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fygi -> (AQW) The Coming of Chaos (8/22/2011 11:42:55)
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*You pick up the book in front of you. There is a sentence carved into the front cover of the book in the ancient Chancery script.
"A mind of suffering, without hope, is man's natural state and greatest virtue. "
A shiver runs down your spine as you read the sentence out loud. Your hand trembles as you open the book, while a voice in the back of your head urges you not to continue.
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To the forces of Good:
To ye who have opened the pages of this book. Turn back now if you are of feeble mind. Turn back now if you have not shown years of allegiance to the King. Turn back now if you are not Good of heart.
The following letters and diary entries were recovered by the Royal Inquisition after what occurred at the Uplishtiske Plateau.
May hope fill your soul as you read, may your mind be wise and your heart at peace. Beware for the following words alone are strong enough to chaorrupt your soul for eternity.
Long live the King!
To the forces of Evil:
To ye who have opened the pages of this book. Turn back now if you are of feeble mind. Turn back now if you have not shown years of allegiance to the ShadowScythe. Turn back now if you are not Evil to the core.
The following letters and diary entries were recovered by the Royal Inquisition after what occurred at the Uplishtiske Plateau. These pages have been granted to the ShadowScythe as part of the truce.
May hope fill your soul as you read, may your mind be subservient to your masters and your heart filled with dreams of domination. Beware for the following words alone are strong enough to chaorrupt your soul for eternity.
Long un-live the ShadowScythe!
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Royal Mail Services
Uplishtiske Plateau
House of N'gile
Dear Father,
I am sorry for not writing to you in the language of our ancestors. By royal decree we have been asked to write only in the kingdom's official language, this way traitors will not pass on secrets of the war in their native tongue. I am sure cousin Nyokos will read this letter to you and aid you in writing a reply.
The war has been going great. We defeated a third undead army only two days ago. We will soon march on into the lands surrounding Doomwood. How wonderful it is to free a town, and to see pretty girls run from their houses and adorn our armor with flowers they picked. The people here are so grateful for our sacrifice. Joining the King’s army was the best choice I could have made.
Some of my battle brothers have fallen, but they will live on in our memories. My brothers in arms and I will bring the fallen soldiers' last letters and personal belongings to their widows and grieving mothers. They died a hero’s death and the memories of them will only make us stronger.
How is the family? Is Kita still doing good in school? Has mama finished her tapestry? Please tell Delct I am looking forward to go hunting with him when I return to town on leave. Greet magi Tetact for me when you pass him in the street. When my apple trees begin to blossom, please bring some of its flowers to the temple and ask the Village Mother to look over me.
Long live the King!
Your beloved son, Tathos.
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Diary of Tathos N’gile – Man at Arms – King Alteon’s 4th Infantry Division
Day 465 since recruitment
They did it again. They made us write letters to our home town. It was for the sake of royal security they said. Lies, all of them. Is it our duty to make our family ignorant of the dangers that are pouring into the Kingdom?
We retreated yet again today. The third undead army lay waste to many of our battalions. Hundred of soldier lost their lives. Our commander said they did not die in vein and that their deaths will protect all that is Good. The Commander wouldn't even be able to name any of the young men who died. The man who died in my arms during the battle made me promise I would bring a letter back to his wife. I swore I would do it for him. But I only know him as Vanis. I do not know where he’s from, and I cant find his name anywhere on the lists of soldiers. I cant even find my own name. I don't even want to imagine what will become of me when I die on these grounds. Without name I will be forgotten. Lay to rest in an anonymous grave if I’m lucky. My body feasted on by undead hounds if I’m not. The war between Good and Evil is endless, no matter what our Commanders tell us. As long as this war continues all that we do will be meaningless. There has to be a way out.
Long live the King!
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Diary of Tathos N’gile – Man at Arms – King Alteon’s 4th Infantry Division
Day 470 since recruitment
It has been five days since I last wrote. Some of the soldiers in our regiment have been feeling sick. Boils or blisters started growing on their face. I suspect a plague is at its early stages. I have not shown any symptoms yet so I was moved to another regiment in a camp a bit further north in the valley. We’re in the same dire situation here. But many soldiers here have fled the frontline. The one’s remaining are too vigilant. I cant let them know I am writing things that may be seen as treason. But it is not treason! The King will forever be my leader. It is my Commanders and the war it self that are to blame for all the destruction!
