=DF= In the Beginning... (Full Version)

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Eukara Vox -> =DF= In the Beginning... (9/22/2011 10:55:07)

Welcome! Welcome to one of the Creative Corners of AE Forums. Have a need to write something? Need to explain to the world who, what, where, why and how your DF character came to be? Well, look no further. If you have a beginning to tell, we have a place for you.

A couple of rules to make this easiest to read.

1) One post per person. If you need to post small bits at a time, please just edit your post to continue it. Do not make a new post to add to your story. New major events in DF will receive a new thread.

2) Please do not comment on the stories in this thread. If you want to comment on the stories, please go here: =DF= In the Beginning Commentary

3) If you choose to suppliment your story with pics, they must follow these guidelines: 400x400 MAX, 100KB MAX, no more then 4 per story.


Have fun and please...PLEASE remember the rules in both the AE forums and my own L&L rules.




Stephen Nix -> RE: =DF= In the Beginning... (9/23/2011 14:07:10)


When Stephen Nix was born their were 12 baby penguins in the family, he had 6 sisters and 5 brothers. When they reached the age of 3 their parents told the baby penguins that they have a choice on how to live their lives. They could either take the route of going to explore the world or stay with mom and dad and grow up together. Nix choose the explore route, to this day he doesn't know why he did, perhaps it was because he felt distant from his family as not everyone appreciated Stephen. So Nix decided to face the world head on, when Nix came to a dark forest he went in head first to see where it would lead him and inside the forest, he found an old penguin reading a black book. He waddled up to the old penguin because he was curious and asked him what he was reading, and the penguin said "I am working on my Black Pedia." Stephen continued to ask questions because he wanted to learn more about this book, and the penguin told Nix to read a few spells off one by one. As he completed each spell new creatures appeared before them by the use of those spells. Stephen was definitely in love with this book!

As several months went past, Stephen started casting out bigger and more complex spells and thanks to the help of this old penguin Nix was ready to continue his journey, but before he left the old penguin said, "Before you go I want you to have this! He gave the encyclopedia to Nix. There is an old friend of mine named Linus, I want you to meet him. He lives in the high north," He pointed, "That way! Once you get there he will help you on the rest of your journey." He thanked the old penguin and continued North.

Along his path he continued to read spells off one by one and once he was finished he wanted to check out the Owner Spell. Stephen read the spell and realizes that it would make him a very powerful spell castor and that was all that he needed to see so he immediately started the chant, he got half way and thought, "Hmmm this doesn't seem right the ending was a little off from the rest of it. Hmmm." But it didn't matter to Stephen as he continued to read it, and once he finished the spell activated and changed Stephen FOREVER!

He started to change as half of his body turned inside out! He didn't know what to do as he checked that page again to find out the bottom of the spell was infact TORN OFF! He shouldn't have read the bottom part as he soon realized it was part of a spell to make yourself into an UNDEAD AND ITS IRREVERSIBLE! Even though Stephen was dissapointed in himself he still continued on his way to meeting Linus. Now, when Stephen casts spells, they have an undead affect to them.

He eventually waddled off to the highlands of the North and found a penguin named Linus, and asked him "Why he was like this." and was told that "There is no way you can change the way you look and that you need to move forward." Stephen had no choice but to agree to move on with his new looks! Nix showed Linus the pedia book the old penguin gave him and he was stunned to know that Stephen had obtained it! But he knew this day would eventually come and that he would need to help Nix with learning all the different types of spells in that encyclopedia, as there were combat spells, healing spells and much more than Stephen never noticed before.

A few months later Linus eventually asked Nix about trying his way back to his village. He did want to see his family again but didn't know if they would like the new looks on Stephen Nix.

Unfortunately upon his arrival Nix was well noticed by all the penguins and was denied entry into his home because he was claimed to be "No longer a penguin." Saddened, defeated and mad all at once he returned to Linus and told him of the way he was treated, and how no one respects him. Linus told Nix that it's not you that needs to change, it's them! (Stephen never forgot that)

Linus told him to meet with someone else, someone who is known to be hated by the villagers and heroes, his name was Sepulchure. Stephen agreed to meet up with him and did at the end of the Northlands he met up with Sepulchure who was doing a job at the moment. When Sepulchure saw Stephen, he knew he wasn't liked by the other people around him. Sepulchure showed Nix about how darkness constantly surrounds him, and how he can control it with his vast knowledge of the world, Stephen was a little skeptical. He told him also about how he could summon undead in that encyclopedia of his and Stephen did a perfect job in showing Sepulchure his first attempt to summoning an undead.

When he thought Stephen was ready he took him to the land of Battleon and talked to him. He asked Stephen, "What do you think of heroes?" He replied with, "People who want nothing else but to remain the same and wish not to change when all we try to do is see what it would be like if we were in control." Sepulchure nodded his head and told him he was ready for battle. So he sent him into the first undead war, but merely just to see how it was done. He even summoned a few undead to aid the cause. Though they lost the battle Stephen wanted more results, so a few weeks later Stephen sent out an army of HIS OWN TO DEFEAT THE HEROES OF LORE!

Unfortunately for him his army wasn't that great and infact came to a quick end, but that's when he met him...Artix, and his Paladin Brigade. Stephen in anger for his army slain, he ran towards Artix while he finished off the last of the undead. He used his book to summon some huge monsters but they were no match for Artix and one by one of Stephen's summons, Artix destroyed all of them. Some of those summons were some of Stephen's newest friends in learning how to summon them he became friends with them and now that he lost them, Nix went into berserk mode and summoned a dark skull staff and dueled Artix till the end. Figuring out that Stephen's power came from his Black Pedia Artix snapped it out of Stephen's fins. With the book obtained by Artix, Stephen was defeated.

For his attempts to burn Battleon to the ground, Stephen was charged and sentenced away from BattleOn and thrown into this special glacier the Northland people made for the heroes. It was an ice fortress which would be the perfect place to hold Stephen. So Stephen was thrown inside and he made it his new home. Stephen's Black Encyclopedia was locked up in the Falconreach Guardian Tower where it remains to this very day. The heroes appointed a new type of saviors to this world known as the Beacons of Hope, they were formed when the heroes had indeed lost all hope in a battle against the undead, but the people of LORE came through and defeated the undead thanks to those men and women. With a clan made, Stephen locked up, and his book in the Guardian Tower forever locked up, things looked positive for the heroes, Artix even specifically trained a Tusker (the well known enemy of Killiguns and other Penguins) but this Tusker was special as he was made to combat Stephen Nix and other undead beings, he is on the hunt for Stephen, if he is to ever escape, Tusknix will find him!

For several years Nix planned against the heroes, and he swears revenge against the newly appointed Beacons because he thinks they do the dirty work for Artix and his Holy Paladins. Stephen even without his books studied the materials enough to remember a few pages and they were for summoning undead, and for other undead abilities. Stephen merely embraced his new look and he made a new look for himself, one that would make him stand out. He wears a top hat, a monocle and with his staff that he made, he bares a pretty evil look.

Finally over a few years Stephen learned that penguins were easier to have as minions as they did very good work, but if he ever needed them, he could summon them in different ways, alive or undead, and if they didn't work simple skeletons would do the trick! Now with a penguin and undead army Nix wishes to take over the planet and change everything from the start, and by doing that he wishes to obtain the one thing he has lost, HIS BLACK ENCYCLOPEDIA, for if he is to acquire it, he may MAKE THE WORLD INTO A NEW ICE AGE! Due to the intense heat from the sun and global warming, Stephen has finally escaped from his home and is now on the road in trying to obtain his book of knowledge.

Can Artix stop him, will the Beacons of Hope defeat any chance Nix has in controlling the world? Only time will tell!




salene -> RE: =DF= In the Beginning... (8/8/2013 22:38:59)

fire raged outside. cinder's clouded the air outside of Naz'uls window. she sighed, resting her head on the newborn child. "welcome to the world!" she said, kissing the baby on her cheek. the world was quiet. and that is how it should have stayed in the fiery kingdom of Azulis. the kingdom was safe, nestled in between dimentions. with the kind and loving atrean's on their left, and the uninhabited water planet narcuss on their right. they were a blossoming economy, feeding off the magical ley lines that flow through space and time. silently controlling lore's elemental fire plane. bachus, a squire in the fire force (an advanced guard force, sworn to protecting Azulis) heard the gong before anyone else. he knew what the gong meant, but didn't want to realise that war was coming. and it was coming fast. what would be later reffered to as "world war N" , was the first hostility the fire kingdom had ever encountered. planet narcuss was inhabited, and they wanted blood!

