The Story of

TEMBUSU ORIENTATION 2013

ALDARION

Contents
Chapter 1: The Invasion
1.1 Humble Beginnings 1.2 The Landing 1.3 Battle of Lal Pahar 1.4 Elaan

Chapter 2:

Habituation
2.1 Silent Cartographers 2.2 Time 2.3 Growing Deviance 2.4 Hope

Chapter 3:

Secrets
3.1 Realization 3.2 The Imperius Curse 3.3 Houses of Tembusu

Chapter 4: Chapter 5: Chapter 6:

The Fellows The Prophecy The Uprising

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Chapter 1: Invasion

Humble beginnings
Hidden in the world of Arda is a magical place named Tembusu home of the Browns. Exactly why Tembusu was magical was something that nobody, not even the Browns, had actually established. Not formally at least. Perhaps it is the crisp, clean air that greets you every day; perhaps the pure, sparkling water; or perhaps it was the people warm, friendly, and welcoming to everybody who came. The rest of Arda was sparsely populated. Tembusu was the only visible sign of civilization in the explored parts of the planet. Immense segments of Arda remained untouched, simply because what resources the Browns had was plentiful and sufcient to sustain them. They were highly intelligent beings, but the Browns were not the only ones that lived on Arda. There were a few other races that dwelled in small numbers on the resource rich planet. However, instead of typically marginalizing and governing these minority races, the Browns included them in their society, and they bonded together as one cohesive community. Everyone was happy and content the harmonious equilibrium that existed in Tembusu was indeed sui generis.

Chapter 1: Invasion

The Landing
One night, a night that seemed like any other night, there was a bright ash in the sky one quite unlike those meteors or comets that occasionally passed by. This one was different it lasted longer; it was brighter too, and had a strange after-glow to it. As the Guardians neared Arda, they huddled together in the assembly room of the Albatross. It was an ancient ritual that had been practiced before every invasion theyd embarked upon. This wasnt any different, except maybe the stakes were higher. As the Albatross elegantly oated through Ardas outer sphere and into the stratosphere, the green and brown land was easily visible from the blue bodies of water. Slightly less than a month ago, the Guardians had commissioned the Albatross a state of the art battleship with unmatched capabilities across the known universe. Arda had recently been discovered by one of the Guardians Scouts. It was a rare nd. So many minerals and in such vast quantities, particularly vauxite. Vauxite was depleting rapidly due to its intense mining in the other Guardian kingdoms; and they were desperate to replenish their reserves. Capturing Arda was classied high priority. The Guardians had no idea if the creatures on Arda were intelligent beings or would bow down. But failure was not an option, not this time. The decision was made to err on the side of caution and the Albatross was built specically for this mission. Tembusus vauxite elds sparkled in the sun. The massive ship slowed down and docked itself on a plateau the vertical take-off and landing gear scorching the grass in four neat, circular patches. After a cursory scan for hostiles, the Guardians unloaded. They savoured the environment. Inhaling air that could actually be described as beautiful, they basked in the soothing ambient temperature. There was not a soul to be seen for miles. The Guardians exited the Albatross and brought out their mobile command base, the Ranger. 4

Chapter 1: Invasion

Vendetta, the head of the Guardians contingent directed his elite guards to pile into the Ranger. According to the report from their scouts, there was an academy where the largest community of Arda resided. It had an odd name Tembusu. Decrypting the name was not foremost on Vendettas mind. With a glance at Albatross, he directed his men towards Tembusu and the Ranger silently moved off, a barely-noticeable dust trail in its wake.

Chapter 1: Invasion

Battle of Lal Pahar

There were signs after that night. An odd sense of foreboding was brooding in the hearts and minds of the Browns. Not even a day had gone by before the Ranger entered Tembusu Academy. Conrming the scouts report and map sketches, Vendetta directed his reinforcements towards a rendezvous point just outside Tembusu. It was an open grassy space anked by a hill. The Browns had no weapons or ammunition. They came to what they knew as Town Green to see half a dozen airships ying in. The intruders wore a sort of armour that covered their faces with a ridiculous smile. Some of the more nave Browns had brought fruit and owers to welcome the new faces. Without any warning, Vendettas Guardians red mercilessly A few Browns tried to run for shelter. But few escaped. The hill bordering Town Green was re-coloured crimson red, henceforth to be known as Lal Pahar, or Red Hill.

Chapter 1: Invasion

Elaan
Vendettas clean-up crew had the hardest job. Nevertheless, by dawn, the Town Green had been restored. It looked as if nothing had ever taken place there. Except that something had. While clean-up operations were on-going, the scouts were scouring the rest of Arda. Throughout the rest of the night, they patrolled and rounded up the rest of the inhabitants that were living in secluded pockets of the planet the fortunate ones. They were brought down to the study, where Vendetta was lazily browsing Brownian literature. As the door of the reading room opened, Vendetta cursorily glanced upwards. Ten creatures stood before him. None of them was a Brown. His second in command handed him a clipboard with the list of races: Bloodelf, Beast, Naturekin, Warlock, High Elf, Shifter, Ogre, Orc, Dwarf, Fallohide. He grinned, addressing them. Their lives would be spared if they managed Arda for the Guardians.

