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(Pre-DF) Past Present

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1/16/2012 20:23:12   
Glais
Member

Past Present (Currently rewriting)

Rewrite Progress:
-Prologue
-Chapter 1
-Chapter 2
-Chapter 3
-Chapter 4
-Chapter 5




ACT 1

Prologue



On a distant world from the place you refer to as "Earth," or perhaps simply as "home," lies a smallish planet which the natives refer to as "Lore." In many ways our two worlds are alike, though the differences outnumber these similarities by the thousands. Lore was a world that operated based on a less rigid set of laws than our own, a guideline which could be bent and manipulated by magic. With magic to rely on, technology's development grew stagnant in most societies resulting in a planet oddly similar to Earthen Fairy Tales.

But despite this, this is not a recounting of their world as it is now, concurrent with our own. This story begins in Lore's past, some 800 or so years before its present day. This time period shared a great deal of differences with Lore in its present state. For example, an organization of men and Dragons was one of the greatest military powers of the world. Yet in modern-day Lore its activity has dwindled significantly.

Most of the landmass of this planet resides in one main continent, with several immense islands lining the rest of the ocean. The Northern Continent (more accurately the northern half but is referred to as Northern Continent for the purposes of this story) was ruled by a man of the name Ortin Slugwrath. In the southernmost point of this aforementioned continent lies a vast expanse of sand, colloquially referred to as The SandSea. This country's (which is one of the few areas in the Northern Kingdom separate from Ortin's kingdom) actual name is unknown and this nickname has seemingly grown into its recognized title.

While the desert will play its own important role in the events to follow, at the moment its impact pales in comparison to a city nearby. Or rather a fortress nestled in the mountains on the edge of The SandSea known as StoneFang. It doubled as a fortress and village, an aspect that served to discourage any would-be invaders. In addition the order that made their home here was quite formidable. DragonLords as they were called, an organization meant to keep order throughout the world. StoneFang was the figurative head of the entity and as such, the Northern Continent is where the majority of their activity remained.

Currently the aforementioned DragonLords were in the midst of an immense internal struggle. The kingdom of SwordHaven, of the Northern Continent, had recently come into conflict with the ruler of the Southern Continent. Unlike SwordHaven's ruling family there was virtually no information on the ruler of the south. The only detail consistent among tales of its leader was the golden armor he wore, and so he came to be known as the Golden King. The DragonLords had played an important role fighting alongside the Kingdom of SwordHaven when their own internal calamity struck. Their leader had been slain. And so the role was taken up by a Giant named Valdur.

Valdur was unique among the DragonLords. At an early age it was discovered that he had a unique connection to the eight Elemental Planes. He spent the remainder of his life learning of magic and mastering the elements. An individual such as this was seen as invaluable to the DragonLord cause (as Dragons themselves are very elemental beings) and he would eventually prove an invaluable addition to their ranks.

He couldn't have picked a worse time to ascend to the proverbial throne. The war had taken its toll on the Order internally as well as physically. There were primarily two voices on the mater. Those who were absolutely loyal to the king no matter how drastic his orders, and those who believed the high casualties were too great a cost. Valdur shared the latter group's opinion.

And so Valdur had spent his past few years as leader pouring out all his effort and spare time into research. If there would be no diplomacy, perhaps some force existed that could scare the enemy into submission. As it was the only peaceful solution he saw, he dedicated much of his time into researching ancient relics and anomalous locations. He'd employed numerous explorers to scour all corners of the globe in search of anything of use, all of which had been fruitless. Today was different however, he'd received an odd message transcribed via the city's Magicians. Quite cryptic (for worry of it being intercepted by a more powerful enemy Mage) but there was one important detail that did get through. It had been sent from an old friend of his who would arrive in StoneFang today.

Unfortunately for him time was certainly short. At the Order's demand, there was to be a group-wide gathering at the coliseum to decide collectively how to proceed in this war. Every second the man did not arrive in the city was one closer to Valdur needing to pacify the massive organization as well as solve a continental conflict. To say it put him under a lot of pressure would be a vast understatement.

Currently that one man stood at the edge of the city on a grassy hill, his harsh venture through the sands now behind him, and a massive coliseum in front of him. He stopped a moment, set his bag down, than fell back on the cool grass. Ah it's been so long since I last laid eyes on this beautiful city... The figure abruptly stood up again aaand now I absolutely cannot wait to leave. Almost forgot how much I hate places like this. But I guess this waaas a special case...

The city itself was structured in a semi-circular manner in front of one specific mountain. At the center was a massive coliseum made of pure white stone with a ceiling supported by two enormous knight statues. Smaller houses and shops (which were also for the most part white, as whatever mineral used in the construction of the coliseum seemed to be present in excess) spread outward from this central structure, though even the tallest of these buildings did not match the coliseum's height. The coliseum itself stood at roughly eighty feet in total, though a structure connected to its back served as a passage into the mountain and rose even higher.

The edge of the city was a marketplace which, inconveniently for the traveller, was busiest at this time of day. Struggling to get past the neverending carts, general populace, and the occasional incredibly pushy salesman, the wayfarer finally found his way to a stone fountain. Unlike the majority of structures in this city, the fountain stood out in that it was made of normal grey stone rather than the typical white. Well this has turned out absolutely fantastic he thought Such important news and I can't even make it to my good old friend's castle. You think he'd have sent for me. He smirked and continued on this train of thought Ohhh how utterly inconsiderate Valdur. I'll be sure to be more of a pain than I usually am in my visi- his plans were suddenly interrupted as a horse nearly collided with him. Leaping back to avoid being trampled resulted in a predictable outcome and he now found himself sitting in the fountain, confused at what had just occurred.

The rider pulled back around, a man clad in the standard silver armor of a knight of the Northern Kingdom, he wore no helmet revealing a thick brown mustache.

"Oi, sir are you alright? I must apologize about the horse it just-"

"No no, it's fine." He crawled out of the fountain and wrung out his cloak before continuing "Say, you wouldn't happen to be willing to escort me to the castle would you? This market's a bit...rough on foreigners." There was no reply.

"Sir, I asked you a simple question the least you could do is answer..." The knight, and now everyone within a twenty foot radius simply stared blankly at the traveller as if they'd met a god.

And that was when he realized his mistake. By removing the cloak in order to dry it, he had revealed his armor underneath. Silver with gold trimming the elbows and shins, along with the edge of the chestplate. The armor of a Guardian, one of the protectors of an Elemental Orb, a very important artifact gifted to humans by the gods. There were eight in total, representing the eight elements that made up the world of Lore. There was not a soul in the Northern or Southern continents who wouldn't recognize his organization. Well I had hoped to keep things subtle, but this works to my advantage actually... And work to his advantage it did, the man was not just any ordinary Guardian but one of their most prominent leaders. The knight who'd nearly crushed him was now more than happy to escort him to the main castle.

Inside the fortress a man clad in dark gold plated armor made his way through the main hall. This man, Gregory Innocentius, was one of the highest ranking beings in the entire Order of DragonLords. He was a tall and lean man whose appearance betrayed his actual age. His face was clean-shaven and appeared to be that of a man in his early twenties. His hair was spiky and blond, with a few bangs hanging over his forehead. What most stood out about his appearance though was his bizarre choice of headgear. Rather than a helmet (as most fighters would opt for) he wore what appeared to be a false lower jaw in the likeness of a Dragon's. He wore no cape (unusual for one of his rank) but wore a red cloth around his waist that extended to roughly knee-level. In his mind it was more combat efficient while still retaining enough of an ornate look.

But today his appearance was not what caught onlookers' eyes but rather what he carried with him. An envelope, and judging from the pace at which he was walking, its content was either very distressing or urgent. Any attempts to not draw attention to himself had failed miserably as his pace quickened. The whispers of those in the castle only increased as he made his way towards Valdur's chamber.

Without so much as a knock, Innocentius' burst through the massive door to find Valdur sitting at a table surrounding by assorted scrolls and tomes. It almost appeared Valdur had expected his arrival.

"Ah Innocentius, not the one whose presence I desired but a pleasant surprise nonetheless. What brings you to my domicile."

"A rather distressing letter's arrived for you, from the King." Innocentius waved it around for a second before handing it to the Giant.

"You already opened the letter? Manners certainly haven't been your primary concern have they, knocking is common courtesy you know."

"Missing the point, as usual." Innocentius sighed as Valdur removed the parchment from its enclosure.

"The King grows tired of the cost of this battle, he wants you to mobilize the entirety of our forces-" he was cut off

"Ignore the innocent lives caught in the crossfire completely, as we predicted. I suppose it was only a matter of time before he felt his hand was forced."

"Precisely. I will admit I am quite curious how you plan to handle this, it's definitely going to split the Order in two. Or rather split them further I should say."

"Life would be vastly simpler if we could just kill the king." This was followed by a very forced laugh.

Innocentius was silent.

"Relax Gregory, I jest. One mustn't take things so seriously, even in life's most dire of moments."

"I must remain stern enough for the both of us." He smirked.

Valdur's expression contradicted his advice however, and he took a more distinctly grave tone. "The King's actions concern me little, it is the Order's split which serves to hinder us most in this ordeal. SwordHaven has many of our lot under its proverbial thumb."

"I'm aware. Restating the facts will do us no good, have you come across a solution yet?"

As if by magic there was a series of knocks on the door followed by some indecipherable yelling.

Valdur smiled as he opened the door. The Guardian tumbled through the entrance before collecting himself and greeting the two with a large smile.

"Heyyy Valdur! How ya been?" The overt enthusiasm with which he presented his words was almost painful for Innocentius. "Always a pleasure to see you as well Greg."

Innocentius rolled his eyes before glancing at Valdur. "This is your solution? When has Deadelus ever helped us with anything. It's nothing short of a miracle that he made it so far into the Guardians' ranks. Or was even born. Honestly our sister organization's standards must be slipping."

"He's a skilled explorer which was just what was needed for a situation like this." Valdur stated flatly. "You need not doubt the quality of his work."

"I fail to see how a mere explorer is going to end a war."

"In principle it is simple. The Golden King is a very curious being as you know, oddly adept at removing traces of his existence save for rumors. He sleeps in the cradle that is enemy territory. Concisely, it's impossible for us to learn of any weaknesses he may have, let alone directly attack him. With aid of an explorer, nay, a researcher, we gain access to an aspect of Lore not utilized. The past of this world is quite cryptic and intertwined with magic. While I do not approve exploiting this for war, there were very few options left to exhaust."

Innocentius seemed convinced, at least for the moment.

Deadelus, who had currently made himself comfortable in Valdur's own bed, turned his attention back on the two DragonLords. "The compliments are much appreciated. But onto business, I'm sure you both want to hear the details of my amazing journey. But even more amazing than the journey, and myself, is what I found."

Innocentius exhaled heavily before his eyes met Deadelus'. "And what was this amazing discovery oh great explorer?"

The Guardian smiled before he replied bluntly. "A god." The delivery was as if he'd been waiting to tell a joke for eons.

"A god you say?" Valdur's words were oddly unenthusiastic. "I must admit even I am skeptical of this. How did you go about meeting this being, letalone convince it to aid us?"

"Ah that's the 'funny' part, I didn't meet it and there is no way to know whether it will help you or not. My research only confirms that the entity exists, and of course can solve your problems. Luckily I did glean the entity's location which, oddly enough, is right under this city."

Innocentius seemed actually pleased for once. "I must say Deadelus, you really have done a fine job here. How did you manage to come about this discovery?"

"A stroke of luck I suppose. I was overseeing a routine journey to the SandSea when our caravan was struck by a sandstorm. Certainly threw us off track, anyhow as we attempted to make our way back toward Sek's kingdom I happened upon a sort of pitfall. We had inadvertently discovered an ancient temple, seemingly predating even Sek Duat I. The texts recovered were especially curious and in the following weeks I would find connections in other temples and the like. If I do say so myself, I've done quite well."

"That you have Guardian, that you have. Though I do wonder why you came here yourself rather then send some sort of message, be it hawk or otherwise."

"Ah right, I'd been trying to forget the bad news here. I did initially send several letters, but they were all intercepted. Someone certainly knew I was up to something and evidently is very interested in 'what'."

Innocentius glanced at Valdur "You don't think it could be..."

"The ShadowScythe should have retreated to lick their wounds long ago, but we cannot rule out the possibility of of this information having fallen into their hands. Their weakness has no doubt made them desperate."

"If that's the case they've likely already placed a spy in the city. If I had to guess, I'd say it's one of the surviving higher-ups. Much lower chance of being detected that way."

"And even so the gathering draws ever nearer. It's as if all the cards have been stacked against us today."

The excavation proceeded over the course of several weeks. StoneFang was quite a dense city in most parts, so clearing out a large area was a difficult task. Nevertheless the group managed. While the Order remained on edge due to the threat of a spy, progress thus far had gone without so much as a bump in the road. Some spy this turned out to be.
quote:

The city of StoneFang was located close to the Eastern Shores of the mainland, far from most civilizations. It made up for its remote location by being more a large fortress than a city. There was reason for this however, it was the center of the DragonLord Order and as such was significant despite its remote location. StoneFang served as their core, the center of all decisions made by the Order. Now, while usually a bustling city in its own right, StoneFang today was especially eventful.

The Southern Kingdom had been at war with the SlugWraths for the past five years. The constant battle was slowly taking its toll on both countries. The people had gradually become unsatisfied with their king's policy on the war and eventually with the king himself. Rumor has it this former King of SwordHaven died unable to live with himself for the war. His eldest son Drahzn was crowned King in his place.

Drahzn Slugwrath was incredibly different from his father. Having spent the last few years watching the war tear the old King apart, he held a great deal of malice in his heart for war. The king could not simply allow his Kingdom to be overrun, however, and thus made a drastic demand on the Order. Drahzn had commanded them to completely wipe out the Southern Kingdom's armies. From there, his plan was to "start fresh" with a clean slate and one, unified, Kingdom.

Valdur had been appointed as the leader of the DragonLords roughly eight years ago, oddly just after the birth of his second child. He'd done his best to lead the Order in the direction he felt was "right," but such an important position caused a good deal of backlash. There were, of course, other DragonLords who wanted that title, as well as individuals who just didn't agree with his way of doing things. Now he'd just been ordered by the King to kill an unimaginable amount of people, which obviously clashed with his morals.

As he walked slowly through his castle, which served as the meeting place for the Order, he looked for a secluded area in a nearby hall to take a seat. He'd need to consider his words very carefully or risk losing the support of the entire organization. Valdur had no intention of following King Drahzn's orders. The problem now was the war. If he wasn't going to fight, what would he do? To his fortune, a close friend of his had made a discovery several months earlier that made the idea of ending the war a possibility rather than a dream.