2 years later (13th moon):
Naz"ul's door creaked open, revealing xan standing in the doorway. "hello sister" he said grimly. "what?" implored Naz'ul. "the battle has shifted, but in the process, narcuss's chapel fell. it crushed thousand's, including some of their own... also including your husband". Naz'ul gulped air. empty, meaningless air. how, why, what? she thought, her head swimming colors dancing in front of her eyes. xan cleared his throat. "sister, we must leave, war has changed us too much. my accomplise on lore has found a perfect place for you to live. it's in a town known as testopia, and you wont believe how nice it is." said xan. "i cannot leave" said Naz'ul, icy resolve in her voice. "take the baby, keep her safe. i will stay here and finish what narcuss started. keep her safe, and do not dally. you know your temper can sometimes be... fiery" said Naz'ul, holding out the sleeping child in her hands to xan. "you cant be serious-" "hushhh..." cut off Naz'ul, using an old sleep spell taught to her by the elders.

Falconreach (13th moon):
the streets were crowded, and xan, with the baby tucked under his arm, cursed at his mis-fortune. but luckily, every scheming evil brother has a plan, and the one named xan, knew exactly what to do with baby "salene" he sneered as he walked down the street, to the old gypsie's house...

14 years later:
salene hated xan. he had traded her for gold to an old gypsie, and than using the money joined some magic school. salene was furious actually. she wanted to watch as the world burned! but that would have to wait, for at the moment she was cleaning the gypsies old rag's that she called clothing. salene sighed. if only she was special, instead of the laughing stock of a whole bunch of stupid heroes. salene, at the age of ten, had decided that she wished to be a super villain. it started to just admiring such villains as stephen nix, sepulchure, wargoth, and all other dastardly fiends, but it subtly grew to thieving and treachery. so, 6 years later, salene finds her self planning her biggest escapade yet. first, in the middle of the night, salene gathered her things and stole away into the night. next, she approached swordhaven, capital of her most hated enemy, atleon. she then proceded to scale the castle wall, dropping quietly inside the grounds. at that point it was easy to gain entry to the castle. she crept in, knife drawn, when out of the corner of her eye, a guard shouted "aye, stop!" she wasn't ready to be a villain! she ran as fast as she could, out of the castle, out of oaklore, and into the dark forest's surrounding popsproket. she was certain that guards were not far behind, so she ran and hid inside an ancient hollow tree. her heart was beating so loudly, and she was SO scared. she heard foot steps, sword's clashing. a flash of a bandit, a flash of a swordhaven knight! in all the chaos, a key turned and opened the lock keeping her might at bay. fire burst from her body engulfing all life and burning them, along with the forest, to the ground.

Mountains:
salene had mastered her powers, she was sure of it. she knew that soon the world would be completely on fire, unlocking the fire realm, and also allowing salene to see her family, and her land once more. through study and research, she had found a shard of the fire orb, a page from the pyrominicon, as well as baby akriloths egg. she knew that these items should make her invincible, yet, they did not! how infuriating! she turned into a flaming phoenix, and returned to falconreach.

Undead war, falconreach:
salene sighed. the beacons of hope were a rising force, and one to be reckoned with. they did not know of salene yet, but she vowed to make them her second greatest enemy. she needed darkness, and the only guild that could offer was the dark knights. so she joined >:)
that is when her greatest enemy rose... the dragon heroes! (sorry starsaber!)




lmno -> RE: =DF= In the Beginning... (10/8/2013 11:28:40)

my name is phlynch, and I was bored, really, really,bored. I came all the way to oaklore to train with the knights, and Rolith has me guarding a cliff. it cant be because I'm new, that squire with the pointy nose was guarding the gate, and I'm way higher rank than him. I didn't leave Verteroche to guard a cliff. Why is there a path to a random cliff any way. Here I am sword in hand, ready to take out the darkwolf bandits, the vermen, and the sneevils, ALL AT ONCE! but i'm here on a cliff, bored out of my mind.

Maybe it's the accent, note to self: drop the fake french accent, no one outside of Verteroche likes it. maybe it's the armor, to close to the guardian armor colors, not pactigon colors. what ever the reason, this is just rude. what am i even guarding this cliff from? its a cliff to steep to climb, way to high to jump and I'm stuck up here, wile they'r down there fighting for there lives. I should be down there helping, not up here, sitting on my hands.

I'v did enough of that at the crossing, telling any one from out of town to go explore that cave, never seeing it for myself. And when I finally got the cash for the gear, no one there would train me, so I trek all the way here and get cliff duty. I could be out bandit hunting, or even clearing out that road block.

I hate this cliff. Wait, is that a dragon? I love this cliff!




PaladinKell -> RE: =DF= In the Beginning... (11/22/2013 21:36:16)

To my somebody,

Let me tell you my origin, the origin of an shy, yet spirited and kind young princess and Spellblade. My name is Emily. I don't know why I'm stranded in this strange world, how to find my family, or what my true ambitions are... but I know what I must do... Apparently this place needs a hero... a legend who will one day rise power above power and spread the Holy Light to every living being in this world. I love life, who doesn't. Sigh... But I hate evil. I hate death. And I hate it when villains are always making my life MISERABLE!!!

But my true dream is to one day return to my home world, and maybe even find my lost love. Who knows? I might find this handsome young Hero to bring home and start a family with him after my task is complete. I could just feel my dream coming true... dancing in my heart. And did I mention I can be really energetic at times?! And I hate being swallowed whole by dragons?! Stomach acid is so uncomfortable to be drenched in, just so you know. If you're a cute guy, let's dance at the Inn someday!!!

Sincerely,

~Emily

(Note: This is my fictional female protagonist speaking, not PaladinKell.)




Chaosweaver Amon -> RE: =DF= In the Beginning... (12/5/2013 14:57:20)

A mother's screams and dying dreams fill the twilight air,
All beneath an unforgiving, evil, greedy stare.
Father takes the payment, quite a hefty sum of gold,
Only for his employer, to stop him getting old.
A boy goes limp, darkness shrouding those young silver eyes,
As the slavers carry off their valuable young prize.

The tale begins, full of darkness, death, and great glory,
However, many plots end up hateful and gory.
A tragic youth in the dark, entering the unknown,
Will he ever know friendship? Or even his own home?
Time and time again he escapes death's mighty cleaver,
So behold, the tale of Amon the chaosweaver.




draconic death drago -> RE: =DF= In the Beginning... (3/26/2014 6:56:00)

Well,seeing as this is relatively new and I didn't post something years ago....well, here it comes.

Draconic Death Dragon is a mysterious character. Where he came from is unknown even to him, and whether or not that's his real name, very few people know as he chooses to go by that alias to leave as little as a mark on people as much as he can. For the sake of the reader, his true name is simply Kane with his surname being just "Dragon". Alas, when he first came into the main continent (on/of?) Lore, it was through the sea on a bright day. He ended up docking at Osprey Cove's port and worked his way throughout the land from there. As for all the accounts on his activities, they rumors go that he's been roaming the lands doing mercenary work for the past thirty years, though it is doubted by many as the rumors also say that he has not aged even once, or rather, he has aged but eventually returns to youth again. As for whether or not the current one is the same despite bearing an extreme resemblance to the original and going by the same alias is something up for debate until he himself says otherwise publicly. For now, young Kane is here doing whatever jobs he can get.

Eventually Kane (DDD) is taking a resting break by the outskirts of Oaklore Keep contemplating on the history of his life (assuming the old and new are one and the same) and examining a amulet with a dragon on it that was seemingly a family heirloom that is the last remnant of what history he had. All of a sudden a dragon appears out of nowhere and the rest you readers can gauge, but there are tidbits in this sequence of events that I would also like to highlight.

-The Fated Meeting
-He who will end the world....or save it?
-Onwards towards dutying various chores
-Kiernava is born (she's a fiesty one though)
-The world of a Dragon Lord
-The Orb Saga
-Spiritweaver training with Tomix yields the most promising results for Kane
-The eventual death of Lady Celestia
-Sepulchre's Push, The final clash between the people who were wronged by the world
In the final moments after the defeat of the dragon, Kane shared a quick intercourse with Sepulchre, dropping his true name to Sepulchre because Sepulchre was a good enemy and he felt the connection to him because he has been wronged on not having any background or true familial support by anyone and thus parallels can be drawn. Sepulchre, despite everything's he's done and still cursing the world for his miseries, makes the request of entrusting Kane with becoming a keen observer of Gravelyn's future to which Kane agrees.
-And finally Book II Saga-III and present-day AQWorlds (which will be expanded upon somewhere else)

With that is the life of what's known of Draconic Death Dragon, or rather Kane Dragon.




