《Destiny: Infernal [DISCONTINUED]》 1. The Red World Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, Everybody! How are you all?
Okay so I''ll admit, thejoker195''s comment hit me in a place where I didn''t even expect to have a weak spot. Plus Derwipe, or one of his many dimensional clones, asked me about the status of my... failure known as RUIN. In short; it was just another dumb RE: story and I kinda don''t like those all that much. Then I went back to my page and noticed how 90% of the stories which are well liked are the ones which follow a sort-off main-continuity. So I figured, why not cook up another story, this time intimately connected to Euphoria itself? One which follows a female character, who will eventually end up being just as insane as Leonardo. I wonder if people would complain if she rapes someone? Probably not. Anyways, here comes the very first chapter of Destiny: Infernal. I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
June 21st of the year 738AB (After Blackfall) - A Certain Carriage - Unknown''s Point Of View...
First day of summer. Summer. A season which many people love and adore. Flowers bloom. Love follows suit. And children happily dart across the fields of green, brimming with daylight. The season during which most crops fall within their growing season, causing the peasantry to rejoice. The season during which mages, such as I, are sent back to their homes from the schools which they attend. For summer is the time of the burning gaze of the sun, when pale-skinned men and women who spend most of their lives experimenting indoors, do not approve of leaving said indoors. The same goes for me. ... Life. Life is supposed to thrive during summer, is it not? So why, oh dear gods why, is it that I am currently going home, to stand still and weep for weeks on end... To my fathers very own funeral. ... Perhaps I''m going too quickly with this, so let us start from the beginning. I am Alice F. Pendragon, a nine year old girl who had just graduated from her School for Basic Magic. Or Alice P. Flarewreath, whichever you prefer. Either is fine by me, really. I am the only daughter of Martha Flarewreath, an eccentric young woman who was an ally of the previous Summoned Hero who saved the world from the Demon King. She was, and still is, an immensely powerful sorceress, a master of the arcane. A woman born with such immense talent, that she managed to get herself married into nobility, a lowborn genius. Such a shame that she didn''t let me inherit all of that genius. I am also the only daughter of Anthony Pendragon. He was a man of immense power, wealth and status, born into a middle-ranked noble family and rising to the level of a High Lord within The Kingdom Of Clausia. A knight of the gods, an army marshal and a High Almoner, a man with numerous achievements to his name. A father whom I barely even knew. Then again, the same can be said about my mother. One who is constantly doing experiments, learning, improving her magic. But such is the life of a mage, she likes to say as an excuse. Another who is constantly away, only coming back home for brief moments in time, most of which I am away. But such is the life of a warrior during wartime. A war fought in order to attain land from another kingdom, an entrance to the vast oceans that this world has to offer, a portal into the world of merchants and trade. A war fought for gold and prestige. The very war which cost my father his life. I hope to the gods that it was worth the sacrifice. At least he died doing what he loved, one of my fellow students of magic had said without emotion in his tone. A silent insult to my father. One which I had to pretend not to notice. ... However, life is never that easy. You see, while I did not inherit my mother''s genius... I did inherit some of her capacity. An astute, shrewd mind combined with a rather cynical disposition towards people. This, combined with my unending Zeal for one particular Goddess, caused me to be just talented enough to be exiled from normal conversation. ... And just normal enough to be an outcast among outcasts. In other words; an absolutely anti-social little girl who barely had any form of parenting. But hey, I''m gonna be a High Lady now... so... worth? What I mean to say is that since my mother is a lowborn, she cannot inherit fathers claims and titles, which means that they thus fall onto my head. I''m surprisingly okay with this, considering the fact that mother has no desire to be a noblewoman in the first place, which will result in our county falling into a state of disrepair. ... As if all the thieves guilds and smuggler rings weren''t enough. Sure, father usually destroyed those when he came back home, but you''d be surprised how quickly mongrels repair their criminal organizations. Still, this also means that I''m gonna need to find myself a good steward to help me administer my realm. ... anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, the death of my father and the funeral which I''m supposed to attend."Mistress, we have arrived." A sorrowful, careful tone echoed from outside the carriage I was in, the voice of my personal maid, Eugenia. A golden-haired young woman in her mid-twenties, a former slave dragged out of her home and to this kingdom from across the ocean. A half-elf. The most hated of all sins. An existence wrought with despair and conflict. I walked out of the carriage, my rich aqua dress waving around me. The wind blew forth as soon as I left, causing me to breathe in deeply, my eyes darting around the exotic flora surrounding the castle. Beautiful plant-life, only to end up being used in whatever alchemical formulae mother cooks up in her spare time."How do you do it, Eugenia?" She tilted her head in confusion at my question, prompting a forced chuckle to escape my lips."Whatever do you mean, mistress?" "Live. How can you live through moments like these? I mean, your parents were killed right? How did you manage to fight through that pain?" I asked her, somewhat insensitively. To her credit, she merely closed her eyes for a moment in thought."... I never did. I simply learned to live with it, mistress." A blank stare was her reply."I see..." "Where shall we go first, mistress? Should we go to the Pendragon family catacombs or do you wish to go see your mother first?" She asked me, fluidly changing the subject. I let out a breath."I.. There''s no point in going to the catacombs... I''m going to be spending the entire day tomorrow there and father''s body has not been delivered yet anyway... Where is mother?"Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. "She appears to be in the right-wing tower of the castle, her summoning laboratory. The guards say how she hasn''t left the place for three days, ever since your father fell." Is her eloquent reply, her eyes still closed. Sometimes, I think that she''s actually blind, just not willing to reveal that fact because she fears being fired from her position as my maid. Which is not going to happen, but it makes me think as to how exactly she is capable of seeing while blind. Must be some kind of elf magic. A subject to ask about later. Preferably soon, for I do not know how much more of this gloom and doom I can take.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Mere minutes afterwards... - The Summoning Laboratory - Martha''s Point Of View...
"Finally... after all these days of hard work! I finally have the answer to my problems!" I exclaimed out loudly as my shaking hands held the final mixture needed to complete my spell. A special kind of ink usually referred to as Void Ink, used by the minions of the previous Demon King to contact beings from the Great Dark Beyond. My hope is that my spell will allow me to contact a being whose wisdom will aid me in managing my realm. Since my useless brute of a husband decided to die. He didn''t even make me the claimant to his titles, instead giving them to that blasted twerp. What use is a little girl when it comes to managing a realm?! I''m his wife, the lands should be mine, dammit all! Calming myself and managing to subdue my fury, I drew the demonic circle using the aforementioned ink and started to chant. "O lords of the Void..." My voice seemed to echo as soon as my mana began infusing itself into the circle. I took in a deep breath."I call upon thee now, in my time of great need!" The magic swirled upwards, opening portals to the beyond, causing my voice to echo into the infinite, hopefully to catch the attention of some thing out there."Bestow upon me thy ancient wisdom, so that I may retain power which is rightfully mine!" I screamed out as unknown magics tore through my soul, as something incredible, something inconceivable to my fragile, mortal mind, took a singular look at me. Without a single word from it, I understood what it was asking me."In e-exchange, thy shall have unlimited access to my world! Through me, thy glory and grace shall become known to all within it!" And just as I was about to finish the spell, several knocking sounds came from my door, causing the beings attention to turn. My blasted daughter walked in, breaking the clarity of the ritual as her own magic was consumed by the vortex. The last thing I saw was my own body being flung out the window before I hit the cold, hard ground and my world went dark. What a sad way to die...
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Seconds Beforehand - The Entrance - Alice''s Point Of View...
I stood before the door to mother''s favorite laboratory. I could feel the immense power, the incredible magical energies twisting and turning within... Mother was chanting some form of spell, but in my amazement at the powers at play here, I could not properly hear the words. I knew that disrupting a ritual of this scale was potentially deathly. I hesitated internally, but one of my hands was already on the doors handle while the other pressed onto its wooden exterior, ready to knock. I realized, I had nothing to really live for. My sorrow was suddenly broken as I felt something terrible take a singular look at me, exposing my mind, body and soul with a single all-consuming stare. And before I knew it, my hand was knocking on the door, my feet going forward without a single thought from me. Something was pulling me in there. ... And I was not attempting to resist.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break... (If you wish to know what happened prior to this, find chapter 60 of EUPHORIA... when it goes up, anyways)
Unknown amount of time later... - The Red World - Alice''s Point Of View...
"U..uugh...my... my head..." I muttered out in pain, a terrible headache slamming itself onto my poor, poor brain. My eyes slowly adjusted to the world around me."Ah, shes finally waking up." A terrible voice echoed somewhere in front of me, causing my head to shoot upwards... or it would have, had it not stopped mid-way to focus on what was below me. Red, crimson... a pool of blood. Of... my blood."You think she has the ability to hear us yet?" Another voice spoke, with a tone of power and annoyance. As if a king, addressing an animal."Sure she does, shes just in shock... as is, y''know, the normal thing to be in her position." The terrible voice was nearly silent now, though that did not appear to be its intention, a tone of reason and logic flowing with it. The other one scoffed."As if there''s something to be shocked about." A deep sigh escaped the terrible one."Right, whatever possessed me to think that you''d be capable of comprehending common sense." "We are in the belly of Chaos itself and you''re talking about common sense? Eadom, I think you''re the one being unreasonable here." The kingly voice replied as the newly-named Eadom simply let out another sigh. The belly of Chaos? What... My brain finally manages to retain some form of capability as I start to feel my limbs again, instantly leaping out of the pool of blood and running my hands up and down my own body."Hah, there''s no wounds, if that''s what you''re looking for, little one." The person known as Eadom spoke with pity lacing his tone as I looked up to find two adult men standing in front of me... well one man and the other an angel. An angel without skin, with torn wings which should not be capable of flight, wearing pants made of skin. His own, I conclude without proof. Surprisingly, no bile or shock comes from this. In fact, my previous shocked state of self is utterly gone."Huh.. well someone recovered rather quickly." The kingly one spoke as I finally found my own voice."W-who are you? W-where am I-I?" I spoke with a lisp, one which I do not remember having."Don''t worry, child. This place tends to do things like that without asking for permission." Eadom answered my unsaid question as I turned my head upwards again. The kingly one approached me, his form that of a young man around eighteen to twenty years old with long white hair tied into a ponytail, wearing boots, pants and a shirt made out of unknown material. It did not look natural at all."Hi. My name is Leonardo, though you may call me Antioch, if you want to. What''s your name?" I stared blankly at the guy for a couple seconds, his bluntness and seeming immunity to the insanity around us becoming rather apparent. I guess this place really is Chaos. After all, where else would a Flayed Angel be the voice of reason? Shaking my head out of my stupor, I finally gave the man, now known as Antioch, a reply."Uhh, its Alice. Alice Pendragon." For some unknown reason, I bit back the need to involve mothers surname. I wonder why."Well Alice, I hate to say it but it would seem that fate has decided to curse you." Blinking at him, I tilted my head in confusion and asked."What do you mean?" "You are, from now on, an Agent Of Chaos. And I, am your designated guardian. An adult agent, if you will." He spoke with a voice full of pride as the angel next to him scoffed."So full of it even if you only just gained that promotion." An Agent of Chaos?... am I.. an evil person now? Some kind of future Demon Queen? ... My instincts tell me no."I... see... and what exactly does that means?" "It means that fate has decided to make you into one of its pawns, like a hero or a demon king, but not bound to any particular side. Neither good nor evil, you will have to find your own side and destiny, to become whatever your own world needs you to become." Antioch replied with surprising clarity as Eadom nodded, eyes widening with approval. "Hmm, couldn''t have said that better myself." He spoke as Antioch continued."As your guardian, I''m supposed to help you find and complete your destiny. In order to do this, we can share parts of ourselves. Power, knowledge and even body strengths can be exchanged. However, nothing exchanged is lost." Suddenly, the angel adopted a rather blank stare, looking directly at Antioch as if he copied his homework or something. I get the feeling that might be true."Exchanged? So then I have to give you something, right?" Antioch shrugged."I''m perfectly fine with it being a single-sided exchange, but if you want to give me something then I''m not going to say no." "But what would a little girl like you have to give?" Eadom asked me with a quirked eyebrow, eliciting a grunt of annoyance to escape both me and Antioch. We looked towards one another and laughed."Well, for instance, she could give me the soul of that woman over there, right?" Antioch spoke with interest as he pointed behind me, thus forcing me to turn my head around. And there, impaled upon a bone spike in the shape of a feline claw, was mother''s naked body, skinless and tortured."M...m... m-mother?" I heard myself mutter out, but my voice echoed as if I screamed, causing all three of us to cover our ears, though that only seemed to increase the volume."Mother? So you killed your own mother?" Antioch asked with a surprised tone. But to my utmost relief, the flayed angel shook his head in negative."No.. it does not work that way for the others. Only we have the capability to take the souls of anyone we kill Leonardo, but this is because Chaos itself ties those souls to us. Much the same way, Chaos tied Alice''s mother''s soul to her. Although, looking at her, I''d say it wasn''t in order to keep a mother close to her child, but to punish her for something she did." I looked back towards mother."Finally... after all these days of hard work! I finally have the answer to my problems!" Mother''s voice echoed in my mind, thundering across my brain like an ocean wave crashing into a city. But before I could comment on it, another whisper came along."What use is a little girl when it comes to managing a realm?! I''m his wife, the lands should be mine, dammit all!" My eyes went wide with horror as I realize what she had done. Or, at least, tried to do. Mother... She tried to kill me... Without wasting another moment, I turned toward Antioch."If I give her to you, will she suffer?" Antioch''s face changed several times, from shock to eventual sadism, as he put a finger on his chin in thought before pointing to his right. And there, an island of flesh, blood, bone and skin floated in the red skies... And upon the island laid hundreds of spikes much akin to the one mother was impaled upon. However, the bodies and souls of those impaled were ablaze in fire. ... In Hell''s fire. Made forever to burn in torment for their life''s sins. What a sad end. Perfectly fitting for my... mother."Then take her. Make her suffer for trying to kill me!" Antioch nodded and the deal was struck, a blinding light enveloped mothers body before dispersing, teleporting her to his island and setting her afire."So then, what would you like to have in turn?" I stopped dead in my tracks."Well uh, I don''t really know what to ask for so... maybe a favor would do for now?" Antioch shrugged."That''s fine by me." A click resounded in our minds and we knew that the deal was accepted. Suddenly, I felt myself becoming sleepy, drawn to the same pool of blood which I''d awoken from. And I fell down, the crimson blood seeping into my hair and clothing, enveloping my entire self with its warm, crimson embrace. I''ve never felt so peaceful in my entire life... But I knew, right then and there... That it was time for me... To wake up.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
And that is it for the first chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did. Not much else to say here. Other than the fact that this will not end up like RUIN since I actually have plans for this story. It will evolve and progress alongside Euphoria, so I hope that it wont end up being too confusing for you guys.. Oh who am I kidding? I LOVE IT WHEN YOU PEOPLE ARE CONFUSED AF, MUAHAHAHAHHAAH It tickles me just the right way. ( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã)
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW! 2. Coincidence? I think not! Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, Everybody! How are you all?
Well alrighty then... A decent amount of people have seen this. Let us begin writing the second chapter. So here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Unknown amount of time later... - Alice''s Point Of View...
