The History
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We were playing in the fields even when I'd heard the distant echos of hooves. I told my father, who must have heard warnings from other farmers because he had my mother take me inside. I never got the chance to ask him what was wrong.... but when the horses were heard nearer my mother stuck me in our closet and covered me with dirty old blankets. I might have protested, but something in her voice told me I shoudn't, so I stayed. I heard my fathers voice just outside the door. He was asking some one to leave them just enough... but that was all he got out before I heard boots on our wooden porch..... I'd never heard my father scream like that before. I remember I was shaking even underneath the blankets when I heard the door slam open. I remember my mothers cry... it reminded me of the time a mother and her wolf cub had fallen into one of a trappers pits. She didn't die instantly, and when I looked in I couldn't tell if she was crying in pain or because of the lifeless stare from her cubs eyes. Even after all of that time.... it still comes to me some nights in dreams. I had no idea what was happening at the time.... but I can guess it now. There were a lot of them, and her screams were loud as they started to rape her. It seemed they would never stop... but they must have at some point. I don't remember... I blacked out. I was still shivering beneath the blankets when I woke up... I listened for a long time before I opened the closet door. The White Raiders, which I had later come to know had been responsible, were gone. You'd think a memory like that would have burned itself into my mind.... but I honestly can't recall what my mother looked like laying there. I remember the butcher knife laying beside her though. I like to think that the blood on it was one of theirs. I picked it up and began to walk toward the door.... but as I did, it opened, and I saw a man in black robes standing there over the dead body of my father. Then I saw nothing but red, but I must have attacked him. The next thing I remember was a throbbing pain in my wrist, and then his hands holding me still as he looked over my mother. I'm not ashamed now to say I cried then.... but I was at the moment when he stared at me... hell, call it what it was. He glared at me... and told me that "crying was not the trait of a man". Eventually I calmed myself, and he led me out of the house, and past my father. He was already speaking of vengeance when I was still too bewildered to even feel hatred for those that did this. But as he spoke further... the feeling built. I'm not sure if it was his words, or what I would later learn of him, his powerful magic.... but the feeling to make them hurt consumed me. I was ready to march off into the mountains after them, to what would surely have been my own death. In that he stopped me... I suppose he saved my life. Though in the near future after we left.... there were times I wished he hadn't. ~a quiet, regretful, grunt as he interupts the train of thoughts he is reliving and breaks his monologue~ I never did see my dog again. I thought then that maybe they'd taken it with them because he was sucha good dog. In my adult years I realised he was probably their nights stew. He told me that he was a powerful mage and that he would show me how to take my vengeance on the raiders. I was to train under him. Be his pupil and his servant. I think I amused him more than anything else. A long term project. He enjoyed bending my will and morals. As he taught, he forced me to show him what I'd learned. ~sighing and shaking his head... his body takes on a restless posture as he continues the story~ I've ruined many lives. Taken more than my fair share. I am a monster.... or at least I thought I was. He very nearly owned me through my guilt.. until I rebelled. She was just a young girl when we came upon her, probably four or so. I honestly prayed every day after for a long time, though I don't believe in a higher power, that she lived a full and fruitful life. She was out in the woods collecting sticks. I had hoped we would just pass her by.... but he stopped me. What he told me to do would have scarred her for life... if she lived through it. She wouldn't be just another faceless victim struck down from afar... she looked so scared... and she should have been. I started to act without thinking... I began to chant and run the runes through my mind.. but I couldn't do it. Not doing it would have been worse for her I think. My mentor would have been far more harsh as a lesson to me. I'd seen it before.... but I just couldn't with this girl. I knew it might be my end... but I hoped he would be so enraged that if I held her..... it would be quick for both of us. I slammed my shoulder into his body and grabbed the girl off of her feet. We dove down a hill, and I seem to remember a white flash before I lost consciousness. When I awoke, it felt like my long lost dog was licking my face again... I brushed a