CISLUNAR DHASANT: THE CITY OF GARGOYLES

The History of Philip Ilzimmer II

Written by Pip's player, Jaime

The second child of Exalts Philip and Tiphanie Ilzimmer was born on the Eleventh day of Sunwane in the year Eight Hundred and Thirty. Startled by a thunderstorm Tiphanie went into labor fully three weeks before her expected time, and the tiny infant was not expected to survive more than a couple of days. The baby, unnamed for its first month of life, proved the midwives wrong and was named Philip II, after his father.

Young 'Pip' immediately became the sole focus of Tiphanie's life. An attractive infant, with his father's emerald eyes and his mother's strawberry blond hair, she entrusted none of his care to the servants and neglected both her eldest son Benjamin and her husband. During the day she would carry Pip with her at all times, even strapping him on her back to go riding on Melody, her prized mare. At night she would sing him to sleep with her lilting voice as her fingers danced along her silver harp, until finally she would curl up next to the sleeping infant herself and drift off.

Pip's brother Benjamin immediately resented the attention that the red-headed intruder to the household was getting. He misbehaved often to try to get his mother to notice him and was just as often punished for his misdeeds. Each indignity he suffered he blamed on "pipsqueak" and swore to himself that someday there would be a reckoning.

The elder Philip was not given much opportunity to interact with his son, and try as he might, he had very little success in getting Tiphanie to "stop fussing with the boy." When it became apparent that Pip's health was as stable as it would ever be, Philip insisted that the boy be moved to his own room and out of his quarters. Tiphanie reluctantly agreed, but the end result was that she would usually end up falling asleep next to the boy in his room instead.

In 834 Tiphanie became pregnant again and gave birth to a beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed girl that they named Vivien, after Philip I's mother. Although Tiphanie was forced to spend time with the newborn baby, she was careful not to ignore her precious Pip. Under his mother's tutelage the young Pip learned to play the harp, and together they would both play and sing for Viv. The troublesome Benjamin, on the other hand, was not allowed near the child and was left under the watchful eye of Beauregard, the family butler.

Benjamin's hatred for "Mother's darling Pipsqueak" grew as he did and whenever he could manage it, he was very cruel to the boy. He soon tired of receiving punishments for abusing his younger brother and became more and more devious in his methods. Early on, he convinced Pip that he was "cursed" and set up elaborate schemes to prove this to him.

Pip's "curse" was responsible for all manner of bad things that happened around him. Fresh milk would curdle, harp strings would break, and he was constantly losing items. Benjamin spent his spare time planning its various manifestations and told Pip that mentioning it to an adult would only make it worse. Pip had no reason to disbelieve Benjamin, for they generally got along fine. After all, Benjamin discovered that being nice to his brother placed him beyond suspicion and enabled him to find out just what would really effect his despised brother most.

What Benjamin learned, was that the two most important things to Pip were his mother and his sister. Pip's curse had taught him not to place too much value in objects, for they usually broke or disappeared, or in small pets, which either ran away or died. Only his mother and Viv never let him down. As Pip became older and learned to take the disappointments of the curse in stride, Benjamin came to realize that the only effective way to hurt his younger brother was through the two people whom Pip cared about most.

Tiphanie would take time out of every afternoon to instruct Pip and Viv in the musical arts. They could both sing and play instruments well, although it became obvious that Pip was more talented on the harp, and that Viv had a sweeter singing voice. After each lesson, and regardless of weather conditions, Tiphanie would excuse herself for an hour to go for solitary rides on Melody, while Viv was left in Pip's care. It was this situation that Benjamin latched on to reassert the strength of the curse on Pip's mind.
* * * * * * * * *

On the 10th of Stormbirth in the year 840, Tiphanie went for her daily ride as usual, despite the constant rain falling from the sky. Viv and Pip remained in the warm house practicing a new song with which they were going to surprise her when she returned. Pip excused himself to go to the privy and when he returned his sister was no longer in the room. He called out to her and began to walk through the house, but his words were drowned out by the crashing sound of thunder. What the adjoining lightning flash revealed was the back door in the process of opening the rest of the way. He panicked as he recalled the sound of his mother shutting the door completely, and raced to the doorway to see if he could spot the wayward Viv.

The next noisome strike of light revealed a recent set of small footprints in the mud. Without pausing to grab a rain cloak, Pip charged off into the downpour following what he believed to be were Viv's tracks. He cringed at the sound of the thunder, and the bright-blue glow of the lightning which he could see was getting closer all of the time. The trail led him to the middle of an open grazing field and then stopped entirely. The drenched boy screamed himself hoarse calling to his sister, but could not find her.

As Pip looked in vain for Viv, who was safely back in the house with Benjamin preparing a tray of hot tea and warm biscuits, Tiphanie rode back onto the estate, cutting her ride short to get out of the deadly storm. As she neared the stables, she was startled by a stroke of lightning crashing down on the far side of the nearby field. It was not, however, the resulting electricity which made her hair stand on end. That particular reaction was from seeing her darling Pip standing exposed in the middle of the field which the lightning had just struck.

