For those of you with a photogenic memory, you'll (hopefully) remember...that a long long time ago, a NewComer decided to start his first store thread. Well, it was sort of a failure, but now that NewComer is restarting the thread. Sit back and enjoy the show.
----------------- KOA Chronicles- The Beginning
All was well in the Kingdom of Armor. For three thousand years, the country existed in a blissful golden age. The Kings had been benevolent, ruling justly. The latest of this line was King McNeely VII. He was assisted by a wise, noble council, the Council of Armor. The people were contented, all 300,000 of them. Crime level was virtually nil, except for the odd spammer. All was right, till three months ago.
The founder of the McNeely Dynasty whose name has now been lost to the ages had fought an evil being, the Naughty Sorceress Carlie at the Beginning of Time to gain control of the Kingdom and free the people whom Carlie had enslaved. He succeeded after an epic battle, banishing her to the Far North, imprisoning her in Castle Casanova. For three millennium, she bided her time, gathered her forces and retrained herself in the dark arts...
Now terror stalks the land. Carlie struck back finally, leading vast hordes from the Void across the land. The King was taken by surprise and imprisoned in a plexiglass prism, unable to break free. The Council was corrupted, a shadow of its former glorious self. One by one the great lords of the Council felt their will submitting to Carlie.
The populace was terrified; creatures of the night appeared and took them to the Sorceressâ lair, evil experiments conducted on them where their brains were altered, so they spoke in perfect grammar, spoke and talked less etc. Their freedom of speech was lost; there was acute food shortage, general mayhem... The most hated and drastic change was that SPAM meat was banned. It was a utopia, a world where spam was eradicated, but at what cost?
But not all was lost. One of the Councilmen had escaped and raised an army. The great Spamlord Jaza rose. The angry peasants flocked to his side, gathering whatever weapons they could find. Mercenary groups from around the Kingdom rushed over and joined the Grande Armee.
And so have I, Nichodemus, a knight from a poor noble family that has long been cast into destitute. I saw it as a chance to restore our fallen status, a chance to regain the favor of the court, a chance to attain unimaginable power. I brought my men of course. Hardened guards from my castle, angry for blood. Rebellion quickly ensued, chaos reigned.
The Sorceress responded with haste. The Five Corrupted Ones gathered their armies, the core of which comprised the Loyalists, men who had been tricked, coaxed to join the Sorceress. Void monsters were summoned from magical portals. War was inevitable. A chance for me to see action for once, young hot-blooded buck as I was. War was a sport, a spectacle for me.
It came. Lord Jaza trounced the Sorceress' forces at the Battle of Tortuga. He captured more than half the Kingdom. But it was not to last. The Sorceress by some unspeakable black magic conjured up the Grey Plague, and slowly Jaza started losing ground, losing fortress after fortress. The plague came like a storm, it destroyed whatever creative thought we had, turned the afflicted to mindless vegetables, incapable of anything. Just two weeks after the first battle, Jaza had lost half of his men to the epidemic.
At the last skirmish fought, the Battle of Aether, Jazaâs army was utterly massacred, weakened by disease and with little will to fight. The Sorceress' Void wizards drove Jaza's army of the battleground. Her Spam Clubbers and Troll Tamers slew all of Jazaâs men, decisively ending the battle. My guards, loyal as they were had all perished. A vicious blow from a hammer of one of the Lords almost cracked my ribs, flung me clear of my horse. Jaza was captured, and thrown into a dirty pest infected jail cell, constantly tortured to give up his spamming ways.
When the victorious army left, the battlefield was strewn with mutilated bodies, survivors groaning and lying on the ground, the ravens of war circling above. As a lone wolf gave a mournful howl, a dark figure rose weakly from the ground.
I have survived, survived the horrific screams, the brutal crushing, the maniacal laughter of that Sorceress as she speared my friends. Hungry for revenge, bitter with defeat, furious with Fate. For Jaza, for the dead, For the Kingdom...It has begun...I no longer care about any reward. I will not rest till I have killed the last of them...
