There is a battle being waged around us at this very moment.  This battle is for the souls of all humanity…, especially for those of this generation.  Those that are my age – and older – are mostly set in our ways.  We could be won or lost too, but those who are younger are shaping and molding their souls and very lives.

 Just when you think you have things figured out, you get popped!  Satan is lying in wait to take you out…, to take me out!  The battle rages on…

Mitchell excelled in the area of WordRunes.  He earned more maturity units during the game by reciting WordRunes than any other LightRaider!  Way to go, Mitchell!!!

Now before this day has ended, I must tell you of our heroes plight.  As I wrapped up the last post, I left you hanging with our friends being beared down upon by a 7 foot cave troll.  As he charged, he swung a large battle axe above his head.  But how did our friends respond?  Well, let me tell you…

Our six friends had to roll for a courage challenge before attacking the troll.  Three of our friends succeed and let loose with a barrage of arrows.  Rhys, Xandoni and Valcalor all attacked from the start and hit the troll.

Galahad was so scared that he ran with the two girls they were rescuing into the bushes along the edge of the cliff.

Ahimaaz and Axel were so stunned that they frooze in the boots.  They did not run, but they did not fight.

Meanwhile the cave troll was getting closer and the Rhys, Xandoni and Valcalor let fly another volley of bolts from their bows.  Several arrows hit the troll.  It did not slow him down; it just made him more angry.

Galahad, Axel and Ahimaaz re-rolled for their courage check.  Lo and behold, Galahad passed the check.  He and he alone joined the others in the fight.  He aimed his crossbow from his place in the bushes and let an arrow fly along with the rest.  Again they struck the troll.  But again it did not seem to phase him.

Finally after to more volley of arrows, Axel and Ahimaaz summoned the courage to join in the fight.  Up till now they had kept the troll at bay, while no one took an injury from it.  Finally the troll staggered after being hit with five more projectiles.  As he fell to the ground Ahimaaz jumped onto the lying body and landed the fatal blow on the cave troll’s neck.

The troll was dead!  But would any other creatures rush in to find our heroes?  Is this the end of this adventure as they escape back down the cliff?  Or would this be the beginning of our friends?  Only time will tell.  The game session ended on that note.

We will live again to fight another day!  God’s speed my LightRaider friends!

In the first mission of this band of LightRaiders, the OverLord sent them into the Heinous Heights in the Western Peaks not far from the Highland Forests.  There is a woman who is held in chains, living in bondage to a dragon.  The OLMN wants the LightRaiders to rescue her from this castle.

The heroes leave together, passing through a hollow tree in the passage lake called Mount Challenge Lake.  As they passed through the Dragon Lands, they watched as a giant bird passed over head.  They travelled through the woods and into a clearing at the base of some cliffs.  A lake lay before them.  It was fed by a river that flowed over the cliffs, leaving the surrounding area covered in a light mist.  Ahimaaz, inspired by the mist, decided to quote the Truth Mist WordRune.  In the mist of the WordRune, he saw a large spider lowering itself from the ceiling.

On the other side of the lake there was a path leading up to the top.  The adventurers made their way around the lake and up the cliff path.  As they reached the top of the cliff, they were met with a most unwelcomed suprise!  A cave troll on patrol.

Well, after a quick check on a door in the castle wall – it was locked!  go figure – they found a gate around the corner.  After Axel reading the Gate Opening WordRune, the party walked into the gateyard.  Our heroes were having some trouble working together without fighting or making a lot of noise.  After the gate closed on its own, they turned back around to head into the castle and found one lone goblin facing them with two one-handed crossbows aimed at them.

Without much said, the goblin fired on Xandoni and Rhys.   It took a while, but they destroyed the goblin and made their way into the castle.  They made their way up an interior stone stairwell.  On the 45th step, they found a coridor which they followed for a short while, after successfully using a vision check and listening check.

As they walked down the corridor, they heard some noise coming from behind a door.  While they tried to hide, a young slave girl walked out of the door and saw three of our adventurers.  Instinctively, the heroes calmed the girl’s fears and started to share the news of the Great Rescue with her.  Xandoni the Possibility WordRune to see what could be in this young girl’s future.  In the looking glass, they saw not a little girl, but a young lady dressed in leather armor wielding a great lance riding a giant eagle.  Well, after a conversation that lasted for what seemed like hours, this little slave girl bowed her head and accepted the OLMN as her redeemer.

The adventurers realized that there was someone else in the room that the slave girl just entered from.  As they looked in, they saw a very large woman sitting by a table filled with all kinds of food.  She was struggling to move and breathe.  Galahd read the Possiblity WordRune to use with this woman.  They realized that she needed to be rescued and that she was in bondage to food through a sin enchantment from the dragons.  After some heavy conversation, they convinced her to come with them.