This individual, a Guardian, had reportedly discovered some anomaly during his travels. While Valdur was at first skeptical (especially with such a vague description), this was a very close friend. He trusted him with his life, and if this man said he could stop the war then he could. The problem was time. The Guardian should have already reached StoneFang and this greatly distressed Valdur. If he was going to convince the DragonLord council that revolting was the correct path, his largest source of evidence would need to be present.

Valdur glanced up at the ceiling. On a normal day there would be Mages, DragonLords, and other people of significance rushing through this hall. There were Pillars lining the walls on both sides, supporting a ceiling at least forty feet up. Detailing the ceiling were several intricately carved effigies of Men and Dragons, to add a touch of DragonLord to the castle. It was effectively a three-dimensional mural lining the angled ceiling and was known to overwhelm newcomers to the castle with its sheer beauty. Despite seeing it every day, to Valdur it was no less impressive than the day it was built.

Once he was ready he made his way towards the Coliseum. The room was both magnificent and enormous, for it needed to be large enough to accommodate every DragonLord in the entire Order in case of a group vote. This was one such occasion. The High DragonLords had taken their places on several large podiums that circled the room while those lower in rank sat in various seats of the Coliseum. Hundreds of DragonLords had gathered to hear their leader's decision on this most controversial order. After several moments, as it was a large room, Valdur made his way to the central pillar to be heard by his brothers and sisters.

Before he started he took a quick look around. DragonLord Armors of different colors, designs, and sizes painted the Coliseum. The Order at this time did not discriminate towards race. There were as many Elven DragonLords as there were Humans. Valdur himself was not a human, but actually a Giant. He placed his hands on the polished grey podium before lifting his head to address the crowd.

"Order of DragonLords! We're all aware of why I've called you here. The King's decreed for a 'sweep,' as he calls it, of the Southern Kingdom, to completely remove all opposition. Indeed, we could easily overtake this Kingdom or any other were it not for our honor. This honor is what prevents me from making this decision. Many innocent lives would be lost in the process. Our holy "king" would have us forsake this honor, and that I find to be truly disgusting. We have fought bravely for his Majesty the King for many years, for some of us our entire lives. I think you will all agree that the years of war have torn down both us, and the kingdom itself. Put simply, I do not believe destroying the Southern Kingdom is the righteous way of doing things. What say ye to this?"

The Coliseum burst into a furious roar. From Valdur's position atop the central stand, he was in a position to view the entire coliseum. Most DragonLords were outraged that he'd defy the King and the ones that weren't were angrily arguing with one another. The riot was growing more and more heated by the second when a booming voice drowned them all out.

"What gives you the right to speak against the King?"

The source of the voice was Zogg and it was fairly obvious which side he was on. Zogg was one of the High DragonLords, and was atop one of the spires that circumvented the Coliseum. He was unique in being the only known Ulgathi (or as they're more commonly known, Orcs) DragonLord, and as Drahzn SlugWrath was much less racist than other Kings, Zogg was very loyal to him. In truth, Drahzn had proved to be a very good King considering the circumstances, so Valdur could understand Zogg's loyalty. Thinking this over, it dawned on him how out of character such an action was for the king. Drahzn had mainly utilized the DragonLords for defensive purposes or to stop corrupt rulers in his own domain. The more he thought this over, the stranger it seemed.

At the same time, this did leave Valdur distant, receding into his own thoughts. He tried to consider any motive Drahzn would have to murder so many people. He found nothing. However, he'd begun to notice the other DragonLords staring at him. He'd likely been pacing around silently, as he was known to do. His council, of course, expected answers to the problem at hand, not speculation as to the motives behind their authority. As such, Valdur turned to respond to Zogg.

"What gives me the right, old friend, is that I was put in charge of our regiment, not you, nor anyone else. Clearly I cannot be the only one who disagrees with the murder of innocents. Just look down at the congregation if you require further evidence." At that, the Coliseum went nearly silent. "Many of our number have been lost; we are dwindling by the day. I do not see it within my bounds to simply execute an entire country! Now, this is the true reason I have called us together, to see how many of you would stand with me rather than King Drahzn."

As he spoke the last line, Valdur turned slightly away in disgust. He should not have to fight his brethren like this. While it was not unanimous that they should go to war, the fact that any amount of the Order's members would support such a corrupt decision unnerved him.

"So what would you have us do instead? This is hardly something we can just ignore. It is as you say, our numbers are thinning day by day. Is there perhaps, a solution you have in mind?"

The being responsible was a Water Elf woman by the name of Saru. She too was a High DragonLord and was sitting on another one of the podiums. Saru had been in the Order even longer than Valdur, and was generally a voice of reason among the council. Despite this, she was fiercely loyal to the king, as the SlugWrath who had been alive in her younger days had aided her people greatly. She was right to an extent. The SlugWraths had furthered the efforts of the DragonLords more than anyone else had. They fully supported their cause and without them the Order would've turned to chaos long ago. To her, what Valdur was suggesting would be considered borderline insane.

Valdur had not expected such opposition, especially from her of all people. She was the advocate for peace under most circumstances. Saru was nearly always the one to find the most peaceful solution. And yet here she was inadvertently supporting mass murder. What had the world come to? Was peace so alien a concept to them? He had thought he knew his allies better than this. The future he saw with SlugWrath and DragonLords was a dreary one indeed. Not the environment he wished to raise his newest son in, it was bad enough his other children had to live in one such as this. However, Valdur noticed an advantage: the other members of the council were still indecisive, he could still sway them to his cause. The room was tense, so he would need to choose his words carefully.

I can't very well just tell them "Oh, I have an ally who found a Mystical Anomaly that could end the war!" No, all that will do is bring mockery and disbelief. How can I explain this to them in a believable fas- His thoughts were interrupted by Zogg.

"We've been allies for many years, my brother, but what you speak of...is nothing less than heresy. Betraying our King goes against the very 'honor' you speak of! Our Order would be reduced to mercenary thugs, acting as our own force of nature. You have to understand the implications of such a radical decision."

Zogg sat down and rested his chin on his knuckles. Numerous scars lined his hands, his face, and his entire body from the years of fighting. Valdur and he had been close friends, often fighting side by side, even before they joined the Order. His mind began to drift back to those days, when he'd first met Valdur and his brother during their odd training...but he quickly snapped out of it, his expression growing fierce before he came to an incredibly rash decision.

"Valdur...I believe it is time we had a new leader for the Order, if you cannot be trusted to do what is best for the Kingdom, and for the Order itself. I will challenge you for the title myself if need be."

Valdur, being a Giant, was an incredibly large man, standing a full ten feet tall. Zogg was also rather large, though being an Orc it was fitting, at eight feet tall. If anyone could defeat Valdur in hand-to-hand combat, it would be Zogg. It should be noted Zogg was not lacking the Magic department either.

"So it has come to this. Sad, we are not the Order we once were. Very well, brother, I accept your challenge. I can almost understand your stance on this, almost."

Valdur had grown visibly upset by this point, but his allies were far too loyal to the king to change their minds now. He might be able to admire such honor, were it not for an immoral cause.

As they turned to leave for a more suitable battleground they found someone that no-one had expected. In the middle of the Coliseum was a Guardian, one of the Guardian Towers' loyal defenders. He was no ordinary Guardian judging by his appearance. He wore some cloth robes over his armor and a hood that covered most of his face. He was hunched over, as if he was weary from some long journey. After a few seconds of heavy breathing, he stood and removed his hood.

"Deidelus?...Deidelus! It certainly took you long enough. I could've used your assistance a mere five minutes earlier," Valdur said as he let out a slight laugh.

"Oh well, you know...research such as this, I needed to verify it a bit more. My apologies but with a matter this serious, I needed to be absolutely sure everything was completely...correct."

"What's he going on about, Valdur? And most importantly, why is he interrupting an official meeting of the Order?!?" Zogg snapped, as he did quite frequently. Zogg was not surprised at who was here at the moment. Deidelus was a high-ranking Guardian known for his rather erratic behavior. He'd stopped in StoneFang numerous times. This was the first time he'd done anything this insane however.

Valdur could not help but smile before responding. "He's what's going to save us, and both Kingdoms. I was wary of telling you all, as I was unsure you would be so willing to believe...well, I'll let Deidelus explain for himself."

"It is precisely this meeting that has brought me here. I am an old friend of Valdur's, and we believe I have information crucial to this war. While traversing the great SandSea I happened upon a text. Now, normally this would just provide a man with wild dreams and-"

"State your business." Zogg snarled, his sharp teeth coming into view.

Deidelus looked around as if taking in the vastness of the Coliseum before turning his head up to face Zogg. "Yes yes..well, I saw the need to make sure my information was accurate. This is when I discovered similar writings in various locations. Documents of similar content in the Frozen Northlands, and in Tombs in the Jungles. Now I won't bore you with details buuut there was too much evidence to deny it. I have truly discovered a stop to this war without casualties."

"But what is this thing you've been researching? How can it end a war without casualties? Such a power does not exist!" Zogg was obviously becoming angered at the stranger's nonchalant attitude. Deidelus seemed to simply regard the situation as a game, or that's what Zogg thought.

"Nay, my green-skinned DragonRider, my texts all indicated the same bizarre occurrence. The subject of the documents has been revealed to be located here, oddly. I wondered why myself, but the surrounding area is diverse. It is a strong well of energy for magicians. I simply need permission from Valdur, your real leader, to begin excavation." Deidelus took great pleasure in the "your real leader" bit. He enjoyed toying with people, especially those with short tempers.

Two weeks later, excavation began.

No! This was not meant to be! I assure you can control it!

These words echoed through Wei's head; they were the last things he'd heard Deidelus say before he ran for his life. Wei was Valdur's oldest son and was present at the "unearthing." Now, all that mattered was protecting Zairo, his youngest brother. Most of the DragonLords had died or been killed at the "Event." Zairo was to be part of some DragonLord Order savior project. Or something like that; he didn't know the details.

"Big brother, what happened? Where's daddy? I want to go hooome!" Zairo began to cry slightly.

"It's alright, Z! You're just taking a trip! Boats are fun, right? And swords, you like swords..." Wei's voice trailed off as he struggled to keep "little Z" in a positive mood. It was likely the last time he'd see his younger brother for years. Zairo and according to rumor, another boy were to be sent around the world to train. The Order was apparently very serious about making them the first of an elite group of new DragonLords. Why was currently unknown.

Wei could tell that wasn't all there was to it. Zairo always had one difference from his three older brothers: both he and Valdur had white hair. Valdur had never mentioned why this was special, and Zairo always behaved like a normal child. Gradually, the boys just got used to it.

After several minutes of running, the duo reached the boat. On it were a group of Elves, who were legendary for their craftsmanship. He sadly handed his brother over, who was ready to start crying again. He then turned towards what was left of the city and headed back. He would've liked to stay, but a longer goodbye would've only been that much more depressing. Meanwhile, Valdur and his two remaining sons were hard at work trying to save what was left of the city. Valdur had been gravely injured in the blast, greatly demoralizing the populace, for he was often rumored to have "godlike powers" and if a god can be harmed, what hope did they have?

Back in the city, Valdur tried in vain to stop the disaster that had struck StoneFang. Normally, something as small as a city would've been child's play for him to work with. Whatever had struck out at StoneFang from beneath was beyond even Valdur's capabilities. What horror did we unearth, Deidelus... he thought as he continued to put out all the fires he could while Zogg and the others evacuated the city.

The flames seemed unearthly, as traditional fire would've left at a mere thought (such were the odd nature of his powers). These flames seemed to actively eat at...everything. Deidelus was nearest the blast and there was no longer anything left of him. That memory obviously did nothing to ease Valdur's mind. Even the various Mages and Scholars knew nothing of this disease. It would seem whatever secrets Deidelus knew of the blight, he had taken with him to his grave.

Zogg was making efforts to evacuate the civilian population through use of the Dragons, who were more than willing to carry the bulk of the population. The other DragonLords were doing the same. Even so, the casualties were constantly increasing. This enraged Zogg, and not just because he blamed Valdur for this. The DragonLords' entire purpose was to protect the citizens of the Kingdom and beyond. Here, with every known DragonLord in existence gathered, they were useless. It was the first time in his life that Zogg felt weak. This was not remedied when he noticed Saru's Water Magic did nothing to stop the constant burning of the city and its people. Whatever was causing all of this was a monster beyond anything Lore had known.

Saru could sense what was happening all around her, to everyone and everything at a given time. Now, all she sensed was the deaths of her allies and the townspeople. What made her so valuable to the DragonLords wasn't just her knowledge of Magic, but her knowledge of life itself. She was tied to it, granting her an understanding of the word and all its people. Being mortal, sensing the life of all living things was not a concept she could stand when it reflected only pain. The worst part was that those consumed by the ethereal fire seemed to vanish rather than die, as if the "fire" was cutting off the connection between Saru and life.

Seeing his comrades in such a depraved mental state only lowered Valdur's morale even further. He did not even have time to escape when everything around him began to distort. His sight, his mind, and even the space surrounding him were no longer as they should be. He felt himself being torn apart by some vast power he could not comprehend. At that point...something happened, Valdur triggered a reaction from this entity. No-one witnessed what exactly happened that day, but the disease slowly subsided. Valdur was never again seen.

Wei had finally made it back to the city, when to his horror, he saw something reach out from the center of it. Then, there was a sort of bizarre shift in the color of the area around it and it faded away. The city's fires began to die down at the same time, as if their existence depended on whatever Horror had reached up from the depths. The boy returned to town only to hear the disheartening news: his father had died in the conflict. There were no remains to discern the cause of death. Wei met up with his siblings and recounted the departure of Zairo.

The ship was of fantastic quality, as was to be expected of an Elven ship. The sails bore an intriguing symbol similar to a hand grasping a hammer. To Zairo, being on a boat was enough to distract his young mind from the horrifying events of the past. The ship was somewhat like medicine for him. While he explored he'd often catch bits of Elven conversation, mentioning him and a "Vendagar." But who was this? And why was he on a ship?

As Zairo asked himself these questions he bumped into someone, someone his height. Eerily enough, they both had the same odd white hair. Zairo remembered his father also having white hair but this was the first person besides him he'd seen with it. Being only 4 years old, he didn't really care about the logical conclusion to these things. Instead he asked the strange child his name and whether he'd like to play, among other things. The other child(who revealed his name to be Vendagar)'s disposition changed instantly. The two boys had become friends, or "brothers" as Vendagar said. It was apparently a custom in the boy's hometown. The two ran about the ship for a good 20 minutes or so until they tired out and fell asleep on the floor below deck.

