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Arthur -> (DF)To be a Hero (10/9/2011 5:28:23)
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To Be A Hero
Chapter 1
Part 1
It was a cold dark night and Lore slept, night birds screeched and monsters and undeads roamed the woods, but something, which belonged neither to the monster category, nor the undeads flew in the skies, it had black wings of shadow, and a body as dark as the night itself, but the darkness seemed alive somehow, for that time, the shadow was that of a black dragon, but it changed it's form from a dragon, to other flying creatures of the night. As it flew by, a flash of light filled the darkness and a spear flew at the shadow narrowly missing it's right wing, or as it seemed, passed through without harming it. Many other light spears flew at it from the grounds, each of them missed, until finally, a roar signaled the beginning of the real chase, the fight was just starting.
The wind whipped against Arthur's face as his dragon zipped after the black shadow through the night air, Knights fired arrows from the ground and another Dragonlord flew behind Arthur as backup in case he needed it. The black shadow had taken the form of a Dragon and it was flying really fast. Arthur was used to such chases but it was the first time that he had seen a dragon fly that fast, and to add to it, the Shadow dragon didn't seem to be solid, it changed shape, sometimes, a sublime shadow, sometimes a huge bat but mostly it remained a dragon. It was getting increasingly difficult to chase it because after all, it was a shadow, and it's maneuverability was extraordinary. Arthur also had to look out for any stray arrows flying close to him.
'Eldrangier.', he said, ' Watch out below, will you?' The dragon grunted in reply, the long and tiring chase was taking its toll on the beast.
As they looked on, a flash of light appeared suddenly on the forest floor and shot skywards striking the shadow in the middle causing it to plummet down. 'What was that?', the Dragonlord behind Arthur shouted. 'Artix's paladins, they possess the ability to launch light spears', Arthur shouted back. Suddenly, Eldrangier was thrown off balance and something pulled him downwards, Arthur saw to his horror, it was a black chain and it's source was the already plummeting shadow.
'What manner of dragon is that? ', Arthur looked at the long chain, 'It's not a real dragon Arthur, ', Eldrangier grunted, 'It's a mere shadow ' The shadow yanked the chain harder causing Eldrangier to utter a painful noise, 'Arthur, it wants a fight, get off! Jump off me!', Eldrangier shouted angrily, his raspy, ancient voice filled with force. 'NO!! Eld, why? We'll take it down together, don't do anything silly ',
Arthur shouted but it was too late, Eldrangier twisted in the air and Arthur, losing his balance was thrown off him, he started to fall, but as he did, Eldrangier's massive body fell faster than him disappearing into the shadows of the forest, Arthur however, was scooped up by large clawed hands, it was the other Dragonlord. 'Desmond, take me down, now.', Arthur commanded. The other Dragonlord nodded and his dragon dived for the forest floor.
Part 2
'Steady!!! Hold him now.', the Knight shouted.
Several knights had gathered in the forest clearing and they were all holding huge chains in their hands, on the other side of the chain was a towering Black Dragon, it writhed in the chains and gouted out fire in all directions, the knights however, were far from it's reach.
'Where's Eldrangier?', Arthur desperately asked the knights, he shouted out loud for every knight to hear, 'Where's my dragon?' All the knights shook their heads, no one had seen even a trace of the massive blue and white dragon that belonged to the hero. Arthur was really worried now, after all, this was the first time that he had remained away from his dragon, he looked closely at the Black Dragon, strangely enough, it seemed to appear solid, the ripples that Arthur had seen on it's body during the chase were no more, it was as if the shadow had found a form. As Arthur returned to the spot where Eldrangier had fallen, there were signs of a struggle, but all that the Knights had found were the Shadow Dragon, no other Dragon was found.
' Where are you, my friend? ', Arthur said to himself as he crouched down on the ground and examined the place, a few trees had been uprooted nearby, there were massive cracks on the ground as well, Eldrangier had definitely crashed here, he needed to see what was happening at that moment, but even before Desmond could take him to the spot, the Knights had already captured him. Had his Dragon fled the spot upon impact? Was he hurt? Had the Black Dragon done something to him? What Arthur needed was a Chronomancer, and an extremely skilled one who could turn back time and show Arthur what had actually happened, and for all Arthur knew, Chronomancy was an art that had been mastered by very few, and they too, were in hiding.