Darius -> RE: =DF= In the Beginning... (4/30/2014 0:52:51)

My hero, Drakor Alduin Draconica (DracoDraconis for short), was born of celestial half-dragon lineage, but was abandoned as a baby and raised by humans in Oaklore. There, he grew up training with the knights--even serving as a squire as he got older--but always knew there was something more to life than being a simple military grunt. He came upon a trader selling assorted trinkets one day, when a shimmering amulet caught his eye; something deep within his heart knew he'd just found his destiny, altho he couldn't put his finger on just HOW he knew. He purchased it with what little money he had, and ran off to show his "parents." They scolded him for wasting his gold on shiny garbage, so he showed it to the knights, and they all looked at each other quite worriedly.

They looked Drakor dead in the eye, and in hushed tones, asked the squire where he'd found such a treasure, so Drakor told them. The merchant was long gone, however; not a single trace of his presence remained, not even a hoofprint from his treasure-laden pack burro. Gate guards were questioned, asking if they'd borne witness to such a man and his burro traversing the gates; all replied nay, no such individual spotted that day, nor the days prior. The knights were deeply rattled, and could not hide their fears from the young man any longer. They took him to see Knight Captain Rolith, who inspected the amulet thoroughly. After spending several minutes checking and rechecking every nook and cranny of the object, he handed it back to my young character and said, "well, my boy. Looks like you're a DragonLord, now!"

The other knights were stunned at the news. Everyone knows that even the lowliest paige of the DragonLord Order instantly outranks any royal knight of noble ancestry! And this boy, who could barely pick up a sword to hand to his master, is suddenly a fully-fledged DragonLord just because he bought a charm necklace from a mysteriously vanishing merchant?! Preposterous! They'd never stand for it! Naturally, their discontent was made audible, but Rolith slammed his enormous hammer on the table like an oversized judge's gavel. The impact shook the whole treefort, and the entire outpost--even the activity outside--grew deathly silent.

"ENOUGH!!! Like it or not, this boy is now your superior officer! You will treat him with the same dignity and respect you'd show me! ...Or must I report this insubordination directly to the King!?"

All the knights snapped to attention, raised their hands in salute, and shouted a unified "Yessir!" The fledgling hero, with a sly smirk spread across his lips, barked out his first order as commander. "Alright, you maggots! First order of business..." He paused for a moment... "Scrub Sir Loin's deep-frier! Fiamme knows how long it's been since he's cleaned it!"

The knights, clearly repugnicized at the demeaning KP assignment, looked around at each other sheepishly, until one spoke up. "But, isn't that YOUR--"

"Not anymore, worm! Or must I inform the King of your insub--"

The knights snapped to attention in salute once again, this time shouting a unified "no, sir," before clamoring over one another in their haste to vacate the premises. Rolith had himself quite the epic belly laugh at his new "commander's" brash methods. Wiping away a tear, he slapped my young character across the back--HARD--and gave him a reassuring thumbs-up for a first order well issued.

The boy redoubled his training, learning the art of the sword and of the scythe, before beginning his formal DragonLord instruction at DragonsGrasp. Before leaving, however, he had himself a lengthy discussion with his adopted parents, who revealed what they knew of his origins. This is the conversation that followed.

"Your father and I were living in Swordhaven," his mother began, "during the Slugwrath regime. The outlying villages were constantly pillaged by undead and living marauder alike, and in that turmoil, I was pregnant." Drakor looked confused, but before he could ask for clarification, his monther continued. "Not with you, mind you; this was a full year before you arrived on our doorstep. During one of the undead raids, I caught a flesh-eating disease that--" she began to choke up. "That devoured my unborn child and spoiled my uterus. Your father and I lamented our miscarriage for years, even after we met you. Shortly after moving to Oaklore--after the brave hero Alteon usurped the throne from Slugwrath's tyranny--we were in such a deep depression, your father and I, that we could barely tend our fields. While toiling in our fields of despair one day, a shimmering light fell from the sky, and descended upon us. It was an angel, battered and broken, she was not long for this world. Her abdomen, swollen with another's seed, would surely perish in the womb if we could not care for it in its mother's stead. Your father performed an emergeny Caesarian section on her, and pulled the screaming infant from the angel's belly. After she looked into your bright little eyes, her own eyes lifeless and drowned in tears, she handed you to me, and beseeched us to raise you into a hero, to vanquish the darkness that would one day plague these lands again."

Drakor was stunned. His mother... was an angel? If so, who was his father, and where was he in all of this?!

After beginning at DragonsGrasp, one of his instructors pulled him aside, clearly seeing his celestial gifts, but also saw a hint of dragon magic, as well. After poring over the library's tomes together, they found what they were seeking. Drakor was not only half angel, he was half Creatioux, as well. Reading on, Drakor discovered that the Creatioux were a type of Void Dragon; not the freakish alien ones, known as Decadere, the Creatioux were almost angelic in appearance, their magicks based upon the creation energies of the void, rather than the Decadere's destruction and corruption magicks. Another book, this one on draconic (and demi-draconic) genealogy, told him of a Creatioux god named Xuen-ran, who had a nasty habit of impregnating women from all walks of life, including angels and other celestial beings. Most notable of which, was the eldest daughter of the Avatar of Light, who gave birth to a boy and died shortly thereafter. The boy would be raised by surrogate parents, whose names were absent, but Drakor's teacher seemed fidgity when it was brought to his attention. The senior instructor admitted to being the one keeping these genealogical records, and revealed that the boy in the text, was Drakor himself. The DragonLord Order had been watching Drakor and his family for years, and knew everything there was to know about his childhood, squire training, and were even responsible for selling him his Dragon Amulet. His instructor agreed to skip the grunt training, as his skill wwas already light-years beyond the other recruits, and begin his ROTC training as a cadet.

In officer training, Drakor was instilled with the Order's doctrines regarding the bond between DragonLord and Dragon, how special it is, how trying it can be, and how important it is to the balance of nature to nurture it, and keep it safe. Try as he might, though, his Dragon Amulet wouldn't link him to any of the hatchlings in the nursery aboard the flying fortress. Longing for a dragon to call his own, he begged his COs to let him explore real dragon nests, and time and again his requests were denied, on the grounds of being too dangerous for a young cadet without a dragon. Furious and disheartened, he put in for leave once his training was completed, and returned to Oaklore to ask his parents for advice. However, he returned home to find his mother had fallen ill to a rare disease, and his father had left on a journey to find a cure, Avatars know when he might return. With his mother fading fast, and his father likely to come home to a funeral procession, he knew his home was all but gone. With a mysterious past, and no future in sight, he felt alone. So painfully, terrifyingly alone...

Lamenting his abominable misfortune the following morning, Drakor stood meditatively upon the cliff overlooking the Vurr'men Ruins. The sunlight was warm and pleasant, it seemed to melt his troubles away, like the warm glow of a scented candle... Or was that the picadillies in bloom? Nevertheless, he felt as if something truly magical, epic and exciting was about to begin.

He found himself jarred awake from his mellowed trance, by the familiar echo of a fell bellowing on the air--a dragon's roar! His Dragon Amulet began to glow faintly, and his sword arm began to twitch. Readying his stance, he prepared for a duel to the death with the scaly beast, but as it landed, he felt his knees tremble! Was this fear? Were his nerves simply getting the best of him? Or did this overgrown iguana's portly haunchess impacting the soft soil from such an altitude, simply leave an aftershock that reverberated through his armor plating?

Snickering to himself at that last thought, a grin of excitement illuminated his face, and he opened his mouth to let out a noble yell--which was thusly interrupted by a soft, squeaky voice begging pardon for the intrusion, and asking the hero to permit it--and the stunning dragon priestess in tow--passage. In awe of the Vestal's beauty, he instinctively let her and the rodent pass without objection. Realizing his mistake in not at least asking the lady her name, he whirled around and gave chase. The red creature and the priestess soon came under attack by a forest beast, which repelled the furball's feeble blows with such ferocity that the diminuative creature was sent soaring through the air, landing at Drakor's feet. Feeling not-at-all sorry for the sickeningly adorable little mouse, he hauled back his best punting foot, and launched the helpless moglin back at the savage Gorillaphant, smacking it in the face and--uh-oh--further enraging it! That twitching sword arm, left dejected by a retreating, wise-cracking dragon, felt the urge to strike at this tusked ape with a seething vengeance it had never seen! Leaping to the comely holy lady's rescue, he bested the monster with deft skill and brutal tenacity! Kneeling before the priestess in victory, he begged she reveal to him her name, and answer what, pray tell, she was doing in the forests outside Oaklore amount a dragon! Coyly, she shrugged off his advances and hurried off into the underbrush, nearly leaving the scuffed-up moglin behind. In its struggle to catch up, the moglin let slip a fragment of an ominous secret, but before it could finish the sentence, the priestess scolded the fuzzball, and dragged it off into the thicket.

