Posted:
Mon Dec 24, 2018 11:36 am
by Tracian Empire
The border between the Kingdom of Duivene and the Fallen Achisia
To tell the truth, the yellow eyed girl really wasn't expecting the knight who fight back. He was wounded, and he obviously had no chance to beat her like this - and after all, humans were weak, feeble and cowardly creatures. How many of them hadn't just dropped their weapons in fear at the mere sight of her? And sure enough, this knight had been braver and more resilient than the others, but his older body had its limits. He was going to give up, she was going to kill him, and then she was going to finally be able to take care of that one person that she hated the most..and just as her mind was being soothed by the beautiful thought of her blade deepily piercing her twin sister's chest.. the knight attacked her. She was barely even able to react, parrying his first strikes, but Eric was putting so much force into his attacks that she pushed her back - much more force than she had thought that he still had. He then forced her sword close to her body, and right before she was able to strike back, he pushed her, and cut her inner thigh. A gasp of pain was heard, as she tried to distance herself from him and as her dark blood started to gush out from the ruptured blood vessel, but Eric closed the distance between them again, and dazed by the unexpected pain, the silver-blonde haired girl didn't manage to react in time - and his blade pierced through her left shoulder. He pulled his sword, now stained in black, and he kicked her in the chest, his last act before falling on the ground, weak and exhausted, shouting one last order for the soldiers of his accursed country.
Nearly falling on the ground herself, the evil princess literally did nothing for a few good moments, just staying there, in shock, bleeding, and in pain..until the shock suddenly turned into pure rage. "You little bastard!", the girl screamed angrily, her sickly golden eyes nearly seeming to glow, as she took a few hesitant steps forward, ignoring the bleeding, and then, she kicked him with her unwounded leg, nearly losing her balance in the process, but kicking with enough force that poor Eric was literally thrown into the air - crashing rather violently into a group of Duivenian knights. Tightly gripping her black sword, she started to move towards them, with the knights taking position around Eric and the knights that he had knocked to the ground while falling - but she never reached them. Before she was able to, she sensed someone behind her, and she turned around just in time to deflect the thrust of her twin sister's lance...
While Eric was fighting the enemy, poor Alexis, weakened and shaking, was being held up by Peter - who laid her down gently so that four Scripture knights could heal her. The noble tried to take her lance-banner and to wave it, with some of the Duivenian knights responding to his command to rally - but the banner seemed to be dead, no longer glowing or spreading around the same imposing presence that it used to while Alexis had it. With the crimson sky above them, and with the undead army still advancing, all hope seemed to be lost - and those knights who hadn't managed to rally around the place where the wounded Alexis was were slowly drowned by the horde of corpses. But the battle was still going on, the archers were shooting their arrows, blades of metal and silver were piercing through the cursed flesh of the enemy's servants, and their line was holding. But, as the battle was continuing, the princess refused the healing. "S-stop..", her weak voice was heard, and the knights hesitated. She was wounded, yes, and it's not like they were going to just let her die - as Knights of one of the Scriptures, they were more than ready to give their lives away in order to save one of the holy Seven Heroes - but they couldn't help but instinctively hesitate. One of them turned around, trying to look for Peter or for someone of a higher standing who could talk with the princess - but her voice was heard once again - "G-give m-me.. m-my.. l-lance..", she tried to say, as she obviously tried to stand back up - and one of the knights, the youngest of them four - gently took the lance from where Peter had planted it into the ground, and had given it to her. Tightly gripping its shaft just before she would have fallen again, Alexis planted it into the ground in front of her and used it to stand back up, while two of the knights rushed to support her. "O merciful Mother of the World, bless us, those who wander in the never ending darkness, with your light and power, to fight against those who would sully your creation. Queen of all, let my banner protect my people, please give us the light of the dawn! ", the princess shouted, praying, and her banner once against started to glow, a beam of holy light being thrown at the sky. The attack of the undead hesitated and then broke as the monsters screamed in pain, and the influence of the Night seemed to be weakened, as the knights of Duivene and their allies started to feel the sickness and weakness being replaced with hope and courage. The princess herself stopped struggling to stay up - she looked just as pale and weak as before, but somehow, the holy light seemed to have stopped the bleeding in her shoulder, and now, with a determined expression on her face, the princess was standing upright.
"G-go and h-heal him.. he.. he n-needs it m-more than.. than me..", she tried to say, looking at the four Scripture knights at pointing at Eric, who had just crashed into the middle of that group of knights. Alexis then took a deep breath.. and then she jumped, much higher than a normal human should have been able to. The princess landed gracefully but still rather violently on the head of some sort of a ogre/troll looking undead abomination, piercing through its skull with the other end of her lance, something that her sister, filled with wrath, failed to notice. Jumping off the falling monster and landing on the ground in front of her, Alexis rushed forward.. but her evil lookalike reacted just in time, turning around and deflecting her attack. The yellow eyed girl smirked, as the fight between the two princess began, lance against sword, light against darkness. One would think that the evil princess would have the advantage, after all, Alexis was still pale and weakened, and a sword was much better suited to close combat than a long lance - but despite that, none of them seemed to be able to gain an upper hand, as their weapons collided again, and again, and again. Alexis was keeping her distance in order to be able to strike with her spear, while her sister's position was complicated by her wounded shoulder and by the blood that was still pouring out of her thigh, weakening her and the strength of her feet which each passing moment. Her sister whispered something, and several copies of her blade appeared behind her, their blades covered in black fire - and all of those swords were thrown directly at Alexis by the spell. The hero-princess a heartbeat to do something, and she hit the ground with the bottom, smaller tip of her lance - focusing her energy into one simple command of protection - a wall of light. The blades pierced it as if it was made out of glass, but they stopped there, falling on the ground in front of her as the defensive spell disappeared. And blood started to trickle out of the princess' mouth - but her sister left her no time to breathe, as she rushed forward, her blade being parried at the last moment by the lance's shaft, as they exchanged hits, again and again.Their fight was going to be decided in the next couple of moments.. and yet, the golden eyed princess seemed to be stronger. Her blade locked into the space between the lance's point and and its wings, and the two of them started to push, trying to knock the other off balance - and yet, despite her wound, the yellowed eyed princess seemed to be winning, as the weakened Alexis started to shiver, being pushed back..
But all around their struggle, the battle was still going on. The knights, organized by Peter, were making their last stand, while at the same time, a brave warrior, looking like a monster, was fighting against the dragon all by himself, with an insane courage. The dragon seemed to be unable to understand that one of these little insects had somehow escaped his deadly fire - unfortunately, mind control spells really messed with a being's ability to think properly, and with his master being wounded, filled with wrath and fighting.. the once mighty dragon was now nothing more than a fierce and violent beast. A violent beast that was just hit with full force by an incredibly powerful half-Karaki, half-Giant warrior. The dragon simply lost its balance, falling on its back, and Yakr wasted no time, getting on top of it faster than any human would have been able to, and starting to punch it in the chest. The beast was filled with rage, and it started to breathe fire once again, but because of its position it wasn't able to do that properly, as much of the black fire started to burn around the dragon itself, burning the undead that were surrounding it. Yakr's punches seemed to hurt the beast, but he was going to need something much stronger if he wanted to actually kill the thing. Trying to push and to wave its wings around, the dragon also tried to stand back up, shaking and struggling to get Yakr off it, and here the difference in size between them started to be seen, as the dragon slowly managed to get up again, its fiery breath getting closer..
