=AQ= Absol-ution Finale War Stories and Poems (Full Version)

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Elryn -> =AQ= Absol-ution Finale War Stories and Poems (5/9/2013 11:55:44)

Here is where you may post your war stories. Have fun writing and please remember to follow the rules in both AE forums and the L&L rules.

And for this thread :

1) One post per person. If you have an ongoing story, please just edit your post to continue it. Do not make a new post to add to your story. New major events in AQ will receive a new thread.

2) Please do not comment on the stories in this thread. If you wish to comment on the stories, please go to =AQ= Absol-ution Finale War Stories and Poems Commentary




Falerin -> RE: =AQ= Absol-ution Finale War Stories and Poems (5/9/2013 16:41:26)

Disclaimer: This story is Demi-Cannonical and provides additional details and expansions of storyline content. It allows additional background and detail information too detailed for the games already substantial content. This information is intended as canon and is scheduled to be gathered eventually as an in game book in one of the libraries. However, the contents of this dialog, is to be considered an adjunct and of lesser significance than the in game canon established. While understanding this material may increase your enjoyment or clarify aspects of the in game material, this material is not intended to substitute for that material nor is it necessary to read this information to play through the release.

The Path of Absol-ution


"My Lord" the voice said pulling my attention back to the subject at hand quite abruptly.

"Yes Abernathy" I asked my servant.

"My Lord something is going on with Lore. I am detecting a massive influx of temporal energy, of unknown origination..."

He did not finish as I doubled over and pain and Lauren immediately appeared looking pallid. I knew in an instant that something had gone horribly wrong but I could not at first ascertain what...

"Lore is gone" Lauren stated plainly.

"What? Uncreated? How could it have possibly have been uncreated without my...."

"No love, not uncreated, just gone, vanished... " Lauren paused frowning slightly "except..."

"Except?" I asked confused by how something could merely vanish from time and space without a trace. I had certainly felt the change. The removal of my the world of my birth from time and space had been unpleasant in the extreme. Yet I knew that this was not any proper uncreation, though I would myself due to my assumed temporal immunity might be spared from the uncreation itself, the results of that uncreation would have been far more profound.

"Some of my creation remains. Out of phase with the physical. In phase with the Astral and Ethereal planes but moving very much in this direction. Among them Chosen, and at least one of the anunnaki avatar. Transience."

"Celestra. Is this a warpforce driven effect?"

"No but her husband and your prophet are with him..."

"Lkeas. It is as if they are seeking us."

"Given indications my lord and lady" Abernathy proclaimed "I think perhaps what they seek is Omega amd Absolix."

"I agree. We have recieved word from Lord Ojo suggesting inquiries by Gaiden Cartwright that suggest, inquiry in that regard."

"I have been able to specifically determine the area of the conglomeration they have passed through Lord." Abernathy stated "It is Rein-Gnarok of Etherspace. They appear to have constructed an Ether Ship..."

"So then Etherseid is involved. How delightful. That NightMare is problematic in the extreme. His devices give him far too much power."

"Affirmed lord. It was EtherSeid who affected Lore. Preliminary indications suggest he has constructed a pocket universe isolating lore from the ebb and flow of normal space time. Wrapping it within a fold of Etherspace itself."

"That explains the there yet not there sensation. Doing something like that would create the relative and outward appearance of uncreation."

"Oh he did more than that Lord. He deliberately created an illusion around the removal to enforce that false image. I have the feed on my tablet."

I glanced at the device and watched in a mixture of horror and fascination as Lore appeared to be blown to pieces before me those pieces then abruptly vanishing rather then spreading out like a normal explosion. An effect I had seen before with some more sloppy methods of planetary uncreation. "How messy..."

"Unfortunately Lord that is not all... watch what he does next..." Abernathy said indicating the console and I watched as a beam of dark chromatic energy engulfed a ship of apparent Lorian design. It bore the legened L.E.S. D.E.N.N.I.E. Phantom on the one side.

"An elliptical ether-void ship. Very clever. Clearly both the Order and the Drakel are involved in this. There is no other way they could possibly have the needed technological specifications to construct such a theoretically improbable ether craft. The ship has been damaged. They will be destroyed or fall into the chaos between planes. Unless... Yes. I need calculations of their trajectory Abernathy and the exact spot of their planned etherspace exit prior to the attack. I need to alter their trajectory slightly and redraw the ellipse. As a piece of Lorian creation I should be able to manage that much..."