II
Chapter 2: Habituation

Silent Cartographers
The Ranger nestled into the vehicle bay of the Albatross. Vendetta dismounted, strutted off, while the rest of his guardsmen scuttled to their posts. Motioning to the pilot, he swiped in his arm in a circular motion, signaling that it was time to return back to headquarters. As the engines revved and the ship began to ascend gently, Vendetta allowed himself a smile of triumph. He felt reinvigorated by his latest victory. Dawn was approaching. The unforgiving rays of the sun were penetrating Tembusu. An eerie sound resonated from somewhere. It seemed to be coming from the linkbridge. The link-bridge connected the Academy to its Great Hall. Some rolls of paper were levitating at the edge of the bridge. Upon closer inspection, the Ogre proclaimed that it contained Vendettas instructions. The paper showed the locations of Tembusus numerous vauxite mines. However, it wasnt as easy as it seemed. Accessibility to the mines was restricted. In order to gain access to the mines, they could take only certain routes deemed safe by Vendettas scouts. They had until sundown to hand over the vauxite daily.

Chapter 2: Habituation

Time
Was a routine. Waking up to the eerie sound that signaled the scrolls were ready; collecting that damned piece of paper; letting it dictate the rest of the day. The days seemed longer and nights seemed shorter. The sound had become a beckoning. However, as time passed, the survivors found what the scouts had missed. More of their own. More of each of their races in small pockets of land around the unexplored parts of Arda. Eventually, they too were integrated into their respective clans and the races began to grow. The Guardians didnt bother this just meant more vauxite each day. As the survivors got better and better at mining, they often met their daily quota before sunset, and they gradually began to end their daily labour whilst it was still bright. Days slowly started to show glimpses of life.

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Chapter 2: Habituation

Growing Deviance
Unrest was brewing. With more time to talk, people started getting ideas. And ideas were dangerous. The Shifters had everything to do with it. They had invited everyone to be present in the Great Hall for a town meeting, just like the old days, like the Browns used to do it. The leader of the Shifters glid to the front. As she cleared her throat, silence fell. She began by thanking everyone in a shrill voice before slipping into a muttered monotone. The crux of her speech revolved around increasing the combined vauxite output to amass goodwill with the Guardians. Unfolding a piece of paper, she narrated the story of a cousins planet which until recently had been invaded and controlled by the Guardians. The survivors, overworked to exceed the expected daily returns of vauxite. And the Guardians recognized their efforts Vendetta had personally own down to Ursula to thank them, grant them freedom. Her story incited hope. And hope was dangerous. There was no telling what a hopeful man might do because hope translated to possibilities, no matter how small. It had begun to drizzle. The sun was nowhere to be seen in the darkening overcast sky. Aisha straightened herself and addressed the people, imploring those who were in favour of over-mining vauxite to raise their hands. Besides the elders who remained cynical, all the others on the Town Green raised their arms immediately. As the weather started to worsen, the decision of the people gave the community that dangerous feeling a sense of hope.

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III
Chapter 3: Secrets

Realization
It had been some time now since the excessive mining of vauxite had started the vauxite ore was depleting. The entire planet was running dry. The races scoured Tembusu, which had been left untouched so far. Soon they realised a small number amongst them had amassed a vast quantity of vauxite over the years. They called themselves the Fellows. There werent many of them but they were much older and wiser. They lived around Tembusu but were incredibly watchful of the rest. Now that the Fellows had come to know that the races were increasingly desperate, they resurfaced. They presented a few options. In exchange for vauxite, the races would have to complete tasks with the Fellows a cooperative that would ensure maximum productivity. With little choice, they complied for the time being, at least.

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Chapter 3: Secrets

The Imperius Curse

Days went by with the survivors completing tasks for the Fellows. Still, the amount of vauxite collected was falling, and the Guardians had noticed. After conferring with Vendetta, the Scouts travelled to Tembusu to enforce the Imperius Curse. Right after sunset as the vauxite for the day was collected, the curse was cast. As the unfortunate ones writhed in pain on the forest oor, the Elders knew what needed to be done. It was said that Tembusu had ve ancient Houses Shan, Ora, Gaja, Tancho and Ponya. Each house had had a shrine on the Town Green. Prayers offered at these shrines to the Brown with their House Flags could bring back the forces of the animals from the time of the Browns. Over time the Browns had regrettably taken them for granted; treating them more as pets, as totems even, rather than appreciating them for the unique beings they were. When the Browns were defeated by Vendetta, the animals had left. But now, the animals were the Elders only hope. Gathering on Town Green, the Elders retreated into solemn prayer, willing the animals to re-emerge and save them.