hand irritatedly up to bat it away, but there was nothing there. Then I remembered and opened my eyes. The girl was gone... and panicked as I was for a moment, I was alone. Every muscle in my body ached as though I hadn't moved them for a month, but I sitll ran. I ran for a long time in fear of him finding me. I was afraid to use the magic he'd taught... but I learned other ways. Perhaps not so powerful... but I was quick to assume anything that would hide my identity from him. I'll spare you the details of the years, but suffice it to say that each was as the one previous. Running to nameless towns, avoiding faceless people, and all the while concentrating on learning this bland magic. At first, I played with illusions. It seemed most practical for avoiding people. Though as time went by, I read books written by others who used a similar style. I came to understand the hows and the whys. It made sense, and with my previous knowledge... I was able to reach heights not many attain. I am nearing my 300th year. That was one of the more remarkable combinations of the magic. I don't look a day over twenty five... ~he flashes himself a sheepish grin as his memories take him back...~ at least not most of the time. After long decades of wandering with the sole intent of avoiding what now seemed more a figment of my imagination, it gradually dawned on me that I was no longer the terrified boy. I was wandering for the love of it. I grew angry with myself, and in defiance of the man who might surely even be dead now, I cast aside my black robes for a new mantle. A covering that would not only make me more memorable.... but a color that would make me stand out in any crowd. ~gesturing down to the briliantly orange flowing robes adorning his body~ I changed my eyes to match the color, and moved on in that style for years. |
Beware
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Eventually, I arrived hehe. Beware. As much as I've travelled... this place never ceases to amaze me. It seems as if every manner of creature possible has found its way to this... I suppose it should properly be called island. I've never seen so much potential power in one place. And, perhaps not so strangely, this is where I've chosen to hang my boots. This is as close to a home as I've had since I left the farm. The first person I met when I arrived was stunningly beautiful. At the time I thought of little save my lust for her. ~a wide grin spreads over his face as he relives the heat of the moment~ I recall that in a moment of jovial forewardness I invited her to sit in my lap, to which she obliged. There are few that could arrouse me as she could, and soon enough we were tangled within her sheets. Her name was maeve... Irrationally I suppose, as it was just a one night thing, I became excedingly jealous next I saw her. She was in anothers lap, wiggling and cooing. Still... in my own defense, I rarely behave this way. Something about her simply enraptured me. I walked up to her and the other man and asked her what she was doing. She acted as though she never knew me. In a fit of rage I began to stalk out... but there was something different about her aura. Something not quite the same as there had been the previous night. I began to go back to her, but the person she was with stole her away. Later I was to learn that another had used their magic to twist her mind. It was quite an ordeal to work through, but eventually she was released. ~smiling widely~ Our relationship blossomed and was intense. I soon found out that she was a succubus, and after a period of mistrust, soon found that evenings with her were as wild and turbulent as a ship at sea. Rarely did a night go by where I did not feel her hands creeping beneath my robes. However as time wore on... I found that she was a magnet of sorts. I was not the only one she attracted, and she had trouble keeping herself true to me. I honestly believe she succeeded though. I don't think that she ever subcame to anothers temptations. Every relationship must have it's rocky points... and whereas her sexual demeanor might have proven an unscalable task.. I found the danger she seemed to bring on herself even harded to surmount. Time after time I would find her in peril, or wounded by one foul thing or another. It nearly broke my sanity with helplessness. Then one day she was taken from me. I couldn't eat or sleep nights for worry... to me, my life no longer mattered. Only her safety. And if I could give one for the other.... well let us lay it, at I could and I did. Upon her release, maeve found me nearly dead. She summoned a long term acquaintence to my side, and held what little life there was left in my body. It was several weeks before I could stand unaided again... but for a time life was peaceful. However, fate did not mean it to last, and... tragedy struck us apart in a roar of flame. A dragon, with a callous hunger, destroyed all that I held dear. I came for my maeve to find what was left of her dead and gone..... ~as the relation of his happy times brings a smile to his face... so does the revelation of her demise bring back a sip of watered down grief... as he continues, his mind appears more there than here..