"But lord" Abernathy objected "They will fall out of elliptical space with you as the central folding focus they will be drawn into the atmosphere. They will surely crash."

"That is decidedly better then falling out of creation entirely... Though Etherseid will no doubt not share my opinion. I can try to pull the fold short and put them in orbit but I have not much time. Wife you need to make yourself scarce I will prepare for their arrival."

"Good luck love" Lauren said and she left quickly.

I gestured and toward the image expanding it outward and examining the fabric of ether-space carefully.

I gave the ship the slightest of bumps along its already established transit ellipse.

I knew what the effect would be. It would make sure the cleared the rupture that Etherseid's attack was already causing, and completed their now slightly modified transit ellipse but little more.

I attempted to compensate enough to strand the vehicle in orbit around the planets surface but I quickly realized that such was impossible. With the extra force required to clear such a rupture in Ehterspace I had only two choices allow it to fall short of completing the ellipse or push the ellipse to its completion knowing that it would catch the ship in the orbit of the planet itself. Not knowing if the ship could be recovered at all in the former instance I did the latter.

"With me Abernathy." I said with a sigh "Our guests will soon arrive."




"He is dead Lord" Abernathy said indicating the fallen crew member, I recognized him instantly, his distinct cybernetics and well built form was hard to mistake.

I gestured at the fallen Hollow Stormforge smiling slightly, I was correct in suspecting "The Order" was involved.

"Just unconscious, I think you'll find Abernathy. Quickly bring some water while I tend to his injuries."

We tended to his wounds and I gently shook the fallen Order's mechanic awake. The irony of playing nursemaid to Hollow Stormforge given Omega's actions toward him was not lost on me. Then again given my servants' many actions, I imagine that I owed him at least as much.

Hollow looked me in the eye and what he said next spoke volumes.

"Am I in Heck?"

"No" I answered "On a planet in the Kresh Nebula. Your ship crashed."

"I remember. I still had to ask."

"The being that shot down your ship, EtherSeid, is known to me. Though his nature is somewhat confusing. I suspect more to it than is outwardly apparent. According to my servant all indications indicate it was he who created the illusion that Lore had been uncreated as well."

"Illusion?"

"Yes Illusion. The planet remains." I answered "He has merely forced it into a pocket dimension"

"An entire planet? That would require substantial power..."

"Yes it would. His power does seem a bit beyond imagination. Though, pointedly, EtherSeid was born and raised within EtherSpace. In fact, until now he has not left it. Though we have had various incursions with his agents before, here and elsewhere, he has always looked upon the material universe with disdain."

"His creatures seem both there and not there at the same time."

"Yes. The Ethereal. Though such is not EtherSeid's own term." Abernathy supplied.

"No he is far more arrogant. He calls his conversion of the physical to ethereal "Ascent" and his creatures "Ascended" in some sort of arrogant presumption..."

"Unfortunately Lord, evidence suggests that he is deigning to visit the Drab Realms now..."

"Indeed? Well then, come Hollow, let us find your crewmates. We need to move." I was taken both by the fact that Stoneforge did not question whom I was, nor did he seem to doubt the words I said. He seemed to be studying me but settled upon not asking anything, merely watching."

"Celestra is with us." Hollow said then abruptly and seemingly without context.

"I know" I answered.




Absolix and I had been locked in this most recent struggle for no less than 3 hours by the time that Celestra and Galrick appeared. and I was taken by the oddity of seeing the two of them together here. Taken by how oddly their presence echoed the past. This feeling did not alleviate when I arrived at the Camp and saw the form of Lkeas there. My memories quickly replayed for a moment even I could believe that it was before my fall from grace, and restoration. Yet the fallen form of my analog now before me and the presence of my Lord in very human form here on the planets surface quickly reminded me that we were in the Kresh nebula not upon the surface of Lore. I considered the last words my analog had said before passing and the sentiment he was pushing me toward with the oddest sense of detachment.

'Still time' I wondered idly, 'I cannot imagine that somehow. Not after all that I have done..."

Once again my mind drifted back and replayed images long since forgotten in the depths of my mind.