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IV
Chapter 4: The Fellows

The Imperius Curse awoke a certain spirit inside the residents of Tembusu. That age old decision that they made against their Elders to overmine vauxite was coming back to haunt them. Vauxite was now completely depleted from the mines. Whatever was left was with the Fellows. The Fellows had met with the Elders in the Great Hall after the Curse had been lifted to negotiate terms of exchange for the rest of the vauxite. It was a heated affair the lives of all the residents of Arda were at stake and even though the Younger Ones had gone against the Elders, they were determined to save their respective races. The Fellows knew they too didn't stand a chance against the Guardians and had to cooperate. The Guardians quota of vauxite was to be met everyday. However, even with the current stash that the Fellows had, they would only last two days. The terms were simple: the residents would complete certain tasks that the Fellows had set for them. Upon completion, the residents would get a certain amount of vauxite. The Elders knew that they had brokered a deal that was temporary, something that would last them only a couple of days. If a permanent solution were to be found, they would have to work even harder. The tasks were relatively simple. Throughout the day, the Younger Ones worked with their Elders. At sunset, the handover took place. After the ritual, the Elders gathered everyone, including the Fellows, in the Town Green for their evening meal. Rather than disgruntled counterparts, the Fellows and the residents were now companions. As they shared their meal, a strange thing happened. A trumpet sounded out in the distance, similar to that of Gajas - one of the Browns pets. The Elders had prayed for their help last night. Even though the animals were almost a day late, they had done so. The Fellows suggested to the residents that they search 15

Chapter 4: The Fellows for the animals after nightfall to learn how theyve been coping alone, in the wild, away from the Brown. Everyone agreed and they travelled to the nearby jungle towards the sound where the trumpet had come from. Sure enough, the Younger Ones got to see most of the animals that the Browns had, in their previous arrogance, kept as pets. They were amazed at how well they had adapted to the wild. The next morning came, with the similar tasks. Being academic by nature, the Fellows had uncovered certain bit of information that seemed like it belonged to the time of the Browns. Thus, these were included in the tasks. The Elders realized what that information meant they were the words of the Pavan the Prophet, a noted Brown in his time. Upon studying one of them, the Elders realized that they had been fools all along. The prophecies revealed the powers of revival vested in the twenty ancient rings of the Browns. Rings that ended up in hands of Vendetta. As it was said that the rings gave tremendous mining ability which was the only thing Vendetta cared about he had passed out a couple of rings to each of the ten Elders on that night. The Elders had worn those rings since, but did realize any other powers that they provided until the moment they read the prophecy. It stated that if the rings were to be strung together using Green Unicorn hair, an unimaginable force would return to Arda and the Browns would be revived. It seemed that their prayers had been answered. There was no need of vauxite from tomorrow. In fact, there had never been a need for vauxite. It was merely Vendettas addiction to the mineral that had polluted everyones consciousness it was a false consciousness, as it were. Now that they had seen there were other possibilities, the potentiality for a different world dawned upon them.

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V
Chapter 5: The Prophecy

Sunset came, bringing with it the ritual of vauxite. The Younger Ones were confused. They had a general idea of what was going on, but it was not clear to them what exactly was going to happen. The Elders gathered everyone on the Town Green for their evening meal. Afterward, in the Great Hall they announced their plan. They had no vauxite left to give to the Guardians. The Fellows stack had been exhausted. The options were clear. Either wait for the Guardians to attack again, or proactively attack the Guardians. Until earlier that day it seemed foolhardy to plan coordinated attacks against the technologically advanced Guardians by themselves. But the tide had turned: they had come across the prophecy of revival. With the help of the Browns, they could thwart the Guardians outpost in Carantur and send them a message. They brought their rings together and waited. It seemed that nothing was happening. Then out of the blue, Pavan and a few of the Browns walked into the Great Hall. Everyone stared at them in awe. There was a hushed silence. Pavan walked up to the Elders and thanked them for reviving his race. The Elders briefed him on the situation. Pavan readily agreed to lead them into Carantur and face the Scouts who were on the island. He broke the news to the residents who had gathered in the Great Hall and narrated his plans for the next day.

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VI
Chapter 6: The Uprising

Night turned to day. As slumber drifted from Tembusu, everyone prepared themselves for the journey ahead. A few hours after sunrise, they arrived on the sandy shores of Carantur. The Scouts had an elaborate set of defenses that required a certain amount of physical and mental strength to overcome. But, it was no match for the residents. They conquered the defense mechanisms and pulled through to the heart of the Scouts camp. The Scouts had been alerted to the intrusion. They were even ready to strike. But upon seeing the Browns, they had a change of mind. It seemed as if that an entire race had come back from the dead. With approval from Vendetta, they readied their retreat. Fighting the seemingly undead was too much, even for them. Retaining their sense of humility, the residents watched them leave with a sense of relief and achievement. As their aircrafts became little black specks in the sky, the residents erupted in joy. They had achieved freedom, ghting their oppressors. Pavan thanked and congratulated the Elders on behalf of the Browns and invited them the Dining Hall in Tembusu for a victory feast. Peace has returned to Arda.

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Story by Arjun Saha Art by Marcus Tan Layout by Chua Kah Swee