~ I teemed with futile rage. I cursed the gods and fates I didn't believe in. Grief filled my night and day. Everything and everyone reminded me of her.... and so I left. I wandered again. I don't know where I was... nor at the time, did I care. I ran into no villages. If I found berries or fruit, I ate. If not... it didn't matter. All the while... my mind weighed heavily upon her. I often cursed myself for the cowardice of not ending my own life. Surely I would join her in hell, for I am a terrible person. However... I could never bring myself to take that final step... though I stood on the brink many times. Then.... after long months of hard travel... as the birds must, I returned to the only place I felt truely at home. Beware. As I first stepped into the court yard, I thought it must surely be a vision... a hallucination or a cruel mage casting an illusion... but as I rushed to touch her I found my maeve alive and well. If she looked a bit different physically, I still recognised her for who she really was, and I was overjoyed! I suppose it must have been a kind of punishment from the fates for all that I've done... because never did I think it was possible to have your insides so twisted as they were when she told me she loved another. My world was turned.... ~pausing a moment, he swallowed the growing lump in his throat~ ..I'm sorry. My world was turned upside down.... I had given her my everything, and she thought I had betrayed her by leaving. She would not have me back... and perhaps I did lose my mind then. I took to wandering again. I walked through the woods for months on end... now, even when I did find berries and fruits I rarely ate them. Sleep at night consisted of letting my mind wander over the past as I stared at the dark ground. I can only guess that the magic in my veins sustained me through those times. Eventually, I came upon a backwoods village. My orange robes were tarnished brown with dirt, and I appeared little more than a waif. They took pity on me at first. A family took me in and fed me, though I still had no apetite. They insisted that I sleep on a bed, though I don't think I ever shut my eyes upon it. One day, the boy child in their hovel broke his toy. He was distraught and crying. I think I had come to care for these people... even though I was ready to die. I fixed the toy for him. A few dancing lights and the broken piece was mended. I remember the look of astonishment on his face as he ran screaming from the house. I didn't really care or think much of it at the time... but I heard angry voices outside, and finally my curiousity got the better of me. I went out into the sunlight... I hadn't seen it for a few days so I couldn't see very well at first. When I did... I saw the family I had been living with standing sheepishly to the side as a large group began to form fairly close. They accused me of practicing witchcraft and being in league with Satan. I think they wanted to burn me alive.... and I very likely would have stood there and let them if I hadn't felt the nip of a dog on the back of my leg. I startled, and they thought I was running. When I looked back I didn't see the animal... but for some reason I followed my instinct to run. I think it was mainly because I didn't want to let anyone choose the way I died for me. They should have easily caught me... I'm not even sure to this day why they didn't. I remember a mutt... or maybe a couple, growling.... and then some quickly shouted prayers to whatever god they believed in before they chased after. They had hunting hawks with them. Damn they were fierce creatures. They tore more than a few holes in my robes... and the blood from my scalp turned my face red. Some how, I managed to get a staff in hand. It was shaped perfectly for my needs, laying conveniently across my chosen path. I didn't have time to remark over the oddity, but quickly snatched it up into a wasted hand. I used it to down one of the birds as I ran, and stopped just long enough to quickly tear off its claw. Using what magic my depleted body could still produce I attached the talon to the end of the stick, and held the birds off long enough to lose the villagers. Even through the escape... I'm not sure I really cared if they caught me, and when I got away... I was perhaps further depressed that they hadn't. Again, I ate rarely. More out of habit when I did manage it than want for nourishment. Nights always passed by with eyes wide open. The hollow feeling inside never left me. I kept the staff, and stirred one morning to find the claw covered by a silvery metal. I couldn't bother to care about the strange events of this trek anymore.... and again, I returned to my home. I looked horrible, I'm sure. maeve was there again... there were problems with her new love.. and I offered a shoulder to lean on for a moment. Though