Conquest of Dojia

* The current ownership of Dojia is contested *

 

The Conquest of Dojia

 

As penned by Lillymae Lawrence of the Templar.

 

The time had come

For the world to see

The merits of

The Prophecy.

 

On Dark Lord Lanival Illithi,

The notion had often weighed

How best to fulfill the Prophecy.

He thought this each time he prayed.

 

Over time the idea was conceived,

Kingdom by kingdom to convert the world.

This great plan of conquest

Into action finally was hurled.

 

The Dark Lord issued his orders

To go to Dojia and plainly see

Weaknesses and stratagems for victory,

To begin fulfillment of the Prophecy.

 

The Rose, Gray Robes, Templar and Legion

Took the message into their hearts.

They wished each other the Master's blessings

Before their ways did part.

 

Each had a specific target.

No duplication arose.

To gather information or strategic placement,

No matter who should them oppose.

 

Hisae Darkseeker's plan was elegant.

As a member of the Crimson Rose,

He recruited several men to help him

Offering great riches to all he chose.

 

His thugs laid in wait along the main road

A nobleman's carriage to intercept

Hisae watched with trepidation,

Would his plan work as he'd expect?

 

They carried out their mission,

But then much to their surprise

Hisae began to kill them

Their shock evident as they quickly died.

 

With eight men dead before him,

Hisae's six, the nobleman's two,

Hisae asked the nobleman if he was injured.

The nobleman thanked him profusely for his timely rescue.

 

And further asked if he'd join with him

To escort the noble safely home.

Hisae could hardly keep from smiling.

The first part of his plan was beautifully done.

 

Blaeloch Hakonsen D'arian

A different approach did take.

With shorn locks and ragged clothing

A hobo's appearance he did make.

 

While on the boat to Dojia,

To motion sickness he did pretend.

While setting explosives both aft and stern

The boat to completely rend.

 

His plan went off without a hitch.

(Meaning he was not killed.)

The boat and all else on it died.

Yet his body floated to shore, barely alive, as he willed.

 

The healers made quite a fuss

Over this lone survivor of the wreck.

Who seemed to have lost his memory

And had nasty gashes on his face and neck.

 

They called him Seido (meaning bronze)

Since he could not remember his name.

They treated him extensively

In hopes his memories to reclaim.

 

He seemed to heal quite rapidly.

And before very long,

They sought to find work for him to do

Because he was so strong.

 

Perhaps a guard, they thought at first.

But when they considered more,

They sent him to the palace

To dust and scrub the floors.

 

This suited him quite perfectly

As he did his daily tasks

He found others would answer any questions

He did care to ask.

 

He sent information back to the Keep

And even a palace map

But he knew there was much more to do

As he carefully avoided each and every trap.

 

He began to court one of the princesses

In an anonymous sort of way

He left her a flower and a note

Inviting her to meet with him the next day.

 

On that one long perfect rose

Was powdered poppy dust

Guaranteed to fill her that sniffed

With an enormous amount of trust.

 

So she went to meet him

And under the dust's influence,

She thought that she had found true love,

Strengthened by Seido's performance.

 

She persuaded the Emperor

On him nobility to proclaim.

Blaeloch found he could do whatever he pleased

By dropping the Emperor's name.

 

Mynnerva Drakemor of the Gray Robes,

An enchantress of some repute,

Looked high and low around Dojia

Some magical threat to elute.

 

But Dojia had none to be found.

Primitive spells were all that did exist.

She was pleased at the early indications

The Gray Robes' magic would be hard to resist.

 

To confirm her suspicions,

Since she did not wish to be wrong in her guess,

She set up a complex scrying spell

To make the final test.

 

Dojia had no hot spots

Where magic did congregate,

But further north, in Tokaido,

Magic seemed to proliferate.

 

As well as among the Ogre Magi,

For when the scrying spell rested there,

The mechanism flared up and exploded

Giving Mynnerva quite a scare.

 

Mynnerva returned back to the Keep,

This information to report.

High Mystic Kaiyan Lin returned to Dojia

Her findings to further support.