Their Elven shipmates didn't seem to mind, as they knew the importance of the task at hand. For now, the plan was for Zairo and Vendagar were to be taken to a family in the farmlands of WillowShire. Upon coming of age, they would be sent to a keep far to the North known as Riverine Keep. There they would be taught the basics of fighting with the Knights, then move to the next location selected. This pattern would continue until they had mastered a large number of fighting styles and Magic. The most important factor was that the locations were remote. With Drahzn's recent actions, no-one would risk whether or not he'd execute the boys after Valdur's disobedience. The duo had quite a journey ahead of them and the Elves saw fit to let them enjoy what little free time they would have.

The next day, the ship arrived off the Coast of WillowShire.

END


< Message edited by Glais -- 5/2/2014 5:25:53 >
DF MQ  Post #: 1
2/6/2012 0:58:39   
Glais
Member

Chapter 1


WillowShire was a rather large farming city. While it suffered somewhat from its rather remote location, its Guardian Tower brought it some attention. The city was constantly under the watch of the Guardians, protecting whatever mystical object lie in the depths of the Tower. Initially there was intense speculation throughout the town as to the nature of the object but over time the citizens' curiosity waned. Unfortunately for WillowShire, this meant it would go back to its normal ways of farming and...more farming.

Though it had initially been difficult for them to settle into a new life, Zairo and Vendagar gradually adapted to WillowShire. Their adoptive parents, Rosanna and Culatello, had worked hard to provide them with a good life. They knew that eventually their children would have to leave to Riverine and beyond, and intended to make the most of it until then. Throughout the years, Vendagar and Zairo had grown into decent young men in their eyes and they would be saddened to see them go.

The average day for the two brothers was filled with farm work after school. Zairo was a half-Giant and so was perfectly suited for this sort of work. He'd always preferred manual labor to bookwork. Vendagar was his opposite. While he was fully capable of working alongside his brother, it was discovered at a young age he had a very curious and inventive mind. He generally specialized in repairing and improving the equipment.

Even in appearance they were opposites. Their only common feature was the odd White Hair they shared, the cause of which had never been determined. Whereas Vendagar had straight hair that he usually kept the majority of tied back, Zairo's was wavy and uncontrolled. Something as minor as that reflected their personalities quite well. Vendagar kept things neat while Zairo was a bit too ditzy to care. Luckily, the duo complemented each other. Vendagar helped keep Zairo's mind tethered in reality, while Zairo's antics helped Vendagar often see the bright side of things.

Despite this, both Rosanna and Culatello had made sure the boys knew they wouldn't be staying in WillowShire forever. In their younger days, the brothers seemed to eagerly await this day but as their lives went on, so did their interest. It seemed more and more like a passing dream rather than anything that could ever be real.

Another hard day of work had just ended for the two. Zairo wiped a bit of sweat off of his forehead and took a look toward the horizon. Nearly sunset but still enough sunlight for a quick trip to the river he thought. The river that ran through the center of WillowShire was about its only point of interest for the younger people in the town, and was a popular fishing and swimming spot. Zairo and Vendagar often spent their free time there with a few of their friends from school.

Brushing his hair out of his face, he took a moment to set down the cart he'd been pulling and turned to look for Vendagar. He found him tinkering with some strange, bladed device. Vendagar had said it would make harvesting the crops easier. Only then did Zairo notice to Vendagar's side was a pile of other tools he'd repaired during the day. He certainly got a lot more work done than one would notice at first.

"Hey! Veeeeeeeeen!" Zairo yelled for no particular reason as he approached his sibling. "River. Yes, no?" He motioned towards the city rather overdramatically.

"Well after a particularly difficult day of work in this blistering heat, what exactly do you expect me to say?" He smirked before standing. "Just let me put this stuff away. Gotta keep everything in order you know."

A few minutes later both were on their way into the main city. Despite it being late in the day, there was quite a bit of traffic. Vendagar speculated people were attempting to sell their goods before it got dark. After some careful maneuvering and nearly being run over by a horse, they'd finally made it to the bridge and with it, the river. However, before they had the chance to continue they noticed a large shadow sweep over them, accompanied by a loud noise coming from the city. Both of them turned towards the city to ascertain the identity of the visitor. WillowShire's guest was none other than a DragonLord.

The capital city of SwordHaven remained distressed, as it had since Valdur's death. King Drahzn had grown weary with the war over the past twelve years. The ruler of the Southern Kingdom, a mysterious man going by the name of "The Golden King," had managed to gain the upper hand during this time. The DragonLord Order, once the Alliance of SwordHaven's mighty weapon, had now been laid to ruin. Since Valdur's death, there had been tribal squabbles over who would lead the Order, none of them ending successfully. In the end the Order was in worse shape than before. The High DragonLords had done their best to retain control but gradually the Order seemed to deteriorate. There had been rumors of members within the Order sowing discord, but these were as of now unproven.

One DragonLord, Gregory Innocentius, had remained behind. In the service of his majesty, the King. Innocentius had always been a bit odd even by loyalist standards. He seemed to almost revere the King, and while Drahzn was a good king for the most part, many would never understand Gregory's stance. Innocentius' dedication was so great in fact, that it had gotten him into the position as the King's personal guard. He was known for his battle prowess and for having a flare for the dramatic. While people would not take him seriously at first, he had proven his worth to the DragonLord Order many times over. He was so great in fact, he was one of the High DragonLords, the effective leaders of the Order under their elected commander.

He stared off at the ceiling of the throne room, thinking over the events since Valdur's death, as he did every day. The ceiling greeted him with its familiar image. It bore a painting depicting Angelic Knights among the clouds. He'd often wondered what these beings were but eventually decided they were invented by the artist. He'd never come across anything like them anyhow.

The more he thought about the events at StoneFang over a decade ago, the less it made sense. He'd been there the day it all happened, as had every DragonLord. He'd gone over the scene in his head a thousand times upon a thousand times. That one event could shake up and disperse the entire Order was simply...inconceivable to him. He'd done what he could to eliminate those rogue DragonLords acting on their own however. Those who would threaten and extort towns for personal gain. Still, there was no way to get them all.

He could not imagine what had poisoned the minds of those fools' Dragons to join them in such tasks, though perhaps it was the Order's fault too. A bond built up one's entire life will not be so easily broken. He let out a silent laugh as he remembered how long he and his own Dragon, a mighty Earth Dragon to be exact, had been fighting together. It brought a smile to his face even in this rather depressing time.

"Innocentius..." Drahzn's voice strained. Today had been yet another occasion where he'd spent the all hours planning for the war. King Drahzn took a very active role in this conflict though he suffered quite a bit for his efforts. Fatigue plagued him day in and day out and Innocentius couldn't even remember the last time Drahzn had stopped to eat.

The King currently was seated in his throne, dressed in a rather regal suit bearing a deep purple color and adorned with jewels. His advisors had convinced him that keeping up appearances was important, in order to raise the morale of the citizens. He carried a black cane with a silver, sculpted Eagle's head on top, which served to both support him and add to his look. In a rare moment of rest for him, suddenly his eyes grew wide as if he remembered something incredibly important. He quickly called out to his most trusted guard.

"Yes, your majesty" Gregory sighed. The majority of the King's commands were rather trivial and useless things during his times of rest. Innocentius did not expect this to be any different. The King was a rather brilliant mind, but the twelve constant years of war had done their damage, and it showed. The war was constantly on Drahzn's mind, always there tormenting him.

"You are aware of the Golden King my friend?"

"Of course sir." With another heavy sigh Innocentius took a seat at the King's table, an honor reserved for a select few. Laying down his sword carefully so as not to damage anything, Innocentius took a sip from a glass of wine. It was probably placed there for the King but at this point Drahzn hardly cared.

"Good, then I suppose you should know he will end my life personally, you are my guard after all. I'm not entirely sure how this could happen, given I have a High DragonLord as my personal guard!" He let out a somewhat forced laugh. "But it is as I have said. My days are numbered. The throne shall be succeeded by my younger brother and I can only hope it is for the best."

"That is nonsense sir, it is impossible for him to make his way through our entire country's worth of defenses. Please...rest, the years have stressed your mind." Innocentius took a bite of some sort of roasted animal, he speculated a Boveox. Whatever it was, it was quite tasty. Even so, Innocentius considered himself very lucky to have as much of the King's respect as he did.

"The Giants my boy, the Giants."

"I have dealt with Giants before, they are no less vulnerable than any other man. A bit bigger but-"

"Hahaha..." The King trailed off in a weak laugh before continuing "No, Giants aren't going to attack. They are far too reclusive for that sort of thing."

"If you do not mind my asking sir, why bring this up?"

"I am quite surprised you did not already know this, being that you were a close companion of Valdur. Giants have an interesting talent among their people, that being fortune-telling. I've never known any outside their race to have been taught it, so I took the opportunity of having Giants in my servitude to the fullest advantage,"

"You inquired as to the exact conditions of your death."

"Precisely Innocentius, precisely. The day I was crowned King in fact. You know of...Valdur's older brother?"

"I would rather not. How did you manage to convince him to help you at all?"

"Detest him as you may, he was quite talented at his people's ways. He went as far as to predict this for me entirely free in fact. I suppose predicting when someone died was of no value to him."

"Why might I ask, would you ever consider that a good idea?"

"I needed to know, so that I might plan accordingly..." The King then removed a parchment from his robe. It looked incredibly old and worn.

"Plan? I'm afraid I don't understand. I will personally see to it that this Golden King individual does not end your life. I am your personal guard after all, I owe you this much after my Order's complete and utter failure to ensure your Kingdom's safety."

King Drahzn stood and walked towards a door, signalling for Innocentius to follow him. They were now standing in a magnificent library. Innocentius had once been an avid reader, especially with the expeditions he'd been on resulting in the discovery of rare tomes. Still, Drahzn's collection was a sight to behold and it was evident he took great pride in his books. The entire room was incredibly neat, to the point your reflection could be seen on the floor. The bookshelves were fittingly decorated with sculpted golden Eagles and Vultures, which added for some bizarre though interesting imagery.

"Here." Drahzn directed. Innocentius walked further into the library towards a rather unique table. In it was an incredibly detailed map of Lore with every small and large town depicted. There were various notable locations, such as a grove of enormous trees to the north of SwordHaven. The map was painfully accurate yet Innocentius did not understand why he'd been brought here.

Drahzn then took the scrap of paper he'd been holding and placed it on the table. Innocentius took a moment to observe its contents. For the most part, it was normal save for one anomaly. It depicted...something near SwordHaven.

"That's...right here sir! What am I to do with this?"

"There are things bigger than this war as I'm sure the events at StoneFang showed you."

"Naturally sir, I've known that since I was inducted into the ranks of the DragonLords. But I must know what this is?"

"This..." Drahzn took a moment to scribble something on the map he'd placed on the table. "is our failsafe."

"Wow Ven, a DragonLord! Man, when's the last time one of those was spotted?"

"Two months ago when one burned down a small village." Vendagar replied dryly.

Zairo's shocked expression served as more than enough explanation. Both boys had grown up to tales of the heroism of DragonLords. Most children of WillowShire had in fact. Zairo had never heard of one doing anything so immoral.

"Yeah, I guess a lot of people don't know about it. I overheard one of the Guardians mention it the other day."

"Why would they-"

"Well I didn't say I know why Z! It's just what I heard, and Guardians are usually pretty reliable. I think we should get back home, I don't trust this."

"If you say so. Mom and Dad might need some protecting I guess. Not that we could really...do anything. I mean, that's a Dragon! I wonder if the Guardians could even take him..."

Before they got the chance however, a loud voice echoed throughout the city. This was accompanied by a loud roar which no doubt induced terror into the populace. The Dragon stood perched on top of the Guardian Tower. Its Rider bore an incredibly light and thin model of the standard DragonLord Armor, customized to his specifications. He removed his helmet, revealing that he was an Elf. Zairo and Vendagar had only ever met one Elf, who was quite nice. The rumors of Elves being rather pompous would have seemed to be a work of fiction. That is, until this particular Elf spoke.

"People of WillowShire!" He called out, in an attempt to make sure the entire town heard. "You may know me as the DragonLord Rouan. Now as much as it pains me to even do business with you filthy Humans, I seem to be at a loss for gold. I am however, quite merciful and willing to make a deal with you. Bring me eh, a hundred thousand Gold by sundown and you can keep your city. Sound fair?" The town echoed with the whispers of its people, scrambling to figure out what to do.

Zairo and Vendagar watched from the bridge in horror. Although it was a bit selfish, right now all they were thinking about was their parents. It was only a matter of time before this "Rouan" character noticed the fields. They tried to quietly sneak back off the bridge before Rouan's voice struck out again.

"Oh look, it's already sundown. Looks like you were too slow!" With a sneer Rouan made a slight motion and his Dragon, a Light Dragon, swept through a nearby home with its tail. Vendagar could make out a woman's scream. The Dragon continued its rampage, taking several more buildings with it.

"Ok Z, we can't just do nothing..."

"But there isn't exactly anything we can do to help. We're...just two farmboys."

"You're right, surprising as that is. Maybe there's a way we can draw his attention away from the town though."

"You think the Guardians could retaliate in time?" Zairo brushed a bit of his hair out of his face as he said this. It seemed the night was getting a bit windy, much to his dismay. He never bothered tying his hair up.

"Not really, but they aren't exactly doing very well on their own." Vendagar looked around at his surroundings. Nothing but a few rocks around. "Hm, I think I may have an idea. How good's your arm Zairo?"

END

< Message edited by glaisaurus_x -- 9/1/2012 4:20:36 >
DF MQ  Post #: 2
2/9/2012 1:20:06   
Glais
Member

Chapter 2




The DragonLord Rouan continued his rampage throughout WillowShire. He hadn't managed to kill anyone yet, but the city had suffered rather severe damage. At least a dozen homes now lay in ruins. The people of the city desperately attempted to rescue those trapped in the rubble but found their efforts most futile. Beyond the damage however, Vendagar had one thing on his mind he could not ignore: why weren't the Guardians doing anything? Surely they were strong enough to stop a single DragonLord. They'd protected the Guardian Tower for so many years after all.

The only conclusion he could come to is that whatever was in that old Tower, they valued it over the people. Ignoring the horrifying implications of that, he turned his attention back to Rouan and the city. No sign of the DragonLord heading towards the farmlands. For now it seemed their parents would be safe. Maybe he isn't after Gold at all... Vendagar speculated. Perhaps he wants to draw the Guardians from the Tower to take whatever's inside it? The idea seemed plausible. If the Guardians were willing to sacrifice the town for this object, it had better be important.

"Alright Z, this guy looks like he gets mad pretty easily. Doesn't seem like too rational of a guy. I figure if we can hit him with a few rocks he'll get mad and come after us instead."

"Wait WHAT?" Zairo's rather shocked expression summed up his opinion of this ridiculous "plan." Nevertheless, he realized there was a bit more at stake than his own safety. With a heavy sigh he agreed.

"Good! Now, just aim towards-"

"His ears? They seem to be a pretty big target."

