The MemoryStoneMakela Lekihistoryghosts Ò) Œ3ð Y‹X4Ú!ùýFrom The MemoryStoneýof Makela LekiùýýThis is a faithful reproduction ofýthe thoughts recorded in Makela ýLeki's memory stone, found in theýBankorai pass, in the year ofýreckoning 1E 973. Seven yearsýbefore the fall of Orsinium due toýthe combined efforts of the armiesýof Daggerfall, Sentinel, and theýOrder of Diagna. ýýAlmost all of this is in the firstöperson, as Makela was unfamiliarýwith the protocols and scholarlyýformalities of recording herselfýinto a memory stone. None the less,ýher heroism and heroic deeds liveýon, her memories fresh in the stoneýfor all to feel and hear. " . . . muuu uhh, I wonder if this will really work?" "The Mages guild took me for 25,000 gold crowns if itdoesn't. Imagine? This stone will record my thoughts? Whatdid they say? Just unwrap it from the silver foil andleather bag and as soon as it touches my flesh it will beginto record. "Ahhhh, the pain, I must block it out, no one would want to hold my stone and hear my thoughts if I let it record my pain. Thankthe Ebonarm and the training I received in The Hall of theVirtues of War. I CAN block out this pain. Ummm just, ah, there, it's walled off. "Yes I can still see it there just beyond my consciousnesslurking like a hungry wolf - a wolf that will soon consumeöme. I see also my inevitable death from these damned wounds. No potions left, the healing crystal and ring are used up,and me, with not even magic enough to light a candle. Oh butthe gods did give me other gifts, the gift of sword singing,the thrill of battle, Frandar Hunding's Book of Circles,THE WAY OF THE SWORD. Ah but then that is my story, I getahead of myself. I am Makela Leki a warrior, a sword-singer, a second levelAnsei. In my cradle I could form the Shehai, the spirit sword- The mystical blade, mine formed of pure thought serpentsintertwined with vines of roses to form the blade, asbeautiful as ... Ah, but I'm about to tell you all about that, to tell youmy story, a story of valiant battle, of my loves, of mywars, of. of betrayal and of this last glorious victory.To tell you of how I came to this distant lonely pass me andfive companions, to fight these men and monsters to defeatthe army that would fall on my people like cowards in the night, but again I get ahead of myself. I am a simple warrior. I grew up as a Maiden of the SpiritBlade. As early as I can remember I wanted to be a Singer, tofeel the hunger of the blade in my hands, to feel it comeöalive and take my enemies. I am told our people wereartisans and poets long ago in our desert homes. Here in newhome now known as Hammerfell, many of us have returned tothose ancient ways, but to me there is but ONE WAY. THE WAY of the SWORD. Ah this is hard to tell. I grew up in my noble family, the only one of threebrothers and two sisters that felt the calling, the Song of the Sword. Father understood,for he too had felt the call. He had become a master, and Anseilong before settling down with in our estate to raise a family. At eleven, I entered the Hall of the Virtues of War and joined the Maidens ofthe Spirit Sword. In my band there were six of us. DaringJulia, solid Patia, big Kati, svelte Cegila, wise Zell, andme - all are gone now, save me, and soon I will join them. ... Join themin the halls of the unknown gods of war. We drank together, we fought, we wept, we grew in the way ofthe sword. We joined in our learnings in the Hall with our Brothers of theBlade. Learning from each other, we all sat at the feet of theHall Master striving to learn the depths of the Shehai - makingthe spirit blade into a real weapon as Frandar Hunding had.Only a few have the purity of heart and virtue to be able totake the step and learn the mysteries of Ansei. Sword Sainthood. Somehow, of all the Brothers and the Maidens, I only possessed the unique qualities, the faint but strong enoughflicker of magicka to call forth the Shehai. Many times Icalled it, seldom would it become substantial enough to be aweapon. To be a Ansei of the first level you just need to beable to call it, and that I could, so I became the first Ansei from our local hall in twogenerations. Oh I have so much to tell, so many memories, so manytreasures to share with you, my unknown companion. How do I start? Umhhh, the pain is still out there lurking