Shortly, as Arthur walked around that place, Artix appeared there, he placed a comforting hand on Arthur's shoulder, then said 'Arthur, worry not, the knights are travelling all the surrounding looking for your dragon, even my paladins are onto the job, I assure you we will find him.' Arthur nodded slowly, sorrow apparent in his eyes. Artix cleared his throat and said, ' I better go back, my absence is unacceptable at such a time. '
Back at the clearing, the Black Dragon was going absolutely berserk, it was roaring at knights who tried to get too close, in fact, it had already blown away three knights who were yanking at the chains, so, Artix used one of his strongest paladin spells to put the Shadow Dragon to sleep, as he talked to the various knights and instructed them, he saw Arthur approaching the clearing and he shouted to him, 'Arthur, I have just gotten news for you. ' Arthur raised his head and looked at Artix, he continued, ' Lady Elysia has called for you, go meet up with her, have some tea, and come back soon. We may need your help.' Arthur nodded his head, then slowly walking to the edge of the clearing, and climbing one of the Knight's horses, rode away, this being the first time he had ridden a horse in a long time.
'Arthur, I heard the disturbing news, and I am really sorry for your loss, Artix has assured me that he is doing everything in his will to find Eldrangier, and I am sure that he will. ', Lady Elysia assured Arthur as he stood at her door with his head bowed. 'Arthur? Are you alright? Do you need something? Why don't you come in? ' Arthur jerked his head up and said, 'Oh sorry, sorry, I don't mean to cause any inconveniences for you, so, what was it that you called me for? ' Lady Elysia produced an envelope from her folds and handed it to Arthur, 'Won't you at least come in and have some tea? ' Arthur looked at the white envelope for some time, then said, ' Sorry, but Artix needs me back in the forest, and as it is, I have already wasted more than enough of your time, thank you for the letter, I'll come back another time. ' Lady Elysia was about to say something again, but Arthur was already walking back to the grove where he had tied the horse, nothing mattered at that time but his dragon, as he walked back, tears welled up in his eyes and he gritted his teeth with helplessness.
'Eldrangier........'
'Devon, call Paladin Artix now. ', the senior knight shouted to his subordinate. Artix appeared there shortly, 'What is it? What happened? ' The senior knight stood back from the chain and turned to the paladin, ' Sir, it appears as if the vile beast is trying to speak in its sleep. ', the Knight pointed to the sleeping dragon. Artix walked past the line of chains and stood close to the dragon's mouth, the knights readied themselves in case the Dragon tried some trick. However, the Black Dragon mumbled something in it's raspy voice, 'Arrrrrr........t..........huuuuu......rrrrrrrr...... ' Artix tried to listen more closely, and it was several minutes later that he finally concluded what the dragon was trying to say. Realization dawned upon him as he turned away from the behemoth and walked back to the knights, he walked to the senior most knight who was standing at the mouth of his tent some distance from the clearing and leaned closer, 'I think we found Arthur's dragon.'
***
Chapter 2
As Arthur sat in a clearing near Doomwood with his face buried in his palms, he thought about his dragon and prayed for his well-being, taking his hands away from his face, his eyes fell on the envelope lying on the grass, he picked it up and tore it open , the words were written in dark ink on brown paper, he unfolded the paper and read,
"Dear Arthur,
You may not know me as I don't know you, but even so, I am seeking your help, it so happens that my son Aidan has come of age and wishes to finally fulfill his age old wish, that is, to be a hero, and since we don't have famed heroes here in Kreyan, I searched far and wide for the best name among heroes and your name came up first, I have heard a lot about your stories, your battle with the Hydras, your numerous battles with those Gorillaphants, your battle with the Gigantic Dracolich and also against Sepulchure, I wish to send my son to you for the training, I hope this isn't too much to ask of a kind and big-hearted hero like you, I do hope he doesn't pester you much and returns a true hero.