But just as they started to leave the room and head for the stairwell, an alarm sounded somewhere deep in the castle.  They had been found out.  They ran down the stairwell because there were voices and footsteps from above.  They reached the bottom of the stairs and ran across the openning to the gate.  After getting through the gate, they dashed around the corner and head-first into a giant cave troll running at them, swinging a battle axe overhead.

What would happen to our friends…?

The night started out with the Adventure Master in deep despair.  Not a good sign, but if anyone could rescue the someone from the depths of a depressing mood, it was this group of adventurers.  Most of the first hour was consumed with noise, chaos, finishing up one adventurer’s character and reviewing WordRunes that might be needed in this first mission for the OverLord of Many Names.

You might want to know who these adventurers are?  Okay, let me introduce you to them…

We have Xandoni, the son of Xanxadon, a human, leading this fresh group of newbies.  Xandoni is a new LightRaider himself.  He has proven to be a soft-spoken, clear-minded person in the face of danger.  He is alble to remain calm and filled with the OLMN’s peace regardless of the circumstances.  And that is good, considering they are invading a dragon’s castle for their first mission.  You also might want to be wary of his long bow.  He has shown great promise to place the point of an arrow inside the nostril of a goblin at 100 yards, if need be.

Next is another human named Valcalor.  Val has a deep love for the OLMN and for those around him.  He has a deep hatred for all things evil and will stop at nothing to destroy it.

The next adventurer is a loud, rambuncous gnome named Galahad.  We could only hope that he has the integrity of King Arthur’s Galahad.  Time will tell, but when you deal with a gnome, you don’t hold your breath.  As most gnomes, he does not possess a great deal of courage, but when you are an excellent marksmen with a crossbow, who needs to stand toe to toe with a giant cave troll?

The lone dwarf in the group is Rhys.  He is a cranky, stubborn one.  But between his hatred of evil and his growing love for the OLMN, know that when it counts you can count on this dwarf to stand by your side to the very end.  Just don’t tell him that he is short…

Axel is being taught the ways of a Renewer.  When she reaches the end of her training, she will be able to exercise her gifts and abilities in the art of healing.  And from the looks of this group, they will need a lot of healing.  But do not under-estimate her.  When she grabs her sling and rocks, you could be hit with a barrage of pain.  Her zeal for righteousness will be one of the best defenses she could have when dealing with the evils of the dragons.  It is apparent to only a few that there lies a shadow beneath this one.  She carries with her something from her past, something that she does not even know about.  Could that be something to unlock secrets of the ancient past?

Despite the history that exists between the races, an elf does travel in this band of heroes.  Ahimaaz is a light elf that has spent most of his time in the Dragon Lands of Talania.  Only recently has he come to believe in the OLMN and follow the ways of the LightRaider.  Despite his loud and chaotic nature (which is extremely unique for an elf), there lies a deep belief and facination for the OLMN.  He has shown great depth in the ways of the Knight of the Way.  We will see if he rises to the occassion or if his lack of focus leads him into mischief.

Follow us as these LightRaiders follow the calling of the OverLord of Many Names, as they seek to bring aid and mercy to those oppressed by the dragons and dark creatures, rescue lost ones caught as slaves to the dragons and bring destruction down on the hordes of evil that reign in the lands of Talania and across the planet of EdenAgain.

It’s almost midnight.  We survived our first game session with a lot of excitement.  I will recap some cool things that happened tomorrow.  Too tired to get into it tonight!  Way to go, Mitchell!  Reciting at least 3 WordRunes and reading two or three others…

Our new DR play group will have their first real game session tomorrow night (Friday, Feb. 1).  We will be missing one of our players, but unfortunately, not everyone gets into the first session, I guess.

Wish us god’s speed!

One other thing happened on Monday at Agape Center.  I got talking to one of the Way sisters, Melissa I think, and her friend Erin.  Both are wonderful artists (9th graders) and have a great interest and knowledge of fantasy/sci-fil writing, movies and art.  I talked with both of them about doing some drawing for weapons, characters and such for DR.  We will have fun seeing what we can create together…

It’s close to midnight on Monday.  I’m sitting here trying to get used to using WordPress – by the way, thanks guys for a free weblog!  The Agape Center was open today for our senior high students.  I am coming to grips with how much I love these kids.  I am getting to know them better with each week.  And I am seeing how much pain they carry.

There are some kids that come from broken and painful homes.  There are a couple of them that show the signs of depression and loneliness.  And it breaks my heart.

I am listening to Skillet (Comatose) on my new Ipod… these guys do an incredible job of showing how kids are struggling and what it is like to be in their world.  God give me the strength to love them and be here for them – the way they need it.

A new adventure joined us today.  Our church operates a youth center two days a week after school for kids.  Today (our sr. high day), one of the guys came up to me really excited about playing DR.  He asked if he could join…, well we rolled up a character for him, gave him a LightRaider handbook (don’t leave home without it).  And we will send him off with the others when they go through their first adventure.