THE HIGH TABLE
Established: 2023-11-17
Chat room: #BARBARUS
- No holds barred
- Weapons
- Extreme violence
- Blood
- Death
A worldwide organization of men trained for violent, bloody, and even deadly combat. Their competence is indicated by their qualifications, from the lowest to the highest, reserved for an elite.
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Starring
13:31 Roland: In the dream-prison of Oriax, I now steer the mirrors of the demon as I will. Air shimmering like glass about to crack, I step through one to arrive at the borderlands near Kish. A refugee camp clings to the ruins, smoke curling from low fires.
There, among the displaced, I see him — a youth with the bearing of a soldier, fire in his eye.s.
19:55 Roland: "Hail, soldier."
19:56 Callen_Fortier: "Hail."
20:10 Roland: (We face each other across the dust and speak. He is young, not well-versed in history, but the hunger for battle is written on his frame.) “…The past holds more than ashes, Archer. Lessons in how we may yet strike at the Black Sun.”
20:11 Callen_Fortier: "I am listening, commander."
20:21 Roland: "But I am overeager. You need not learn all at once. I thought you might have been of Kish — that you had known of, or even seen Odrin: a revenant, a boundary-crosser who defies Oriax even in death.”
20:22 Callen_Fortier: "I have heard of the destruction of Kish. But was Odrin not a champion of the Black Sun?"
20:23 Roland: (I place a hand on the boy's shoulder, as if to steady his fire.) "Do not believe all you are told. True, he roused men once to religious fervor. But Kish is less a city than a palimpsest, rebuilt again and again on its own ruins, rebuilt to erase what came before. Intentionally. So it is with all the lands the empire crushed: the Vale of Rasan, the Steppes of Maruk..."
20:27 Roland: I pause, before speaking of the Red Citadels — fortresses carved from living stone, mountains clenched into fists against the sky. Their people, famed archers, disciplined and fierce, resisted longest. Hunger broke them, not war. Their towers lie in ruins now, their names forbidden.
I study him closely.
20:28 Callen_Fortier: "I am a son of the Citadels."
20:29 Roland: "As I suspected."
Then he gives his story — a litany of defiance. His hunger unsettles me, too close to what I once was.
20:35 Roland: We move together into the sweat lodge, a circle of stone about a steaming pool. Nakedness is honesty; the heat drives truth from the body like poison. I speak of my own past.
20:36 Roland: “…In Kuluz, sworn to my lord as to the sun itself — to my brother in blood, its last king. Yet I bowed too deeply, too blindly. When the Black Sun rose in him, I did not turn away. I called it loyalty; it was surrender. That is the stain I bear, Callen. Obedience that became bondage.”
(The heat reddens me. Shame rises. My voice cracks.)
20:36 Roland: "And my chains were forged twice. First at Kuluz, when the rebellion was crushed. I was taken to Chalyth — there remade, enslaved, the black mark written on my heart. "
20:37 Roland: "Then in the dream-realm of Oriax, I was taken again. Not by steel but by mirrors— each one a gate, each a snare. I wandered their glass corridors until even my own face betrayed me... bound, not with rope or chain, but with visions too strong to deny. "
20:41 Roland: "From that prison I was given over to the Bull — to Dominus. Set before him like a spoil of war, a knight broken out of time. I thought I was still Roland, but his gaze made me less: a servant crowned in silence, a book of wounds not my own. "
"That is the truth of my captivity, Young Spear. That is how I was unmade.” (I drop my gaze. Sweat runs down my chest like tears, matting the fur as though I were a draught animal, yoked to the plough.)
21:02 Roland: We step from the lodge into the pool, steam rising like incense. Callen’s shoulders gleam with youth, taut and eager. Mine bear scars.
20:55 Callen_Fortier: "There is still time for redemption, commander. The wound is permanent, yes — but you are not yet undone. Do not let the past steer your steps now."
20:56 Roland: "You speak well. I did surrender, and it is shameful. Yet here I stand still — scarred, unclean, but standing. If you will call me brother now, I will strive to be worthy."
21:02 Callen_Fortier: "Yes, the chains you speak of are proof of your strength as much as your fall. Should we not unmake Dominus with steel and arrows, as you were unmade? I will be your light, if you would have me. Let the fire of our blood light our path like a blazing arrow, like a newly forged spear."
21:33 Roland: We clasp arms. His grip is strong, mine still sure.
21:04 Roland: "If the Citadels bred such sons, perhaps all is not lost. I will look forward to sparring with you — and to study. Steel sharpens steel, but memory sharpens the mind. Both will serve us in the days ahead."
21:05 Callen_Fortier: "On my honor as a son of the Red Mountains. We shall spar, study, and sharpen our steel and minds together. The war arts of Kuluz intrigue me. And if you would have it, I will show you what the sons of the Citadels are still capable of."
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21:06 Roland: "On your honor, then — and on mine as a knight of Kuluz. Gladly."
Later, under the shadow of the Black Sun, we speak of the quest laid upon me by the Bull.
21:33 Roland: "I will take you through the mirrors, to Kish — to the tomb of Odrin, my guide. His remains are hidden. It is coded in the annals. I must find them."
21:30 Callen_Fortier: "Kish. I know the place. Are you sure this is wise, commander?"
21:30 Roland: "What is not wise is to bring your pure flame into such vile captivity."
21:31 Callen_Fortier: "What is also not wise is to go alone. The shadow of Kish needs illumination — the fire of the Red Citadels. I will accompany you."
21:34 Roland: "You do not know what you ask. The mirrors devour. They show not only the path, but the ruin at its end. I would spare you that. Yet your light I cannot deny. In Kish's shadow, such a flame would be both shield and torment. If you come, it is against my fear, not my will."
21:37 Callen_Fortier: "The mirrors devour, but they cannot devour all. Our eyes can watch the path and the ruinous ends, for we have lived in ruin and exile. Spare me nothing, commander. I would accompany you on your quest."
And so it is. The knight of Kuluz and the last son of the Red Citadels stand together — the scarred and the unbroken, bound by oath. In the heat of the lodge, in the steam of the pool, our words are tempered like steel. What was unmade may yet strike back.
21:35 Roland: "Callen, son of the Red Citadel, there are many evils of the empire. Resist them always."
Published: 2025-10-02, viewed 102 times.
Freaker
2025-10-02 11:19Roland and Callen, though scarred, carry a flame of determination that burns brighter than any shadow. Their journey is a pilgrimage to reclaim their identities and honor, forging a bond that transcends the physical. May we see more of their quest as they face the mirrors of Oriax and the ruins of Kish, knowing their light will never be extinguished.
We hope so and thank you for sharing in THE HIGH TABLE
Max Freaker and the Board
Roland
2025-10-02 14:10(In reply to this)
We are honored by your words. The light you name is what guides us through shadow. That others see how a bond, tempered in separate ruins, may unite as a force against mirrors and falsehood is a beacon to steady our path.