P.S. I hope you have trained good heroes before.
Yours sincerely,
Lianna"
Arthur contemplated the last line,'What does she mean by that? Have I trained heroes before? Of course I haven't trained heroes before. ', Arthur said to himself. 'There you are. ', a familiar voice said from behind him. Turning, Arthur saw Ash standing between two trees. 'Oh, what is it Ash? ', Arthur asked standing up and stuffing the letter into a bag tied to the horse's side. 'Hey Arthur. There's a young boy come to meet you, he's staying at Serenity's Inn, you might want to come see what he wants. ' Arthur was expecting this, but not this soon, he sighed out loud and climbed onto the horse, 'Get on Ash, let's go.'
Falconreach was a beautiful seaside town with a nice breeze blowing at all times, it also houses a Guardian Tower, the Mayor's Office, the Bank, a Zoo and an Armory among a lot other buildings that will appear of interest only to heroes and knights. Arthur however, was visiting Serenity's Inn, a lovely little cottage for those who needed a roof above them for a night, or to protect themselves from the harsh weather, Serenity was a kind-hearted innkeeper and she also had a lot of problems with the inn, ghost infestation was one of them. 'He's in the last room to the right. ', she said as she saw Arthur enter. Arthur nodded briskly and climbed up the stairs to the first floor, the passageway was dark, it was a good thing that there were no ghosts lurking around that morning. Arthur knocked on the door and stepping back, waited. Soon, a young boy opened the door and his eyes lit up with excitement as he recognized the hero standing in front of him, 'Welcome, please come in, please do. ' Arthur flashed him a warm smile and stepped into the room.
The boy had a fair complexion and brown hair, his eyes were brown and he appeared to have a good build, a normal boy, like any other, 'So then, how do you do? ', the boy asked Arthur offering him a basket full of biscuits. Arthur took one and chewed on it, 'I am good, thank you, so, you are Aidan? ' The boy nodded so hard that Arthur almost got off his chair to hold his head from falling, 'And would you like to be a hero? ' The boy nodded again, then before Arthur could open his mouth, Aidan asked, 'Can we start from Swordfighting and end with a Dragon? ' Arthur was surprised, he thought, Wow, this boy has it all planned, he looks like he'll do it with all his dedication. 'You do realise that you need a Dragon Amulet to get a Dragon, don't you? ', Arthur asked. The boy reached for his bag and pulled out a very strange object, looking at it closely, Arthur saw to his surprise that it was a Dragon Amulet, but the dragon which held the red orb was not golden, it was of a different metal, it was silver colored and it shined like anything. Arthur just stared at the Amulet for some time before the boy said, 'I have one, it's a Platinus, a reinforced Dragon Amulet, both magically and physically, it is said to give the wielder and the Dragon more power than the normal Dragon Amulet possibly could. ' ' I have never heard of anything called a Platinus, where did you get that? '
'It belonged to my grandfather, he was a great Dragonlord, in his time, his dragon, Noir Platinus, was the strongest dragon that existed. ' The name Noir did ring a bell, Arthur had heard it somewhere, as he thought hard, he remembered Warlic mentioning the name during Arthur's one of many missions during which he had visited Warlic. 'And your grandfather's name was? ', Arthur asked. ' Darian, they used to call him Dragonlord Darian. ' Arthur had never heard that name before, it was weird, as he opened his mouth to speak, Aidan spoke again, 'I never met him though, but my father tells me that he was a brave man. ' Arthur looked out of the window, the sun was still shining bright, he said, 'Well then, shall we train? ' No answer. Arthur looked around and found Aidan asleep on the chair itself. How did he........, Arthur thought. He smiled as he got up, heaved the boy up and lay him on the bed draping a quilt over him. Then he walked towards the door.
'Sleep tight buddy. ', he said as he exited the room.