Opening my eyes to reveal a very known ceiling has never been quite as relieving. I feel like someone who''s just been kidnapped. And then thrown back into her own bed once the kidnappers realized I wasn''t worth the effort. The amount of times this has happened is.. dangerously high."A-ah! Mistress! You''ve awakened!" An unknown voice entered my ears as I turned my head to the left, a maid wearing a very French-like dress appeared in my eye''s view. .. Wait, French? What and who is French? And why am I thinking that word with a capital letter? ... AND WHY DOES MY NECK HURT SO MUCH WHEN I MOVE IT?! Feels like I haven''t moved in months. Wait, what the maid said... How long have I been asleep?"Uu..gnnn." A gurgling sound escapes me as I attempt to move myself but to no avail. With a gasp, the maid seemingly woke from her trance, dropped a towel she was carrying and ran out of the room. Most likely to go inform whomever became my county regent in the meantime. Or adoptive parent, for that matter. Within what seemed to be the span of a second, an old man wearing a very royal outfit, with a crown of gold and diamond, rushed into the room."Alice! You''re awake!" The King. Or uncle Rudolf, as I''d like to call him. Huh, so he''s the one who adopted me. I suppose that''s not too bad. Without replying to him, I forced myself to an upright position, managing to put force into my hands."Uughh.." One of my hands rose upwards and planted itself on my forehead, as the headache I''m experiencing right now has to be one of the more painful ones. "D-don''t move, child! Lay back down, please!" The old man exclaimed with worry as he sat down onto the bed next to me. In that moment, I saw my arms. Dry and nearly hollow, with bones clearly visible. Starvation. The very late stages of it."H-how l-l-long?" I managed to ask of him, causing the old man to lower his head in sadness."Alice.. you''ve been asleep for three months. Our healers gave up on you but I couldn''t just let you die after what happened to your parents..." "M-m-mother?" A question which seemed to shock him as he turned away. Momentarily, he seemed to ponder weather or not to tell me the answer, but he decided that I deserve to know soon after."Your.. mother, has passed away, darling. She... she committed suicide the day you arrived back home. It seems that you were caught in the explosion." I unconsciously bit my lip as the bony hand fell back down and I slipped into the bed, burying my head into a pillow. After what she tried to do to me... they still cooked up a story which makes her the victim. Gritting my teeth, I tried to move again, causing my bones to make terrifying, echoing cracking sounds."I.. s-see.." The maid from before rushed into the room, carrying a deliciously-smelling soup, some milk and water and dried herb which I recognized to be Medentes, a herb used by nobility for cleaning and/or healing teeth. I licked my own teeth.. or what was left of them. I felt holes in my mouth, several of my teeth had been taken out. I turned towards Rudolf. The old man sighed, answering my unsaid question."We had to remove them because you had an infection. Don''t worry, you are still young. Some magic and a lot of Medentes will be needed but you can easily re-grow them in time." A nod was his answer as the maid places a hand onto his shoulder."Please, my king. I apologize for my bluntness, but the girl hasn''t eaten in three months. May I?" Blinking in surprise, the old man immediately stood up."Very well.. I must leave for the southern front tomorrow, but as soon as Lady Pendragon has recovered, send me a letter." What was so important that the king himself wanted to talk to me about? Probably something to do with marriage. My father was his best friend, after all. He owes him that much, or so the old fool would like to think. "N-now milady, I know that you feel weak but, please open your mouth for me. And by the way, please call me Julia." The maid spoke rather eloquently for a lowborn and received a slow nod as her answer. She began to spoon feed me."W-where is.. Eu.. Eug-g-genia?" The maid blinked and looked away."Your head maid has.. run away as soon as news of the incident reached her. Lady Flarewreath was the one who placed the magic mark upon her which dispersed after death, thus making her free, so she ran away." A nod, much to the maids surprise, was my answer. Truth be told, I had expected as much. Still, three months? I guess it makes sense.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. After all, why would time have any meaning within the realm of Chaos, much less its apparent stomach? That makes it August."W-what d-d-date i-is i-it?" I asked the maid as I swallowed a spoonful of the soup which was just as delicious as it smelled. It appeared to be some form of pheasant soup."It is currently the thirteenth day of August, milady." So much for school being over. Now I have only around seventeen days before I have to go apply for the next one. Back to the so-called Grand City-State Of Sorciere. A neutral ground between several great nations, made for the sole reason of advancing magic. And making sure that those who would study magic are separated from the normal populous. Peasantry has a deep fear of all magic, one which non-magician nobles are more than happy to abuse out of spite. However, doing things like exiling mages, especially female ones or as they are more likely to be called; witches, is liable to get one in very bad relations with his or her liege. After all, what kind of king does not like having magic soldiers in their army? Anyways, where was I? Ah yes, Sorciere. A city whose main features lie in its many schools of magic. There are the basic schools of Clause, Irysia and Kadrin. Schools forcefully formed by the human kingdoms surrounding the city in order to indoctrinate their young mages into a state of supreme nationalism. Mages from each kingdom can only attend their own kingdoms basic school, causing much rivalry between the schools and their students. A bonus to this rivalry is a greater degree of education for all three schools as they continuously look to one-up each other in every way possible. However, after one passes the basic school, they enter a complete other world. After all, there is only one Academy of Advanced Magic within the city which means that the rivalry previously born does not last very long. There are, of course, competitions between students and, in some extreme cases, duels but that''s about it. During their time in Basic Schools, students learn about Mana Manipulation, Meditation and Alchemy. And, the most important subject of all, History. Lots and lots, of History. Their kingdoms own version of History, that is. Where every single hero and their mothers are exalted in order to achieve the aforementioned nationalism. Its kind of sickening, honestly. But, I guess its also necessary. As for the Academy.. well, there are a multitude of classes one may take and they''re completely free to pick whichever one they want. Of course, different classes have differing costs. Things like Fire Magic is most definitely not going to cost nearly as much as Spatial Magic classes. Still, rare is the lowborn with the gold amount necessary to attend the Academy of Sorciere, since even the lowest air magic classes cost ten gold coin to attend for only a single year. Our currency system works like this; one gold coin equals one hundred silver and one silver, equals one hundred copper. In some of the more distant kingdoms, there is another currency named platinums which are apparently worth one hundred gold coins, but this isn''t the case in Clausia or either of the remaining two kingdoms. Of course, this isn''t always the case. Sometimes, a gold coin from one kingdom may be worth more than a gold coin from another kingdom. Same goes for the lower currencies. But I admit that I''m not exactly the best when it comes to calculus. Money hasn''t ever been much of a problem for me. Though, I have a feeling that might change dangerously soon."Miss? Are you... alright?" My gaze turned towards the maid, causing her to flinch."Let me s-see.. My parents a-are d-d-dead. I''m h-half dead m-m-myself. The king most l-l-likely wants m-me to m-m-marry one of his s-sons. My county w-was i-i-in b-bad s-shape before this so now its likely e-e-even w-worse.. need I g-g-go on?" "W-well, at least the ones the king wants you to marry are princes, right?" She asked with a drop of sweat falling down her brow. I merely sighed in response."Y-yes. Princes. A-a-arrogant, insensitive, a-a-assholes w-w-with sticks up their r-r-royal bums." "S-s-surely not all of them are l-like that, no?" I let out a dry, shameless laugh."Well no. Guldman isn''t... but h-he i-is thirty y-years o-o-old a-and ma-married." She blinked."Point taken..." Then she turned her head around uncomfortably. Before her eyes widened and I decided to follow her gaze to find what surprised her so. And there, placed leaning onto the wall, was my fathers famous enchanted poleaxe, Luctus."A-ah right, the axe! Yes, we can use this." The maid then stood up, walked over to the axe and then brought it over to me with great effort. Putting it on the bed next to me, she spoke with heaving breaths."Milady, I know that having your fathers weapon may not be something you approve of right now but... the weapon is enchanted with healing properties which only activate when one of your bloodline holds it. So uh, could you maybe do so?" I reached out to the axe and placed an uncertain finger upon it. My eyes went wide as crimson energies flowed into me... before, I would have bought the story about healing properties. But now, as an Agent Of Chaos, I think I know more about this enchanted axe. Maybe me being suddenly chosen right after fathers death wasn''t a coincidence. After all, this weapon teems with the same energies I felt while in The Red World."M-M-Mistress? Are you alright?" The maid asked me for a second time as I pulled the axe closer to myself, feeling the life-force of all those it had slain rejuvenating me. Its quite obvious now. Father was not the kind of man who loved war, but he was over sixty years old while having the physique and good looks of a man thirty years younger. Not to mention how he was still capable of making me... most men are outright infertile at that age. Dear father, how many lives have you devoured during your time? How many lives am I going to devour in mine? A prospect which seemed to intrigue me more than I''d like to admit as my face twisted itself with an insane grin. I clutched the axe tightly to myself before turning around to answer the maid... only to find that she was no longer there. When had she left? How long had I been drinking in the stolen life of people I never knew existed? As I turned my head back around in order to shift myself into a more comfortable position, I finally noticed something wrong... My hair.. my beautiful black hair... It has become white. Was it trauma? But I barely feel anything at all. ... My instincts tell me no... My instincts have been telling me a lot of things lately... maybe I should ask Antioch for an explanation the next time I see him.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Moments later... - Within the Throne Room - Reader Point of View...
The oval-shaped room was abuzz with activity. Servants were rushing to clean the castle, restock the food and secure the treasury. All the duties they had been neglecting with the absence of their lady. But now she had awoken from her dreaded slumber. Now, they needed to make sure she does not see the results of their negligence. Lest they face dark times. Mayhaps even execution. One of these servants, a maid in her thirties, ran towards her liege. She bowed to her king and spoke."M-Milord! I... The girl! The Axe!.." Her running combined with the previous effort of carrying a huge piece of enchanted metal had caused the poor woman to run out of stamina."What is it, woman? What''s got you in such a hurry?" The king asked her with a quirked eyebrow as the maids head rose back up."The axe''s healing properties... they are far stronger than anything we could have imagined! Once I gave the weapon to her, the life seemed to return to her eyes within seconds as some strange red energy started entering her!" She took a breath."I tried to question the girl but she became unresponsive afterwards! I''m truly sorry my lord, but I did not know what else to do so I thought to inform you..." He shook his head."No, you needn''t worry lass. Twas I who ordered you to do this. There was no way we could have known a-a-a-... what would h-happen..." And there, at the other end of the throne room, a white haired girl with crimson, glowing eyes, walked into the hallway while dragging along a massive poleaxe as if it barely had any weight. Her half-dead form, her pale skin, her menacing, maniacal gaze and visible bones caused many of the female servants to either look away or lose consciousness. Their lady had awoken from her slumber. It was time to start working. Or face execution.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
And that is it for this chapter of Destiny: Infernal. Now then, what will happen next? I guess we will both find out, won''t we? Hheheheheheh... I wonder if some idiot is going to call me sexist because I made Alice''s father to be a strong, healthy old man while her mother is a much younger woman married to said old man. Meh, probably.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW! 3. Oh mayor, major! Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, Everybody! How are you all?
It would seem that VIKKUTORIA has struck once again. Ma-sorry girl, why do you have to be such a.. Yeah, I''m god damn mad at you. I mean, thanks for the super grades and all but.. You just spoiled half my goddamn story. (Well not really, just the starting points but... I''m gonna be a bit salty about that for a while.) And I don''t know how to feel about that... Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
The Following Morning - Alice''s Castle Court - Alice''s Point Of View...
"So what you are telling me is that you guys did absolutely bloody nothing for the entire time that I was asleep?" I pointed out with an incredulous tone full of disbelief. My head maid, butler, cook and stable-master all bowed their heads in shame."W-well, to be perfectly honest, your ladyship.. we weren''t even sure that we would be able to keep our jobs." "And what about my treasury?" I turned towards my treasurer, a minor noble in control of a city within my realm. A burgher, if I ever saw any."I''m happy to say that the treasury is fully intact, clean and all of our funds are accounted for... however.." The surprisingly young man with black hair spoke after a deep sigh."All of your ladyships parents coin has been confiscated by the kings men, as is normal for any regent to do. The money confiscated amounted to two thousand, three hundred and seventy six gold coins." Blinking in shock several times as I placed an uncertain hand onto my forehead, I replied."How the hell does he expect me to improve my realm without any funding? Please tell me that my parents had some funds stored away or something?" The man, much to my dismay, shook his head in negative before adopting a more merry disposition."They did not... however, that is a wonderful idea milady. Shall I start preparing plans for the building of a hidden vault?" A nod towards the burgher and a wave towards the others indicated that I wished to speak to him in private. The other servants bowed and hurriedly removed themselves from my presence."Interesting thoughts, mayor. But that still does not solve our financial problem... any ideas?" "Well, milady could always take a loan from someone she trusts, like the King perhaps... thy may also begin taxing your subjects more heavily... but may I ask something of your ladyship?" He tilted his head in confusion and I nodded, permitting his wish."Why does thy ladyship desire to restore her treasury quickly? I mean, as a man of coin, I can appreciate the efforts, but as the King is thy regent you do not exactly need to worry about funding when thy can simply leave it to his highness, no?" "And you think that the king is going to fund my county while also focusing on the war effort? Pardon my rudeness mayor, but please tell me you aren''t that foolish." The man bit his lip as his eyes widened in realization. He took a step back and bowed."Forgive me, milady. Here I am to advise thyself on how to properly administer thy realm and then I make such a stupid mistake." I waved my hand in order to dismiss the issue."Never mind that... back on what you said beforehand; a loan could work but I simply can''t afford to ask it off the king for the aforementioned reason... What do you think about hiring mercenaries to raid bandit encampments?" "Hiring thugs to fight off thugs? It could work... but mercenaries rarely work on promises alone." A good point as I put a finger on my chin in thought as I looked at my poleaxe.. though, now that I think about it, its more of a halberd than a poleaxe. The artifact shone with a dreadful crimson glow, a sharp contrast to its golden shaft, engraved blade and shining hammer-like other end."Say, do we have a herbalist or an appraiser somewhere nearby?" He blinked in surprise.".. No, but those kinds of people are relatively easy to come by. Why would we require either, though?" "My mothers gardens and the herbs they contain.. well, she won''t need them anymore and considering how a few of those plants came from lands controlled by demons, they may be worth a pretty penny. The same goes for her artifact collection." The mayor seemed shocked at my proposition."Milady, I had just the same idea beforehand but denied myself telling you for I believed you would not wish to sell what could be yo-huh?" I shushed the man with a glare before motioning him to come closer. He swallowed hard and did as ordered. I whispered into his ear something dreadful, a secret which a man of coin such as him would not be able to keep."My mother did not commit suicide, mayor." He stepped away in shock and awe before swallow down hard once again and putting his hands behind his back."W-what exactly do you mean, milady?" "She tried to kill me. The magic explosion? Whatever she tried to do failed, thus sending her flying out the window." I promptly revealed to the man, his eyes widening."B-but why are you telling me this?"A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "Its your reward, mayor. Also a way for me to keep you on my good side... In fact, why don''t you think of it as a bribe? I''m sure that piece of information is something many people would give their lives for. Mother did have a lot of enemies, after all." He nodded and grinned."In short, your mother tried to kill you so you wish for her reputation as the ally of a hero to be crushed, correct? Your ladyship is delightfully arbitrary for such a young girl, I must say." "Justice is a worthless gesture. None but fools use it, none but fools respect it. And I have no need for the respect of fools." Is my rather evil-sounding reply. The mayor seemed to shiver and shake a bit at my tone, though not in a way that indicated he was uncomfortable."I.. see. Is there anything else I could do for you, milady?" A nod."Two things actually, mayor. First, I''d like to know your name and second, I want you to tell me any information you know about the bandit encampments within my territory." He blinked, then bowed within moments."Ah, right. Your ladyship does not know me. Please forgive my rudeness. My name is Gerald Yvain." Straightening himself out, he continued."As for the bandit encampments... well honestly, since I''ve managed to keep my city in check and stocked full of guards, I must admit that I don''t know much about them. A short trip to the nearby Adventurers Guild should fix that easily enough." I nodded and hummed in thought."Any slave markets nearby?" "Normally, I would not dare answer this question but.. well, your ladyship has proven herself worthy of my trust. There is one very close to your castle, milady. In the forests surrounding your estate, there is what appears to be a bears cave if one who is a hunter would check the claw markings on the outside.. however, in reality, this den of debauchery belongs to a particular group of slavers who are usually referred to as The Grizzlers for their unusual level of savagery during raids." He explained before tilting his head in confusion once more."Though, I must ask.. what exactly does thy ladyship need from a slave market?" "My personal maid ran away after her slave brand expired upon my mothers death, which means I need a new body pillow." He blinked in shock as I turned towards my Halberd/Poleaxe."Plus, the weapon I inherited from my father... it has other properties than a mere healing enchantment, the power of said enchantment notwithstanding... powers which I plan on testing." "... milady, are you planning on hunting down the aforementioned bandit camps on your own? And you need a slave to act as your second when delivering proof of your deeds to adventurer guilds?" He asked of me and I quirked a genuinely surprised eyebrow at the man. A very happy eyebrow, at is."Oh my... and here I thought that I was being unreadable. Guess I was wrong." "Milady, I have heard rumors about your supposed cynicism and arbitrary nature before, thought I believed it all to be mere slander... but this is still a bit much, don''t you think?" He asked of me with a piercing gaze, to which I replied with a sinister laugh."Oh dear mayor, you have no idea how right you are." I walked off my throne, my fathers halberd magically floating in the air, seemingly following me of its own free will as I spoke."I am merely a nine year old girl whose mind has been shattered by the deaths of her parents, by the apparent suicide of her mother! Oh woe is me, right?" His confused gaze caused me to continue my maddened laughter as I took in a deep breath."In reality, I was always like this. My parents? I couldn''t care less about them, mayor. Their deaths only served to free my depravity. I.. have always been a social outcast in every shape and form... my cynical disposition has caused me to befriend people much older than me rather than those my age. And the elders I befriended were more than happy to push my logical, cruel and in-childlike personality forward." "You say that, but it is common knowledge that you are a devout worshiper of Vytar, the goddess of nature, purity and motherhood. Is this also a lie?" A question which made me pause for a moment as I reached for the golden pendant with a round emerald in the middle of it, an amulet of Vytar herself, bought by collecting years worth of my previous allowance."No. That part of me is true." "Then how come you are like this? If you are truly as zealous as the rumors describe you, why is it that the girl I am seeing in front of me is more reminiscent of a demoness in the shape of a child than some pious future nun or priestess?" I laughed at him. Walking back to my throne and sitting back down onto it with eyes closed in thought, I reply to the mayor."Yvain, my zealotry towards Vytar comes from the fact that I had no parents from the start. My mother didn''t care about me and father is someone I barely even knew. What kind of little girl does not want to spend time with her parents, her mother at the very least?" "So your religious fervor was born out of your need for a parent, is what you''re saying? Alright, that is plausible, but it still does not explain your... abnormal personality." He spoke in such a way as to avoid insulting me. I let out a sigh."... well, I have no explanation for it. It is simply who I am. If you don''t believe me, go and ask my former classmates from Clause''s School Of Basic Magic about me. I am certain that they will tell you much the same." He let out a breath of relief."Good... if you did have an explanation for your personality, then that would have been far to suspicious, milady. In fact, I would have been certain that I am talking to a demon and not a child." Shrugging at him, I replied."You''re allowed to invite as many priests to my court as you''d like if it would make you feel better... hmm, that might not be a bad idea at all, actually." "Milady?" He replied with a questioning gaze as I chuckled."Your opinion of my personality points towards the fact that others may feel much the same way.. if I fill my court with priests of the gods and well-off burghers like yourself rather than nobles, I may avoid potential backlash from the peasantry." Slamming my right fist into my left palm in a very childish gesture, I issue an order to the mayor."Yvain, I want you to find me a spot close to my castle where we can build an abbey or church once we have the appropriate funds. That will surely please and attract members of the priesthood." A surprised nod comes from the man."Very well, your ladyship. Is there anything else thou wishes of me?" I shook my head in negative, causing the man to bow and leave me alone. Leaning back into my throne, I feel myself dozing off... falling into a sleep the depth of which I have never felt before. ... I just hope I''m not going to sleep for three months this time.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
And that is it for this chapter of Destiny; Infernal! I sincerely hope that you''ve enjoyed it as much as I did! Gonna have to change a couple things thanks to VIKKUTORIA tho.. Don''t want to retain a spoiled plotline and also to make this more enjoyable to my older fanbase. Hmm... there are so many places I could take this. Either way, its gonna have to be after I write the next chapter of Euphoria.. or not, well see. Stellaris: Utopia just came out after all... maybe there won''t be any chapters at all depending on how addicted I get. Sorry. But my gamer side is often the victor when it fights against my writer self.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW! 4. Of Healing Baths And Creepy Poles Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, Everybody! How are you all?
