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Delerium
Posted: 27 Oct 2007 07:56 PM |
It had been about two weeks since Shard left more civilized lands. It felt like much longer than that. The pull, however, was hard to resist. It was a strange thing. Not like anything he'd ever felt before. It was like a strong desire, a need even, to move. He wrote it off as wanderlust, but it wasn't wandering. It was one direction. So far, it had lead him deep into mountains.
Fending off the local orcish tribes defending their territory and mountain trolls looking for a quick meal proved easy enough. The terrain was the harder part. Forward sometimes became difficult when staring off the edge of a cliff. Climbing was never his best suit. He never considered it part of being an adventurer. Looking back, it struck him that he could have prepared a bit better. Like some scrolls of Dimension Door, or maybe a Mage Tower for resting in. It wasn't something to dwell on, however, since he knew he wouldn't be heading back any time soon to change it. Whatever it was he felt took priority over everything else.
As he continued to travel, his desire to move eased more and more, as if he was coming closer to his destination. In the back of his mind, however, he became more and more restless. A different feeling entirely. One was a desire to travel.. the other was a chill. An old familiar feeling that he couldn't quite place. It brought back memories. In fact, the whole time he had been traveling, all he could think of was his past. Recent past, mind you, not too distance back. Faces of those he had traveled with and seen much of the land beside. It was his comfort. He missed them terribly.
Thinking too far back, however, was something he tried not to (or couldn't) do. It had taken a long time to put aside the deeds of his past. |
Shard Aerinmane - Spellsword
Avion Bladesaint - Pugilist
Vincent Lawful - Adventurer
"One Color ~ Countless Shades" |
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Re: Delerium
Posted: 27 Oct 2007 07:59 PM |
Time went on and on. It felt like forever ago since leaving. He was becoming more and more restless at night. It was harder to sleep. What sleep he did get did little in leaving him rested. The places he saw became more and more.. familiar.
He knew he was close to where ever it was he was going, it just felt right. Felt like he was supposed to be here. There was still no reason as to why, however, and it bugged him more and more.
Just a feeling, a desire, a need. Followed by uneasiness and an all too familiar sense that he'd been this way before.
After traveling for a time, he set up camp for the night. Mika had been following him, just distant enough to stay out of sight, but close enough to come to aid if required. She had always valued her privacy, and he was fine by this. As far as familiars went, she was the least personable he'd ever had. Kai was far more friendly, which was strange for a bat. When she noticed him setting up camp, she took her usual watch, guarding her master from any potential harm. Generally, her presence alone was enough to do that for most of the beasts that roamed the mountains. Tonight would be no different for her.
He studied his book for a time before finally succumbing to a need for rest, quickly drifting into dream...
The world was pitch black. Nothing was seen except what was ahead. His path lead to water.. a lake. The water was crystal clear, but depthless. As he looked into it, it was like looking through glass into a black void. The only imagine in the water was his own reflection. A brief chill overcame him. He saw himself.. but it was different. His hands were covered in blood. His once silver armor was stained with it. His face held a saddistic smile. There was something held in his reflections hand. Shard kneeled and held his hand out to the water to get a closer look. The reflection followed suit, but then grabbed him and pulled him in.
He woke up in cold sweat. The fire burned warmly next to him, but the chill his 'dream' left him with lasted the rest of the night. The last thing he remembered of the dream was one sentence, a phrase that echoed in his mind.
"You can't change your nature."
He did not sleep for the rest of the night. |
Shard Aerinmane - Spellsword
Avion Bladesaint - Pugilist
Vincent Lawful - Adventurer
"One Color ~ Countless Shades" |
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Re: Delerium
Posted: 27 Oct 2007 08:01 PM |
Shard felt tired. Agitated. Distant. Alone.
He felt a lot of things, and none of them good. He traveled onward, barely noticing that his panther had fended off several of the mountains beasts and was struggling to keep up.
He came at last to the enterance to a cave. It was a large opening, and it looked terribly familiar. Why, however, he couldn't place it. He did have no doubt in his mind, however. He had been here before.
Unsure of what to expect inside, he set up camp and prepared to rest before entering. Again, however, he was haunted with a dream.
In his dreams, he saw a family. A husband, his wife, their child. They smiled and laughed around a fire in their house.
Memory flooded in. He knew their faces. Like a landmark, he knew their faces. He had killed him.
His image moved through the shadows of the house, completely dark save for the dagger. One was quick and clean, the husband met his end as the blade drew across his neck. He barely had time to be surprised. The wife and child were not as fortunent, as they both struggled before finally ending. The face of the image was emotionless. He acted without second thought. Their bodies were loaded onto a cart and taken off into the darkness of his dream.
The house faded and was replaced by a different room. The room was made of carved stone bricks, and inside the room were various tomes and arcane runes. On one side of the room, a table stood. A body lay on it, lifeless. A pile of corpses were in one corner, and the image of a younger Shard hovered over the table. A lady stood on the other side, watching him and instructing occasionally. Her name was Kika, and she was his mentor. She had taught him everything he knew about necromancy.
