Long Live the King (Story Arc)
Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 1:17 am
Introduction
The crimson sun shone brightly, just before dusk. The forest was quiet, except for a strange creature lurking back to its den.
The creature was dressed in tattered robes. It may have once been human, but those days had sadly passed. The creature gripped a gnarled staff tightly in its decrepit hands, fighting to stand on its feeble legs. As it crept along the ground, several flowers shriveled and decayed under its feet.
As the sun continued to set, it glowed over the land one last time before hiding behind the mountains of Britannia. The creature groaned, curled its lips and cursed loudly:
"I hate the sunset....I absolutely hate it!" the creature spoke with a shrill, tired voice.
"Do not bore me with your emotions. We have work to do, stop faltering behind"
This voice was deeper and more demanding than the first. As it emanated from the strange being, one could have easily thought it had come from a different person.
The creature continued onward to a cold, damp cave. As it hobbled on inside, a piece of flesh fell from its leg and landed on the rocky ground, making a sickening, slopping sound.
The creature stopped and held its leg in front of its face to examine it. A look of anguish spread across its face as it noticed exposed bone that had been covered by flesh just moments earlier.
Suffering from a humiliating defeat of losing yet another piece of itself, it continued onward down the cave.
Before long, it made its way to a crude den. A group of skeletal knights greeted the creature with revered nods. In the grotesque kitchen, rotting corpses gathered maggots from their putrid flesh and began placing them on a plate.
The strange creature apathetically tossed its gnarled staff to the floor, then proceeded to sit angrily on a ruined throne. As it sat, it uttered a painful cry, reaching down to its abdomen in an attempt to dull the pain.
It pulled its hand away from its abdomen, revealing a slice where a blade had once been run through.
The creature impatiently drummed its fingers on the side table situated next to it. As one of its bony finger cracked off, it became even more enraged.
"I am tired of waiting...Where is he?" Yelled the creature in its deeper, booming voice.
A bone knight carried over a plate of maggots and presented it in front of its master. As the creature grabbed the plate and began eating the filth, a look of conflict spread across its face. One side of it devoured the maggots gleefully while the other side retched at their look and taste.
"Enough, no more of these vile things! I have had enough!" The creature spoke in a softer voice.
"Very well" the deeper voice boomed, as it sent the plate of maggots back to the kitchen.
"If I am to turn down a perfectly good feast...you had better search inside you for more answers. I am tired of waiting.....when are you going to fulfill your end of the bargain?" The creature spoke to itself.
Just then, a human figure in a dark red and black robe entered the chamber of the cave. The creature stood up and greeted her excitedly.
"Melissa, tell me you have good news!" The creature said in a softer voice.
Melissa covered her nose at the stench of decay. While still holding her nose, she presented a scrap a parchment to the creature, who began to read it out loud:
The creature spied Melissa incredulously. Without saying a word, Melissa presented a gift before it. A magnificent white dove lay breathless before the creature. A tuft of feathers barely covered a hole where a magic arrow had passed through.
The creature ripped off a piece of fabric from around the dove's neck and walked back to its chair. It examined it over candlelight. The gold trimmed snake confirmed it to be the seal of royalty. The carrier dove had been intercepted.
"We must prepare then. Return tomorrow with the others, Melissa." The creature said once more.
Melissa nodded and turned to leave.
"If you play me like a cheap fiddle once again, I will ensure that your fingers bleed. Both of you" The deep voice spoke harshly.
There was an uneasy silence within the room. Melissa could feel the words stab into her. She dared not fail. From across the room, she looked deep into the creature's eyes, looking to find any familiarity of the one she once knew.
"We shall not fail my lady" Melissa whispered, then left the cave without speaking another word.
Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6422, old post ID:37714
The crimson sun shone brightly, just before dusk. The forest was quiet, except for a strange creature lurking back to its den.
The creature was dressed in tattered robes. It may have once been human, but those days had sadly passed. The creature gripped a gnarled staff tightly in its decrepit hands, fighting to stand on its feeble legs. As it crept along the ground, several flowers shriveled and decayed under its feet.
As the sun continued to set, it glowed over the land one last time before hiding behind the mountains of Britannia. The creature groaned, curled its lips and cursed loudly:
"I hate the sunset....I absolutely hate it!" the creature spoke with a shrill, tired voice.
"Do not bore me with your emotions. We have work to do, stop faltering behind"
This voice was deeper and more demanding than the first. As it emanated from the strange being, one could have easily thought it had come from a different person.
The creature continued onward to a cold, damp cave. As it hobbled on inside, a piece of flesh fell from its leg and landed on the rocky ground, making a sickening, slopping sound.
The creature stopped and held its leg in front of its face to examine it. A look of anguish spread across its face as it noticed exposed bone that had been covered by flesh just moments earlier.
Suffering from a humiliating defeat of losing yet another piece of itself, it continued onward down the cave.
Before long, it made its way to a crude den. A group of skeletal knights greeted the creature with revered nods. In the grotesque kitchen, rotting corpses gathered maggots from their putrid flesh and began placing them on a plate.
The strange creature apathetically tossed its gnarled staff to the floor, then proceeded to sit angrily on a ruined throne. As it sat, it uttered a painful cry, reaching down to its abdomen in an attempt to dull the pain.
It pulled its hand away from its abdomen, revealing a slice where a blade had once been run through.
The creature impatiently drummed its fingers on the side table situated next to it. As one of its bony finger cracked off, it became even more enraged.
"I am tired of waiting...Where is he?" Yelled the creature in its deeper, booming voice.
A bone knight carried over a plate of maggots and presented it in front of its master. As the creature grabbed the plate and began eating the filth, a look of conflict spread across its face. One side of it devoured the maggots gleefully while the other side retched at their look and taste.
"Enough, no more of these vile things! I have had enough!" The creature spoke in a softer voice.
"Very well" the deeper voice boomed, as it sent the plate of maggots back to the kitchen.
"If I am to turn down a perfectly good feast...you had better search inside you for more answers. I am tired of waiting.....when are you going to fulfill your end of the bargain?" The creature spoke to itself.
Just then, a human figure in a dark red and black robe entered the chamber of the cave. The creature stood up and greeted her excitedly.
"Melissa, tell me you have good news!" The creature said in a softer voice.
Melissa covered her nose at the stench of decay. While still holding her nose, she presented a scrap a parchment to the creature, who began to read it out loud:
The creature spied Melissa incredulously. Without saying a word, Melissa presented a gift before it. A magnificent white dove lay breathless before the creature. A tuft of feathers barely covered a hole where a magic arrow had passed through.
The creature ripped off a piece of fabric from around the dove's neck and walked back to its chair. It examined it over candlelight. The gold trimmed snake confirmed it to be the seal of royalty. The carrier dove had been intercepted.
"We must prepare then. Return tomorrow with the others, Melissa." The creature said once more.
Melissa nodded and turned to leave.
"If you play me like a cheap fiddle once again, I will ensure that your fingers bleed. Both of you" The deep voice spoke harshly.
There was an uneasy silence within the room. Melissa could feel the words stab into her. She dared not fail. From across the room, she looked deep into the creature's eyes, looking to find any familiarity of the one she once knew.
"We shall not fail my lady" Melissa whispered, then left the cave without speaking another word.
Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6422, old post ID:37714