Somewhere
A village
An inn
A room
Poor Celio remained asleep as she took his hands into hers, even if Julie needed a little bit of force to make him let go of his collar. He seemed to have been desperately trying to take it off, breathing rapidly and crying in his sleep, so who knew what sort of nightmares were tormenting him.. but then, as she moved his hands away, as she wiped his tears and whispered to him... the black haired boy seemed to calm down a little..she gently kissed his cheek, putting one of her hands between the back of his neck and the collar that always left bruises behind, and then she pulled him closer to her into a hug of sorts, or well, just a way for them to sleep closer to each other, with her other arm over his and one of her legs around his waist. This was certainly a little awkward, with her only being half-dressed like that..but it's not like the boy would have noticed. Instead, his breath slowly relaxed, and the tears stopped rolling down his cheeks. He stopped shivering and shaking, and instead, almost instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her and staying close to her, to her presence and to her warmth. And slowly, the nightmare seemed to pass, until finally, Celio seemed to be sleeping peacefully.....with a smile on his face.
And eventually, the sun rose and the morning, maybe too quickly. Celio was the first to wake up, opening his eyes and then closing them again.. and wait.. something was wrong. Something was very wrong. The first thing that his sleepy mind realized was that.. he had waken up slowly and normally.. this wasn't right..this wasn't like all those times when he had been awoken by or from a nightmare, crying and in pain..he had.. he actually slept pretty well, he had slept peacefully.. and he couldn't even remember having a nightmare. The first few minutes after he would wake up were always filled with that feeling of dread and despair, with him trying not to think about all the horrible details of the dreams that had been tormenting him.. and yet.. right now there was nothing. He couldn't remember anything but a nice feeling of peace and relaxation.. as if.. as if everything was alright. His eyes filled with tears once again.. it was..he was.. happy.. he couldn't even remember the last time when he had slept this.. in fact.. he was fairly certain that this had been the first peaceful night that he had experienced after waking up without any memories on that fateful day.
But.. why? What had he done to deserve something like this? What had happened? It was only then that the boy started to notice something, his eyes still closed as he tried to hide his tears..something next to him, the comforting sensation and warmth of..someone who was lying on the bed, close to him? Someone who had its arms wrapped around him, just like he had his own arms wrapped around that someone? It was just so calming, to feel that warmth... he was.. he was happy. So he just spent a few more moments, savoring that soothing feeling.. until it suddenly dawned on him. He opened his eyes.. only to see a girl's brown, silky hair.
For a moment, nothing happened. The boy tried to close his eyes again, to just ignore everything that was happening, to pretend that this wasn't real.. this couldn't be real..she was just so close to him, he could feel her heartbeat, he could hear her soft breathing.. The boy opened his eyes again, and quickly noticed just in what kind of a position they were, how close she was, how she was dressed and how one of her legs was wrapped around his waist like that, keeping him close.. he.. he instantly turned red. How.. how could something like this have happened? W-why w-was she s-so c-close? How could, how could this.. but then.. then he slowly realized that maybe.. maybe the reason for why he had slept so peacefully.. maybe the reason for why his nightmares had stopped.. was her...it was her that had calmed him down during the night, and it was her warmth that had made that horrible sensation of coldness and emptiness go away... and thinking about that.. he couldn't.. he couldn't help but smile. It was embarrassing, certainly, but he could.. he could somehow just ignore the weird part of it.. because being with her here just made him happy, and not in a bad way. He still couldn't understand why he cared so much about her, or what this warm feeling was.. but he was happy.. And even if he still had no bad intention, just being so close to her was just so calming and comforting.. it was as if the harsh and cruel world around them didn't matter at all.. it was as if he could just forget all of the pain and suffering and envy and hate and despair.. it was as if he could ignore all those scars, and the bruises and the collar and cuffs... all that mattered was that he was happy, and that she was here..
So he just quietly moved a little, so that while still lying in that position, hugging her, he could look at her face, and at her peaceful, sleeping expression. It was so funny to think how the Celio from that night when the two of them had met for the first time would have reacted to something to like this. But it didn't matter.. because he was happy.. he was at peace.. and he loved it.
But then, suddenly, Julie woke up, and their eyes met, blue and crimson looking at each other... with an already blushing Celio noticed how Julie was also turning red..and in that moment, poor Celio felt more embarrassed than he had ever felt in his entire life. He tried to get away from her, a still half-asleep and surprised Julie letting go of him, but the bed in which the two of them had slept wasn't all that big - so poor Celio rolled over the edge and fell on the wooden ground with a loud thump. He closed his eyes because of the sudden pain.. before he covered his face with his hands, trying to hide just how much he was blushing, unable to take the memory of them two being so close from his head. "I'm s-sorry.., he tried to say, confused and embarrassed..
Somewhere
The border between Wyzkia and the Ecclesiarchy
It hurt, it hurt, it hurt, it hurt... was all that Rafal could think, as he fell on his knees. Seeing her like that. Seeing her shock, seeing how she couldn't believe it, and then seeing how the realization struck her. Seeing her placing her hand over her stomach, seeing her crying, sobbing, and hearing her screaming. Seeing her broken by this...seeing all of the pain and devastation and despair.. why? Why was the world so cruel? Why were the gods so cruel? Hadn't she suffered enough already? Hadn't she suffered more than enough? Why would someone like her have to go through something like this? It hurt, it hurt so much to see her like this, to know that nothing that he could possibly do could save her from this fate, to know that no matter what, he couldn't change the past, that she was already hurt, that the damage was done and that nothing anyone could ever hope to do would change the fact that she had a baby growing inside of her. It hurt, it hurt as if his heart was being shattered into tiny little pieces, it hurt as if it was pierced by thousand of daggers at the same time, his chest hurt so much that he couldn't even breathe, and he felt tears welling up in his eyes..it was so painful to see her, to see the girl that he cared so much about like that.. but he hated himself for it. The moment he felt that pain, the moment he started to feel so horrible and so guilty about it even if there was nothing he could do about it - he hated himself for it. His pain, all these messy and painful emotions that he was feeling right now - they couldn't be compared to what she was feeling, they couldn't be compared to her suffering and to her despair.. he had no right to feel like this, absolutely no right, and to think of his pain like that made him a weak, horrible, and disgusting person. And the one who had caused all of this, the one who had crushed Alina with that realization.. was his relic.. his weapon.. his servant.. so in the end.. it was his fault. He should have stopped her, he should have controlled himself in time.. and he wanted to rip his heart out of his chest just when thinking about how he had stopped saying anything after the relic had shown him the presence of the baby - how his silence had made Alina realize that it was true, how it had hurt her.. it was his fault that she had found out like that, it was his fault that she was crying and broken right now, that she hadn't found out this horrible truth in a better way.. he had promised that he would protect her, he had sworn that...and yet, he was hurting her like this. He was a horrible person.. and yet.. and yet..
