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Windhammer, Copyright Wayne Densley 2008 All Rights Reserved
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521
 Quickly you move onto the bridge but pause as something long forgotten floods back into your memory. Quickly you take the small piece of stonewood from your pocket and hold it before you. With the proximity of the Shan'duil it burns like a blue fire, reacting to the vast power beneath you, but it is a power constrained as if it is waiting for you to command it into action. It is an invitation that you will not refuse.
With the shard in your hand you utter the only word that you think may help you. Across its smooth surface you whisper the one word that can help you - theoduris - and as it is lost to the thundering melee of the cavern you watch as the stonewood comes to life.
In a blinding flash of pure white light the stonewood shard erupts, pouring forth a growing sphere of clear energy that envelopes you, muffling the relentless thunder of the Shan'duil and shielding your life essence from the touch of the River. For a moment you pause, watching the enormous power of the River of Life wash against the sphere, only the vibration in the stone beneath your feet a reminder to the power that moves about you. With the shard in hand you take a deep breath and advance further onto the bridge.
Within the protection of the spherical shield you move quickly across the span of the bridge. It stands more than two hundred metres in length and rests on its foundations as a single arch of stone, impossibly thin for its reach but solid underfoot nonetheless. In the glaring illumination of the Shan'duil the entire cavern is brought into view as you run, and in that blazing light you begin to see things that were not at first apparent.
For a moment you stop at the mid-point of the span and look down into the River of Life. Through the curious filter provided by your sphere of protection the Shan'duil is clearer and within its surging flow you begin to see other lights and apparitions moving with its ebb and rush. You cannot say what these forms are but they exist in great multitudes, following the main wash of the River and all its tributaries as they run from the cavern. It is a spectacle that keeps you enthralled, but as you stand within the safety of the sphere other apparitions also come into focus and with these you cannot remain a spectator.
On the bridge before you a dark shape materialises, one of a vast flowing melee of spectral shapes that now fill the air. You are sure that it is the magic of the sphere that has brought them into view but the gangled form that now stands before you can see you as well, and as you turn to face it you know that it is not there for your benefit.
Standing roughly man-sized it is a grotesque apparition of a Hresh, somehow existing both within the real world and beyond it. Flowing and moving in a shimmering dance of vapours and shadows it advances upon you, taking what life energy it has from the closeness of the Shan'duil. In one hand it holds a very real scimitar and it means to do you harm.
This Dreyadim exists in the real world only because of the proximity of the River of Life. It is one of the many Hordim who have failed the test that would have allowed them entry into Hallen'draal and with their dishonour have been given over to the service of the Dreya Tree. This apparition has no mind of its own but it will follow all the instincts of its kind, and unlike its living counterpart has only a tenuous hold on its semi-corporeal form. Caught upon the bridge you cannot avoid conflict with this spectral being.
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The Dreyadim Hresh has a combat value of 16 but no endurance. Combat with such a phantom will continue only until you win a combat round that strikes a full four point hit against the Hresh. At that time the combat is over, the Dreyadim dissolving back to its rightful place in the Underworld. If you are successful with this combat turn to section 530. If it is the Hresh who is victorious turn to section 596.
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This book, and its associated books and other documents in the Chronicles of Arborell series are the intellectual property of the author, Wayne F Densley, and all rights are reserved by him. Windhammer is best viewed at 1024 x 768 resolution. Any questions regarding the Chronicles of Arborell can be answered by emailing the author at densleyw@shoal.net.au
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Windhammer, Copyright Wayne Densley 2001 - 2007 All Rights Reserved
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