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> Tales of Teir: Discovering Beyond the Discovery
redsrock
post Sep 17 2008, 04:49 PM
Post #1


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Tales of Teir

Foreword

Before the tale actually begins, as the author of this story I feel it is necessary to give you a brief introduction to the events that have taken place in the near past. Firstly, the entire story will revolve around the massive landmass in the northern part of the world of Teir. Four regions mark this landmass, and they are: Illacor, Valgaria, Blik, and Shienk. The tale shall begin in Illacor, but for the most part it will take place in Shienk, the land east of Illacor.

Here is a map of the northern landmass with all four regions identified:

Link-MAP

As you can see, Illacor is the only place with rivers that are named. This is for a reason. The main character of the story is unaware of the names of places in Shienk, so I think the reader should be as well. However, for the sake of the story I have included several names, just so thing aren‘t too confusing for you. And now…for the ‘current events’.

Illacor has just recently named a new King to the throne, actually roughly two and a half years ago, but that is fairly recent given the fact that the former King had last some sixty years. The new King’s name is Vorenicus Avrovil, and up until now his reign as King has gone relatively smooth. It has been well documented that the Nothren of Illacor are enemies with the Haakian of Shienk. However, the two sides have gone without war for more than twenty years, mostly in part because of some shrewd diplomacy between the former Illacor King.

Now that has changed, and the two have had a few words with another, or at least King Avrovil and the Emperor of Shienk, Junias Caultic. The two disagree on an area in the northeastern part of Illacor, fairly close to the city of Karuun in which the story starts out at. King Avrovil believes it is rightfully Illacor’s, but Emperor Caultic insists that the land was stolen from Shienk hundreds of years ago. The King says that such a remark is ridiculous since it happened so long ago, while the Emperor says that he is the only one in Shienk’s history brave enough to take back the land that is “rightfully” theirs. This sounds simple, but do you honestly think it is ONLY about land and nothing else? I’ll let you decide on that for yourself.

This quarreling of words have gone back and forth for some two years now, with no fighting taking place whatsoever. But it’s only a matter of time until the final hand is dealt, and both sides collide. And now the story begins. I hope you enjoy it…..




Chapter One: A Problem Before the Problem

Standing next to the city fort, in the middle of Karuun, I was talking with my good friend Fevlin. We had just finished making our daily rounds through our small and secluded town, making sure our soldiers were on patrol, as well as looking out for any wild animals that may have crept into town from the forest in the east and north. I am the Captain of the Karuun army, which us mainly comprised of volunteers. I wouldn’t say my job is too hard, but I definitely wouldn’t say it is easy either.

Of course, some of the people here in Karuun don’t believe that. They think I was named Captain just because my father was the former Governor, before he drowned drunk that is. Because of my father’s questionable way of life I’ve always been touted the same person, even if that is totally wrong. I am not my father, and I’ve proven that these first three years of my service by protecting Karuun from any dangers, rebuilding what was once an extremely weak militia into a larger and more skillful group of soldiers. But some people don’t want to see that. No, they’d rather remember the bad things so they can have something to complain about.

“You’re right, but can you blame them, Cyric? I mean, your father was a fairly bad person.”

Fevlin is one of two people that I can really talk to about anything. That was one reason why I wasn‘t getting angry at him for calling my father a bad person. The other reason was that he was right anyway. My father really was a bad person, and I can accept that. My mother was a wonderful woman, but she died when I was just an infant. My father had seen other woman of course, but none of them stayed more than a night, if you know what I mean.

“Yes, but when will they forget him and realize what kind of man I am? It’s starting to aggravate me. Three years now I’ve been nothing but great for this city. And what do I have to show for it? Nothing. I get no credit whatsoever, and I am not appreciated at all.”


“Well, you got me and Ollie,” he laughed. “Voren and your sister as well. I guess that counts for something.”

I rolled my eyes and said, “Great, four out of five-thousand people think I’m a good person. And where is Ollie anyway? He was supposed to have joined us this morning.”

“Who knows. Probably getting drunk at the tavern or smoking his sugarshoot again. Or maybe both, I wouldn’t put it past him.”

After rolling my eyes I told Fevlin to head to his quarters inside the fort, while I went to fetch Ollie from wherever he was. Ollie was a good friend of mine as well, possibly even greater than Fevlin. But about three months ago he started to drink, and I mean heavily. The sudden death of his mother is one of the causes I am sure, but that is still not an excuse. As of now he hunts in the forests and sells his findings to the local merchants, but whatever silver he makes he just drinks it away nowadays. I want to get him into the army so he can actually make something out of himself, but Governor Jedic won’t let me until I can prove he is fit for the job.

What of the main reasons the Governor won’t let him on board is his addiction to sugarshoot. Sugarshoot is a common blue plant located in the mountains west of us. People grind it up and then smoke it through a pipe, and blue smoke emits from the pipe. And despite it smelling sweet, those who smoke it tell me it doesn’t taste nearly as good as you would imagine. It is not yet illegal, but smoking it is greatly frowned upon. I’ve never tried it myself but I’ve heard it messes with your mind, makes you see things that aren’t really there and makes you do things that you wouldn’t normally do. I don’t see why people smoke it if it doesn’t even taste good, but I guess it’s just one of those things.

I entered the local pub and looked around the crowded bar and just barely spotted Ollie sitting at a table alone in the opposite corner from where I came in. He was of course smoking the shoot, and also had five empty bottles on the table, no doubt some kind of alcohol. Something about him made me worry. His head was in his hands and he just looked so depressed, and that just wasn’t like him at all. He was one of the more lively persons in Karuun, especially when under the booze.

Voren Geri, the pub owner, was cleaning some drinking glasses behind the counter. He was a Mogtran male, hailing from the country of Lyr, which is far to the southwest. Like all Mogtra, Voren was a tad bit taller than seven feet and had muscles nearly the size of my head. Thankfully for us he was a peaceful Mogtra, like all of his kind for the most part. When the Mogtra migrated to here they had been attacked by our people who thought they were monsters. But they quickly established themselves as respected members of our country, and have remained that for over thirty-five years now. Voren himself is over one hundred years old, which was considered middle-aged for most Mogtra.

*A picture of a Male Mogtra. Voren doesn’t necessarily look exactly like this because obviously he would be wearing some kind of clothing, but at least you can get a general idea of what the Mogtra look like: http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/8826/picture046ao2.jpg

I walked over to him but he saw me before I could tell him to keep quiet, Voren has always been a loud talker, and I didn’t really want Ollie to know I was present. “Ah, Captain, how ya’ doing this fine evening?” he yelled loudly, his furry brown mane flapping at his sides. Thankfully the room had already been loud and barely anyone seemed to have heard him.

“Shh, keep quiet for a second will you?” I laughed after holding a finger to my lip. Then I took a quick glance at Ollie and asked Voren, “So how long has Ollie been in here today?”

“Since noon I’d say,” he responded while chuckling and looking down at his glasses. Of course that also meant he was looking down on me since I was just a tad over six feet. “I take it you’re looking for him?”

I sighed heavily and replied, “Yes, I am. He was supposed to have helped Fevlin and I during our daily rounds, but he never showed up. He looks…depressed in a way. Anything wrong with him that you can think of?”

He squinted his eyes at Ollie across the room and then looked back down at his glasses. “Not that I can think of really, I-” His furry hands stopped moving and his eyes suddenly lit up. “Actually, yes, there is something. Apparently he asked Miss Cezelia for her hand in marriage last night, and she of course said no.”

“What?” I yelled in surprise, for Miss Cezelia was my little sister. She was only twenty-three, me being twenty-seven. That was another thing people dislike about me, that I am so young yet I am already the Captain.

Apparently I had yelled a little too loud, because a few tables were looking in my direction. “Can we talk in the back?” Voren nodded his head and then told one of his workers to keep an eye on the counter while we were gone. He led me back through the kitchen and into a room where all the food was stockpiled.

“Ya’ heard me right, Captain, he asked her to marry him,” he said, trying his best to hold in the laughter.

“Why in the world would he do such a thing? He knows Cezelia can’t stand him!”

“Well let’s think about it, Captain. What does Ollie tend to do all day?”

I sighed again and leaned against a large box, holding my hand against my head because I could already feel a headache coming on. “So he was drunk when this happened?”

“Yup!” he said, this time unable to hold in the laughter. “I’m sorry, Captain, but I find this funny. On the other hand, I would be high surprised if he actually is depressed because he was rejected. Ollie drinks and smokes a lot, but that doesn’t mean he’s stupid. Surely he cannot be sad about it, since he knows that he was messed up in the mind when he asked her anyway. I think it is actually something else, but perhaps you should speak with you sister first.”

“I would like to talk with Ollie before I do that.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You know how argumentative he gets when he’s drunk or messed up in the mind. I suggest you walk Ollie to his house, talk to Cezelia to see what actually happened, and then confront Ollie about it when he’s in a more stable set of mind.”

I grinned and patted Voren on the arm, “It’s a good thing you’re so smart, Voren. Thanks.”

“No worries, Captain. I am here to serve,” he said sarcastically and then took a bow. We both laughed at that for a few seconds before returning to the front. Ollie was at the counter asking for another drink. The young woman keeping an eye on the counter was about to sell him another bottle, but I stopped her.

“I don’t think so, Ollie, you’ve had enough for tonight. Let’s go home, it’s already nightfall.”

He looked at me for several seconds with a set of extremely droopy eyes, opened his mouth to say something, and then passed out on the floor. I sighed and rolled my eyes once more as a crowd starting to form around his body. “Get back!” I called out to them.

“Will you look at that, Ollie passed out,” Voren said with another chuckle. “You know, Captain, he’s about the same size as you. How about I pick him up and take him to his house? You better talk to Cezelia to see what happened.”

“That’s awfully nice of you, but what about your pub?”

“Don’t worry, Sari can hold the fort down until I get home. Besides, closing time comes in about thirty minutes. Things start slowing down right around this time.”

I thanked him and then left the pub, leaving our tiny market area and heading straight towards my sister’s home. Like everyone’s home, hers was located in the north and northeastern part of the town, and right beside my own. Her house was actually a bit nicer than mine, only because she actually decorates it and keeps it spotlessly clean. I don’t really care, I’m only in it to sleep and eat anyway.

“Coming!” I heard her yell from within the house once I had knocked. She opened the door and looked rather surprised. “Cyric? It’s going on eleven o’clock, is something wrong?”

“Yes, I think so. It involves Ollie. Can I come in for a little bit?”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course. He didn’t do anything stupid did he?”

“Well, that depends on what you would call stupid. Do you call stupid getting drunk and then passing out in a public tavern?”

“Oh my…yes, come in. Do you want something to drink or eat? I just fixed some bala-bread if you want any.”

“No thinks, I’d like to wrap this up quickly so I can go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be busy.”

We both sat down at her kitchen table, inside a rather small area but big enough for two people. “I hear Ollie asked you to marry him. Is that true?”

She rolled her head from side to side and gave me a goofy grin. “Yes, he came knocking at my house at a quarter past midnight last night. He started yelling something and I could tell he was drunk. I cracked open the door and told him to shut up and go home, but he kept on yelling. He asked me to marry him, but like I said…he was drunk. So why are you asking this?”

“When I walked into the pub Ollie was sitting in the corner by himself, looking downer than I’ve ever seen him. Voren told me what happened, and now I’m trying to find out what’s wrong with him. I was hoping you’d have some information.”

“Wait…you don’t think it has anything to do with me rejecting him, do you? He was DRUNK, Cyric, and I’m surprised he would even remember what happened! I don’t agree with Voren one bit.”

“Voren never said he thought it was directly involved with you, Cezelia, but you should have seen Ollie sitting in the pub. He looked so down. I know something is bothering him, other than his mother’s death. He’s been drinker more and more each week. I’d like to think it’s just the addiction that so many people get, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s something more. I just wish I knew what it was. ”

“Yeah, well I wouldn’t worry about it. Ollie is nothing but a useless drunk and you know it. I don’t care if he’s your friend, Cyric, you do too much for him. If you don’t do anything about his drinking or smoking he’s going to do something bad.”

I really wasn’t in the mood for a lecture, so I gave Cezelia something she hated. “Alright, mother…”

“Really funny, Cyric. Mother would tell you what I’ve just said. You’re a good officer, you really are. But Cyric is going to be a burden to this town if he keeps getting away with things.”

“Maybe, maybe not. I’m gonna talk to him tomorrow and hopefully I’ll get to the bottom of whatever is going on. Goodnight.”