 

Kaiyan was a Shokonese native,

Many of his family did still there dwell.

The possibilities of the mission's success

He would be far better able to tell.

 

Lillymae Lawrence of the Templar

Went to Dojia with an attitude of caring

And wishing to learn of their religions

While news of the Master sharing.

 

She visited their Temples.

She spoke with young and old.

She learned about their culture,

Hoping to bring them to the Master's fold.

 

She found they worshiped gods

For every reason under the sun.

And had difficultly understanding

Why they should limit themselves to one.

 

Among her many conversations,

Was one Xiao the Samurai.

He agreed to allow her teaching

In the Temple of Black Pearls by and by.

 

Dark Knight Zorreau de la Vega

Was not known for his subtlety.

He went directly to the palace

And introduced himself quite brazenly.

 

Somehow he ended up invited

To the Emperor's evening dance.

With the charm that he exuded,

He left little as he could to chance.

 

That evening he attempted

To make an impression of sorts

On the Emperor's oldest daughter

Who he desperately wished to court.

 

Unfortunately, he also

Stirred resentment from another source.

Captain Xiao of the Samurai

Was intent upon the same course.

 

With the Princess' increased interest

In the Knight from Storm Keep,

Xiao began countermeasures

For his suspicions ran very deep.

 

Xiao did have many suspicions,

For he was far from dumb.

Most of the Knights from Storm Keep

Stood out like a sore thumb.

 

He carefully did background checks

On each and every one he could see

To his mind they seemed

A pre-invasion force to be.

 

Just for insurance

A hostage he determined to take.

Lillymae Lawrence seemed

The perfect hostage to make.

 

He had met her in the Temple

She wished to teach there too.

He agreed and invited her to his home

To hear what sermon she would do.

 

A potion of sleep he had made.

He just needed to persuade her to drink.

Since it did not taste bad,

It should not be too difficult, he did think.

 

He had a room prepared,

An ancient magical place.

That would suck up magic from any spell,

Any mage to incapacitate.

 

This is where he left Lillymae

In hopes that he could discover

All she knew about Storm Keep's plans

By keeping her undercover.

 

He sent a message to the Keep

Advising of his plans

To kill Lillymae if they did not

Accede to his demands.

 

He made a point to visit her

Every day to see what impact

The isolation had had on her

Whether her resolve would crack.

 

But she was true to what she believed

And instead taught His Way and Will

To Xiao each time he visited her.

Yet he thought to convince her still.

 

Shugo Senriar took Hisae into his home

And treated him as an honored guest.

Hisae assumed to further gain his confidence,

He would have to pass some test.

 

It was not too many days later that Hisae heard

The Shugo's voice in anger raised.

Storm Keep was at the root of what

Set the Shugo's emotions ablaze.

 

Hisae admitted that was from where he came

And immediately got a distrustful stare

The Shugo became most wary

For reasons of which Hisae was unaware.

 

It seems the Shugo had heard

Of the Darkseeker name before.

He demanded to know why he was in Dojia

And accused him of crimes galore.

 

Hisae met these accusations

With a bit of mild surprise.

And assured the Shugo none of it was true

As he looked him in the eyes.

 

The Shugo appeared appeased.

As he left the room again.

But Hisae knew his time was short

To finish his preparations.

 

Xiao had the Emperor's ear.

To Xiao's tales of threats to his reign,

The Emperor did listen and consider

Then ordered Xiao the Shadow Knights to detain.

 

Xiao then spread the word

The Knights were to be arrested on sight.

Anyone caught helping or hiding them

Would be executed as traitors outright.

 

It did not take long at all

For Hisae's Shugo to hear the news.

He went to arrest Hisae to save himself,

Thinking the lessor evil to choose.

 

But Hisae was prepared with evidence

That showed the Shugo had done much wrong.

The Shugo, now totally frightened,

Immediately changed his song.

 

Hisae informed him matter-of-factly

The only way to keep his head

Was to take over the government,

Or if the Emperor was dead.

