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 Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:05 am
Part Two - War
Maj trudged onwards, the thick mud slurping around his waste. The soldier made sure to carry his sword above the blackish muck. Around him, others did the same.
Up ahead, past some two hundred marching soldiers, rode General Aslarke. His mount, a scaly beast twice as long as a regular horse and just as high, moved swiftly and unimpeded through the terrain.
Unfortunately for Maj, trained wyverns weren't in high supply lately. He sighed. That just means the rest of us common soldiers get to walk.
It was dark, but not because of the time of day. Trees, ungainly things of gnarled and bowed trunks, grew blackened and without leaves, as if they'd recently been caught in a fire. Beyond their horizon rose the peaks of the Borza mountain range.
In addition to all this, at their present location the RSA (Royal Sanduran Army) II Division was not very far from Borza's famous peat desert, which was known for its pitch-black sand and smog. The skies anywhere near this unique area were always dark, no matter the time of day.
Maj yawned. His legs had become sore long ago, and were now approaching numbness. A snake swam away as he passed.
A strange odor reached Maj's nose. He looked around, trying to determine the source. The length of mud had given way to murky water. It, too, seemed rather black...
Too black, Maj realized. I know that smell... what is it? He slowly reached a hand down and scooped some of the muck. It was not water.
What... Maj's eyes grew wide as he realized what the black substance was. "General!" he yelled.
Every soldier stopped and turned to regard Maj with curiosity. General Aslarke reared his wyvern to turn and ride to Maj. A flaming arrow flew through the darkness, and the rider fell off of his mount. Then the water's surface burst into flames, and screams filled the air.
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Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:06 am
13 - Prewar
Jet breathed deeply. People around him were talking. Frantic conversation - meaningless debate. Fear gripped the would-be rebels.
The country of Borza... was no more. At least, not in a political sense. Its government no longer existed. All authorities were either undeground or dead. There were no soldiers, no Knights, no military. There was no king.
Jet's mind turned rapidly, still trying to realize what had happened, four days before. The rebel leaders were discussing their choices now, deciding what they were to do.
Four days before....
Jet turned, as a breathless messenger ran through the arched doorway. A strange badge was flashed at Loud, who grunted his permission for the messenger to go to the rebel leaders.
After a few minutes, the messenger was dismissed. Out came the three leaders, solemn and shocked looks displayed plainly across their faces.
"It seems," Aomen said after a moment, "that we have won."
After that, the next four days had been a blur as people scurried around, having things to do and messages to send. Jet was kept in his 'room,' unable to leave or talk to anyone.
Now, all of the warriors, soldiers, and fighters in the rebels' employ were gathered in a large hall. Aomen, Venge, Solem and Loud were standing on a platform. They had just announced their unexpected victory.
Silence filled the hall as the events four days previous were explained fully. Aomen began explaining what had happened to the king.
"...was attacked during his dinner. Over a hundred guards, dead. Some suffocated, some burned. Others died of even more gruesome deaths. All by one person - a sorceress - named Relyks.
"The most horrible part," Aomen continued, "was what she did to the king. She magically took control of his body. And made him... kill his own family...."
Aomen looked away, a bitterness in his voice. After he regained his composure, he continued.
"The entire royal family is dead. And the king... was turned to stone. After she... petrified him... she killed every single Knight of Borza and many, many soldiers. Reports say that not everyone is dead. She has wrenched away control from the minds of thousands. She has every power now. What is left of Borza... belongs to her."
Silence continued to fill the hall. There were no smiles. The foe that the rebels had just come to oppose was dead. Their cause was already won.
"So now I will give you the situation as it is." Aomen said with a sigh. Jet noticed the leader had not slept recently. "Thousands of soldiers fight for a cause which is not their own. They march - to war - against Sandura. I know not if they have any chance to win. Sandura retaliates, and it is as of yet unknown whether the Sanduran leaders know of our country's plight.
"Furthermore, we are left as of the moment without a cause. We have no knowledge of our country's situation. Only that the soldiers fight without a choice."
"Actually, that's not entirely correct." Aomen turned. The speaker was Loud. His gruff voice hardly carried beyond the platform. "The spy - Jet - can help us."
Jet watched as everyone near turned to regard him curiously. He sat on a stool fashioned from rock, off to one side of the stage. Motioned, he stood and climbed onto the platform.