She was carrying a black box adorned with the DragonLord Order's crest. Drakor's Dragon Amulet let out a brilliant crimson glow when he came near it, so it definitely had something to do with his dragon partner. Returning to the keep at Oaklore, he demanded to see Captain Rolith. Rolith tried to console Drakor over the sad status of his parents, but he completely ignored the subject, and instead asked Rolith what he knew about a draconic priestess atop a red dragon, who was carrying a black box that reacted to his Dragon Amulet. Rolith was shocked, especially after hearing that Drakor had let her disappear into the forest unaccompanied by a contingency of guards. Implored to give chase immediately, Drakor set out to the eastern side of Oaklore Forest, where he came upon the priestess being accosted by several bandits, seemingly led by an odd thug that bore the name Slugwrath. Once again finding himself leaping to the Dragon Vestal's rescue, he repelled the bandits easily and left them some parting remarks to remember him by. Demanding an explanation from the priestess, she, once again, coyly danced around the question, instead lauding the hero's extensive vocabulary of profanities. Flustered by her incessant evasiveness, Drakor changed the subject of the conversation to the box, which the priestess explained had just been carried off by a Sneevil as he and Slugwrath were in the middle of their "trash-talking" session. As if this day couldn't get any stranger! Giving chase to the box-obsessed goblin would prove less than fruitless, however, if he didn't seek aid from a local Ranger, located just past the bustling city of Falconreach in verdant Surewould Forest, nearly a day's walk due east from the Keep. Oy vey!

After reporting to Rolith of his confrontation with the Darkwolf Bandit leader and the abduction of the black box, the path to Falconreach was ordered open for the DragonLord "commander". Along the path, there was an abandoned wagon, which upon being searched, contained various trinkets of little consequence, as well as worn scraps from the sash that the merchant who had sold him his Dragon Amulet years prior was wearing (and how he'd even managed to recall such an insignificant detail so many years later, he couldn't even begin to fathom.) He also noted that this cart looked abandoned for many years, far longer than his absence while training at DragonsGrasp--decades, even. He'd only celebrated his 22nd birthday a scant six weeks ago, but he came to own his Dragon Amulet at age 15, so such a vast temporal disparity was all but impossible. ...Right? This also conflicted with what his DragonsGrasp instructor told him about the source of his amulet; what sort of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff was going on here!? Confused into a full-blown stupor, he shuffled the mystery to the back of his mind and decided instead to focus upon his current mission. "One mystery at a time," he murmured to himself as he struggled to regain his composure.

An obstruction impeded the direct path between the wooded outpost and the sprawling hub town, forcing Drakor to take the winding path through the thickest part of the woods--a common bandit deception. Keeping his eyes sharp and his hand upon his sword hilt, he soon fell under ambush by a trio of bandits demanding he hand over his coinpurse, as expected. Dispatching them with his honed swordmanship, he wormed his way out of the inky darkness to the other side of the bandits' blockade. His eyes pained by the brilliant contrast between the pitch-dark overgrowth of the bandit's trap, and the open forest canopy near the Hydra River basin, he almost overlooked the presence of a disheveled blue moglin with a curiously unhealed scar. Clearly this was just another helpless rodent, he mused, so when it alerted him to be cautious of a sleeping grizzly bear nearby, he thanked the polite creature, and continued upon his journey. Just as the hero was almost past the bear's den, the ebil moglin let out a shrill cry, startling the slumbering beast into a grumpy rage! That little RAT! Letting out a devilish cackle as he magically blinked out of range, the inscensed bear attacked our intrepid hero! After a desperate struggle, far more difficult than the gorrilaphant from earlier that morning, the lumbering oaf lay slain. Swearing retribution upon the mischievous moglin, Drakor continued begrudgingly upon his path once more.

The last of the Oaklore guardsmen, Sir Pent, stood sentinel at the precipice of the Hydra River bridge, making safe all thoroughfare traffic bewteen the militarized fortress of Oaklore, and the commercial metropolis of Falconreach. Presenting his documents to the patrolman, the knight-errant, with whom Drakor used to train as a youngling (and who always had a fear of snakes despite his noble surname) allowed the hero passage via the gate and across the bridge. Cautiously and swiftly, the hero did cross, for he knew that Hydra River was named so for a fearsome reason. Hearing a splash in the waters below the marble arches, Drakor readied his blade and prepared for a massive battle! At that moment, the many-headed Hydra burst forth from beneath the bridge, demolishing the only pathway to the hero's objective! The nearest crossing was two days' foot travel away and awash in furious whitewater rapids, he would surely lose the trail of his quarry by then. He had no choice--he had to slay the Hydra!

Swinging his blade furiously, Drakor pelted the overgrown sushi bar with a bevy of blows, each strong enough to cleave an ox entwain! But the beast's hide was as of rubber, it did not even flinch! Instead, it regurgitated its seafood lunch upon the brave warrior! The smell alone nearly choked him half to death, and the deluge of river water all but drowning him nearly finished the job! As the beast went in for the kill, its toothy maws bearing down upon the ever-resourceful hero, Drakor raised his sword at the final moment, penetrating the serpent's palette and piercing its central nervous system! The creature flailed about wildly, shrieking in anguish before succumbing to its demise, and as it slipped down into the river below, its razor-sharp fangs became snagged upon the splintered wood of the walkway, and Drakor's sword--still lodged in the creature's mouth--became caught in a crack in the masonry of the stone supports holding up the bridge. But the battle was not yet won, the remaining heads had been rent bewildered by the primary one fallng numb, and were randomly snapping at anything that moved. Reaching into his pack, Drakor pulled several throwing daggers from a scabbard, and with aim befitting his extensive skills, pierced the eye sockets of the bobbling heads, fatally wounding the enormous orochi, and making a makeshift repair to the bridge at the same time! As he looked back at Sir Pent's guardpost, he could almost see the jaw-agape expression beneath that iron platemail helm of his. Nodding to his old rival with a smirk, Drakor adventured on toward Falconreach, laughing boisterously when he heard the telltale CLANK! of Sir Pent's armor as he fainted from unbridled terror, just as he often did in his youth when teased with rubber hoses crudely painted to resemble the slithery reptiles that were ever his bane.

With that out of the way, Drakor entered the high-walled bastion city of Falconreach. His adventure, exciting as it's been so far, was only just beginning.

BATTLE ON!!!




HikariNoRyuu -> RE: =DF= In the Beginning... (7/15/2014 3:02:30)

(Disclaimer: I skew the timeline and mess with the lore in my character's backstory, particularly involving Soulweaving and the early events of the game's plot, so for simplicity's sake, please just consider this whole thing AU. You'll see what I mean.)

Kael Resain, born into a family of Dragon Lords, was the middle child out of three, and the only girl. At an early age, she was overshadowed by her older brother Soren and his abilities, but rather than try to mimic him, she worked to be different. With the help of her mother, Alline, she started learning magic, something that Soren had never been very good at. Her father, Corthak, wasn't thrilled, but he tolerated it so long as Kael kept up with her other schooling and followed her mother's instructions to the letter. He later warmed up to the idea when Kael displayed great aptitude for the art.

When Kael was ten, she began what would be the start of her training to become a Dragon Lord. This mainly consisted of history (boring), diplomacy (tedious), strategy (interesting), and Draconic (difficult, but fun). Soren would often study with her, as he was learning the same material, though at a higher level and at a faster rate. Three years into Kael's studies, Soren completed his training and received his Dragon Amulet. Upon seeing how their father praised, Kael began pushing herself even harder, both in magic as well as her other studies, determined to receive the same praise when it was her turn to be named a Dragon Lord. While she still wasn't at the top of her class, in her mind, she excelled.