"Um...yeah, sure. Go for his ears."

Zairo picked up a fairly large rock off the ground by the bridge. It looked about half the size of an average man's head, nothing too heavy for him to throw. Unfortunately he was about three-hundred meters from Rouan and his Dragon, and there was still the matter of reaching him atop his steed. He placed his arm out in front of him to try and gauge the angle a bit. Stepping back, he rose his leg and proceeded to step forward to gain the necessary momentum for a throw of such difficulty.

Success! The rock whirled through the air and met its intended target, Rouan's ear, along with the rest of his head. Zairo and Vendagar hoped he would've been knocked out by the blow. To their horror Rouan spun and glared directly at them. The rock's trajectory had not been accurate enough to rock Rouan's brain to the point of unconsciousness. Of course, it was equally possible Rouan had simply been toughened up due to his past training.

Though they were too far away to see it, Rouan made a forward motion with his left hand. Instinctively, his Dragon leapt towards the sky. It only took a second for it to reach the siblings who did not even have enough time to register that they should start running. The Dragon quickly cut off any means of escape, its tail forming a circle around them.

Rouan performed a rather impressive backflip from his Dragon, landing directly in front of the two brothers. Despite this being a terrible to time to notice such trivial things, Vendagar could not help but admire the craftsmanship of his armor. He'd only seen artist renditions of the armor of a DragonLord, none of which did justice to the model he saw before him. Of course, each DragonLord would customize their armory to better suit them, but this was still a beautiful piece of equipment. Vendagar would have loved to examine and dissect it. At a later time of course.

Rouan's angry tone however, quickly brought Vendagar's mind back to the situation at hand. Vendagar noticed Zairo on the ground when he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head, propelling his body towards the grass.

"How dare you strike me! I, Rouan, the DragonLord of the ArborVale Forests! I, Rouan, who has slain the Demon-"

Rouan's stream of praise phased out with each strike. Vendagar's vision was quickly fading and he'd already lost count of how many times he'd been hit. His eyes couldn't even keep up with Rouan. One second there was the armored "hero" standing before him, the next Vendagar would feel a staggering impact to his ribs or otherwise. He did see something good though, Zairo was starting to get up.

"Hey!" Zairo yelled out. "What are you even attacking him for anyways? I threw the rock at you."

ZAIRO YOU IDIOT! Was the first phrase that ran through Vendagar's mind. As Rouan was apparently not above beating children, he didn't want to consider what would happen now that he knew Zairo had dare attack the oh so mighty DragonLord Rouan.

"You..." Rouan seethed. His fury had reached visible levels now. The berserk expression on his face served only to horrify Vendagar more. He had changed completely from a once elegant Elf to a complete madman. A bloodthirsty smile lined his lips and his eyes (which were a rather unique emerald color) grew wild. Even his hair seemed more intimidating, however it is that such a thing is possible.

Rouan dashed towards Zairo who attempted to throw a kick at him. It was easily avoided by the former, who proceeded to deliver a punch directly into Zairo's stomach. The force was so great it caused Zairo to cough up blood. Before the aforementioned blood could even reach the ground, Rouan reached up and latched onto Zairo's hair before slamming Zairo's face into the ground with it. Rouan brought him up by his hair before dropping him again, this time onto his knee.

Zairo was now unconscious and covered in blood. His skull had likely been fractured and he was probably suffering from internal bleeding. Vendagar struggled to get up as he saw Rouan exhaling heavily after the quick "fight."

"How did you..." The pain, likely from numerous shattered bones, was beginning to get to him. "EVER become a DragonLord? I..."

"Don't you dare talk down to me, child. You weren't there. You could never understand! All these years out there, alone. It's changed us."

"What are you talking about? You're beating up two teenagers! You attacked an innocent village!"

"Innocence is a lie boy. I learned that back in StoneFang."

"You..." Vendagar made a feeble attempt to stand, but he eventually made it. "are the worst kind of evil. You don't think what you're doing is wrong."

"Wrong, right. It's all about perspectives child. But the real thing everybody wants-"

"Power right? You're just after what's in the Tower aren't you?"

"'Everybody wants to rule the world' as the saying goes." Rouan, now seemingly intrigued by Vendagar's insight took a seat on his Dragon's tail. "I am interested however, in one thing. How did you manage to deduce that? You must be quite a smart child."

"Gold seemed like a bit of a strange motive. You were also destroying the town. I figured it was bait for the Guardians."

"You are quite bright, that was indeed my plan."

"But that told me something else about you, aside from the fact that your moral code is nonexistant."

Rouan grew angry at Vendagar's passing insult. "Do not dare speak ill of me, boy, I-"

"You can't beat the Guardians all at once. So if-"

"Bite your tongue! How dare you insult my strength? HOW DARE YOU?" Rouan had now fully lost control of his temper. He materialized a sword, single-edged and thin, and thrust it directly at Vendagar.

What happened next was far too fast for his eyes to track, but it seemed Zairo had woken up and tried to push the blade up, changing its angle and causing it to narrowly miss Vendagar. Unfortunately it cleanly sliced through the skin bridging his thumb and index fingers.

Rouan began to laugh softly. "You two have shown resilience. I...I want to make you suffer for that."

He whistled and his Dragon flew by and grabbed both of them. The four then headed off into the horizon.

"I must admit Drahzn, this is all very intriguing, the caves and such. I don't understand the point however. We do not even know the origins of these caverns or the purpose they once served."

"I suspected you might have your doubts."

"Wouldn't you?"

"It's like I told you before Innocentius, there are bigger things at stake here. I won't be there to see them but you will. You have the chance to change things." The King examined the map once more before handing it to Innocentius. He accepted it and examined the notes that had been written all over it. After finishing reading them all his expression changed to that of confusion and anger.

"There's something you aren't telling me, isn't there si-" At that moment several Mages rushed in through the main door. Their attire curiously signified that they were allied to the King! "Sir what are you doing!"

"Consider it a push in the right direction Innocentius." The King walked out of the Library and took a seat in his throne. "My fate has already been foretold. I am simply speeding up the process. Without me, there will be no war and tension will ease."

"You can't do this! Your kingdom needs you. You can't possibly be thinking of...teleporting the Golden King here?!?" Innocentius' had now grown frantic. The Mages had already begun their incantation. The room was lit by a bright light brought forth by the combined energy of the Magicians.

When the maelstrom of energy subsided there stood a bright figure in the center of the room. He was clad in a shining golden armor befitting of his name that was unlike any other seen by man. It was intricate, but in such an alien fashion Innocentius could not fathom its origin or creators. His face was obscured by a faceplate with a visor that also shielded his eyes. Atop his head was a Crystal Crown, quite unique for a King. His hair was likely short, as it was obscured from view but he did possess some sort of a headdress. It was a darker gold than the faceplate and armor, and had several feathers attached to the top of it. His shoulders were adorned with a white cloak that hung down to his feet.

The Golden King glanced around for second before setting his gaze on Drahzn. Before Innocentius could fully react, a green sphere of energy was fired at the King. Innocentius thrust his hand in the way but was only able to partially obstruct the blast. He quickly reeled back his hand from the pain but was relieved to find he'd taken the brunt of the blast. The King and his throne had merely been knocked over.

Innocentius readied his sword, a massive single-edged blade with the effigy of a Dragon's head on the hilt that extended up the back. The blade was the equivalent of a massive butcherknife. Combining this with its magical properties, he'd met few enemies who could stand a single hit from it.

The Golden King dashed towards Innocentius, proving his armor didn't weigh him down at all. Once in distance he threw a punch that was invisible to the Mages. To Innocentius it was still incredibly fast and he only narrowly dodged it. The resulting momentum carried the Golden King a few feet forward allowing Innocentius to counterattack. He swiftly brought his blade towards the Golden King's spine.

Well this is pathetic. He thought. I would've appreciated having an actually decent opponent every once in a while. So much hype for no- His thoughts were cut short when the Golden King quickly placed his hand on the flat of the blade and forced it downward, changing its angle enough for him to leap out of the way. Innocentius sent several more slashes his way, all of them narrowly dodged. The Golden King was a bit shorter than Innocentius was and seemed to be using it to his advantage. He fought incredibly nimbly, almost dancing his way out of things.

"Nyohoho! So it looks like we have someone with some actual experience here! About time I had an opponent worthy of the great Innocentius' skill!" He couldn't help it, Innocentius just enjoyed combat far too much. He'd often been reminded by Valdur that his confidence might get him into trouble someday but for the most part it had never affected anything. His enemies had almost never been a high enough caliber to make it interesting, there was no risk.

"You should not talk while in combat my friend!" The fact that the Golden King was referring to Innocentius as "friend" while he was trying to murder the King came off as slightly ironic to Innocentius. The Golden King dodged yet another swipe of the massive sword before quickly moving within in arm's length of the DragonLord. Before Innocentius could push him away the Golden King fired a burst of green energy at point blank range.

The entire throne room was torn apart with a green light as the explosion sent both combatants soaring away from each other. The Mages were no longer present, having been sent respectfully through the nearest wall. Drahzn was seemingly protected by his now nonexistant throne, which had absorbed the blast at the cost of its "life."

The Golden King stood up, apparently mostly unharmed. Mystically his clothing had not even been damaged. His Crystal Crown still gleamed as before and his cape was the same pure white. Innocentius, much to the Golden King's surprise, stood back up. A particularly savage smile lined his lips despite the fact that he was now sufficiently damaged. His armor had several cracks in it and his face was battered and bruised. True to its reputation, his sword had held up just fine.

"You are...quite an impressive fighter, DragonLord." The two circled the room while keeping their eyes locked. Or in Innocentius' case, locking his eyes to the visor.

"It comes with the territory. Now...what's your secret I wonder? Never seen anyone as fast as you. Suppose I'll need to cut that secret out of you."

"Oh that doesn't sound very fun at all."

Innocentius smiled as he was wont to do in a fight. Hm, you know it's been so long since I've had to resort to using Magic. That blast took a lot out of me...let's see how his speed measures up to Light itself! Innocentius leapt across the room, a feat easy for him as he was many times stronger than an average man. The Golden King took the bait and sped in range. He proceeded to quickly launch a roundhouse kick towards Innocentius' face when to his surprise he came face to face with Innocentius' fist. The uppercut had completely shattered his faceplate as he was tossed upward, through what would've been the ceiling if it were still around. Quickly, Innocentius intently focused Light into the palm of his hand and released it. His mastery over the Elemental Magics was so great in fact, it was no ordinary burst of Light but a laser.

Then, the impossible happened. The Golden king was able to not only react to a beam of pure Light, but contort his body just enough that it missed and shot into the sky. As a result he was unable to catch himself as he descended towards the ground and crashed through to the floor below, which had been weakened by the explosion.

That's...inconceivable! Innocentius thought, his heart racing from the thrill of such an immense battle. For the moment he'd forgotten his true goal, saving Drahzn. I've never seen anyone so fast, able to perceive a beam of pure Light! This...this is amazing! Oh do not let up now Golden king, you're making this quite fun!

Innocentius hopped through the hole in the floor. The rain was letting in through the hole in the ceiling, unusual weather for this time of year. Certainly adds to the atmosphere. As he search around he found the Golden King standing ten or so feet from him. He was clutching the shattered remains of his faceplate, his face now fully revealed. He appeared to be much younger than Drahzn, and possibly near Innocentius' age. He had a scar running across the middle of his face, crossing his nose, from ear to ear. His hair turned out to be longer than Innocentius had guessed, and was slicked back. That was not what intrigued Innocentius but rather its color.

White...hair? But this is neither Valdur nor his brother... The Golden King dashed towards Innocentius yet again, this seemed to be a favored tactic of his. This time Innocentius saw it coming and countered with a mighty back kick. The result was as expected, the Golden king didn't think Innocentius would dare use such a flashy move and was too far committed to his own attack. The kick landed directly on his chest, sending him flying back through the hall.

"You've been fun Golden King, more worthy of an opponent than I've faced in a long time. I commend you for that. You should be honored, to die at the hands of a High DragonLord as glorious as I!" Innocentius began to focus the Light again.

"I would not do that if I were you, friend." Yet again was the term "friend" present in his speech.

Ignoring his warning Innocentius released the beam of Light. What he did not notice was that a split second before he had done so, the Golden King had tossed the shards of his mask into the air in front of him. For something as fast as Light, the bits of metal and enchanted crystal (that made up his visor) stood still. The Light bounced and reflected various times off the metal, finally redirecting directly into a wall besides the Golden King.

"BRILLIANT! You, Golden King, are a most intelligent fighter indeed!" However Innocentius' joy was cut short as the King soared over him, landing just under the hole in the ceiling. The man quickly jumped back up through it. Innocentius tried to follow him as fast he could but it was in vain. By the time he was there, Drahzn was already dead.

"Do not worry DragonLord, he is...at peace. I have made his death swi-" The Golden King was tackled from behind through one of the few remaining walls and out of the castle. The rain cascaded upon them as the ground grew ever closer. Innocentius drove the Golden King into the ground with no regard for his own safety. The Golden King kicked him off before beautifully dodging back a few feet from a slash of Innocentius' blade.

Innocentius' had now grown visibly angry. Due to his over-excitement at having a worthy opponent, he had let his most important duty slip past him. It did not matter to him that Drahzn had wanted to die, Innocentius had failed his job. Utilizing a bit more creativity, Innocentius used some of his Mana to control the Water around them. The rain suddenly stopped and froze, becoming fatally sharp needles of Ice.

Considering that it was an assault from all sides, no amount of speed could save the Golden King this time. In a last desperate measure, he fired one last green burst of burning energy towards himself. The resulting explosion melted most of the needles before they could stab him and become deadly. Some of them had landed, but they appeared to non-fatal. The Golden King had vanished, an intelligent fighter indeed.

END

< Message edited by glaisaurus_x -- 11/7/2012 23:38:08 >
DF MQ  Post #: 3
2/18/2012 6:16:43   
Glais
Member

Chapter 3




The mountain range was a magnificent sight to behold. The summer warmth had melted most of the snow off the towering peaks of most of them, leaving only a rocky challenge for would-be explorers. Evergreen trees dotted the surroundings with splashes of color while the streams added a sort of gleam that could be seen from miles away. The melting snow further complimented them as well as helped supply water to the rivers and lakes they flowed into.

The mountains were not only incredible in appearance, but were also among the tallest on the Continent. Despite their beauty, many lives had been claimed in a futile attempt to scale their icy heights. How convenient for Rouan that they surrounded WillowShire. Sentencing someone to death through use of a mountain, quite hilarious he thought. And so there they were, Zairo and Vendagar, atop a mountain without food or warmth. It may have been summer, but at such high altitudes the temperature was still obscenely low.