Cezelia gave me a hug and I left. Fevlin was waiting in the fort barracks just like I asked. I explained to him the situation and he laughed just as Voren did. I wanted to simply laugh it off as well, but then I started to think about what my sister said had. Maybe she was right, maybe Voren would become a burden to the town if I didn’t do something about his problems. It’s not really something I wanted to think about, but I was Captain after all. I couldn’t just keep standing by and ignoring it.


“Eventually I will have to do something if he keeps this up, Fevlin. We can’t have him waking people up at midnight, now can we?”

“True,” Fevlin responded inbetween bites of an apple. “However, what is there to do, Cyric? It’s not like we can follow and watch him all day. Honestly, there‘s really only one thing you can do that will work.”

“Are you suggesting that I throw him in prison?” I asked crazily.

“Well I don’t know, you tell me,” he said, almost in a defensive tone. I guess I was probably and bit too questioning with my own tone. “Do you have any other ideas? Ollie is our best friend, I’m well aware of that. But when he‘s effecting the townspeople that’s crossing the line. And he’s starting to come awfully close to it. Bothering Cezelia isn’t that big of a deal, he’s done that all his life. But when he’s drunk there’s obviously no way of controlling him. Either you do something now or live to regret it in the future. I’m sorry, Cyric, but there’s just no other way.”

I looked at the ground for a few seconds, thinking about what I had just heard. Fevlin was right and I knew it, I just wish I didn’t. It’s like I already said earlier, Ollie has been my best friend since childhood. And also like I already said, he didn’t use to be a drunk. It’s when his mother died that he turned for the worst. But there’s no going back now, because you can’t fix the past no matter how many times you dream that you can.

“You’re right, I think I’ll wait inside his house until he awakes. I need to talk to him as soon as possible. Whether or not you agree, I’m going to give him one final chance. Believe me, I’ll pound that into his head until he can repeat it in his sleep. I can’t keep giving him second, third, fourth and fifth chances anymore.”

“Do you want me to go with you, to keep you company at least?”

“No, you’ve worked hard today. You can go home now.”

“Well, if you don’t mind I think I’ll just sleep here in the fort tonight. I’ve been meaning to work on a new table for our kitchen here, and Lavernius said he’d help me when I get the chance. He’s in there right now so I figure now is a good time.”

“Arlight, then. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Cyric. And good luck with Ollie as well while you‘re at it. By Bavlian’s Blade I know you’re gonna need it.”

I hate to keep repeating myself like I’ve already done numerous times, but Ollie drinks his money away. And in doing so he’s been forced to live in the outskirts of the town, in the area where the poor and less-privileged live. He’s not exactly poor by official standards, it’s just that silver usually doesn’t stay in his pockets for a very long time.

When I arrived at his house I knocked lightly a couple of times. Voren answered the door, having to duck under the doorway while coming outside so he wouldn’t bang his head on the wood. “He’s asleep right now, Captain, but he was muttering some weird stuff on the way here.”

“Like what?”

“Something about…I don’t know, I think he said something about not being worthy. Most of it was slurred to where I couldn’t hear him.”

“Thanks for taking care of him, Voren. You can leave now. I’m going to wait here until he wakes up. He and I have some things to discuss.”

“It was my pleasure, Captain. I’ll see tomorrow at breakfast with Fevlin as always?”

“Probably not tomorrow, Voren. I‘m supposed to meet with the Governor first thing in the morning. We‘ll try and stop by sometime in the afternoon if we‘re not busy. Have a good night.”

So I walked inside the home. It was pitch black, save for a small fire in the living quarters that Voren must have started. It was a fairly cool outside with a steady breeze, so the warming fire felt good on my skin. Ollie was snoring like a bear in his room upstairs, so I walked into the kitchen to see if he had anything to drink, besides alcohol I mean. Of course, not to my surprise though, the kitchen was littered with bottles, some empty, some full, some half gone, and some shattered all over the floor. It looked like a twister had made it’s way through his house. Of course, I hadn’t visited him in his home in almost two weeks.

Luckily I found a bottle of pear juice, so I took the bottle and walked down into his cellar where he had a small library. Before his mother died he was an avid reader, especially historical documents about the alienic lands to the southeast. Ollie was obsessed with the Zervegei of Zevroth in the northeastern region of Teir. I’ll admit they are an interesting civilization, but Ollie took his interest almost to another level. Because of him I’ve learned a lot of information about them, even though history shows that they have never visited out lands.

I sat down at a table. On it was a sugarshoot pipe and a pile of what looked to be some blue powder-like material, which I knew was basically sugarshoot crushed into tiny pieces, with a couple of other things mixed in as well. I sat on the other side where I had more room and started to read a book that was lying face down. It was titled “History of the Zervegei: The Battle of Canatalo River”.

I must have fallen asleep shortly after that because the next thing I knew I woke up to a ray of morning sunlight coming in through a window that had been built into the cellar. Birds were chirping outside and I could hear the rustling of footsteps as well. I turned around to walk up the stairs and that’s when I realized Ollie was sitting at the table.

“You finally wake? It’s eight o’clock in the morning,” he said without emotion.

I stretched my arms into the air and said, “You should be talking, Ollie. What was wrong with you last night?”

“You saw it for yourself, is there really a need for me to answer? I got drunk and passed out. It happens all the time, everyone should be used to it by now.”

I wasn’t liking the tone of his voice. It was sort of defensive in a way, but at the same time with a smartalic tone. It was easy to tell that something was wrong. “Don’t get smart with me, Ollie. I know something is wrong, I could tell by the way you were looking last night. Something is upsetting you, and I want you to tell me what it is.”

He just chuckled and took a bite of a yellow bala -fruit he was holding, the green juice shooting out from the bottom and spraying onto his table. He didn’t seem to care, and at that moment I knew that was the case. It was as if he was losing interest in everything. “Cyric…the people here don’t like me. I know what I’ve become, I’m a useless drunk and sugarshoot addict. That’s what’s wrong with me. I’ve become something that I never once dreamed of. But that’s alright, I’m gonna leave soon anyway.”

“What?” I yelled. “Why would you leave?”

“Because I’m not welcome here anymore, that’s why! The only people who have even the least amount of respect for me is you. Fevlin doesn’t care for me anymore, I can tell it in his tone of voice. I guess I don’t blame him, but it doesn’t matter. I can’t stay here anymore. It’s time a move on to another place, maybe make a new name for myself.”

“And where do you plan on going? The nearest city is more than fifty miles away.”

“I haven’t decided yet. Froc sounds like a good option now, I could open up a winery or something with the money I have left. It’s the capitol of Illacor after all, so hopefully I can earn some money quick. Either way it doesn’t matter, I’m leaving tomorrow morning and you can’t talk me out of it.”

“You know, Ollie, this is kind of sudden. I was going to try and get you in my army, after helping you stop drinking and smoking. I-”

“Yeah, well maybe I don’t wan to quit! Dammit, Cyric, stop getting in my business all the time! I know you’re just trying to help me and all that, but it’s really starting to get on my nerves.”

I didn’t say anything else to him, and instead I left the house, never looking back. He didn’t say anything to me either, and honestly that disappointed me. I was hoping he’d say he’s sorry and ask me to come back and talk, like he’s always done. But no, that wasn’t the case this time. And that’s how I knew it was over. I’ll admit that I wasn’t as sorry as I thought I would be. Of course part of that was my anger towards him just wanting to give up and leaving, and another part was that I was still in shock. I really wasn’t expecting him to tell me that he was going to leave Karuun for good.

Maybe he would change his mind and stay. I really didn’t think that would happen, but it never hurts to dream.


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redsrock
post Sep 23 2008, 02:06 AM
Post #2


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Joined: 7-August 07



Chapter Two: The Problem


Even though I had apparently slept the night away in Ollie cellar, I was still extremely tired. But I was scheduled to meet with the Governor in one hour, so I didn’t have any time to rest. Fevlin was already up about in the fort, tidying up the kitchen, and standing proudly next to the table he and another militiaman named Lavernius had built during the night.

“You did a nice job with the table,” I said after sitting down on a nearby stool next to the table. “Did you two really do this in one night?”

He laughed and said, “Of course not. We’ve been working on and off for about a week now. For the most part the only thing we had to do last night was paint it brown, and that didn’t take long at all. By the way, how’s Ollie?”

“Not good. He says he’s going to leave.”

“Come again?” he asked, even though I knew he had heard me.

“Yes, he says he’s not wanted around here, and he’d like to make a new life for himself, probably in Froc. It’s not really my business, so I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Of course it’s not your business. But then again, he is your best friend after all. Perhaps you should try and talk him out of it? I know he’s a drunk and all, but I never wanted him to leave. I’ll admit he hasn’t been my favorite person for a while, but that doesn’t mean I hate him.”

“I’ve already spoken to him and he’s made up his mind. There’s going back. I wanted to talk to you about your rounds today. As you already know I have a meeting with the Governor, so if you want you can take one of the militiamen with you. Or not. It doesn’t matter to me.”

I could see it in his eyes that Fevlin knew I was trying to get around the subject of Ollie, and thankfully he honored those feelings. “Yes, sir. I should be going now anyway. Good luck with the Governor. What does he want anyway?”

“I’m not sure. Zevril didn’t say, not that I expected him to. I have to go now, I don’t want to be late. Just be sure while on your rounds check out the Destitution Quarters. You know the peddlers like to get drunk and start fights now and then.”

Fevlin nodded his head and I left the fort, heading to the Governor’s mansion, which was situation atop a hill in the southwestern corner of the city. Governor Jedic Bine has been in power for nearly two years now. He took over after my father died, and since then Karuun has thrived economically, or at least compared to the past. When my father was Governor our economy was rather poor, mostly in part because my father ignored it, along with several other things as well. As soon as Jedic stepped in as Governor he immediate began implementing some rules and regulations to help bring back a healthy flow of wealth to our city. Trade routes with the other cities that had once been forgotten were brought back, and this helped the city tremendously. Jedic is certainly a skillful person, but there’s just one thing about him that I don’t like. He doesn’t like me…at all.

Jedic is nearly seventy years old, but acts and walks as if he’s barely even seen old age. He has always seen my father as a cheat, and also claimed long ago that he cheated to become Governor. I don’t know the truth to that, but I’d say he’s probably not lying. Still, he’s treated me unfairly ever since becoming Governor, and that’s just not fair. However, I don’t really wish to speak of it anymore, because his opinion of me will never change no matter what I do.

After climbing the steep steps into the mansion lobby I was greeted by Zevril, the Governor’s personal assistant. If there was one person I could say was my rival, it would be him. He’s been an enemy of mine since childhood, mainly because of my father and his father, who is the brother of Governor Jedic. Zevril’s father these days works as a consultant to a Governor in the west. Zevril has an extended vocabulary, or at least in my opinion, and he almost never directly insults me. Instead, he’ll do it in a sly way that honestly sometimes leaves me confused, but usually more angry than anything.

“Is the Governor ready to see me, Zevril?”

He was straightening the portraits that were displayed on the wall when I walked in, and while responding to my question he continued with his work without making eye contact. I found that quite rude.

“Yes, the Governor has been waiting for you as a matter of fact. You were supposed to have arrived at eight o’clock, and it is currently eight forty-five. That means you are forty-five minutes late.”

“What? No, the meeting is scheduled for nine o’clock. You told me yourself yesterday.”

“No, that is incorrect, Captain. If you would have listened more closely yesterday you would already be aware of that, but unfortunately for all of us that is not the case. However, I am not here to quarrel. Please follow me and I’ll escort you to the Governor’s chambers.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was downright lying and he knew it himself. But rather than argue any further I simply followed the man as he led me up a tall flight of stairs, and then down a long corridor to our right. When we arrived at the Governor’s chambers I remembered how highly decorated it was. Several types of jewels and ornaments were displayed on the door, and a silver shield-shaped crest at the very top, an ancient item passed down to every Governor of Karuun.

“Here we are, Captain. I presume you are able to find your way into the room yourself. Good day.” he said with sarcastic tone. Then he took a quick bow and left before I could respond. I hated that man more than anyone inside the city, but what was I to do? Absolutely nothing, for he was the Governor’s forty-seven year old cousin, and arguing with him wouldn’t be a smart move on my part.

When I knocked on the door it took only a few seconds for the Governor call out. He yelled for me to come in, so I opened the door and stepped into his room. He was currently reading a book while sitting at his overly large desk next to a window, hundreds of books on the massive oak shelves behind him. At first he did not look up, but when he saw that it was me he closed his book shut and motioned for me to take a seat in front of him.