 

The Shugo agreed to unite his part of the army

With that coming from Storm Keep.

But Hisae knew he would have to watch him closely,

His distrust of the Shugo ran quite deep.

 

The eldest princess was charmed

By Zorreau's flamboyant airs.

She rushed to warn him of the danger of

The arrest warrant of which he was unaware.

 

Will you not come with me?

He stopped long enough to ask.

She shook her head slowly, 'For you, by yourself

Getting away will be a difficult task.'

 

He nodded, leaving a kiss on her hand

Before he vaulted off the balcony.

Only to find Xiao and seven others waiting

Below in the dark where he could not see.

 

'You are under arrest,' smirked Xiao.

'Please come with us peacefully.

Or for you it could get quite painful.'

As he pulled out his sword gracefully.

 

Severely outnumbered, Zorreau started fighting.

He knew that escape would be best.

So he vaulted to the low wall near him,

Thankful for the talents with which he was blessed.

 

Xiao was angered greatly

By his unaccustomed defeat.

At the hands of Shadow Knight Zorreau

Who was very fleet of feet.

 

He returned to the secret room

Where Lillymae was hidden away.

He woke her up demanding

Her comrades she would betray.

 

He drew his dagger as he approached

And said that he would kill.

Unarmed, and with no spells that worked,

Lillymae left it to the Master's will.

 

She knelt before him with bowed head

And said if it must be so

To please do it quickly,

Then waited for the killing blow.

 

She finally looked up at him

With a question in her eyes.

He sheathed his dagger and said,

At this time I will not benefit from your demise.

 

'But when I return today,

You'd best be ready to tell me all

For I shall bring my whip with me

And beat you until you talk.'

 

Lillymae looked quite scared

Until he had left the room.

And then she uncovered the hole she had dug

To escape the spell of doom.

 

Knowing she could do no more

She left Xiao a note and to him a second disaster.

'The Master giveth and the Master taketh away,

Blessed be the name of the Master.'

 

As Kaiyan met with the Lin elders,

A traditional tea ceremony he did brew.

Information he did gather there

In a most symbolic way too.

 

An onlooker would not have known

It was more than tea leaves of which they spoke.

The news seemed quite promising

Favoring the Dark Lord's master stroke.

 

The Legion had been preparing

As the information from Dojia came in.

Plan after plan was made and discarded

For the Master, there was no option but to win.

 

But beyond the conquering of the city

Its defense once conquered they reviewed.

The gates and walls were defensible

With reinforcements, no army could get through.

 

Field Marshal Jalm Kato

Along with Warder Abram MacNeil,

Worked their forces night and day

Until their mission they were ready to fulfill.

 

With all the pieces set in place

Dark Lord Illithi knew

That it was time to make his move

Without further ado.

 

On a fast ship borrowed from Bloodlust

He sailed with three trusted knights,

Hoping to gain entrance by stealth

Without having to use Storm Keep's might.

 

The legion army followed behind

With a gap of two hours or so.

Their leaders would take them north of the city

Ready, if needed, to deal a final blow.

 

The four knights were quietly rowed to shore

Four leagues north of the Dojian port.

To allay any suspicion their presence might invoke.

This seemed wise according to their last report.

 

The rendezvous spot was reached

But the assigned soldiers were not there.

They had been sent to acquire Daimyo Ieyasu's armor

As a disguise for the Dark Lord to wear.

 

The Dark Lord looked around and found in the dark,

A large sack leaning against a tree.

Inside was the armor and a note

Explaining that the soldiers thought it best to flee.

 

The Dark Lord put the armor on

Other than being short, it fit him fairly well.

High Mystic Kaiyan Lin with his magicks

Cast within their helmets a dark and concealing spell.

 

Kaiyan would play his herald,

So there would be no mistakes made.

They set out for Dojia's northern gates

Their plans at this point well laid.

 

With their first obstacle at the north gates

Easily passed through,

The Knights breathed a small sigh of relief

Now for obstacle number two.

 

They told the palace guards that they were there

To consult with the court immediately.