He did not manage to raise that particular body, but he had learned a great deal from it. How to manipulate the negative energy and weave it to be a part of the body. It takes on a less tangible form, molding into the body and becoming part of it.
The next body was the child, and he did manage to raise that one. It did not seem to notice the cuts inflicted on it. The image of Shard seemed very pleased with what he had learned.
His mentor seemed satisfied at his progress and took her leave. The rest of the night had been spent in practice.
His dream faded.
It seemed like a hundred different faces visited him that night, as he lay there shaking. None were ones he wanted to see. |
Shard Aerinmane - Spellsword
Avion Bladesaint - Pugilist
Vincent Lawful - Adventurer
"One Color ~ Countless Shades" |
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Re: Delerium
Posted: 27 Oct 2007 08:04 PM |
The effects of fatigue were finally starting to come in full force, as he had not slept more than an hour for the past two nights. Shard looked haunted. He couldn't stop thinking about the dreams.
Shard stood in front of the enterance to the cave - his destination. He knew this, something had called him here. It had taken some time, but he could tell it was some form of magic calling him. Divination was the school he sacrificed to focus on necromancy, so he could not scry what was calling him. He did, however, have a strong knowledge of magic in general, and it had helped him identify the magic that lured him to this place.
The spell had, in fact, worked perfectly.
He hated the place already, given what it brought out in him.
These were buried memories. Things he had forced himself to forget over his years of adventuring. It was all he knew at one time, it was his life. Since losing his parents and finding Kika, he had quickly picked up whatever she would teach him. He had an unparalleled intellect and it craved the knowledge she could give. And she did. It only cost him his sense of humanity and whatever morals he had a chance to gain in his brief time with his real parents.
He embraced the cost of being a monster if it meant tapping into such arcane power.
At that time in his life, all he wanted was that - power. It consumed him. He took to the arcane as a fish takes to water. It was his calling. And she provided everything he needed to learn.
It wasn't until she died that he began to truly excel in the arcane, however. It was also not until she died that he found adventuring to be the best source of constant challenges. A new source of money, equipment, and bodies.
He didn't expect it to change him, but who ever does? Life had an impact on him, and as he grew older, he shyed away from what he was pursuing to follow a more generalist approach to magic. His time with the wizards of Ka'azim left him with a new view, and since then, it was a life dedicated to forgetting what he had done. It was not, however, until meeting one person in particular that he had managed to put it behind him. She had done for him what nobody else could do. She gave him a new persona to take on. A new personality to develop, instead of what he had once been. He was grateful for that, despite the pain he also found because of that new persona. "Silver Sage". "Spellsword". They were so much better than "Necromancer".
His entire past stood before him as he stared at the enterance to the cave. Weary from travel and lack of sleep, he braced himself for what was ahead of him. |
Shard Aerinmane - Spellsword
Avion Bladesaint - Pugilist
Vincent Lawful - Adventurer
"One Color ~ Countless Shades" |
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Re: Delerium
Posted: 27 Oct 2007 08:16 PM |
The cave was large, but simple. It didn't branch off, it just went straight inward until finally coming to an abrupt stop. Shard walked along cautiously, not sure of what to expect. As he came closer to the far wall of the cave, he realized at last where he was. This cave was where his mentor met her end.
He remembered that day. She provoked a powerful magician and they were to fight against each other alone. Shard had seen her do this a good number of times, and she never lost. She considered most mages predictable and until her last fight, won them with ease. But not this one. She was killed and he was once again on his own. He was old enough to fend for himself, however, and so he began adventuring.
But that didn't explain why he felt a need to come here.
Not needing it at the time, he sunk the blade of his halbard into the ground. He looked around the cavern for any signs of change, but the place looked relatively undisturbed. Unsure of what else to do, he turned to leave. Before he could take a step, he heard her voice. It paralyzed him.
"Hello, Shard.", the voice said.
He looked around, but didn't see anything. Unsurprising, given that it was hard to focus on anything. He humored the thought that perhaps the lack of sleep was making him hear things.
'Kika, you're dead.'
"Hardly, Shard. Do you really think some little mage from a backwater town could really beat me? Did you honestly have that little faith in my abilities?"
'I never knew how skilled you were with magic, Kika, just that you knew enough to teach me.'
"Yes, Shard, I survived. You might even go as far as to say I staged that encounter."
Shard seemed confused about this.
'I'm not sure I understand. Staged?'
"My dear Shard, you lost your use to me. I couldn't teach you any more as things were, so I needed you to.. go away. Learn the rest on your own. And it seems you've done marvelously."
'You had me believe you were dead so I'd become an adventurer?'
"Something like that."
The mage shook his head. The voice laughed, and the sound of it echoed across the cave. After a moment, it began to speak again.
"And learn you have. Though, I must admit.. your outfit is a bit odd for our kind", she spoke with a hint of amusement.
'I'm not one of your kind anymore, Kika.', he replied.
This provoked yet more laughter from the voice.