“You’re late, Captain,” he said while staring into my eyes. He had neither a smile nor a frown upon his face, but I could tell he meant business with whatever the meeting was all about.

“Sir, that is not true. When I talked with Zevril yesterday he said-”

Then he held up a hand to silence me. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now, aren’t you? Now, I’m sure you’ve been wondering why I’ve called you here this morning. Something has come under my attention that needs to be addressed, and I wanted to speak with you about it before it’s too late.”

“Yes, sir?”

“I was told that Ollie disturbed the streets two nights ago, after midnight. Is that true, Captain?”

A lump immediately formed in my throat. “Yes, sir, that is true. But I spoke with him this morning and everything has been taking care of.”

“Is he in jail?”

“No, sir, of course not.”

“Then you are wrong, and everything has not been taken care of.” His tone was getting more stern by the second. “Captain, you are well aware that the curfew for all citizens is midnight, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then why was Ollie not reprimanded for his actions? Why did you let him slide?”

“I…-”

“I’ll tell you why, Captain. It is because Ollie is your best friend and you’ve let him get away…once again I should add. I will not stand for this any longer. You are too weak when it comes to Ollie. He must be punished for his actions.”

“But, sir, Ollie has informed me that he is to leave Karuun tomorrow morning. Can’t we just let him go?”

“No, you have to set an example once in a while, Captain.”

“But if he’s going to leave anyway what’s the point of reprimanding him?”

“Because if we let him get away free, then we are essentially telling that citizens of Karuun that they can do whatever they want, and then leave the city without be punished. That is not a very good message to send to our people, don’t you agree, Captain?”

“No, it’s not a good message. But-”

The Governor put up his land hand to silence me. I sunk back into my seat while Jedic stood up from his, walking to the window and looking out. He scratched his hairy bead for a second and then said, “I’ve been thinking about his punishment, Captain, and I believe what I have come up with suffice. You and another officer shall confront Ollie at his home and tell him that he is to be arrested for his crime. I say you and another officer because if past history for Ollie repeats itself, he will likely be drunk. Things may get out of hand, and since you two are friend emotions will be running high as well. He is to be imprisoned for seven months.”

“SEVEN MONTHS?” I yelled. “But the normal punishment for his crime is three nights!”

“His past crimes are part of this as well.”

“But that’s not fair, it’s-”

“SILENCE!” I was standing at my chair boiling with anger. The Governor walked over to me, just inches from my face, and said, “You will not, I repeat, will NOT interrupt or disrespect me again. In case you have forgotten I am the Governor of this town, not you. You will abide by my rules, whatever they may be. Now, leave here and find another officer to accompany you to arrest Ollie. You are dismissed.”

I left the room angrily, slamming the door behind me. Zevril was still adjusted the portraits in the lobby area, and when I walked out the door I could have sworn he had a smirk about his face. If it weren’t for my self-control I would have walked back and asked him what was so funny. Of course, blowing up was probably exactly what Zevril wanted, so he could report it to the Governor.

Fevlin was eating breakfast in the barracks when I arrived. I guess he could sense my anger because the first thing he said was, “Is something wrong?”

I shoved a chair out of my way and said, “Yes, but I need to speak to you in private.”

The two of us walked into my office on the third floor, and then sat down at a table in the corner. “The Governor wants to arrest Ollie, Fevlin.”

“Really? What for?”

“For what he did the other night, and I guess I can understand that. But he is also tacking on all the other crimes that went unpunished. He want to throw him in jail for seven months! Can believe that?”

Fevlin looked me in the eye and said, “Honestly, Cyric, I can believe that. The Governor has a point if you think about it. It may seem unfair to you, but how fair is it for all those people you’ve punished over the years; the same crimes you did not punish Ollie for. How fair is that?”

“But…that’s not…it’s not-”

“The same? Oh yes it is, Cyric. It is the same, but you fail to see that. I don’t really put all of the blame on you. You and Ollie have been friends since childhood, so it’s natural to have a soft spot for him. But I think the Governor is doing what is best for everyone.”

Unbelievable, simply unbelievable. Now Fevlin wasn’t even on my side. “This is maddening, Fevlin. I can’t believe you agree with the Governor. It doesn’t matter I guess. I want you to come with me to arrest Ollie.”

“Yes, that would be a good idea. Ollie is probably drunk, so-”

“Dammit, would you quit saying that? That’s all everyone does is call him a drunk! It gets old after a while you know.”

Fevlin stood up from his chair quickly. “There’s a reason we all call him a drunk, Cyric, but I can see you will always be too blind to realize that for yourself. And if I am so annoying to you then I will stay here. Get someone else to help you, because I‘m not doing a damn thing!”

He then stormed out of the room, bumping his shoulder into mine on the way out. I wasn’t angry at what I said, and I meant every word of it. Maybe Fevlin isn’t even my friend after all. It doesn’t matter. He can rot for all I care. The other militiamen had been staring at us once the yelling started, but once I looked in their direction they went back to whatever it was they were doing before.

Fevlin had made so angry that I did not want anyone to accompany me, so I left the fort and went back to my house. I was too angry to go to Ollie’s by myself, and I needed something to cool me down. On the way inside my house I spotted my sister watering some plants she had just recently plotted. I guess she saw that I was angry because she called out to me before I had a chance to get inside my home.

“Cyric, come here for a second! What’s wrong? Did Ollie make fun of your chin hair again?” she laughed. Unfortunately I couldn’t laugh back, and that’s when she knew it was something serious. “Cy, tell me. What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Cezelia. I need something to drink.”

I tried to walk inside my house but she grabbed my shoulder. “No, it looks to me like you need someone to talk to. Mind if I have a drink with you?”

“I guess it doesn’t really matter if I mind or not, does it? Just come on in, I‘ll pour us both a glass.”

We entered my house and headed down stairs, where I had a personal winery constructed last summer. I wasn’t as heavy a drinker as Ollie mind you, but I liked a glass of something while reading, or if I was having company over. “It’s about Ollie,” I said while pouring mok, a sweet and thin alcoholic beverage, into our glasses. “The Governor wants me to arrest him for what he did other night, as well as any other offenses that have gone unpunished.”

“And you’re mad because you actually have to reprimand him after all these years?” She laughed while sitting down at a small round table in the middle of the room.

I handed her a glass and then sat down beside her. “No, it’s not that. It’s the fact that he wants to punish him for his past offenses as well, and he wants him to serve seven months in prison! That’s not fair one bit!”

“It’s also not fair that he has gotten away with everything thus far. It’s about time you discipline him for something, Cyric.”

And here we are again, someone bashing on Ollie. Just like Fevlin, the Governor, and pretty much anyone else I could think of. “I understand why you feel that way, Cezelia, but I don’t agree with punishing him for crimes committed in the past. I know there isn’t a law that protects Ollie from that, but it’s still unethical, at least in my eyes that is.”

“Well that’s the problem, Cyric. It only matters what the Governor says, and you know that. You also know that you aren’t on most peoples’ good-list, and for matters that apparently you are unaware of.”

“Unaware of? I know exactly why people don’t like me, Cezelia. It’s because of father and the way he treated everyone when he was in power.”

“No, that’s not it,” she chuckled. “I know you’d say that, because you just don’t get it. People don’t dislike you because of father, they dislike you because you are too lenient towards your friends. Ollie is a prime example, but I’ll give you more. Fevlin used to be a wild one before you got him to settle down, but his crimes went unpunished as well.”

I was gripping my wine glass tightly, so tight that I had to calm down or else shatter the glass. “You’re wrong, that isn’t why. They-”

“Please, Cyric, just listen to me for a second, will you? All you do is mope around and feel sorry for yourself. I see it everyday! It’s ‘the Governor said this’ or ‘he or she said that’. It’s getting ridiculous! I’ve already told you many more times than once, you’re a good overall officer. But you are simply too lenient to those who you deem friends. Remember when Voren got into that fight with the traveler from the south? He killed him, Cyric, killed him! Yet you let the crime go untouched.”

“It was in self-defense, Cezelia! You know that!”

“Was it really? How hard did you investigate, Cyric? And tell me the truth.”

“I…it was taken care of long ago! Why bring up the past?”

“Because it’s the past you aren’t learning from! Cyric, if you would just listen to me for once you’d realize that. You-”

“I’d like for you to leave, Cezelia?” I said, interrupting her and standing up.

“Excuse me?”

“I said I would like you to leave. Get out of my house, I don’t have time to argue with someone who obviously isn’t smart enough to know the truth. You mind is clouded, Cezelia. It’s-”

My mind is clouded?” She asked loudly, now standing up as well. “You are one who can’t see two feet in front of you, not me! Don’t try and pin your problems on anyone other than yourself!”

“My problems are my own, and have nothing to do with you! You don’t love me, all you want to do is force opinions on people, and if they don’t agree with you then they are automatically incorrect! You are so arrogant sometimes!”

“Fine! Have it your way, Cyric! I’ll leave, but don’t come crying to me once you no longer have any friends at all! I’m tired of dealing with you, and obviously you are never going to see the truth! Mother always told us to heed each other’s advice and counsel, yet now you shun me away when you need me most. It’s so sad, but I’ve done all I can do. You’re on your own from now on.”

She drunk the rest of her wine in one big gulp and then threw the glass to the ground. I watched as it shattered into a hundred pieces, and then I watched my sister stomp angrily out of the room, slamming the door behind her. I didn’t care, it was her fault she was an immature brat, not mine. After cleaning up the mess I laid down in my bed just to get a few minutes of rest, but apparently I fell asleep because the next thing I knew I woke up to no light but a thin ray of moonlight coming through my window.

I immediately thought of what the Governor told me to do so I headed over to Ollie’s house by myself. Obviously I was the only one willing to try and help Ollie, rather than talk behind his back. But when I knocked on his door I received no answer. My first thought was that he had fallen asleep, but I stood there knocking for a few more minutes, still with no answer. I was just about to unlock the door with a key that unlocked all of the houses in the Destitution Quarters, when a little old lady that I call Miss Jaines came walking up to me, her old legs wobbling while he held a wooden cane in her shaking left hand.

“If Ollie is who yer lookin’ for then ya’ won’t find him here.”

“Do you know where he is then?”

“Yes, m’dear. I saw him walkin’ into the woods with a small wooden crate in his arms. I asked where he was goin’ but he kept walkin’ without mutterin’ a single word. Sounds odd, don’t ya’ think?”

“Yes, it does. Did you by any chance get a glimpse of what was in the crate?”

“No, Cap’n, I did not. I tried of course, but I am too short. I’ll tell ya’ one thing though, he was limpin’ more than a mother of mine then next morning’. Almost like he was hurt or something’.”

“Thank you, Miss Jaines.”

“Don’t mention it, Cap’n. You know I favor ya’ more than any of the other officers, if that’s what the fools wanna call themselves. But I do wanna tell ya’ one thing before ya’ leave. Ollie is becomin’ a bother for some of us here. I wouldn’ mind it if ya’-”

“I’m sorry, but I have to leave now,” I said, interrupting her and leaving her alone. I could tell she was glaring into my back with a stare of hate, but I didn’t care one bit. I wasn’t in the mood for another lecture on how “lenient” I am.

So then I left for the forest. What in the world could he doing carrying a crate into the woods? And why would he be limping? I knew I had to find out fast, and I couldn’t help from thinking the worst. Perhaps Miss Jaines had mistaken the limp for a drunken stagger. There were many possibilites, and thankfully I had a great idea on where he had headed. Ollie’s favorite spot in the forest was actually just a few yards out of it, on the edge of a tall cliff that offered a fanatsic view of the forest resting some two hundred yards below. The spot was only about three minutes away from the city because we had the shorter portion of the forest near our town. It was much larger in the southeastern area.

After hiking up a hill in the forest I came to this spot, and indeed Ollie was there. He was sitting on his bottom, holding a glass of wine, his back to me. I stepped on a twig and he immediately stood up and turned to face me. His hair was wild and his hands were shaking.

“Ollie. What are you doing here?”

He turned around and stared at me or a few seconds, his eyes filled with something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. He looked angry, but he also looked…sad in a way as well.

“Go away, Cyric, just leave me alone. You don’t need to be here.”

His words were slurred and I know my previous assumption was right that he was certainly drunk. He was staggering back and forth slightly, but not too much. Still, even the slightest stagger was dangerous because he was so close to the edge of the cliff. And when I looked closer I noticed he was crying.

“What’s wrong, Ollie? Is it something I can help you with?”

I started to step towards him but he began to yell frantically. “I SAID STAY BACK! JUST GO AWAY!”