A crisis was brewing in Tokaido

And Daimyo Ieyasu -must- the Emperor see.

 

The palace guard in charge did not wish

To admit the four until dawn.

Kaiyan did fairly loudly insist

The crisis was far from gone.

 

Just then Kuge Seido

Came out of the palace for a stroll

Kaiyan immediately petitioned his help

And he got them past the guard's patrol.

 

Inside the palace news travels fast.

And in a very short while

The entire court was up

Their wish to be asleep, futile.

 

Damio Ieyasu, what is the meaning of this?

The Emperor was heard to say.

Kaiyan responded that he was too ill to speak.

'Too ill to take off his mempo in my presence?' the Emperor responded with dismay.

 

At that, Lanival and his Knights arose,

And he removed the ceremonial helmet.

The Emperor recognized Kaiyan now,

But the Dark Lord he had not met.

 

Kaiyan said some magical words

Outside a thick fog began to spread.

The Emperor then recognized Zorreau

His face showed anger, betrayal and dread.

 

Kaiyan selectively cast waves of weariness

And immediately all were asleep and unaware.

Except for the six conspirators,

The Emperor and Hisae's Shugo, Senriar.

 

Lanival announced in an emotionless tone

Dojia's divine overlord, Necrucifer, requires your reign to end.

The Emperor told Lanival he would not survive

As he called his guards, his person to defend.

 

Blaeloch, known as Seido

Was near the Emperor's side.

Before the Emperor said any more,

Blaeloch's knife to the Emperor's neck did glide.

 

Just then Xiao burst into the room

With ten other guards in tow.

From the amazement and concern in his face

What was best to do he did not know.

 

The Dark Lord pulled out an ancient Viking horn.

While Zorreau appeared to give Xiao a wink.

Kaiyan made a portal link to amplify sound.

Then Lanival blew the horn once into the link.

 

The sound carried well beyond Dojia's walls,

Where under the cover of thick fog,

Storm Keep's troops were gathered,

Awaiting the results of the Dark Lord's dialogue.

 

'One blast of the horn to dispel the fog,

If a second came, then city entry.'

Field Marshal Jalm Kato reminded

Esquire Mynnerva Drakemor what the signal would be.

 

At the first horn blast she waited a bit

To see if a second would sound,

When it did not, she raised her hands

And immediately no more fog was around.

 

Their large army was then visible

From Dojia's northern gate.

For the news to reach the palace,

Lanival did not long have to wait.

 

With Blaeloch's knife still held to the Emperor's throat,

Xiao looked to the Emperor before giving the word

To stir the imperial army to battle.

Then quite clearly, Hisae's voice was heard.

 

That would not be wise

And the Shugo Senriar who was under Hisae's control

Admitted his troops would support the Shadow Knights fully,

Leaving the imperial army far less than whole.

 

Lanival turned back toward Xiao

Knowing Xiao knew full well the futility of war

When faced with such overwhelming odds

And asked him to surrender once more.

 

Lanival watched him expectantly

Knowing also of his turmoil within.

Lanival did not wish to exterminate all

Leaving Dojia a ghostly ruin.

 

Perhaps some of Lillymae's teachings

Finished persuading him that night.

But whatever the reasons,

He laid down his bo without a fight.

 

Kaiyan sent another wave of weariness through

And all fell to the floor

With the exception of the Knights in the room

And the dethroned Emperor.

 

Lanival took his hunting horn

Out of the mouth of the portal then

And spoke into it carefully

That the Emperor's reign was at an end.

 

And of the opportunities to be had

By belonging to the Master's fold.

The chance for advancement and power

With meritous living these gifts they would hold.

 

And as for the Emperor and his family,

They were provided a place on a boat

Taking them away into exile

Leaving Storm Keep's attentions on Dojians to devote.

 

The Dark Lord assumed the Emperor's throne.

But one item of business remained to do.

He asked his Chancellor, Xuerin K'ycer,

To conduct the crowning ceremony without further ado.

 

So we see by small and simple means

The Master's Will is orchestrated.

And great blessings come to those

Whose lives to Him are dedicated.