Haaa.. Well, if nothing else my job-hunt is progressing well. My studies not so much but thats exactly the reason why I decided to give up on them. Not really but I''m not gonna pass the year at this rate. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
The Following Morning - The Courtroom - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Uu.. ughn..." I woke up feeling extremely tired, still sitting on my throne. My fist had apparently dug its way into my cheek, forming a crimson outline as I apparently fell asleep here. My bones and skin, my flesh and nails, everything hurts so much. And yet, I didn''t have the will to scream. *clank!* Something struck the ground as I unconsciously let go of Luctus, causing the poleaxe to drop unceremoniously on the floor and my pain to double... Still, I did not scream. Instead, I merely shrugged it off and leaped off the throne in order to pick it up. After doing so, I noticed I was still dressed in my comatose clothing which actually reeked horrendously now that I finally noted its existence. Or, maybe thats just me who is reeking and not the clothing. Looking around the dark courtroom revealed candles unlit for months, torches withered from age, walls thick with dust and ash which most likely came in through the window from mothers explosive little ploy. I walked towards the giant wooden door which was the only way out of this somber place, other than the window. Opening it revealed an entirely difference scene, as maids and butlers and servants alike rushed to do their respective works, yet noone bothered to do something in the throneroom. How odd. "Mistress!" The same maid who was sent here by the king and most likely has been taking care of me for the last couple months approached me with worry in her eyes."You are finally awake!" "I would have woken earlier if any of you actually woke me up..." I pointed out with a blank stare, causing her to let out a merry laugh."I don''t think that would have been a good idea. The best medicine for a comatose person is a restful sleep, as they say." A nod was her reply before she continued."In any case, we have prepared a warm bath for you milady, enriched with exotic extracts and healing salves provided by the Queen herself on the Kings behest. Also, though it is not exactly hygenic to eat while bathing, I have prepared a feast for you and placed it all on a table we brought into the bathing room." Another nod as I finally gave her a proper reply as I followed her to the bathing room."Good work... err, sorry but could you tell me your name again? I seem to have forgotten it." She beamed me a bright smile."You haven''t milady, I merely never properly introduced myself. My name is Francesca, his lordship the Kings personal maid." "Personal maid? Hmm, must be fun." She choked on my not-so-silent jab before turning around in semi annoyance."You''d think so, wouldn''t you?" I blinked at her response."Too old?" "Too old." She replied with a blank stare. Now, I promptly burst out laughing cheerily. Apparently, uncle Rudolf no longer has it.
Some time later...
"Aaaaaaaaaaah..." Finally throwing off my comatose clothing, I slipped into what appeared to be a bath so thick in salves that the water itself was colored a rather bright shade of green. Health and life poured into me with every second as my body shuddered from the raw effect of the bath.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. My bones cracked themselves into their proper place, scratches wove themselves shut, cracks on my lips dissappearing as if they were never there. Wonder how they got there in the first place? I lightly tapped my jaw before running across it with my palm, feeling the broken uniformity left behind by my supposed tooth infection. A turn to my right revealed all the wonderfull foodstuffs that the servants prepared for me, each meal accompanied by a bowl full of medentes, the herb used for cleaning teeth. Apparently, it also has the properties required to heal them, though that may only be for young people like me whose teeth arent yet fully grown. A small clank caused me to turn my head around to my left and I noticed that the black, menacing poleaxe I put up to lean on the front door had fallen in such a way that placed it next to me. Now that, is really creepy."Are you a sentient weapon?" I asked of the incredible weapon but, as one might expect, received no answer. Managing to somehow bite down my curiosity and dread, I turned towards the table filled with food and felt my stomach churn, empty and devoid of sustenance. Yet as soon as I tried to stand up from the bath, my legs gave away and I fell right back down, splashing liters of the healing waters onto the marble-gold floor of the room. Thankfully, it seems that there was more then enough bath water prepared as the giant tub refills nearly instantly. Another clank resounds in the room as I turn back towards the axe with a glare."You obviously want my attention, yet give no answer when I question you..." I muttered out my thoughts aloud. Another glare caused the axe to clank again, slamming itself into the ground almost as if pissed."What are you trying to tell me, damnit!?" Suddenly, the axe rose into the air, floating like the Chaosborne Artifact it supposedly was... and then it unceremoniously dropped down onto the floor again, however... It was pointing in a certain direction. A single suit of armor stood at the entrace or perhaps I should say the exit from the bathing room. It had the distinctive shape of a woman wielding a spear and the figure it represented was very much known to me... after all, her name was Clausia. A warrior Queen who brought the unruly tribespeople of these lands together and formed the very first version of The Kingdom Of Clausia. My home, my history, my ancient Queen. We were all taught about her and her achievments. Every child knows the story and how it goes. A woman born to a warrior family, taught to live a warriors life. Yet during her teenage years, she fell in love with an elf, who taught her the ways of higher society and brought her home with him. Due to political infighting, the man died a horrible death and she was exiled from elven society. Having then returned to her home and reignited her lust for warfare, the woman used the incredible knowledge she had attained whilst living as an elf would and dominated warchiefs across the land, seducing, bribing and diplomatically building up her way to the formation of her very own kingdom. She is said to never have had any children and that the people should elect who they want to rule them, provided that said would-be-rulers were taught and learned people like herself."Warfare and murder is something everyone and anyone can master at any age, but a shrewd and genius mind is something which can only be nourished during ones youth! So collect your shamans, your witches and your wisemen! Build a grand place of learning and education where the rulers of tomorrow will go to become worthy of my throne and your loyalty." I repeated the final speech by heart, as I had to memorize it word by word in order to pass my history class. The weapon clanked once again, as if impatient, causing me to break out of whatever possessed me and take another look at the statue. Finally, after several minutes of staring, I figured that since Clausia is holding that spear of hers so dearly, perhaps what my poleaxe wants from me is much the same? I have been holding it nearly all the time ever since we were introduced. Turning back around towards the weapon, I extended my hand in an effort to reach it... however, I didn''t have to extend it far, for as soon as my thoughts turned towards that particular train of thought, the weapon flew into my hands, resting its shaft into my palm so easily one would have thought it was a feather. Shocked, but not overly surprised, I promptly let go off the poleaxe whilst imaging it floating in front my hand. True to my imagination, the weapon did just that."Okay, so you can respond to my thoughts but why exactly are you showing me this now?" I asked, yet the answer did not come from the axe. No, it came in the form of a whale''s mating call. Yup, from my hungry hungry stomach. "Ahem." Caughing into my fist rather lamely, I focused onto the axe and then onto the table, imaging it slipping under a plate of food and bringing it to me, which it did without pause. Moments after, I was shoving perfectly cut pheasant and chicken roast breast meats into my mouth while drinking gallons of milk and purified springwater. The springwater was brought there most likely because of the natural mineral content within it. Something which I probably needed a lot of right now. "Huh?" I promptly started blinking in confusion as I noticed that my hands no longer managed to find any food on the plate and, as I turned towards said plate, I found that there was no more food left on it. The axe did not move a single inch since it brought me the plate and my stomach didn''t appear to be filled. In fact, I didn''t feel like I ate anything yet... Had I really devoured that whole plate of food so quickly I didn''t even have the time to note all the things on it. Apparently there was some kind of sauce covering the food but I didn''t notice it at all. Shrugging, I promptly reached for the bowl of medentes, figuring I might as well consume it now since it will help my teeth heal. Grabbing a few of the steamed leaves, I nearly screamed out in horror as I witnessed them being... assimilated into me through my damn hands. The leaves just... melted. Into me. Like they would if you put them on a slime... Blinking in horror and confusion, I promptly slapped my hand onto the edges of my tub."OW!.. ok, at least I''m still perfectly physical..." Deciding not to question it all that much anymore as this was most likely just another *gift* from Chaos, I continued eating and enjoying my bath. Oh and sometime during my feast, a strange voice in my head echoed with the word Roman. Who and what the hell is Roman? Oh well, whatever it is.. Its most certainly not me! .. right?
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Alright gonna stop here now, still havent figured out how to properly start this. But thats fine, we can take this slow. In any case, more MAYOR in the next chapter.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW! 5. Pilfered Treasures Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing this fine day?