***
Chapter 3
'Tell me, Crusian, are you...................afraid of the dark? ', the voice said from the darkness. Even the strong man standing alone in the hall was shivering with fright, though he tried his best to hide it. 'No........ My Lord. ', he answered clenching his right fist, the darkness was getting on his nerves. 'But your huge, strong body tells me different, is that heavy piece of clothing not enough, to protect you from the cold, if the cold is what's bothering you? ', the voice said again. Crusian shuffled his legs and re positioned himself, 'I am sorry, My Lord, the paladins were upon us, the disguise of a passing caravan did not work, I had no other choice but to release it. '
A red gauntlet-ed finger pointed at the man from the darkness, 'You are forgiven, however, I ask you, do you realise how much time it took me to make that creature? I am guessing you don't. Crusian, do me a favour, would you? ' 'Yes.......Master?' 'Come closer. '
The man slowly walked towards the shadowy darkness and after five steps or so, he was standing considerably close to it, his legs shaking uncontrollably, as he stood there, the red hand reached out of the shadows and grabbed the other man's face,
'You shall no longer serve me as a human anymore, your human traits compel you to put yourself before all others, I cannot trust myself with you. ' A dark snake like shadow slithered its way up the hand and as soon as it touched Crusian's skin, it went berserk and started entering his skin from his pores, as it entered his body, the man started moaning and yelling, but the hand suppressed his screams until finally, they stopped, the hand let go of his face and the man fell back to the ground. There was a harsh sighing sound, just as if a rotting corpse had returned back to life and was breathing it's first.
Soon, the double doors to the hall opened and an entourage of armoured knights entered, leading them was a man wearing a purple cloak, his fingers were clasped in front of him and he had a twisted smile on his face, the knights all stood to the sides of the hall and the cloaked man approached the darkness, carefully stepping over Crusian's body, the expression of disgust apparent on his face.
'Master, ', he said bowing down in front of the shadow, 'You have done wrong in using the second of the shadows, that was the last of the two that we had. ' 'Oh. ', said the voice, 'So you think you can decide for me what's right and what's wrong, can you, Wizden? ' The cloaked man backed off and bowed down again, 'Of course not my lord, I was merely saying that it was not right on your part to use such a strong creature to strengthen this mongrel here, and for all we know, his body might collapse from the sheer strength. '
As Wizden finished, Crusian's body stirred, then it slowly stood up, shakily at first, then surely, Crusian turned and faced the shadow, Wizden gasped and backed away, Crusian had these black tattoos on his face and his eyes had become blood red, his muscles were rippling beneath his shirt and there was a malicious smile on his face, 'Master, ', his voice had gained a double timbre, 'My Master Sepulchure, what do you ask of me? ' There was silence for a while before the shadows parted and there on the broken, old throne sat the skeleton of the once mighty DoomKnight, his face barely had any flesh on it and part of his helm was completely broken revealing his face, his eyes were purple and wide open, the Necrotic Blade of Doom was broken and lying on the floor in front of him, it's former glory, lost. 'Tell me, Crusian, ', Sepulchure said, 'What do you know of the Platinus? '
' Okay, listen here Aidan, ', Arthur said twirling the wooden staff in his palm, ' this is a very basic fight exercise, so make sure you concentrate, for if your foundations are strong, then you are already a good warrior. ' Arthur threw a second staff at the boy standing a few feet away from him. 'So, do you want me to use the Platinus while fighting? ' Arthur shrugged in reply, then got into stance.
Obviously, the fight was one-sided, Arthur was experienced, therefore he was quick, agile and strong, Aidan on the other hand was wildly swinging his staff trying to at least touch Arthur, but in vain. As the sparring session went on, Aidan started huffing, exhaustion creeping up his body, but Arthur was just standing there with his hands on his hips, suddenly, something in Aidan's back started giving off light, it shined brightly, Aidan reached for it in his bag and pulled it out, it was the Platinus. The minute Aidan touched it, his eyes went blank, but he recovered soon enough and blinked, the Platinus was back to normal.
'Hey Arthur, ', he said, 'I feel so good, let's have a go at it, again. ' Arthur cocked his eyebrow and took stance.