Several Years Ago




I had pulled the strings so carefully to lead them all to this place. As another network general I had come to the clear conclusion that Diviara Celegra could cause me a great deal of trouble in my plan to manifest as Omega.

I could not allow Celegra to derail my plans. Diviara was there as well, as was Lkeas and her comrades; all of the pieces were in place for what needed to occur now. I had learned of his treachery, and I could use it.

A careful temporal manipulation had brought us to this place. Yet I had the odd feeling in the wake of using my ability to uncreate so carefully to create that scenario that I was still being pulled by the forces I had set in place. Choices however mattered little to me. Absolute and unquestioning loyalty was all that mattered.

The irony of my position would not become apparent to me for many years. In retrospect, others knew well before then of my hypocritical tendencies.

Regardless I viewed the situation through the rose-colored lenses of my own successes of the certain assurance of the fruition of the plans that had already been enacted.

I smiled then somewhat sardonically.

“I have your wife Diviara.” I said. “I know what you did”

Various gasps and protestations arose then from Ardendor’s menagerie, though Celegra himself remained silent and brooding, something Diviara was quite suited for.

“What? She is alive?” Lkeas asked. It was the question that I required, and so it was she who gave me my opening, she played the role of prophetess quite well…

“Alive? No, Not alive.” I answered.

“I believe she was murdered by Diviara” one of assembly said then “a reminder was left to Diviara’s children of the cost of betrayal.”

“That is what was made to appear happened.” I answered knowing the truth was far more complicated “You have two choices General, do as I ask, or I go and report to our master myself your treachery.”

“So certain of you” The Brilhado answered me his face smug and his satisfaction harangued me. However, he was about to find out how fully I had in fact become a general.

“You do not have the access,” He continued.

“No, but Gemara or Caliciden or any of the other Brilhado necromancers do” I answered knowing that Calicden, the one the Brilhado called Shroudbrood, had already made overtures at replacing Diviara himself “and they are loyal they have proved it already.”

“How will killing people prove loyalty to him?!” Lkeas growled at me then her voice rose in clear challenge “He uncreates because he is tired of the killing, the corruption, and decay!”

The Present Day


I was drawn back to the present as abruptly as I had gone to the past though I remembered well enough what came next. Diviara bested me in that instance and I attempted to use the cold though even now I do not think that Diviara realized that I never intended to succeed. For while he was clearly a greater expert at use of the Cold than I at that time, I was a greater expert that even he could ever hope to be at manipulation and machination.
Of course, in that fight I had also threated Hollow’s son Daniel, and set in motion my own fall.

“How could he possibly think there is still time for me…” I mumbled beneath the threshold of the others’ hearing.

“Do you doubt the wisdom of his statement” my Lord’s voice came directly into my head and I glanced at Galian purposefully.

“No Lord. I do question the point.” I answered “Bah. Amorality is dangerously close to immorality indeed. I am and was somewhat of an expert on both, was I not brother?”

Ultimately I had turned on Lkeas in particular. I drew her in and used a Vesperian technology to collapse her timeline into a near singularity.

So collapsed I did the next closest thing to uncreating her utterly, which I was not authorized to do. I shot her.

That one bullet ending not one life but all of those collapsed. One bullet effecting a horror upon worlds after worlds. I was filled with reflexive and dark regret for that action in spite of myself.

My analog’s words were working at my mind and drilling downward. He had died to come deliver this message to me. He had suffered and died to warn me, a being he had once dreaded so fully that he searched for me throughout the multiverse.

Why? How could he possibly believe there was hope.



It would end not with a bang, as it started but with a whimper. A deliberated anti-climax, yet firmly the right one...





kors -> RE: =AQ= Absol-ution Finale War Stories and Poems (5/9/2013 19:40:40)

Restoration


Part I: Wreckage
The walk to the wreck had a somber mood to it. Kor and Gaiden pulled the unconscious and withering Ryuusei, his state steadily decreasing visibly at this point. The sled they made for their sickly ally was falling apart much like its rider. Galian, Loren and Abernathy walked behind the entire group and spoke amongst themselves. The plains hid the words but not the tone, it only intensified the feelings of seriousness and dread they had already. Ahead of the sled Hollow, Thorin, Terul’Sith and Lkeas walked ahead planning for the defense of the wreckage of the D.E.N.N.I.E, a tough prospect with what they were to face here.

