Windstream

Windstream

Ever loyal guardians to the Koada'Dal line of the royal house, the Windstream line is filled with heroism, quests, lost loves and tragic deaths. Since the founding of the Royal House Thex, the Thex guard has been under the command of a Windstream Koada'Vie. Koada'Dal rulers have always placed great trust upon the loyalty of the Windstream family.

Windstream history

* Rygel Windstream appointed 1st Commander of the Thex Guard protecting the Thex throne in Takish-Hiz.

* Protector of the crown's powerful magics and sacred treasures, Rygel Windstream overcomes a host of foes securing the safe escape of remaining royal family and sacred items from Takish-Hiz during the city's final hours. Rygel Windstream died and now terrorizes the ancient throne room of this one beautiful city, now commonly referred to as Befallen.

* Sylveron Windstream appointed Commander of the Thex Guard by King Tearis Thex. Eldest of Rygel's two son's.

* Sylveron Windstream leads a daring raid into the city of Neriak during the War of the 7 Tears. Inside the city, he finds and defeats one of Queen Cristianos' shadow knight guards and recovers one of the sacred Tears of Tunare. Prior to his departure, a cleric of Tunare foretold his death inside Neriak over the fallen body of a shadow knight. Sylveron stood over the corpse of the fallen shadow knight shouting taunts at teir'dal inhabitants of Neriak until King Naythox' Dragoons overwhelmed and slew him. His corpse was revived and now serves necromancers in the Lodge of the Dead.

* Corlyn Windstream appointed Commander of the Thex Guard by King Tearis Thex.

* Corlyn Windstream departs for the ruins of Takish-Hiz by order of King Tearis. His task is to recover the Thex mallet, a sacred and ancient relic to the Royal House.

Here is the account of Corlyn Windstream on the quest for the Thex mallet....

Pulling three keys from the belt of the slain Teir’Dal Shadow Knight, the Koada’Vie stood and began casting spells of healing upon himself.  He’d suffered serious wounds from the harm touch spell cast upon him, yet by the will of Tunare he had prevailed.  He could ill afford to continue on at less than full strength.  What puzzled him was the dying word from the Teir’Dal when he demanded the location of the Thex mallet.  “Windstream,” was all the Teir’Dal had gurgled out before expiring.  But moments before, the Koada’Vie had tracked down this foe upon hearing the same word spoken by a chilling voice in the hall, except the first voice had said, “Windstream, 1,2,3…hurry!”.    Teir’Dal, like the one he’d slain, seemed to be growing more commonplace as the years passed, while his own race, the Koada’Dal had diminished in number.  Someone once told him Teir’Dal and Koada’Dal were opposite sides of the same coin.  He was beginning to understand why now.  He stood up, then pressed farther into the dungeon complex fighting undead in these bleak passages for the next hour until he discovered the next clue to his quest.

After reaving the last diseased mummy in half, the Koada’Vie mechanically stepped through a door, scanned a dim circular room and sighted an elf skeleton.  Without pause, he calmly walked toward the undead guardian, and unleashed a flurry of slashes.  The Koada’Vie sword twinkled from the bluish glow of a spell, shattering the bones across the stone floor with its power over the undead.  Kneeling, the Koada’Vie picked up two untarnished metal pieces and tucked them into his belt pouch.  He stood and fearlessly walked down a hallway leading from the room. 

No sign of anger, hate or enjoyment showed in his mane-he was Koada’Vie, trained in destroying undead.  Still, his manner had always been aloof, even among his own kind, who were considered an arrogant, reclusive race.  He was after all, Commander Corlyn Windstream of the Thex Guard, faithful servant of the goddess Tunare and his liege, King Tearis Thex.  Though the Koada’Vie were not as numerous as in ages past, their faith magic and prowess in battle had not diminished.  His race had once been the most dominant in all Norrath.  The undead filled dungeon Corlyn now stood deep inside, had once been the gem of all Tunaria, the capital city of the Dal Kingdom, Takish-Hiz.  The calling of his name twice now had his curiousity peaked and he tirelessly pressed deeper into the gloom of the undead nest.

His boots echoed down the gloomy hall as he strode past what appeared to be a human necromancer cowering in the deep shadows.  “Windstream.”, whispered the necromancer, sounding much like a warning as a greeting to the Koada’Vie.  Corlyn had slain many such servants of the undead, and would slay this one if he tried to prevent the Koada’Vie from completing his current quest.  Perhaps his reputation as a slayer of the undead was becoming well known to be so recognized by the servants of the dead.  The necromancer scuttled into the darkness emitting an insane cackle, repeating Corlyn’s surname to himself.  Corlyn was near the ancient throne room where King Tearis’ mother and father had once ruled a shining empire.  The object of his search was an ancient item sacred to the royal house, the Thex mallet. 