Later that year, their mother took ill. Alline had never had the strongest immune system, and so would get sick fairly often. Fortunately, this hadn't been passed down to any of her children, but this illness was the worst she had ever had. The healers tried all they could, but they weren't able to help very much. Even the moglins couldn't do much more than prolong her life. After a few months, Alline died. Corthak was grief-stricken, and buried himself in his work. Soren did the same, devoting every waking moment to training Larros, his newly-acquired dragon hatchling. Kael's younger brother, Aiden, who was only seven at the time, didn't fully understand what was going on.

Kael worked even harder than she had been, desperate to give her father something to be happy for. As a result she earned her Amulet not long after her fifteenth birthday, making her one of the youngest Dragon Lords since the start of that century. But much to her disappointment, Corthak only saw the Amulet as a means to send her away on assignment. He claimed that Kael was too much like her mother in both appearance and manner (only partly true; appearance-wise, Kael does resemble her mother, but she has her father’s coloring; as for her personality, no one really knows where that came from), and he couldn't bear to be reminded of her in such a way.

Kael was then posted in Oaklore. There were a few older Dragon Lords there who were supposed to act as mentors, though at first they didn't know how to react to her, as the believed her too young to have received her Amulet fairly, what with her father being fairly high up in the ranks. They did change their minds eventually once they saw her abilities as a mage, but they never fully stopped treating her like a child.

Now this is where I start skewing the game’s plot. After a year or so of sitting in Oaklore and occasionally smacking wayward undead about, Kael was sent on an errand to Falconreach, and on the way she encountered Lady Celestia and Twilly, who were working to transport the black dragon box to a safe location. Kael then witnessed Drakath take the box. She stepped in to help, but Drakath escaped and the box was stolen by a sneevil, blah blah blah we know the story.

Anyway, Lady Celestia and Twilly departed, and Kael continued on to Falconreach. By the time she got there it was fairly late in the day, so she stopped at the inn for the night after checking in with the Guardians there. That evening, however, she got bored, so she set out to explore the town. But, as Falconreach is a relatively large place, she wound up get herself lost. As she was trying to find her way back, she stumbled across a crumbling portal in an overgrown part of town. Curious, she ventured through it, only to find herself in a dark, underground city.

It was there that she had her first encounter with the colony of spider-like Chaosweavers. She didn’t know what they were, but she knew that they definitely belonged on the list of Things to Definitely Stay Away From.

Three Chaosweavers were chasing her through the streets. Kael took one of them out with her magic, but the other two avoided her attacks. They were getting closer, and one of them had figured out how to deflect her magic, so Kael believed herself to be doomed, but then suddenly violet and black spectral chains sprang up from the ground, coiling around the Chaosweavers and crushing them to death.

Then Kael saw her rescuer: a man with white hair and yellow eyes. He helped her to her feet and introduced himself as Tomix. When she asked him what sort of magic that was and how it worked, he was both wary and alarmed; Kael seemed eager to learn about it, something he was not used to.

Anyway, this is where my headcanon really gets going. At that point, Soulweaving had been a banned practice for many years due to the high death toll among Soulweavers-in-training and the general belief among much of the human population that because Soulweaving affects the soul and not the body, it is unnatural. The confusion between Soulweavers and Chaosweavers hasn’t helped one bit. As a result, the Soulweavers that remained typically chose to live out their lives in underground cities like Ravenloss, or within the protected borders around Edelia and the village of Mortem, many of them rarely venturing beyond their chosen safe-havens.

Eventually, Tomix told Kael about Soulweaving little by little, and after a while accepted that she was genuinely interested in it--she found it beautiful, even. With time he even (grudgingly) agreed to teach her Soulweaving, though it would not be the formal education most Soulweavers received.

A couple of weeks and a lot of begging later, Kael was reassigned to Falconreach, and no sooner had she settled in that she was down in Ravenloss for her first lesson. More time passed, and Kael snuck down to Ravenloss almost every night. She rarely got more than a few hours of sleep because of this, and nearly always had some sort of injury, but she was learning. Whenever the Guardians of Falconreach she was working with asked what was going on with her, she would simply reply “training.”

Months went by like this. Kael learned quickly despite Tomix’s frequent warnings (and almost blew her soul apart on at least one occasion). Every so often another Soulweaver would stop by, and whoever it was would sometimes offer input and training of their own. Kael met Izaac this way, and the two of them quickly became friends.

Six months after Kael was stationed in Falconreach, the whole dragon egg wild goose chase happened. Once all that is over with, Kael winds up with a dragon egg in her possession. The egg hatched soon after, revealing a small white ice dragon. She named the dragon Nirin and excitedly wrote home about it. Within a few days, she received a reply from her father ordering her to return home to Swordhaven at once and to bring her hatchling with her.

When Kael returned home, she found that it was Soren who was waiting for her, not her father. Soren told her that their father was stationed in Dragonsgrasp and that he was instructed to bring her there. On the way there, Soren explained that there had been rumors of a Doom Knight in Lore. The Doom Knight’s identity was unknown, and he had yet to even be spotted, but he had already orchestrated a good bit of chaos here and there and it was best to track him down and deal with him before things got out of hand. When Kael asked how they knew it was a Doom Knight if he hadn't been seen, Soren replied that the amount of undead and the swiftness with which they were summoned was too much for any lone necromancer to have pulled off.

Upon arriving in Dragonsgrasp, Kael and Nirin was brought before the Dragon Lord Council. She was asked to explain herself, as normally Dragon Lords are presented with a dragon hatched on Dragonsgrasp, and the one in Kael’s possession was technically a wild dragon (or they assumed he was a wild dragon; Kael deliberately left out the part where Nirin came from the Black Dragon Box and was prophesied to one day destroy the world). Kael explained how she had found it (still leaving out the bit about the Black Dragon Box) and how Nirin had hatched for her. Soren spoke up at that point, saying that on the journey from Swordhaven, Nirin and his own dragon had gotten along quite well.

The Council then debated on whether or not they should allow Kael to keep her dragon, and eventually they decide that it would not be right to separate the two of them as they had already formed a strong bond. Kael got to keep Nirin, all was well, and Soren returned the two of them to Falconreach a few days later.

A year later, Tomix finally deemed her ready to bond with a spirit. He sent her soul to the spirit realm, and there she met Aegis, the Elemental Spirit of Valor. Aegis wasn’t sure what to think of her at first, but because he was impressed by her resolve he agreed to be her Soul Ally, though he wasn’t happy when she told him he had to stay hidden as no one knew she was learning to be a Soulweaver and if anyone did find out, she could be put to death despite her family’s status.

Another half a year passed. Nirin had grown to a considerable size by that point, and Kael was close to mastering her abilities as a Soulweaver, though she had yet to get the hang of Banishing souls. She and Aegis were working on increasing their synchronization in the hopes that they would eventually be able to fight as one soul.

By that time, the nameless Doom Knight who had been creating a bit of trouble earlier had struck again, but still had not been seen. He had already tried to attack Falconreach once, but it was a half-hearted attempt and was easily defeated even without Kael’s Soulweaving. Kael and Nirin had been involved in the fight, and played a large part in keeping the undead army at bay. When the battle was easily won, a few of the more experienced Guardians were suspicious, but Kael didn’t think anything of it.

Several other attacks happened in Swordhaven, Amityville, the Sandsea, Osprey Cove, Willowshire, and other towns, all within the span of a few months, and like the one in Falconreach, they were easily won.

Another month passed, and before long, another, larger force attacked Willowshire. Heading the massive army (consisting of dravirs, togs, and various undead) was the equally-massive earth dragon Gorgok. At first, people weren't sure if the dragon was serving the Doom Knight, but the presence of the undead confirmed it.

Gorgok destroyed much of Willowshire so quickly that an entire flight of Dragon Riders was called in, Soren, Kael, and Corthak among them, with Corthak in command. In the fight, Larros, Soren’s dragon, was severely wounded by Gorgok, forcing Soren to fight on foot for the remainder of the battle.

Near the end of the battle, one last, monstrous wave was sent forth. Soren, still fighting on the ground with the Guardians and the mages, was overwhelmed. Seeing this, Kael rushed in to help just as Gorgok swooped in for the kill. Nirin, despite being only half Gorgok’s size, kept him occupied while Kael tried to get Soren out of there. Unfortunately, they were surrounded. One large dravir struck, but the blow was blocked by Aegis who had appeared at that moment in order to come to Kael’s defense. While maintaining the shield, Aegis shouted at Kael for being stupid, saying that she had the skills necessary to get them out of there alive and that her magic alone wasn’t going to cut it. Soren, alarmed by the sudden appearance of a powerful ice spirit, demanded to know what was going on and why Kael knew the spirit.