I immediately stopped in my tracks and stood there. There were six empty liquor bottles to his left, and a sugarshoot pipe to his right, with a pile of the blue dust lying on a piece of parchment right beside it. There was no telling how long he had been up here, and it was likely he had left his house shortly after I had left this morning. He was talking like a madman.

“Ollie, buddy…just listen to me. I’ve-”

“No, you listen to me! I don’t deserve to be alive anymore, Cyric! I’ve blown my chances! It’s time to end the madness. You and everyone else are right. I am nothing but a worthless drunk. There’s nothing else for me now.”

“NO! What are you talking about, Ollie? I never said you were-”

“No, I’ve turned into a monster! Just look at me, DAMMIT! When I got mad at you back at my house I knew the time had come. I’ve been thinking about it lately, and I think now is the perfect time. I don’t want to hurt anyone no more.”

“Wait, Ollie, let’s just-”

“Goodbye, Cyric. I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused.”

And before I could mutter another word he dropped a half-empty bottle he had been holding, and the wine spilled onto the grass below him. He took three steps back until he was just inches away from the edge. Then he let his body fall backwards off of the cliff, his eyes closing and his hands rising above him as he fell.

“OLLIE, NO!”

I ran over to stop him but I was too late. I watched as his body fell down until I could see him no more because of the dark. In a matter of seconds I heard a faint thump from below and I immediately cringed at the horrific sound. After falling my knees I began to vomit, most of it phlegm since I had not eaten anything for nearly a day. And then I started to cry uncontrollably. This went on for only a few minutes until I felt a loud rumble that was seemingly coming from the village.

“What in the world was that?” I thought out loud. Soon I heard a scream, and in no time more screams followed, ones that were shriller that the first. I took one last teary look at the cliff and then took off towards the village. I would return later, but whatever was going on in the village needed my immediate attention.


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redsrock
post Sep 28 2008, 04:53 PM
Post #3


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Joined: 7-August 07



This chapter is shorter than the others, but it's very important. Enjoy. smile.gif

Chapter Three: A Problem After the Problem

Because I was running full speed it took me only a few minutes to make it back to the town. On the way I heard constant horrible screams. I could hear the scraping of metal against metal, and the closer I got I more I could smell smoke. When I finally made it out of the forest I witnessed something that I had only seen I a nightmare. Many of the buildings in town were ablaze, smoke rising into the air, though partially hidden because it was still nighttime. The wooden wall into the city had been torn apart, and as I looked into the city I saw bodies running around everywhere, and it was too chaotic for me to tell what was going on. The flames and smoke were making it almost impossible to see a clear view of anything.

Then from within the city came two men wearing a middleweight black and silver armor. Their skin was a dark gray, and by the looks of them I knew exactly who they were. They were Haakians; the primary race in the eastern land of Shienk. The both of them looked at me, and then I heard one of them grumble something in a low voice. “He’s part of the militia. Take him alive if you can. If not, deal with him how we did the others that fought back.” They both took out unusually curved axes and started to charge me. I grabbed my double bladed kavlik spear from my back and readied myself for the attack.

When they reached me I rolled to the right and slashed at one of the Haakian’s left ankle, cleanly slicing through. The now ankle-less Haakian fell to the ground, screaming words in a language I was not familiar with. The other one looked at his fallen comrade and shook his head in disgust, then yelled something at him in the same foreign language. He then took his strange axe and chopped straight into his companion’s forehead, ending his life in an instant.

I was absolutely stunned. He turned his head, gave me a small smirk, and said in my own language with no accent whatsoever, “If he was easily wounded by a Nothren, then he doesn’t deserve to live. It is the Haakian way, something you don’t understand. But don’t worry, you will soon enough.”

With a quick move he lunged at me and swung his awe at my face. Luckily I just barely had time to raise my spear and block the attack. And also lucky for me the silver metal kavlik that my spear was made out of was of fine quality, or else it would have surely broken against the Haakian’s axe.

I slashed at the Haakian’s neck, but he leaned back to avoid the attack, then kicked me in the stomach. As I bent over in pain he chopped down at me neck, but again I rolled to my right, just avoiding contact with the strange looking metal axe-head. I tried to slash at his ankle, but he jumped over the swipe and then kicked me in the nose. I landed hard on my back, and when I stood up blood began to drip from my nose. The Haakian was laughing, his wild long black hair flapping in the violent winds that no doubt were only making the fires inside the town worse than they already were.

“Come, Nothren, surely you are better than this!” he mocked. “You’re the Captain of the militia, are you not?”

“What makes you say that?” I asked while wiping away some of the blood with the sleeve of my leather over-shirt. Light chainmail was underneath, just enough to offer protection in case I’m attacked. Of course, I had never betted on anything like this to happen.

“We’ve been watching your little village for weeks now. Contrary to what you traitors like to think, we are not stupid.”

Traitors? You and your kind are the ones who broke away from Illacor, and for selfish reasons for that matter. Surely this is not why you are attacking us. The Tainted Seal was established hundreds of years ago.”

He laughed again, rubbing his long black mustache. “You don’t understand, Nothren, not that I am surprised. It is much more than the Tainted Seal. You will realize that in due time of course. The Seal was composed to keep us out of Illacor, so I don’t know why you‘ve brought that up, because obviously we didn’t want to come back. We left for a reason.”

“You left because of Shaden Caar. The Former leader of the Silver Arms before he was dismissed because of corruption, and also Shienk‘s first Emperor. Your Emperor now and my Kings in the past fifteen years have been at odds with one another without any conflict. Why attack now?”

“Again, you are wrong,” he said, anger start to creep up in his tone. “It is more than what it appears, much more. Come with me, Nothren, and I shall spare you. Don’t make me kill you, for there is much for you to learn.”

“If you think I will help you with whatever plans your Emperor has you can forget it. And how are you able to speak my language so clearly?”

The Haakian pointed to a red ruby-like jewel that seemed to be encrusted into his forehead. Somehow I had not noticed the large jewel before, but there it was, almost glowing in a way under the moonlight. “This right here, Nothren, is the key to our future success. I cannot explain any further, and I probably should not have said anything to begin with. However, since you are obviously not going to take my offer, I will simply have to kill you.”

He tried to sneak in an attack by reaching out with his axe and swiping at my face but ducked just in time and shoved one end of my spear into his stomach. I felt the thin but sharp blade rip through his back so I pulled it out of his body with a hard tug. The Haakian fell to the floor lifelessly. I started at his body for a minute, and then I sensed movement from behind me. So I turned around there stood another Haakian just a few yards away, this one taller and more muscular than the other and with black war-paint spread across his face in foreign designs. His beard was extremely thin and about a foot in length, just barely passing over his stomach. He also had a trimly-kept goatee that was nearly just as thin.

“You impress me, Nothren. I’ve been watching you this entire time. You are the captain of a lesser militia, yet you’ve killed two of my men with ease. Do you have formal training that I may not be aware of?”

His voice was even deeper than the others, almost with a vibration in a way. “Who are you and why have you attacked our home?” I asked, completely ignoring his question. This particular Haakian was wearing a dark blue armor, though of the same design as the others, only that it looked heavier. He also had a jewel encrusted into his forehead, but his was green. I could easily tell he was the leader of this attack.

“You have failed to answer my question, Nothren, so unfortunately for you I will have to force it out.”

Without warning the jewel in his forehead began to glow, and the Haakian’s eyes turned from brown to solid gold with no pupils. The eyes were glowing as well, and before I could make a run for it my body went stiff and numb and I rose in the air several feet. It felt as if my insides were going to explode, and the pain was awful My head was vibrating now and I was having the worst headache I had ever had; the pain was immense I thought my head was going to explode as well. This lasted for only a mere twenty seconds or so until the feeling wore off and I fell to the ground on my stomach, knocking the wind out of me.

“So I was right, you do have formal training after all. I could tell by the way you wield that spear of yours, but I wanted to make sure before making an assumption. You’ve been trained in the art of Alkai. Which Silver Arm has trained you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said while gathering myself to my feet. “The Silver Arms was disbanded over a hundred years ago.”

“Don’t play stupid with me!” he said angrily. “I am well aware of their presence within the Dominion of Illacor to this very day, Nothren! They were disbanded so that your idiotic people would believe that they were banished. But they were not, they have been kept around in secrecy and have been used as agents to the Illacai Dominion. I know this just as you do, so don’t try and act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I can sense the power in you. It’s weak and unfulfilled, but it’s there. Again I ask, who has trained you, Nothren?”

I said nothing to the Haakian. And when I did not speak for roughly ten seconds he said, “That is fine. You are not going to answer me and I am not surprised. But I can also sense that you are not actually part of their selective group, but rather someone has trained you on the side without any official word from Arm’s powers above. That means that a rogue must have taught you what you know, which isn‘t much I will admit. But you won’t answer my questions, will you? That’s fine, for I am more patient than some give me credit for. You will crack within time, just like the others.”

“What is that jewel in your forehead? Does it allow you to read my mind or something?”

“In a way, yes, but not how you see it. I cannot see everything inside of your mind, but rather only what the jewel is programmed to obtain. But enough talk for now, Nothren. We will have to continue this conversation later.”

And with that his eyes grew yellow once more and the next thing I knew everything was starting to go black.


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redsrock
post Oct 2 2008, 01:55 AM
Post #4


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Joined: 7-August 07



Change in plans, I'm going to be writing in 3rd person from here on out. I know that may be confusing at first, but believe me, it'll work out. I'm actually doing this at a very good time.


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redsrock
post Oct 2 2008, 06:22 PM
Post #5


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Joined: 7-August 07



Chapter Four: On the Move


The next thing Cyric knew he was laying on some sort of rough carpet, his eyes blindfolded, and his arms and legs tied together by means of what felt like some kind of rope. He could smell a fire burning and could also hear the voices of seemingly hundreds of people around him, though none that we could immediately recognize. But he knew he was outside rather than inside, for he could feel the soft breeze of the winds, likely coming in from the northern seas. Cyric tried to move his body around and bumped into something beside him to his right.

“Easy there, Cyric. You ain’t getting out of those binds anytime soon.”

It was the voice of Fevlin, and Cyric was so relieved. “Fevlin? Is that you?” he asked with excitement.

“Yes, it’s me. As I’m sure you already know this, but, we’ve been attacked by Haakian. And they aren’t simple marauders either. They’re part of the Shienk Horde.”

“Yes, I know. I met their leader outside the city. Where are we now? And are you bound and blinded as well?”

“No, I can see just fine, but I am bound by ropes just as you. We’re still in Karuun, just outside the city though. Inside is…well, nothing you want to hear,” he said with a sad tone. “Many people were killed. Where were you anyway? We tried to find you when the attack started but you were nowhere to be found.”

“I was looking for Ollie in the forest. Miss Jaines told me she saw him enter and I after him,” Cyric answered. This was the first time Cyric had thought about Ollie since his suicide, and now he was starting to tear up.

“Well, where is he then? What happened?”

“He’s dead, Fevlin. He committed suicide.”

For the next few moments nothing was said on Fevlin’s side, and Cyric was forced to listen to the voices of the others. Most of them were panicked talking, and some were groans and screams of pain. No matter what he heard though, he couldn’t get passed the scene of Ollie falling back off of the cliff. But then he thought about Cezelia, and then Voren.

“What about Cezelia and Voren? Are they alright?” he asked.

It took him several seconds to answer, but when he did Cyric could easily tell Ollie had been crying over Ollie just as he had been. He coughed and then said, “Cezelia and the other women were put into a separate group, and I have no clue where they are. Voren was killed, Cyric. He was fighting back the invaders while the citizens tried to escape through the southwestern entrance. I was there fighting alongside him, as were the other militiamen. We didn’t stand a chance. You should have seen the Haakian fight. They were-”

“I did see them fight, and in fact I fought a couple of them on my way back into the city.” Again, silence for several minutes before Cyric finally broke it. “Is the Governor alright?”

“Yes, he and his assistants are here somewhere, though I don’t know where exactly. I saw Zevril being led somewhere to the northeast, so your guess is as good as mine.”

“Was the Haakian wearing the same armor as the others, but blue instead of black and gray?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Then that was the leader. Like I said earlier, I ran into him outside the city.”

“What did he say?”

Before Cyric had a chance to answer a pair of hands touched the blindfold over my eyes. When the blindfold was thrown aside he was staring into the eyes of a Haakian warrior, his face in a twisted smile. Cyric looked around and the same thing was happening to everyone else. They were outside the city just as Fevlin said, and there looked to be a little over one thousand people. As everyone’s blindfolds were being taken off, the leader of the invading party came out from the forest. He looked at everyone, stopping at Cyric for a second while smiling, and then began talking to his newly acquired prisoners.