the selfish spark of hope was never allowed life. It was smothered even before birth, and I left her because of the pain. Vorfinia I know now... as I suppose I knew then, that I was near death. Even a mage can live off of so little for only so long. A small girl saw what shape I was in and wanted to help. She very nearly dragged me to the kitchen and made me some kind of gruel. I seem to remember her name as rici. I ate lifelessly... and others entered the kitchen. Another man sat beside me. A captain apparently, named Darian Ebonbane. He was jovial... and, having come to accept my death, I suppose I was relaxed a bit as I found myself smiling. A thing that had not happened for what seemed like decades. I suppose that was why I was responsive when an elf came in. Her name was Vorfinia. She was absolutely beautiful... her body was mostly uncovered, and she left just a tantalising ammount to the imagination. She spoke a bit stiffly, but as she learned what had happened she softened. She gave me some advice that I'll do my best not to forget in all of my days, and it was that advice which saved my life. The realization that I wanted to live must have sparked something within me... because my grief and self pity sloughed away. Not completely... but I was near drunk with the life I felt in that room. The happy captain, the tender, lovely elfin woman, and the little girl... none of them knew me but they cared. It was a strange feeling for a person who is used to being so alone. I asked the elf what she would like in return for this new found want for life she had given me. I had expected her to request a trinket.. some sort of magical spell as those without the gift are wont to beg for. But all that she asked for was a kiss. At first I was taken back by her request... it had not been what I expected..... but I was determined to return the same favor she had granted me, and so I kissed her. Our lips met and I gave to her everything that I was in that embrace. Perhaps that is when I first began to fall for her. We met again and again... and when she was requested on a dangerous journey to help a friend... I went with her. maeve herself was there as well, but I avoided looking at her as much as possible, and was able to control my emotions. I will forever be grateful that I decided to go on that trip. While I nearly died myself many times, she surely would have been torn limb from limb had I not aided her. She took care of me afterward. Nursed me back to health... even went so far as to bathe me. ~were the crystal not orange, you might notice a slight blush rising to his cheeks along with the plainly visable grin~ It was during this time that I told her what she meant to me. I told her that I loved her. I soon found out that she was very much like maeve in that when trouble was not looking for her, she was inevitably looking for it. Many times I've arrived to her rescue within a hairs breath of calamity. Yet some how I generally managed to keep her safe.... until she went walking straight into the lions dens. Most of the so called dark of the realm think the better people serving their 'god' to be foolish and naieve. In this particular instance, it proved to be true. She walked into the lair of a demon simply to look around. I can't begin to describe the worry that ate me alive when she was captured and taken. I knew what demons were like... and I knew just how feminine she was. I was cursing how arrousing she could be without trying. When she was returned safely.... I thanked the fates, and promptly left her side. If she thought so little of me as to throw herself away on something so..... IRRELEVANT ~the word seems to explode as he plays the conversation through in he mind again~ then I did not want to be with her. ~a dry, humorless laugh huffs from his lips~ I suppose my experiences with maeve hardened me. She begged, and pleaded, and promised..... and I simply could not resist melting in her eyes. Though that was not the last of the problems we have had.... I...or rather the guardians I leave with her for protection, saw her kiss another.... or as she says it, be kissed. She allowed him to hold her close. Again, one of the problems I'd experienced with maeve. It seems as though I'm cursed in this manner.... or perhaps it's only the way all beautiful women are. I'm still feeling a little jaded toward her as I complete, for now, my memoirs. I think things will work out between us once more. I do love her. My life is devoted to her... but I'm not sure if I wish to risk being tossed to the side again. ~sighing as he looks away from the crystal a moment~ And as a side note... while I was away from her... I had a dream. I dreamt my teacher had finally found me, and when I woke up I was running. I couldn't stop either for it really felt as though he were there. I haven't had a dream like that in nearly two hundred years.......... but I'd better place this away for safe keeping now. ~and with that... the image fades from the center of the crystal......~ |