Ethersied had gone too far, attacking Lore was one thing but taking it? Forcing its gods away into an exile? He asked for a god war and he is going to get one he is destined to lose. The world they found themselves on was likely as not to survive, but if Lore might be saved it would be worth every inch of land lost and scarred.

The calm as they walked became ever more unsettling with each moment. No attacks from those strange monsters, no signs of life beyond those already gathered. With the open plains it would be next to impossible for an ambush by either side at least. The only noise to be heard was the hushed tones of the godly couple's discussion and the secretive tone the repair and defense group determined their plan with only the occasional interruption by the unconscious Cartwright.

"Gaiden, do you think that your dad and father will make it? If this one's in such a horrible state now, how much better could the other be?" Kor asked in a depressing tone. "If we never left Lore... No, if I managed to stop Absolix's and Ryuusei's fight, we would never have had to deal with this!" the chronomancer argued to himself. He would fight until the last breath for Lore and this Ryuusei, he owed this timeline too much to abandon it to make a better one.

And even then would he even be able to get back to Lore with it like that? Galian said that Lore was essentially unavailable as it is now, gone from anywhere traversable by them. Who knows how many versions of Lore were affected by the attack. Using his Chronomancy to get back would be a dangerous and possibly horrible idea.

Gaiden had a look of determination on his face as he turned to Kor and said, “They will make it. Both are stronger than you might think.” His belief seemed to be impossible to shake, he knew that his father would come out alive. Nothing seemed to be able to pierce the emotional armor he forged for himself.

The procession went on and on for several more minutes, odd seeing as they not been too far that much earlier. Perhaps they had started walking in circles as Kor nearly did on his search for the others. At least the few monsters there were were dead now thanks to the Chronomancer.

When they saw the smoke once again of the pile of scrap that was once the D.E.N.N.I.E Phantom, the whole group of mortals let out a shout of excitement; they were heading in the right direction. If all went well perhaps they would not see any of Ethersied before they could finish fixing the ship.

The ship was a tragic wreck, flames and smoke still rose from its depths and its pieces lay scattered along much of the area of the crater it formed. The repairs would take quite a while, that much was certain. The sooner they finished the sooner Lore could be returned to its former location in spacetime. They knew that and it strengthened their resolve even more.

They placed the unconscious patient into the shelter of the ship and Abernathy started helping Ryuusei as the group began to work on repairs and the gods continued to discuss the situation at hand. A girl stepped out of the shadows. Long brown hair and eyes not a shade different walked towards them, a mercenary and friend of Kor. “Is Ryuusei okay?” she asked as she knelt down to the man lying almost peacefully now. She looked around as she got to work with the spare potions she brought with her, and noticed the missing and new couple that joined them. “Who are those guys? And did Galrick and Celestra want some time to themselves or did they go looking for Cartwright?”

Galian stepped up to the girl and Abernathy followed. He looked at her with an impressed expresion on his face, “You had so much potential, Rinia was it? You could have been the Chosen were it not for your friend. So much has change because of him and others like him...”

His wife followed quickly after him, “Yes it has dear, but now is not the time to worry about that. These mortals need to finish rebuilding their ship.” She began to drag the white haired man back a ways. After a few feet she stopped and decided to answer a few of Rinia’s questions. “I am Lauren, a manifestation of Lorithia,” she extended her arm towards her husband without turning, “And this is my husband Galian, The god of Uncreation. The one following my husband is Abernathy, a loyal servant to me and my husband. It is an honor for us to meet you Rinia.” The tone she took as she spoke was certainly calming to the girl and those around her.

The sounds of power tools and metal scraping metal came to the ears of the seven gathered in the ship’s hull. It likely would not be long now before Ethersied made his move. Ethereal monsters would swarm the ship to hopefully destroy the interlopers before he needed to make a move himself. If the gods of Lore are to act they needed to do it now.

Part II: Waiting for War
Almost an hour passed as the group waited for the impending swarmed. The calm before the storm did nothing to calm those involved. From all they saw of this strange interdimensional warlord’s army it would not be easy slaying even one of his forces. Their ability to exist in both the physical world and the non-physical would make it harder to land a lucky blow and end it quickly. They would have to hold off for however long they needed to fix the ship.