Vendagar and Zairo had been dropped on the mountain with the most snow, while unconscious. Zairo had apparently passed out from his wounds again and Vendagar had been incapacitated...when? He couldn't remember. He struggled out of the snow which he'd apparently been lying in the entire time. His limbs felt frozen to the point that he could hardly feel anything with them. Carefully waking up Zairo, he found that he was in a similar predicament. Vendagar moved in to examine his face, as that had suffered the most damage.

It was worse than he'd thought, the blood on his face had frozen in a very peculiar way, in the sense that miniscule ice crystals were jutting into his skin. Zairo tried to sit up but Vendagar's facial expression and body language signalled that he shouldn't move. They both sat in the snow for several minutes, trying to think of a way to survive. With each minute they could feel the temperature drop and the malevolent chill set in further on their bodies.

Finally, Zairo had the idea that they should try and start a fire. Realistically speaking, this would be the only way for them to stave off the frostbite. The biggest problem at hand was the monumental amount of snow on this particular mountain. It guaranteed any timber they might be able to gather would already be soaked. Furthermore, starting a fire with all this snow around was going to be difficult, if it was even possible. Lastly, there was the underlying problem of a lack of anything to cut with. Tearing branches off trees wouldn't be enough for a fire that would keep them sustained.

The situation looked entirely hopeless and every second they spent in the snow was a second more for the hypothermia to grow. They had no food either and without that, they may as well have counted themselves dead. Is this...really how it's gonna end for us? I always thought I'd...grow up...have a normal li...li...life... Vendagar thought as he struggled to stay awake. The temperature was dulling his senses as well.

"Zairo."

"Yeah?"

"We have to try and do something. If we don't, we're going to die up here."

"But...won't somebody come to look for us?"

"No-one's gonna come find us, I doubt anyone even knows we're up here."

"So what do we do then? There's nothing but ice and trees up here. I haven't even seen any birds we could try and catch."

"We're...gonna have to look for shelter. There must be a cave or something. From there we could block the wind. And without the additional cold the wind brings, we should survive a bit longer."

"All right, but first I'm gonna need to get all this blood off my face, it's so cold and uncomfortable now." Zairo quickly began clawing at the frozen red substance that stained his skin. Vendagar's yell and the pain that suddenly shot through his skull revealed to him that this was an unwise choice indeed. The embedded ice quickly tore free and opened the wounds on his face. Small amounts of blood quickly poured from his skin, painting the majority of his face a bright red before it quickly froze back into place.

Zairo screamed as his brain registered the pain before he was drowned out by a far louder noise. The roar sounded like it was roughly ten meters from where the brothers were currently sitting though given how loud it was, that was questionable. As Zairo stared at his hands, now covered in frozen blood, Vendagar motioned for them to start running. Zairo quickly pushed himself up and took off running through the trees. He quickly caught up to Vendagar due to the size difference, much to his relief, when he heard a large crash and cracking noise. The beast currently chasing them was none other than what is now known as a "Two-Bear." A monstrous Polar Bear that, for some strange reason, possessed two heads. They were prized by hunters and were generally found in the Frozen Northlands, several thousand miles north of WillowShire.

The beast looked to be an immense specimen, probably eight feet tall at the shoulders. It had already broken through several trees in its attempt to make its way to its next desired meal. The duo ran through the snow as fast as they could, avoiding the trees while dealing with the strains of their fatigued and injured bodies. To contrast, the bear did not need to worry about these troubles. It was already accustomed to life in the snow, was not injured, and did not need to bother itself by running around anything. The gap between hunter and prey was gradually closing.

Vendagar spotted the line of trees coming to an end, which was both good and bad. On one side of things, not having to avoid trees would allow them to be quicker. The bear unfortunately, would also not be slowed down by the trees it was slamming its massive body through. With an optimistic burst of speed, they sped out of the green forest and into and a plain of nothing but white snow.

Or so they thought. Dividing them from their so-called paradise was a thirty foot wide chasm, the depths of which had never been seen by any man who still lived. The bear drawing closer with every fallen tree, they were quickly running out of options. Or they would have, if Zairo hadn't invented a new option.

"Hey, HEYYY!"

"Zairo what are you doing? We have to find a way across this cliff. We're about to die if we don't!"

"We can use one of the trees!" Zairo moved about ecstatically while he searched for the perfect tree.

"Neither of us are strong enough to move a tree though, especially one this big."

"That bear's been doin a pretty good job of it though."

The boys quickly stood by the tree Zairo finally selected, careful not to accidentally slip off the edge and into the abyss. They could hear the bear now...no, worse, it was in their line of sight. Frothy spit lined its gaping jaws, the yellowish teeth bared and prepared to tear into their next meal. The bear's wild eyes came into view one last time as the trunk of the tree met the section between its heads. The dual jaws snapped shut just as the bear collided with the massive tree. Was it enough? Could it tear a tree this large from the ground?

First there was a slight crack, then a tilt, then nothing. The tree didn't move. The boys both prepared themselves for the worst as they stared their executioner in the eye. They were just out of reach, but only for so long. The beast roared and made one final push to make it into their range. Suddenly there was a much louder Craaaaack! as the roots of the tree tore from the ground and the tree itself toppled over the chasm. Zairo and Vendagar quickly jumped onto the now horizontal tree trunk and attempted to cross the gap.

Unfortunately, they had somehow overlooked the fact that the bear would follow them, and it did. Only its weight brought down the trunk and sent it scraping down both sides of the cliff. Additionally the higher points of the tree were also the thinnest points. They quickly snapped off reducing the tree's length considerably. Now the two boys and a tree were rapidly descending down the gaping maw of the cliff. Luckily, the bear had fallen off and met its death at the theoretical bottom of the ravine.

Within seconds, the tree ground to stop, lodged between either side of the cliffs. There was no longer any light being let into the great divide. One wrong move and they would soon join the bear. Zairo took a seat on the tree, his legs dangled over the sides. Vendagar did the same, with similar, if slightly reduced, results. And so they waited, trying to think of a way out. Three hours had passed when Zairo broke the silence.

"We're going to die down here, aren't we?" There was a tinge of hopelessness and depression in his voice. For someone as...removed from reality as he was often considered, this was surprising. He'd never taken a situation as "grave" before. It was a new and incredibly unpleasing experience.

"Y-yeah. Probably." It hurt Vendagar to tell his "little brother" this. He'd always attempted to protect Zairo's somewhat innocent nature, the last thing he wanted was to give him a reason to be afraid.

"How will we survive?"

"I'm not sure if we will."

The blazing sun Solaris shone brightly upon SwordHaven. Its fields were green and luscious, full of life. Life for the average farmer could not have been better. Business within the city had skyrocketed due to various trades being amplified by the war. In particular the blacksmiths' craft were now in high demand. SwordHaven's armories needed all the weapons, horseshoes, and armor they could get. SwordHaven was a symbol of safety and sought to protect this image, the people in it thrived even in such a war torn era. The capital of the Northern Kingdom was for all intents and purposes, invincible. Or at least, that's how it appeared.

In actuality the political sector of SwordHaven had descended into a rabid frenzy due to the recent calamity that had befallen them. Their King for the past twenty years had been murdered, and by "filth from the Southern Kingdom" no less. The grand Castle of SwordHaven, a symbol of its riches and prosperity, had suffered considerable damage to the throne room and hall below. The ruling council had been running things in the mean time (although only a day had passed) and had apparently hired Moglins to repair the damage. Small as their were, apparently their expertise at construction was nearly unmatched. The DragonLord, Gregory Innocentius, had not been seen since the events had taken place. There were rumors circulating that he'd taken his own life in grief.

The center of the Castle was the most heavily protected and important room there was. One would think this would be the King's bedroom but it instead served as the meeting room for the King and his council members. The most thought into the design and engineering was put into this room. It was entirely circular for one thing, and had very little in it. There were four double-doors, which led into every hall in the Castle. In the room itself was a long table with which to seat the council and King. The ceiling was painted with some sort of heavenly scenery depicting birds of many kinds. No-one had ever quite figured out why.

Inside the room now, this council was making a mad dash to inform Drageth of the various nuances of life as the new King. It wasn't just for his own good however, they feared one of the rival families would attempt to take over in place of a Slugwrath. This would remove them from their lofty positions at the head of the country. What they did not know however, is that Drageth Slugwrath was aware of this, and was willing to go to any means to ensure his family's position at the top of society. At the top of his vision for society.

"Drageth, are you paying attention at all boy? If you wish to be crowned King you'd best familiarize yourself with your own country! This apathetic air you've had towards the Kingdom isn't improving your chances at all." The man speaking sat at the head of the long table in the center of the room. He was an elderly gentleman, of around sixty years of age. He'd served as a governor of a rather large town known as LoenVale near what is now known as SureWould Forest.

A woman to his left spoke up, dressed in incredibly sophisticated attire. Drageth noted that it was a red dress, a color he was fond of, trimmed and detailed with gold and lace. Her hair was pulled up out of her face and was as black as the feather's of a crow. The woman herself was probably at least ten years his elder.

"Most importantly would be the war Prince Drageth. With Drahzn dead, the Southern Kingdom is appeased and the war can can finally cease. You will, however, have to deal with the citizens of this great country. It's unlikely they'll settle for this after having their King murdered in his own home." She seemed to be testing Drageth more than stating anything important. He already knew all about the war, he'd known ever since his brother was crowned King. In the grand scheme of things, what the people wanted was insignificant. Much like the people themselves, and everyone else in the room. So the young prince thought.

Drageth was now leaning on the table, supported by his elbow, his face resting in his left hand. A smirk lined his face that seemed to do an effective job indicating how little he cared about anything these "pompous old men" had to say to him. He sat up, adjusted his vest (which was a light brown) and turned his attention to all members of the council. He glanced around the table, getting a good look at all members his brother had selected to advise him.

"I understand that you wish to, what was it, educate me? If you'd had anything with any semblance of importance to say, I might care. As of now, to be blunt, you're nothing but useless old fools standing in my way." He circled the table stopping behind the woman in the red dress. "It is with no regret whatsoever, that I inform you your services are no longer needed." The reactions of the council were just as he had hoped, they were infuriated. One by one, they gradually left the room.

Drageth sat down and motioned to one of the servants. She quickly approached the Prince, as was her duty. "A glass of wine sir?" Drageth accepted her offer.

The maid returned in a moment with the wine. Drageth took a sip then smiled. "Good, you're dismissed." As the maid left it suddenly occurred to Drageth that there were Knights guarding all of the entrances and exits. Perhaps they'd always been there, but as it was never important until now, Drageth had simply never noticed.

"The rest of you too. Go...take a break, or whatever it is people who have to work do when they aren't busy."

The room was now empty. Drageth looked at the floor. Polished. Clean. Pure. To the point that he could see his own reflection on the floor. The doors were just as spotless, and intricately designed. The wood that made them up was carved into a bizarre three-dimensional "painting" depicting Eagles and Vultures. He wasn't quite sure what fascination the King who'd built this place had with the birds, in fact he almost found it disturbing. When he ruled, he thought, that would definitely have to go. This country could certainly use a King who appreciates true quality...

"Well!" He spoke out to seemingly no-one. "I at least, found our endeavor to be a magnificent success. How about you, friend?"

"Oh I found it to be a very...educating...exp...er..." The mysterious speaker seemed to talk as if he was constantly out of breath. "ience. Experience. Hnhn, that was...quite a lot to say..."

"You're quite a strange one, given what you are." Drageth mused as he turned his attention back to his crystal glass and its alcoholic substance.

"Yes yes, we've been...over this." The mysterious man came somewhat into Drageth's eyesight, though he was shrouded by shadows. Drageth could make out a Scythe he was carrying, as always.

"You'd better be able to hold up your end of the bargain."

"Is that...doubt? Why...I never! Surely you have more faith in us, friend."

"I might have some faith if I wasn't the one doing all the work around here. So many promises you've made, all of them empty."

"Promised day."

"What?"

"That's all you...need to worry about."

And with that the shady man vanished into the ground, along with his weapon. Drageth finished his glass before leaving the room. Unfortunately for him, this oversight caused him to miss that a second person had also exited the room.

END

< Message edited by glaisaurus_x -- 11/7/2012 23:17:28 >
DF MQ  Post #: 4
2/25/2012 2:05:06   
Glais
Member

Chapter 4




It had been three days since Zairo and Vendagar had been trapped in the chasm. Luckily for them, the tree hadn't collapsed or anything of the sort in the night. Nor had anything living in its protective leaves proven to be hostile. Another factor which worked to their benefit was that being inside the ravine helped to shield them from the cold weather above. Occasionally snow would make its way down from the clouds, which proved to be their only source of water. Three days without food was difficult, but survivable. Going for days on end with such little water could prove to be fatal.

Though the divide proved too deep to allow most light in, there was one point during the day where the sun stood just above them. It was the first day that they were able to take note of it, though ultimately they were no closer to safety than before. On the second day they tried once more to escape which only ended in failure. They had no idea how to navigate the cliffs let alone which path to take. By the third day, they'd stopped to study the walls and plan out a course to climb. Now they sat, waiting for the sun's light to begin its steady crawl down the walls of the cliffs as it did every day.

"Alright Ven, here it goes! The sun should be here aaany minute now. We're finally getting out of here!"

"These past three days have been pretty bad, but at least we'll be out of...here."

"Hey how are we gonna get off the mountain anyways?"

Vendagar had a somewhat frustrated look on his face before responding "You know, let's just worry about getting up there first, alright?"

They quickly started climbing up the path Vendagar had plotted out the day before. They would need to hurry if they wanted to get the most out of the sunlight. Without it, it would be impossible to escape. Not to mention without light they couldn't retreat to the tree if anything went wrong. Given the lack of water they'd had to deal with, they would have to escape now.

Vendagar started up first so that Zairo would be able to catch him if anything went wrong. While no such emergency plan existed for the latter, they agreed it was better one of them survive than neither. After about fifteen minutes they'd managed to make it up halfway. The rocks had proven to be stable and the path (which had been based solely on speculation) was actually safe. For a moment, it seemed everything was going right for them.

"Oh man Z, up there, look!"

"Cl-CLOUDS? RIGHT NOW? Of all times why did it have to be now? What are we gonna do Ven, that's gonna block out all the light."

"We..." He paused for a moment considering his options. There weren't any. "We have to keep going. If we don't we're going to die of thirst, cold, or starvation."

"But the path..."

"We're gonna have to play this one by ear."

Within seconds the thin slivers of light that had managed to seep into the dismal space had completely diminished into nothing. They were careful with which rocks they chose to grab, and it had resulted in a safe journey. They were approaching the top when a loud CRACK! emanated from somewhere below them.

"Sounds like the tree gave up." Zairo stated somewhat casually.

"Looks like it really is all or nothing now..."