This time, Aidan made his move, he dashed at Arthur like a lightning and swung his staff horizontally right at Arthur's chest, had Arthur not been good at fighting, he would have lost his rib cage, he brought his staff up just in time to stop the swing, however, Arthur's staff broke and the blow did reach his ribs, but it was much weaker then it should have been, nevertheless, Arthur was blown back. He landed a few feet away from the point of collision and lay there clutching his ribs, Aidan walked over to him, ' How pitiful! ' Arthur couldn't believe his ears, he looked up at Aidan who had this weird look in his eyes, malice. Aidan twirled the staff and bringing it over his head brought it down, however, Arthur rolled aside and dodged the hit, then sprung up and ran towards his bag that was kept on a stump, he pulled out the Dragon Amulet, it started to shine and Arthur got his burst of Dragonlord power, as Aidan jabbed for Arthur's chest, he extended his right fist and grabbed the staff mid jab.
'What's wrong with you! ', Arthur said gritting his teeth, there was no way that an amateur could be this strong. Arthur used all his effort to heave the staff up, and he did, he heaved the staff and Aidan who was holding onto it and arching his back slammed him on the ground behind him, then turning, he saw Aidan lying unconscious, Arthur massaged his right wrist.
'Ow. That was heavy. ', Arthur said as he clutched at his wrist, 'What was that? ' At that point, Arthur decided he had to take the boy to the inn, then pay Warlic a visit.
Somewhere else, the Black Dragon writhed in pain and agony, 'Arrrrrrthurrrrrr issssss caaaaaalllllliiiiiinnnnnggg meeeeee!! '
'No one's calling you. ', a voice said.
And the Dragon lay there.
***
Chapter 4
'What did you say? ', the old mage asked the hero standing on the other side of the counter.
Warlic's shop was as musty as ever, though it looked better that way, it looked like it belonged to a very old and powerful mage who didn't have the time to look after all such trivial things such as shop cleaning and other such things. The racks were laden with old and dusty tomes, scrolls and books, a blue crystal orb was placed on the counter and a big black book was placed alongside it, in short, this Warlic by and by.
' Well, you see, I have this young boy who has been entrusted to me by his mother, I have been given the responsibility to train him in the ways of a warrior, ', Arthur explained scratching his head. ' So where does the problem lie? ', Warlic shrugged at him. 'I'll get straight to the point, Warlic, have you ever heard of something called a Platinus, it looks like a silver Dragon Amulet. '
' I have. So? '
' The boy I am training has one. '
' What??!! '
Arthur jumped back looking at Warlic, the mage went on, ' Where did the boy get that sort of a thing, does he realise the power it holds within? ' Arthur said, ' Calm down Warlic, tell me what a Platinus is first. '
Warlic went to the back of his shop and emerged a while later, a few scrolls in his hands, he lay them out on the table and unrolled one showing it to Arthur, it had a drawing of a huge dragon it flanked by a knight, the knight wore heavy armor similar to that of a Dragonlord, additionally, he wielded a huge ax in his right hand.
' Who is that, Warlic? ', Arthur asked looking closely at the drawing, Warlic sighed and said, ' That, Arthur, is Rirdan, the strongest of the Dragonlords and the first, his Dragon is Kore, the father of all dragons.....', Arthur interrupted, ' Who was the mother? ' Warlic cocked his eyebrow and continued, ' No one knows her name, but she laid many eggs of which, only two were of great strength and significance, the two named in the Great Prophecy, the Dragon that shall destroy the world and the one who shall save it, but, that's of the least importance, moving on to the important part, Rirdan was an expert smith, he was the one who, with help from Kore forged the Dragon Amulets, but the energy that they could withhold, though it was immense, was still limited, so he decided to build something that could hold even greater strength within itself, so he made the Platinus. ' Arthur was looking at Warlic with a look that young kids have when looking at a storyteller telling a great story, Warlic gave him a very queer look in response to which, Arthur sat up straight and clearing his throat, shrugged, ' And? ' Warlic too cleared his throat and continued, ' The Platinus can well be said as being the elder brother to the Dragon Amulet, however, power that big, when grasped by ambitious hands can become a threat, and so, it did happen, Rirdan