The Ordination of Nostradamus was the first of the organised Ordinations. The divine amethyst quest was joined by the sands of time quests - as described in HELP ORDINATION. This is the tale of Ordination IV.
The final four contenders were Blodwyn, the Seer, Eshkadeth, the Enchanter, Isildur, the Bard and Zollrender, the Thief. Zollrender competed first against Isildur for the sands of time. The contest was simple. Zollrender used this Thief abilities to clamber onto the rooftops of Thakria, laid the sands of time upon the ground and surrounded it with traps. Isildur did not yet have the skill to climb onto the rooftops and did not foresee this tactic - from the ground he wove songs of enchantment and many a time forced Zollrender to flee from the rooftops. Each time, though, the Thief was fast enough to return to guard the sands. With a few minutes to go, Zollrender was finally forced to flee the rooftops, with the sands in his hand. Isildur pursued him, but there was not enough time. Zollrender had defeated Isildur to progress to the amethyst quest.
In the second of the sands quests, Blodwyn faced Eshkadeth. Blodwyn had the advantage of a portable seeing stone, though Eshkadeth began with the sands. Eshkadeth danced up his rituals and prepared to defend himself, but Blodwyn was too quick. She had won the divine sapphire and moonstone, and used The Voice to wrest the sands from Eshkadeth. Once in possession of the sands, Blodwyn used her seeing stone to traverse across the land. Eshkadeth set off in hot pursuit for the remainder of the hour long quest, but could never come close to his prey. Blodwyn's speed and ability was too great.
The amethyst quest was the finest event of all. Blodwyn began with the amethyst, since she had the greater experience. With Blodwyn were the Sorcerers Rack, Sepultura and Kiall and the Guildmaster of the Astrologers, Vanion. With Zollrender was Snowlock, his fellow Thief, Xpor, of the Astrologers, the Knight Sturm, and the Enchanters Eshkadeth, Garet, Nalek and Tarakin. The first exchange was brief, and at the start of the quest. Blodwyn held the amethyst but Zollrender was too fast and he stole the gem from under her nose. Support from the large group of Mages ensured that death rained down upon the Sorcerers, and Zollrender entrusted the gem to Tarakin and Snowlock, who set off to defend it among the central villages.
For a time, Tarakin's rituals and Snowlock's guile kept the gem from the reach of the encroaching Sorcerers, but eventually, Blodwyn's skill with the seeing stone was enough to destroy the rituals and allow the Sorcerers in. Snowlock and Tarakin fled with the gem to Parrius, along the Highway, to set up another defence. During this time, Vanion was preparing a waxen image of Zollrender. When Snowlock and Tarakin returned to Parrius, they handed the amethyst to Zollrender. Vanion took his chance, descended from the skies and caressed the waxen image to force Zollrender to hand him the amethyst. Vanion took the gem and rose up to the heavens - but he had miscalculated. He had risen too high, and taken the amethyst above the skies. The gem slipped through his fingers, for it must be beneath them. Zollrender was first to find the fallen gem.
The remaining ninety minutes were spent with the Sorcerers occupying the Mages and Blodwyn gradually working her seeing stone closer to the amethyst. At the very end, the quest boiled down to Eshkadeth and Tarakin supporting Zollrender, in a last stand against Blodwyn, supported by the Sorcerer Rack and the Astrologer Vanion. With four minutes left, Blodwyn fell to the might of Eshkadeth, while Tarakin beside him held the amethyst safe. Upon the Ship of Death, Blodwyn saw defeat - Rack and Vanion were forced to flee. As she came off the ship, Blodwyn saw she had one more chance. She descended quickly upon Tarakin, who held the gem, and returned his hearing.
In the excitement, Tarakin made the fatal mistake of forgetting to restore his deafness, and Blodwyn, a few moments later, returned and used her Voice of Command to force Tarakin to give her the amethyst. Rack, on the other side of the land, used his Necromancy to bring Blodwyn to him. A minute later, Tarakin turned to hand the amethyst to Zollrender, so that he might carry it for the final two minutes to victory - and he realised the gem was gone. In horror, Zollrender flew up the rivers towards Thakria and Blodwyn, and, came to within a single location of her, poised to steal back the gem, when the time was over. Blodwyn had won by the skin of her teeth and thus was born Nostradamus, god of the stars.
