Kindle Notes & Highlights
The histories of lands, peoples, and nations are made of many tiny events. Most are insignificant, their impact gone with the moment of their passing. But some of these events have an impact extending far beyond their occurrence. These events are things that can shape and change history for countless years into the future.
He recognized the shaggy body of Grunt, the bear. The thing stood on its hind legs, twice as tall as a man, in the hunching pose of a great brown bear. But the face dispelled any notions of normalcy. It was flat and covered with feathers, with a short, downward pointing beak—a beak! It was the head of an owl, grown hugely out of proportion and placed upon the body of the bear. The words of Bhaal came into the cleric’s mind. My owlbear. You shall call him Thorax.
This time, a pair of bizarre creatures splashed forth, pulling themselves into the air on the broad wings of eagles. They were followed by several more, and they all flew with the grace and power of that most regal of birds. But the heads of these hideous things were all like the head of a proud stag. A broad rack of antlers spread above each of them. Only the mouths were unlike deer, as they parted in flight to reveal rows of sharp, wolflike fangs. The perytons. Witness the birth of my flock.
Its black coat glistened, and its wicked eyes held Hobarth enthralled as the monster crept toward him. Shantu, king of my children.
As the creature moved away from the well, it made no tracks in the muddy ground—at least not beneath it. Instead, Hobarth saw tracks appear off to one side, though the creature looked and sounded as if it was directly before him. With awe, he witnessed the power of his god’s creation. Here was a creature that seemed to be in one place, yet was actually somewhere else nearby. Thus is the displacer beast born, to take his place before you. “Glory to Bhaal and His magnificent children,” murmured the cleric.
Fear is a state of mind. As such, it can be conquered by a stronger state of mind.
And then the cleric went back into the night, wondering at the ways of gods and kings and men.
Faerie was a small realm, not even as large as a single of the Moonshae Islands. It was enclosed in a bubble of magic that held it safe from the intrusions of more violent and brutal planes.