"Oh, but Shard, you are! Look at you, mascarading about in your cute silver armor. Hiding the real you behind a web of lies. I'm sure everyone believes those lies, Shard, but do you?", she taunted.
'They aren't -lies-. I've given up that side of me. I will never let myself fall like that again.', he answered, sounding annoyed.
"Shard, Shard, Shard.. you were so brilliant at it."
'I was a monster, and you are as well for bringing me into it.'
More laughter echoed throughout the cavern.
"But you *ARE* a monster, Shard.", the voice added.
'Was. Was a monster. I've been working to atone for what I've done.'
The laughter was louder than before, it seemed very amused by what he said. The cavern was too dark to see far in, even with half elven eyes. He could not see her, and he could not tell from which direction the voice was coming from.
"Shard.. look at your reflection.. and tell me what you see?"
He suddenly became aware of water nearby. He walked towards it, drawn by what felt like curiosity. He noticed a large pool of water. How he had missed it the first time, he wasn't sure. He walked up to the edge and looked down. The water was a murky reddish color, and the reflection showed him tinted in red, and nothing more.
'Am I supposed to be seeing something?', he stated flatly.
"Look closer, Shard, and tell me what you see...", she replied.
He knelt closer to the water. He felt.. strange. A feeling he had missed before, there was something wrong about the water. He watched it closely and felt a chill as he realized what the red tint came from. It was.. blood? As he knelt close to the water, he recognized the feeling. The lake reaked with negative energy. His attention came back to his reflection.. the face on it was no longer his, however. The water rippled as a face and hands came through it. The hands took hold of his and pulled him in.
The water was unnaturally cold, and just being in it drained strength from him. The hands clawed at his armor and he felt teeth sink into the chain links covering his legs. He struggled to get free, but it was difficult to move and it felt like he was running out of air. Teeth finally found an unarmored place in his armor and sank in. He grimaced in pain, letting a small groan out. Bloody water found its way into his mouth and he struggled not to throw up.
Finally, he regained his bearings. He gripped his hands around the waterlogged head of the undead creature. With his remaining strength, he pressed firmly together and it gave way after a bit of effort. The creature stopped grasping for him and he pried himself free, pulling himself out of the water.
Shard gasped for air, spitting out the disgusting water he had choked on. His mouth tasted coppery, and he lay on his back after inching away from the water. He felt a sense of Deja Vu, recalling his dream.
"Shard.. you can't fight what you are.."
'What.. is wrong.. with you?', he coughed out the words.
"Shard.. I've done some neat things while you were gone.."
'I don't care!', he yelled, frustrated.
"Shard.. you would have liked this one. It took some time to create.
'I told you.. I'm not who I once was..', his voice beginning to strain from the heavy coughing.
"Shard.. it sees you..", if the voice had a face, it would be smiling.
There was a pause.
'What..', he whispered.
He heard noise at the other end of the cave. Something was moving towards him slowly.
'..is that?' Shard found his way to his feet. The creature was now between him and his halbard. It stopped, watching him. He could only see a sillouette. It was large, whatever it was.
"Shard.. it's an experiment of mine. I want you to test it for me, will you dear? I made him in a wild magic zone. It took many tries, given how unpredictable the magic can be there. But I succeeded eventually. Do you like him? I think you will..."
The creature approached closer. Shard kneeled a moment, picking up a rock. After muttering a few words, the rock lit up, illuminating much of the cavern and the creature. It was large. A giant, or rather, several. Stitched together, it held various giant parts and from the looks of it, a part or two from a troll as well. There were two types of runes carved into it that he could see. There were ones that animated it, and ones that enhanced it. The wizard cursed his lack of insight for not having any form of dispel memorized. It opened its mouth and let out a disgusting noise, as loud as a roar but sounding more like a gurgle. It stepped forward with sickening motion, stopping twenty yards away.
"Shard.. he's unlike an ordinary animation. He's special..."
The creature charged as she spoke. It was a lot faster than it looked. The creature slammed its fist down where the spellsword stood, but he tossed himself out of the way. It did not, however, take time to react. It reacted instantly, sweeping its massive hand around towards where Shard landed and grabbed a hold of him. It pressed both hands together and squeezed.
"...He retains some of his intelligence, Shard! A simple, animated undead creature that can think, Shard! Isn't it wonderful?"
Shard muttered some words and felt his skin turn to stone. The creature roared at him like before, and threw him across the room. He landed with a heavy thud and rolled a few feet. The creature followed quickly and before the spellsword could pull himself up, the creature kicked him. He flew across the room again, into one of the walls this time. He still hadn't even hurt the thing yet.
"I told you that you would like him, Shard. He has so much potential! Just like you, Shard..."