Gaiden sat by his father’s side as Abernathy tried to heal the sickly man as best as he could. Ryuusei’s condition had changed little over the hour compared to earlier. It was neither reassuring nor worrying, what little health he had left was desperately clinging to his body with only a loose grip left but no longer losing its hold...

Kor and Rinia patrolled the wreckage with a mix of anxiousness and worry. If Ethersied sent an army they had only three people available to fight, if they were lucky. The gods were going to be busy fighting their god war and unavailable, Hollow, Lkeas, Terul’Sith and Thorin were all busy making repairs and Gaiden was too busy helping Abernathy heal his unconscious father. This was going to be a long wait.

Galian and Lauren were off to the Orphanage to finish what they planned for the God War. No war for the fate of Lore had ever reached the scope this fight was going to have. Ethersied had doomed himself once he drew Lore out of spacetime, and he would soon know it.

The only pieces unaccounted for now were the ones that set this event into motion: Absolix and this universe's Ryuusei. Only time could tell if they were to play a part in the events to soon transpire. Galrick and his wife were the only ones who could bring them into play.

Feelings of dread grew and anxiety was at its high when the first scouts arrived. Nightmare Rooks changed by the power of Ethersied. Translucent with odd colors that one rarely saw beyond the most nightmarish moments and a look upon them of pure unrestrained fury. They moved for the repair team as they worked hard to fix the ship, unaware of the twin monsters approaching them.

Part III: Ethereal Retaliation
Things quickly went from calm to a chaotic storm. The pair of Nightmare Rooks attacked the ship, only barely missing Lkeas as she soldered a chunk back into place. One pair of fists lodged itself near her face. She reactively leapt backwards.

The second Rook launched several bullets into the hull of the ship and Lkeas. One grazed her hair, pulling a few strands with it. Her soddering torch continued to burn and without any better weapons on her at the moment decided to attack the Rook who lodged it's fists into the D.E.N.N.I.E. "Lets see how you do against flames you pawn!" she shouted as she turned the soddering torch's flames to their max.

The flames cut through the ghostly Nightmare creature as easily as she expected. The flames melted the creature's chains slowly but it did not seem to harm it much. Lkeas shouted out desperately towards the rest of the group, "We've got some Ethereals over here! They are attacking the ship! I need some help!" The flames continued to burn through the ethereal creature’s arm chain.

***

He threw down the wrench with disgust. The bolt refused budge at all. Hollow was getting visibly upset. “This has gone too far. Ryuusei has caused nothing but disaster for Lore, no matter his reasons. Daniel...” Hollow sighed as he thought of his son. The sound of someone else bashing the ship came to his ears, and not a minute later the scream came

Hollow ran towards where he sent Lkeas to work. The war was upon them now. Kor and the others better be heading towards the scream as well, or they were doomed. They needed the repairs done as soon as possible but with half of them fighting the repairs were going to take for ever. These Ethereals likely knew just what they were doing, and to please their master went straight for the ones who could in the end cause much more trouble for Ethersied.

The sound of bullets became clear, and the sound of them bouncing off the ship not a second later. Hollow’s blood was boiling, not only had they attacked Lkeas but they were trying to damage the ship as well.

He made a sharp turn and came upon the battlefield. Hollow must have been the closest to this fight, only he had shown up yet. Lkeas ran and dodged attacks as the translucent twin Rooks fired fists and bullets towards her and the Phantom. Both had their backs turned to him. Perfect.

He started running once more. With a leap he managed to knock one over, but it left him with strange tingly feeling as he hit it. The Rook landed face first in the dirt.

The second one turned away from Lkeas for the moment she needed. She smashed the clockwork head with one of the large wrenches Hollow had given the crew. The clang it made was reassuring to the duo. Even with the heavy hit it still was up and moving, and the first had gotten back onto its feet.




battlemaster25 -> RE: =AQ= Absol-ution Finale War Stories and Poems (5/9/2013 21:14:03)

Prologue: Before the Fighting

Scene: Kresh Nebula, Unknown Planet, unknown time. Storm Silverwing prepares for war.

Storm had spent the last few hours making sure that he had everything he would need to charge into battle. Swords, armor, and healing potions had been his primary concerns. Once he had a full suit of armor, three swords, and roughly thirty potions, he was satisfied. As soon as he finished putting his armor on, he would be ready to head to the battlefield.