Stepping through an illusionary wall into the throne room, Corlyn burned a hole in the gut of the tall zombie, his holy blade once again releasing the devastating undead spell.  The Koada’Vie joined battle with the minion of undeath as smoothly as putting on a pair of deerskin gloves.  A faded symbol of a sword, blade turned downward, was woven on the large zombie’s tunic, barely visible in the bluish spell light.  This was same symbol on the tunic worn by Corlyn.  What he now embraced in battle had once been a Koada’Vie of the old king.  “Windstream….”, whispered the zombie in a voice sounding like a cold wind.  How could a mindless undead recognize him, thought Corlyn.  Corlyn kept a wary eye out for a necromancer who might be speaking through the zombie, but spotted none.  Closing undead hands around Corlyn’s throat, the zombie’s choking grip was like an iron vice. Corlyn remanded himself silently for allowing himself to be distracted by the tall zombie speaking his surname.  His blade whipped like a fan across the rotting arms of the zombie, spinning the creature around.  A noble crest of the Windstream family now dangled loosely from the neck of the zombie, knocked loose by the severe spinning motion, a crest worn only by Corlyn’s family.  Corlyn looked into the eyeless sockets of his father, now a powerful zombie, in shock.  Tears blurred Corlyn’s vision.  He had been a boy when his mother had hustled he and his older brother out of this once great city in it’s final hour.  Outside their home, his father had what seemed to be an eternally stern countenance.  But when his father stepped across the threshold of their home, he was a gentle, loving man, not the Commander of the Thex Guard.  Corlyn and his brother had worshipped his father, Commander Rygel Windstream, Koada’Vie of Tunare, who each night he was home, spent hours playfully wrestling with his two toddling boys.  Each match he and his brother would be pinned down and would somehow manage to overcome their father’s holds to pin him down in glorious victory.  Those wrestling matches had been his father’s only defeats of any kind…until the night Takish-Hiz, the gem of all Tunaria, had fallen.  Now Corlyn was squared off against his father one last time.  So numbed by this realization was Corlyn that he’d not felt the hammering blows breaking his own body.  The tall zombie that was once his father smashed his kneecaps and Corlyn fell to the floor sobbing, “Father…oh father…it is Corlyn, your son.”  “Windstream.”, was the zombie’s cold reply.  The others who had spoken Windstream earlier were voices of his impending doom should he encounter the evil being before him now.  Corlyn’s life seeped away as he lay immobilized at the long suppressed memory of the father he loved and had lost.  Koada’Vie rarely grew old anyway.  The despondent Corlyn welcomed death, confronted with this horror.  In the back of Corlyn’s fading consciousness, a woman’s mirthful voice chided him, “Oh Corlyn!  That isn’t your father you silly boy, your father walks with the Mother of all now.  His home is on the Plane of Love.  Though, your father sends you his love, he would like his body freed from it’s undead prison.”  Corlyn felt the love of the goddess pouring into his broken body, mending bones and sealing torn flesh.  Instantly gripping his holy sword, Corlyn raised a cry not heard in these ancient halls since they had been aglow with the joyful voices of his people, “For Tunare!  For King!  For Koada’Vie!”  He threw the tall zombie that was once his father from him against the throne, almost as he’d done each night as a child.  “I am Commander Corlyn Windstream, Koada’Vie to King Tearis Thex!  Out of the love and memory for the man who’s soul once lived in you, I put you to your final rest!”, boomed Corlyn as he repeated a myriad of criss-crossing cuts.  Corlyn was an irresistible force filled with the strength of the goddess and the love for his father, never again would he hold back his feelings during battle.  His emotions welled up and were channeled into freeing his father’s body.  The zombie collapsed with a wheezing gasp as Corlyn’s sword, known as Ghulbane, released a burst of sparkling spell light. 

He stood over the remains of his father whispering a prayer of thanks to Tunare, Mother of All.  Koada’Vie had the power to lay on hands, healing themselves to full health instantly, once per day.  Yet he did not recall knowingly using this power.  He kneeled by the remains of his father saying, “Good bye father.  I didn’t need my big brother to beat you this time.  Tell him hello from mother and I if you can hear me.”  He picked up the medallion of Windstream from the remains, then noticed a block shaped piece of bright metal showing from behind a rusted over piece of his father’s armor.  Pulling out the other two metal pieces gathered from the elf skeleton slain earlier, Corlyn fitted the three pieces together.  They snapped into place with a snug click and in his hands rested the sacred item of the quest King Tearis had sent him on, the Thex mallet.  Looking down at his father’s remains one last time, he said, “Koada’Vie, you gave your life keeping the Thex mallet out of the wrong hands.  As Commander of the Thex Guard, I, Corlyn Windstream acknowledge your faithful completion of your duty to the Thex crown, may you walk ever in the light of the Mother.”  As Corlyn turned and strode out of what was now called Befallen, the remains of his father dissolved into dust.