(To Be Continued)
------------------ Disclaimer: Any reference to people and their names', real or fictitious is very very regrettable and unfortunate. All work was written by nichodemus though certain elements have been inspired by Armor Games, the fighting fantasy series and KOL (Kingdom of Loathing). Thank you. More will follow.
PS: Anyway, I have their permission, so all is well.
Just as an update, I have some of the other parts drafted out and planned. I won't post every single day, since it is school, and I have lots of real life issues to take care of. But I won't let this series die.
Last Update for today....the next TWO parts are done, but I want to complete a few more before dishing them out. My exams are coming, and I can't write during those times. So I'm hoarding them now....and releasing them one by one.
wow. These are really great, as ussual Nicho. Its nice to see you put your great writing skill into something longer. Wonder if I'll be in it (nah jk, but i just had to). Keep it up m8, and smart of you to hoard stories.
I chose a spot on the topmost branch of an old oak tree. The tree was not in good shape. The branches were snapped, hanging limp and frail. The roots had been torn from the ground and were laying, twisted and tangled, in the glaring sun. Swords, spears and arrows had etched long jagged scars into the thick trunk, leaving little rivers of dried blood, flaking in the heat. Still, this tree was the safest I could find for miles. I've been travelling for days. I'm not sure what I'm searching for, but I know I didn't leave home to see this. I stayed in hiding during the Battler of Aether. I'm not one to fight. I didn't even bother saving the wounded. I felt too unwell to stop in any one field for long. I'm sorry to hear, most men died in that battle. I have flown past the deceased and smelt the acrid burning bodies and watched the crows pick at the remains. I must admit, I'm extremely hungry but I left the men where they lay. It's not right to go picking at noble soldiers, especially not those who are decaying faster than usual due to the intense heat. Of course the heat doesn't bother me. I'd prefer it, although it does make the fields smell ten times worse.
I haven't seen a living soul for days. I think I need someone to talk to, travelling doesn't get lonely but its times like this when I really miss my family back in England. You made a choice honey, if Armorland is the place you need to be, you can leave, but please come back to visit us every once in a while!; my mum said that before I left, 205 years ago. I haven't visited her since. Eurgh, I need to leave this place! There's nothing here worth staying for. I'll move on, though theres no chance of finding anyone alive. If they'd survived the battle they'd be wounded, so I doubt they'd survive the heat.
A few hours later... another half a dozen fields... more death... more destruction... It's late afternoon and the day is getting on. The clouds are starting to close over the sun. I should find somewhere to sleep, I don't want it to rain. I've been thinking about finding a survivor... and I remembered something my dad told me. He mentioned a man. Or... a boy. A Prince. Wears an odd mask. I mean... I don't expect him to survive, but I'd recognise him if I saw him. What was his name? Oh... uhhmm. Nik.. er. I'll think about it... Right now I want a nest undercover before it starts chucking it down.
Actually. The day is still young.. I'm making it my mission to find the lad. It gives me something to do, I chuckled out loud. Oh... low and behold, the third field I come to I spot a figure. He's stumbling over corpses, dragging a long steel blade behind him. Almost crawling, bend over double. Nope. He's not going to make it, I sigh. I sit atop a small pine tree and watch. He gets closer, still stumbling and muttering to himself. "Head North Nichodemus!" I shout. I start giggling. That's his name! What on earth compelled me to shout that? Ahh, I doubt he heard. Whats wrong with me? I've found another living breathing, well, just.., person~ I tell myself in a singsong voice. I can hear him mumbling about bandaids... He trips a little, steadies himself on my tree. Sighs. I think he fell asleep a while, he's not moving from my tree. Ohhhh this man is in pain~ He suddenly picks up his sword and pulls away from the tree, only to knock off the mask attached to his face. Mask...~? I feel like I shouldn't be here. My feathers ruffle unconciously and I peer through the leaves at the man kneeling on the ground.