"Jet," Loud continued, "has a spirit-bond with a large eagle. He can also share sight with this eagle." Loud was indifferent to Jet's stare.
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Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:07 am
14 - Legend of the Lost
Light and Dark. Good and Evil. Right and Wrong. These are the reasonings by which we live our lives. The parameters. The absolutes.
The cliches. The stereotypes. The beliefs.
Light.
A prison existed. A small but grand place, designed to keep safe the most sacred and valuable artifacts. However, it was designed too well, and was now used as a prison. The walls, floors and ceilings were formed from gold. The furniture from silver. The pillows, quilts and fabrics from silk.
No windows looked out of this structure. Though a door could be taken to stand on the roof, where a wondrous view could be seen. For this prison rested atop a monstrous mountain, inside of which existed a deadly labyrinth.
A powerful magic rested about the place. This magic was ancient, and would ground any flying creature that strayed too near the mountain's peak.
This great man-made mountain, and the prison which rested above it, was known as the King's Labyrinth.
Inside was a young girl, with beautiful blue eyes, and soft blond hair. A plain and tattered night gown stretched from her neck to the floor.
For years, this girl had gone without food, water, or aging. The place in which she resided was void of the laws of reality. It was almost... an alternate dimension. The girl would be the key to salvation... or so said the legends.
Dark.
The sky was dark. The land was quiet. No life was apparent anywhere.
A barely audible swoosh marked the decent of a winged creature. A loud hum preceded the magical appearance of a hooded human.
The dragon landed silently. The human walked to meet it. Anger and rage emanated from the scaled beast. Its charcoal-colored scales changed hue to show a slight but noticeable red undertone. Smoke drifted from its nostrils.
The human approached the dragon with no fear. He reached out and stroked the dragon's neck, and laughed.
"Soon..." the man's voice was deep and warped, almost inhuman. "Soon I will have enough power to defeat your kind. Once you monsters pose no threat to me, I will be able to proceed with my plans. For that end, this war must continue...."
The dragon, although showing no physical signs, raged with all its strength to break free of the human's magical control. It failed.
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Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:09 am
15 - Epsilon
It was getting dark. And Isaac was getting nowhere fast.
Above him were the limbs of the only tree in sight. The horizon consisted of endless fields. Stars were beginning to form high above. And no moon was visible
It's getting dark, thought Isaac. He had been wandering for more than a day. He had no idea where he was, or how he had gotten there. His clothes were torn and dirty, as if he had actually been in the cave-in quite possibly could have imagined..
He heard the occasional bird cry, but upon further investigation could find nothing in the skies whatsoever. He'd even seen a shadow following him before. But no bird.
There were high winds, which would start and stop without warning. The grass was dry and prickly, and the air was hot.
Isaac knew he was in a desert, even if there was no sand. It was hot enough, and deserts were notorious for their rapid temperature changes.
A shriek became audible in the distance. Or at least, that's what Isaac had assumed until an impossibly fast flying object knocked him to the ground.
Rolling over, Isaac saw a blur flying away. Then, without warning, the flying object turned and emitted another screech. Isaac rolled away from the tree as the object zoomed in less than a second through the space where he had been just before.
After several more seconds, the object turned and screeched again, going for a third super-fast attack.
"...the heck?" mumbled Isaac as he jumped out of the way. He began feeling pain from a deep gash on his back. His vision became slightly blurred.
The flying thing clipped his arm. Isaac began feeling light-headed and nauseous. He struggled to pick himself off the ground. A fourth screech marked another attack. Isaac, all but unconscious, could only wobble until the unknown attacker hit him squarely in the chest, knocking him flat on his back.
Laying on his back, Isaac finally got a good look at his assailant as it rose up high in the air, preparing its final strike. It was a silver bird, possibly even metallic, with glowing red eyes and jet black claws. It seemed to sail through the air without even having to flap its wings.
The creature emitted a final screech and angled its silver beak down.
A white flash filled Isaac's vision.
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Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:09 am
16 - Perseverance
Aurumn walked slowly, but steadily, across grassy stretches. The skies were cloudy, but calm, and there was a pleasant breeze in the air.
The knight had long since shed his heavy armor, and his horse he had sold for provisions. He only carried a pack of supplies and, of course, two special swords. Though he knew not why.