He couldn't help but feel bad for her... It was just so horrible. He had thought about it a couple of times before. As a noble, the head of a family and someone who was engaged and who was supposed to marry someone at some point, Rafal had of course learned stuff about how children are made..but he had always thought that Alina had managed to escape that fate. Maybe it was because of something that the cultists had done, or maybe she had just been lucky, he hadn't thought about any details, of course, but ever since he had learned about what had happened to her in the past, he had thought that she had somehow escaped that danger. So to find out that no, she didn't, that she was pregnant, and that she was going to have a child, that she had no choice about it and that this child had been forced onto her through such horrible suffering..it hurt him too, just to think about that. Having to be pregnant, to carry and to give birth to a child was bad enough anyway, and not even the best healing spells could completely make the pain go away.. but having a child after something like that, having one of the cultists as the child's father, having it forced upon you after such horrible experienced that had already messed with your mind, it.. he couldn't even think any more about it. It made him feel horrible, it hurt him, it made him feel just so bad for her and he felt horrible because of it...his pain couldn't be compared to what she had to endure..he had no right to feel like this.
But he wasn't even sure what he was feeling. It was more than just the simple sadness or pity that one would feel when hearing that something like that had happened to someone. It pained him to see her like that, it really did, and he just wanted to hide her and to protect her from the entire world.. even if his protection wasn't worth anything. He just wanted her to be happy, he just wanted her to forget her suffering and to just live her life like she wanted to.. and if he could have gone back in time to change all of this, he would have.. but he couldn't. And at the same time, he was just so angry.. he hated all those who had hurt her and who had used her, all those who had been so cruel and horrible to make her suffer, beginning with that father of hers and ending with those cultists and the wretched Sin that they represented. He was so angry that he would have killed all those cultists if he would have been able to.. he was so angry that he would have fought against the Gods if he would have been given a chance. How could they, how could the Gods have let her suffer like this? How could the Gods allow such cruel and horrible acts to happen in the world? If they did it willingly, if they willingly allowed such horrible acts of evil, if they did.. then they couldn't even be called gods.. they didn't.. they didn't deserve anyone's prayers. If they really did allow her to suffer like that without doing anything to save her... then they would deserve to be killed.
But those were just stupid thoughts. There was nothing that he could do. He had nearly failed to protect her now, in the present, and he had failed to stop his own relic from hurting her like this..if he couldn't even keep his promise, how could he hope to help her? There was no way for him to change the past or to punish the Gods.. all that mattered was what he would do from now on. She had all the right to hate him, to despise him, to want to hurt him. He was a liar, and worse than that, it was his servant who had hurt her by telling her those cruel news like that.. it was his responsibility, it was his fault. She had to hate him for that.. she had to blame him for that, at least. And he was going to accept it, he was going to let her do whatever he wanted.. even if the simple idea of her hating him was like a burning spike piercing his chest. He couldn't change what had happened.. but he could help her now.. he had no idea what he could do, or what he should do.. but he knew that he had to help her, he knew that at the very least, with the cruel world hitting her once again, he had to be here for her.. he had to be here for her, no matter what. And he was going to help her, however he could.. anything and everything.
Slowly standing up, with tears rolling down his cheeks, the green eyed boy took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. He had to be strong.. he had to be strong for her, he had to be there to support her and to help her... he had to be her knight, and not just a weak and pathetic little boy who couldn't even keep his own promises, who couldn't even keep the girl that he had so many jumbled feelings for from crying and being hurt like that. And at the same time, being assaulted by all of his feelings, all of his pain, all of his guilt.. the relic started to cry too. "M-master?", she asked, tears racing down her cheeks as her normally hollow and empty eyes seemed to be filled with the same pain that was visible in Rafal's eyes.."W-why.. I don't.. I didn't..", she tried to say, choking on her own tears as she fell on her knees in silence. Saying nothing else, Rafal took a few hesitant steps and stopped right next to Alina..and he just hugged her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to him...doing his best not to cry.
"I know that.. these.. these are just.. empty words.. but I'm sorry.. I'm sorry that there is nothing that I can do, I'm sorry that you have to go through this, I'm sorry that you had to find out like this because of me.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. if it.. if helps you.. you can hate me.. you can hate me all you want for it. But..no matter what.. no matter what, I'll.. I'll be here for you.." And Rafal took another deep breath. Why was it so difficult? The stories that his father had told him when he was little had nothing about princesses getting hurt like that, or about maidens becoming pregnant and having to suffer because of such monsters and heinous crimes.. and they had nothing about pathetic squire-paladins promising to protect them and nearly failing, or about weak and deplorable knights trying to comfort girls who were hurt like that..but in all those stories, the knights and the paladins were strong, and brave, they didn't cry, they never cried, they never looked weak, they were never hurt.. so why was it so difficult to not cry? Why was it so difficult to remain calm and strong for her?..
"I'll be here for you.. you're not alone.. I'll be here for you, and I will help you.. and even if.. even if I nearly failed, I will.. I will do anything to protect you, and to keep you safe.. I can't.. I can't change what happened with you.. and I can't.. I can't change anything.. about your.. about your..pregnancy.. but I will be here for you, I will make sure that you are safe, and I will make sure that you will get through it.. it hurts.. it hurts that you have to suffer like this, and that I can't just make all of your pain and despair make away...but I.. I care about you, and I won't abandon you.. no matter what. No matter what happen.. you won't be alone.. I.. I promise that.."
Posted:
Wed Dec 26, 2018 12:31 am
by Castle Crashers
Tracian Empire wrote:Somewhere
A village
An inn
A roomPoor Celio remained asleep as she took his hands into hers, even if Julie needed a little bit of force to make him let go of his collar. He seemed to have been desperately trying to take it off, breathing rapidly and crying in his sleep, so who knew what sort of nightmares were tormenting him.. but then, as she moved his hands away, as she wiped his tears and whispered to him... the black haired boy seemed to calm down a little..she gently kissed his cheek, putting one of her hands between the back of his neck and the collar that always left bruises behind, and then she pulled him closer to her into a hug of sorts, or well, just a way for them to sleep closer to each other, with her other arm over his and one of her legs around his waist. This was certainly a little awkward, with her only being half-dressed like that..but it's not like the boy would have noticed. Instead, his breath slowly relaxed, and the tears stopped rolling down his cheeks. He stopped shivering and shaking, and instead, almost instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her and staying close to her, to her presence and to her warmth. And slowly, the nightmare seemed to pass, until finally, Celio seemed to be sleeping peacefully.....with a smile on his face.
And eventually, the sun rose and the morning, maybe too quickly. Celio was the first to wake up, opening his eyes and then closing them again.. and wait.. something was wrong. Something was very wrong. The first thing that his sleepy mind realized was that.. he had waken up slowly and normally.. this wasn't right..this wasn't like all those times when he had been awoken by or from a nightmare, crying and in pain..he had.. he actually slept pretty well, he had slept peacefully.. and he couldn't even remember having a nightmare. The first few minutes after he would wake up were always filled with that feeling of dread and despair, with him trying not to think about all the horrible details of the dreams that had been tormenting him.. and yet.. right now there was nothing. He couldn't remember anything but a nice feeling of peace and relaxation.. as if.. as if everything was alright. His eyes filled with tears once again.. it was..he was.. happy.. he couldn't even remember the last time when he had slept this.. in fact.. he was fairly certain that this had been the first peaceful night that he had experienced after waking up without any memories on that fateful day.
