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.
Uhmm When.. I decide.. to write it? Sorry, I can't really talk to Nich about it *worried face* I really do need to discuss it with him before I continue writing; theres a few things I've got to change in what I've already wrote.
Ahahh you don't look like a wizard, more like an angsty teen :P Do you mind being a wizard-person for the purpose of this story? Its a bit late to ask now... but still...
Only teen for a few more months, not really angsty either > > And no, I do not mind, I was just wondering.
Jezz have your summer holidays started yet? Mine started today but hailmans' start on the 22nd. Just thinking about how much time there will be to write.
Well mine started ages ago.. I had study leave. But it was my little sister's last day of school today. I've got all the time in the world to write, I just procrastinate!
I thought I was a procrastinator till I met Winnie. He got a birthmark when he was 8 >.> (sorry love that quote). That is the problem with 6th form we did the exams in early June but then went back to school for this 7 weeks and starting next years work which is a chore since I will forget it all. Anway don't rush the writing just beacause people are whining as long as the end product is as good as it has been the wait will eb worth it
Okay, well my char sheet pretty much is me (Just in aquatic form), and considering how scarcely we have conversations, that's about all you have to run on should you give me a part in the story...
AG is getting very dull. If it weren't for this, the WoM, and a few of my friends' threads, I might quit... *Sigh* I'm very pleased you chose to put me in, though. Thank you for that.
The Sorceress' cynical laughter rang the air, pushing forth the wild maddening horde of soldiers, striking a deep fear into our men. The lapping tongues of her Hell Hounds, the maniacal baying of the unimaginable horrors brought from the Void, the swooping Death Angels sucking the soldiers bone dry of their blood; throwing the pale hollowed corpses at us.
I rode in front of the solid line of soldiers, eight ranks deep. As I slipped on my mask, I hastily drew Nacho, looked for one last time at the Western Lands...almost poignantly...
...and urged my steed into the oncoming wave, as in a sudden stroke of deluded bravery and battle-madness, my men spurred ahead, their lances rammed home into the vile ranks, opening a wide wedge.
Then I saw him. The ground seemed to quake and crumble with his steps, his dark cape swirling sinisterly around him. Beneath his horned tip helmet, I could see the pair of eyes, green and glowing. And what a stench! My horse was frothing at its mouth, its eyes rolling with the odor. Without a care, I rallied my guards, and pressed on towards the immense figure, nearly eight feet tall.
We barely made it. His cape seemed to have a life of his own, dragging men off their horses with black festering tentacle appendages, throwing them screaming to the voracious Death Angels.
I charged without a care, my sword caught him in the chest. Pulling the blade out, I circled him. Casually, he lifted the gigantic war-hammer, covered slimily in moss and lichen, and swung it with his vast strength. I felt all the wind go out of me, as it crashed into me, a pure mass of tremendous energy, flinging me a good ten meters. My horse didn't even cry out as its body fell, smashed open, spilling steaming entrails out onto its beautiful black hide.
My breastplate withstood the blow, but my bones crumpled like eggshells on a stone, as my ribs punctured my deflated lungs. My eyeballs rolled back to my skull, delirious with agony. A Troll Tamer rushed over to finish the pathetic limp form off, its lizard like tongue licking its teeth. As I defiantly opened my eyes for the blow, Languedoc rode by, and swiped its head off, just as I plunged my sword into its belly.
My faithful Lieutenant jumped of his horse, trying to lift me up.
Then it happened.
My mouth opened, but the final warning would not issue from rasping throat. The hulking figure took his head off with a blow of his dreaded hammer, as Languedoc's decapitated body hunched back lifelessly, toppling onto a pile of bodies. I started screaming, losing control of myself.
NO! Not you too! Languedoc! Languedoc!!!! LANGUEDOC!!!!
---------------------- The sweat dripped onto the sheets as I snapped back into consciousness, shouting his name, sitting up abruptly in the bed.
'Bad dream?' the now growing familiar voice floated into my ears. My eyes drifted into focus, as I saw Jess sitting by the roaring fire, toying with...oh Holy McNeely, my mask.
'Don't play with it!' I gasped, wincing as the sharp pain squeezed my ribcage.
'Well sorry Nicho, Cenere told me to keep it for you!' she sulked, evidently still upset over my threatening her. Her fingers traced over the cursive intricate LP on the mask's forehead, dangling the mask at an angle to admire the iridescent effect light had on it. When she put it on and waggled her tongue at me, my heart almost stopped. It was all I could do not to jump up and grab it back.
A quick knock on the door, and Cenere entered the spacious room; Jess quickly put down the mask. He carried a glass flask, containing a liquid that seemed to change from colour to colour in the blink of an eye, spurting around the rim as though it was escaping. A rainbow swirl. And he was walking to me.
I sprang from the bed, my legs almost giving way straightaway. 'Cenere! What in the name of McNeely are you doing?!'
