Lap-Aki (Stone Hawk)
It was all wrong, everything that had been written down, everything that had been whispered about or sung by the bards. Gar were alive. They were real. And they were not made from stone or marble.
But it all served the Gar well for most to believe that they were nothing more than frightful decorations on the spouts of grand cathedrals or 'the scarecrow of the cemeteries', as some had dubbed them. There was less bother and none came seeking them out.
They were, without any doubt, ugly by Elven and Human standards. Most male and female Gar were six feet of height or taller. Some were winged while others were not. All were of some varying, mottled shades of stone though they were very much flesh and bone. Even a few rare bloodlines had manes of long dark hair.
The Gar were known to exist on many planes in many worlds. Even in Rh'd"n (RhyDin/Rhy'Din) there were a hundred or more over the ages known to live in its many lands and realms. This made for a sparse number in the city of cities of Rh'd"n, at its great and pulsing heart. It was called axi-des-ter (the valley), where all kinds and sorts 'pooled' into an area. It was not always a pleasant term used by the Gar but it was as adequate a translation as one could make from the codex to common tongue.
It was a place that could reach other planes, realms, and worlds by way of the Lap-ap"r-ter (Stone Gate), but Garlthuin never cared to make use of that gateway. It was a sort of crossroads, a hub to others that he had not ventured through, except for one time.
Within the axi-des-ter stood an old, stout, stone building many stories high that was called in their tonge: Lap-Aki (Stone Hawk). It was home and sanctuary to all Gar there, no matter wing-fell purpose in life.
It was there Garlthuin waited in the ante chamber of The Risen. He had been there for hours but he was patient. He was only a Lap'"gra-lem (Stone Guardian), holding no higher rank than that. Pristine white walls in the chamber were a shocking contrast to any other part of the sanctuary, or any other place in Rh'd?n for that matter. He looked filthy, dirty and dark with its pale walls of white marble behind his seven-foot-plus frame.
The black and blood-red leather mantle was worn about his neck and shoulders with a zen-teg-sku (leather-cover) about his waist and covered the loin. There was no hair on his head, nor ornamentation on him other than the dragon-bone sword of magic-blessed steel in a thick, sturdy leather baldric at his side and the tri-skor that wrapped harshly in his flesh from his right elbow down around his forearm to his wrist.
There were two long, robust and heavy benches lining the far well, set flush to the wall directly beneath impressively high windows on this highest of levels within the Lap-Aki. He had been there long enough to see the night turn into day. Occasionally, some creature or Gar fly past the panes of lead-glass that lacked any color. They were the focus of his attention when he heard the heavy, nine-foot door open on hinges that protested on its grand weight.
It was all wrong, everything that had been written down, everything that had been whispered about or sung by the bards. Gar were alive. They were real. And they were not made from stone or marble.
But it all served the Gar well for most to believe that they were nothing more than frightful decorations on the spouts of grand cathedrals or 'the scarecrow of the cemeteries', as some had dubbed them. There was less bother and none came seeking them out.
They were, without any doubt, ugly by Elven and Human standards. Most male and female Gar were six feet of height or taller. Some were winged while others were not. All were of some varying, mottled shades of stone though they were very much flesh and bone. Even a few rare bloodlines had manes of long dark hair.
The Gar were known to exist on many planes in many worlds. Even in Rh'd"n (RhyDin/Rhy'Din) there were a hundred or more over the ages known to live in its many lands and realms. This made for a sparse number in the city of cities of Rh'd"n, at its great and pulsing heart. It was called axi-des-ter (the valley), where all kinds and sorts 'pooled' into an area. It was not always a pleasant term used by the Gar but it was as adequate a translation as one could make from the codex to common tongue.
It was a place that could reach other planes, realms, and worlds by way of the Lap-ap"r-ter (Stone Gate), but Garlthuin never cared to make use of that gateway. It was a sort of crossroads, a hub to others that he had not ventured through, except for one time.
Within the axi-des-ter stood an old, stout, stone building many stories high that was called in their tonge: Lap-Aki (Stone Hawk). It was home and sanctuary to all Gar there, no matter wing-fell purpose in life.
It was there Garlthuin waited in the ante chamber of The Risen. He had been there for hours but he was patient. He was only a Lap'"gra-lem (Stone Guardian), holding no higher rank than that. Pristine white walls in the chamber were a shocking contrast to any other part of the sanctuary, or any other place in Rh'd?n for that matter. He looked filthy, dirty and dark with its pale walls of white marble behind his seven-foot-plus frame.
The black and blood-red leather mantle was worn about his neck and shoulders with a zen-teg-sku (leather-cover) about his waist and covered the loin. There was no hair on his head, nor ornamentation on him other than the dragon-bone sword of magic-blessed steel in a thick, sturdy leather baldric at his side and the tri-skor that wrapped harshly in his flesh from his right elbow down around his forearm to his wrist.
There were two long, robust and heavy benches lining the far well, set flush to the wall directly beneath impressively high windows on this highest of levels within the Lap-Aki. He had been there long enough to see the night turn into day. Occasionally, some creature or Gar fly past the panes of lead-glass that lacked any color. They were the focus of his attention when he heard the heavy, nine-foot door open on hinges that protested on its grand weight.