He wasn't prepared for this. He didn't expect a battle. He felt foolish for not preparing. The creature backhanded him. Like everything else, it sent him flying. He landed near his halbard. Without wasting any time, Shard tumbled closer to it, barely avoiding another giant foot. He got to his feet and leapt to the base of the weapon, grabbing a hold of it just in time to get grabbed again. This time, it threw him straight onto the ground, winding him. It brought its foot up and slammed it down, attempting to crush him and finish the fight. The spellsword rolled, dodging the foot by only a split second. It stomped again, he rolled again. Annoyed, it punted him across the floor, halbard in hand. His stoneskin faded on impact. After a moment, he struggled up and without hesitation, wove a spell into his weapon. The axe hummed with magical energy.
"Shard, I'm sure you noticed, but he isn't slowing. Do you know what this means, Shard? His body isn't deteriorating through use, as they do in the normal variants. His body functions much like a living creature, maintaining a state of functionality..."
The creature charged again, this time he was ready for it. He stepped to the left, deftly dodging the creature's attack, countering with his own. His swing landed, cutting deep into the upper left leg of the creature. It didn't seem to notice. The cut did, however, throw it off balance. It began to compensate for the sudden loss of mobility by leaning more on its good leg.
"...Unlike a golem, it has the mind of a living creature. I haven't perfected this just yet, but I'm getting close, Shard. Unlike most intelligent undead, it isn't bound by a need for anything. It's intelligent, yet manufacturable. And Shard? I've found a way to consistantly make them..."
It charged at him again, Shard braced for the assault. It swung down hard, and he brought his halbard up in both hands to block the attack. The creature connected with the center of the halbard shaft, shattering it despite the magical enchantments woven into it. The burst of energy from the shattered weapon knocked both of them back - The giant a few steps, the mage a few yards. Not allowing himself to be discouraged by his loss, he dropped the bottom end of the broken halbard and began using the top end with one hand. Both the creature and Shard ran at each other. When close enough, he dodged right and swung high, connecting with the other side of the wounded leg. The giant stepped down on the wounded leg and it gave way under his weight with a sickening snap. Not wasting any time, Shard brought his axe down on the prone giant's neck. He swung again and again until it stopped moving.
"Imagine, Shard.. imagine what more than one is capable of? Imagine the same magic in a stronger creature... This was one of the first I made. It can be one creature, it can be several, it doesn't matter. If it's dead, it can be made into this."
He was tired. Not only from travel and lack of rest, but now from this.. encounter. He examined his broken weapon, muttering in annoyance. It was a good halbard. Talion had made it for him. There was no choice but to hold onto the upper half and use it as a weapon for the time being.
'You're even more insane than I remember, Kika. Why did you bring me here?', he muttered.
"I need your help, Shard. I need a competent ally that I can trust. I can trust you, can't I, Shard?"
'No. You can't. Why would I help you? You've tried to kill me twice today.'
"Kill you? Shard, I have faith in you, I was sure you'd be fine. And even still, I could always animate you like I did them. You'd still be very useful to me.", she added honestly.
'That's very reassuring. Charming, as always, I see.'
He sighed and shook his head. What was he doing here? Was this all she wanted? To make her presence known and test her.. abomination? To try to take him back into being a monster that he was? He thought on this for a moment before being interupted by the voice again. It was very close, this time, spoken softly into one ear.
"Shard, I'll be waiting for you. I think you'll know where to find me when you're ready to come", the voice said.
He didn't bother looking behind him, he knew he wouldn't see her there. He just nodded. He did know where she would be. It was a fair distance from here, but it was a straight trip and there was little between the two places.
With no reason to be here any longer, he stood up and made his way out of the cave. |
Shard Aerinmane - Spellsword
Avion Bladesaint - Pugilist
Vincent Lawful - Adventurer
"One Color ~ Countless Shades" |
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Re: Delerium
Posted: 27 Oct 2007 08:22 PM |
The weather was cloudy and cold. A calm fog seemed to follow him through the mountains. It made it harder to see where he was going, but he didn't really need to see. At this point, all the old memories were there. Painfully present. There was no road, per se, but there was a clear path to take. His destination was their old hideout. Just a keep far out in the mountains. It was the place in his dreams. He had learned everything he knew about necromancy there. It had been home to him for a long time.
He hadn't tried to sleep since his encounter. He was more tired than he'd ever been before. He walked with little effort, mostly just leaning forward and letting gravity's pull do the work. A couple of times he fell asleep while walking, but quickly woke after tripping over the rocky terrain. The feel of familiarity lingered around in his mind, a constant reminder to the events that had occured over the course of his life.
The path stretched on, and his pace was slow. It felt like an eternity before he encountered what he remembered as the ruins of a town abandoned due to the undead that roamed the surrounding areas. The town had only a few buildings still completely standing, most were in complete disrepair or ruin. Snow covered the ground and the tops of the buildings, and in some cases, the insides where the roof had since collapsed. The place was far from ancient, just worn from use. When it was inhabitted, Shard couldn't say. He never remembered seeing anyone here. The place never concerned him, either.
