Castings of the Tiles

...'We stand upon Dolmen. Broken rock, pitted by shattered kin, its surface seething with life so small it escapes our eyes. Life locked in eternal wars. Blade and Knuckles. We are among the Beasts. I can see the Bone Perch, slick with blood and layered with the ghost memories of countless usurpers. I see the Elder, still faceless, still blind. And Crone, who measures the cost in the scrawling passage of behemoths. Seer, who speaks to the indifferent. I see Shaman, seeking truths among the dead. And Hunter, who lives in the moment and thinks nothing of the consequences of slaughter. And Tracker, who sees the signs of the unknown, and walks the endless paths of tragedy. The Hold of the Beast, here in this valley that is but a scratch upon Dolmen's hard skin
'There is no-one upon Bone Perch. Chaos hones every weapon, and the killing goes on and on. And from the malstrom powerful creatures arise, and the slaying reaches beyond measure.
'Such powers must be answered. The Errant returns, and casts the seed into blood-soaked earth. Thus rises the Hold of the Azath.
'Deadly shelter for the tyrants, oh they are so easily lured. And so balance is achieved. But it remains a grisly balance, yes? No cessation to the wars, although they are much diminished, so that, finally, their cruel ways come into focus.'
...
'But the tread of time is itself a prison. We are shackled with progression. And so the Errant comes once more, and the Ice Hold rises, with its attendant servants who journey through the realms to war against time. Walker, Huntress, Shaper, Bearer, Child and Seed. And upon the Throne of Ice sits Death, cowled and frost-rimed, stealer of caring, to shatter the anxious shackles of mortal life. It is a gift, but a cold one.
'Then, to achieve balance once more, is born the Eleint, and chaos is given flesh, and that flesh is draconic. Ruled by the Queen, who must be slain again and again by every child she bears. And her Consort, who loves none but himself. Then Liege, servant and guardian and doomed to eternal failure. Knight, the very sword of chaos itself - 'ware his path! And Gate, that which is the Breath. Wyval, spawn of the dragons, and the Lady, the Sister, Blood-Drinker and Path-Shaper. The Fell Dragons.
'One hold remains...
...'Something circles above the Empty Throne. I cannot see it, yet it...circles. A pallid hand, severed and dancing...no, it is-' (interrupted by the Wyval's attack)

'And now the Fulcra. Fire, Dolmen and the Errant. The Errant, who gives shape to the Holds -'
'Walk with me to the Holds.'
'We stand upon Dolment, and alll is as it should be.'
'To live is to wage war against the Abyss. In our growth we find conquest, in our stagnation we find ourselves under siege, and in our dying our last defences are assailed. These are the truths of the Beast Hold. Blade and Knuckles, the war we cannot escape. Age has clawed the face and gouged the eyes of the Elder. He is scarred and battle-ravaged. Crone cackles with bitter spit, and twitches with dreams of flight. Seer's mouth moves yet there are none to hear. Shaman wails the weft of the dead in fields of bones, yet believes none of the patterns he fashions from those scattered remains. Tracker walks his steps assured and purposeful, to belie that he wanders lost.'
'Bone Perch now stands as a throne that none shall occupy, for its shape has become inimical to taming. The throne's back is now hunched, the ribs drawn downward, the shoulder blades steep and narrow. The arms, upon which a ruler's arms would rest, are risen now, each in the visage of a wolf, and in their eyes burns savage life. The Hold of the Beasts has found Twin Rulers.'
'And before us now.... the Hold of the Azath. Its stones bleed. The earth heaves and steams. A silent, unceasing scream shakes the branches of the ancient trees. The Azath stands besieged.'
'Ice Hold!'
'Riven tomb! Corpses lie scattered before the sundered threshold. Urquall Jaghutan taezmalas. They are not here to mend the damage. They are forgotten, and the ice itself cannot recall the weight of their passage'.
'What language was that?' Seren Pedac asked.
'Jaghut,' Udinaas replied, then snapped his mouth shut.
'What is Jaghut?'
'Forgers of the Ice, Acquitor. It is of no matter. They are gone'.
'The Hold of the Dragon,' Eleint Tiam purake setoram n'brael buras -'
'Draconean words. Children of the Mother Tiam lost in all that they surrendered'...
The Eleint would destroy all in their paths to achieve vengeance.. As we shall see in the long night to come. The Queen lies dead and may never rise again. The Consort writhes upon a tree and whispers with madness of the time of his release. The Liege is lost, dragging chains in a world where to walk is to endure, and where to halt is be devoured. The Knight strides his own doomed path, soon to cross blades with his own vengeance. Gate rages with wildfire. Wyval -'
Her head snapped back as if struck by an invisible hand, and blood sprayed from her mouth and nose. She gasped then smiled a red smile.
Locqui Wyval waits. The Lady and the Sister dance round each other, each on her own side of the world. Blood-Drinker waits as well, waits to be found. Path-Shaper knows fever in his fell blood and staggers on the edge of the precipice.'
'Thus! the Holds, save one.'
'The Empty Hold has become...... very crowded indeed. 'Ware the brothers! Listen! Blood weaves a web that will trap the entire world! None shall escape, none shall find refuge!.'
'The Watchers stand in place as if made of stone! Their faces are masks of horror. THe Mistresses dance with thwarted desire.'
'The Wanderers have broken through the ice and cold darkness comes with its deadly embrace. The Walkers cannot halt in the growing torrent that pulls them ever onward. The Saviours -'
"What is she saying? Seren Pedac demanded. "She has made them all plural - the players within the Hold of the Empty Throne - this makes no sense -'
- face one another, and both are doomed, and in broken reflection so stand the Betrayers, and this is what lies before us, before us all.'
'Contestants to the Empty Throne, Blood and madness.....'"