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.
Good work so far by both of you, it was some excellent writing. It might be even better if I actually knew the people in it though. Great writing, Great concept, Great detail.
I felt uneasy traveling with her. Ignoring her constant friendly chatter, I frostily replied with monosyllables, keeping my senses focused on the road, ever on my guard for the unexpected. True, she had healed me, but then again I wanted nothing else to do with her for now.
In all my fifteen Lupravian years, I never had a friend, always was a loner. Stayed at the edges of society, watching, always watching. The pang of loneliness came, but after years shut in my parents' control it almost wore off, lingering around like a fog around me at times. I banished the mental and physical pain that tore my sides with each step, keeping up my tough nonchalant expression to her.
Detached from people, almost hiding, always smiling wryly behind the mask; observing, always observing. Emotions do nothing good, and I have always kept that way. Locked them up inside me, continuously repressing them, transforming myself into what other's always perceive of as a cold, cynical hard young man.
I preferred the company of the beasts, slipping always into the forested woodlands, out walking about in the endless Lupravian plains by myself and swimming in the cool creeks by the castle. And I wasn't going to change my habit easily.
The rain showered with a vengeance, as if it wanted to drown us. I saw the petite orange figure next to me seem to wither slowly, shrinking away from the rain.
'We're heading North right?' she sweetly questioned, using her arms to shield her head.
'Isn't that what you told me yourself?' I raised my eyebrows.
She looked sheepish, diverting her eyes to the ground. 'Well, that's always what my Mum told me. Head North. She heard it from the Elders.'
I murmured, dissatisfactory. 'So we're heading north...based on a hunch?'
'Ah well...I wouldn't say on a hunch...more like well I don't know..'â Her voice trailing off softly...yet she still smiled.
'Hmmp...well I do know where to go. An old acquaintance's house, just out of this forest. I need to ask for a favor.'
Perhaps I saw her shiver slightly, the tone of my voice silkily soft and ominous. I could almost sense her apprehension. Who was this mysterious acquaintance? And that was the end of our brief conversation. All was quiet.
-------------------------------
The clouds had broken apart as yet another shower of rain poured out on us, blurring the path. Jess winced as the droplets hit her, water her bane. I stared almost with disdain, almost with pity.
Mhmmm, pity. The word sounded alien to me. What has gotten into me recently...
When the rain poured all the heavier, she tried to stop under a tree, shivering frightened and cold, her round electric blue eyes imploring me to rest for awhile. Great, we'll never get there before nightfall.
Surprising even myself, I slipped off the golden brooch that held my cape, and threw it to her; we needed to reach our destination soon.
'Thank you Nicho!' she chirped happily, wrapping the billowing cloth around her. The grin faded, as she saw me walking resolutely forward, plodding my way through the annoying weather, undaunted by the icy cold water sliding down my neck, freezing my armor. I almost regretted my act of kindness, shaking my head vigorously. Soon heard the pitter patter of light rushing feet, and I knew she was trying to catch up; I could hear my long cloak flapping in the wind. With luck, w'âll get there alright.