But.. why? What had he done to deserve something like this? What had happened? It was only then that the boy started to notice something, his eyes still closed as he tried to hide his tears..something next to him, the comforting sensation and warmth of..someone who was lying on the bed, close to him? Someone who had its arms wrapped around him, just like he had his own arms wrapped around that someone? It was just so calming, to feel that warmth... he was.. he was happy. So he just spent a few more moments, savoring that soothing feeling.. until it suddenly dawned on him. He opened his eyes.. only to see a girl's brown, silky hair.
For a moment, nothing happened. The boy tried to close his eyes again, to just ignore everything that was happening, to pretend that this wasn't real.. this couldn't be real..she was just so close to him, he could feel her heartbeat, he could hear her soft breathing.. The boy opened his eyes again, and quickly noticed just in what kind of a position they were, how close she was, how she was dressed and how one of her legs was wrapped around his waist like that, keeping him close.. he.. he instantly turned red. How.. how could something like this have happened? W-why w-was she s-so c-close? How could, how could this.. but then.. then he slowly realized that maybe.. maybe the reason for why he had slept so peacefully.. maybe the reason for why his nightmares had stopped.. was her...it was her that had calmed him down during the night, and it was her warmth that had made that horrible sensation of coldness and emptiness go away... and thinking about that.. he couldn't.. he couldn't help but smile. It was embarrassing, certainly, but he could.. he could somehow just ignore the weird part of it.. because being with her here just made him happy, and not in a bad way. He still couldn't understand why he cared so much about her, or what this warm feeling was.. but he was happy.. And even if he still had no bad intention, just being so close to her was just so calming and comforting.. it was as if the harsh and cruel world around them didn't matter at all.. it was as if he could just forget all of the pain and suffering and envy and hate and despair.. it was as if he could ignore all those scars, and the bruises and the collar and cuffs... all that mattered was that he was happy, and that she was here..
So he just quietly moved a little, so that while still lying in that position, hugging her, he could look at her face, and at her peaceful, sleeping expression. It was so funny to think how the Celio from that night when the two of them had met for the first time would have reacted to something to like this. But it didn't matter.. because he was happy.. he was at peace.. and he loved it.
But then, suddenly, Julie woke up, and their eyes met, blue and crimson looking at each other... with an already blushing Celio noticed how Julie was also turning red..and in that moment, poor Celio felt more embarrassed than he had ever felt in his entire life. He tried to get away from her, a still half-asleep and surprised Julie letting go of him, but the bed in which the two of them had slept wasn't all that big - so poor Celio rolled over the edge and fell on the wooden ground with a loud thump. He closed his eyes because of the sudden pain.. before he covered his face with his hands, trying to hide just how much he was blushing, unable to take the memory of them two being so close from his head.
"I'm s-sorry.., he tried to say, confused and embarrassed..
For most of the nights of her life, Julie had slept alone; besides the rare occasions she slept with her parents as a child. She had never known what it was really like to sleep next to someone or to rest in someone's arms, and, despite being asleep most of the time...she liked it. And despite normally sleeping well as it was, it seemed like tonight of all nights, she'd slept the best. Perhaps it was the comfort of being encircled by someone's warmth and affection, or the soft sound of someone else's breathing alongside your own...but either way, it made sleep all the more better. So...when she did finally wake up, she didn't open her eyes just yet. She realized that he'd wrapped his own arms around her as they slept, and found that they had both been in a tight embrace for what seemed to be most of the night. It was quite easy to assume he'd done so unconsciously, perhaps by instinct, after she recalled clinging to him at some point in the night from a nightmare. She couldn't help but let her cheeks pinken a little at the idea of doing something so rash, so careless without making sure he was alright. But...she couldn't say she didn't like it.
So...while she was awake, while she could've gotten up and moved away, she stayed. She pretended to sleep, holding him as she did, wishing they could lay like that forever. She enjoyed having him there; she felt safe in his arms, even if he was supposed to be her mortal enemy. She knew he'd probably be mad at her for what she'd done, but...she wanted to relish in the act as long as she could. As long as he would allow her. So...she snuggled a bit closer, breathing in his lavender scent, and she couldn't help but smile as she did; but something was missing--she wanted to see him. Perhaps it was weird, perhaps it was intrusive, but she wanted to see what he looked like when he was at peace, totally unbothered by the world as he slept, something she imagined she wouldn't get to see often, if ever. But...as she opened her eyes, she realized that, in fact,
he was the one that was watching
her sleep. Their eyes met, and she blushed bright red, already seeing that his cheeks were red as well. She couldn't help but be embarrassed; seeing someone sleep feels so open and vulnerable, and it made her feel bashful and shy, even though she'd intended to do the same with him. She was speechless, really; opening her mouth to say something, but no words followed.
He seemed to be in the same situation. Quite clearly embarrassed, he tried to scramble away, and Julie had no intentions of holding him down; though she let go a little too quickly, and gasped in surprise as he rolled over the edge and hit the ground. Slightly worried, she scurried to the edge, looking over with wide blue eyes as he covered his face and apologized. In another moment, Julie couldn't help but laugh, something so honest and true that it almost made the entire awkwardness of the situation evaporate. She wasn't laughing at him, really; she was laughing at the whole situation they found themselves in. "You don't need to apologize, I'm the one who caused all of this after all..." She said when she finally got to stop laughing, a wide smile on her face as she continued to peek at him over the edge, her own cheeks a light red. "I mean, I said I wouldn't bite, but I admit I never made any promises about cuddling..." She said with another giggle.
After a moment of thought, she seemed to blush more, and looked away a bit bashfully, hiding some of her face with the edge of the bed. "But...I-I can't say that I didn't enjoy it, you know...it was...really...nice." She finally said, blushing more and more with every word. After a moment, she shyly turned her eyes to him again, and despite her mouth being hidden, it was quite clear she was smiling, even just from her eyes. "How about this...I...know that all the villagers and stuff can be really overwhelming, so...how about I go out and get us some breakfast, and bring it back here? That way we can stay out of their attention a little longer, atleast until we leave, sound good?" She queried, though she didn't seem to wait for an answer before she sat up and gracefully got off the bed once more. Though her shirt was pretty ruffled up, she didn't seem to bother fixing it in the same way she had the night before; she seemed more comfortable about the way she looked around him, though it was clear it was with no bad intention. In fact, she probably looked more graceful and cute in the state she was in, with her unkempt hair and sleepy state. Gently, calmly, she pulled her red skirt back on, and buttoned it up with ease. She gave him another, gentle smile as she pulled her boots back on, and took a moment to smooth out her wavy brown hair.