More dravir struck Aegis’s shield, weakening it. Aegis shouted at Kael again, saying she had to do something because he couldn’t hold them back forever and Nirin wouldn’t last against Gorgok much longer.

Then, despite knowing that she would probably only end up ruining herself because of it, Kael pulled on her Soul Claws and began taking out the dravir, gaining momentum with each kill as she phased in and out of the spirit plane, leaving behind glowing blue afterimages, at one point moving almost too fast to see.

Needless to say, Soren was stunned. He had no idea that his baby sister was capable of such a thing, or that she would be willing to break the law in order to learn a deadly branch of magic.

Less than three minutes later, Kael had killed enough of the dravir to give them all a moment to escape. Kael called to Nirin, who had been badly wounded by that point, and the four of them tried to flee the scene. Gorgok, however, had other plans, and breathed fire at them as they tried to escape, engulfing them in the flames. Aegis tried to summon a shield to protect them, but he had already been weakened by the dravir so he was more susceptible to the flames than normal, and as a result, his shield quickly failed. Unfortunately, Soren was directly behind Aegis’s shield. Kael brought up a shield of her own as quickly as she could, but not before Soren was badly burned.

Aegis, weakened but still conscious, told Kael to concentrate and to calm herself; he had an idea. She did as he asked, and focused herself inward, forcing her heart rate and breathing to settle to a slow pace. When she had calmed her entire body down, she told Aegis she was ready. Aegis then phased into Kael’s body, temporarily melding with her soul and forcing their combined being out into the open where they then produced an immense energy blast that countered Gorgok’s flames and drove the dragon back, forcing him to flee.

Once the energy dissipated, Aegis pulled himself away, allowing her soul to settle back into her body where it belonged, and Kael, utterly spent, fell unconscious. Aegis forced himself to remain awake long enough to direct Nirin away from the battle and into a safe area.

Thanks to Kael and Aegis, the battle was won, but at a great cost. A large number of the fighters had been killed. Soren, badly burned, was near death despite the healers’ desperate attempts to help him. Corthak was a wreck, worried about his son and at the same time furious with his daughter. No sooner had Kael awoken that Corthak began interrogating her, demanding to know what she had done, how she had done it, why she had let her brother get so badly hurt, and why she had a glowy spirit hovering over her.

Kael answered his questions honestly, admitting that she had indeed learned Soulweaving (though she refused to give the identity of the one who had trained her), while at the same time reminding her father that it was because of her Soulweaving that Gorgok was defeated. Corthak countered this by saying that because of her Soulweaving, Soren was dying. Kael replied that he would already be dead if it weren’t for Soulweaving, as would she, and Nirin, and many others besides. Corthak, frustrated, simply shouted at Kael for being difficult, and confined her to her room. In the meantime, he ordered that the spirit be removed from the room and restrained. Before Corthak left the room, Kael said that she believed she could use her Soulweaving to keep Soren alive, but Corthak only said that she had done enough damage.

Soren died that night. When Kael heard the news, she shrieked at her father, blaming him for her brother’s death, saying that if he had let her help, then Soren might still be alive. Corthak ignored her in order to grieve for his son. A trial was ordered because of Kael’s illegal use of Soulweaving.

The trial was held in Swordhaven a week later. Corthak did not testify against Kael, but he also did nothing to help her. There were those who were crying out for Kael’s imprisonment or execution, but most saw that she should be pardoned because she was the one who turned the tide of the battle against Gorgok.

In the end, it was ruled that in light of her recent deeds, Kael would be allowed to keep her rank as Dragon Rider as well as her post in Falconreach, but she would forbidden to use Soulweaving and she would be monitored at all times to ensure she stuck to the rules. It was also decided that Aegis would be put to death, as a spirit of his power level was seen as a potential threat even though his actions indicated otherwise.

Warlic, however, spoke up at this point. He offered to take Aegis off their hands, and who were they to argue with the most powerful mage in Lore? Warlic promised Kael that Aegis would be safe with him. Aegis agreed to go with the blue mage, but soon retreated to the spirit plane where no one but Kael could reach him.

As word of how Kael defeated Gorgok spread throughout the kingdom, people started commenting on how the ruling was unfair. If Kael had saved an entire town almost single-handedly, then why was she being punished for it?

Another year passed. Kael stuck to the rules set her, albeit grudgingly, as she was much weaker as a mage than as a Soulweaver. At the same time, people all throughout Lore, mainly those who knew Kael, were clamoring for a lift on the ban on Soulweaving. After all, something that had helped to save hundreds of people couldn’t be all bad! And besides, the ban had been in effect for so long that no one remembered why it was in effect in the first place.

Three months later, the ban on Soulweaving was finally lifted, as was Kael’s punishment, and Kael and Aegis are reunited.

All was well until the Doom Knight appeared again, this time in person and proclaiming that his name was Sepulchure. The rest, as they say, is history.




Hemabody -> RE: =DF= In the Beginning... (7/16/2014 6:17:52)

My character h_n , he was born in Oaklore 21 years ago , he had a brother called d_o who was older than him by 5 years , anyway , when h_n was 13 years old , his father t_f and his brother d_o were sent for fighting some undead forces who were marching towards Oaklore , Oaklore won the battle , but lost the great warrior t_f , and d_o completely disappeared after the battle , some soliders said that they saw d_o fighting a doomknight alone , but with legendary strength , he defeated the doomknight , then he wore his armor , and because of the armor's power , a dark red aura surounded d_o , then a black flash appeared and d_o disappeared , people say that he couldn't hold the armor's strength and died , but others deny this , as he was able to defeat a doomknight with raw strength , and that flash was a teleporting spell , anyway , he never appeared near Oaklore until now , anyway , after seeing how doomed both his father and his brother (espcially his brother) after fighting in military , so h_n decided not to join the military so he can adventure freely , hoping one day he may meet his brother , he was training as warrior , the only reason that h_n was still in Oaklore was his mother v_w , as she had nobody else to help her in the rest of her life , but 8 years after losing his father and brother , he lost his mother , it was a very sad day , then h_n went and stood on a cliff near Oaklore , thinking about what to do now , his mother is dead , so ke is no more tied to Oaklore , when he was thinking for a good place to have adventures , a giant red dragon appeared , holding the dragon priestess along with Twilly (and you know the rest of the story).




god of chaos -> RE: =DF= In the Beginning... (7/26/2014 6:31:48)

In the beginning... Well, there was this thing called Void, and there were basically no elements. Nobody really knows what was ba... Ooooh, you mean in the beginning of a particular hero's story which would later come to save the world from the most perilous threats of casual foes such as sneevils, seed spiters, or titanic reptilian monstrosities that go by the name "dragon" which can destroy villages just by unleashing their horrid breath and melt the metallic protection of armor, sword and shield, burn the flesh of mortals, terrorize the world and posses only one obscure weakness that is a hidden and secure artifact of cold and ice. Let us visit this hero, that wanders the madly dangerous, filled with danger in ever corner and actually fairly humorous and funny world of Lore. This hero bears the name of "adremalich" and was currently invested in defeating three golems, created by some Corrupt Elemental Spirits. And as this confrontation was over, our hero felt the compelling need to recall his beginnings, inspired... Nay! Enforced by me, the one behind his actions and by chance the author of this story.