“You are to be taken to our home in Shienk to be used as slaves, and you only have your King to blame for this punishment. His and other past King‘s actions will no longer be ignored. My Emperor will show Illacor just how truly powerful we Haakian are, and perhaps then we will gain the respect we so rightfully deserve. What has just happened to your city is but one of many steps we are taking to ensure that we are successful in our mission. You are not the only city to have been taken over. Cities in the south are indisputably crumbling at our hands this very moment.”

Suddenly a strange smelling wet cloth was placed over Cyric’s nose, and he immediately passed out once more.

********************

When he awoke from his temporary slumber he found that he was no longer blindfolded our bound by any ties. His legs and arms were free to move, and the thing he noticed first that he was in some kind of long and wide interior room that was moving, inside what he assumed was a large wagon of some sort. There were roughly one hundred of his people crammed inside.

We must be traveling to Shienk now, he thought to himself. Suddenly he heard a voice to his right.

“Finally awake? We’ve been moving for several hours now.”

Cyric looked over and saw Fevlin. The only light showing through the wagon came from three large square holes at the roof of the interior, and also from three holes on each side of walls as well. “Where are we now?” Cyric asked while rubbing his head. “I’m starting to get a damn headache again.”

“In large covered wagons, led by some beasts that I’ve never seen of before. I think they’re Glemyn, but I don’t know for sure. I‘ve only read about such creatures in books.”

“So I’m guessing they’re not horses?”

“No, not at all. These beasts walk on fours, have burnt-orange scaly skins, and are roughly ten yards or so in length. They’re only about four feet tall, and as far as I can tell they don’t have any teeth, or at least I never saw any myself. I could be wrong on that though. We’re on our way to Shienk according to the leader of this Haakian party. He said so to everyone just before we took off, except you were still sound asleep. You mustn’t have taken well to the indle-swab.”

“Is that what it was, sleeping water from the Overian trees? I’m allergic to that.”

Suddenly the wagon halted and everyone scooted forward several feet. Loud voices could be heard outside, but it was in the tongue of the Haakian, so neither Cyric nor Fevlin could make anything out. Soon a small wooden door in the side of the upper left corner opened, and two Haakian came lumbering in carrying a body. The shoved people out of the way until they had enough room to lay the body down. Next another Haakian, this one dressed in Black and silver robes and with the same red jewel in his forehead like the others, came in and knelt beside the body. The other two left while the robed Haakian remained.

“I wonder who that is, Cyric. Got any idea?” Fevlin asked.

Cyric didn’t even answer, but instead got up from his spot, since the roof above him was over eight feet tall, and hustled through the crowd and over to the body. It was Ollie’s, and it was badly bruised, with many cuts in various places.

“Get back!” The robed man said to Cyric.

“I know him! He’s-”

“You know this man?” The robed man asked while interrupting Cyric mid-sentence.

“Yes, he lived with us in Karuun. Is he alright? I..I though he…-”

Again, the robed man interrupted Cyric. “He’s alive, but just barely. We found him after descending down a large hill. We think he fell from the cliff above and ran into several rocks stick out from the cliff’s side. He’s lucky to be alive, but I’m not sure how long that will last.” And then, as if the robed man suddenly realized he was talking to a Nothren and not one of his comrades, he added rudely, “Either way it’s none of your business! Get back to your seat!”

“But I-”

“I said get BACK!” And then, by pointing all of his right-handed fingers at Cyric, he lifted him from the ground and tossed him back to where he came from, Cyric’s body landing with a thud as he landed back first, and rolling for a few feet until he ran into Fevlin. The others looked on in terror at the Haakian, who was now performing something on Ollie’s body.

“Are you alright?” Fevlin asked, helping him up into a sitting position against the upper wall of the interior.

“Yes, my back hurts a little bit though. I felt a crack when I landed.” Cyric felt behind him where the tailbone meets the back, and sure enough there was a sensitive spot that caused him to grimace widely even at the slightest touch. “Yes, right there on my lower back,” he said, pointing to the spot that hurt most.

“Let’s go ask that Haakian to fix you. Judging by what he’s doing to Ollie it looks like he’s a healer of some kind. I don’t know how he’s still alive. I thought you said he killed himself, Cyric?”

“He fell off of the cliff outside of the eastern forest. He must have hit something on the way down that kept him alive. The way he looks, though, I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. He was awfully bruised and scarred, Fevlin.”

“I don’t know why they’d even bring him along anyway. Why didn’t they just leave him to die,” Fevlin said. Then after seeing a questionable face come about Cyric, he quickly added, “Not that I want him dead of course, but it just doesn’t make any sense.”

Meanwhile, the Haakian inside the interior kept working on Ollie’s body. It was going to be a challenge to keep him alive, for he had many ailments. Ollie had cracked ribs on both sides, a broken nose and jaw, scrapes and scratches all over his face, a bruised left thigh, a broken right elbow and shoulder, a bruised right shoulder, a broken left knee cap and a sprained right knee, a fractured right ankle and all five toes on that foot broken as well. The Haakian had his work cut out for him, but he knew the importance of keeping this Nothren alive.

********************

And outside of the interior marched thousands of Haakian warriors, walking in no particular straight line, and carrying a variety of different weapons, mostly large axes and long spears. At the front of the caravan there stood two people. One of those people was Governor Jedic, and the other was the leader of the Haakian attack party. The two were walking ahead of the others so that they could speak in privacy. The leader of the Haakian wanted it that way.

“I’m telling you, I don’t know anything about Cyric and the Silver Arms. I haven’t even been the Governor that long. I just recently arrived from Froc, our capitol. It’s located-”

“I know where Froc is, and I know it’s your country’s capitol! That’s NOT why you’re here, Nothren!” The leader replied harshly. “You’re trying to bend around my questions and I know it. Tell me what you know about this Cyric and his relation with the Silver Arms. If not then I will kill. And don’t think I won’t, Nothren. I’ve done it plenty of times before to your kind, and I’m not afraid to do it once more.”

Jedic gulped and looked up at the ground, trying to think of something witty to say. What is this man talking about? I don’t anything about the Silver Arms, or if Cyric is involved with them. That idea is crazy to begin with! he thought to himself. “Like I’ve said a number of times already, I am not exactly sure what information you are attempting to retrieve. The Silver Arms was disbanded years ago after-”

“Again you are telling me lies, Nothren! But then again, perhaps this time you are not aware that you’re doing so. There’s only one way to find out.”

The leader signaled for the caravan to stop. Then he pointed his right hand at Jedic and raised him from the ground. Next his eyes began to glow once more and the green jewel on his started to as well, just like it did with Cyric earlier. Jedic’s body began to shake violently, and the leader kept on with what he was doing for roughly three minutes. By this time blood was just starting to trickle from Jedic’s nose, so the leader threw him down, in disgust that he did not obtain any useful information.

“So, you weren’t lying on purpose, hmm. Either way it doesn’t matter, Nothren, they do exist, whether you know it or not. Your government tries to keep it a secret from the dimwitted people such as yourself. No matter, you’ll find out the truth soon enough.”

*******************

Inside the interior, Fevlin and Cyric both were trying to get as good a look as they could at Ollie and the Haakian. No one else seemed to be paying too much attention, for most of them were talking loudly with one another in an attempt to figure out what was going on. The others were either sleeping or trying to. The door to the interior opened once more and the same two Haakian men entered, carrying yet another body, this one Governor Jedic.

“Is this one almost dead as well?” The robed Haakian asked impatiently. “If not, then set him back there with the others. I don’t have time for another body! I keep telling Orgon that but he doesn’t seem to want to listen!”

The deposited Jedic’s body and then left without uttering a word, the caravan moving again within seconds. Cyric’s and Fevlin’s attention were taking away from Ollie as they stared at Jedic. He was shifting around as if dreaming, but then he opened his eyes and started to rub his head. Blood that was still slightly damp covered the outside part of his nostrils, but just above his lip. He looked at Cyric and Fevlin for several seconds, and then fell back to sleep.

“Is he going to be alright?” One of the passengers asked, clearly worried that his Governor was on the brink of death.

“Yes,” Cyric answered. “He’s passed out is all. No need to worry.”

For the next three hours or so everyone continued to talk. Then, once nightfall hit and there was no longer any light coming from the roof or walls, one by one the prisoners fell asleep.


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redsrock
post Oct 5 2008, 01:21 AM
Post #6


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Chapter Five: A Test of Resilience


When Cyric woke up later that night, he was the only one to do so. Everyone else was sound asleep, a great majority of them snoring. Cyric stood up to stretch his arms when suddenly the wagon stopped forcefully, causing Cyric to fall forward, landing on Fevlin and waking him up. Everyone else woke up as well, all of them yelling.

Soon the door to the interior opened and in came five Haakian. “Everybody get out!” One of them yelled, holding one of the strangely curved axes in his right hand. Cyric found it strange that they were able to speak perfect Nothrenic language, even if they were ancestors of the Nothren themselves. “You’ll all be put on Glemyn Flyers and be taken to our city in the northeast. It shouldn’t be a long flight, and then the Artul’ will deal with you with whatever ways he has thought. Hurry, get out!”

Everyone hustled out of the interior and out into the warm night. The leader of the Haakian force was standing in front of beasts with long and wide wing. Their skin was a crimson red, and once Cyric looked at them and the ones leading the wagons, he immediately saw the resemblance. Within minutes everyone was piled onto ten different Glemyn Flyers and the newly assembled caravan took off into the nights. A lot of the men vomited within minutes because of the altitude, something that they had never been accustomed to. Because of the roaring winds it was impossible to have a conversation with anyone, so even though Cyric was sitting right next to Fevlin, he didn’t even bother trying to say anything.

The trip through the air lasted a little more than eight hours, and along the way they passed over mostly forestry, for Shienk was almost identical to Illacor in terms of geography. The only difference was that Shienk had more mountains, especially in the northeast. Finally the caravan made landfall next to a wide river and a large town with tall wooden walls that seemed to be poking holes in the sky. Everyone was taken off of the Glemyn beasts and escorted into the city by the Haakian forces. But before he could enter, Cyric was stopped by the leader.

“I have arraigned a special place for you, Nothren. Come, follow me. Lucky for you it seems you’re going to have a bit of company.”

There was no point in arguing, so Cyric reluctantly followed the muscular Haakian inside the city through a side entrance. He took a glance at Fevlin, who didn’t appear to notice Cyric’s departure. Cyric was about to call out to him, but Fevlin disappeared into the city before he could utter a single word.

********************

Back in Illacor, in the capitol of Froc, King Vorenicus Avrovil was eating supper with his Lords and Ladies when the irons doors to his castle slammed open. A man wearing raggedy clothes came running in, screaming a bunch of nonsense, with several Frocish guards running after him in pursuit. The King could hear the screams all the way in his dining room, so he had his two body guards protect his guests while he saw what was causing the disturbance.

When he left the dining room the man in raggedy clothes was only but a few yards away from him. The man stopped, panting heavily. The guards were about to apprehend him, but just before they could take him into custody he said to the King, “Ka…Karuun has been attacked by Haakian forces, my lord.”

The King offered no emotion, but instead looked at the guards trying to apprehend the man and said bluntly, “Leave the man here with me, and go find Oxayto.”

********************

After entering the Haakian town, Cyric immediately noted the many wooden houses spread around the walled area. Unlike cities in Illacor, this town was not organized whatsoever. It appeared that the houses were scattered in random areas, and each house looked alike. Cyric assumed there were likely shops and other places like that as well, but then again, he wasn’t for sure about anything.

In the northern part of the sizeable village, where the leader of the Haakian was taking Cyric, there stood a massively sized area, one that was gated off from the rest of the city. Situated in this area was an enormous stone fort in the shape of a square. Four looming towers outlined the fort in the corners, while in the middle of the stronghold there was an even taller towers, and much thicker as well. At the top of this tall tower there was a flag. On this flag was a symbol that looked to be a white hand, and a blue circle inside of it.

“Here we are, Nothren. Inside my fortress is where you shall stay. I’ve picked out a specific cell for you to rest in. Because I have plans for you I took the liberty of obtaining our most luxurious cell, if there is such a thing,” the leader said with a chuckle.

Upon seeing the leader and Cyric, two guards standing at the iron gate opened it up. Cyric and his escort entered the gated area, and this is where Cyric saw something he had not seen before because of the height of the walls. Inside the area were seemingly hundreds of long wooden houses. Cyric assumed these to be the barrack homes of the Haakian warriors. Also scattered throughout the area were different statues. Cyric thought that one of them resembled Shaden Caar, Shienk’s first Emperor. But before he had a chance to look closer, he and the Haakian leader entered the citadel itself.