In a moment, when she seemed ready, she approached him again with a wider smile, though her cheeks still glowed pink. "I promise it won't take me more than an hour, and if I'm not back by then, you can come and find me, alright? There's no need to worry about me running off." She told him with a friendly gaze, before she wrapped her arms around him in a soft hug. "Just try to relax some. There's no rush to get going to do anything, alright..?" She told him, looking to his red eyes once more before her smile returned and she gave him a gentle, nice kiss. "I'll see you when I get back, alright..? Just...don't go running off without me again." She told him with another soft laugh before she finally released him, not taking her eyes off of him as she reached the door, blowing him a soft kiss before she, almost regretfully, finally closed the door behind her and headed back out into the village.
The Mobilization of Achisia
Posted:
Sat Jan 05, 2019 8:45 am
by Elysian Kentarchy
Solomon de Velira
The de Velira Estate
Training ring
The morning of the day before the Night of the Bloody Moons
I have spent the last two hours going at it with my sister and she is pushing both of us to the limit, this leather armor of ours is stifling and the staves are heavy in our hands but we still fight.
She sweeps my feet out from under me and brings her staff down for the final blow but I block it and kick her leg causing her to stumble which I follow up with a blow to her side causing her to stumble and lose her staff and I jab at her chest to knock her down.
“Enough.” My grandfather’s stern voice rings out before I can bring it to her head. “That is the match and I declare Solomon the winner.”
“Well brother you won our bet.” My sister says with a smile and holds up her hand so I can pull her to her feet and she removes her leather helmet and I do the same.
“So where is it?” I ask.
“One moment brother, one moment. Let me catch my breath and change out of this armor.” We do so and she takes one of my hands in hers, puts the wager in it and closes it. “Here you go little brother, keep it safe since it belonged to mother.”
I open my hand and see a necklace, the chain is black iron and the pendant is the symbol of our homeland, the golden flames of Achisia and the serpent, for the eyes of the snake are made from onyx gemstones. “I will be sure to do so.”
“Try it on.” I put it on and she smiles. “Looks good on you little brother.”
Grandfather claps his hands. “Now that that is resolved we should have breakfast, the day is still early for that after all.”
Augustine de Velira,
At breakfast
Breakfast is a quiet affair but that is because the entire family isn’t here, Silvia’s seat is virtually a void when she isn’t here. But I shake my head and look up at my grandson, time to see if this works. “Solomon?”
“Yes Grandfather?”
“We have recently received an offer, well one can call it an offer but we were approached recently with throwing our lot in with an effort to throw the invader out. If we accept we will be fighting the Duivene and their Princess.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Princess Alexis I presume?”
“You remember her then?”
“I met her on the battlefield back during the war, her sister too.”
“Ah right… her sister.” I look at my reflection in my glass and my expression is one I would describe as incomprehensible. “That aside we will be joining our allies come tomorrow and we will drive the invader from our border and secure it, I will brief you more when the time comes on who our ally is and all that since she asked me to keep it a secret. That and I need to assess things more and meet with more people.”
“I… don’t know if that is right Grandfather.”
“Why not?”
He frowns. “Necromancy will be involved won’t it? And the Cult of Sins?”
I sigh audibly. “Most likely yes, but if we are to see our homeland be freed we must make all the compromises possible. We must fight for Achisia and if we are to use such abominable weapons for the salvation of our homeland.”
“But necromancy is indeed an abomination, it and its darkness was what led to our homeland’s fall.”
I smile. “Truly your views are the same as they were during the war but let me pose this question, if there is darkness where is the light? If there is no light there can be no darkness. Our family has been a form of light for generations and we will continue to be, all in the service of our homeland. If we will do wrong either we or our descendants will fix it.”
“So we will cross that bridge when we get to it?”
“In a nutshell yes.”
He exhales air through his teeth. “... I really hate this grandfather but if it is for our homeland I can go along with it. I could be mistaken after all.”
I nod and smile. “See to it that the mobilization of what reserves we can get begins quickly and you be ready to lead from the front again. I expect you at your best.”
“Of course Grandfather, will Illania be joining me?”
“She will soon, I need to discuss something with her in private so you go on ahead.”
“Yes, General.” He bows and leaves with his plate. After a few minutes my granddaughter approaches me.
“Well it seems like it worked, there is almost no way he would have agreed with that argument otherwise.”
“Are you certain there will be no negative side effects?” I ask, internally hating myself for what I have done, what I ordered Illania to ensure.
“Nothing is completely certain Grandfather but there shouldn’t be any, the enchantment simply makes him more open to suggestion to members of our family.”
“I hope that stays true, this is such a despicable act to use family heirlooms that way.” Especially since my granddaughter in law’s family line died in the war.
“I don’t like the idea of doing this to my little brother either but it needs to be done to bring him around to our way of thinking. The pendant shouldn’t cause him to compromise his deeply held views so it is likely he agrees with the pragmatism deep inside of himself.”
I sigh and place my hand against my forehead. “I’ll ask the Gods for forgiveness later I suppose. In the meantime get ready for war Illania, the first salvo is soon to be fired.”
“All for the glory of Achisia.” She replies beating her fist over her chest.
“All for the glory of Achisia.” I return the gesture.
Posted:
Mon Jan 07, 2019 3:32 pm
by Remnants of Exilvania
Calaria
Border Region
Night of the Blood MoonsKonstanze was the last to step out of her tent. She rubbed her eyes which had gotten tired and ached after all this time in the tent, discussing and planning in the dim and flickering light of candles. Then she stretched herself and yawned loudly into the night. She didn't care if that wasn't exactly the behaviour that was expected off her, it felt so damn liberating. Besides, not like anyone here cared right now. She could feel it, could feel the nervosity pervading the very air around her, the anxiety and fear that everyone felt before battle. Everyone was mostly preoccupied with him- or herself tonight.
Ah, tonight. The night that should make the breaking of this stalemate possible. Konstanze looked up into the night sky to see the famed astrological event but pouted when she noticed that heavy clouds had gathered, making the night sky one, simple, dark mass. Well, suppose that too had its advantages, what with eliminating the enemy's vision on the battlefield and allowing her to get troops closer to the walls. As if on cue, she stumbled and almost fell over something that was lying on the ground in the darkness. She muttered a curse as she caught her balance again and tried to see what she had stumbled across but simply couldn't make it out. Ugh, it really was her own fault. She had ordered to dim the lights in the camp and overall place less of them ever since the mercenary forces had returned to them. She also tripled guards and redrew the shifts every couple days to make it more difficult for infiltrators to enter the camp despite the more favourable light conditions. She'd take a few accidents and spies anyday over the enemy being able to just watch their every move from the walls and make out strategically important persons in the camp.
Now, what was she going to do again apart from giving her eyes some rest and stretching herself? Ah, yes, of course, she wanted to give Vivian a little present. Well, she was giving her nothing but presents but since Vivian was practically a willing slave of hers those presents of course still belonged to her. It was just that they were more useful in the girl's hands. She clasped the small package tightly before carefully continuing on her path through the camp to find Vivian. A few bodyguards of hers, bearing the Unsterb's coat of arms followed her closely, weapons at the ready.