Adremalich is no name for a hero it seems. The last four letters hint to rather ominous connotations, for rarely it is known that a "lich" is a good and understanding fellow. Our friend was now recalling the event on how he got this name. The teenager felt dizzy. Brushing off his blonde hair, clearing his vision he proceeded to take a look at the letter. What was that letter? Who was he? What was he even doing there, lying in the soil of the scorched woods? He stood up. His brown pants were damaged to some extent, the left leg being torn off from the knee and down, the right one having suffered less. The blue shirt had the right shoulder and sleeve torn off as well. There were some wounds, seemingly from the claws of some being in both, the right arm and the lower part of the left leg, the areas with more clothing damage. One wound particularly hurt, in his right arm, there was a deeper, single, linear wound... A slash wound. The letter barely had any writing in it, except three fragments. One, around the second line said "a". A few lines before there was another, a name which read "Drema", and only a bit ahead of it, in the same line it read "lich". A...Drema... Lich? It made no sense. But he guessed he could use that as his name for now, if someone asked. As he inspected his surroundings, he found a sword, a simple sword. Its handle and hilt together formed a "T" shape. The hilt was silvery, except the bottom being golden, like the handle. The blade started in a thin fashion, expanding after a single or maybe two inches and then having a slight expansion towards the tip, before closing in again. There was a single red ..thing in the beginning of the sword, the thin part, followed by three smaller green ones above it , in a triangular position. For some reason, the moment he grasped it, it felt like a dream coming true, he felt as if for a very small portion of himself, he would not hit twice as strong, when fate called. Why did he even feel that? Who knows... Maybe his lost memories acting up? Either way, there was no time for analyzing the whims of his subconsciousness. It was time for the ancient art of survival in possibly risky situations. (despite what you may think, the Evil Self-Burning Surewould Curse is NOT true. No forest in its right mind would burn itself. ) And so, he ran. His strength was so what depleted, yet he called on to his energies to help carry him further and further, until he had to rest and catch his breath. As he has bend his torso over, with his hands on his knees and catching his breath, ready to sit down by a tree, having escaped the burned area some minutes ago, he noticed the army of angry, armed and dangerous two... Just two sneevils. As they noticed him, he let out a sound of dislike, as he stood up, grasping the sword with both hands, as he swung it at the first foe. It backed away, only for the other to unleash the mighty, inescapable assault, a speciality of such ravenous beasts.. The kick performed by that tiny leg, which was actually enough to cause some minor pain to our friend, who retaliated by another slash. It was not yet over. As the first sneevil went for a stab, he had to seize the opportunity and attack before, which he did. The descending edge caused severe damage to the little sneevil, knocking him out, and letting him be carried by his friend, who wasted no time in the foolish act of opposing this mighty warrior. Hopefully the little thing would be fine. Adremalich felt a bit of regret as he might have as well as killed the thingie. Such a little and harmless foe, or maybe even a dangerous Wyrm had its family and loved ones somewhere after all. Either way, that was some progress. From an amnesiac and confused kid, to a sneevil injurer, in but a few days time, he could surely tackle Akriloth, Kathool or Gorgok. (Not that he knew who or what they were. That was merely the magnitude of his imagination, presented in a more concrete form) And as our hero took pleasure in his minuscule achievement, he suffered a critical sleep element strike and while lying down next to that tree, closed his eyes as his AP (awake points) were reduced to zero.

"Hey, should we wake this kid up?"-a hoarse voice woke Adremalich up. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the stranger, a man in gray armor, with white spikes on the sides of the shoulders , and brown spiky hair, carrying some sort of rapier , with an intricate hilt of gold and cooper interwinding somewhat spiraling parts, and a red handle. While the light of the blade was certainly admirable, it would probably serve as a beacon to his enemies as well. There was another man by his side, wearing yellow , simpler armor, and carrying a sword.. It had a simple blade as well, its handle ending in some sort of strange round shape, which seemed like a ...face? That was the Pactogonal Blade.. He remembered that somehow. They both wore cream colored capes, with some golden, glowing symbols near the end. The man with the rapier had some sort of strange red hat with a white mask. "Hey there.. You are awake it seems"-the rapier man said. Adremalich could only try and gather himself, stand up and say some silly line like "Who.. Are you?"-only followed by the laughs of the yellow armor man. "Yah! He's awake alright! Kiddo.. We are the great duo of adventurers, the almighty warriors of ..."-he was cut right there by the other man. "I am a dragonslayer , not a warrior. He is the warrior." The yellow armor man seemed a bit angered by that. "More like dragon-idiot. These Chaos Moon Cloaks they sold us... Hah! Imbued by the flames of the mighty Akriloth himself! And he had TWO copies. These are but cheap fakes!"-he yelled. "How dare you... That man was clearly using illusions or... Magic. Yes.. Magic!". Their argument continued for a while, before they turned to Adremalich. "By the way, who are you?"-now,. Adremalich sounded like a nice idea before, but now.. "A... Adremalich?"-he said, trying to pull his most careful poker face, but was met only with two gazes of suspicion, before the man in yellow armor begun laughing "Yah! I like that! A truly random name of battle! Fitting of a student of the Leh-Roii-Jun-Keens sword style. Are yah a fellow adept?"-and that was where Adremalich felt lost. "Leh-Ro.. What?"
The man was ... Not amused. "The Leh-Rooi-Jun-Keens sword fighting style. One of the mightier doctrines of combat. It works on two basic principles. One, the pointy and metallic part of the sword is for slashing and piercing the enemy. Two, the ending that is not pointy, is for holding the sword". Mightier doctrines of combat? That was so basic that even a child would not need to be taught it. Maybe it was some sort of cosmic metaphor for existence and the meaning of life? He decided to go and ask anyway. Hey.. It might sound basic and not.. Tactical... Strategic... Not smart in any way, but this man had survived for quite a while. (And that Pactogonal Blade was the level 40 version apparently. ) "Can I... Learn it..?" -Adremalich asked, only to be met with a doubting look from the man. "Can you? Maybe... Hmm.. We shall see. Yah! Let us go now!". Adremalich had joined the party of the two wa... One warrior and one dragonslayer. They seemed to also have a ranger friend, scouting the area. Adremalich remained out of fighting during that while, letting them do the work. He came to learn their names, the warrior being called S'lash Pierce , the dragonslayer being one L'zzard M'rder and the Ranger was named Bou Aandh Arrew. (How creative, don't you think?) After some weeks of traveling in dangerous areas, and Adremalich miraculously surviving.. And getting some un-damaged clothing, they parted and Adremalich went with S'lash.

Months had passed. Adremalich had donned a similar yellow armor, adopted a spikier, yet in his judgement more heroic hairstyle, and learned the simple moves of making a quick double assault, calling out a potent war cry, making a TRIPLE assault with his sword, a proper defensive stance, how to assault the enemies mystical reserves, to stun foes and to assault multiple enemies at once, and to throw a knife. These skills, and some better equipment were his reward. And so, he went on, to battle.. And stuff... Now, with these skills, he would surely conquer the forests of Oaklore, had he been taught another essential ability, to nullify the unpleasant and rather damaging effects of... Puns. Yes.. What would be a very punny name of an Oaklore Knight, had induced such confusion and mental block on our hero, that he forgot his skills. Made even worse, that was the time when Robina was testing out her "Omni-theft project", actually handing monsters equipment and weaponry. It worked on very few foes as a matter of fact, in a mysterious list , hidden deep within the Yunnungaap core, so deep than a thousand Envies cannot reach.. In this mysterious list, the monsters which could somehow store the equipment handed over by Robina, were marked as "bosses". And so... She dropped the project due to few, powerful monsters which few would defeat, had managed to incorporate them somehow. Adremalich, was one of her victims. His face wasn't actually seen, as he it was currently engaged by making contact with the table, in which he had taken a seat before he suffered from the bizarre effects of the pun. As he woke up, he tried to recall his skills, but couldn't do much. With those few money he had hidden inside a labyrinthine system of spaces between his warrior plates, he bought a simple sword, the beginner equipment. And now, moving out of this Oaklore bar, he moved around and made his way to a cliff, feeling extreme boredom. In those fated moments, a red dragon flew by, and his history began.

But what had truly happened to him? Let us go back a while ago. The small weaving shop in Surewould was a bad idea. You never know when a former necromancer, now an almighty lich names Zom Biff Ier actually wants to expand his territory, but due to an aspiring Necropolis Dean named Noxus, such lich cannot expand in Doomwood, so he attempts to move over into other areas , in a so foolish attempt to take over Surewould. He was in a few days time out of new corpses, and had to run off. The weaver who ran the shop, together with his technomancer wife actually fought in the war. They did so quite valiantly indeed, but when the undead retreated , they begun burning that area of the forest. The weaving emporium was no exception. As the father tried to rescue his son from the flames, he was shot by an arrow. Quickly summoning his spirit, he ordered him to go inside and rescue his child, who was at that time a teenager. The weaver told them to run , as he held the body of what seemed to be his wife, having herself suffered a rather lethal axe wound to the back. He held on strong for quite a while, so that the Soul Ally had to remain manifested. Said Soul Ally was called Gladio, the silver elemental spirit of atonement. By what he had heard when the spirit and his father talked, Gladio was a soul weaver. He had , in his life betrayed his friend, a fellow soul weaver, when his friend saved him from falling in a freezing lake, and in return "Gladio" had pushed him in instead. The friend had also become an elemental spirit of ice ironically , whom Gladio never truly dared to confront. He had instead decided that he would atone for his act, by trying to save as many lives as he could. Now.. He would save this kid. As the Soul Weaver was holding on with all his strength, the Soul Ally led "Adremalich" to safety. Fighting some enemies in the way, (having chanced by the corpse of an unfortunate warrior, who was once honored by the Pactogonal Knights with one of their blades, for services to Oaklore) the Soul Ally disappeared as Adremalich's father passed out. Adremalich tried to run away on his own, as he reached the corpse of a young warrior, with the sword left a bit away and a part of undead. As the boy tried to use the little bow skill he had from his mother, using the bow found in a defeated undead (by Gladio) to shoot them... The rest was a mixture of arrows flying, a mixture of bones, and a really bad bony headbutt. The knights body was taken by the last surviving undead of the group who assumed the boy to actually be dead. The young warrior was actually only a messenger, as he dropped the damaged letter. The name "Drema" was that of the current "anatomy" professor at Necro University. Luckily, he had been slain in battle by a paladin, and Adremalich never got to learn the true origins of his name. His real name, the legacy of his parents... All was lost now. But something remained. The soul, the heart and the will of a hero, who would throw himself at impossible battles, to defeat evil and save Lore.