Inside it was extremely dark, the only light coming from a few torches strewn across the black stone walls. On these walls Cyric noticed various symbols written from what looked like white paint. The symbols, just as the Haakian language itself, were foreign Cyric. Rather than try and decipher them, he followed his escort as he led the two of them down a long hallway, then down another, and then down another. Finally they stopped at a single door, an iron door with another symbol Cyric was unfamiliar with.

“Here we are, Nothren. Your companion was brought here just a few minutes ago, but I doubt he’s awake. He was looking rather tired when we brought him in.” He opened the door and then shoved Cyric in. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. In the meantime I suggest you start thinking about cooperating with me this time. If not, then it’s going to be a painful experience for you here in my city of Clohv.”

The disgruntled Haakian slammed shut the door and Cyric turned around. Lying in the upper right corner of the relatively large room, on top of a small bed, was none other than Ollie. Cyric ran over to him, but when he realized Ollie was indeed sleeping, he left him alone. The scars and bruises were gone. That healer must have done a good job, Cyric thought to himself.

As he looked around the room he realized it wasn’t anything like the prison cell he assumed he would be staying in. The floor was stone, but it did have at least a thin layer of dark maroon carpeting. There were two small desks and two small beds, along with a large wooden shelf filled books. Unfortunately when Cyric took a closer look he realized they were all written in the Haakian language.

Suddenly he heard a stir behind him, and he turned around to see Ollie stretching his arms and legs. When the two met each other’s eyes neither said a word for almost three minutes. Finally Ollie sat up on the edge of his bed, cracked his neck, and then said without looking at Cyric directly, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Cyric sat on what he assumed to be his own bed and replied, “When I saw you in the wagon I thought that was exactly what I was looking at.”

“Well…I’m here. What in world has happened, Cyric? Where are we?”

“Haakian forces invaded Karuun and have taken us hostage. We’re in one of their cities now as slaves, and I think the city’s name is Clohv. A lot of us were killed before being taken from home.”

“Like who?”

“Voren and most of our militiamen, among others. The only person I’ve been able to talk at length is Fevlin, and I have no idea where he is now. The others were taken somewhere. I don’t have a clue why you and are here.”

“What about Cezelia?” Ollie asked.

Cyric paused for a second, remembering why Ollie’s jumping off a cliff happened in the first place. “She and the other women, along with the children, were taken somewhere else in Karuun. I don’t know where they are, nor do I know if they are even in this city. I don’t know anything, Ollie. I’m just as clueless as you are. How do you feel?”

Ollie looked at his body for a second and said, “I don’t really remember much. Believe it or not, Cyric, I didn’t actually mean to fall off of the cliff. I…just wanted some attention and I meant to fake like I was going to fall. I guess the drugs had more effect on me than I thought they would. Fortunately for me, or unfortunately, I hit something hard on the way down and I was knocked out. The next thing I remember is waking up here and looking at you.”

“When we were being taken from Karuun yesterday a couple of Haakian put you in the wagon. Then another Haakian dressed robes began performing some kind of magic on you, healing your wounds from the looks of it.”

“Magic, eh? So the Haakian do know magic like we were taught?”

“Yes, they do. You would know that if you didn’t drink and smoke sugarshoot all the time.”

The last sentence came out by accident, and even Cyric himself was surprised by what he said. Ollie merely shrugged his shoulders and said, “I’m not in the mood for lecturing, Fevlin,” he responded sarcastically, calling Ollie Fevlin on purpose. “I suppose since we’ve apparently been taken prisoner I won’t be able to do any of that anymore. Aren’t you glad?” he added, again sarcastically with the last sentence.

“Yes, I am,” Cyric replied, ignoring his sarcasm. “So you don’t feel any pain?”

“I feel soreness throughout my whole body, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it pain; Sort of after doing a day of hard labor or something.”

The door to the room suddenly opened, and in stepped the Haakian leader, along with the robed Haakian standing right by his side.

********************

A knock on the door woke the man up from his sleep. A hangover pulsated through his head like a million drums. He walked over and opened the door, where two of the King’s guardsmen stood before him. “What?” He asked them impatiently.

“Sir, the King wishes for your appearance in the castle foyer.”

The man sighed. “Give me a bit, okay? I ain’t ready, cause in case you didn’t know I was sleeping. I need to bathe and-“

“I’m sorry, sir, but there’s no time. Our majesty wishes to speak with you this instant. We have been ordered to escort you to the castle immediately.”

Again the man sighed. “Fine, at least give me a damn five minutes to dress myself! Just wait here for a few minutes.” Then he slammed the door and hurried into his room.

What in Baar’s name could he want this early in the morning? He knows I always sleep in until noon, He thought out loud as he searched through his closets and drawers for clothing.

It took him a mere few minutes to get dressed and ready. Once they arrived at the castle, the King was sitting at his throne, speaking with several members of his administrative staff. None of them know a thing about politics, and Vorenicus knows it! the man thought to himself, this time not aloud. I’ll never understand why he continues to let these bumbling babbling idiots walk his halls.

“Oxayto,” The King called once he saw the man enter. “Come, we need to discuss matters in my chambers alone.”

The King told the others to wait at his throne while he and Oxayto spoke. The two ascended up three lofty flights of stairs and walked down a brilliantly decorated hallway until they came to a door, with a golden crest resting in the center. Both of them walked into the room and the King shut the door, locking it behind him. Oxayto, having visited the King’s chambers plenty of times before, immediately sat down on a couch in the corner of the room.

“What is it, Vorenicus? I really do hope this is important,” Oxayto said, massaging his throbbing head.

“What’s wrong with you?” The King asked.

“None of your business. What am I here for now, Caervo?”

The King shrugged off the rudeness and took a seat at his oversized desk. “Karuun was attacked by Haakian warriors yesterday. A lone survivor from attack came in earlier today riding horseback. He says all who weren’t able to make it out were taken as prisoners, heading towards the east. Obviously the caravan is now traveling to Shienk.”

“And?” Oxayto said bluntly. “What do you want me to do about it? I’m not part of your damn army.”

“Have you forgotten who the Captain of their militia is?”

“No, not really. I-“ Suddenly Oxayto stopped midsentence, his eyes lighting up with surprise. “Cyric.”

“Yes, Cyric.”

“He’s not dead is he?” Oxayto asked with a strong tone of concern.

“I don’t know, the man who came here couldn’t give me an answer worth believing in. And actually, he being dead would be better than him being captured. But I doubt that’s not the case, at least not with Cyric.”

Oxayto looked at the ground for several seconds, and then sighed, leaning back far into the couch and massaging his headache again, one that was getting worse by the second. “This isn’t good, Vorenicus. Why would Junias attack now?”

“I don’t know, but I agree with you about Cyric. No one besides you, I, and the others know of his situation. You know what you have to do now, Oxayto. We can’t take a chance of Cyric falling to the Haakian. He must be rescued.”

“I guess so. I don’t really want to, but then again there’s no other option. Cyric is dangerous, which is why he was let go to begin with. I’ll find him.”

“Exactly. We talked about this when he first left the Arms long ago. He was unstable then and I’m sure he is now, since he hasn’t had the proper training. He could be dangerous. I haven’t really kept an eye on him since his father’s death.”

Oxayto rolled his eyes and looked to the wall on the right. A portrait was in the middle, of him and the King holding hands, wearing the ceremonial robes that they both once wore together. Time sure travels fast. He thought to himself. He sighed again and replied, “I was his trainer, Caervo. I’m pretty sure I can handle him.”

“Whatever you say, Oxayto. Just be careful. I hate to say this, but keep your focus on Cyric and him alone. Worry not about the others. We’ll take care of them later. Cyric is the only important key right now. We can’t let him fall to the enemy’s hands.”

Oxayto stood up from the couch and stretched his arms. “That would be your fault if that happens, Caervo. You were the one who let him get away. He shouldn’t have even been admitted in the first place. His mind wasn’t ready. I tried to tell you, but like always you paid me no attention. Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“I’ll be rather blunt with you, Caervo. I’m not here to argue. Ever since we disbanded you’ve changed. Drinking late at night, visiting the local whores in the forest. Didn’t know I was aware of that, did you? I have eyes, you know. Many of them. Just because the Arms is no longer in existence doesn’t mean you can act like you no longer have a mind. You still work for me, Oxayto, and I won’t have you blowing your cover. You may not be part of my damn army, but you sure are important to me. You act as if I’m not grateful. You’re wrong.”

“First of all,” Oxayto began. “The Arms is not split, you just choose to think so. For you to even suggest such a thing shows your true ignorance, something I’ve been trying to tell you for a long time now. I don’t even know why I put up with your-“

“Because I control you, that’s why,” The King interrupted. “Your intelligence weakens every day, and you know it. It’s outrageous, Oxayto. And the Arms may still be around yes, but for what cause? Altak will become corrupted soon enough. That’s why you left.”

“That’s irrelevant. You’re just trying to stir things up as usual. You’ve been fairly good to me over the years, but you’re still the same as you were when you were given the throne. You can’t deny that. Maybe one day you’ll take off your crown and realize how pathetic you really are.”

Oxayto began to walk out the door when the King called after him. “I want a report on your findings every evening. Start in Karuun first. You may be able to find some clues on where they Haakian Cyric and the others.”

Without answering, Oxayto walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.


--------------------
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redsrock
post Oct 7 2008, 12:51 AM
Post #7


Knower
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Joined: 7-August 07



Chapter Six


The two Haakian men glared at Ollie and Cyric with eyes filled with not only curiosity, but also a bit of apprehension. Both men could sense the power inside the two Nothren, yet they were still clueless as to how much power it actually was. It would take weeks, if not months, to decipher just what exactly they were dealing with. Of course, they had no other choice but to move along with plans, no matter how long it took. What they found in Karuun, in these two Nothren, was something that they had not expected on finding. In Karuun the Haakian enslaved the city’s population, for that was their original plan to begin with. But now that they’ve found Cyric and Ollie, things have twisted around altogether.

“I take it you’re wondering why exactly you two have been placed in this cell, rather than live with the others,” the Haakian leader said while looking back and forth from Ollie to Cyric. “The two of you were found by us by mistake. Not you two in general, but rather the secrets you hold inside of you. Whether you admit it or not, Aktul and I can sense the power inside your bodies. It’s only a matter of time until we find it.”

Ollie tilted his head to the side. “Who are you two? And what power are you talking about?”

The leader stepped towards Ollie a couple paces and said, “My name is Orgon, and this here is Aktul. I am the Grehl of this Haakian settlement; in other words, the Governor, as you Nothren like to call it. Aktul is the city’s priest, and also one of Emperor Caultic’s most budding Fanetics; the Magistal Celebrants that help govern our way of life in Shienk. You’ll get to know us soon enough, but as for your question of what I’m talking about; I don’t think an answer is needed. Surely you know why you are here. If you do not, then you are lying.”

“I’m still lost,” Ollie said, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. “I am like the other people you stole from our city. I am not different. If anything I am less.”

“You are a liar, Nothren,” Orgon said forcefully. “You are lying to me and I will prove it.”

Orgon’s eyes began to glow a bright yellow, and the green gem in his forehead started to glow as well, just like it had done back in Karuun with Cyric. Ollie was lifted several feet into the air by Orgon’s divine powers, and in a matter of seconds Orgon received what he wanted. He let Ollie fall down onto his bed, and then smiled.

“So, you’re more advanced in the ways of Zer than I gave you credit for, just like your friend beside you. I am impressed, most impressed actually. Given the state of your situation I was hoping for an easy entry into your mind, but yet you show considerably strength. I can already tell we will have fun with this.”

Suddenly Ollie charged from his spot and attempted to strike Orgon, but before he could do it Orgon raised his right hand in a fist, stopping Ollie’s before he could make contact. Ollie struggled to move his hand but it was of no use. Orgon simply laughed and then opened his hand, sending Ollie flying across the room, landing hard on the bed.

“You underestimate me, Nothren. That is most unwise. I’ll tell you this right now so that we can move on; I am not one to be trifle with. You may not like me, and that is fine. But I am not here to make friends with you. The two of you are putting on quite a show, acting as if you know nothing. But Aktul and I are aware of your past, and well will get the information we seek. And we will obtain it, no matter what. We shall leave you two for now. I had plans on explaining everything to you, but now I think we should wait until tomorrow morning, just to give your minds some well needed rest.” Then he looked at Ollie and said, “Your mind is exceptionally strong, Nothren, but I caught a couple of things that you couldn’t hold onto. I suggest you start reading the books that Aktul has placed before you. And don’t tell me you can’t, because I know you can.”