became power crazy and with some help from mages who shared his ambitions, cast a spell on the Platinus, the spell endowed the Platinus with the power to store the soul of its wielder upon death, something that the Dragon Amulet cannot do, Rirdan was defeated by fellow Dragonlords and stabbed in the chest, and so, the Platinus spell was activated, Rirdan's soul was trapped in the Platinus along with his Dragon's and so, the Platinus was discovered by many Dragonlords, all of who ended up the same way, so that's all there is about it, the Platinus is a very dangerous object, one, of which I doubt if even Sepulchure knows. ' Arthur sat silent for a while before he said, ' Warlic? Who used the Platinus last? ' Warlic unrolled another scroll and read it, ' According to the records, he was a Dragonlord called Forenus, why? ' Arthur breathed the sigh of relief, he was sure that Warlic would say Darian, but then, this also opened up another vague possibility, Arthur asked again, ' One last question, how many Platinus are there? '
' Do I look like I know? It's getting late Arthur, you should go. '
' Oh. Thanks for the help Warlic. '
' Two. ', Sepulchure said, 'There's two of the Platinus in this land, and only two that were created, if the Black Knight gets me just one, I shall be so powerful, that the strength the hero has stolen from me will look like nothing. ' The cloaked man, Wizden approached him and said, ' Master, it is now time to tend to your wounds, it will be long before you are physically healed, the Platinus may be able to return to you, your energy, but your wounds need to be healed by the most experienced. ' Sepulchure stayed silent for a while before his eyes fell on the broken sword on the ground near the throne.
' Very well, but remember this Arthur, that the armor shall be reforged, and so shall be the sword, this, I promise. '
***
Chapter 5
The shadows slowly fell over the flying castle as its master sat alone at his throne, head perched on his hand, deep in thought, as Sepulchure sat thinking, Wizden entered the halls.
'Master, you called? ', Wizden bowed to the Doom Knight who slowly raised his head and shot a look of disgust at his servant, Sepulchure answered, ' Go!!! And fetch me my daughter. '
Wizden seemed taken aback by this most queer order, the master had never asked him to do such a trivial thing before, for trivial it was to the man who had spent his entire life poring over books of Necromancy, concocting evil spells, resurrecting the dead and serving his master.
'Yes. Master ', the hooded man left silently from the halls. Shortly, he returned and in his arms, he held the most charming baby, it had been blessed with bloodred hair, the exact color of her father's, she had a round face and a fair complexion. Wizden climbed halfway up to the throne and handed the baby to his master, then backing down, waited. Sepulchure waved his right arm and Wizden backed out of the halls, his vile looks set upon the baby. Sepulchure set the baby girl upon the armrest of his throne and looked at her beautiful face with his eye that was missing the visors, the baby took the Doom Knight's fingers and cuddled them, she played with them for a while before Sepulchure said, ' My daughter, I shall tell you a story now, you may hate me for telling it, or you may love me, but that makes no difference to me, but listen now, and listen well....... '
"Mother, father, why did this happen to you? ", the young lad wept in front of the gravestones. Heavy rains lashed down upon him as he cried, the sun seemed to hide its face in shame, the dark clouds prevailed that day. As the boy stood in front of the graves, a young lady joined him, she took his hand and held it close to herself, " Didieron, ", she said in her slightly manly-ish tone, " Is there any way that I can comfort you? " The boy turned his face from the graves, his eyes red from crying and with a look of revenge in them, '" No, the only thing that will bring comfort to my heart is the death of that Dragonlord, nothing else. " The girl, Marma, had concern in her eyes, she gripped Didieron's hand tighter and was just about to say something when lightning fell nearby and the pair fell back onto the soil, as they recovered, Didieron saw a dark hooded figure standing there, a few metres away from them. He was cloaked from head to toe and in his right hand, he held a massive sword, unlike any other that Didieron had seen, and in his left was a very strange object, it somewhat resembled a Dragon Amulet, but the color of the dragon was silvery here, not gold. Didieron stood up slowly, Marma recovering too.