He winced, as his long yellow hair got caught in the visor of his helmet. The armor itself was simple plate mail, made out of strange black metal. Glowing blue magical runes were inscribed on the gauntlets. After freeing his hair, he picked up two of the swords, which were katanas, made of the same black metal. He slid them into sheathes on his belt, and grabbed the third sword, which was an enormous golden claymore. This one was strapped to his back instead. He picked up the bag containing his potions and tied it to his belt, then turned to his left, where a hoard of oddly colored, semi-transparent monsters were scurrying about.

He remembered the horror he had felt when he learned of what had happened to Lore. The thoughts of his friends who were still on the planet were fresh in his mind. Especially Isaac, his loyal skeletal companion. After a moment, however, he shook his head and berated himself.

"Don't think like that. It's not hopeless yet."

He began to walk towards the swarm of monsters, where a large group of Lore's other heroes had gathered. As he walked, he mused about various cruel and unusual punishments that he would like to inflict on Etherseid, if he had the chance.

"Perhaps a glue factory. Or an eternity with Twig."

He couldn't help giggling as he imagined Etherseid being trapped in a pocket dimension with Twig. After a moment, however, he remembered the long hours of nonstop fighting that no doubt awaited him, and all of the humor vanished as quickly as it had come. Prepared or not, Storm was in for the fight of his life.

End of Prologue.

-----------------------------------------------------

Chapter I: A Strange Happening


Scene: Unknown Planet, several hours later. Storm has been fighting non-stop. A strange girl approaches him.

Storm was getting incredibly annoyed with the fact that the ethereal monsters weren't entirely there. He would hit them hard enough to sever a limb, and they'd merely suffer a cut instead. They were by no means invincible, but it became tiresome incredibly quickly. Eventually, he had killed every monster nearby, and sat down to rest for a moment. Because of his tiredness, Storm did not notice the girl who had been steadily moving closer to him for the past hour. Her vibrant red hair fell down past her waist, and a silver axe gleamed on her belt. Eventually, she spoke.

"Hi there!"

Storm jumped about a mile in the air, before he turned to look at her.

"Gah! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"No. But that might be fun."

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"I am a warrior. That is all you need to know, Storm Silverwing."

".... Cut the mysterious observer act."

"You're no fun. My name is Kierra Moonside."

"Moonside? Is that really a name?"

"You're one to talk, Mr. Silverwing!"

"Speaking of that, how do you know me?"

"I've seen you in a vision."


Storm stared at her for a moment and shook his head, wondering if he had heard correctly.

"A vision?"

"Yes. I did mention that I see random glimpses of the future, right?"

"No! No you did not!"

"Oh. Well, not the definitive future, but more like what the future will be if I don't interfere."

"Alright, so what happens in your vision?"

"You're fighting off these monsters. You think you've defeated all of the ones nearby. Suddenly, you get ambushed by nightmare soldiers, who proceed to bludgeon you to death."

"........"

"Are you okay?"

"Please tell me that you're here to prevent that!"

"Nope, I'm technically here to help save Lore. But I figured maybe I could help you out on the side."

"Thank you! So, when will this ambush happen?"

"Right now! Get down!"


Kierra shoved Storm down to the ground. In an instant, at least a hundred nightmare soldiers appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. As they readied their weapons, Kierra drew the axe from her belt, and whirled around, swinging the axe in a huge arc. Several of the soldiers fell back and dissipated into ethereal energy. The others readied their guns and pointed them at Kierra.

"Shield!"

In a flash, she was surrounded by a glowing barrier. The soldiers all opened fire at once, blasting her with thousands of bullets. When the smoke cleared, however, the soldiers' eyes widened. The bullets had all been stopped dead by the barrier. Instead of falling to the ground, they almost appeared to be stuck to the barrier.

"And.... Return!"

The barrier exploded, sending the bullets flying outwards in all directions. Storm raised his head up and looked around, seeing that more than half of the soldiers had been killed by their own bullets. Kierra smiled innocently down at him. He stood up slowly and stared at her, before drawing the claymore from his back. At this point, the remaining soldiers decided that it would be wise to switch to their melee attacks, seeing how well their guns had worked out. They all charged towards Kierra and Storm. The runes on Storm's gloves glowed brightly, and his claymore began sparking with lightning. Together, Storm and Kierra began hacking away at the oncoming swarm of soldiers.