(A few notes. Except the Chaos Moon cloak (a fake one , that is) , the Pactogonal Blade and of course, the Longsword, the other equipment is: 1. The sword in the beginning is FF Xcalibur. L'zard is equipped with the level 25 Poker Titfer and the Sterling Silver Rapier. As for "Gladio", that is rather obvious)




Lightwind -> RE: =DF= In the Beginning... (6/16/2015 14:09:42)

The beginning? That was a long time ago. Let's see...

I remember music that swirled like light. A fire that sprang from wood, sending ashes and sparks into the night. It was that kind of music. It pulsed in and out, and all my newly-formed mind could do was wonder. I knew this was my place, that I belonged in this swirling sea of music and color. It was the impression that made my mind.

Later, when I was old enough to talk and to understand what I was saying, I asked Sir Lee about the music. Had I been born at some sort of party?

Sir Lee regarded me strangely. "You couldn't remember no music, boy. No-one remembers that far back."

"But what happened? What did it mean?"

"It means you were dreaming, boy. You were found naked and half-dead in the Greenguard, alone with the wind. Certainly no music."

I wandered away. I knew I had heard music when I was born. And I remembered being held in warm hands. It was the impression that made my mind. Compared to that, Sir Lee's words meant nothing.

Of course, I knew I had come from the forest. I had no parents to speak of. I was just 'the lost boy'. That's what they called me. But I wasn't lost. I knew I belonged here, In this world of thoughts and ideas.

I also knew that I did not belong here, living among the knights and doing their chores.

These two absolutes did not conflict. Like a child in a dream, I existed. I accepted. I washed and worked and fought, and my body grew to become fit and limber.

But in my mind I danced in swirls of color and music, and my black eyes saw everything and perceived nothing.

I was a child in a dream. But like a dream, I had to wake up.

---

My awakening began the day I turned fifteen. "The lost boy" had turned from a helpful kid into an awkward and gangly teenager. Up to that point, I had been called 'underfoot' with some measure of amusement. It was around this time that I noticed that the old nickname had an air of bitterness to it, and wondered what it could mean.

The day I turned fifteen, I was approached by Sir Plus. He never talked much to me, and I accepted that. That was the way he was. But today he told me that I would begin learning to use a sword, and that if I was not a knight, that I should still be as useful as one.
I accepted this. When I was weak and small, I did small and weak things. Now that I was strong, stronger tasks were required of me.

I never thought to question why. Why a boy who had never been knighted should have the honor of using a sword among knights. Why, when they rode from Oaklore with shining armor and streaming banners, sometimes fewer would return.

I accepted, and obeyed.




Arcturus96 -> RE: =DF= In the Beginning... (4/13/2018 21:23:00)

The day he saw the priestess, everything changed for Sicarius. Sure, he had dreams; everyone did. Maybe he would save a boy who fell down a well, or maybe he would be lucky enough to join the fabled Guardians of Falconreach. That day, however, changed everything. That box changed everything. Within the year, Sicarius was honing his skills as a Dragon Lord in Sunbreeze Grove and watching his dragon, Morte, grow in strength. Their adventures helped to strengthen their bond, and, with Morte's encouragement, Sicarius began to expand his knowledge into other fields, particularly SoulWeaving.

His stay as a SoulWeaver was short-lived, however, due to the invasion of the Undead on one fatal Friday the 13th. Though he wielded his looms with all his might, Sicarius had to admit to himself that Artix saved the city that day. He waded into battle, axe in hand, and the undead simple fell in droves. Sicarius new that if-no, when-the undead returned, he would need the powers Artix wielded. He would need the powers of a Paladin. So, once repairs of Falconreach were under way, he set of for the Necropolis and began his Paladin training in earnest.

Sicarius advanced quickly in the ways of combat and Light magic, and he proved to be the bane of all the undead in Doomwood and around Amityvale. The hero, however, was extremely naive. He assumed that all who used Light magic were good, while all users of Darkness, such as Necromancers, thrived on inflicting pain and suffering. Three encounters he had as a Paladin rocked his beliefs. First, his encounter with Sek-Duat showed him that users of Light magic could just as easily incinerate their foes as heal them. Then, his relationship with the enemy-turned-friend Vayle showed him a side of Necromancy he had never imagined. But the worst realization came when he was adventuring with Artix. One day, they stumbled upon a makeshift house in Doomwood. Living inside of the house was a Paladin, one of the highest ranking in the Order. He was torturing creatures with Light magic for his own amusement. He was stiffly dealt with.

The fledgling hero did not know what to do. His encounters were all mixing together, and he began to think in ways that he knew Artix would not approve. Was it possible that Light was just another form of magic, and that Darkness was just as good, or neutral, as Light? Surely not. He had seen the hordes of undead scale the city, and the rumors of Sepulchure's massing army were always present. But, he reminded himself, what of Vayle? And the Necromancers who had helped to defend Falconreach? Sicarius decided to turn to the one Mage who could help him understand this: Warlic. And help he did. There conversation lasted barely more than an hour, but after leaving Warlic's *tent,* Sicarius had a new belief. Magic, Light and Dark, was neither good or bad: it was a tool.

Armed with that knowledge, Sicarius ventured back into Doomwood to find a place he and Artix had spoken of often and a place he had helped seal: the Tomb of Sir Malifact, last of the Death Knights. With Morte's help (and complete understanding and support), Sicarius unsealed the tomb and ventured inside, only to find Malifact's ghost waiting. And smiling. I knew you would return to this place. You were too wise not to. Sicarius recognized this voice in his head; Malifact was reaching out to him as he had before. "Yes," he replied. "I have returned, and I now see the truth: magic, all kinds of magic, isn't evil. You can use Light magic for evil...and raise the dead for good." The ghost laughed, his spectral voice echoing throughout the tomb. "So," he said, finally speaking out loud, "you now see the world I do." "I do," Sicarius replied. "...and I need a teacher." Malifact grinned even larger. "No. You need my equipment."

Malfiact's ghost guided Sicarius into the depths of the tomb, passing all of the traps and shambling undead. Finally, they reached the inner chamber, where Malifact had stored his gear before his unfatelful demise. His Paladin armor lay there, the silver metal now turned black. His skeletal ring was a few feet away, along with his blackened sword. "Put the ring on first," Malifact whispered, "and all will be understood." Without hesitation, Sicarius picked the ring up and, casting aside his Paladin axe, slid it onto his finger. Instantly, his mind raced. He could see so clearly now: the Light magic could empower necromancy and allow him to sap the life from his enemies, while also raising the dead to fight in his defense. Sicarius grinned, and Malifact laughed.

Sicarius emerged from the tomb an hour later, finding Morte asleep on a rock. Hearing his bonded partner coming, the dragon awoke, only to be taken aback. His friend had changed. His blonde hair was now bleached to a bone white, and his blue eyes now pulsed with red magic. His cheeks were gaunt, almost like a skeleton. And his armor...his armor, once shining in the sunlight, was now a blackened plate with a skull on his waist. "Sicarius," Morte whimpered. The former Paladin looked at the dragon. And then he laughed, a laugh that set his friend at ease. He had not changed at all. "Don't worry buddy," Sicarius said. "I'll still be able to buy you your treats from the Grove." Morte laughed, in his own way, and climbed up onto his master's shoulder, changing to match Sicarius. Now, Morte's skin paled to match Sicarius' hair, and his horns matched the red eyes of the Hero he loved. Together, they walked out of Doomwood, ready to face Sepulchure's army. But, Sicarius said to himself, he would not face this enemy as a Soul Weaver or a Paladin.

He would face him as a Death Knight.




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