********************

Outside the fortress and inside the prisoner encampment, the Nothren prisoners had just been organized into groups of one-hundred, and divided into long wooden cabins. Orgon had explained to them that they would serve the city as miners, digging the mountainous mines to the east in search of rubies and emeralds, two jewels that were of utmost importance to the Haakian Empire. Orgon didn’t tell the prisoners of the importance of course, but he made it clear that anyone caught trying to escape would be killed with no hesitance. The Nothren did not argue, for the fear had taken control of their emotions for the time being.

Fevlin was inside one of the long wooden cabins, with the rest of Karuun’s militiamen. He had, by default because of his high rank, been somewhat promoted to leader, at least in a symbolic standpoint. After someone reported to Fevlin and the others that Cyric had been seen taken into the inner city by Orgon, everyone, including Fevlin himself, assumed he had been taken inside to be executed. This theory was totally popularized later that night after Cyric never showed up. Now Fevlin, sitting at a large wooden table along with everyone else, was trying to come up with a solution to their problem. Thankfully for them the Haakian only guarded the outside walls of the prison encampment, rather than guard the cabins individually.

“But we must act, Fevlin!” One the lesser officers, Lavernius, said defiantly, pounding his large first upon the hardwood table. “We have been taken prisoner, and this is an act of war by the Shienk! We must stand up for ourselves and fight back!”

Half of the room cheered and clapped, while the other half, Fevlin included, simply shook their heads. “No, that is not the way to go,” he said after the commotion calmed down. “We are prisoners, yes, but let’s take a look at who are captors are. What do you know about the Haakian, hmm? Anyone? Can anyone tell me anything about them?” He paused for a second, waiting for someone to speak up, but nobody did. “That’s what I thought. None of you that are arguing to fight back have any information on the Haakian whatsoever…..other than the fact that they descended from our own ancestors of course, but that is common knowledge. Not even I can tell you much about them, for they have lived in secrecy for many years now. Why would you want to fight a group of people when you don’t even know anything about them? By Baar, we are weaponless!”

Those in favor of Fevlin’s opinion roared with praise and applause. Then Lavernius spoke up once more. “But if we do not fight, what are we? Nothing but a bunch of cowards, that’s what! What do you propose we do, Fevlin? And don’t tell me work until we are rescued by the Frocish Army!”

“No, I am not one to stand idle for too long either. I agree that eventually we do have to rebel against the Haakian, but we must gather as much knowledge as possible before doing so. Remember the words of Saint Illic, ‘One does not run into battle against the enemy without his mind’s weapon’, the weapon being the power of knowledge. We must learn how these Haakian fight, and we must learn of their defenses and other security measures. If not we would be running into an inevitable death. Just give it time, Lavernius. Once we prepare ourselves, only then can we attempt an uprising.”

The last sentence unofficially ended the conversation, and everyone besides Lavernius and Fevlin left the main room of the cabin, surrendering to their beds for the night. Fevlin noticed the angry expression on his friend’s face, so we walked over to him before he could return to his own cot.

“Lavernius, I want a word with you, if you don’t mind. I’d like to wait until everyone leaves though.”

“Of course,” Lavernius answered without emotion.

They waited for everyone to clear the room, and then Fevlin spoke. “I can see it in your eyes that you don’t agree with what I’ve said. I can also sense that you don’t agree with everyone coming to me, as if I am for some reason the leader. I want you to know that I don’t think that way, and I don’t see myself having more power than anyone else, including you. This is a time for us all to band together, not to argue with one another. So, do we have an understanding?” Fevlin then reached offered his hand to Lavernius to shake.

“Yes,” Lavernius said quickly, and then left.

Fevlin watched him closely until he left complete, even watching for a few extra seconds after the door closed, and then left the room himself.

********************

“He’s smarter than what I was hoping for, Cyric. He knows about us. What should we do?”

Cyric was lying in his bed, his eyes closed and his hands massaging a sore neck. “I don’t know, and honestly I don’t remember much of the Arms. I was only twelve back then, and I was expelled at fifteen. That was a long time ago. I don’t even know why he wants to know.”

“Who knows, maybe they’re trying to hunt down the last of the Arms. Perhaps they see them as a threat to them or something. Because whether you want to admit it or not, they are still around.”

“You don’t know that for sure though.”

Ollie scoffed and said, “Of course I do, Cyric. I was expelled three years after you. At the time they were on to something, something in the east. After months of spying they found something worth interest in the northeastern mountains. But I wasn’t long enough to find out what it was. They expelled me for the same reasons as you, and that’s the last I remember. I’m almost positive all of this has something to do with what the Arms found in the mountains. Maybe they stole something from the Haakian?”

Cyric sat up from his position, looking at the ground in deep thought. “I don’t know, Ollie…Orgon said we were found by mistake, so obviously this couldn’t have been planned before our city was attacked. And the gems in their forehead…it has to have something to do with that. I’ve never heard of ‘forehead encrusted gems before’.”

“Okay, I guess that makes sense. But…I really don’t want to talk about anything now. My head hurts really bad, Cyric.”

Cyric knew very well why his friend was hurting; it was because of the withdrawal from the alcohol and sugarshoot. Even still, Cyric wasn’t worried about that, because it was Ollie’s fault for his situation.

“I know why your head hurts, but I don’t care. We’re in a dangerous situation right now. We-“

“Of course you don’t care, Cyric!” Ollie said, interrupting. “Why do you think I began drinking in the first place? Because people give up on me, that’s why. First it was my father, then the Arms, then the people of Karuun, and now you. You used to protect me, Cyric; you used to take up for me whenever something happened. Now look at you, telling me that you don’t care that I have a headache. I know that’s a bit small of something to complain about, but it’s the principal, Cyric. You don’t care anymore, just like everyone else.”

Cyric stood up from his bed and lifted his arms in the air in a fit of anger. “Listen, Ollie! You’re going to have to stop this ‘me against the world’ attitude! It’s getting old! I do care about you. That’s why I’m getting grouchy with you to begin with. The drugs and alcohol were ruining you, Ollie.”

“Then why keep nagging me about it? I won’t have them anymore since we’ve been imprisoned, so what’s the difference?” Ollie shouted in defense.

“I…I don’t know. I just think-“

“See, there’s your problem! You’re thinking!” Silence for several seconds, and then Ollie added, “I don’t mean to sound so angry, Cyric, but it’s been biting at me for ages. I am not appreciated, and for good reason. It’s better that we just forget about it, alright? It’s over, just leave it alone! You are right though, we are in a dangerous situation.”

Cyric ignored the rude tone just seconds earlier and replied, “Yes, we are. What do you suggest we do? He can read our minds. Yet, I think there’s more to it than that. I don’t think he can necessarily read our entire mind, just specific things. I met Orgon back in Karuun, where he said something about that jewel in his forehead being ‘programmed’ to find something. It’s obvious that the jewel in their heads is giving them some kind of power.”

“Yes, of course. But how?”

Cyric shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

******************

Oxayto came through the bushes quietly, keeping an eye out in all directions. The City of Karuun was mostly in ashes, for a vast majority of the inner buildings had been burnt to the ground, as well as the entire eastern wall. He crept through the city, attempting to find any clues on where the Haakian forces had taken the imprisoned Illacorish folk. It was when he was about to move onward past the city that he smelled something rotten coming from the north, and there he spotted a large building that had not been burnt to the ground.

As he walked closer to the building, which he assumed to be some sort of inn or shop, the smell only worsened. And when he opened the wooden double doors the smell overtook him so much that he almost stepped back. Inside the structure were piles upon piles of bodies, all of them either woman or children of both girls and boys.

Oxayto took his sight off of the horrific scene for a few seconds so he could get a hold of himself. Then he covered his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt and stepped inside the building. The throats of the children and women had been cut, and blood stained their shirts, as well as the floor of the building. Why would they kill the woman and children? It doesn’t make any sense… Suddenly he heard a creak from above. His head immediately turned upward, and then he noticed a set of stairs in the northwestern corner of the building.

He climbed up the stairs carefully, his custom-crafted Valgarian shortsword gripped firmly in his right hand, the bluish blade glistening from the morning rays from the sun that were peeking in through a nearby window. He entered the upstairs room and saw nothing in the room but a few cots, a couple of desks, and a closet in the upper right corner with its doors shut. Oxayto crept over to the closet until he was a few feet away, and with a flick of his index finger the doors ripped off of the hinges, flying past his face and landed roughly ten yards away behind him.

In the closet, a child was crouched in the corner, half of his body hidden from view. His black hair was in a mess, and his face looked extremely dirty. He was as skinny as a spear handle, and it looked as if he had not eaten in days, which was likely given the situation.

“How long have you been hiding, boy?”


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treydog
post Oct 9 2008, 02:12 PM
Post #8


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From: The Smoky Mountains



I am not sure what impresses me more- the scope of your creativity or the sheer volume of your work. A I have said elsewhere, I tend to write at a pace that can best be described as "glacial"..., so it always amazes me to see a writer who can write multiple stories, each self-contained and complete, while maintaining a consistent level of quality.
Well done.


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The dreams down here aren't broken, nah, they're walkin' with a limp...

The best-dressed newt in Mournhold.
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redsrock
post Oct 9 2008, 08:09 PM
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Thanks, Trey. smile.gif I suppose I do tend to write at a faster pace than most.

This post has been edited by redsrock: Oct 9 2008, 08:10 PM


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redsrock
post Oct 11 2008, 01:27 AM
Post #10


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Chapter Seven


The boy didn’t immediately respond to the question, so Oxayto moved closer. The boy’s eyes appeared to become frightful and he retreated back into the corner of the closet, now fully out of view. Oxayto stopped in his tracks and scratched his head, not knowing what to do. “I’m not here to hurt you, I’m here to help you,” He offered with a kind tone. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, I promise.”

The boy poked the right half of his face out again, unsure as to whether he should trust the man or not. Oxayto was an intimidating person after all. Slightly beyond middle-aged years, strange green markings on his forearms, and plenty of scars to tell the history of his dangerous journey through life.

Oxayto extended his hand to the boy and said, “You can trust you, boy. I won’t hurt you.”

Finally the young child, roughly five or so years of age, showed his entire body. Oxayto immediately noticed the burn marks on the entire left side of his face, from his chin all the way underneath his eye. Oxayto grimaced as the boy reluctantly over to him. He placed his small delicate hand into Oxayto’s, and then he whispered, “Are the bad men gone?”

“Yes, they’re gone. Have you been downstairs?”

He boy shook his head. “No, the bad men scared me. I got away and got up here. I hearded people yelling, and then I hearded the bad men laughing. What is down there?” he asked, pointing downstairs.

“Nothing, boy,” Oxayto said, patting the boy’s thick set blonde hair.

“I want my mommy,” the boy said, and then his eyes began to tear up.

“Shhh, don’t cry, boy, it won’t do you any good. I’ve got to get you out of here.” Then he tore off a long sleeve from his shirt. “And you have to wear this while we go downstairs, and don’t peek.”

“Why?” The boy asked curiously.

“Because I said so.”

So he wrapped the sleeve around the boy’s eyes while led them both outside, closing the door behind him, and metal knob inward so that there was no way of opening the door.

“I’ve locked the door, so don’t even try to go in there,” he told the boy. “I have to leave, but someone else will be here soon to help. The King is sending aid at this moment.”

“Knights in armor?”

“Yes, hundreds of them. They may even let you ride atop one of their magnificent horses. I have to go now, boy. Take shelter where you can, and don’t come out until the knights come. I don’t want you trying to get into that house. It’s not…healthy. Understand? Good.”

The man left the area and entered the eastern forest. Just before descending into the forest’s depths he looked back at the boy, who was no longer there.

********************

Orgon was looking out onto his city, standing on the balcony outside his personal quarters, situated at the top of the might fortress. Suddenly Orgon’s Seni’grahl, roughly meaning ‘commander-in-training’, entered from the inside. “Grehl, the prisoners have been situation and organized into groups, just as you ordered.”

“Excellent,” Orgon responded while keeping his eyes locked onto his city. And the remaining militiamen are altogether?” The warrior nodded. “Wonderful. Observe the militiamen for the next several days, until you find out who they go to as their leader. One you find that out, get his name and bring it to me. I’ll have more orders for you then, Kartel.”

“Of course, Grehl,” Kartel replied, and then scurried away.