So here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! Theres not much else to say here so uh eh. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy reading it!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
One hour later... - Castle Attic - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Fuhh.." I groaned both mentally and physically as I pushed another box of antiques out of the way."Mistress! You really shouldn''t be... pushing things around." Francesca reminded me as I let out a massive sigh, my halberd floating beside me like the creepy weapon of life stealing it was. "I don''t see you or anyone else doing it for me." My reply was apparently somewhat stinging as the maid gulped."W-w-well, these are all priceless artefacts... for us lowborn peasants to lay h-." I sighed."If you don''t want to work then get the hell out. The mayor, the appraisers, the herbalists and needlessly hired hands are more than enough people to help me with this." "They are indeed more than enough to settle this matter alone, young mistress! You need not spend any more time in this.. dusty and infested attic." She countered with a grimace as I caught her wink towards one of the hired hands. The man nodded back with a greedy smile."Francesca..." I spoke her name in a tone of annoyance and silent rage."Y-yes?!" She yelped at the tone of my voice, her adamant need to get me out of here seemingly receeding."Take yourself and your little boyfriends out of here before I have you all beheaded for thievery. You can tell the king whatever you want as for the reason why you were exiled from this place, but I sincerely doubt that he will believe you over me." Her shaking form betrayed the outrage she felt, but knowing that she was in the wrong caused her to keep her mouth shut as she signaled several men and women alike to get out of the room, following behind them with a curt bow. The witch sought to steal some of my treasures. How disgustingly convinient. I was just about to look for ways to get rid of the Kings spy myself. Thankfully, there was no need for ... complications."That was rather splendid, your highness. Though we do have less manpower now..." The mayor complimented me with a bright smile upon his frame. I let out a sigh."Thank you, mayor... In all honestly, the trade off might just be worth it. You there, start examining those dried herbs and cataloguing whatever alchemical potions you can find. If you can find out exactly what each potion is for then thats extra pay for you." The herbalists, some of which were also alchemists, got excited at the prospect of earning more money and thus got to work."Appraisers and hired hands.. I know that theres a load and a half of boxes, plaques and chests which we have to rummage through and while I can''t exactly promise you the same payment as the herbalists, I can promise you a divided share of the eventual profits. You see I intend to sell most, if not all of this crap, so the better you appraise it, the less artefacts get damaged from accidents, the more gold will eventually be in your pockets. However, anything you break, you buy, got that?" A set of silent nods, several of which appeared slow and confident, were my answer as I turned my head back around."Milady, look here!" Following the mayors voice, I came across a hidden treasure chest full of gold coins and had their gleaming light pierce the veil around my heart... untill I realized that they were ancient and rusted."Dhurrian coins?" The mayor nodded, his formerly excited face now filled with dissappointment."Sadly yes... funny how gold coins can be worthless if they come from a nation of demons, no? Still, they''re made out of ... mostly gold. If we were to smelt them, it''d still be a big profit, although not nearly as much as this entire chest would otherwise provide." Originally, demon coins or not the Dhurrian gold was as usable as any other form of money within the three kingdoms... but one greedy king saw how the chosen heroes of the past were using said coins to purchase whatever they needed within his country. This influx of a new and, to him as a merchant, rather unwanted currency caused the king to bribe the Church to proclaim the coins cursed and vile, making them about as worthless as stones. Naturally, the money wasn''t cursed and it was all happily moved to the kings treasury, where it was melted and replaced with about half of its worth as normal Clausian gold. Most of the nobility see this event as something shrewd... but I just think of it as a waste of money. He could''ve had the church *bless* the money and *purify* its taint, taken it all for even greater value as it was now blessed money and given half of it to the church. The heroes could weep all they wanted, but the gold would no longer be theirs."Then do it... this should be around two thousand gold, perhaps a little bit less by eye measurement alone. What do you think, Yvain?" He rubbed his chin in thought."Honestly? I''d place that at around one and a half thousand at best, but who knows. Perhaps we could sell them to a collector for some more? In any case, we shall have to consider multiple option-hey, whats that you''re holding?" I blinked in confusion as I realized that I held a single coin in my right hand... suddenly, the coin started to glow an ethereal, clearly holy light. It illuminated the entire area and blinded me."GAH!" Many of the workers turned to stare at the light before it died down, still in my hand as I regained my sight. Then, the coin started to... to bleed."Ugh, what the hell?!"This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. I waved my hand away and yet, neither the coin nor the blood moved themselves of off my hand. The blood then weaved itself into the coin and it was reshaped before my very eyes, eventually collapsing into the shape of a beautiful, runed ring with a white diamond radiating holy energy on the top. It was a rather wonderful piece of jewelry."Th-th-that w-was?!" Yvain shook his head out of his stupor yet did not manage to say anything as he watched me put the ring onto my left ring finger, finding its shine to be as seductive as it was beautiful."Milady, are you sure putting that on is a good idea?" Yvain asked me with a worried glance as I watched the ring with some interest, the sheer Chaos Energy leaking off of it made me feel healthier by the second... yet there was something else about the ring. Something holy. Something... cruelly divine."I.. have no idea, Yvain. I think this ring might just be one of mothers artefacts, one of those which she bound to her own soul considering how it was willing to reveal its true form to me." "Your mothers? This is one of the artefacts used to defeat the former Demon King, eh? Wonder what it does." He stated with wide eyes as I chuckled and shook my head in negative in order to answer his somewhat question."I have no bloody idea... but while there was a lot of blood involved, the light was clearly a form of holy energy... so maybe it was a holy artefact that got corrupted so mother put it away?" I tried to remove the ring, causing me to feel extreme amounts of pain as I did."Urgh!" I grit my teeth as I quickly pulled my other hand away."Uhh.. looks like I can''t remove it anymore either way..." "Ahh, figures... and to think that beautiful diamond on top could have been the answer to all our problems, most likely. Anyways, at least it looks good on you, milady." He sighed but spoke the last bit with a beaming smile, like a true merchant and gentleman at the same time. I chuckled at the mans antics."Oooh, flattery will get you everywhere, mayor. Especially if you keep that up." "Well, I don''t know about that, milady. You may think it amusing, but if others heard me using my best lines on a lady as young as yourself..." He swallowed in uncertainty as I laughed at him.".. people might start saying rumors." "And those are costly to get rid off?" I asked him in a joking tone to which he replied with a rather comical sweat drop."Very. Costly." "EUREKA!" One of the herbalists exclaimed suddenly, stunning people and causing more than one person to drop what they were carrying."Those were some priceless antiques! You better have a good reason as to why you just screamed!" The mayor exclaimed as a young woman somewhere in her twenties, clan in a green dress, gray cowl and barefoot with the signiature stench of dried herb all over her, rushed towards us with a bright, excited smile upon her face."Your highness! My name is Irene and I am a druid from a nearby village but thats not important! Come, come! You have to see this!" "Alright, alright, calm down champ and, show me what you found." I chuckled merrily at the supremely excited girl as me and the mayor followed her with curiosity etched upon our faces. She brought us towards the other end of the attic where a myriad of dried herbs and alchemical potions were stashed alongside some kind of laboratory... though it appeared dusty and unused, with many alembics shattered long ago. Mother abandoned this place, long before father died. I wonder why. Irene took a strange, leathery book out of a closet and flipped towards a certain page showing an herb with a bulbous crimson pod... I knew this herb. Its name is Devils Glory... it is a cursed herb which should be destroyed on the spot, or so the church would like everyone to think. In truth."As you may know, this herb is the legendary Devils Glory! Although it requires extensive care and is very dangerous to the untrained harvesters, when properly handled it can be made into one of the highest grade healing potions known to the world! When we passed by your mothers garden, I noticed these herbs growing everywhere and reading through this book, I ... have found evidence that your mother was attempting to gain immortality from these herbs. She sadly failed, but managed to create an amazing healing potion nonetheless alonside a detailed process of how to care for the herbs during all stages of its growth to its time of harvest! If you would hire me, I could easily procure this potion for you, as well as care for the herbs in the garden!" The shine of gold was etched into her eyes, not to mention a heathy amount of ambition."Hmmm, are you willing to show me results first, then discuss the amount you would be paid?" She nodded feverish."Yes! Of course, madam! It should not take me long to create one of these potions as the herbs outside are more than overgrown and ripe for plucking! Not to mention that this lab here has all I need otherwise." I took one look at the shattered alchemic table and turned towards Yvain."This could be a potentially long term gold mine... how much does a new alchemic set cost?" "If you want one thats the same quality as your mothers... which was sadly annihilated in the explosion, around two hundred gold coin." He replied with a sigh as I closed my eyes for the moment before turning towards the excited girl."Alright... listen here, I can''t provide you with a better lab right now nor can I pay you for your work for the time being however that is liable to change soon. Are you still willing to work for me?" "I already said yes milady. As my father would always say; quit digging, you''ve already struck gold!" I blinked at her cheery tone and shrugged as the mayor nodded."Well, I guess that means you''re hired then. When can you start?" "Stefan, Bryn and Antonia! We''ve got a job to do in the garden!!" She made her way towards her three friends..."Uh.." Yvain blinked uncertainly. "Guess she forgot to mention that her friends would be getting hired too.. oh well, a problem for another time. Hopefully, mothers high grade healing potions are going to sell well." I sighed heavily as I turned my head to look back at the ring. Its pure, white gleam shone against my eyes and blinded me for the briefest moment, causing me to close my eyes in thought."Anyways, I have to leave the rest of the pilfering here to you, mayor... I need to go find what remains of my books and order a new set of Academic materials." He sighed, much the same as I did and nodded."As you wish, milady. Shall we meet in the courtroom after dinnertime? Your mother has had some artefacts of... unwanted quality. If we were to find one such artefact then I believe you should have a say as to what happens to them." A nod was his answer, as the man most likely meant something along the lines of that infernal crown... You see, as most mages do, mother preffered fire magic as her go to offensive magic. In order to gain the level of fire magic needed to fight against the former Demon King, she subdued one of his infernal minions... an elemental lord of primal fire named Az''ni. A terrifiying beast who incinerated whole cities for fun and games, killing thousands each year from the moment of his creation at the Demon Kings hands. A creature born of magic, he could not be killed through conventional means, so mother bound his soul into a jeweled crown, transforming it into a magical artefact of awesome power that granted its user unparralled command over fire itself. The church wanted the artefact destroyed, of course. No doubt their desire would not have changed now. However, that level of power... I must admit that I have... other interests concerning it. After all, as the shunned goddess, surely Mother Vytar would not mind me using such a thing for my own purposes... right?
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
And that is it for this chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I hope you enjoyed it!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 6. Pulse And Pain Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everyone! How''re are you all doing today?
Yes, yes. Its literally 5 AM here where I am. We''ve all heard this crap before. I figure that in order for this story to become more popular, I just need to dish out some more chapters. I mean, with EUPHORIA having over one thousand followers and two of its chapters being basic advertisements to it, I guess its just a matter of time before Destiny: Infernal garners a degree of interest. Still, whats putting me off this story is the fact that EUPHORIA easily achieved over 20 comments per chapter in its early days, which is the reason why I was so damn inspired to type it down. On the other hand, it feels like Infernal is just... depressingly low. Anyways, here comes the next chapter! I sincerely hope you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Sometime later... - Alice''s Bedroom - Alice''s Point Of View...
My hand reaches for a quill that had already been dipped in fine black ink, seemingly something dug out of the storerooms by the servants while I was sleeping on my throne. An uncertain final look around my room confirmed something that I had been wondering about for quite some time now. Ever since my awakening really. From the moment I awoke, I realized that the many books I brought back with me from Sorciere were missing, yet I said nothing about it. More urgent matters required my attention, after all. After what happened just moments ago with the kings maid unwillingly revealing her kleptomanic ways, I can only assume that she stole them long before I ever truly woke from my chaos-induced coma. After all, magic tomes are quite costly on any kind of black market.*Munch munch munch* Chewing loudly and quite rudely as there was nobody around me, I showed another patch of medentes into my mouth as I contemplated the beginning of my letter to the Headmaster of the Academy Of Advanced Magic. Truth be told, I wasn''t even sure of the mans name... Thankfully, this isn''t the only letter my family exchanged with the man, as my father had been an apparent friend and supporter of the headmaster. The old man seems to be attempting some kind of intellectual revolution... to bring out all magical knowledge and amass as much of it as he can within a certain period of time before funding new, minor schools of magic across the continent. Of course, in order to properly establish such buildings, he would need the approval of the lords who reign over them. Now, contrary to popular belief, not a whole lot of nobles from any country practice magic. Most prefer more... physical pursuits. Be that gold, beauty, martial prowess or just raw, unconstrained hedonism depends upon the person. Its like nobody ever told them that you could be more than one thing at any given time. Granted, nobody told me this either, I simply learned it via life experience."Hmm.. what to do, what to write..." I should have asked the King to send this letter in my stead. Too bad I was in no condition to write or even think properly back then. "Come to think of it..." I muttered out in uncertainty as I stared at my own arms. Just a day ago they were the living embodiment of my three month long starvation... now... Now I think they actually have those things often reffered to as muscles. Something which I never had before... "Dear headmaster Orrian Adhana..." I finally began writing the letter, my shattered mind still attempting to comprehend the physical changes to my body.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Or, perhaps more accurately, how exactly to explain them."OW! OW! OW! OW! attaaaa..." The ring on my left hand suddenly pulsed, white energy erupting outwards and slamming against my head like a pile of rocks. Yet, instead of a plausibly predictable headache, I felt as if my mind was cleaned out... calm. Soothed. Sedated. "Great. As if one sentient artefact wasn''t enough... Are you telling me to use you to explain my physique?" The ring seemed to bloom in approval as I blinked in utter confusion."What makes you think people will buy that?" The blooming light stopped and for an eternal moment, I received no reply... but then, blood burst out of my arm."AH!" I yelped in surprise but... not in pain. Calming myself, I took a look at my hand to find that the blood hadn''t actually covered anything other than my skin, eventually forming letters. Readable letters."Because it is the truth." A blink. No make that several blinks, before the blood retreated back into my hand, healing any form of wound caused by the sudden eruption."Well thats... cool, I guess. Since you''re the cause for my physique then that means you can affect my body directly, yeah?" Another affirmative bloom, a sparking shine on the white diamonds surface."Then can you make it easier for us to communicate? To start with: bloom twice for no, once for yes." The ring bloomed twice."No, huh? Well, I guess the yes and no thing will be enough for now." It bloomed once. With that, I returned to the letter."I, Alice Pendragon, High Lady Of The Kingdom Of Clausia and rightful regent of the lands belonging to the duchy of Axilar, as well as the northern Edge Lands, write to you in a time of desperation and need. As you may have been informed, ruin has come to my family and I am the only one left of my bloodline, which is sadly why this letter cannot reach you directly from either of my parents hands. Although I feel that even asking you for this is an insult to everyone you''ve denied access to the Academy beforehand, I must beg that you allow entrance into the Academy without fully paying for my classes. At the very least, not all of them upon entry as his majesty the King has confiscated my family fortune in order to fuel the War which I hope will aid in bringing him victory on the battlefield. Alas, this also leaves me in a rather dangerous posistion. Though my servants are well paid and the castle well stocked, I am sadly unable to pay the full price, or any price in all honesty, that my application to your esteemed Academy requires of me. However, should you accept my plea and allow me to repay you later on, I am willing to pay double the price of any class I take upon entry." There... that should be okay. Its .. nowhere near perfect, but I''ve never been that great at writing letters. Honestly, this is maybe my fourth letter ever written. Come to think of it, the other three were never really answered but they were also sent to my parents so... Shaking my head out of my stupor, I promptly slammed my family sigil onto the letter, a grand magma drake perched onto a ledge of black stone breathing fire into the skies and towards the blasted sun. Hmm... something is strange. The way that the dragons fire is reaching towards the sun makes it look like... the sun is... Bleeding?"How interesting.. Why hadn''t I ever noticed that before?" Muttering out somewhat loudly to myself as I turned around to look at an actual, physical representation of my family banner, I find that seeing the bigger image only confirms what I just noticed."Maybe the sun has some kind of connection to Chaos?" I mean, it wouldn''t be too surprising. It is essentially a gigantic ball of fire. And fire is pretty much the epitome of Chaos, yeah? The Sun gives life to the world, yet is also fully capable of taking it at any given time. It merely chooses not to. Or does it? Is the Sun a sentient thing? Maybe its a gigantic eye of Chaos, made to watch over our world? "AH!" A sudden, strange and convulted sound ruptures my mind, overriding any form of thought. It thundered across the entirety of my mind and soul alike, eventually causing me to fall onto my knees in pain, yet as soon as my knees touched the ground, I understood its meaning. No. That... meant... no. A turn of my head forces me to look into a nearby mirror, allowing me to see my eyes suddenly starting to bleed, as if the blood vessels in them were torn apart. The pain subsided and I instinctively rubbed my eyes, causing the blood to re-enter my body and my eyes to recover as soon as I closed them."Chaos..." Well if this is its way of telling me no then... Excuse me if I''m just a little bit scared. Then again, maybe since Chaos is such an overpowering being in comparison to me... this could have very well been the least painful reply I could have received. My ring bloomed twice."Guess not, h-huh?" I shook my head out of my stupor, closed the letter and walked out of my room, more than a little bit shaken as I nearly failed to grasp Luctus with enough strength to rise the halberd off the slate floor.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Right. Its 7AM now. Urge to sleep, rising. Can''t type anymore. Will stay for a bit longer to edit out mistakes/reply to early comments if there are any.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 7. A Nobles Maddening Duty Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you doing?