"Guess we have no choice now huh? Would be easier to think without all that chittering though.

Vendagar quickly turned towards Zairo with a terrified look on his face. He glanced downward, and though he could only make out anything within thirty feet from Zairo, he was sure he saw some sort of movement. A mass of spindly, rapidly ascending spires or otherwise. What were they? Legs?

"Chittering? What do you mean?"

"You know, like a beetle or or something. I don't know it's been bugging me for a while, but I just never said anything about it until now. Figured there was nothing we could do."

"How loud is it from where you are?"

"Well, once the tree fell it got a looot louder. That's when I realized I should mention it."

Zairo looked down so as to ascertain the source of the "chittering." Below him was a legion of furry, noisy, legs climbing towards him at a remarkable speed. It seemed there was a colony of large spiders living in the chasm. The tree breaking down must have disturbed them and now they had decided to find the source.

Their appearance was like no other spider Vendagar had ever read about. Their bodies were about a foot long and were covered in a pristine white layer of hair. Their eyes were a sort of off-white color, indicating the species was nearly blind or not accustomed to large amounts of light. The sheer number of the creatures was incredible, the mass of spiders spanned at least fifty feet accross from end to end. Now it made a bit more sense why nothing had attacked them in the ravine, anything unfortunate enough to live down there would become the hive of spiders' next meal.

Zairo and Vendagar quickly raised their pace the best they could, though the lack of light made things difficult. The added threat of being devoured by a colony of spiders only further added pressure to the situation. Zairo did his best to try and hit any who got closer with loose rocks, but it was useless in the grand scheme of things. However, finally their efforts began to pay off. The top of the cliff was in sight and was at best a mere twenty feet from their current location. They were interrupted by a loud shriek on Zairo's behalf. The spiders had caught up, and were slowly covering his body.

Vendagar spun around to face the army of creatures below him. He had to think of something fast, not only would their weight eventually rend Zairo from the cliff but the venom would get to him sooner or later. There were two things which occurred to him at this moment. One, Spiders are normally solitary creatures. Two, he could see the reflection of the sun off of their eyes. He then observed how miniscule their eyes were. This would imply that they were some sort of cave-dwelling species and shied away from the sun.

He now took note of the tenacity with which they pursued Zairo, they mustn't have had anything to eat for quite some time. However, this still didn't explain why none of the group had attempted to eat Vendagar, who was only a few yards from his brother. Have to think of something...why him? What's the difference between us that only an animal would notice? Vendagar's mind was racing trying to figure out a way to distract the creatures, something that would throw them off long enough to reach the top of the cliff.

And then it all fit together. Blood. Zairo's face was cut, these things don't use their eyes much. When the tree woke them up, they must have either caught wind of his scent from the tree, or could smell it already from where they were. I can work with this... Vendagar used his free hand to tear of a large section of his shirt which he carefully filled with rocks (not exactly something easy to do in the middle of a cliff). I'm not gonna like this at all... He then found a sharper rock and forced his hand against it until it was bleeding. As per the plan, he soaked the cloth with it and dropped it into the swarm of legs and fur.

It landed on a single spider, and just as he'd hope, left a small amount of blood. The effects were not immediate, but the spiders gradually began to attack either the cloth or the "stained" spider. Zairo was able to take advantage of this, and pushed several of them off of him, before continuing his climb. Many of the creatures were still in pursuit of him but no longer to the point it hindered him. In fact, it seemed to serve as a form of "motivation" for the boy.

Now relieved that Zairo was safe for the time being, Vendagar continued his climb upwards though with his injury, Zairo caught up to him within a minute. There was now only fifteen feet until they reached the top and escaped from the swarm. Fifteen feet would normally be a decent challenge, but they'd already dealt with far worse. Neither was willing to let something like this hold them back from achieving "victory" over this mountain.

Zairo had a bit of a size advantage and made it to the top before Vendagar when the unexpected happened. Just as Vendagar reached for the top, his bloodied hand caused him to slip. He frantically tried to regain his grip to no avail.

And then, at the last second Zairo was able to grab his hand. The injured hand to be exact, which started to slip as if a final attempt by Death to claim one of them. Death lost this day however, and Zairo pulled his brother to safety in the snow.

"That was" Zairo started breathing heavily. "really close wasn't it?" He examined the damage from the spiders, two bites on his left leg, and one on his chest. Hopefully they weren't too poisonous.

"Do you really need to ask?"

"Fair enough. I think we deserve some rest after that..."

"Can't. If we fall asleep we'll never wake up. It's way too cold up here, we have to get off of this mountain." Vendagar sat up. The conditions still did not favor them. For one thing, they were now both injured. For another, Vendagar had sacrificed some of his shirt, which was the only protection he had against the cold weather. Zairo's bites would likely make him lethargic sooner or later, as if the spiders had been vastly poisonous he would've never made it this long.

"So how'd you figure out that blood trick anyways?"

Vendagar was genuinely astounded that Zairo had picked up on that, due to his usual ditziness. Then again, he'd never exactly payed attention to anything Zairo worked on. Perhaps his sibling had been more observant than he'd known. In his surprise, he failed to realize he never actually responded to the question.

"Ven? The blood thing?"

"Oh, right. I noticed that they weren't attacking me and that their eyes-"

"Small."

"Exactly, which means the probably rely on sense of smell and so on and...why are we wasting time talking? Every second spent here is time we're slowly freezing to death."

"So how do we find our way back?"

"Well, if we knew which direction we were facing compared to WillowShire, it'd be easy. Or if we could just see the sun."

"The sun was in the middle of the sky about ten minutes ago, so if the clouds clear up, we should see which way it'll set."

"Exactly. You know, nobody in town ever takes you for the smart type Z, why is that?"

"Eh, I don't know. Never had a chance to use anything I learned."

"Learned?"

"Yeah! I had lots of time to read while I was working, it's all a lot of random info but...it can help, right?"

Suddenly Vendagar noticed a figure from behind a tree a few feet away. It didn't look like another bear, but actually strikingly similar to a human, at least in shape. The being realized it had been spotted and dashed off into the woods.

"Hey Z come on, there's someone up here! Maybe they can help us get down!"

They both ran off into the forest after the shape, though the snow was beginning to hurt their feet. Every time they seemed to get closer to the man, it would make an impossibly sharp turn causing them to lose speed . The trees also concealed light, making it difficult to see. Luckily this was something the brothers had already dealt with earlier, and were accustomed to the difficulties it presented.

Also to their benefit was that the figure seemed to be...glowing? It emanated an eery green glow which allowed them to track it no matter where it was headed. Everything it brushed up against temporarily gained the glow as well. There were various hand and foot prints on the trunks of trees yet strangely, none in the snow. Its feet had never touched the ground.

"Hey Z, check out this hand mark on the tree over here."

The mark in question was about the size of an average man's hand, though much thinner. It also ended in what seemed to be claws or talons. The creature did not seem to be terribly formidable, or it was leading them into a trap. Considering the events that had taken place so far, the latter was entirely possible.

"You know what Ven, I say we follow it. Maybe it does have a way off this mountain and is just...scared or something. At best, we escape easy, at worst we die. We'd be frozen by tomorrow anyways."

The light had stopped. For some unfathomable reason, the creature was now standing completely still. Was it waiting for them to chase it again? This was not a very good trap in that case, as it was far too obvious. No, it felt more like it was trying to lead them somewhere.

After several minutes of giving the creature chase, they came to a dead end. It was a plain of snow that ended in a cliff. In the background were two of the other mountains that surrounded WillowShire, both notably less snow covered than the one they now stood on. It would've been quite a nice view in a less perilous time, but at the moment the boys' only concern was toward the being that had led them there. The creature now stood before them in plain view, hovering above the ground by about six inches.

To describe it was a bit of a difficulty for them. It looked human, but at the same time completely alien and like nothing of this world. It stood roughly five and a half feet tall, although it lacked feet. Its legs ended in a sort of thin stump, which made sense as this creature did not seem to require walking. Its face bore no human features, and almost looked to be molded out of metal or glass. Three bead-like objects were present on the right half of its face, presumably emulating eyes.

Its body bore an intricate pattern (or possibly some long forgotten language) though this ended with the "metal" the creature seemed to wear over its chest and parts of its limbs. In a way, it resembled a wooden doll or Golem, only with a faint green glow. While Zairo and Vendagar stood still, unsure of what the make of the bizarre creature, it startled them both by speaking.

"Greetings! Ah...it's so lucky for there to be other people up here! You aren't who I was looking for, but perhaps you can help me." Its voice was incredibly soft sounding, almost like what one might expect of a woman or an Elf.

The boys simply stood in shock and bewilderment, unable to completely understand what was occurring. The creature continued its greeting.

"Oh! How rude of me! I did not introduce myself! You may refer to me as the Minor god of Emotions, or as simply Emotion."

"I'm sorry" Vendagar paused for a moment before continuing. "you expect us to believe a god is simply wandering mountains like this, and confronted us for some reason?"

"Oh I wasn't confronting anyone, I've actually been searching for my siblings for the past 10 years. I was only just now making my way towards WillowShire and realized mountains would be a fantastic place to hide!"

"You really expect us to believe that?"

"You...you don't trust me?"

"What possible reason could I...could I have...COULD I HAAAA-" Vendagar's words were immediately cut off by a stream of tears. He could not help feeling so utterley depressed all of the sudden. Perhaps it was the past few days finally getting to him, or his injuries. Maybe he simply feared what Rouan might do to his family. Either way he was now on the ground uncontrollably sobbing.

Zairo noticed the green glow had dimmed by a considerable amount to the point it was barely there.

"Emotion? Are...you ok? You don't look so good."

Immediately the brightness returned, Vendagar's crying also ceased. "Yes! Oh, yes I'm...I've never felt better! How are you?"

Zairo stared down at his brother before glancing back at Emotion, who was now dancing with indescribable joy. "I'm very cold...and hungry. Mostly stuck on a mountain though. You know how to get out of here?"

"Oh yes yes, I know everything about this planet, it's quite a fun one you know. Wars though, I'm not fond of those at all. So many Kings dying, so many Dragons killed..."

"Dragons?" Vendagar was now genuinely interested, though still confused about what had just happened. "Where do Dragons fit into this?"

Emotion did not pay attention to the question and only continued to spout random trivia about Lore. None of this made any sense to the brothers. Planets? What were these "Planets" he spoke of? Why would wars take Dragons with them?

"But I'll have you know, I am a god. I may be inexperienced, but I will learn. I just need to find my brothers. They will know what to do."

"So that's how you did...whatever that was, to Ven then right? Your 'god powers?'" Zairo took a seat in the snow, apparently not noticing the temperature.

"Of course! I'm sorry, I don't quite have control of all of my abilities yet. It seems whatever I am currently afflicted with, lesser beings in the surrounding area will be as well. But it has an advantage! I can feel what others are feeling, and the range is practically limitless! In times of joy, there's no greater feeling than enjoying everything the rest of the Universe feels."

There were those bizarre terms again, whatever a "Universe" might be. However strange this entity was, it definitely possessed a vast wealth of knowledge.

"So your brothers, who are they and...why haven't you found them? If you can feel what everyone else feels, why can't you find them?" This time it was Vendagar who spoke.

"They don't seem to...feel like you do. I don't quite think you can understand. However, I should warn you about my eldest brother. He is not a nice man, not at all. He doesn't like your kind one bit no no no. And this is bad because without you, then what is left of me? He does not even care for his own brother!"

Vendagar was struggling to take in all of this. He'd never heard of any god like this in his entire life. No book contained the slightest remnant of information of a god simply calling itself "Emotion." The creature almost seemed childish at times yet clearly knew a great deal about the world. But then, why was this particular god so obscure to the populace? Gods were as real as any other facet of life, and it was common for the townsfolk to be reverent towards the Elemental Lords. Something was definitely amiss, though he felt he may as well try to use this situation for his benefit. An all knowing deity could be incredibly helpful for practical things, such as escaping the mountain.

"I'm sorry, I'd really like to inquire more but it has just occurred to me we'll die if we stay up here any longer. We Humans aren't quite as invincible as you gods. Do you understand what that means?"

"Die...dying...death..." Emotion's light began to flicker on and off as he considered the meaning of the words placed before him. "I am familiar with Death, he is not so bad as you Humans make him out to be. Why do you fear Death?"

The question was incredibly blunt and to the point. Emotion had entered his "childlike" mindset again, though considering the alien nature of death to a being such as him, this behavior was to be expected to an extent. Regardless, Vendagar could not think of a suitable answer.

"You are distressed? I don't want that, very well, I shall help you get down from this mountain!" He ended his statement with a bit of an overdramatic flare, but it was his next sentence that truly filled Vendagar and Zairo with unease.

"After all, you have such pretty hair."

END

< Message edited by glaisaurus_x -- 11/7/2012 22:51:36 >
DF MQ  Post #: 5
2/27/2012 2:28:50   
Glais
Member

Chapter 5




Night had already fallen when Emotion had led Vendagar and Zairo back to their home, though the manner in which he'd done so was rather bizarre. Emotion himself had vanished, leaving a thin green line on the ground that led down the mountain. Due to this, they were unable to discover what he'd meant with his "pretty hair" comment exactly, but the journey down had been safe and uneventful. There were no additional bear or spider attacks at least.

Once leaving the mountain they'd reached a road that led back to WillowShire, where they were lucky enough to have been picked up by some of the Guardians who were returning from the conflict with Rouan. This turned out to be incredibly fortunate as they'd had nothing to eat for three days. It was unlikely they would've been able to make the rest of the journey home. Before both of the brothers had passed out of exhaustion, Vendagar was able to overhear that the Guardians were successful in driving Rouan away from WillowShire.

Apparently, the battle had lasted two days with Rouan constantly retreating to recover, then returning on Dragonback in further attempts to claim whatever was in the WillowShire Guardian Tower. In the end, the archers had driven him off for good when one managed to take his right eye out. Rouan and his Dragon had finally fled and WillowShire was safe. Zairo and Vendagar were simply relieved their parents were safe and with that knowledge intact, both slipped into a well-deserved nap.

When Vendagar awoke, he was relieved to see his adoptive parents there to greet him. His prior wounds had apparently been taken care of, as were Zairo's, the latter still asleep. Both had suffered multiple fractures to their ribs and, in Zairo's case, his face. Upon his first sign of consciousness, Vendagar immediately found himself in his mother, Rosanna's, arms. After all that had happened in the past few days, there was no other place he'd rather be. His father Culatello was leaning on a wall though Vendagar could make out a slight smile on his face. Their father was never one who was incredibly outgoing, even with his family. A smile from him was enough as far as Vendagar was concerned.

After a few more moments of silence, Rosanna finally released her son, giving them a chance to talk.

"To be honest Ven, we were fairly surprised you and your brother survived. You were up there for three days and...we assumed the worst."

