and led his soldiers astray. Perhaps this was the same night that the Belle D’Allione left him as well?
Also discovered via journal research is the fact that Queen Anabelle Alais searched avidly throughout her life for the prized stone. Numerous tales abound of royal explorers sent to uncover the stone’s whereabouts and return the gemstone to her. Also numerous are the accounts of royal explorers sent to the gallows for failure at such attempts.
One particular case reveals the depth of the Queen’s fervor. Miners in the area of Ennalae reported finding ‘a gemstone of ungainly proportions, already cut and sparkling like the sun on ocean waves, merely trapped in a boulder field and easy to recover’.
'Had the men found the stone when mist was present?' asked the Queen.
'Yes', they replied, 'but it was always misty upon those slopes'.
It did not matter. Queen Anabelle and her entourage left the very day she received word. When she arrived the gem was presented before her, set upon a velvet pillow procured for this momentous occasion. Many of the men had gathered round, already expectant of some reward -- a few days’ rest, at least, or a small increase in their wages.
Although the stone was indeed large, and, strangely enough, already cut to display incredible fire, Queen Anabelle knew at once that it was not the Belle D’Allione. It did not possess the purple-mauve heart. It was not pink.
In one of her foul tantrums, Anabelle simply picked up the fine specimen and hurled it over the edge of the cliff face and into a stream-lined gorge.
"You men are a disgrace to the royal crown! The next three moons without pay and the first man to complain will be hanged!"
With that the Queen picked up her skirts and traipsed back to the comforts of the palace. There she ignored the accusations by the King that she had lost a perfectly good gem for the royal coffers.
"It wasn’t the one I wanted," was all she said in return.
As most people are aware, the Mor’Duraan era was a difficult one for Masalla. Dark and unkind magics roamed the courts and battlefields. Families turned upon each other.
During the long reign of the Mor’Duraans, the Belle D’Allione came into light again. How the gem was found is unclear. What matters is that the stone was used in many of the Mor’Duraan sorceries, used to give life to the bizarre and eldritch creatures that tore apart the battlefields and wandered wild throughout the countryside, terrorizing travelers and small villages. The stone lent its powers well to the magics of the evil Mor’Duraans, and was only lost at the very end of their reign.
By this time, those who knew of the stone kept quiet. Many had come to believe that the gem was cursed, or that the stone would show up again to ruin the peace that had come to the lands. No one argued that the Belle D’Allione was somehow sentient, able to appear when Masalla was about to change. What is feared is seldom spoken of, and many now feared 'The Flower of the Mist’. It is during this period that the stone was enveloped in secrecy, and so it has been to this day, its story unknown to all but historians, collectors, and sages.
The gemstone has made a few fleeting appearances more recently. Seventy-three years ago, several explorers were investigating the ruins of a Mor’Duraan fortress. A terrible cave-in left one of the men trapped. As his companions struggled to remove boulders and debris in an effort to free him, they discovered that the rockfall had opened a hidden passageway. After they freed their comrade, they followed the tunnel. This led to a number of interesting discoveries, one of which was a room filled with unusual instruments. There, attached to one of the contraptions by strange metal rods and screws, was the Belle D’Allione. The explorers removed the stone and took it with them, not realizing what they were carrying until later, when they had the stone examined.
As one of the men in the party knew of a collector in Moraithe, the men set sail to make their fortunes. They carefully wrapped the stone and secured it in a crate. This they hid among other crates carrying jars of olives: a precaution in the case of pirates.
Arriving in Moraithe, the men unloaded and were organizing matters with the dock master when a mix-up occurred. It was a misty morning, and men on a ship nearby were loading crates of oranges to be sold in the Old World. Apparently a crew member mistook several of the crates from the explorers’ ship, and loaded them in with the oranges. One of the crates contained the Belle D’Allione.
Imagine the surprise of the cargo master when he went to check the shipment at sea and discovered several crates that did not belong. And imagine his incredulity when, upon opening one, he pulled out not oranges, nor olives, but the giant pink gemstone with the purple heart.
The Captain’s log for the vessel, the Minaret, reports the cargo master’s cry of excitement, as well as the disastrous moment when the gem was lost overboard on account of clumsy handling.
How the gemstone ended up back in Masalla is left to theory. Many suggest the influence of the Fae -- mer-creatures perhaps? Still others cling to the belief that the stone is somehow sentient and simply made or materialized its way back to its homeland. Whatever the case, the Belle D’Allione was only just discovered in Masalla by a noblewoman, not more than two years past. She chose to sell it promptly to a gem collector in Selarum.
Due to matters of conflict and disagreements with the government of Masalla, the collector in Selarum decided to donate the stone to the Fine Metal and Gemstone Museum in Jalpa, where the Belle D’Allione was to be put on permanent display last year. In order to avoid the fate that occurred on the Minaret, the stone was taken overland, accompanied by a huge and armed retinue, as well as a qualified mage. What happened along the way is, like so many of the stories surrounding 'The Flower of the Mist’, completely unknown. The caravan arrived in Kellin’s Hold as scheduled, and after a night’s rest, decided to continue on through the mountain pass to Jalpa.
But they never arrived in Jalpa.
A search party was sent out from Jalpa when the stone and its guardforce did not show up. No sign of the men, the mage, or the stone was discovered. The officials of Jalpa and Kellin’s Hold launched an investigation, questioning many travelers and even scouting much of the terrain surrounding Kellin’s Pass. To this day, only one piece of evidence has ever been found- the hilt of a sword, standard issue for the Selarum military, and obviously from one of the guardsmen in the retinue. This was discovered in a mountain clearing, due west from the pass as you travel south towards Jalpa. It was found lying on the flat of a rock outcropping just before the terrain became rocky and impassable once again.
Officials have no solid explanation for what happened. Most are familiar with the dangers of Kellin’s Pass. From the common risk of bandits to the real threat of goblins or Sereg, traveling overland is never safe.
But perhaps there are even more deadly creatures that we are unaware of, lurking amongst the shadows of the rocks. Maybe it was something like this that is responsible for the missing caravan.
Many people who are familiar with the truth of the situation, however, believe that it was the curse of the Belle D’Allione. That the gemstone has once again disappeared, this time to find its way into more capable or powerful hands. Especially with the current political changes and the rise of Fae encounters, many are saying that the stone will soon resurface to once again guide the changes that are taking place.
As far as treasures go, the Belle D’Allione is the world’s most coveted and priceless gemstone, worth more than several provinces’ treasuries could afford. At present moment, Masalla is offering an ungodly sum of gold in reward for its return; a nice incentive for someone willing to undertake the quest.
Whoever does come across 'The Flower of the Mist’ next might also do well to regard the legends; a greater treasure may yet await the soul brave enough to return the stone to its original home, deep in the mountains of Masalla. A treasure from the deities themselves.