I hereby proudly pronouce the start of the one chapter per day marathon. If I do not post at least one chapter per day then that means something has gone wrong. Why do this now, you might be asking, whats changed? Well, while everyone else is finally going off on vacations, I''ve finally come off mine. Which means that I have excess time. Most of it will be used for studying, but my plan is atleast three hours of study and one chapter a day. Just an excercise of sorts, something I will force myself to follow in order to regain a certain sense of working. Right now, I''m a tad bit too lazy. Or, perhaps lazy is bad way to say it, unmotivated is much better. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal. I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Sometime later... - The Throne Room - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Right then, lets get this over with." The good mayor spoke with a sigh as the sat down on a nearby chair and pulled out several papers and waited for a servant to hand him a quill as he began doing mathematic calculations concerning our current plans. A new voice echoed right afterwards from my right side as I took my seat upon the throne."Please, while you are indeed a High Lady now, do not hesitate to ask for advice from either mister Yvain or myself." Magistrate Bayley spoke with a rather courteous tone, yet I knew that he was groaning inside, thinking he would have to work a whole lot more now that his employer is a child. I let out a massive sigh as two peasants were dragged in front of me, both of them in chains. That''s right, its time to do my job as High Lady and be the judge, jury and executioner. A guard whom I did not recognize walked forward and bowed before me."Milady, these two men were stopped in an attempt to kill one another in a tavern. The cause of their fight is unclear and neither wishes to speak of it, so the case had to be brought before you as is standard procedure." "Not wish to talk about it?! Bullshit! I''ve already said several times that I attacked this idiot because he stole two of my piglets!" One of the peasants, lets just call him villager one from now, yelled out in rage. The guard promptly slammed a fist into his stomach."You will speak when spoken to, understand?" The man spoke with spite towards the now fallen villager one. I turned my head towards villager two, promptly ignoring the guard for the moment."And you? What do you have to say for yourself?" "A''ve naught to say. Dis fool attacked me ''or no reason." Villager two had a bit of an ... village tongue, it seems. Come to think of it, the way the guard spoke was pretty forced. Maybe they''re from the same village and villager one is from another. Yet that still does not confirm anything at all. I sighed and closed my eyes in thought... I wonder if he stole the piglets for food?"Guard, take off his shirt." I say as I point at villager two. A slow nod is my answer as the guard approached villager two and knelt beside him."Stay silent and don''t do anything rash." He whispered into the other mans ear, just as stealthily as one would expect from a peasant. I sighed and ignored it as I rose from my throne and walked over to the now shirtless man."Hmm.. muscled, some stretchmarks.. you didn''t steal the pigs because you were hungry, apparently." I said as the duo stared at me in shock. "Missus, ya got et wrong, I di-". I placed my hand onto his mouth to shut him up."I don''t believe you." "Heh heh..." Villager one chuckled and snorted at the dumbfounded duo. Walking back around the man, I took a long look at his hands and found that the tips of his fingers were completely red, as if something was repedeatedly pressed into them."Yvain, come here." "Right away, your highness?" He blinked as he walked over and knelt next to me as he tried to find what I was looking at. He saw the fingers of the villager and showed me his, confirming the fact that the man was counting coins."So you like counting coins, do you?" Villager two and the guard exchanged a look and then the guard nodded."Yeah, my missus... I''s not that good at calculus, so I hafta do et more than once... just to be sure." A nod was his answer, his heartbeat was stable for the moment, which means he wasn''t lying."Put his shirt back on." A sigh of relief escaped the duo as I walked over to villager one."You aren''t from the same village as them, yet you have to be close enough for him to steal the pigs which also means you two know each other from before. Has anything of note happened to your friend here lately?" Villager one shook his head."I don''t know, milady... apart from his son getting married, not-... You did not." He turned around to face the man, who was currently looking away in shame. His previous nonchalancy fading away as I let out a massive sigh."So, this is what I believe happened." "Number two here had to help his son pay the so called bride-price in order to ensure the marriage would actually happen. However, as he realized after several times of recounting his coin, he did not have enough money to buy new piglets, so he stole them instead. Number one actually saw this, yet did nothing about it as the two knew each other for a long time so he figured he would just ask him about it the next time they hit a tavern together. Nice plan, all in all, fairly just too. After all, maybe something terrible happened and the man needs the pigs to feed his family." I said in one breath as I walked in front of the three people who were staring at me with wide eyes. The mayor and the magistrate weren''t much better off."However, number two refused to admit his wrongdoings, eventually resulting in the fight. The guard who brought you two here is most likely either a friend of number two or the man who will be paid the bridal price.. maybe both." The guard swallowed down hard and nodded."Both, milady. I am ... please forgive me." A nod."Now, the reason why he stole the piglets instead of giving some cows for the bride-price is?" Villager one nodded towards me as he answered in two''s stead."Aye, to give a cow as payment for the bride is.. tis the same as saying that the bride is a bimbo. Its an insult to the family from which the bride comes from and to the son as it means he is marrying a woman his own father believes to be a whore." A deep breath is what I let out before closing my eyes in thought once more."Two, you used a word like calculus before, which means that despite you having to count several times before being sure of something, you can do basic mathematics since you were most likely tutored by someone, yes?" Another nod."Tis as you say, milady." He seems to have dropped the peasant talk too. I quirked an eyebrow at the man before continuing."You are a farmer, no? What do you produce the most?" "That''d be corn, milady... I also have some apple trees, but they don''t give enough to be worth mentioning." He replied as I returned to my throne."Very well, I am ready to give my verdict."The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Sitting back onto it, I spoke with my right hand raised high into the air, the national symbol of judges."Number two, you will give twenty percent of your next harvest to number one. Should you fail to comply, number one may report your wrongdoing once more and then you shall lose one of your limbs." A breath."You, guardsman... you wished to abuse your granted office, yet you failed miserably. You shall henceforth be fired from your post for the moment. You may continue working as a guardsman, yet you shant be paid for your work for the next two months." A grim nod from the guard and a bow."As for number two''s punishment, ten lashes to the hands. Number one shall receive five lashes to the back, for resorting to physical force and endangering those around him, regardless of the fight having a just cause." I leaned back into my throne."This is my final verdict. Take them away." "That was rather splendid, your highness." Yvain said with a whistle as the magistrate nodded, pleasantly surprised."Indeed. I had expected this to take far longer than neccessary and that you would rely on us more, yet all you did was ask the mayor to come see the peasants hands. You have done very well, milady." "Not to mention how you were... surprisingly just with the punishments, there." Yvain added to the compliments as I quirked an eyebrow at the two."Are you two related somehow?" They both coughed uncomfortably as the magistrate replied."We are cousins, milady. Our grandmothers were sisters." A nod from me."I see." Then I turned around back towards the door and yelled."Next!" A man along with five female slaves of varying races were pushed inside, all of them bound in chains. The only reason why I knew the human man himself was not a slave was because of his rich, very merchant-like clothing."This man had tried to gain these slaves for his own personal pleasure, yet did not wish to pay for them. So he killed the slavemaster and stole the slaves..." One of my retainers spoke with a disgusted snort. I knew for sure that there was more to this story, yet the fulfilment of my own desires required several slaves... and five was a nice number. I walked over to the slaves and inspected them. All female, three of them beastkin, one halfbreed beastkin and an elf. All were around the ages of sixteen, pretty much at the top of their worth as slaves. It was highly unlikely that a chance like this would present itself again."Milady?" The magistrate questioned me for my silence. I sighed."Hang the man, send the slaves to my prison and feed them. I''ll deal with them later." "B-but w-w-wait, I-I-I can p-p-pay you, your h-h-highness! You can e-e-even keep the g-g-girls!" The man screamed out in horror as I quirked an eyebrow and sent a cheery laugh towards him."Alright, let it be known that I am not unreasonable. How much?" "T-t-t-twenty gold coin? Would that be enough?" He threw a glance towards the mayor and the magistrate, both of which let out a massive sigh."Trying to tell the duo to keep their mouths shut so you can pay the real bribe money to them later? "UGH!" He was sweating now as I let out a massive laugh, much to the dismay of my retainers."Little fool, I know that these slaves are each worth at least fifty gold each! Considering that you were even in the market for their like... you should really try to beef up that bribe if you want to keep your life." He took one look at me and despaired, taking out a pouch full of gold from a hidden pocket under his coat.."Eighty Clausian gold coins... and the slaves... for my life." "Good boy. Take them away." I took the pouch and promptly threw it into the hands of the mayor, who barely managed to catch them without spilling the gold onto the floor."Next!" A male beastkin was dragged inside, his body covered in chains and his eyes covered in a blindfold. His entire self was drenched in thick, crimson blood and mattered fur. Someone''s been busy. A look towards my retainers caused one of them to raise a paper and begin reading."This beastkin filth had attacked, killed and devoured a group of human men after failing to control his animal self." "Hruff." The beastkin scoffed as I walked towards him, his nose sniffing heavily as I walked into his presence."You don''t smell very nice either." He merely scoffed in response, saying nothing. I began my inspection. Several empty weapon scabbards could clearly be seen on the man, alongside a great many patchwork pockets for throwing knives and other surprise weaponry. Someone was getting ready to die."Are you a soldier?" The beastkin shook his head in negative."I see." Then that means he was preparing himself for one final fight. This was no random moment of carnage. The men he saw and killed had awoken the beast inside of him."Did he harm anyone other than the group of men?" "No. In fact, he seemed to ignore anyone else. Even the guards who came to attempt to stop him." My retainer replied, still with a tone full of disgust. So this was a case of revenge. A look upwards allowed me to notice that the man had a pendant of Vytar, of the shunned beast goddes. My, goddess. While I bought mine out of pure zealotry, beaskin men usually give such pendants to their loved ones upon marriage. This man had a wife, most likely a family too."The men he killed, anything special about them?" "They were scum. Mere armed peasans, mercenaries at best and highwaymen at worst." Was my reply as the story clicked in my mind. I let out another massive sigh."This man had a wife once. A wife who had been raped and killed alongside his children while he was away." The beastkins jaw fell to the floor."W-wh.. h-how?" I continued the story."Once he witnessed the scene and gained enough information about his family''s killers, he spent every coin he had to prepare himself in order to have his revenge. The men were animals and so he became an animal in order to return the favor." I returned to my throne."I will now give my verdict." I sat down, ignoring the mass of dumbfounded onlookers as I rose my hand sky high once more."Throw him into the oubliette for now, but keep him alive only on plant gruel... use weeds. Should he survive for five months, he will be a free man." Tears flowed down the beastkins covered eyes."W-why.. just kill me, please..." "Regardless of your actions having a just cause, you still took the lives of others, not to mention devouring people. You are no better than the men you killed. They also probably had families of their own. How do you think their families feel now that they have to bury the half-eaten remains of their loved ones? If this were a beastkin nation, you would be flayed alive and then burned at the stake as mages enhance your ability to feel pain. This verdict... my verdict, will torture you just as much. You will be bound in chains, unable to move as my servants ensure that you survive. Your guilt will devour you, body and mind so that once you are finally out of that cage, you will be nothing more than a walking husk. You are a monster, just the same as the men you killed and ate." My verdict, my words send shivers down the spines of all those present, including the beastkin. In truth... He will not live at all. He will serve as yet another test subject for my pleasure. I will slowly drain him of life while ensuring he survives for as long as possible. I want to see if there are any side effects to having your life stolen repedeatly for a long period of time."Take him away. May mother Vytar have mercy on you, monster. For you can be sure that I will not." His widening eyes were clearly visible even beneath the blindfold, his shock and horror took away any form of sound as he was dragged away on heavy, heaving chains as hot tears flowed down his cheeks."M-milady.. that was.." Yvain began. "Amazing... yet horrifying nonetheless." His cousin finished as I ignored them both and leaned into my throne."Next." "This will be the final case for today, your highness." One of my retainers spoke with a still, terrified tone as the guards brought in ... an old orc. He seemed to be wearing a sash over his eyes.. Or a sash where his eyes were supposed to be, anyways. An old, gray haired orc that seemed to exhude a very familiar aura."A-a-a-aaah... THERE SHE IS! SHE WHO WILL BRING RUIN UPON US ALL!" He screeched out loud as he rose his chained hands and pointed at me, causing me to blink."Ahem, this ... madman, has been screaming obscenities directed towards you for the entirety of today morning. He seemingly appeared out of nowhere and started preaching... impossiblities." They said as the old orc shook in terror, his legs shaking as something yellow flowed down his legs."NO! YOU DON''T UNDERSTAND, YOU IGNORANT FOOLS! SHE CARRIES THE BLOOD OF THE EATER OF WORLDSSSSS!" I blinked at the orc in amusement and nodded before bursting out in laughter."Bathe him, feed him and clothe him. After that, bring him to my chambers, my court could use a good jester. And the best jesters are always the crazy ones." "Are you sure thats a good idea, milady?" Yvain asked as I answered him with a glare."R-right... then that will be all for now." "SHE WILL OPEN THE GATE FOR HIM! THE MAD ELVEN EMPRESS WILL AWAKEN, ONLY TO COME FOR HER AND DOOM US ALL!" The old orc screamed out yet again, this time saying something which caught my attention. The mad empress will awaken and come for me? That sounds... familiar.
Around that same time... - A Certain Temple - Nobody''s Point Of View...