"It's...it's alright mom, if it's all the same to you I'd rather not think about it."

"Yes, oh of course." Rosanna began to walk away before realizing something. "AH! You haven't eaten in three days!" She quickly rushed off to produce a meal (which were generally regarded as legendary by the boys and Culatello). Vendagar started to lay back before he noticed his father hadn't left the room to help with meal. Culatello was a tall man, though not to the extent of Zairo. One could place him around 6'3" in height. Due to being a working man, he was fairly fit and had a number of small scars on his body he'd gained throughout various points in his life.

His hair was cut short unlike his sons, and was beginning to turn grey. His skin was a sort of light brown, similar to Zairo's. He had no facial hair or other markings about his face, save for one thin scar across his nose. As mentioned earlier, he was a very quiet man and the fact that he intended to have a conversation without his wife present made it fairly obvious it would be important.

Then suddenly, he just left. Whatever it was had evidently not been all that important. Vendagar thought.

Concurrent to the events with Zairo and Vendagar, somewhere across the country the moon sat in its home at the peak of the sky. The forests surrounding the metropolis SwordHaven were surging with life this particular night. The assortment of wildlife that called the area their home spanned nearly every branch of the biological sphere of life. During the present day, SwordHaven's citizens (or at least scientists) are no longer afforded such a luxury for their studies. In this time however, any primitive biologist in the world of Lore would have been elated at so much figurative material to study.

But alas, animals are not what the woman currently fleeing through the woods sought. No, there was a tree, a special tree mind you and therein lay her goal. While it would seem odd for one to be search for a single tree in a forest, at night of all times, one must consider that this is no ordinary woman. This was the recently widowed wife of the King.

Her ears picked up on the sound of running water somewhere nearby. Can't be more than a mere...oh, thirty feet or so. I'd have greatly appreciated better directions from that ornery DragonLord... But now was not the time for complaints. The former Queen had a message to deliver and it was far too important to send a servant of some sort. Drageth had been acting suspicious ever since Drahzn was murdered, and she dared not test the limits of his eccentricity.

Ah there it is. She thought as the river was now in plain sight. Just off the edge of the riverbank by about ten feet, was a group of trees. After nearly stumbling on a few river rocks that had mysterious made their way a bit too far up the bank, she made it over to the trees. Immediately she knew what it was she was looking for. It would have been impossible not to in this case. In a rather flamboyant display of courage, one of the trees had a carved heart shape into it, with a capital "I" in the center.

A...a heart? Innocentius you always were a strange man. But that leaves me in a most peculiar of predicaments. There weren't any instructions after this point... She twirled a finger through her brown hair, as she was wont to do when in deep thought. While she certainly looked a bit young for her age, several stray silver hairs betrayed her "disguise" so to speak.

A bit frustrated, she gave the tree a solid kick. The ground even seemed shaken a bit by the magnitude of such a glorious move! No, the ground actually was shaking. The seismic activity originated from the tree and continued to spread and grow stronger. The Queen attempted to run away but there was no way to escape the earth itself and she quickly found herself...dropped into Innocentius arms?

As it turns out, the DragonLord along with his Earth Dragon partner, had been waiting below ground for some sign that she had arrived. Not wanting to risk abducting a random passerby, they both waited for further confirmation. Once they'd agreed it was the Queen, it was no simpler than tapping into his innate Magical abilities and extending that into the ground. His Dragon would then patch up and reinforce the hole she'd fallen through. A simple plan in essence, though perhaps...not so much in the execution.

But all of that no longer mattered and the Queen was elated to see the bodyguard of the Royal Family once again. The DragonLord quickly breathed into life a small orb of fire, for both light and warmth in the bizarre caves they now stood in.

Despite her happiness, the Queen composed herself and simply calmly greeted the man. "Tis good to have you in my service on again oh High DragonLord. Now if you wouldn't mind explaining exactly where we are?"

"It is an honor to be in your service, your majesty." He bowed. Despite how close he was to Royalty, he was always incredibly strict when it came to respect. "I must admit, I am surprised you are willing to put your faith in me, after I so terribly managed to fall short saving your late husband. As for our location, I am afraid I cannot impart that information. Not even to you."

"I'm sure you have your reasons then, DragonLord. We must not linger on the past Commander, as you know I bring news from the Castle." As she finished she brushed her hair back as falling into an underground set of caves as the earth around you is torn asunder tends not to favor one's appearance.

"Ah yes, this Drageth prince. I severely doubt he has the best interests of the Kingdom in mind."

"Quite the opposite, but I'll not waste valuable time with his behavioral oddities." The Queen's facial expression quickly changed to one more fitting of the tone. "He's 'resigned' his own council of advisors-"

"What madness is this lad pl-"

"Do not interrupt dear boy, this is hardly the worst of his transgressions."

"My apologies. Now then, what could possibly be worse than this obviously play at seizing power?"

"Immediately after he sent them away is where things grew...distressing. He ordered his maid, as well as his guards to all leave the room. I alone remained there in secret."

"Why would he want to remain in a meeting room alone?"

"Ah but he didn't. At this point a second figure emerged, not through the doors but rather it sort of...rose, up, and through the floor."

"You cannot mean...?"

"It seems the crowned Prince has thrown his allegiance in with the ShadowScythe."

"I had thought...no, I was there when it happened." Drops of sweat lined Innocentius' brow. He promptly wiped them off, only for them to return as quickly as they'd left. His gaze grew very distant and he staggered back a few steps before taking a seat on his Dragon's tail. The Queen began to rush over when Innocentius interrupted.

"I wouldn't..." She stared blankly in confusion. "It is just...my Dragon's scales. They are not so forgiving to skin such as yours. My body is hardened through years of war, you might find your hand ripped apart by merely brushing against his armored hide."

The Queen quickly drew back in terror. Regaining her composure, she returned to the original subject. "Innocentius, what was this...event you brought up? What happened?"

The DragonLord let out a heavy sigh before resting his chin atop his hands. The metallic armor felt cold against his face, but that helped pull him back into reality.

"Thirty-two years ago, Valdur, myself, and several other high ranking members of the DragonLord Order led an attack on the ShadowScythe's strongest fortress. The keep was controlled by a single DoomKnight who went by the name of Zahaar the Red."

"He was an incredibly odd individual come to think of it, though not to the point of insanity. He simply valued strange things in comparison to the lesser leaders of the ShadowScythe we'd dealt with in the past. He would often hold full-scale invasions against Museums, or risk an entire battalion for the sake of exploring ruins."

"This day was different from his other so-called 'victories' however, and the Order was able to wipe them out in a single night. We burned their fortified city to the ground and it was thought that we'd executed any DoomKnights of worth, leaving the remaining tendrils of the group to wither away." Innocentius then raised his head, meeting the Queen's eyes with his own. "Apparently though, we missed one. A very crucial member it seems, who is trying to position himself in control of the Kingdom. This is greatly distressing..."

So it was as the Queen thought, a true ShadowScythe after all. Trying to manipulate the future King no less! "So I would be right in assuming it was most fortunate I was able to relay this..."

"Fortunate, or intentional."

END

< Message edited by Glais -- 1/24/2013 11:03:33 >
DF MQ  Post #: 6
2/29/2012 2:23:37   
Glais
Member

Chapter 6




The deserts in the southern reaches of the continent of Battleonia were undergoing one of the harshest sandstorms yet. To the citizens' fortune, the central city and its many buildings were enough to shield them from the brunt of the attack. The golden pyramid of Sek-Duat the third stood proudly as the centerpiece of his kingdom. The storm did nothing to tarnish its beauty and even the statues in memory of past kings did not waver to harsh winds. The other buildings and houses represented to prosperity of the kingdom, and were built of more suitable materials for weathering such an event. Under normal circumstances this epicenter of trade of wealth would be filled with merchants and travellers from all over the country. In that respect it rivalled even the kingdom of SwordHaven.

The storm had driven the majority of the population indoors for the time being, save what few stragglers dared try and peddle their wares in such conditions. Were an artist present at the time, it would have been an excellent opportunity to capture the city as it was when it was first constructed. Dozens of city blocks' worth of buildings, each decorated with the Winged Scarab (seemingly Sek-Duat the first's symbol, which had carried on to the others). The first king had apparently imagined the city as a work of art, and wanted it to all blend together.

Judging by the end result, one could say it was well worth the effort. The pyramid was the crown jewel and stuck out the most amongst it all. It was only contested by temples (for Sek-Duat's worship of course) that separated it from the rest of the city. As it was dedicated to the worship of Sek-Duat, it needed to represent his divinity. These structures shared the Winged Scarab motif, while also bearing the gold finish the pyramid had. Each pillar that supported them bore a lengthy banner of a teal color, trimmed with gold and with an Eye of Ra in the center.

At the center of it all was a polished path leading to the pyramid at last, a fountain at the center served to subtly represent Sek-Duat's wealth. Anyone who could afford to waste the most valuable asset in the desert was someone to either be respected or mocked. The Dynasty of Sek-Duat was clearly the former.

Today a single monk travelled down the glistening (presumably pearl or some other precious material) path. She had been invited by Sek-Duat the third, an immense honor. While the message had no indication of her required task, she would gladly do whatever the king required. More favorable conditions would have been preferable to any sane human being, one so dedicated to the Dynasty's cause cared not for what troubles weather presented.

She soon neared the entrance to the immaculate pyramid, where two guards greeted her and allowed her to pass. It would seem such a high ranking priestess was not so harshly judged as other would-be visitors. The first room was far from what she'd expected, the ceiling (which was several stories up) allowed light in through windows that had been constructed near the top. This caused the floor to gleam, as it too had a polished finish. Before she could take in the scenery a servant was quick to greet her, and directed her through the castle. Finally she had arrived not at the throne room as she expected, but at a quiet and secluded library.

Facing an empty fireplace was a single tall chair on the opposite side of the room. He'd been reading an old study on the Elemental Planes. The book itself was nothing special and likely contained only outdated information but as of late the topic had seized much of Sek's interest. He tore himself from the passage for a minute having sensed his guest's arrival. The priestess quickly bowed as was customary in front of the king.

"You may stand now priestess. Our time's running a bit thin unfortunately, so I'll have to send you on your way with just the basics. Provided we're not too late anyhow, I'm fairly unsure of how patient our friend is..."

The priestess was silent though her expression did not hide her shock at how quickly Sek moved towards business. Whatever that was anyhow, the king's pace was a few steps beyond hers at the moment. Friend? What's he going on about? Why are we short on time? Ignorant to this Sek continued on his speech.

"Well we'll just have to sort out those issues later, yes. You are aware of the abandoned Temple east of here, no?"

The woman struggled to say anything, having been groomed like the rest of the kingdom to revere the king so. Eventually she was able to snap out of her awestricken state and managed a simple "Yes, your excellency."

"Good, good. I would like you to retrieve a certain individual currently hiding out there. He's not dangerous I assure you." Yet, that is. Which is why it's so important he's brought over to my side. he thought as he turned to face the servant. "Are you...capable of such a simple task?"

"Of course, rest assured he will be brought back for whatever your purpose might be."

She quickly turned to leave though she was unsure as to how exactly she was to bring the stranger in. Why this being was so important to the king was beyond her but that was hardly relevant. She was past the point being shaken up by such a request and her demeanor was replaced by nothing but a cold focus to the task at hand.

"Oh before you leave..." the king began before sitting back in his throne "I was never informed of your name."

"Akana, your highness."

With that Akana left the palace to retrieve a Sunspike with which to traverse the sandstorm. The reptilians were adept at crawling through the sand as easily as if it were water and are invaluable in journeys through the harsher areas of the kingdom. Her specimen was of medium height though missing several of the spikes on its tail due to age. And with that Akana set off to the east ready to confront anyone or anything, or so she thought.

An Explanation


There isn't any easy way for me to make you understand the importance of the job assigned to you. I can't make you think it's fair, because it isn't. Before you were born you were destined to begin on this path in a sense. It's always been apparent that you were special, different even. Something you noticed since you were young no doubt. Your mother and I were simply given one task: to prepare you for the world and while you may not know it, you've been raised to be strong. Your survival in the mountains just reinforces this fact. You faced a corrupt DragonLord and survived and that's nothing to take lightly. Now while I've never been one too big on words, know that I am incredibly proud on you. More than you could ever understand or know.

But one clear fact remains in the face of all your tribulations: I have nothing more I can teach you. And that is why you find yourself on the way to Riverine Keep. The individuals there are better equipped to aid you in realizing your full potential. People like you, there's aspects of them that can be tapped into unlike anyone else. It's the reason that your true parents were an influence on the world. And in the end, it's what you two will be as well. While I wish I could explain more about your parents, your ancestry, and even what separates you from the "rest of us" so to speak, it's not my place. I'm sure that's difficult to accept for both of you but in time I hope you'll come to understand my decision and forgive me for seemingly abandoning you.

Signed, your loving father, Culatello

The now abandoned Coliseum of StoneFang stood high above the rest of the ruined city on the horizon. Now destroyed and with the stone that composed it weathered, it still managed to come off as the intimidating fortress it once was. The effigies of Knights that served as pillars to support that enormous ceiling were now shattered with the roof having collapsed. This made exploring the inside nearly impossible for anyone not versed in the ways of magic but also served to keep away robbers. The artifacts collected by the DragonLord Order over the decades could be incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands but that was not what mattered today. Nay, more important than the artifacts were the people the Coliseum housed for you see, StoneFang was not just a fortress but a prison.

Some of the most deadly mages, warriors, and other monstrosities had previously been housed in the one place they could never escape. Regardless of their previous feats and crimes against the world, the Order's might was enough to guarantee their permanent subduing. With the disaster having torn apart the city it was a safe assumption that most of them had escaped. Most...but not all, if I know the Order, which I do quite well...only the weaker prisoners should've made their way out. They would have had...precautions placed in-case of a disaster. He should still be inside then, though I hope he's survived after all these years...

The cloaked figure who was the source of the initial speculation proceeded on his trip into the Coliseum. His only possession of note was a scythe with a simple onyx-colored blade that extended about three feet outward. The benefits of swaying such an individual to my...cause perhaps I would no longer need that ignorant SlugWrath brat. he mused, the possibilities in such a complex game (as he saw it) were nearly infinite. It was best to cover as many bases as you could, you never knew exactly who you could trust after all.

The man soon crossed the outer wall of the city and into the wreckage that could've previously been called a town. The splintered remains of houses surrounded him in the eerily silent city. Well perhaps eerily was a misnomer, it was completely logical that such a desolate location would be abandoned. The ground itself even rejected all semblance of life, there were no longer any trees, grass, not even a single gnat. It was not as the man recalled the place at all.