'Quiet young one!' He snapped.
'Jess, help me hold down this one!'
As Jess forced open my mouth, he poured down the liquid down my gaping mouth, before I could speak.
It burnt my throat, making me gag as the liquid numbed my insides, my face turned scarlet as the water ran out of my eye. I had the sensation of being hit in the head by a rubber club, the horrible stuff tasted like boiling acid. I jerked my head rapidly, gagging like a drowning person.
A shrill giggle brought me back to the world. Jess was laughing at my hilariously twisted features, those blue eyes twinkling in the fire's glow. Cenere kept pouring the stuff into me, as I trashed about to try and escape the liquid. Finally the last drop slid down my throat, as Jess let go of my aching jaws.
'Healing potion.' Cenere said, tapping the bottle lightly. 'Now sleep!' he commanded, with a flick of his fingers he cast a Sleeping Charm over me. 'Keep an eye on this sneaky one! Make sure he doesn't run!' Cenere chuckled to Jess as he left the room with a swish of his now jade-green cloak.
'Wait, you guys can't do this to me! Not the Prin-' I mumbled drowsily, lapsing back into my nightmare world...Back to nothingness again it seems...And this time I feared it.
Cenere's house was alien to me. If felt foreboding and uninviting, as if the panelled walls and broken windows were making an effort to unnerve me. As if the house shrank back each time I dared nestle in the attic beams and my feet dared scrape the concrete floor. Maybe I was just jumpy. Maybe I wouldn't feel so uncomfortable if I wasn't part of the freak show that had been performing these last few days. Maybe I'd feel less afraid if I wasn't woken every night to the sound of crashing thunder and Nichodemus screaming. Maybe I didn't like the way the old wizard looked despairingly to the stars each night; scanning the sky with wise eyes and muttering "Soon... soon..." Or maybe it was the fact I had just one image burning in my mind. The look in Nichodemus' eyes when he'd been set to kill me. Piercing black pupils, dilated, dehumanized, savage. I'd seen that look once before. One time centuries ago. That night I'd been pinned down, trapped beneath the glinting eyes and snarling jaws of a wolf.
On the fifth night of our stay the weather had improved considerably, however the general mood couldn't be darker. Having been stripped of his chainmail, Nichodemus lay groaning on a four-poster bed in the master bedroom. Since I'd met him, all broken and bruised, he'd been mentally fine. Cenere had made him take odd potions he'd brewed up each and every night, causing his subconscious to take a turn for the worse. When I spoke to him he told me his broken limbs are getting better. He tells me he'll be fine in a few days, that hes ready to leave soon. His eyes speak differently. They look weary and drained, the purple stains beneath them matching the actual bruises on his forearms. His hands still bear the scars from the burns I'd given him and his face is just as sallow as the day I thought he'd died.
I desperately wanted to talk to him; I had so many questions to ask. Cenere told me I must leave him alone for now. I can talk to him, I just have to be quiet and considerate. So that's what I was. I'd been exploring Cenere's house, checking the cupboards and drawers in the rooms I was allowed in. In the bottom of one cupboard I found an old box containing a stack of papers, fragile and faded. They were drawings and symbols, recipes and descriptions. I didn't understand any of it, the language must be before my time, so I put the box back. In some sort of clothes room I found a few old cloaks in one drawer, a moth-eaten tunic in another. The fifth drawer I came to held a shattered mirror. I picked up a shard and peered into it. A pair of eyes glared back. Tragic blue eyes I couldn't even recognise myself behind. This short journey must have wearied me more than I thought. My emotions always show themselves in my eyes. I'm just unnecessarily concerned for Nicho, is all. In another room - it looks like it could be just a spare room - I couldn't believe my luck. I found a small package of silk white handkerchiefs, a small package of safety pins and a handful of thick marker pens. I took one of the handkerchiefs, chose a red pen from the selection of red, black and green, and drew a "+" across the length of the silk. If I didn't have the colours for the Union Jack, I could atleast make do with a St George's flag! I tied it round my ankle and pinned it in place with the safety pin. Ah.. the safety pin looked stupid so I took it off and just left the flag in a knot. I ran out to the bedroom.
"Nich, look what I found!"
Cenere threw a scowl in my direction and I slowed my pace and lowered my voice, nodding apologetically.
"Loooook." I stood at the bottom of the bed and stuck my foot out proudly. "I made a flag."
Nich looked up, his face expressionless. He nodded, mumbled, "Yes.. great..." and fell asleep.
I sighed. I'll work on getting praise another day. Cenere began looking out the window again as the skies darkened and the clouds drew together like the curtains hanging in this room. He strode out the room and I ran to the window, looking for anything odd. Theres... nothing there. Nothing but the stars and the clouds and the occasional glimpse of a shooting star. Oh and the moon, the moon was shining as beautiful and bright as ever, the tiniest corner of it covered by darkness.