A great many elves rushed around their golden temple grounds. This temple, although used as a place of worship, was actually a giant mausoleum carrying within it their ancient regent. "SHE WAKES! SHE WAKES!" One of the priests exclaimed in both horror and joy. The grand imagery around him twisting and turning as reality broke and reforged itself with the waking of his empress. Her twisted magics tearing the very fabric of creation asunder as life returned to her. To her skinless, exposed self. Crimson energies thundered wildly, flashing and slashing at everything around them, killing servants and lords alike without hesitation as their bodies were consumed. Becoming fuel to feed her grotesque awakening. One eye opened as the golden stone coffin exploded, its upper piece which weighed tons after tons, being sent flying across the temple with the speed of a bullet, as if thrown by a dragon. "Her majesty, Empress Ash''ilithine has awakened!" He exclaimed again, just in time for a piece of the coffin to slam into his mortal body and splatter the floor with crimson, elven blood.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Oooh, things are beginning to heat up! Yes, this story will be going a bit more quickly than Euphoria plotwise. Hopefully this will keep people interested.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 8. Cata-combed Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Heres to hope none of you got scared since I didn''t update yesterday. Don''t worry, the marathon continues as planned. I updated two chapters two days ago since I knew that I wouldn''t be able to yesterday. That''s all. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny; Infernal. I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
The Following Evening - Alice''s Castle - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Milady, milady! Theres trouble in the courtyard! A wraith knight has appeared." One of my guards came rushing through the door with panic etched onto his face. His tone sounded urgent and yet, somehow hesitant."So? Undead rise every so often... a single skeleton knight shouldn''t be a problem for you to deal with, no?" The mayor answered in my stead as the guard took a moment to catch his breath before standing upright and bowing."W-well yes but... this knight is.. he came from the Pendragon family catacombs." A blink and then several more before my brain caught up with the situation and I just got off my throne, grabbed Luctus and walked outside. It took me a minute to reach the catacombs but thankfully, I did not need to go inside, for in front of the giant tomb stood a skeletal knight in literally shining armor, a pale blue flame blazing from the inside of his armor, giving the knight a rather terrifying look as the flames seemed to consume his skull. I could feel the life reeling off of him, even as an undead. The knights shape though, was what caught my attention, for it was a very familiar one."Father?" I asked with an uncharacteristic tremor in my voice as the skeletal being turned to look at me and nearly instantly the flames consuming his skull dissipated... he seemed to.. cry."A-alice... n-no.. I didn''t w-want this..." The knight fell to his knees and I turned my head around to my guards."Just.. leave." A somber nod was my answer as the knights saluted me and left."Father? What is this about?... I mean, not that I''m not happy to see you but.. how come you turned into a wraith?" He laughed, an action which caused the entire courtyard to echo with his ethereal voice."Aaah... A wraith, am I? Then this armor must be my soul manifested into a physical form. Well, now I know that the witch wasn''t lying." "Witch? Physical? Erm... dad, I''m genuinely confused." I approached him, fully intent on.. something. I didn''t know what I just felt like I needed to come closer to him. His burning eyes looked right at me again, particularily around my hair, my eyes and the uncharacteristic muscle on my arms."A-Alice.. I am so sorry. If I had known that that wretched curse would fall onto you I would never allow myself to be killed." "Wretched curse? You mean Chaos?" I questioned him, causing father to give me a somber nod."Come, my child... let us go somewhere more appropriate to discuss this... the catacombs have always given me the creeps." Quirking an eyebrow at his speech pattern, I blinked. This seemed to indeed be the man known as Anthony Pendragon, though I could not tell from his voice alone.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Moments afterwards... - Alice''s Bedroom - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Sometime during our kingdoms third subjugation war against the elven nation to the west, I was unfortunate enough to meet a certain elf witch. Now, this witch, though her name is something I have long since forgotten, mostly because I could never pronounce it correctly, thought of herself as my rival in martial prowess. Her spells seemed to be created for the sole purpose of fighting me and while I did my best to enjoy her strategic deficiency on the battlefield, she had slowly started to become more experienced with leading troops and I could no longer easily predict her actions... so after a few more battles, I finally managed to corner and slay her. However, as witches often do, she placed a curse upon me as she died, saying something cheesy like; Once you die you shalt become that which you hate the most! A vile, mindless undead. I did not pay much heed to this, as during the time I was still new to the powers granted to me by Chaos and the carnage of several wars was fueling that ignorance as best it could. However, as time went on, I began to realize that the power Chaos gave me came with a most terrible price... normality. I could not stand to be a normal person so long as the infection was within my soul. I checked myself, had myself consencrated and blessed, yet the priests were certain that I was not a monster in human form of some kind. Hell, even the previous hero tried to cure my affliction with his light, only to be swatted away like a fly, nearly dying in the process. He wanted to continue trying later on but I forbade it as the Demon King was not yet killed at the time... his desire to cure me had an inspiring effect upon me however, so I continued my search. Yet, whenever I seemed to come even remotely close to the cure I sought, Chaos would take over and cause me to rampage, destroying everything I had worked for in the process." The wraith said in a single breath. Or did he even need to breathe? I honestly couldn''t tell."Erm.. I''m not sure what to say to that? Normality is its price? That does not seem too bad exactly?" He laughed."If I told my younger self this, I would get the same answer. In time, you will learn just how much normality means to you." I quirked an eyebrow at him but made no verbal reply as my father continued his story."Eventually, it dawned on me that Chaos had a certain limit... it could not affect the undead. While I could use my powers to heal nearly any form of organic wound, my powers did not work on the undead of any kind, not even vampires. So I decided to kill myself and see if the witchs curse would take hold... I see now that this was just another ploy of that despicable fire. I ... was an unwilling slave, so it got rid of me and passed its vile curse onto my only child." "Without it, I would not have survived your death father... mother tried to kill me." I promptly dropped the bomb onto him, causing the man to do a double take before nodding."Yes.. I figured something like that might happen. I only hoped you would survive untill I am reborn.. where is your mother now, in the dungeon?" "Shes long dead. Consumed by whatever the hell kind of daemon she tried to summon into this world." He leaned back into the chair he was sitting on."Long dead? How long have I been...?" "Three months." I replied and his skeletal, burning eyes went wide."Oh gods... that must have been harsh on you." I shook my head in negative, feeling my hands starting to itch."It wasnt. I was in a coma for all this time... I only woke up a few days ago." He blinked at me in wonder and turned towards Luctus for the briefest moment."I see..." Then he turned away from it in disgust."Good. I no longer feel the incessant need to wield that accursed thing whereever I go. In any case, three months you say? That means you are about to go to school again, right? The headmaster is my friend, so even if that son of a bitch Rudolf took all of the gold I hoarded, I should be able to coerce him into giving you acess to the Academy." "I already sent a letter, though." Was my rather blank reply as the itching in my bones tripled, my eyes beginning to water as I attempted to close my heart to no avail. My father then rose from his seat, seemingly pushing tears of his own away as he knelt in front of me."You did? Ahh, my little girl... sometimes I think you grow up too fast for your own good. Though, I suppose Chaos desires you that way.." Unable to stop myself, I promptly threw my hands around dad and let my tears flow out."DAD!" He did not miss a single beat to hug me back."Oh my dear, sweet Alice... what have I done to you?" He muttered out sadly as he pulled me closer, liquid ectoplasm flowing down his skeletal cheeks in what I could only assume was an imitation of tears.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Sorry for short chapter. Something importants come up and I can''t delay it any further. I''ll probably post another short chapter today for Euphoria later. Untill then, stay tuned!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 9. Magics. MAGICS EVERYWHERE! Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Heylo there peeps and peepettes, I''m back home. As in my birth town. Sadly, my headache-inducing illness followed me here, but I should be alright. Given time... that is. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Two weeks later... - Road To Sorciere - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Oryaah!" The coachman made a strange sound as he lightly tapped the horse pulling my carriage, apparently the roads were free of other people so he could speed up. Which was strange in itself."We should be careful, my daughter... these roads have never been quite so... empty." My father, whom I had bound to myself as a familiar, by his own choice as he would not be able to leave the area around the catacombs where he was resurrected otherwise, spoke in a rather worried tone."Well... not like we can do much about it. I mean, if I let you out of the carriage before Sorciere, its just going to cause more trouble for us." He turned to look downwards, his skeletal frame appearing somewhat sundered as the third person inside of the carriage gave out a rather merry laugh, her newly sewn maid outfit swaying as she did."Come now mistress, there''s no need to be so mean to your father." Faervel, an apparently ancient but scorned elven priestess, or former priestess, sold into slavery for whatever unknown shame she brought upon herself and her family decades ago. She was one of the five slaves the fat merchant stole and I stole from him... While I originally wanted to kill the slaves to find out what Luctus'' life raking abilities felt like, father stopped me from doing so. He has, in fact, quickly established himself as a walking code of morality for me... I don''t know why, but apparently he hates to love Chaos so much that he wants me to defy its will as much as possible. However, despite forcing me to free the elves, he did nothing to soothe the pain of the beastkin warrior who devoured men for revenge. Little bit of a hypocrite, ain''t he? Perhaps he simply believed the slaves to be unworthy of such a cruel end. He didn''t do anything to stop me from slowly draining the life out of the warrior though. And the process was very, very slow. Some of the older guards eventually came to watch the event for kicks, saying how this reminded them of so-called old times. Apparently, father used to interrogate people like this quite a lot. Hmmm..."I''m not being mean, I''m being reasonable." Was my eventual, yet clearly delayed reply towards Faervel, who merely chuckled at my antics. The supposedly ancient elven woman dressed in a maid outfit had long, green hair which shined in the sunlight almost as if it was golden. For a slave, she had no clear markings upon her skin, no wounds and no scars. Not even a single scratch. A perfect creature in every sense of the word. You can hardly even call her mortal... my instincts screamed at me to say no when she asked me to let her become my maid. When I asked father about it though, he just shrugged and said that if she was some kind of evil demon in disguise, she would probably have large breasts. However, she did not. In contrast to her rather... ahem, large lower body, she was flat as a board."Mistress? Did you say something bad about me just now?" I blinked and tilted my head in confusion."What? I''ve been quiet for the last two minutes." "Truly now? Hmm, I suppose it must''ve been my imagination, then." She turned away, carrying a somewhat angered tone still. I blinked again and snorted."And there you go again.. what are you thinking about, mistress?" "Nothing that should concern you, Faervel." Was my deadpan, cold reply. Something which caused her angry aura to immediately shatter as she bowed towards me."A-ah, to think that I used such a tone when speaking to you, please forgive me!" "Its fine. I was just comparing you to the elves of the ancient tales." She blinked and bit her lip at my lie, though seemingly not because she realized it was a lie... it looked more like she remembered something important. Or something she forgot to do."Ah, I see... thank you, your highness. That is... flattering." She went quiet after that, an air of uncertainty flowing around her like a festering cloud of disease and poison. Something is definitely wrong with this woman."O-HOY!" The coachman stopped the carriage suddenly, causing me to grab onto one of the wooden handles and squash it by sheer physical might alone, yet managing to stop myself from falling either way. Hmm, I''m gonna have to be careful with such panicked reactions in the future. If I could crush a wooden door handle, I might break someones fingers by accident. Children my age aren''t blessed by Chaos, they do not have my given fortitude. Something father also stated as a so-called pro of being infected by the living flame is that after a while, I won''t have any weak spots in my body. No organ damage would be lethal, no amount of broken bones would kill me, no kind of poison or disease would be able to either. This also meant that I would have to suffer through all the otherwise lethal wounds... Anyways, a nod towards my father and my supposedly elven servant was enough to make them stay inside of the carriage for now."Mistress, bandits on the road!" The coachman exclaimed surprisingly calmly for his age. A weathered, war-scarred old man with pure white hair, much like mine... though his was white mostly due to stress and not just because Chaos likes it that way. I closed my eyes for a moment, making myself appear tired as I walked out of the carriage."Oh look ''ere boys and girls! Looks like we caught ourselves a big gurl!" The bandits boss, a rugged, two meter tall man exclaimed loudly, the stench of alcohol clear in the air around him. Nearly barfing, yet managing to stop myself from doing so, I promptly dragged my giant Halberd out of the carriage, making the twelve bandits do a double take."I-is that... wait.." "A black halberd worn by a white haired monster..." One of the bandits began as the others started to shiver... Oh yeah, father was rather famous for killing thousands of their filthy kind. None could question his zeal in upholding the law by executing a whole bunch of criminals... though, in reality that was most likely just a coverup for collecting free essence. Which is exactly what I''m gonna do here."Ooooh, that''s a nice look for you mistress!" The still nameless coachman yelled out in ecstasy as I turned to look at him, an insane expression etched upon his frame. Hmm, maybe the man does indeed have a taste for Chaos? After all, there must be a good reason that father picked him out of the crowd. Wordlessly, I positioned myself and leaped towards the bandit chief who, still shell shocked by my dreadful appearance, was cleaved cleanly in half. I nearly moaned out as I felt his life-force flowing into me, his skin and meat turning to dust and ashes as my halberds blade passed through his abdomen. The other bandits tried their best to run, but my Chaosborne body was far too much for them. One by one, my halberd cleaved through the men and women alike, their screams dying in their own throats as their life essence was devoured, leaving only a pile of skeletons to litter the road. By the end of it, if one was to inspect the area, they would most likely think that a necromancer apprentice had tried to practice his art here on some bandits and failed miserably. After killing all of them, I promptly looted all of their bodies of valuables, finding several nice rings and other jewelry. Granted, most of it was just well-cut garnet with steel or iron, but there was one pendant seemingly made out of pure gold. Rather than a gem, there was the distinct banner of a noble house imprinted on it... a strange sky-reaching tree of green. I didn''t know which dynasty this belonged to or what noble lost it... or it was looted from, but I decided to keep this for the time being. There was also several pouches of coin on the bandits. They seemed to have had several good hauls for the week, not to mention a whole bunch of magic tomes and other such books. Ah, I see... they knew that this week was the last one before the beginning of the Academy school year, so they diligently raided the place. These books were a true prize indeed, for each one was worth five times its weight in gold on any form of black or peasant market. Hell, even pawn shops would buy them for more than a reasonably raised price. Some of these appeared to even be from higher years... these may be worth keeping for myself. In no way am I going to return them to the Academy, however. I am rather short on gold nowadays, despite the potion selling working out and finding a buyer for some of mothers old crap... Out of all the fucking artifacts we found... mothers old underwear was the first thing we sold. I... I can''t say I''m surprised honestly, mother was a rather beautiful woman and the dregs of society are referred to as such for a reason but fifty fucking gold for a pair of panties? I might start stealing underwear from my fellow students at this rate... Hell, I might even sell some of my own sometime. Not too sure father would approve though... the fact we sold mothers underwear was already a matter handled without him knowing about it. In any case, it was time to move on."Coachman, once we reach the city, I want you to pilfer through these books and the other loot I just got. Sell what you can and store away the rest. Keep some to pay for your trip back home and see to it that the carriage is repaired." "Your will, be done." He bowed, still staring at the dry, lifeless skeletons which now littered the roads, as he helped me hide the loot away in a secret backside compartment of the carriage. With that done, I re-entered the carriage and we were on our merry way without any further interruptions. "You should count your coin, darling. One can never be too sure of their own purse!" Fathers deathly voice echoed through the carriage as I nodded, accepting his wisdom without any form of rebuttal. I took out several pouches of gold and threw the ragged sacks away as mothers strange purse made of some kind of gold and purple daemon leather, pulsed somewhat sadly as I took around two hundred gold out of it. It was a kind of magic infinite storage... but for some reason this particular pouch could only hold money. I guess this might be because it was made from the skin of some kind of Greed Daemon? Must be... In any case, my counting of the coins showed that I currently had two hundred and five gold, one hundred and thirty six silver as well as fourty two copper. Heh, I should''ve guessed that the bandits purses would not be filled to the brim with gold. The very notion is kind of stupid, now that I think about it. Still, the fact that they don''t have a whole bunch of gold, yet they do have that huge stack of around fifty books... They must''ve been saying something along the lines of; Your books or yer lyfe! That''s stupid. Its should always be this; All you''ve got or your dead. It is most important to not give any notion of survival to the person you are trying to rob, because this will give them courage, often causing them to stall for time and potentially costing you in the long run. Heh, amateurs. ... don''t look at me like that you nonexistent people. STOP JUDGING ME WITH THOSE UNSEEN EYES! The reason I know so much about robbing people is.. well, as I''ve said before, I been kidnapped so many times that its as ironic as its stupid. Bandits taking me away from some road only to find out how my parents aren''t anywhere nearby and that I was too dangerous to sell into slavery becuase they feared fathers deadly retribution. Eventually, as sad as it is, I got used to the situation and started talking to the more chatty of my captors, gaining valuable insights into what it means to be a bandit. Or a highwayman. Or a thief. ... the titles change, but its all the same criminal profession in the end.. Well, there''s that thing called a thief''s honor which prevents them from killing people but everyone knows that assassins are the best thieves around. In fact; one of fathers many words of wisdom was this; you want someone killed? Hire an assassin! You want something stolen? Hire an assassin! Hell, you want someone slandered, still hire an assassin! As you might be thinking right now, father did like his assassins. In his defense, he did have a shit ton of enemies. People who disapproved of his marriage, his status, jealous of his skills, his wealth and so forth. A noble of any kind has a lot of enemies simply by existing... those can range from disgruntled peasantry, church officials or even the nobility of other kingdoms... Hell, the last ones can even like you, but they''ll still kill you on principle. As a royal High Almoner, father was in charge of distributing excess gold to the poor, to the less fortunate members of our society. Even being granted with this task was a dream of many nobles, as it allowed you nearly unfettered access to the kings own treasury. Many would abuse this position to the ends of this earth, but father did not. And that made him the kings best friend, especially since successful outings brought the both of them a whole bunch of fame, prestige and approval from both the peasantry and virtuous nobility alike. Not many nobles are virtuous, however. This is why father had to deal with a whole bunch of assassins from a whole bunch of different orders. Eventually, he got sick of it, caught an assassin and hired him to kill the one who wanted father dead. The assassin, being a man of gold, did so when presented with an appropriate sum. This allowed father an entrance into the underworld of our kingdom, eventually becoming friends with many guild leaders and transforming himself into a refused target for many assassins as he offered generous donations to their guilds. Hmm, I wonder if I can start using his connections as my own. I''m sure he''d be more than happy to teach me all about intrigue. Other than that, fathers position as High Lord made him a contender for the throne. Should the kings lineage die out, we would be one of those candidates to become the next royal family. This is something I have to be especially careful about, especially since the king wants me to marry one of his sons.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Vengeful or greedy bastards are going to be plotting my demise very soon. I have to be careful and keep an ever-present paranoid outlook on my surroundings. A single sip of the wrong drink can still kill me. Sigh, if only my supposed immunity to poison could arrive sooner. As the last and only member of my line, for now, life will be increasingly difficult for me. Hell, even if I manage to refuse the kings desire to marry me off to one of his ... spawns, this will result in his advisors telling him that killing me would rid the kingdom of a useless noble lineage, thus freeing up a position of power which they could offer to someone more loyal to their cause. Though I am sure that uncle Rudolf would not do this himself, a refuted advisor may just act on his own accord out of sheer spite. Murmurs from the outside woke me from my trance."T-that s-s-symbol..." "Is it really her?" A womans voice echoed with a worried, almost horrified tome, Another voice sighed out somewhat distressed."To think she''d come here... just what we needed, another traumatized student." Ahh, the proffesors are talking about me. They think I''m traumatized. Well, in a way, I suppose I am."We''re here... milady." The nameless coachman said and, taking that as my cue, I promptly tied the demon pouch to my waist and walked outside, taking a moment to ensure that there was no blood on my clothing. I look horrifying anyways, no need to add on to the image."Oh my gods..." A woman said in a tone of horror as she witnessed my pure white hair and golden eyes."She looks like her father started to after the infection took him..." A voice followed after, yet I could not find its origin. Still, it reminded me of father, thus making me unsummon him as to not cause any more trouble."Look at that pale, inhuman skin... oh that poor, poor child." My spite and anger reeled off my body and yet somehow the people around me were not affected. Well, they were mages, ones which did not see any kind of real combat before so its safe to assume that they can''t feel any kind of killing intent. Too bad. I would have reveled in their shock and fear. Ignoring them, I turned towards the coachman."Take Faervel to my new home. You are free to go after that." "As you wish, milady!" He tipped his hat towards me in a gentlemanly way as the elf nodded, somewhat saddened that she could not be seen alongside me right now."Oh, and coach?" He turned around for the last time."Yes, milady?" "Whats your name?" I asked him, causing the man to offer a maddened grin."Please mistress, call me Alex." A nod was his answer as I pushed my bag of books over my shoulder and promptly made my way through the stunted crowd of pitying glances and long, shocked stares...