The siege camp bristled with activity. Men, working with the industriousness of the coward who didn't want to see the fighting up close, brought and prepared new missiles for the siege engines while the siege crews operated the engines themselves. Over the weeks they had been bombarding the fort the men had gotten pretty good at their job. They knew exactly in which arcs to fire to hit which part of the fort. She had personally commanded them to use flaming projectiles. Sure, they would do much less damage to the actual fortifications but they could help immensely against the defenders, setting them or their supply stores alight. And if the enemy didn't let it burn, they had to use mages or the preciously rare water to save their comrades or supplies. It was all to exhaust the defenders. Afterall, even the greatest and most expensive fortifications could be taken if the enemy was incapable of defending them properly.
But the main activity stemmed from the preparations for the actual assault. Only moments before she had been in one last briefing with the other commanders of their siege, just to make sure again that everyone knew the plan for this siege. They had returned to their units by now and in the darkness of the camp she had quickly lost sight of them. Of course, the men were also informed and captains and other lower ranking commanders had already started gathering and organising the smaller units that had been formed for the siege merely a week ago. Sieges were chaotic once the actual assaults started and high ranking commanders with large numbers of troops below them would have difficulty to keep an overview over all of them and would either lose control over their units or they become inflexible and would then not act when the situation required them to. She'd see if this little experiment worked out the way she wanted. If it did then she'd keep this system of smaller rigid smaller units rather than ad-hoc created units and named sub-commanders.
She found eventually found Vivian at the field kitchen.
"I should've guessed she'd be here, even before a big battle..."
, Konstanze muttered as she approached the girl with her bodyguards in tow. Vivian had probably noticed them long before they had seen her but the girl didn't show any signs of recognition. She just stayed seated and kept spooning up her soup...and had apparently been eating quite a lot of soup, judging by the small tower built from bowls right next to her. Damn it, the girl's appetite was just unfathomable. Konstanze sat down on the other bench on the opposite side of the table and attempted to start a conversation, saying:
"Well hello there Vivian, how's dinner today?"
Vivian looked up from her bowl and put the last spoonful of soup into her mouth. She then proceeded to seemingly casually throw the bowl into the air but it actually landed perfectly on top of the small tower of bowls. Her usually completely dead eyes communicated one simply word, one wish.
More.Konstanze's smile got a bit forced as she remembered that she was paying all this. Not only all the extra food that Vivian had just consumed but also all the extra food that had to come with the next shipments to properly restock their inventory. She sighed and pointed towards the large cauldron filled with soup with her head. One of her bodyguards went to get some more soup.
"Alright Vivian, I suppose dinner is VERY good today. I hope it won't impair your ability to to get to where you need to go RIGHT THIS INSTANT?"
Vivian rolled her eyes as she waited and simply said:
"It's not far."
Konstanze just sighed in exasperation. Sometimes she wanted to spank Vivian...but she had a suspicion that Vivian actually liked it so she'd rather not. Instead she placed the package she wanted to give Vivian on the table between them. Vivian looked at it for a moment and then again at her. Konstanze felt the need to explain:
"Well, Vivian, I thought I'd make you a little birthday present."
"But my birthday was months ago and I already got a present for that."
, Vivian answered, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, tehe, how dumb of me. It's of course an early birthday present for your next one."
Konstanze's face was unmoving and still showed that bad impression of a friendly face while she cursed herself for her stupidity behind this facade.
"Now please, unpack it. See what I gifted you."
Vivian looked at her again before slowly taking the package and loosening the threads holding the package together. It didn't take long untill she found what seemed to be a finely crafted metal tube on the table in front of her. She looked at it, lacking emotions just like she usually did and then asked:
"And what's this supposed to be?"
Konstanze leaned back and proudly explained:
"You see, shortly after I bought your last present, I had an idea. This was a ranged weapon yet the human eye is limited in its perception and we have a hard time to see what's far away. We can use telescopes to remedy that and make out what is hidden from our eyes far far away. Now, it's hard to operate this weapon on greater ranges by holding it in one hand and a telescope in the other. You probably won't even be able to fire. So I thought, what if we combined the two things? I hired a dwarven inventor with realising my vision, a smaller telescope that could be mounted onto a barrel. Really, a normal sized telescope would've been overkill, I don't need you to see the moons in all their glory, I need you to see whatever you need to see clearly even when it is hundreds of meters away. And because it is a small telescope, I decided to just call it scope. You see, it's smaller so it makes sense when the name is smaller, right?"
Vivian took the scope into her hands and turned it around carefully, looking at it from every direction before finally raising it to her eyes and looking through it. Konstanze thought she heard a little gasp but she couldn't be sure and shortly after Vivian put the scope back down again and repackaged it.
"Thank you very much. I'm sure this will be of great use to me mylady. Just not tonight. It doesn't help me to see far when there is only blackness in the distance."
Meanwhile Konstanze's bodyguard returned. Empty-handed. Vivian of course saw it so she got up and said:
"Looks like I'm finished here. I wish you best of luck in your assault mylady. I will now ride hard to make it to mine and make sure that everyone acts as you have commanded them to."
She bowed and made her way past Konstanze who kept sitting and smiled, now in earnest. This was the last thing she had had to do tonight. All that was left now was to watch...or sleep if she wanted to. But this was HER achievment, HER assault, HER plans so of course it had to be HER viewing experience as well. Of course she didn't really want to get too close to the danger but well, she could see enough from here...well...as much as one could see in this darkness.
The assault started at midnight. Thousands of Anselmian soldiers had used the siege trenches which they had dug meticulously for weeks to get relatively close to the walls. They did so as quietly as possible. The trenches were about two meters deep and at the top the Anselmians had used the dirt from the trenches to pile up small walls to make it even more difficult to shoot at them while they were in the trenches. The Anselmians were quiet though, making their way through the trenches without light, without battlecries, just their uniforms and their weapons. Of course they couldn't make no sounds at all, no their shuffling and the sounds of their weapons and armour could be heard. And yet the Anselmians did not attack. They were waiting, waiting for something very specific to happen, something that had been prepared for a long time.
Strategically important parts of the Anselmian siege camp had also been surrounded with dirt walls and palisades. But that dirt did not come from the trenches, nonono, the trench dirt had already been used to improve the trenches. The dirt used here came from two very different things. The Anselmian had dug deep into the ground in the back of their camp. Experienced miners had worked for weeks on end, received double rations and increased pay to make this possible. Against all odds they had dug deeper and deeper and then always further forward. Learned men, mathematicians and architects who had accompanied some of the wealthier men in this war, had helped immensely, having measured and directed the digging efforts of the miners. Once they had reached the walls, the miners had expanded their tunnels, dug below the walls, tried to cover larger parts of it. The tunnel was of course secured, the miners being miners had set up wooden support beams everywhere. Made from a highly flammable wood that Konstanze had imported upon the sappers request. Due that the tunneling efforts always had to be accompanied by mages, who would lend magical light to the operation.
