The Order of Orduin

The sunlight of the Greater Sun Pakala was streaming through the window. He was sitting at his desk as he did every day. The desk was covered with scrolls. He loved scrolls. They were all arranged in a certain order. This group of scrolls with the blue rollers, they were the finance scrolls. The Citadel was well funded through eons of investments and land ownership. He enjoyed ensuring that the reserve funds increased year on year under his watch. Every crown was watched. The red scrolls. They were reports from the Order throughout Akkadia. The red scrolls contained the usual rumblings. There was nothing unusual. The King of Zabkia seemed to be surviving to a ripe old age. The Zabkians under their mountain fastness were renowned for ensuring the Royal succession by the knife rather than through a defined lineage. Saint Zuchelli University were building something in the desert of Biskarin. King Henry XXIII of Wesola seemed to be ill, and all reports of the Prince of Wesola sounded disheartening. The usual rumblings.

The scrolls he enjoyed reading the most were the green scrolls. They were the scrolls of Plans and Logistics throughout Akkadia. The Order was always planning. He had plans for everything. He enjoyed planning. Each plan was numbered and the numbers collated within scroll number one. His predecessor and mentor had planned throughout his career in the Citadel. There were many plans that he hoped would never be needed though, in the darkness of the night, he wanted to be measured against the direst circumstances. His predecessor and mentor had lived a life of quiet planning. While he wished for the same well ordered long life he occasionally hankered for a crisis through which he could shine.

Saint Zucchelli University

He was in his room in the University. He would receive a visit shortly from one of his brethren. For the first time in eons a number of his brethren had agreed to work together. He had brought a number of them with him. His plans were in place. They had all agreed to work according to his plan. He knew that their enemy had grown somnolent and lax in the waiting. He was depending on them to remain so. He knew that most of his enemies were unprepared for his brethren working together. He also knew that many of his enemies had grown overconfident in their own abilities. In the weary watching some had tried to create a world within the world of Akkadia. Let them keep their fantasies. He lived in the real world, and it would be in the real world that Akkadia would be broken. The door opened and Professor Drenthe walked in. He hoped that he brought good news.

Akkadia - the desert of Biskarin

The desert was blooming this time of the year. To the casual observer the desert never changed. This was his home and he was attuned to the subtle changes all around him. He loved his desert. The tribes of Biskarin crisscrossed the desert throughout the year. Some tribes moved from oasis to oasis. Some tribes scoured the desert for its treasures for salt from the flat plains. During his sojourn in Port Estergom he had a message from his old friend. He had heard of all that had happened to his friend and his heart was breaking for him. The white walls of Port Estergom were behind him shining on the horizon. He brought the magic into his eyes and swept the desert again. The ‘sparkles’ in the desert had always been there. In front of his magical eyes the sparkles seemed to be different. There was a flow of the sparkles that he had never observed before. He was aware that there was a new building undergoing construction in his desert. Some Wizards and soldiers from Kornik had been building a compound in his desert. He had watched it build from the foundations. From time to time he had observed from a distance. He had occasionally spoken to the builders. The strangest building had sprung up in the compound. It was spherical in shape. He had never seen the like before. Kornik and Saint Zucchelli University were collaborating in this project. ‘No good would come of this’ he thought.