Long live the King!
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Diary of Tathos N’gile – Man at Arms – King Alteon’s 4th Infantry Division
Day 471 since recruitment
Were stuck in the valley now. There is an undead army to the west and a village to the east. The Commander proudly proclaimed that we must stand between the village and the undead so we can protect the villagers. But I suspect he does not want to return to the village as a failure, with undead on his tail. Were stuck. The Commander has started emergency rationing. He seems to afraid to ask the village for food. In the name of all that is Good I’m sure.
I have been called for duty in the field hospital tomorrow. I do not know what to expect.
Long live the King!
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Diary of Tathos N’gile – Man at Arms – King Alteon’s 4th Infantry Division
Day 472 since recruitment
It seems this regiment was hit even harder during the last attack. The field hospital simply is not big enough to care for all the wounded. Blood and spilled potions crust the floors and walls. Soldiers are groaning and calling out to their King and the Pagan Idols of their home towns. Clerics walk around spreading false hope. Saying that everything will be alright, whilst at the end of the hall yet another soldier stops breathing.
How can these healers let the men suffer. On the battlefield they claim that death brings honor and furthers the cause of Good. But in the hospitals everything is done to save their lives. They do not see the irrationality in what they say, they believe that there is a logic behind their words.
A dying soldier is the embodiment of the Kingdom. Just like its soldiers the Kingdom is dying. The war with Evil has taken its toll. The kingdom is like a Tog I once found when I was a boy. The tog was stuck in a trap, slowly sinking into its death. It was suffering much like the soldiers I see in front of me every day now. Much like the dying Kingdom. I drove my dagger into the Tog’s heart and saw its eyes calmly close. I released it from his battle between life and death. I gave it the freedom it sought.
Long live the King!
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Diary of Tathos N’gile – Man at Arms – King Alteon’s 4th Infantry Division
Day 473 since recruitment
The King claims we will be free one day. Free from Evil, free to live the lives we want. All freedom means is to be caught in this war. All it means is continuos worry over whether you will live to see freedom or not. All freedom is, is slavery to the war, slavery to Good and Evil. Slavery to the King.
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Diary of Tathos N’gile – Man at Arms – King Alteon’s 4th Infantry Division
Day 474 since recruitment
I overheard a man discussing his suffering today. He was wounded at the last battle, an arrow hit his leg. An infection took over his limb and he has been screaming in agony for days. The healers managed to get him some kind of pain reducing potion today and for the first time in days the screaming stopped. I passed his bed today when I was sent to clean the floors of the field hospital and he spoke to me. He asked me if I knew how long the potion would last. I answered that I did not know. He told me the suffering was unbearable, and that the only thing that kept him alive was his hope to see his family again and the hope that one day the war would be over and all would be free. An hour later the potion's effect wore off and the screaming began again.
How can this man, who knows suffering all too well, still hope. Does he not see that hope brings him nothing. Hope is nothing, only suffering is real. Hope merely makes the suffering unbearable and ones destiny uncertain. Without hope suffering is only physical pain, a certain pain without psychological relief, a natural pain. All who hope are enslaved, all who are at peace with reality and its suffering are free.
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Diary of Tathos N’gile – Man at Arms – King Alteon’s 4th Infantry Division
Day 475 since recruitment
Is freedom from all that is unreal not what we strive to achieve? We aim to be free from our nations, as borders do not really exist. We aim to be free from our kings, as their blood is just as red as ours. But we should also aim to be free from hope, and commit ourselves only to reality, however dreary it may be.
I must be proud of my ability to see this truth. I know now my purpose is to show others the true way, the way of reality. The way of man. And all that will not comply I must relieve from their hope as by hoping they are committing a crime against reality, the greatest crime known to man, the murder of the self.
The screaming in the infirmary continues.
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