Pip sighted his mother just as she turned her ebony mare, Melody, and kicked her into a gallop towards him. He called to her, but his voice was a mere whisper through the sound of the rain. He began to run through the mud to intercept her, but slipped and fell as he did so. Tiphanie got to her son just as he was getting to his feet, and as she reached down to him she screamed, "What are you doing out here?!" He took her hand to get on the horse as he explained frantically, "Viv is out here!" Tiphanie turned the horse to head back to the shelter of the stables, but before she could prod Melody forward, a bolt of fearsome white energy shot from the heavens and slammed down into the three of them. The tremendous force of the lightning threw Pip from the saddle and rendered him unconscious before he even struck the ground.

When Tiphanie had failed to return on time, Philip had become worried about her and went out to check with Harald, the groom to see if she had returned. Harald shook his head, and Philip ordered him to saddle Wildfire, his fastest horse. As Philip and the groom tightened the straps on the saddle of the sorrel stallion, a loud whinny from the open entrance caught the attention of them both. There, a wild-looking Melody reared on her hind legs and screamed in fear at them. As they charged out to see what was wrong, the mare took off towards the field where both Pip and Melody laid in the mud. Racing out to them, Philip took up his unmoving wife, and Harald the unconscious child, and the two hastily brought them back to the manor. Once there, it was painfully obvious that Tiphanie was beyond help, and that Pip would most likely never awaken.

Philip raced out on the already saddled Wildfire to find a healer for his youngest son. When they returned the boy was only tenuously clinging to life, and even Jonas Tellingham, the healer (actually a cleric of Caren), was doubtful as to whether he could effect a change in the child's status. Philip II, he diagnosed, was "suffering from a terrible fever and pneumonia from the exposure to the rain and cold, as well as other symptoms directly resulting from the shock of the electricity to his system." The fever he could treat, but the other problem was more mysterious. The same strike that had knocked Pip out, had also changed the color of his eyes from their previous emerald green to a shade of blue that was almost "electric." From this Jonas surmised that "even if young Pip does regain consciousness, it is unlikely that he will be able to see." Although unable to wake him up, the cleric was able to stabilize his condition, and keep him alive.
* * * * * * * * *

Pip remained comatose for over 6 months. During this time, he was cared for by the cleric Jonas, and by his sister Vivien who sang to him constantly as she sat on his bed. Jonas was troubled by Pip's condition. The boy was physically quite healthy but for some reason unknown to the cleric he remained unconscious. Praying secretly for guidance to his deity, Jonas learned of the psychic hole left in Pip by the sudden death of his mother. That event, which he had felt due to his nearness to her at the time, had torn a hole in his psyche as it tried to embrace her soul to keep it from departing this plane. Only by returning her soul to the Prime-Material plane, along with the piece of Pip's which accompanied it, would the child ever regain consciousness. This posed a particular challenge to the servant of Caren, who knew himself to be too inexperienced in the ways of his god to accomplish that difficult feat. Nonetheless, he knew it was not impossible, and set himself to the task.

First, Jonas had to consecrate Pip to Caren. This was not particularly difficult, as the boy had no religious ties whatsoever. Then, he had to find an acceptable container for Tiphanie's soul. To increase his chances of being successful, it had to be something or someone that she had been fairly close to while she was alive. After a little questioning of Viv, it was clear to Jonas that Melody, her horse, was her most prized possession. This was even more appropriate given their proximity at the time of the women's demise; that she had been killed on the mares back would just make the connection of their souls that much easier. Now with the ingredients that he needed, the only thing left for him to do, was to pray and to wait for the appropriate time.

The moment was to come on the last day of the month of Harvest, on the holiday known as Wraithwalk. On the evening of that day, when the spirits again walk the material plane, Jonas secretly carried Pip outside to the field where the ground was still marred by the lightning's strike. Then, he went to the stable and retrieved Melody, bringing her back to the spot as well. Placing the comatose boy on the horses back, Jonas performed the rite of Caren which would enable the animal to act as a receptacle for the spirit of Tiphanie when she reappeared at location of her death. As expected, Tiphanie's ghost returned to the land of the living at the same place as it had left it. As it did so, Jonas channelled the holy magic of Caren, and bonded the spirit of the woman to the soul of the horse.

The results of this act were immediately apparent. Pip's eerie blue eyes opened instantly, and stared at the head of the horse upon which he sat. The mare's eyes were the same shade of blue, and stared back at him longingly. Not wanting to interrupt this unusual reunion, Jonas led them back to the stable and then ran to the house to alert Philip that his son had returned to him. Philip bolted from the house to the stables, ignoring the superstitions of the evening, and was followed by every member of the household (including a few of the fascinated spirits of the dead). The sight that greeted them as they got to the stables, was that of a young smiling Pip holding onto the back of a black mare which was neighing quietly, as if in response to something the boy had said. Philip I embraced his namesake and carried him back to the house in his arms, as an embittered Benjamin watched the scene with barely-contained fury.
* * * * * * * * *

Jonas said his goodbyes and left the family, as Pip's strength slowly returned to him, and his health steadily improved. Although contrary to Jonas' expectations, Pip's sight did return, it was greatly weakened and he could no longer distinguish colors. When questioned about what he remembered from the evening in the rainstorm, Pip responded that he could not recall a thing. This was not really the case, as the boy could remember very clearly the mysterious circumstances leading up to his mother's death, and was determined to find out about them.