hungry, slowlyconsuming what's left of me. I guess I had better tell of thefinal battle, the one that has left me here, and then if Ihave the will left tell you of my life, of my love Raliph.OH what a lad he was. What times we shared ... Ebonarm ...Forgive me, my mind wanders ... Let me go to the FinalBattle. ö Umm to start, in the middle humm. Yes. We Maidens grew,learned, mastered the Way, and upon completing theWalk-About. To you who are not Singers, this is a wildernesstrek emulating the times of Frandar Hunding - where we eachwander the country side righting wrongs, defeating monsters,performing quests in the name of virtue. Some of us in ourHall took years to finish. Always there is danger, we sixMaidens each returned in our own good time, but many are theywho do not live to return from the Walk About. We returned, each to our own lives, to meet in the hall oncea week to tell our stories to the new Maidens and Brothers,and to perform as instructors in the Way of the sword. All was well till the night of the MidYearFestival. All our people were reveling and ... excuse ... enjoyingthe repast, but for we six Maidens. It happened that the festival day fell on our day of meeting in the hall, our day of prayer and fasting andhonor to the Way of the Sword. As we met, late into the night, a knocking rang on our door. When I opened, it there was a guardian the Bankorai Pass inthe Wrothgarian Mountains, wounded and near death ... Hetold us of betrayal from the north, an invasion sponsoredöby the Crystal Tower of High Rock, led by King Joile ofDaggerfall -- our ally in the war with Orsinium! Quickly we used up a crystal of healing in restoring him tovitality. We sent him on to the king, while we six grabbed ourweapons and armor of power, and as many potions, marks,and crystals and rings as we could carry. We flew to the pass hoping upon hope that we would not be too late. Our journey was not in vain,for we arrived just at the very point where the last threeguardians were overwhelmed by the horde. Into the pass weran forming the old battle line, six abreast. OH did we FIGHT. The Song of the Sword was a joyous noise slicing through theranks of evil. We fought for hours. Julia was the first tofall, a cowardly poisoned dagger finding a rent in herarmor. Then one by one all fell, save me. ... oh cruel Ebonarm ... Then my beloved sword, the swordof my father, the one with the serpent's crest, fashioned bythe master sword smith Singer Tansal broke in my hands. Allwas lost, our six lives spent in vain. Now, many many ofthem would pour through the pass. I would be easy prey forthem, like a newborn child. I wept in frustration. Then I remembered the hearth in our home - the book. FrandaröHunding's Book of Circles, the Way of Strategy. I reachedfor the Shehai the spirit sword, that which I could neverreliably form when I needed it, and behold ... it was alive. Alive with fire. It formed in myhand. Ablaze with power --- OH I slew mightily, right andleft, like a scythe through wheat. All the way to the Lord ofthe Tower I fought. With one blow I cut his magical armorasunder, one more took his head. But to do that deed cost me dearly, wounds by the dozen, for although I had magical armor, it was not formed of spirit like my blade, it was not asinvincible as my blade or my own spirit, and I was sorely wounded. With the felling of King Joile, his army crumbled. They fledbefore my wrath. All ran back through the pass not evenpausing to collect their dead and wounded. All who couldstand ran for their lives, and I slew all I could reach, butmy breath was coming short, and the pain ... Finally I rested, on this rock where you find me now. I don't know why I chanced to bring this stone along. I bought it on a whim really, withthe loot from ... ah well I guess I need to really stop and tell my story in order. I feel able to go on to tell youömore ... the eternal night is descending more slowly than I thought. Not just yet, am I ready to compose my death poem. Alittle sip of water and ... well I think I will go back and tell you of my life,maybe some details about the battle. And Oh yes. AboutRaliph and our children, humm where will I start. ... oh ... rrr ... I am ... a simple warrior ... I grew up as a, a Maiden of theSpirit Blade ... As early ... as early as I can ... remember... ö