Oddly enough, the place put him at ease, and perhaps that is what drove him to finally make an attempt at rest. He made his way to the temple in the center of the abandoned town, sturdy craftsmanship keeping it standing despite its lack of hosts. The large doors came open easily enough, and he made his way in. The inside was just as cold as it was outside, though the walls did do a good job of holding the wind at bay. Shard was unsure to whom the temple was dedicated to, given that all the tapestries had long since been removed. This place was more than just abandoned, it was forgotten. It didn't seem as if it was looted, but the prior hosts had undoubtably taken everything of religious or monetary value. It was a fairly large temple, for such a small town, and the lack of interior only made it seem even bigger. He imagined when it was dedicated to a god, it must have been a sight to behold.
Curiosity faded shortly, however, giving way to his unrelenting desire to sleep. He quickly set up a camp, lighting small, controlled fires in several locations to warm the building somewhat. After laying down, he drifted off in seconds. And he dreamed...
He saw a girl. A woman, rather. She was beautiful, and she smiled as she watched her child outside the window of a house. The dark haired child played in the snow, as any child would, with perfect innocence and a lack of concern outside of anything but what he was doing. She watched the boy, seeing so much potential in him. He would grow up into a strong man, follow in the footsteps of his father, live a good life devoted to his god, and raise fine children after finding his future wife. She saw her son's future as all mothers would want for their child. Full of the same simple happiness that she had found in her life. Her last thought was her sons name, Lios.
Like all his dreams lately, she met the same fate as the others. A quick death from an unexpected blade. She died instantly, her expression never fading from the smile she wore watching her son. Her husband had already been dealt with, back behind the house. This time, however, it was not a younger Shard wielding the knife. It was.. a girl. A woman, rather. Dark in appearance, with eyes colder than the snow that idly fell outside the house. The boy outside continued to play, unaware of the scene that awaited him inside. She had no reason to kill him if he did not come in, but she found herself distracted watching him. There was something so different about him. She watched him a moment and saw what the mother saw.. so much potential. But the plans forming in her head were far, far different from the ones that his mother saw. She left, keeping what she saw in mind. She left the bodies for the boy.
It was a hard feeling to describe. He was too young to fully understand what had occured, and he never had any experience with death. He found both bodies, and his mind.. as amazingly gifted as it was.. failed to grasp the scene. The townsfolk couldn't bring themselves to explain it fully, either, and the event quickly disappeared for him. Almost as if it had never happened. His whole childhood, in fact, became a blur and almost as if in self defense, he began forgetting large portions of it. Over time, virtually no details of it remained.
A few of the townsfolk attempted to raise him as well, but it was as if he was cursed. Where he went, death followed. Before long, the townsfolk became reluctant to go near him. At the same time, rumors spread around the town of the dead walking. The rumors were, of course, true. Leaving the town alone became dangerous business, and trade slowed to a near halt. The people of the town eventually decided it was time to cut their losses and began leaving in groups. The boy Lios, however, was left behind. Not on purpose, as none of the people there were truely that heartless. None of them, however, would take ownership over him. He was left behind simply because nobody thought to take him.
The boy struggled to survive on his own for a time, but he more than likely would have starved were it not for the unseen hand guiding him. He clawed his way through life for a time, until she decided it was finally time to take over. And so he found her just as she wanted him to. His training began shortly after. There was no hestitation from him, as he was just happy to be accepted. His first name had since faded from his memory, as it was too closely attached to other memories that had faded as well. She didn't seem to mind, and gave him a new one. Before long, it was the name he thought he had always had...
The dream ended. This dream wasn't like the others. He woke with no screaming, no sweat or pain. Only sadness. This "dream" belonged to someone else.
Despite the dream, he did feel well rested. He wasted little time in packing up, departing the temple as soon as he was done. As he walked out into the ghost town.. he stopped and saw the place for what it really was. In his mind, the buildings slowly restored themselves. A shop here. A house there. And further on.. his home. He felt a chill, but it wasn't from the cold. He closed his eyes and on opening them, the image was gone. It was once again an abandoned, dead place.
It was all so blatantly obvious now. He felt like a puppet. No. He was a puppet. His strings, however, were finally cut. He finally understood what his purpose here was.
He moved on, leaving the town without looking back. |
Shard Aerinmane - Spellsword
Avion Bladesaint - Pugilist
Vincent Lawful - Adventurer
"One Color ~ Countless Shades" |
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Re: Delerium
Posted: 01 Nov 2007 06:38 PM |
As the arcanist slowly traveled towards his destination, his familiarization with the area came back at a rapid pace. It started off slow.. remembering a short cut here and there, and eventually it became an entirely different path than the one he was taking. He knew this area, he hunted here. Not a traditional style of hunting, no. His style of hunting involved the use of arcane magic. It was more like target practise than anything else. Even then, he felt a bit uneasy with the idea of using animals for arcane experimentation. Humanoids were a much better choice.