A few minutes later, they were standing in approximately the same spot, with one key difference: all of the soldiers were dead. The corpses had vanished, as all ethereal monsters did when slain.

"I guess I should thank you."

"Oh, no need. Although you can if you want!"

"No, seriously. You saved me, even though you didn't have to."

"Oh, come on. We can get sappy later. We still have a planet to reclaim."

"Right. Yeah. Let's go join the other heroes. Splitting off from the group almost got me killed."

"But not quite, because I'm awesome!"


Storm sighed loudly and began to walk away, towards the main battlefield. Kierra followed after him, grinning smugly.

End of Chapter.

-----------------------------------------------------

Chapter II: On The Origins of Kierra


Scene: Unknown Planet, war camp, roughly twelve hours later. Kierra and Storm are resting.

Nighttime had settled over the planet, bringing a relaxing cool breeze with it. However, Etherseid's minions did not seem to tire, so the battle raged on. Storm and Kierra had fought for as long and as hard as they could, until eventually they found themselves too tired to even raise their weapons. At that point, they had finally withdrawn to the war camp for some food and rest. They sat around a campfire with a few other tired heroes, some of whom had dozed off rather quickly. For some time, the only sounds were the fire crackling, and the fighting in the distance. Eventually, however, Storm spoke.

"Something's been bothering me, Kierra."

"Oh? What is it?"

"How did you get here? I'm certain that you weren't on the Phantom."

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd ask. I teleported here about an hour before Lore got stolen."

"How did you know where, and when, to teleport?"

"Glimpses of the future, remember?"


Storm's eyes widened, and he stared at Kierra.

"You KNEW what would happen to Lore, and you didn't warn anybody!?"

"Calm down! I got Warlic to teleport me the moment I had the vision. An hour isn't enough time to really do anything, so telling everybody would just incite a panic."


Storm calmed down immediately, and shook his head.

"I guess you're right. There wasn't enough time."

"Believe me, if I had seen it a few days before, I would have spread the news far and wide."

"Yes, I believe you. Now, speaking of your visions, what's the story behind those?"

"It runs in the family, from my father's side."

"Who is your father?"

"Alexander Moonside. He has much more control over his visions than I do. He set up a business in Deren."

"Oh? What kind of business?"

"Fortune-telling, with a twist. The visions only ever show bad fates, like death and destruction. So, he made a fortune by predicting disasters befalling his clients, and then telling them how to avoid those disasters. He eventually became famous enough that even the Derenian nobility occasionally seek his services."

"Wow. That's genius. He helps people and gets absurd amounts of money in return."

"Pretty much, yeah. Now it's my turn. What about your parents, Storm?"


Storm's eyes darkened, and he turned away. Kierra immediately realized that she had brought up a sensitive topic. Instead of waiting for an answer, she went to retract her question.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Let's talk about something else."

"Good night, Kierra."


With that, Storm stood up suddenly and walked away to set up a bedroll. Kierra looked down sadly, wishing that she had never mentioned it. After a moment of sitting in silence, however, she realized that Storm had the right idea, and grabbed her own bedroll. After all, the war wasn't over yet, and she would need all the sleep she could get.

End of Chapter.

-----------------------------------------------------

Chapter III: To Kill an Analogue


Scene: Unknown Planet, battlefield, three days later. Etherseid prepares the next stage of his plan.

Lord Etherseid was in an exceptionally bad mood. He had been busy creating perfect analogues of Lore's heroes. Infuriatingly, some of those heroes had arrived and caught their analogues by surprise. Days of his time and effort, wasted by puny mortals! Even the thought of it made him seethe with rage.

"My lord?"

Etherseid looked up at the Nightmare Rook who had spoken, and realized that he had been grumbling to himself.

"Speak."

"Well, my lord, the next batch of analogues are ready."

"Excellent. Send them out to kill the originals."

"As you command."


Etherseid couldn't resist smiling to himself. Perhaps this plan would be worth the effort after all....

Scene: Unknown planet, battlefield, a couple hours later. Storm and Kierra are in between waves of enemies.