And now it was time for the sappers to get to work. In the hours leading up to midnight they had been at work down there below the Calarian walls. The wood was flammable so they basically just had to set it on fire to collapse the entire tunnel the larger caves they had made below the Calarian Wall...and the structural integrity of it surely couldn't handle the ground beneath it just giving way. They had made sure to that there'd be a sufficiently long part of the wall affected by the cave-in of the tunnels that it just couldn't hold all by itself. But what had these damn sappers been doing for the past hours now? Well, the Anselmians had looted the Calarian villages around the forts and had taken everything of any worth. But they had looked out for one thing in particular. Flour.
Jepp, they spent hours emptying sacks of flour and spreading it through the air down there below the walls.
And you know what happens when you set just a bit on flour on fire? Now think of the quantities of which we speak here.
The sappers had set up a fuse, from like halfway back to the siege camp to under the Calarian walls. This way they could trigger the fortress' doom without having to be close to it or endangering themselves while also ensuring that their fuse would burn up quick enough to still make sure that all the flour they had thrown into the air was still floating around. They lit the fuse exactly two minutes before midnight.
Posted:
Thu Jan 10, 2019 7:51 am
by Elysian Kentarchy
Illania de Velira
The border between the Kingdom of Duivene and the Fallen Achisia
The Night of the Bloody Moons
We have been marching since the afternoon, us with the hundred handpicked men to serve to protect our retreat if, Emperor forbid, that is needed, in the distance but now we are finally here. The border between our sacred homeland and the cursed Kingdom of Duivene. Now is the night of revenge, now is the time the redemption of Achisia begins, in the name of our Emperor who we eternally serve.-
Excerpt from the Diary of Illania de VeliraI look up from my writing in the cart and observe the battle along with my family and truly it is a battle that would be worth a tale, a brave princess and her knights fighting so many undead, an evil sister, and even a dragon is involved, perhaps it will be remembered as a tale if we leave anything of Duivene alive after the final victory, a story whimpered in around the light of fires of the scarce few survivors. It is almost a pity they must all die but that is what they deserve for standing in the path of their betters. My grandfather tilts his head at an old Imperial Mage who accompanied us. “Is it ready?”
“The spell is ready General, the undead will recognize your troops as comrades and not harm them.”
“Excellent. And the second spell?”
“The spell should hide you and allow you to approach the Hero to come to her aid while being able to see each other. I am unsure how long it will last but it should be enough.” He nods and I smile, it is ironic that the one the Mage called hero is who our enemies call traitor but it is truth for us. “Also General I am even more unsure how long it will last for you since you are using your white magic at all times right now. I suggest you limit it until you get into battle to make sure the spell lasts long enough.”
“Duly noted. Anything else?”
“To lift the spell use the word ‘solace’ but beyond that no.”
“Very well, let us begin.” The mage nods and chants his spell, but before that grandfather discards his normal longsword in favor of the lighter longsword that he keeps in his cane. Even though I can still see each other I can feel the magic around me and grandfather tilts his head as the three of us walk in single file towards the battlefield. I shake my head as I observe the knights fighting desperately against their foes, a pity for had Achisia dominated them as is our right they would have been good soldiers in the Emperor’s armies. Finally we get close and grandfather opens his mouth to speak but then sees two knights rushing to aid the Princess.
“Solomon you go and deal with the Princess. Me and Illania will handle those two.” He nods and moves in the direction of those two sisters, one the great enemy and another the hero who stood alongside our emperor, while me and my grandfather turn to face them, still hidden. “Illania, cut them off.” He orders and I bring my hands together for just the spell I had in mind I then seperate my hands conjure a wall of fire to cut off the two knights from their princess and I move my hand in a circle and the wall spreads out and encircles the two knights and I do so again and another circle begins and surrounds the cursed Princess and my brother but cutting our princess off from the battle. All this magic causes the spell keeping me hidden to fade though.
“Solace.” My and grandfather says to reappear. We draw our swords and I protect us from the fire as we walk though it to the otherside to meet the two knights who still haven’t recovered from the shock.
“Unfortunately we can’t let you actually help your Princess.” I casually inform them as if I was talking about the weather.
Grandfather takes his blade and points it at the older knight. “I am Lord Augustine de Velira, Fourth Lord of the House de Velira. Son of Achisia and General of the Armies of His Majesty the Emperor of Achisia, member of the Council of Generals and the General who led the first invasion of the enemies of our Empire, and your foe on this day.” He issues his challenge as expected and changes his posture to hold his sword in both his hands, though I wonder if his opponent will respond with his name and titles in kind. I know him saying that is at least a point of pride for the old man anyway.
“How old fashioned of you grandfather but I suppose you are right with that, it is only proper we introduce ourselves to our foes on this night.” I stab my staff into the ground and point my sword at the younger knight. “I am Illania de Velira, Battlemage in service of the Emperor and daughter of Achisia. And to get to your Princess you are going to have to go through us.” I smile and I know the smile has to be called what a normal man says evil. “Do try to fight us well, this is the first real fight we have had in years after all and we have been waiting for it so much...” With that I move my blade to my lips and kiss it, the edge of it then develops a small flame under my enchantment. I then move to strike the young man with my sword, for I will not wait as my grandfather does, and shout. “We are the Eternal Flame!”
Solomon de Velira
The border between the Kingdom of Duivene and the Fallen Achisia
The Night of the Bloody Moons
The flames of my sister startles the Princess as she looks around trying to figure out what is going on, even the other one who I am here to help is having her eyes dart around a little to try to figure it out.
“Solace” I whisper as quietly as I can from behind her. “Siblings really shouldn’t fight you know.” I comment and strike with my sword at my distracted opponent and I am unsurprised when my target manages to parry my strike and put in some distance despite being surprised, in fact I had timed the strike so that she would have time to react, it would be a dishonor to her and to the times we fought if I didn’t do so. “But I suppose it is better than the both of you trying to kill me again.” I remark as I maneuver myself in front of the Princess who supported our Emperor to protect her, even if the gesture is pointless since my sister's fire separated them and smile at Alexia. “Good evening your majesty, it is a pleasure to see you again, dare I say you and your sister are as charming as ever.” I remark with a pleasant tone in my voice as if I am meeting an acquaintance that I have not seen in a long time, which is true.
Posted:
Sat Jan 12, 2019 12:58 pm
by Charlia
He said he wasn't lying, but she knew that was a lie, too.
He'd lie to her if he thought it would make her feel better, she was certain of that--he was doing it right then, telling her that it wasn't her fault, that she wasn't a whore, that she didn't deserve it, that she was good and innocent--and that was a lie, all of it was a lie, she knew it all too well. She couldn't ever fall for something so transparent, not when she knew the truth perfectly well, knew who and what she was.
He kept talking about all the things he couldn't change, and she knew that, too. She knew there was nothing he or anyone else could do. Her fate had been sealed long ago, though she hadn't known it. And now it was far, far too late.
She buried her face in his chest and kept crying, unable to stop the tears. She was scared, beyond scared--terrified beyond all reason. There was a deep horror rooted inside her now, fear of the uncertain and frightening future that stretched out ahead of her, years and years of more suffering and constant reminders of the depravities she'd endured.
But he wasn't finished, he wasn't--he said he could protect her, could make sure that people weren't disgusted by her or the child nestled inside her, but she didn't understand, she didn't know how--
"If you would marry me," he said softly, and she could almost feel her heart stop.