" Is revenge what you desire? ", the hooded figure spoke in his chilly voice, Didieron nodded and said, " Yes, I desire nothing but revenge, can you help me? " The hooded figure nodded. He then rose his arms holding out the objects that he held, " Choose, young Knight. " Didieron took a step forward before speaking, " What are they? " The stranger kept silent for a while before speaking, " In my right hand, the sword that will grant you eternal immortality and invincibility, the Necrotic Blade of Doom and in my left, let's just say, it is an object beyond your powers of comprehension, you must choose from them, and choose swiftly, for time passes, and so does.......opportunity. " Didieron's face twitched and the corner of his mouth shifted upwards, slowly forming what resembled a crazed grin, he blindly started running for the hooded stranger, halfway there, a bestial roar ripped through the rainy night causing all activity to stop.
A massive Dragon rose over the edge of the cliff, on it was a rider garbed in black armor, he had a good look at what was going on, then flew his Dragon in closer to the young boy, then he pulled out his sword and pointed it at the boy, then he said, " You, you are next in line after your parents. " The rider's voice was similar to that of the hooded stranger, the stranger looked at the newcomers before exclaiming, " Ah! Interesting. " Didieron's eyes were filled not with fear, but with wrath, he dashed for the stranger and in his apparent blindness, took the sword and not the other seemingly stronger object and turned to face the man and the beast. Instantly, a jolt of lightning shot through his body and his skin began to itch all over, he came down upon one knee as a strange phenomenon happened, his knight's armor started changing form, turning into a crimson, sturdier, and spikier armor, it spread all throughout his skin until the last piece of the armor, the helm was on Didieron's head, a helm, that closely resembled that of a Doom Knight. " Didieron!! ", Marma shouted, the Doom Knight put his hand up towards Marma and faced his palm towards her, " I am not Didieron, call me......... " " Sepulchure!! ", the stranger finished it for him, the Doom Knight dashed towards the edge of the cliff like lightning, then digging his feet in the loose soil, took off, he jumped off the edge and twirling his sword mid jump, drove it deep into the Dragon's chest, the Dragon howled in pain and squirmed in mid-air, the blade burned with an unearthly heat that threatened to burn anything it touched. Nevertheless, Sepulchure didn't pull it out, but, he gripped it tighter and twisted the handle, the blade twisting inside the dragon's flesh, the Dragon redoubled its efforts to shake the Doom Knight off it, but to no fruit whatsoever, the Rider stood off his steed's back and was just about to jump at Sepulchure when the Dragon rolled and the rider was shaken off its back, he fell, fell through the dark grey clouds and disappeared. Sepulchure saw this, and he closed his eyes, invoking some ancient spell, the sword heated up and a powerful energy flowed through its length travelling into the Dragon's massive body, the Dragon howled even louder.
" Scream. Louder. ", Sepulchure said before he pulled the sword out of the beast's body, draining it of its life force, then he jumped off the already dead Dragon's body and fell, but, using his new found athletic skills, he corrected his position and was now diving towards Lore, as he passed into the clouds, his eyes fell on another hurtling shape far below, the Dragonlord, " You will fall by my hands! ", Sepulchure screamed. As he saw the hurtling shape closing in, suddenly, it sprouted metal wings and now was gliding through the air. Minutes before he was about to land, a massive blade pierced his back and erupted out of his chest, the Dragonlord couldn't believe his eyes, he slowly turned his head and faced the horror, Sepulchure. They crashed.
Sepulchure woke up, he was lying on the forest floor, his hair were wet and he could feel soft earth touching his cheek, his helm had fallen off due to the impact. He slowly stood up and looked around, two bodies were lying around him, one was of an armoured Dragonlord, the one he had killed and the other was of a girl someone had slashed her throat, Sepulchure crouched near her, but he couldn't remember her face, she did look familiar, the Doom Knight closed her lids with his fingers and stood up, then grabbing his helm, he made his way through the forest looking for he didn't know what.
This is a very old story Gravelyn, and perhaps, you don't understand much of it, but in due time, you will know, you will know why it was important. '
Gravelyn looked up at her father, showing all the love in her eyes, ' Daddy! '. Sepulchure caressed her hair before he shouted out, ' Wizden, take her away. ' The cloaked man entered the room and taking the baby girl, exited the hall, Sepulchure fell deep in his thoughts again.
***
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