The Order had fallen. Dead, all of them. Knights, apprentices, initiates. Aurumn was the last of a dead Order. But he was a Knight, nonetheless. The second sword he carried proved that.
When news had arrived of the country's Fall, all chaos had broken loose. Aurumn had been in the act of leaving the disgusting Port Zera when the local taverns exploded. Not literally, but with people. A huge riot had engulfed the entire city.
Zera was now no longer a city of Borza. But, also, Borza was no longer a country. Aurumn's heart was heavy. His brothers and sisters, of the Order, were dead.
The knight knew not what to do. He was heading towards where there was supposedly a small anti-governmental organization. It didn't seem like a wise idea, but he couldn't think of any better alternatives.
A screech pierced the knight's thoughts. Turning, sword drawn, Aurumn saw a metal creature descending in the distance. It was a ryhk, a magical bird of metal which assaulted the mind of its prey with its screech.
Aurumn realized that a ryhk attacking meant that there was a person being attacked. He dropped his things - except for his sword - and ran towards the ryhk.
The ryhk was dead. Its body laid sprawled across the ground, a long fall crushing its fragile body. But it had been dead before it hit the ground. Aurumn searched the area - sword still drawn - until he found the cause of the beast's death.
A young man was the beast's prey. He was unconscious and cut severely in multiple places. Resting on the man's chest was his savior - a small, white, winged serpentine creature. A zar, or a miniature dragon. Judging from its size - the size of a house cat - it was juvenile.
Aurumn watched in awe. Zars were nearly extinct creatures, much like ryhks, but they were beautiful, serene creatures - magical creatures. The one before him was concentrating on its patient. Magical breath came from its mouth, somewhat healing the wounds sustained by the person.
Aurumn leaned against a tree. What this awe-inspiring beast was doing was far more helpful than anything the Knight could do.
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Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:12 am
17 - "Barely a thousand."
It was night. The sky was without a moon, cloudy and threatening to rain. Below, fires lay scattered across the plain-land. Surrounding these fires were tents.
Far to the north were forests. Looming above them rested ancient, towering mountains. Beyond the vast mountains, although not visible to the eagle, stretched the massive plains and farmland of Sandura. In those plains, too, rested military camps.
Tens of thousands of soldiers slept below. Their bodies were not their own to control. Their minds unable to command. They were slaves to evil.
Darkness receded and Jet was thrust into the bright glow of torchlight. His body felt numb from lack of use. A slight headache manufactured in the back of his mind.
Across were two sets of eyes. One was brown and cold, with creases that seemed to be permanently embedded around them. The other set was blue and gentle, framed by blond eyebrows.
Aomen's mouth opened to speak, but Jet had already began talking. "Both countries are fighting. At the moment, they are both encamped on their respective sides of the mountains. The Borzan side has over ten thousand men, at least."
Aomen sighed. "It seems fighting is inevitable. We certainly aren't capable of stopping it."
"How many men do you have?" said Jet.
"Barely a thousand." answered Aomen, shaking his head. "But they aren't all here. We have men in the capital and in other cites. To have them all return here would take weeks. Not only that, but only about a quarter of all our forces have even seen combat."
Jet stood up and stretched. His back muscles were sore. After sitting down, Jet pondered their situation. "I should return to my country. I can inform them of the unusual circumstances."
Aomen frowned. "That would not change anything now. They won't stop fighting just because their enemy are acting against their will. And your unique abilities will be useful here."
Jet understood. They were not planning to let him leave.
"What I cannot understand," Loud began, "is that if this sorceress, Relyks... if she can control tens upon thousands of men, with her mind, why does she not seize control of Sandura by the same means?"
"That is a good question." Aomen answered, stroking his beard. "One that we cannot answer, however."
Jet sighed. His mind filled with clouded thoughts, he stopped listening to pointless bickering.
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Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:15 am
18 - Rescued
Isaac awoke, rolling onto his belly before jumping to his knees. A man sat watching a crackling fire ten feet away. The skies were dark. The stars were few.
Noticing Isaac, the man turned his face to watch Isaac. The shadows cast by the fire outlined his features - a broad chin, rugged cheekbones, a big nose, and soft eyebrows. His eyes showed no signs of what he was thinking, and his expression remained stoic. Isaac noted the armor that he wore - and the sword laying at his side in the grass.
[unfinished]
8/02/09 update: as of now, discontinued.
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