The remaining bulk of his shattered halbard was strapped to his belt and bounced against the side of his leg as he walked. It was uncomfortable, as was using the weapon like this in the first place. Given the circumstances, however, he was convinced that it was his only option. He hadn't always been interested in martial combat. In fact, he had always looked down on it in his past years. These days, he kept himself in much better shape by training with a weapon. His first real weapon was a gift from a half orc, one he called friend for a time. She became twisted due to involvement with demons and he, like many others, scorned her for it. Looking back, he felt terrible for that. His own past was no less dark. He had no room to judge.
He continued to pick up speed, feeling motivated and invigorated from his new found goal. He would find Kika and end her. She had caused so much pain and loss to the world. And she would continue to do so if she was to remain alive.
He spent a day traveling and covered what would have taken three. It wasn't long before he was only a few short miles away from his destination.
Their old hide out was an abandoned keep, partially built into the mountains. It was large on the inside, and they had not used much of it, though the monsters they created roamed through many of the empty rooms. The initial inhabitance of the keep were long, long gone and neither the young Shard nor Kika had any interest in discovering who they were. The place had seen many horrible things since they inhabited it. It resonated negative energy, a leftover by-product from years of ritualistic necromancy. To call the place was "haunted" was a bit of an understatement. And to top it all off.. it was home. The only real home Shard had known for many years of his adolescence.
The perimeter surrounding the place was infested with undead. A small army, scattered and wandering. He couldn't avoid all of them, but given that they were simple undead, he dispatched what little he ran into with no real effort. Mika trailed significantly closer, rushing to his aid at any sign of danger. Shard kept a straight face and stayed focused on his task. The undead out here were rejected. The real danger was inside the keep. What he faced in the cave was probably just a prelude to what he would face inside. And then there was Kika, herself.
A few hours of travel passed until he stood before the large wooden doors that stood out like landmarks in his memory.
A mixture of anticipation and nervousness washed over him. If there was such a thing as "Destiny", his was in front of him. Thick fog and deafening silence were his companions in this moment.
The moment passed, and the silence broke as he opened the door and walked in. |
Shard Aerinmane - Spellsword
Avion Bladesaint - Pugilist
Vincent Lawful - Adventurer
"One Color ~ Countless Shades" |
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Re: Delerium
Posted: 02 Nov 2007 12:33 AM |
The stone walls did very little to fend off the cold from outside. They blocked the wind, but little else. The first room was a small one. It was completely empty and devoid of any signs of life or unlife. Shard walked through the room cautiously. There was only one door in the room, and he slowly made his way towards it. The door lead to a passageway. The roof had collapsed on the right passageway, so he went left instead. The hallway went onward, turning once and coming to two sets of doors. He remembered them. One lead to a large chamber where they had spend most of their time in research. The other was one of the empty rooms. He went towards the door to the chamber, but it was firmly locked.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and the spellsword had the feeling he was being watched. He did not, however, see anyone or anything. There was a back enterance to the chamber.. unfortunently, it meant taking the long way around.
The corridor stretched on, turning here and there. Doors lined the hallway, and on listening closely, movement could be heard on the other side. A slow, droning movement. Shard decided it would be best to save his energy and avoid any unnecessary fights. There was one large room that he would have to travel through, though, and he could only expect there to be a host of undead there. His memory flashed, and he recalled that room in great detail. One group of adventurers had stumbled on the keep and had thought to search it for treasure. They had fought their way through a good number of undead.. until they met that room. It was a dining hall. Large and grand, at one point, now in a state of decay. Stone pillars lined the naturally dark room, and shadows were everywhere. The party entered carefully and made the fatal mistake of thinking it was empty. Undead swarmed in and while they fell in great numbers, eventually the party was overcome and devoured. Dining hall, indeed.
Shard stood outside the door. His heart was pounding. He placed his ear and listened.. no movement. Slowly, he opened the door and crept in. Five sets of large stone pillars lined the room, and in the center, a great wooden table (mostly rotted and battered) and chairs decorated the otherwise empty room. There was no light in this room, the torches long since extinguished. The magister had his own light, naturally, but it did little to pierce the almost unnatural darkness. It hung in close, like a black fog, preventing him from seeing fully into the room.
Uneasily, he walked further in, one finger gliding along the table. Dust and dirt gently swept away as he made his way across the room. Silence prevailed. Prevailed until..
A light footstep. Another. Another. Another. Continuously. Then another set.. then another set.. then another set. Shard gripped his axe and whispered a few arcane words. A moment passed and light shot across the room. All movement stopped. Faces turned towards him. They were rotted, missing skin, disgusting. Everywhere. They watched him.. and did not move. He could sense the same magic he felt in the cave. Shard felt frustrated.. he should have sensed this before he entered the room, but he only felt it just now.
The undead, still, made no move towards him. The door was only yards away. A croud of the animated corpses were in the way. His knuckles were white as he gripped his axe even tighter and began to walk forward. He was only feet away from one of the creatures.. and still, no reaction. He pushed passed it, and opened the door, quickly moving out and closing it behind him. He shuddered and realized he had been holding his breath. He let it out and resumed normal breathing, as much as one could given the circumstances.
"They didn't attack. She must really believe I'm here to join her...", he thought, but didn't dare say outloud.
