Veritas Scriptura

Lore
The wind blasted the empty plains around the two cloaked figures as they approached the broken tower, dully gleaming in the dusky twilight. Raised floors of white stone stood around them as they walked, littered here and there with chunks of fallen masonry. All throughout, the chilling wind blew, making the travelers shiver and pull their cloaks tightly about them.

Pale stars littered the glassy bowl of sky over their heads when they reached the tower's base. Strange figures cavorted in frieze above them. Winged devils and armored gladiators were carved into the ivory, intermingled with dragons of all types. Up close, the ivory was smoothed and worn by centuries of the endless dusty wind, there was no door.

Julia, the taller of the two, tied her glossy black hair back into a long braid and fixed her younger companion with a firm look. "This is it, Maya. The place of the Reckoning. Where the gods made their pact and the first Champions of the Endless were made." She paused, looking skyward eagerly. "Somewhere up there is the Tome. The legends are true, I know it."

The younger of the two, Maya, pulled back her hood and shook the travel out of her own shoulder-length cinnamon coiffure. Her eyes flashed green in the dim. "Well let's get to it then, I didn't agree to travel half the year just to turn back as soon as we arrived." She pointed at Julia's belt, where an oversized ivory key hung. "Where's that go then?"

Julia shook her head. "The scrolls didn't say, and I wasn't about to ask the monks and tip them off to my plan." She smiled "A plan that wouldn't have worked without your help, I might add." Maya laughed lightly, pulling on charmed gloves dusted with a glowing golden dust. "Surely our meeting was serendipitous, I had no idea of the power that slept in these ruins until you showed me which scrolls held the old legends."

Julia wore her own magical gloves, and was scanning the tower above them for some ingress, she pointed out their goal and began to climb. Maya started after her. They climbed for what seemed like hours in the howling winds, but the many figures worked into the tower wall granted easy purchase, and the charms on their gloves ensured that they did not slip. Soon they collapsed through an oval shaped portal and into a small room. A soft glow issued from somewhere beyond an opening into a hallway on the other side of the room.

The dust on the floor was thick. "No one has been here in centuries." Julia breathed, but Maya was already at the opening peering into the hallway. "It's this way!" she said, "Let's go." Julia scrambled to her feet and followed the smaller girl into the hallway. Maya was already in the next room. A pedestal stood in the middle, and on the pedestal was an oversized book. The Tome, record of the Titans' pact.

A winding ivory chain coiled around the pedestal and was affixed to the massive spine, and before Julia could call out a warning, Maya had leapt to the chain and grabbed hold of it.

A powerful blast of magic rocked the small girl's frame, and she fell lifeless to the floor. Julia ran to her, but there was nothing to be done. Or was there? The ivory chain wound around the pedestal to the base, where a large keyhole was worked into the intricate carving. Hurriedly Julia fitted the key to the lock and held her breath. The chain fell away and the room filled with light as the pages of the Tome seemed to come alive. The chain twisted around as though it had a life of its own, fixing itself around Julia's wrist.

Julia stood in a cloud of dust set alight by the riffling pages of the glowing tome. The book settled on pages covered in a flowing, shifting script. Julia did not know how, but she knew that she was looking at the language of the Titans themselves, and she could read it. The tome had opened to the Rhyme of Life, and Julia was chanting the lyrical words of the rhyme before she realized. Maya rose, animated by flowing green energy coursing from the book and through Julia's outstretched arms. The Tome floated beside her, rising at the end of the chain on its own power.

Julia seemed transfixed, reading in a voice both hers and that of someone greater, waves of energy poured off of her. Maya stood shakily, then walked slowly toward her companion. She too could understand the Rhyme of life pouring from Julia's lips, but Maya desired the book for a different reason, and this the Tome seemed to sense. It began leaping with brighter and stronger energies as Maya reached out for the key, dangling now at Julia's wrist.

As she took hold of the key, Julia returned to herself and turned, eyes widening at the sight of Maya, alive and clawing at her wrist. She stopped her chanting as the book's pages began again to turn, flipping rapidly through reams of dusty pages to rest on a new page. The chain had whipped around Maya now, binding her to her companion.

Blue energy crawled across the chains and flowed outward from the book. Julia and Maya turned from their struggle with the ivory chain as both recognized the words at the top of the page and realization dawned. In the magical Titan's Script was the ominous title "Roll of Champions" and as they looked on two new names were written in blue energy across the page, their own. A brilliant light swelled from the book and then winked out and once again, the tower stood silent, and the wind blew.

Tips
Stay with your buddy! : The power of the Tome is in the ability to keep your allies alive and empowered. When you're alone, you are wasting the Tome's power!

Keep out of the action: Stay clear of the thick of the fight, or stay out of the line of fire. The Veritas Scriptura will keep your allies alive twice as long if you stay alive. Let them do the fighting!