Storm and Kierra had decided that it would be better to fight together rather than splitting up. To that end, they had been diligently cutting down Etherseid's forces as they encountered them. Kierra's axe had broken hours before, so she resorted to augmenting her bare hands with magic. Eventually, several waves of the army had fallen, and the heroes were given a brief respite.

"So you're supposed to be us? I'm unimpressed."

Storm and Kierra looked around for the source of the mysterious voice, which sounded just like Kierra's, except full of scorn. Standing nearby were exact copies of Storm and Kierra, although the copy Kierra still had her axe.

"What do you think, Storm? Analogues?"

"Seems so. It appears Etherseid is more powerful than we thought."


Storm's analogue let out a hearty laugh, while Kierra's analogue glared coldly at them.

"Yes, you've done a good job underestimating Lord Etherseid. Soon he will ascend us."

"Ascend? Has he really fooled you with that nonsense?"

"So you don't care for power? Yes, you are quite the disappointment."


The two Kierras had stayed silent as the Storms conversed. However, Moonside (Kierra's analogue) quickly grew impatient and snapped at them.

"Shut up! We'll never ascend unless we kill these fools!"

With that, she drew her axe and charged towards Kierra. Moonside swung the axe violently downwards, and Kierra jumped to the side. Wind magic swirled around her fist, which she slammed into Moonside's stomach. Moonside staggered backwards, blood dripping from her mouth.

Nearby, Storm had engaged Silverwing (his own analogue) in a similar battle. Both of them were wielding their dual katanas, and neither seemed to be at a distinct advantage. They leaped towards each other, their swords clashing in midair. As both of them prepared for another pass, Storm snapped his fingers discreetly, and a magical dagger appeared, floating behind Silverwing. They leaped towards each other again, and the dagger sped forward, stabbing into Silverwing's back as he went to strike.

Moonside found, much to her shock, that she was being beaten.... badly. She couldn't use any of Kierra's magical powers, rendering her effectively defenseless. She wasn't given much time to think about that, though, as Kierra tackled her to the ground and began punching her relentlessly. After a moment, Kierra stepped backwards and looked down at her broken analogue. The magic in her hands faded, and she turned and walked towards Storm.

Storm, meanwhile, had just finished his own battle. After the dagger had struck, Silverwing had fallen to the ground, at which point Storm had stabbed him. He looked up to see an upset Kierra approaching him.

"What's wrong?"

"I went overboard. I was unnecessarily brutal. I could've just grabbed her axe and finished it quickly."

"She deserved what she got. They were working for Etherseid."

"I'm used to killing monsters, not actual people! Especially not ones who look like just me!"

"We'll bury them if you wish. However, did you happen to notice that they were weaker than us?"

".... I did, actually. It seemed like she couldn't use any of my spells."

"Etherseid did a good job at inflating their egos. Seems he neglected to make them strong enough though."


They both looked around, and realized that they weren't the only heroes who had been fighting copies, as the battlefield was littered with dead analogues. Off in the distance, a rumbling sound could be heard. After a minute, Etherseid's entire remaining army marched into view. Lore's heroes let out various war cries, and charged forwards. Kierra looked over at Storm.

"Come now, we can't miss the final push!"

"Fine. I guess I do want to teach Etherseid a lesson...."


At that, they both turned and charged into the fray.

The End




Tep Itaki -> RE: =AQ= Absol-ution Finale War Stories and Poems (5/10/2013 0:31:08)

After Shock


Return my family

A color inverted Hydra falls and returns to the nothingness it once came from.

Return my friends

The BuumDang from Etherspace is flung by its tail into an Arakkna of the same, causing them both to disappear.

I care not for your status...

A group of Etherseid's Nightmare Rooks and Bishops marched forward, brandishing their guns, as they were dismantled by a dark blur.

...I care that you dare mess with Lore

The dark blur stops, revealing a purple haired male clad in dark blue with mahogany trim. His Dainashini firm in hand as his purple cape levitates.

Tep. Rixi. Don't worry, I'll get you guys out. Even those other two.

Artimix marches once more into the mass of ethereal enemies.

"Let me grant you a nightmare."




SIGMUND -> RE: =AQ= Absol-ution Finale War Stories and Poems (5/11/2013 11:26:13)

The circle closes
The circle begins
The circle opens
The circle ends

Light guides the way.

The circle continues .............




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