Orgon sighed deeply and sat down on a wooden chair next to the balcony’s railing. Aktul came from inside next, and joined Orgon beside him in another chair. “The evening is chilled, and so seems your mind. I can sense something is wrong inside of you, Orgon. What is it?”

Orgon shook his head slightly, and then pounded his fist lightly on the chair. “I don’t know, Fen’yaw Aktul. Something…doesn’t seem right. I know it has something to do with our two prisoners, but I don’t know exactly what it is. Something bad, I know that.”

“I will admit, Orgon, I do not sense the dangers that are lurking throughout your mind. But perhaps I am not looking at the right place.”

Orgon stood up from his chair. “I don’t want to wait until morning to start the questioning. I want to start right now. There’s a question that just popped up in my mind, and I need the answer as soon as possible.”

Aktul stood up from his chair as well, his old bones creaking under the pressure of his boney and wrinkly hands pushing off. “Of course, Orgon. Lead the way.”

The two walked down several flights of stairs until they arrived at the prisoner’s room. Orgon opened the door, slamming it against the stone wall. “A change in plans, you two. We’re starting tonight.”

********************

The beast seemingly glided across the pearly white canvas of the snowy terrain, moving in all sorts of directions as it evaded the rolling stones, but keeping its on the same target the entire time. The target was Fevlin, who on top of the hill was throwing stones that hit the snow and then rolled towards the beast. The beast did not care, for the rolling stones could not hurt him because they were not sharp enough. They merely bounced off of his scaly skin and melted into the snow, along with the other useless stones.

When the beast made it up the hill Fevlin fell to the ground on his back, lifting his hands high in the air as if to shield himself from danger. The beast rose up on its two hind legs and spoke, it’s exceptionally long ears covered with snow after being drug across the ground. “You are the one to break the unbreakable chain, child, you and no one else. Nobody will come to save you, child, nor will anyone care. You and your kind here are a few out of many. Act now before it is too late.”

“What do you mean, act now? Act against the Haakian?”

“You sense the danger as of now, yet you do not act upon it. Do so now, or you will regret not doing so.”

“Act on what?” Fevlin screamed.

“The enemy you seek is not the enemy you know. Ponder this, while you ponder why.”

And with that the beast shook violently and then exploded into a million bright yellow stars that shot straight into the sky, illuminating the area so greatly that Fevlin saw an object hovering high in the sky. It was golden, and was shining even brighter than the stars themselves. Fevlin reached up and began to fly towards the object. But when he got there he realized it was a golden figure of himself, alive and crying, kneeling beside a faceless dead body. Suddenly Fevlin began to drop from his place in the sky, tumbling straight towards the ground that lay before him. Just inches from the ground he woke up from his dream-nightmare and fell out of his cot, drenched in a cold sticky sweat and shivering all around.

“Fevlin, what’s wrong?”

Fevlin was rubbing the back of his head, having hit after falling out of his bed. He climbed up back into his bed, the pain not going away whatsoever. “I…had a dream. It’s okay, I’m fine.”

Through the moonlight, his roommate, Grolic, could see how white Fevlin’s skin was. “You look….pale. I know it’s dark in here but I can still tell you’re white as snow. What’d you dream about?”

Fevlin felt his bed and then himself to make sure everything was okay. Even though it was just a dream, it felt so weird to him. So weird that he didn’t even want to think about it. “Nothing…it was…nothing. Really, Gro, I’m alright. Let’s get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow is gonna be busy.”

The two went back to sleep, but outside the entire prison area stood three Haakian. Two of them were patrol guards, and the other was Kartel. “I want you to pay attention to how the militiamen act, alright? Find out who they see as their leader now, and then tell me once you find out,” Kartel said.

“But shouldn’t you be doing this on your own. We’re just patrol guards you know,” one of them said with a smartalic tone. He was Kartel’s cousin, Kevreene. “Something about this doesn’t sound right.”

“Just do as I say, and you’ll be happy you did so. I have more important things to do. Trust me on this, Kevreene. All will be well soon enough.”

The three nodded to one another, and then Kartel heading into the woods, staying in the shadows so that no one would see him.

********************

Oxayto turned back around and looked for a hill of some kind to climb down, because the cliff dropped about three hundred feet and he knew he couldn’t jump. He found one while walking along the edge of the cliff for a few minutes, and once he made it to the bottom he realized he didn’t know what to do next. He had not a clue on where to go, for he had never traveled into Shienk before, despite his background. What do I do now? I don’t even know where to start… It was then that he realized this wasn’t going to work out, and that he was going to have travel back to Froc. But as he turned back around three men were standing in front of him, all wearing different types of heavy metal armor, and al wielded different types of weapons.

“Sorry, fella’, but you ain’t goin’ nowhere. We got strict orders to keep you outta sight,” the man in the middle said, a tall man with muscles the size of Oxayto’s head.

Oxayto stayed calm, slowly and carefully moving his hand to his sword’s sheath. “Oh really? And who exactly wishes for my death? Surely it can’t be anyone that actually me, because everyone that knows who I am also knows that I cannot be killed.”

“And why’s that, fella?” The man asked with a grin.

“Because I’m too fast.”

In a couple of swift movements Oxayto arrived at the man’s face, slashing his neck before the man had a chance to make even the slightest reaction. Oxayto took his sword and shoved it into the man on the left, the sword ripping through his stomach and coming out through the back. He slipped up and accidently let go of his blade, and the dead man landed on the ground with a thud. But before the remaining assassin could make a move, Oxayto lifted him from the ground by means of magic and hurled him into a tree, breaking the tree in half and killing the man instantly.

Oxayto panted slightly, and then went to pick up his sword from the dead body. “I wonder who sent them,” Oxayto thought aloud, not realizing he was doing so. He took a few quick looks behind him, and then headed back towards Karuun to see if the King’s soldiers had arrived.


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redsrock
post Oct 16 2008, 11:56 PM
Post #11


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I'm very disappointed in this chapter. I don't know why, but I am. Conflabbit....

Chapter Eight

Orgon looked on at his two newfound students for what seemed like hours. Cyric and Ollie were stunned for a second, not really knowing what to do or think. They were almost on the brink of falling asleep, but now the Haakian Grehl and his Priest were standing in the doorway.

“Get out of your beds, Nothren, the time for training shall start now. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I’ve decided against that. We might as well start this instant, now that your mind is active from the day’s events. Stand up,” Orgon ordered.

Cyric and Ollie reluctantly rose from their beds and stood at the edge of them, feeling awkward and confused. “What do you want us to do now?” Ollie asked.

“Follow the Priest and I to the citadel’s cellar. There we can start your training.”

“Training for what?” Cyric asked.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Again, follow me. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

The Priest and Grehl walked out of the room and led the two Nothren down to the lost level of the fortress, which was to say five levels below the first level. They entered a dark square-shaped room, lit only by four torches situated in each corner. In the middle of the room was a large, red fur rug big enough for about ten people to stand on. Nothing else was in the room, but on the walls were writings and symbols of the Haakian language, so advance and ancient that even Ollie could not read them.

“This is the Anit-Debilitation Chamber, a place for young Haakian warriors wishing to wield the power and magnificence of Zer to its fullest potential,” Orgon began. “The two of you are not Haakian, but you know of our ways. The majestic magic of Zer was first introduced by Shaden Caar years ago, our first Emperor. Then you filthy Nothren stole the knowledge and adapted it into a weaker form. The Silver Arms use this weakened form of Zer, which is why they have been in hiding. They know we are hunting them, and they know they cannot defeat us, therefore they hide like cowards. You two are going to help my Emperor seek out these shameful beings and punish them accordingly.”

“Wait, I don’t get it,” Ollie interrupted. “You think we’re going to simply betray our comrades so easily?”

“I thought you didn’t know anything about the Silver Arms, Nothren?” Orgon said sarcastically, in which Ollie looked at the ground in disgust.

“You already know that we have knowledge of their existence, but if you’re as smart as you think you are, you also know we haven’t been a part of them for some time. We have no idea where they are.”

Orgon smiled. “Yes, of course, Nothren. But that’s where this chamber comes into play. Through rigorous training and development, you will soon be able to wield Zer how it is meant to be wielded. Normally this would take much longer, but I sense great power in you two already. If everything goes according to plan, you should be ready in no time.”

“This is ridiculous!” Ollie shouted. “Even if we do wield the power, what good will it do you? What’s the difference between what you know and what we know? Besides, we aren’t going to side with you either way. You may be able to read our minds, but you have no physical control over us.”

“Oh, you will side with us in due time, Nothren.”

“No, I won’t! In fact, I ain’t doing a damn thing you say!”

Cyric was about to tell Ollie to calm down before he angered Orgon, but before he could do anything, the Priest took out a stick of roughly three feet in length. At the end of the stick was a large green emerald, a little more than two times the size of the jewel encrusted into his and Orgon’s forehead.

“Silence, Nothren!” The Priest yelled. Suddenly a white light erupted from the gem on the stick and shot towards Ollie in a straight line. The light seemed to have some sort of effect on Ollie, for he immediately fell to the ground, withering around like he was having a seizure or something.

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Cyric yelled.

The Priest chuckled and Ollie stopped shaking. He was still on the ground, and though his entire was still as a whole, his hands were still moving from side to side ever so slightly. He couldn’t think for a second, let alone get up and stand. “Are you alright?” Cyric asked after kneeling down beside him.

“He’ll be fine, Nothren,” the Priest said while stuffing his staff back into his dark long robe. “The price of bigotry is steep, and if one cannot pay for it, I suggest that person cease from acting so ignorant altogether.” He paused and waited to make sure Cyric was listening. “The journey to enlighten shall be elongated and arduous, but you will succeed. I say this because I’ve seen it in my dreams.”

“Your…dreams? You’ve seen us in your dreams?”

“The vision is blurred, but the result is in my and Orgon’s liking, and of course our Emperor as well. The Destruction of the Silver arms is key to reaching our ultimate goal, But in order to accomplish the goals set before us, you and your friend must abide by our rules.”

“If you are not sure whether the dream included us specifically, then how can you be sure we are the ones? And what are you trying to find anyway?”

“To answer your last question, I shall let Orgon explain, for his orders come directly from the Emperor himself. But to answer your first question, it is one of you two, but which of you it is I do not yet know. Time will tell.”

“And if we refuse to cooperate? You can kill me for all I care. It doesn’t matter.”

The Priest chuckled again. “No, I will not kill you or your friend, but I will kill someone else if the time calls for it. Surely you haven’t forgotten about your sister and friends…”

********************

Kartel ran through the forest as fast as he could, paying no attention to the gremlins, havlics, and other forest creatures that were staring down at him from the lofty trees. He didn’t have to time to pay attention, for he had to make it to the cave before others. He had to get there before it was too late.

If I can’t find it, I wait until he comes and take it from him. I’ve trained enough to take him on. I know I can... Faster and faster he went, the breath never escaping his body. Orgon had trained him to do so, to run fast and long without ever tiring. Orgon had taught him many things, which was why Kartel was so cocky in the first place. Soon he arrived at the entrance to a dark cave with no signs of marking, or anything suggesting the cave was important. But Kartel knew better. Anyone with brains knew better.

He crept inside the cave, the only light coming from his eyes, and that was just enough to make it into the single room inside the damp interior. He strained his eyes searching for it, and there it was, lying on the pedestal in the middle of the room, surrounding by two Tigroth statues, beast-guardians that had been filled with magic and turned to stone, preserved forever to protect what Kartel was looking for. Tigroth was an old race of tiger-men that haven’t been seen for nearly three hundred years, the exact amount of years these two statues have been guarding what Kartel was looking for.

Kartel unsheathed a long and thick broadsword, and carefully crept along the stone floor until he was mere inches away from the large, maroon rug that the pedestal and guardians stood upon. By placing his feet on the rug, the statues came alive, and Kartel readied himself for the upcoming battle.


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redsrock
post Oct 19 2008, 04:19 AM
Post #12


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After consulting with a good buddy of mine that most of you don't know, I've decided to cease in writing this story. Yes, I know, I've once again quit a story. But this time I actually have a good reason. For those of you who've kept up with this (which very well could be no one), the story has a lot of contradictions, and all around, things just don't make sense. SO, I have decided to stop writing this, and focus on smaller pieces, and also building my world through means of historical articles, and things of that nature. I'm hoping this helps in the long run, but I know that I CANNOT keep writing this. I've screwed it up too far.

I know you've at least left some feedback, Trey, and I thank you again for leaving it. You don't know how much this writer appreciates feedback and whatnot. wink.gif Don't worry, I will keep writing things on Teir, but it would be best for me personally if I stopped writing this particular tale.


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