Uskius
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I love getting presents. A new sword, chocolate, knives, a sword, or a book; any kind will do. So when I get a chance to deliver presents, I make sure to do what I can to make someone else's day. This is how I've come to be on the back of a reigndragon, flying all over Lore and handing off gifts.
After visiting SSJ Overlord's money pit, I'm off to Golden Emperor's eremoschk. It's a long flight, several miles away over the hills. I relax and zone out, feeling the wind rush through my hair. The blank white landscape is a little surreal so high up, it almost feels like I'm flying above the clouds. Only the trees dotting the ground break the illusion. The hours pass by like a dream and I have to shake my head and refocus to make sure I'm seeing the buildings below. The barracks are in orderly rows, and looking around the neck of my reigndragon mount an eremoschk appears.
"That's the place, Rudolph! I say, pointing. "Take me down there." Rudolph(that's what I call all reigndragons I ride) gently spirals down and the snow swirls up as we land. I unpack Golden Emperor's gift, a large box wrapped in pretty purple paper, and begin to dismount when someone calls out.
"Helooooooo there! Wait up for me!" Coming around the the corner is an old woman, her gray hair in an updo, and she wore a simple light blue dress. "Who are you taking that there present to?"
"Oh, uh, to Golden Emperor, ma'am."
"Well I think that box happens to look an awful lot like the one I wrapped for my grand-nephew."
"And would he happen to be Golden Emperor?"
"No, his name is William. Could you please be so kind as to hand it over to me?" I glance down at the box, and don't see the name William anywhere on the address tag. The granny adjusted her thick glasses as I looked back, and cleared her throat.
I sigh and mumble, "Take me up to the door, Rudolph..." She does, but without warning the granny jumped in front of her! "Are you alright?" I ask, but the woman's already getting up.
"Now, I am not moving out of the way until you hand me that gift!" Granny bangs her cane on the ground and a dark pulse goes out, washing over me and making me feel twice as bad about running into her. "Do you feel like handing me that gift now?"
"Well, no. You're a sweet old lady but this gift is clearly addressed to Golden Emperor. Um, Rudolph, just nudge her out of the way..." Rudolph moves forward, but instead of nudging the granny she swings her head and send the old woman flying several feet!
"I'm sorry I'm so sorry!" I say, apologizing over and over. "Rudolph, I told you to just nudge her out of the way!" The granny is standing up again, and stomps down on the ground with her cane. Another dark pulse comes out, and it seems to really irritate Rudolph.
"Pretty please, won't you had me that gi-" Before she can finish whatever she was saying, Rudolph decides she's had enough and breathes a strong column of flame at her. In the back of my mind I hear something approach as I stare open-mouthed at Rudolph. How could this reigndragon hurt such a sweet, lovely, and dear old lady? And then it happens. After granny's put out her flaming clothing, she gets run over by a reigndeer! Impossibly she bounces right back up, shaking her fists in anger. "Just you wait, I'll be back next year!"
Like many events on Lore, I'm not completely sure that what I just saw really happened. But I gotta say, I've gotten pretty good at just shrugging it off and moving forwards. That's just what I do, hopping off Rudolph and walking up to the door. I knock, and after a few moments it opens, revealing a surprised and slightly tired looking Golden Emperor. "Merry Frostval, G.E.!"
"Oh! Didn't think the presents would get here this year."
"It certainly took a while, there were more gifts than ever this year. And that war with Frigidere definitely didn't help either."
G.E. smirks and chuckles. "Ah. Well, thanks for delivering this."
"Anytime. You rest up, I have a feeling we'll be needing you on the front lines soon."
"Rest I will; in fact, I'm already doing much better." He nods. "Merry Frostval to you too!" I smile and wave as I turn to leave, then mount Rudolph and get on my way.
~oOo~
Back at home, I'm sitting on my bed thinking of all the gift boxes I got at the Guardian Tower and all the ones I delivered. This year, I was certain that Frostval had been ruined. After the long war where the antartic-lich Frigidere had diverted and distracted and dodged our attempts at catching him, we'd finally caught up with him. Fittingly, it had been in front of the necromancer fortress, on Deren.
First, we'd had to deal with Drakath. The undead dragon(man... dragon) put up a stiff fight, his eldritch powers brought a sort of nightfall on the battlefield that he disappeared into and struck at random from. To me it had been a living nightmare to battle him, but with the ancient sword Caliburn and a determined effort my fellow Guardians and I got the job done. Then, there was Frigidere himself. Zorbak had actually offered to weaken the lich's magic, but I deferred and took on Frigidere full force. It made the battle with Drakath seem like a daydream of skipping through a sunlit meadow. It was torturously slow and terrifying, and it was all I could do to just stand upright. I stood crying and helpless as shadowy skulls assaulted me and frozen undead slashed and bashed me. After what felt like an eternity, I finally found the courage to fight back. I raged forwards and swung Caliburn like mad, slashing Frigidere in a frenzy. Again, it was a team effort that got the job done. Mighty spells of light burst against him, and others rushed in for a stab or slice. I saw Frigidere strike others with the cold embrace of fear, and it was this that drove me on even though I myself was still scared.
After a last confrontation where Diviara came down and used The Cold to liberate Drakath from Frigidere's control, the defeated antartic-lich dispersed in an overly flashy burst of ice blue energy. My breath came ragged, my throat raw from fighting in the chill. Then, on the ground, I saw the book. No one else seemed to have noticed it, so I walked over and picked it up. A chill of a premonition went up my spine as I did so, and I read the title on the black leather cover: The Dark Waltz.
I put a log in my fireplace, and grab The Dark Waltz and sit down on my bed. With some trepidation I decide to take a look in, opening it to a random page. The last stanza of an incantation catches my eye:
Raised again, by light forsaken
In my thrall, in darkness taken
As I will
So mote it be.
Shaking my head, I close the book. Innately I know it is dangerous for me to have, and even deeper I know I won't give it up. Like I have trained my self to do so well I push it to the back of my mind, and then I try to enjoy the Frostval I fought so hard to save.
< Message edited by Uskius -- 1/7/2013 3:14:50 >
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