While recovering, Pip practiced his harp as Viv sang, until his former skill with the instrument returned. As soon as he was physically able, he had his father teach him how to ride Melody, an act made easier by the horse's uncanny cooperation with the lessons. Before he was again walking steadily, Pip had become a master horseman, an accomplishment which Philip I was extraordinarily proud of. What the elder Philip did not realize, was that Pip's abilities were mostly preternatural.

With regards to Melody, even the most difficult tricks of riding were a breeze. Pip, although he kept this fact to himself, was in constant telepathic communication with the horse. Tiphanie/Melody had become one, and the resulting amalgamation was that of an exceptionally intelligent animal with overwhelming maternal instincts for the boy. Although not cognitive of the reasons behind this, Pip "understood" that somehow his mother had come back through Melody to watch over him. His more general gift toward horses, was due to his intimate understanding of how their mind's worked. They naturally liked him, and he could calm them down when they were excited with only a few reassuring words. With only a little work, he became a peerless rider, outmatching even his older brother who had trained for hours every day for many years. Despite their origins, or because of his ignorance of them, Philip lauded the boy with much praise and the two of them became closer than they had ever been in the past.
* * * * * * * * *

As Pip matured, he learned more about the family business from his father, along with the intricacies of caring for, training and breeding the riding horses for which his branch of the Ilzimmer clan was known.

At his father's direction, Pip was also trained in the arts of individual combat. Philip I, an accomplished swordsman, trained his younger son to fence with the longsword, from on the ground as well as in the saddle. Although this did not come as easily to Pip as did riding, after many hours of strenuous work, the lad proved quite competent in being able to defend himself. As Benjamin was taller, stronger, and healthier than Pip, he delighted in assisting his brother with his training. He was always rough, and usually a better duelist, and Pip would always leave training bruised and battered. Although he resented these legitimate beatings, he refused to show his anger, and instead just resolved to become more and more skilled to protect himself.
* * * * * * * * *

As Pip grew older, so did the horse which housed his mother's spirit. Already an older horse when Tiphanie bonded with her, Melody realized that she would not be around forever to watch over Pip. Muting their connection, so as not to confuse the boy, she mated with Wildfire and became pregnant as a result.

When a distracted Melody went into labor, seven years to the day of Tiphanie's death, Tiphanie took over the psychic connection with her son, and called out to Pip. Pip came to assist with the birth, and as he did so, Tiphanie said goodbye to him. Recognizing his mother's voice inside his head he cried out to her, but as he delivered the colt, her voice grew fainter. "I will love you always," it called to him and finally, "This Talisman will bring you the luck you deserve."

Tears ran down his cheeks as the baby horse took its first few steps, and Pip realized that he could no longer hear anything from either Melody or his mother. Momentarily he recognized that there was a new voice in his head. An exuberant and childlike voice which was experiencing the joys of life for the first time. As Melody washed the newborn with her tongue, Pip examined the colt which shared his mind. It was black like its mother, and had a white mane and tail, but its most unusual features were its shocking-blue eyes, and the white mark on its head resembling a lightning-bolt. Looking back to Melody, Pip noted that her eyes had returned to their previous color. She was once again merely a horse.

Day by day, Pip's mental bond with the colt he named Talisman strengthened, and he spent most of his time training the animal. Although Pip mourned his mother's passing, the thoughts of his "brother" in his mind, kept him distracted from the grief. When Talisman finally became big enough for Pip to ride, he did so, and delighted in the speed with which the young stallion was capable of running. Combining the best qualities of his father's stock, Talisman moved like a stroke of lightning across the ground.
* * * * * * * * *

Recently, Pip's aunt and uncle from Cislunar Jibrant, Exalts Baroldan and Ketlavna Ilzimmer, visited their country family at their estate. Ketlavna was impressed by her Brother-in-Law's well-mannered children. She had feared that their upbringing so far from civilization would leave them little more than animals in clothing. Although she could not stomach Benjamin's smugly sycophantic behavior, she was charmed by Vivien's sweetness and beauty, and fascinated by the quiet, courteous young man with the red hair and beard, and the vibrant blue eyes behind the silver monocle. By the end of her visit, she had convinced Philip I to send his children with her to stay in Cislunar for a while. Benjamin, was not allowed to accompany them initially, as he was needed to help with the running of the estate, but Philip promised to send him along as soon as he could spare him.

Pip and Viv packed their meager belongings immediately, and mounted their horses for the long ride to Cislunar. Their popularity already insured, as they filled the journey with melodious music and helped make the ride fly by. Upon their arrival to the city they were escorted to Parkside 64, the Ilzimmer estate, and moved into rooms on the third floor. After a rest and a bath, Ketlavna escorted the eager youths along with their cousin Aurelie on a tour through the city, buying them new clothing to help them fit in more with the young and fashionable crowd. As they drifted off to sleep that first evening, their minds raced with the possibilities of life in the exciting city.