A few moments later... - The Academy (Headmasters Office) - Alice''s Point Of View...
A large door with strange, glowing magic runes etched into the rich, ebony wood appeared before me as I waited in the hallway in front of the headmasters office. The man known as Orrian Adhana was a high elf, roughly over five hundred years old. He has been here since the establishment of the city all the way till now. Since the kingdoms could not afford to make a human from any country the Academy headmaster as they were afraid of indoctrination, they called for a low-ranked elven noble to take the job. He accepted without pause, greedily indulging himself in the human thirst for power and knowledge as he built the magnificent city around us from the ground up. All of it from the coffers of human kings, nobles and churchmen alike."Miss Pendragon, please come inside." A stone gargoyle, a sentient pet created out of stone and magic alone, spoke suddenly from one of the doors sides, creeping me the hell out as it did. The gargoyle did not even react to my stupefied face."Miss Pendragon, please come inside." It repeated without any emotion as I got out of my stupor and coughed into my fist as I walked through the door and into the other room. A massive library of rising pillars, all full of magical tomes, lay before me. A single desk made of the same runic wood was in the back of the room, behind it was a single window which also glowed with arcane power, most likely because of the enchanted glass it was made off. Neatly placed in rows to my right were large iron chests, each enchanted with magical locks of varying levels, only to be opened once the appropriate unlocking spell was cast on them. To my right, several smaller pillars were erected, upon each was a magical floating grimoire glowing with a different form of magic. I knew these kinds of grimoires were used to check the potential of a students magic... they were something mass produced, really. Yet they still managed to look menacing in the light less, seemingly colorless room. In fact, the only thing here that had color were things of magical nature and the headmaster himself was nowhere to be seen. AN ILLUSION! "Spell Shatter!" I exclaimed as I slammed my palms together, sending out a wave of mana to my surroundings and thus, shattering the intricate spell-work which kept the illusion together, returning color to the world before my eyes."Hmm... passed." An old voice echoed as an elderly man in a wizard robe, but without the hat, approached me. His wizened form was only made further picturesque by his giant grey beard."This was a test of some sort?" The old man nodded as he teleported back into his chair, already in sitting position, with the merest flick of a finger."Indeed, Miss Pendragon... your previous teachers said that no matter what form of illusion they cast upon you, you always managed to notice it and break the spell. The illusion you just broke is often called the *Lifeless World*, as it drains the afflicted of color and makes them unable to react to physical interaction as their brains no longer recognize it for the duration of the spell. However, you broke this rather medium-high level illusion before I could even come close to you... granted, I was walking rather slowly, but I am an old man, after all." A nod was his answer."I ... see? That''s good, I guess.. anyways.." I state as I pull out my pouch only to be stopped by the teleporting old man."That will not be necessary, my dear. Your years here will be free of charge... I owe your parents that much, at least." I laughed at him and smirked as I showed him the pile of gold inside of the pouch."Are you sure about that, mister Adhana?" He blinked at me in confusion and appeared shocked at the amount of gold inside of the pouch... yet seemed to remain unmoved."I am. Now come, we have much to discuss... your previous teachers told me that you never had your magic evaluated. Why is this?" "I uh.. I didn''t think I''d actually be here right now, sir... most nobles don''t continue studying magic but I... I just needed to get the hell away from that castle for some time." A somber nod was my answer as the man realized that I was telling the truth. It really is true, by the way. I didn''t want to be made to judge people day in, day out... plus, I''m safer here. The security of Sorciere is one of its main attractions. A student was assassinated some hundred years ago and since then, the headmaster has made numerous changes to the city, taking the event as a very personal insult. Of course, the nobility of the kingdoms were forced to grudgingly accept his work, as refusing to donate coin to the development of the cities security would mark them as murderers."I understand, but we cannot allow you to enter this Academy without knowing what you are good at. Honestly, making you pick schools of magic which you have no talent for would be a waste of both our times, don''t you think?" "Yes, sir... I suppose that''s why the grimoires are here?" Turning my head around to look towards the still-very-menacing magic tomes, I received a surprised nod of acknowledgement from the man... elf."Clever girl... Please, put your hand on each of the runes on each first page of every grimoire." Blinking at the somewhat confusing sentence, I turn my head back just in time to see the books open themselves and pages flying, as if seeking the correct page, all eventually returning to the first page whereas upon each glowed a magic rune of different origin. Swallowing and walking over to the books as the headmaster continued staring right into my soul, I found out that the pillars did not magically lower themselves to my height. Thus, making me too short to actually do anything to the books above. Figuring out that this was yet another test, I racked my brain for answers. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I summoned up a small amount of mana and focused onto my feet."Winds of the World, carry me upon your graceful hands so that I may know the glory of flight!" My chant was successful as I rose from the ground, somehow managing to control my flight spell to the point that it didn''t cause any damage to the room, that it didn''t send any books or arcane items flying. The headmaster quirked a curious eyebrow at me."There were two spells you could have used there; one being a spell of levitation and the other being one which causes yourself to grow larger... yet, this is the first time in my long life that I have met a student as young as yourself with enough control over their own magic to be able to use Flight without causing a miniature windstorm. You are not the first to try this, but you are the first to successfully do it. Congratulations, young lady." "Ehehehe... thank you, headmaster." I bowed respectfully towards the elf, a bashful appearance etching itself upon me as I turned back towards the books. The first tome was one which glowed a pinkish sheen... Arcane. I felt an unnatural amount of disgust reeling off myself as I stared at the book. An implausible urge to burn it gnawed at me with each and every second... The toneless voice of Chaos ruptured inside of my mind, yet there was no headache this time. It screamed CORRUPTION! I bit back any form of retort as I put my hand onto the grimoire, only to have it knock me onto my ass."Hmm... Not quite talent-less at the Arcane... perhaps a better way to say it would be that the magic itself despises you. Hmm.. your father was the same, how interesting. Must be something in your blood. A true shame, Arcane is the heart of all mortal magic. Without it, one could never know the efficiency of teleportation." A shaken nod was his answer as I continue onward. The next tome seemed to be made entirely out of wood, the knowledge it contained written on rich, living leaves. On its front was the still-beating heart of a dryad and the rune on the first page pulsed a rich, bright green. Life, was the magic of this tome. I placed my hand onto the rune, causing it to offer an immense, cheerful glow. The book seemed to become... happy, at my presence. Yet the voice of Chaos thundered inside of my mind once again. TRAITOROUS AND FILTHY!... BUT USABLE. How... interesting."Hmm.. a great affinity for Life Magic. You may have a future as a druid, shaman or a healer." Saying nothing, I walked over to the next tome. This one did not have a normal rune, just a strange symbol etched into its first page which caused an elemental anomaly to appear floating above the symbol. A collective made up of water, air, earth and fire... all of which eagerly extended themselves towards me and gently grasped my hands... The ring on my finger reacted somewhat strangely to the presence of the elements as they pulled back from my left hand, seemingly terrified of something... could it be the same cruel, yet implausibly perfect light, the presence I felt before? Could be... The voice of Chaos followed soon after, screaming into my mind as tonelessly and soundlessly as it always did. AH! THERE! LOYALTY AND POWER! THEY ARE WORTHY. On the other hand, literally now, the elemental powers seemed to rejoice when they came into contact with my skin, offering the full extent of their power nearly without cost."Hmm... strange reaction. Your father had no such connection to the elements and your mother only received an answer from fire. You, on the other hand, seem to be fully capable of using all of the elements, though I cannot say weather they are terrified of you or if they love you? This will require further experimentation, should you agree to it. You will of course be compensated for your time." "Despite what I showed you earlier, I''m still short on coin so... whenever you feel like experimenting, please do call for me, headmaster." Was my rather quick reply, causing the man to quirk an eyebrow at me but offer no other reply than a nod. I continued onto the next tome. A golden book with rich blue silks covering it. It was a holy tome. A book of divine magic, which pulsed with light. I did not even need to touch it for the book to react to my presence. A pillar of golden light burst forth out of the book, covering me in divine power... cleansing me of any kind of darkness. It felt.. amazing... yet beneath the light, deep within its core, I felt the same cruelty, the same perfection that I had come to know from the ring. Chaos however, did not respond to this... Strange. Most strange. Scary, terrifying even."Aha! An immense talent for Holy Magic.. again, something neither of your parents had, but considering your devotion to Vytar, this is not surprising. Archbishop Delathar will be delighted... students talented in calling upon the divines are rare and also curious objects of study... if, you allow it." Another nod was the mans answer as I neared the final two tomes... Void and Madness. Shadow and Horror. My mind twisted itself as the angered tone of Chaos tore away at my consciousness, this time causing me to fall onto my knees as I could no longer channel the magic into my Flight spell."ARGH!" ENEMY! HATED FOE! KEEEEEEP AWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!... BUT THE EMPTY ONE MAY BE USEFUL... A clear, if somewhat twisted message as the old man quickly teleported next to me."Your talent for the divine has, albeit somewhat predictably, caused you to be sickened by the... darker powers. I wonder if your inability to use the Arcane comes from the same reason?" "I... I think its just the Madness book though..." I muttered out as the old man blinked."Madness? The tomes that remain are filled with Pure Mana and Dark Magic... which one is this Madness, that you speak off, young lady?" I blinked at him and wordlessly pointed towards the tome of Dark Magic. He hummed in thought."Dark Magic is what you call Madness, eh?... How fitting. Yes, items such as those are dangerous enough, even without a user they can corrupt those around them." He walked over to the tome and promptly closed it, causing my headache to disperse instantly."A-aaah..." A wave of relief washed over me as the old man nodded."I would recommend buying some form of cursed artifact, young lady. As one who is talented in divine magic, you may wish to grow a resistance to the effect of dark powers as to keep your future as open as possible. After all, what kind of church would accept a paladin or a healer into their army who could not stand being close to their enemy?" A nod was his answer as I bit back the revulsion gnawing at my soul and walked over to the last book. I placed my hand onto the last rune and closed my mind, felt it emptied as the voice of Chaos... did not scream this time. A power born for creation, used solely for destruction... our opposite. Our hated enemy... yet, should you subjugate it, great power may become yours to wield. Hah, its voice is a lot easier to comprehend when its not angry. How ironic. The magic contained within the book seemed to be reluctant to come into contact with me, appearing somewhat uncertain of my presence. I was an enemy of the very magic contained within it, yet I was also offering to be one of its hosts. Its only logical that the magic would do a double-take. In the end, it offered only the tiniest sliver of itself as a form of handshake, yet appeared not to make any further progress... it was inviting me, as if making a contract. After all, it takes two hands for a proper handshake. Taking a deep breath, I promptly gently grasped the tendril of pure darkness and shook it, causing the magic to retreat back into the book immidiately afterwards."That was... awkward." I muttered out in embarrassment as I turned around to find the old elf furiously scribbling something onto the paper."Oh, you are done. Forgive me, young lady but your interaction with the pure mana was most interesting... Tell you what, there are several things about your magic that I would like to study. You will be excused from classes whenever I have time and should you even have a class at the time, so that we may continue experimenting with your great powers. I offer a salary of two gold per hour. How does that sound?" "That would take care of my daily expenses and then some considering I keep myself to eating normal food and don''t hire too many servants... yes, I accept your offer, headmaster." Was my rather eloquent reply. Even if I gained an immense sum of gold from selling mothers... underwear, I wished to use that money to invest into my county. It is currently riddled with bandits and the orcs to the north inside of the Edge Lands will most likely start their annual raiding soon... I must prepare my lands for their coming. "Ah please, call me Orrian." The old elf replied with a chuckle as he started doing whatever paperwork was necessary for my acceptance into the Academy as we began choosing the classes which I would attend this year. You see, the Academy had two weeks of classes per round. As such, a single round consisted of two weeks. One week, we would attend classes from six in the morning to the thirteenth hour and the other we would attend from the fourteenth hour to the nineteenth hour. This was made in such a way so that the higher years can be separated from the lesser years. First and second year students would start the weeks with a morning one while the higher ones, aka the third and fourth years would start with the evening one. A single year is made up of thirty-six weeks, or eighteen rounds. Holidays and other such events notwithstanding, with the same standard long summer break which lasts three or so months... or so it would have, had I not experienced what I did. My morning weeks would consist of; Mana Manipulation, World History, Divine Literacy, Combat Enchanting and Royal Etiquette. Mana Manipulation classes are really self explanatory. A Monday class which will teach me even better control over my mana, an eternal staple in any mage''s repertoire. World History was a choice which I myself did not make... yet father told me that it was much more interesting that it would seem at first. This is because our world, whose human name is Encore by the way, apparently has some serious connection to Chaos which people thankfully do not remember but will be apparent to me once I hear about it. Divine Literacy is a normal choice considering that I have an apparent talent in the divine magics of this world. If I ever really got into it, knowing how to read divine runes and understand holy symbols will be something I will not be able to live without. Combat Enchanting was something which the headmaster told me to take because of my talent for Elemental Magic. Their most basic use is temporarily enchanting weaponry or other items to create numerous elemental effects.. though why combat enchanting specially is probably because of Luctus, as the sentient Halberd seemed to become giddy at the aspect of being infused with elemental powers... can''t say I don''t share its excitement. Royal Etiquette is something I picked for myself as I will need every trick in the book in order to get myself out of that stupid betrothal. Plus, a little normalcy couldn''t hurt, right? My evening weeks would consist of; Basic Life Magic, Blood Magic, Divine Blessings, Holy Magic, Basic Elemental Magic and Basic Summoning. Life Magic seems to be a key element here, despite Chaos calling it a traitor for some reason. Though I have no desire to become a tree hugger/hippie of any kind, knowing a thing or two about calming wild animals might come in handy some day. Not to mention the healing capabilities of natural magics, while much less valued than holy magics, are nothing to scoff at. Blood Magic... I don''t know how to say this, but as soon as I saw the option, I knew I had to take it. Chaos urged me to do so... The headmaster could only quirk an eyebrow at me when I pointed it out, yet said nothing nonetheless. Divine Blessings and Holy Magic are really self explanatory. After all, what kind of fool would deny aid from the Gods themselves?... though the cruel perfection I felt before is still quite vivid inside of my memory. I wonder what does it all mean?... And why did Chaos exempt it from its reactions? Elemental Magic is a subject which actually includes a lot of things. Fire, Air, Earth and Water all have their own classes, but all students must go through this first basic class if they ever want to become elementalists of any kind. Basic Summoning was chosen due to the subject also covering the bare-boned basics of Void Magic, but also because of fathers current status as my familiar, something which the headmaster does not know about yet, but will soon realize... or Pure Mana, as the people of this world like to call it. I seem to be always thinking of it as the first name though and I don''t know why. Chaos, probably. Anyways, that''s about it... tomorrow, I start my very first week at the academy. However, the day is still somewhat young. Maybe I should ask father about his connections to the world of assassins? Maybe I should talk to Faervel about her inhuman stature... argh, so many things to do and so little time. Perhaps I should keep it all for a later date?... Might be a bit lazy, but it sure would help me keep whatever remains of my sanity...