He said something about him being a Prince. Even as he's dying, he sounded all high and mighty, telling me to speak else i'll get cut up with his sword. Not likely in his state... So he collapses. Not before throwing a rather sharp dagger at me! He missed of course, and fell to the floor. Oh poor thing! I've seen many a creature fall before me in my time, but none quite so nobly as he. His face looked sunken and pale, as if it had never been in the full glare of the sun. Now when a man sleeps his face his peaceful. However, this knight's features were twisted and set in pain, no longer under the protection of that odd mask. His expression was understandable, given the state he was in. He lay, legs crushed beneath him, arms sprawled out at odd angles, back arched. His body twitched slightly but was otherwise motionless. I've a good mind to leave him, he looks too far gone. But something in the back of my mind is keeping me rooted to the spot.
What were his last words before he collapsed? Something.. a Prince... Then I remembered his mask had fallen off earlier. I scurried closer and searched the ground around him. I was too afraid to touch him, seeing as he was still somewhat alive and he'd recently thrown a dagger at me. I wasted more time checking the tree i'd been vacating before admitting defeat and sitting on the floor. My eyes scanned his poor broken body one last time before I prepared to take off, however in that glance I noticed it. Oh god, why there? I sighed and shuffled closer, hoping he didn't wake up. I edged as close as I could get and slid my foot under his back. Talons grasping the mask, I hopped back, wincing at the sickening crunch his ribs made as they undoubtedly broke. Still, I had the mask! I scanned if for any marks. I found a "PL" etched on the forehead. "Prince"... Prince of L? Something like that. I'd have to ask him when he wakes up. Thats a good point actually.
How could I do this, I don't want to get any closer! I guess I could.. I cried. I cried and my steaming tears dripped into the mask and hissed on the cold iron. The salt water formed a pool in the dips of the mask and gave it back. Put it back over his face. I'm sure he wears it for a reason, I'll have to ask. Except, as the iron continued hissing I stepped back. It shouldn't do that... I step back further, when suddenly his arm reaches out and grips me by the neck. It wasn't the mask hissing, it was him!
You've done it Jess! Honoured that you agreed to write it. Great job
Just a question....where did you learn to write so superbly? I really felt like I was a phoenix. Albeit a feminine one, which just testifies to your ability.
Panicking I tried wrestling in his grip. My struggles only made it worse as I writhed and twisted and began to cry. My tears evaporated, however as I became engulfed in flames. They licked at his hands and he winced and tossed me to the side. Ahh. Owch! Doesn't feel good to be strangled!
"What was that for?!" I squeaked. I hadn't got my breath back yet.
"How dare you touch my personal stuff. How dare you touch my mask!"
I sat, dumbfounded. That's the last time I'm helping a guy with a huge sword and a creepy mask. I ran off, looking for that dagger, hoping I could conceal it and keep it for myself.
"Where do you think your going?" He croaked, struggling to get up.
"Uhm. Just looking for your stuff." I smiled.
Thunder cracked. It's going to rain soon! I need to find a place to hide. I watched him fussing with his mask. He wasn't going anywhere in a hurry. I can't leave him, I've got someone to travel with now. A cold, angry, kinda scary someone, but a someone nonetheless. I slowly walked over and tugged on his arm. "Ermm... Nich-...odemus? It's kinda... raining. Can we go now?"
"Go? Go where? Theres nothing I can do to stop the rain. Go fly off somewhere..."
"But..." I looked around frantically. I don't want to travel alone! "Could I... stay with you?"
He sighed and I'm guessing he rolled his eyes too. "If you really have to. Besides, you know where we're going."
"I do?" I stared at him quizzically, but he looked away.
"Yes"
And that was that. I didn't ask how I knew. He got up and began limping off, mumbling something about not hesitating with the sword if I drag behind.