I suppose it IS to be expected, still...I'd hoped there'd be something nicer to come back to after all these years. Not a single bird in the sky to be had... The man quickly turned to his scythe and began to speak "You know...I always did like birds. Quite fascinating animals. Completely engineered for flight to come so naturally to them, ohhh how I envy them. We humans, we require magic or other contraptions to imitate such a basic function of their very being!" He continued his ramblings to the weapon as he carefully stepped through the rubbish and charred ground. Before making his way to the Coliseum as was originally planned he stopped sharply and took off quite swiftly towards a group of houses to the right.

"You know friend" he again spoke to his weapon "this right here, my house as a child, oh how I adored it. You couldn't understand, being from the Plane of Darkness and all but it was a dandy place. My siblings, my parents, you know we even managed to have a pet when we were younger. Yes yes, a small SpikeToad, quite an adorable creature if I do say so myself. He was the family pet until his unfortunate passing."

At this the robed man stopped to wipe a tear from his face which was strangely shadowed by his hood, moreso than was physically possible. It was likely the result of magic in order to conceal his identity. "Oh looky here, a picture remains from my youth. Surprised something like this survived." He let out a slow but ascending laugh. "I thought we'd destroyed all evidence of my existence, I guess not. I think I'll keep this for nostalgia's sake. NOW!" He pointed towards the fortress in a somewhat comedic fashion. "Let us not tarry any further, onwards to victory!" he then dashed off towards the original path.

The scythe muttered for the first time since the rambling had begun "You always did have a...flair for the dramatic, Senyaza."

Senyaza now stood before the massive doors. Each door was roughly sixty feet in height, a pale grey color due to the materials used, and with various mystic runes etched in. They were meant to provide defense were the city to ever be attacked though they had long-since lost their charge. Still the doors were locked tight and that presented a problem to our venturer.

Senyaza walked closer and placed both hands on the door then leaned in closer. This gave off the appearance that he was listening to it for whatever strange reasons he had. About two feet thick...you guys really pulled out all the stops here. He backed up a bit and readied the scythe then, in a motion so swift a Flying Eyeball would have been hard-pressed to spot it, he cleanly sliced from side of the door to the other. He then delivered a simple kick that sent the now severed lower segment of the door flying inwards. A small smile crept upon his face. "I've still got it."

The inside of the fortress was something Senyaza had never gotten to witness before as it was generally only open to the DragonLords, other soldiers, and important messengers. He conjured a small sphere of light to reveal his surroundings a bit better. Massive pillars, at least two of which had been snapped in half, lined the hallway and provided support in a similar manner to the shattered Knight statues outside. The ground was still smooth and polished, untouched by the outside elements as well as the disaster all those years ago.

At the top of each pillar was a marble carving of the White Dragon of SwordHaven, symbolizing the fact that the SlugWraths and DragonLords were allied. More like controlled. he thought as he continued throughout the rooms. While the architecture did interest him greatly, that was not important now. Senyaza required an entrance to the prison beneath the fortress. Such an entrance would be concealed but at the same time likely have some sort of complicated lock once encountered.

Realizing he was now just wandering aimlessly Senyaza stopped and took a seat. It is interesting to note that this was oddly the same spot Valdur had decided to pause and gather his thoughts in so many years earlier. "Well, have you got any bright ideas? You've been awfully silent since we entered this place, something...unnerving you by any chance?" He smirked as that last phrase had been uttered.

"You are well aware I am not incredibly fond of this place; I take to the people even less so."

"Oh but you know this is an important step for your plan, for both of our plans actually." Senyaza scratched his chin as he looked up at the three dimensional carving on the ceiling. "This place is just far too vast for I alone to search. We could not bring more of our group lest we draw unwanted attention to ourselves. An interesting predicament but one I assure you the illustrious Senyaza can easily maneuver his way out of."

Standing up rather sharply as if some new possibility had opened up to his peculiar mind, Senyaza began running through the hall.

"Where are you headed? I wouldn't want to inconvenience you by actually requiring information as to your plans." The scythe mocked.

"Oh goody, then don't bother. I'm busy with my epiphanies so shush." The sarcasm had clearly been lost on Senyaza, he was far too preoccupied at this point.

Within a few seconds they arrived at the center of the Coliseum, where the DragonLords had their most important meetings.

"Do you honestly think they would be imbecilic enough to have the entrance here?"

"At first I agreed with you, but then I considered that it needed to be easily accessible by the Order while still having a small entrance. Effectively, it stops too many prisoners from escaping at once while the DragonLords have plenty of room to gather and force them back in. In the end, it was actually quite a smart engineering choice. My compliments to the architect responsible." Senyaza proceeded to merrily skip to the center of the room. As expected, there was a secret entrance in the floor. Also expected was that it was securely locked. The Order was dealing with some of the most powerful fighters the world had to offer after all.

You know, you could fit a small city in this room alone. How long did it take to construct this I wonder... Senyaza always appreciated the smaller things in life, even after he'd become a DoomKnight. Though this was in part due to the fact that he was different from most past examples of the breed of warriors. His armor did not wear him and he shook of the negative effects of it quite easily, retaining his original personality. This trait had previously only been seen in his predecessor, Zahaar the Red.

"Lockpicking's never been my greatest of skills but I suppose I can try my hand at it. Though...having an actual lock to pick might help." Crouching down to floor he placed his ear to the theoretical door beneath him in a similar manner to the trick he'd performed on the fortress doors outside.

"It would seem there's some sort of trap rigged in-case of the door being forced open. I have no doubt I'd survive but if things go wrong here I'd rather not be inconvenienced by any damage for such a foolish mistake. We're going to need another way around this."

"And phasing through would likely trigger a latent magical defense. Unlike the doors I'm sure they would have bolstered this gateway a bit more effectively. I think I'll handle this one Senyaza. If there's one thing I am adept at, it's evasion."

"How does that apply to this situation at all?"

"Nevermind that!" the scythe shouted in its raspy voice "Just...stand back a bit. I'm positive with my knowledge that spans eons I can easily counter some pathetic Human or Elven device." The mystical spirit-bound weapon slowly floated over to the exact middle of where Senyaza had felt the door was place.

"Senyaza, stifle the sphere of light you've generated. I require my full form in this case." Within a few seconds Senyaza heard several metallic clicks. The door divided into several curved pieces and retracted.

The duo descended into the catacombs which were quite a dreary sight to behold. The torches remained lit somehow even after over a decade though Senyaza sensed no magic prolonging their life. The walls were made of a simple sturdy grey brick which was divided by iron bars that served to hold the weaker prisoners. There were several ripped crimson banners depicting the same White Dragon symbol on the walls, as well as a wooden table lined up against one wall. Now what could that be for?

All this was merely a prelude however, only those who presented "mere" threats to an average regiment of soldiers were held here. Savages like WereWolves, some of the more skilled Yagas, or the occasional Berserker for example. In-between some cells were arched passageways that led to other rooms and cells. None of that was important, save for one hall. Sanyaza and his ally eventually reached that to which they encountered yet another locked door. Only this one was golden and had a symbol similar to Sek-Duat's eye of Ra. A very peculiar touch.

He heard a noise to his left and was surprised to be confronted by a Vampire. His black suit was worn and tattered after years in confinement and his short hair had turned white without a constant supply of food. Apparently he'd not escaped while the others of the lower class had and now saw his chance.

"It's been so long since I last had a meal, I hope you've enjoyed your miserable exis-"

His words were cut short as Senyaza quickly bisected both him and the golden door. The Vampire's two halves fell to each side of the DoomKnight, a shocked expression still painting its face at the realization of defeat, and it landed in a bloody heap. The door responded quite differently. Whereas Senyaza had clearly just sliced through it, it now appeared to be completely whole again. Senyaza stepped forward to see if he could discern the cause as he had the previous doors. Suddenly several dozen golden arms reached from door and latched onto his limbs. He attempted a spell of Darkness to destroy it to no avail, and suddenly found himself pulled through it as if it were made of liquid. He was not prepared for what was on the other side.

He found himself in a world completely alien to what he knew. This was the higher class prison? It seemed to be a pocket dimension of sorts, with aspects that rejected physics as we know it. He glanced at the ground which was made of a pure white "grass." Though it looked and felt like the same plant found in Senyaza's home, walking through it felt like his feet were trapped underwater. Even more bizarre, there was no air in this location, and Senyaza found that he didn't seem to need to breathe to survive. As he struggled to process all that was happening he noticed yet another peculiarity. Whereas the lower class prison was dark, lit only by the torches, there was a sky in this room. A black sun provided yellow light akin to the real world's star. The sky itself was of a more green tint than Lore's and there was not a single cloud to be had.

After about thirty yards the grass ended and gave way to sand which appeared completely normal. Mustering a bit of strength to leap out of the grass trap Senyaza launched himself into the sand. Except that it turned out to not be sand after all, and it gave the feeling that Senyaza had suddenly been electrocuted. His body now moving in spasms due to the shock, he crawled towards what resembled water, though it was red. I don't care what this terror will inflict on me next, but I have to escape this trap or face certain death! Tumbling into the pool luckily it did seem to be standard water. It was a liquid at least, and that was the most reliable thing he had encountered thus far. But as with the rest of the environment it too sought to kill its residents. He felt his body's temperature gradually rising while the water itself was not actually hot.

He quickly swam to shore to escape before he was boiled alive. Waiting for him was an immense figure, a warrior clad in silver armor with a wolf motif. His knee guards and shoulderplates were all fashioned in the likeness of the head of a wolf. The chestplate had several thin bits of a darker silver filigree crafted into it. Odder than his pristine appearance, the Knight did not seem affected by the environment at all. Despite his armor, his face remained uncovered which was the only sign of his age. His thick grey beard hung down to his stomach. His short hair was of matching color and he wore three sets of gold earrings on each ear. Just as Senyaza found himself ready to pass out he found himself pulled out of the sea by the man.

"I wasn't aware we were still receiving new arrivals" he stated in a rough and deep voice. "Kind of odd they'd assign someone to the S-Class who isn't fit to survive here like the rest of us."

Senyaza rested for a brief second, though careful not to be consumed by the plants. "Ah...thank you kind sir, not sure what I would've done there. This is a curious place indeed. Looks like it wants us dead quite a bit."

"Aye, that it is. We like to think of it as the deepest pit of Heck reserved for only the worst of our lot."

"Is that where we are? Heck? How did the Order manage to get that as a place for imprisonment I wonder..."

"Nay, but it may as well be. I'm surprised they assigned you here. Anyone below my level generally dies from the sun alone. What're ye in for?"

"Oh I haven't been assigned. I came here of my own free will."

"You're definitely the craziest one I've met, no doubt. Why in the Lords' names would you want to be 'ere?"

"I'm looking for a man, perhaps you know of him. Sarkalos is his name if I recall correctly."

"I know of 'im, yes. But you're mad if ye think I'm going within a hundred miles of his territory. He's not so much a man mind ye, he's something of a monster. There's nary a single prisoner willing to lead ya there."

"That is disappointing news my new friend." Senyaza stood up and wiped himself off then figuratively tipped his hat. "Well! I'll be off then."

He really is mad the warrior thought. "Eh...wait lad, I can't let ye go off there alone. It wouldn't be right. This world is nothing like the one you know."

"What happened to that 'hundred miles' statement? Oh well, we adore company on our travels."

"...we?"

"I'll explain later perhaps. In the meantime you seem quite honorable for a...what did you call it, S Class prisoner? Why exactly are you here?"

"Let's just say multiple acts of terrorism and leave it at that, shall we?"

The trio travelled for what felt like days throughout the desert and Senyaza eventually grew resistant to this plane's constant attempts to murder him. He found he was a bit stronger than either he or the warrior had previously thought, and all for the better. Such a close situation had made him realize he was not quite as invincible as the ShadowScythe had made their DoomKnights seem. The scenery was as strange as ever, with the mountains in the distance being surrounded by "reverse lightning" as the Silver Knight referred to it. There seemed to be clouds surrounding the base of the mountains which would disperse electricity into the environment every few seconds or so.

There was no concept of night in this plane and the black sun accompanied them throughout their entire journey. Senyaza still did not understand how a black sun could emit yellow light, but both the Knight and his scythe companion convinced him not to think about it too much. The wildlife in this bizarre dimension was incredibly varied, as it contained only individual monsters that provided sufficient danger to the citizens of the outside world. One such notable encounter was with a member of the mythical Krakathan species. The rumors were indeed true, and the group took refuge on the island that had sprouted on it. Unfortunately this didn't last for more than a few hours as the leviathan noticed and turned on them. All that was behind them now, only a massive tower in the distance remained. And therein lay their goal: the Tower of Sarkalos.

The tower was in the center of a group of mountains and dwarfed them by a large amount, though unlike the rest of this world the location was strangely serene. The closer they drew to the tower, the calmer the environment became. The lightning spouts eventually died down and the normally adverse effects of the setting had calmed themselves. Still, they faced the challenge of climbing the hundreds of miles high spire. While that would only serve as an inconvenience to such formidable beings such as themselves, the calm location had attracted many other prisoners in the realm. Some simply wished to be away from the dangerous location while others sought to defeat Sarkalos and prove themselves the king of this hellish domain. Apparently the Knight had been wrong, there were people insane enough to venture near Sarkalos.

"Lad, we best watch ourselves around 'ere. Every one of these criminals is as tough as I."

You know I still don't understand that speaking style. Senyaza quickly snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention to the situation at hand. "I propose we wait and watch one of these fools attempt to scale the tower. No reason to rush into this after all." He proceeded to take a seat on a nearby rock.

"Was thinking the same thing." As the Knight had finished they saw a man dressed in golden robes walking towards the tower. His head was bald which combined with his attire indicated he might be a monk of some sort, hardly one expected to be a prisoner. "Don't let 'is appearance fool ya, I've encountered 'im before. The man's a killer."

The monk readied himself and jumped into the sky towards the immense structure. As he barely brushed against the side there was suddenly a bright flash. A bolt of lightning had flashed by so quickly that Senyaza and the Knight had almost missed it; the monk's charred remains fell swifty to the ground, only to be devoured by a group of Malgru which were apparently resting in a spacious pool near the base of the tower.

Senyaza promptly stood up. "And that my friend, is why we wait."

"So, what're ya plannin' to do ta get in?"

"Well isn't it obvious? That monk had no manners. This is Sarkalos' tower isn't it? Clearly we need to make it known we're entering, then he'll understand and let us pass." The Knight stood dumbfounded as the cloaked DoomKnight walked towards to massive spire. Cupping his hands around his mouth he yelled to the best of his ability "HELLOOO? I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW I'M COMING TO PAY YOU A VISIT. NO DON'T BOTHER YOURSELF, I CAN LET MYSELF IN. I'M BRINGING A FRIEND."

He then turned to his companion "Well, he got the message, shall you join me?"

END

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