He continued forward. The room he wanted was a couple of doors down. It was unlocked and, after a moment of preparation, he opened it and walked in. The room was large and corpses were everywhere, in various states of decay. A few of them shambled about the room, but most of them were unanimated. A set of tables flaunted the remains on top of them, cut and pinned open, exposing various innards. It was a necromancers dream, and he had lived it for quite some time. Now, it made him feel violently ill. The stench.. the sight.. it was so much more than offensive. And in the center of it all.. Kika.
The woman wore rich purple and red robes.. and you could almost not even tell that it was heavily stained with blood. Her skin was a darker tone, her eyes an icy blue, her hair was black, somehow she smelled divine amongst all the death, everything about her was attractive. Except that she was quite thoroughly insane. She hadn't aged at all.
"Shard..", she said with a genuine smile.
"You..", he replied, emotionless.
They watched each other for at least a minute, eyes locked, seeming to take in the moment. Every detail about the other was soaked in. A wordless conversation, and the quiet finally ended when she spoke again.
"You've finally come."
"I had to.", he replied.
"I'm glad we agree on that much."
"I didn't come to join you."
"Oh?"
"I'm here to put an end to this.", his words were barely over a whisper, but words like these could be heard anywhere in the room.
She watched him a moment, taking his words in and weighing them.
"No, you aren't.", she eventually answered.
"What do you mean?", he replied, sounding confused.
"Let me guess.. you've changed. You've put your past behind you, and become something so different and profound. You're simply going to walk away from the deeds you've committed as if they never happened."
He answered sharply, "Yes."
"People don't change, Shard. YOU don't change. Tell me.. do your new found friends know of your past? Do they know what you've done?", she spoke softly. Her tone was not cynical, but rather, spoke as one speaks to a friend.
His answer was not met in the same tone. "They do not, and they don't need to know. I will bury my past and be done with it."
"Can you even do that, now that you remember?" Her answer hit him harder than he was willing to admit. At the time, he didn't need to bury these memories. He simply didn't have them. Now he did. They were there. The haunted him, haunted his dreams, this was something he had to live with now.
"I.. yes. I can.", he faltered and she imidiately took advantage of it.
"No, you aren't that strong, Shard. No one is. We are horrible, horrible creatures. But it is our nature. This is what I am, and I don't fight it. And neither should you."
He looked down. His silver armor didn't seem to shine anymore. His white cloak was frayed and dirty, his boots were muddy, his axe was broken. Was she right?
"I came here to kill you.", he whispered.
"I can see that much in your eyes, Shard. That hungering look, before you kill. I've seen you kill. It comes naturally to you. You know that you're drawn to conflict. You know that you're drawn to struggle. You can't argue with this."
He was silent at this point. The wizard, in all his intellect, could not find the words to say in a moment like this. For every ounce of hatred he had for her, she was absolutely right.
"I will give you that conflict, Shard. I will give you what you want. If you've given up necromancy, then fine. Use your gift as you see fit. But stay here. Use your gift and be MY champion.", her tone was surprisingly encouraging.
He was silent, still. The words made sense. He wanted to belong. He wanted to be important to someone. He looked around. He saw the place as he once did. He could point out the flaws in the work.. he could see places for improvement.. he could make this so much better..
"NO..", he snapped out of it.
"Shard?", she replied in a concerned voice.
"I won't let you use me again. Look around you! This isn't how it had to be. You murdered my family, Kika. You murdered everyone close to me! I found my place in life, and it is NOTHING like this."
"Shard..", she spoke softly, "Lios, if you wish. I did what I felt necessary at the time. If you have changed so much in your time, is it that hard to believe that I've changed as well?"
"Given the surroundings," he motioned around them, "I find that hard to believe."
"It is what I do, and I can do nothing as well as this. It is my gift, Shard."
"And that gift is what makes us enemies."
She sighed. She looked off to the side, with a hurt expression.
"Please don't make this end in violence.", she spoke as if on the verge of tears.
Shard cursed at how amazingly difficult this was, and the fight hadn't even begun. If there was even going to be a fight.
"Please don't make me hurt you. I've only grown in power, and I don't want to do that to you. Not to you.", she said honestly.
"I'm sorry, Kika, but this can only end in bloodshed. I am Lios, spellsword and silver sage. You've killed so many, there is no way I could simply walk away from this. It ends."
"And what about the blood on your hands, Shard?", she asked, her own voice barely above a whisper now.
The question was asked and he didn't know how to answer it. For everything he had said, for everything he stood for, and everything he now believed in. The blood was something that would never go away. The spirits of those he murdered would never rest while he remained alive.
After a moment, he responded plainly, "Someone like me has no place in the world. I'll simply disappear."
She shook her head, not accepting his responce.
"And how is that any different from me?"
He didn't answer. He couldn't answer. There was no longer a good side in this. He no longer could see himself as right. He understood. This was a fight between one monster and another.
She nodded, wiping a tear away, her eyes growing cold. He had seen that look before. It was the look of a killer.