It was true, what he said. If she were to marry now, before the child made itself evident, before anyone knew that she was pregnant, then she could pretend that it had a father, a real one that no one could deny--that she wasn't just a whore--that she wasn't all the horrible things she knew she was. Her baby could grow up thinking that she was the person she'd always been told she was supposed to be, it wouldn't learn to hate her, nobody would--nobody would ever realize what she was. If she could do something like that, then things would be all right, but--
"I can't," she choked, the deep, shuddering sobs returning, her fragile frame convulsing in his grip as she tried to bite back the cries. "I can't. You can't--you know that--you can't marry someone like me, you're already engaged, you have to marry that other girl, and even if you didn't, I--I couldn't--it wouldn't be fair, it wouldn't be fair at all to ask you to tie yourself to me, you don't want someone like me, you can't, not a whore like me. I can't ask you to do that--I can't ask you to be with someone who's already been with so many people--I can't ask you to care for someone else's child. I can't ask you to care for me--for the rest of your life--it wouldn't be right, I can't ask you to do any of those things..." She knew she must have seemed so pathetic, crumpled in his arms, crying pitifully, her voice unsteady and her words weak. No wonder he offered--someone like him couldn't see someone as pathetic and weak as her and not want to help. He felt sorry for her. But if she let him do that, then he'd just grow to resent her.
"Thank you," she whispered, trying and failing to stop the tears of pain, fear, and self-loathing. "But I can't... I can't let you do that... not for me..."
Posted:
Tue Jan 15, 2019 1:49 pm
by Tracian Empire
The border between the Kingdom of Duivene and the Fallen Achisia
Mortals fought and won their own battles. Long gone were the ages of myth were heroic men and gods fought together on the battlefield, and the times when all warriors could easily feel the Gods watching over them were now all just stories and legends, with the protection and miracles of the Gods were now reserved to only few brave heroes. But even in this forsaken age, where the might of the Gods often seemed gone, some priests taught that battles were actually fights between Cassia and Praelio, over who could grasp the scales of fate first. And sometimes, the struggle between two mortal armies could be decided in the span of a few moments.. the moments of fate, when anything was possible... like how for a few heartbeats, two sisters, a dead princess who should have been alive and a living princess who should have been dead, held the outcome of an entire battle in their locked weapons. But this was no mere fray between mortals.. it was a clash between light and darkness, between life and death, being white magic and corruption. Who even cared about the Gods anymore, if humans could bring so much pain and suffering and destruction upon the mortal realm? It was just pure, delightful chaos. For a moment, it looked as if victory would belong to those few, courageous warriors of the light.. but then, their weakened princess was pushed back, and the scales tipped in favor of the darkness, until two knights bravely risked their own lives to attack and wound a being that was much more powerful than then, giving the amethyst eyed girl a chance to start chanting her spell...but the scales wouldn't stand still. As a new force joined the battle on the side of the cursed hordes, three new warriors appeared in the middle of the battle, and walls of fire were conjured, breaking the battle. Each of them, the hero, the old warrior, and the young knight were each trapped inside a ring of flames, having to face three servants of the Eternal Serpent - the old general, the witch of the flames, and the righteous swordsman. The entire battle stopped dead as the flames appeared, as the leaders of the two armies disappeared.. but as long as the sky above them was stained in blood, the ground beneath them was going to be dyed in crimson.
The one place on the battlefield were the game of death and blades never stopped was around the dragon, where a group of stupidly fearless humans who continued to harass it as it was standing back up, buying just enough time for Yakr to jump off it and to find.. a weapon, or well, a rock. But a pretty large one, that the hybrid warrior turned into an improvised weapon, one that it quickly threw straight towards the beast's chest, with a force that no normal human could ever hope to match. The rock pierced through the dragon's scales, and the beast screamed so horrifyingly that many knights simply fell on their knees, dropping their weapons and desperately trying to cover their ears - but there was no hesitation in Yakr. The half-Karaki warrior jumped and hit the rock with all of his strength, forcing the rock right into the beast's heart, stopping its final, dying scream before it ever escaped. The one sound that could be heard above the rattle of the battle was just the dragon falling and shaking the ground, crushing a few unlucky undead in the process. Most of those who were fighting for their lives barely noticed it- but someone did, feeling the spell breaking, almost as if a part of her died too.
On the other side of the battlefield, beyond the rings of fire, the golden eyed princess choked back a scream of pain, as she nearly fell on her knees. A group of silent cultists, wearing black, hooded robes, were healing her, and she was gripping the handle of her black sword so tightly that a normal weapon would have been broken long ago. It hurt, and despite her best efforts, this body, being alive, it was just so weird, so different that she felt her powers slipping from her grasp.. and she had no intention to thank these Achisians. As soon as this was going to be done, she was going to kill her wretched sister, and nothing was going to stop her..
All while this "wretched" sister was trying to recover from the shock. She was just so focused on her chanting that she had failed to notice the appearance of the new enemies. Suddenly, a wall of fire had appeared between her and her long lost sister, breaking her concentration and her spell, and before she was even able to react properly, the wall turned into a circle of flames that surrounded her. Alexis looked around, trying to understand what was happening, before she suddenly heard someone whispering behind her - and she barely managed to parry the strike and to jump away in time, her reflexes, that had been honed during so many brutal battles, weakened by her current state. Piercing the ground with the other end of her lance and using it to keep herself standing, a very confused Alexis recognized the white haired man in front of her - yet another ghost from the past that she had never thought she would meet again. "S-Solomon.. de..Velira..", the blonde haired princess whispered, blood still trickling out of her mouth. Even with the diffuse crimson light that was covering everything, Alexis seemed to be even paler than him - almost as pale as a dead body. "Unfortunately.. this isn't just a.. squabble.. between.. siblings. I have to finish..what was started.. long ago..", the princess tried to say. " It's good.. to see you again.. I thought.. that you had.. died..but.. you haven't changed.. either.. always appearing.. at the worst.. possible.. moment.." And the purple eyed girl took a deep breath. "But don't you worry... we'll fight again.. like in the good times.. and like then.. you.. and your darkness.. will lose.."
Out of a sudden, the princess threw two purple colored stones on the ground between them, and they broke into little shards, throwing golden dust in the air, golden dust that quickly turned into two golden figures of light and magic - two knights, both armed with swords and shields. "I hope that you'll enjoy.. me trying to.. kill you again.. and after I'm done.. with.. you.. I will do what has to be done..and bring an end.. to.. to my traitorous...sister.." And tears started to roll down her cheeks, with the girl looked as if she was on on the verge of bursting into tears, but instead of that, she just started to cough blood. She looked directly into Solomon's eyes for a moment, purple meeting black, before the two magical servants rushed forward, trying to cut Solomon into little Achisian pieces, and Alexis' strained voice quickly murmured a chant - and two golden magical circles appeared in the sky above him - faltering for a moment before throwing two spheres of white fire directly at poor Solomon.
She looked as if she was on the verge of dying.. but Solomon was fighting one of the Seven Heroes, after all..