"So be it."
The undead in the room snapped to life, previously empty gazes now fixated on fresh meat wrapped in silver.
The air around the woman came alive, humming and cackling with pure magical energy.
The spellsword took a defensive stance, his makeshift battleaxe glowing with magic woven into it.
And the world stood still. |
Shard Aerinmane - Spellsword
Avion Bladesaint - Pugilist
Vincent Lawful - Adventurer
"One Color ~ Countless Shades" |
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Re: Delerium
Posted: 14 Nov 2007 01:05 AM |
Shard expected this to happen. It was his goal, his mission, his destiny.
He leapt to one side as a ghoulish creature slashed at him with disgusting claws. They may be smarter and faster than their generic counterparts, but they were still undead and still predictable. At least to an accomplished ex-necromancer like Shard. He saw an opening and took it, cutting the creature from arm through torso and out the neck. The creature fell in two, but there were many more still. He had taken out a dozen at least, but it was starting to wear him out. He hadn't taken any wounds so far, but he could feel himself slowing down.
Another lept at him. It crashed into him, and he fell back with it, placing his feet on the creature's chest and using the momentum to throw it passed him. Another attempted to take advantage of the prone magister, but he saw it coming and swung hard at its legs, landing a severing blow and sending it to the ground.
More poured in from the door. Shard knew it was getting ugly. Kika hadn't even started fighting yet. She seemed amused at his struggle, a cold smile pressed firmly into her attractive features.
Shard found his way to his feet and began chanting. Electricity sparked around him as his words came to completion, then shot from undead to undead. He followed up with another blast of lightning that went arcing through his opponents. Most of them succumbed to the intense magic, falling backwards into fits of violent convulsions. The few that remained fled, seeming to have some grasp of their own mortality.
As the last of them found their way out, only two figures remained in the room.
Quiet made its way around the room.
Shard spoke after a moment, "Was that it? You spoke so highly of them, and they weren't much of a challenge."
"Or maybe you've just learned that much in our time apart.", she replied calmly.
After a time, she continued, "It won't, however, save you from me."
She chanted a moment, energy swirled around her. Fire erupted in her hand and she hurled it at him. Shard threw himself out of the way and it impacted the wall behind him, englufing the area with flame. Shard climbed to his feet and began casting his own spell. He completed his words and one of the flames seemed to come alive. The fire elemental sprung into action, only to be met by a mummy summoned by the necromancer. Shard began casting again and sent lightning arcing across the room at the woman. Reacting quickly, she conjured a shield that took the brunt of the spell and threw a much larger ball of fire this time. Shard couldn't avoid it and it impacted heavily, sending him into and through the stone wall.
Elemental and undead fought bitterly, spreading the fire further into the keep.
Moon and starlight greeted a slightly dazed Shard, who staggered up and fought to regain his bearings.
Kika casually walked through the rubble to greet her opponent outside. She chanted again, magic swirling around her. Shard recognized the spell. He had heard of it, even seen it before.. albiet rarely. Her body began to grow, and her shape became demonic. Her eyes became flaming orbs, her skin was like armor, and flaming wings adorned her back.
The spellsword replied in turn, magic soaking into him. The air around him blurred, and the red haze took over. He saw his opponent with a singleminded determination.
Not wasting any time, both of them ran towards each other. Their battlecries added to the chaos created by the fire and the battling summons.
Axe met claw. Blow after blow. The two were entranced in a dance of death, with neither side clearly winning. The blows inflicted on the spellsword regenerated at a fast rate, while the demon seemed to barely be affected by his axe. Yet both of them were getting weaker and weaker with each minute of combat.
Eventually, the fight leaned in her favor. She swung down and clipped him. It didn't hurt him much, but it knocked him off balance. She took advantage of it and followed up with a much heavier blow. It sent him flying a few feet, and his axe flying a different direction. He landed and rolled. The haze around him faded and the keen sense of perception with it. The dampened sense of pain faded as well, replaced by the normal full effect. As he lay there, the demon approached slowly. She towered over him, seeming to savor her success.
The stars above him watched the scene with silent awe. She was weakened, but not nearly so much as he was. He tried to stand up, but only managed to come to a knee.
With what strength remained in him, he formed one last spell. Energy swirled around him for a moment, then shot out in waves. Swarms of magic bolts impacted the demon and it shook with the effects of the spell. The magic lit up the area and it was bright as day for only a moment. The moment passed and light faded. The demon stood there for a time, which for Shard felt like an eternity. Finally, she fell backwards, the form of the demon fading from her. The magister made an attempt at getting up, but his strength was far gone by that point. He slumped backwards, breathing uneasily. His opponent lay unmoving.
Shard stared at the stars. The night sky was beautiful tonight. Hardly appropriate for such a desperate fight. As he watched, he wondered how many stars there were. He counted to fourteen before consiousness left him. |
Shard Aerinmane - Spellsword
Avion Bladesaint - Pugilist
Vincent Lawful - Adventurer
"One Color ~ Countless Shades" |
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