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
That''s it for now boys and girls. I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM, AAAH!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW! 10. Introductory Class Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Right then. Time to wake something up. Not much else to say here... Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny; Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few hours later... - Alice''s New Home - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Cheh..." I spat into a nearby plant as I walked into what was apparently my new home. It was supposed to be a personal mansion for students. I guess it was stupid of me to even consider that it might be a solitary house... There were a bunch of people living in this building, mainly other nobility and their servants. A kind old lady approached me."Ah, you must be Miss Pendragon, right? Please, follow me to your room." Don''t get me wrong, the place was indeed a mansion. It was a huge house of perfectly cut stone and tiled roof... just being near it even a dull horse could realize that it cost a lot. I just hope that it isn''t only pretty on the outside. I followed the lady after nodding towards her. Her pouting face made me think that she wanted some kind of verbal reply but she didn''t question my silence. After all, I was just a little girl who lost both of her parents. She guided me through the halls, followed by stares, pity and even some panic as children younger than me found me to be terrifying for some reason. Guess I can''t really blame them... I look like a ghost."Erm, are you sure you don''t need any help in carrying your... luggage, young lady?" She asked me suddenly which made me blink in surprise as I looked upward to finally notice Luctus, my ever loyal halberd, nested neatly in my own right hand as my left pulled along my actual luggage."Nah, I''m fine." She swallowed down hard, yet I am unsure why. Maybe she is uncomfortable around me? After all, I haven''t exactly shown to be anything less than psychotic. Maybe all these people are scared that I might kill them in their sleep?... hmm, maybe if I feed this fear some of my own accord, people won''t approach me as much? I could certainly use the silence. ... And if father heard me say that, he''d be screaming at me for being so antisocial. Honestly though, I don''t want to deal with people right now. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we reached my room. The old lady turned around in order to face me and dug out a key from her pocket."Here we are... room forty-two. This will be your lodging for the year. Ah! Do not worry about the payment, the headmaster has already paid for your stay. Please, do enjoy yourself. The room is fit for a queen, I assure you." She winked at me. I blinked. Could one of the princes be boasting about my betrothal to him? I need to find out more about this."Thank you.. erm, miss?" She blinked in confusion before realizing that she never introduced herself."Ah! I am Lucia D. Kalzwinter, a pleasure to meet you." She bowed and I nodded, mimicking the noble gesture."I''m sure you already know, but I am Alice Pendragon. Please, take care of me this year." Now this reaction made her appear happy as she closed her silver eyes and smiled before moving away to let me unlock my room. To my surprise, my maid and supposedly *normal* person, Faervel was inside. She was sitting on a chair, looking as beautiful as ever. The door behind me slammed itself shut as I was bound in some kind of spell, endlessly staring at the elven woman. Thankfully, the shock of being pushed into my room by the door was enough to wake me up."Faervel!" I exclaimed, somewhat more loudly than I actually wanted to as I locked the door. Her majestic, not-quite-mortal and picturesque beauty was shattered as soon as she woke from her own trance."A-ah! Mistress! You''ve finally arrived. Since you took so long at the headmaster, I managed to clean up the entire room and cook some dinner for us." True to her word, a well-roasted pheasant was laid on the table. Wait a moment."When exactly did you make all of this?" I asked her as I walked towards the oval table and sat onto one of the fine, ebony chairs. Hell, all the furniture inside of the room seemed to be made from expensive ebony. My bed was indeed, a queen sized one which you wouldn''t find anywhere on the market but can only gain by personally ordering it made. That old elf headmaster really didn''t spare any expenses to make this place, did he? Maybe I''ll forgive him for lying to me about this being my own personal mansion then. The she-elf promptly blinked in confusion."Lets see... around two hours ago?" I deadpanned her."And why exactly is this pheasant still nice and hot, despite being away from the pot for so long? Not to mention, how exactly did you roast it?" "T-there were cooking runes in this place? O-oh my, is that the really badly drawn ones on the counter there which exuded heat unnecessarily so I destroyed them?" She wandered to herself as I sighed."Answer my question, Faervel." My statement made her swallow as she muttered something under her breath. Something which sounded like; being a mortal is hard. However, due to the context of the sentence, I decided to ignore it. I''ll have to consult the bestiaries of the city to find out more about my not-so-mortal companion."I uh... when I removed the runes, I used the freed up volcanic slate counter to cook. The stone easily accepted magical heat, so I took a pot and started cooking. Yes, thats totally what happened!" She happily exclaimed. I felt something popping, a blood vessel or several thousand of my brain cells committing collective suicide, breaking the second she finished that sentence. I slapped myself on the forehead, feeling a huge migraine coming."Argh, fuck this. Look, I can''t do this, Faervel. I''m sure you have your reasons for being here but I''m not mentally retarded enough to buy into the story of you being ... a person. Or a mortal person, anyway." Her face changed from shock to disappointment to sadness."I... I see." "Look, I''m sure that whatever you are, you are here with me for an important, possibly very personal reason. I can let you stay around so long as you don''t make trouble. Now, what that entails is you going around and learning what it means to be a normal person without causing trouble, alright?" Her elven ears perked up when she heard that and she nodded somberly."Mistress.. thank you. I.. I really want to tell you why I am here and what I am in the first place but I really, really can''t." "Why?" I asked her as she cut some of the pheasant for me and added strange looking spices and vegetables to my table. The food she prepared, even if it was by some strange magics.. I mean, where the hell did she even get the pheasant if she never went outside? But I was willing to ignore this part of the story for one simple reason... the food was heavenly. Even the smell alone was more than enough to make my mouth water... nah, fuck that, I was drooling and just barely managing to stop myself for devouring the entire plate of food like some kind of animal. Thankfully, my noble etiquette won this fight."Because I.. because doing so would break quite a few of my kinds rules... and well, the reason I was the one chosen to accompany you is mostly because I am already on bad terms with the rule-makers themselves." Ah, that made sense."So you are here to spy on me?" She appeared shocked, closed her eyes and nodded."In a way, that is one part of my job... but its not the main one, of that I can assure you. To be perfectly honest mistress, my job can be basically dumbed down to making your life easier." "... okay." Perhaps because of my own deranged hubris, I was willing to accept that kind of half-assed answer. Right now though, I really didn''t care. The food she made was bloody excellent and the cooking runes aren''t exactly difficult to make, or re-make in this case."Erm, mistress? I have a question, if you don''t mind?" Faervel suddenly blurted out, causing me to quirk an eyebrow at her."Yesh?" I replied with food in my mouth, something which seemed to cause her to scream on the inside for whatever reason before managing a reply."W-w-w-well, t-there is o-only one b-b-bed in this r-room..." She blushed, somewhat strangely considering that she was in the presence of a child. "You''ll be sleeping in the bed, next to me, Faervel. This is normal." She blinked in surprise."Really?" "Yes. You are the maid of a young, nine year old noble girl, a child. Why would it be wrong for you to sleep with me?" She blushed and coughed into her fist."Mistress, if your soul is anything to go by.. you are anything but, a child." Now it was my turn to be surprised as I asked."What do you mean?" She made no verbal reply as she pointed a finger towards me and said."Soul Reveal." A bright light covered the room we were in before dying down to reveal a crimson mass of energy within her hand. It was a small, round object, if it could be called that, and it clearly pulsed with power. The very presence of it felt... alive. Mine. But the red was not the only thing that was there. Emblazoned upon the soul which was apparently my own, was a strange symbol. It reminded me of the staves that priests of Attar, The King Of The Gods and this worlds lord in heaven... wait, this worlds? What kind of thought was that? ... wait, there are other worlds, right? Like the one Antioch and Eadom are from, maybe they have their own Gods there? The symbol on my soul pulsed with white light, clearly it was something divine... and yet, it also felt cruel. It was the same perfectly cruel and cruelly perfect light I had come to know..."What does that symbol mean? That elongated T shaped thing with an extended upper line?" She shook her head in negative."We-.. I do not know, but it is clearly a holy symbol. That and the ring you bear on your finger... they may be the first objects of power that an entirely new divine has granted into this world." She revealed that to me with a straight face and I felt my heart stop for a moment. Maybe this Faervel was an angel of some kind? Sent by the gods to care for me? Naah, couldn''t be. She must be part of some immortal organization which wants to gather information, both about me and the supposedly new God. I shook my head as the image of my soul dispersed."Anyways, enough about that for today... lets go sleep." She blushed again and said."As you wish, mistress." Hey, hey now... that last part sounded needlessly sexy.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I am just a child after all and we are both women... surely an angel would not desire for such unnatural acts... Then again, who am I to say, if she really is an angel then why would she care for the morality of mere mortals?
The Following Morning... - Classroom C - Alice''s Point Of View...
When the magic clock woke me up today at five AM, I felt it in my soul that this day would be an extremely difficult one. However, thanks to Faervels magic cooking, gods bless her soul whatever she is, that notion was quickly dispelled. She immediately rose from the bed and donned her maid outfit as she insisted on sleeping naked for some reason... Can''t say I minded it that much. She has a really soft abdo-AHEM. Bad Alice. Reset needed. Reset achieved. Anyways, she handed me some kind of brownish, hot drink which revitalized my mind, body and soul. I think she called it coffee. After that, I finally managed to get myself dressed and told her to not go outside of the room unless absolutely necessary. When she asked me how she was to learn the ways of mortals then, I told her to use some form of magical sight or invisibility at least. Her eyes lit up like fireflies in the night as I said that, seemingly not having ever gotten such an idea before. I only hope that whatever she does will not cause trouble for us... In any case, that all is what brings me to my current situation. After everyone''s dead, barely moving forms arrived to the entrance to the Academy, one of the teachers whose face I couldn''t even see at first from all of the crowd blocking it, called out our names one by one and sorted us into classes. While none of the classes appeared to be specialized in any way, shape or form.. anyone could clearly see that the good and bad students were being separated. People who looked dumb went into class A. People who looked erudite and bookish went to class B. ... Normal people seem to have been put into class C. And then there was class S. That''s right, not D but S. An S which clearly indicated the word *special*. The best of the best were shoved in that place, the highest of nobility, class and power. Kids which radiated the arrogance of kings and queens. Hell, some of them most likely will be kings and queens one day. So why was I put into class C? Perhaps class S has some kind of specialized learning schedule which is made up in such a way to increase their prestige? Provided they are successful, that is. I would not be surprised if there were some kind of tournaments, organized fights between high-ranking children. Considering that class C indicated the word *classic* or *casual*, maybe my time in this place won''t be too hard? I sure hope so. As we entered the gigantic classroom of rising rows full of empty seats, I promptly made my way towards the highest row and shoved myself into the leftmost corner. Despite the board being quite a few meters below me, I could still see the letters written upon it rather easily. The other kids around me were however, clearly struggling to see what was going on. "Attention!" A young man dressed in the typical purplish clothing that indicated a teacher, alongside the five-leafed clover which represented Sorciere as its banner etched into the robe''s chest area, suddenly exclaimed. Once he effectively shut out whatever murmurs occupied the room, he began a speech."Welcome, young ladies and lords, as well as our less than noble students! Welcome, to Sorciere''s esteemed Academy of Advanced Magic, the only true institute of knowledge with official permit to teach such an incredible thing. I am Remi Popelin and I will be your acting teacher for the class of Mana Manipulation. Now, as this is your first day here, once this introductory class is over, you are free to leave as if the day was done." He cleared his throat in order to shush those who immediately starting talking about the things they''d do after class was over. Most people seemed to be talking about some kind of clown show being played in the city center tonight... right, keep away from the center, got it. Thank you, random gossiping girls my age."First of all, I would like to begin this class with a question which we ask all of our students. What is, in your personal opinion, magic? Also, what does studying magic mean to you as a person?" Two are two questions. Thankfully, the teacher did not point at me."You there, the peasant boy with the brown hat. Answer the questions, please." The boy blinked shyly and nodded as he stood up from his seat, ragged clothing showing tears sagging as he rose."Magic.. erm, magic is the mental manipulation of mana, both our own and that which is around us... and to me personally... uhh, magic is a way to elevate myself?" The teacher nodded, seeming pleasantly surprised by the boys elegant, if forced, answer."Indeed. Your answer was very a very textbook one which means you''ve already begun the correct way of studying! And yes, one of the benefits of being a mage is indeed a possibility to be granted a noble rank, which is an admirable aspiration in itself. I wish you good luck, mister Brooke." Now named Brooke, the shy boy sat down while smiling somewhat pleased with himself as the teacher now turned towards a noble girl my age... her well-fed frame clearly showed that she was from the family of an indulgent wastrel of some kind. Most likely a mayor, like Yvain... I wonder if his children would end up like that. Hmm..."And you, little miss Harnedy. What would your answers be to the questions?" She rose up, pride and misplaced confidence reeling of off her like a plague."Magic is a gift to all mortals from the gods themselves! A way for us to experience the same greatness as they do!" Her exclamation raised more than a few eyebrows."I assume you have a talent for holy magic, young lady?" Now her demeanor was lowered as she shyly looked away from the teachers gaze."Y-yes, I-I do." He nodded."And the other question?" She calmed herself down with a deep breath."Well.. I''m not totally sure what to say... Why do I wish to study magic? What does it mean to me as a person?... I suppose I am simply here because it was needed of me." He nodded again."You are here, yet you do not know why. Do not worry though, most of our students are exactly the same way. I''m sure that your path as a student of magic will reveal itself in due time." She blushed as the teachers stern voice echoed throughout the classroom, making more than one students eyes grow wide in wonder and apparent understanding. I merely scoffed at their antics. However, doing that was a bad idea... as the teacher caught my scoff."Would you like to answer the questions, little miss..?..." He turned his head away and took a paper into his right hand before turning to look back at me with sweat forming on his brow."M-m-miss.. P-P-Pendragon?" I sighed as I knew that this is what was going to happen. I''m a High Lady, after all. Its obvious that even the highest ranking noble here was an ant in comparison to someone capable of becoming an actual regent."I suppose I must." Rising from my seat with closed eyes, I took a moment to think."Magic? Its nothing more than a tool. Something to make ones own life easier. As for why I''m here, as a student of magic?... well, to pass the time, mostly. And so I don''t have to stay within the potential slaughterhouse that is my castle." He cleared his throat and coughed into his fist while nodding."Y-yes, I f-f-figured as m-much. Miss Pendragon, I would like to ask you to stay after class is done so that we may have a private talk, alright?" I shook my head in negative."I''m afraid I can''t do that, teacher." Now it was his turn to be confused as he asked, his tone seeping the tiniest bit of anger."Oh? And why would that be?" "I have an appointment with Adhana." Was my rather bored reply as his eyes went wide and he bit his lower lip in annoyance. Taking in a deep breath and swallowing down his pride as he noticed that I addressed the headmaster himself by surname only, he nodded."Very well. Now then class, you will each be given a rune stone. These particular rune stones are just natural rocks from outside of the city which have had a rune etched onto them. These runes are made to drink the mana of those who touch them, using the stones themselves as storage. This will help us in finding out how much magic there is in each and everyone of you." He made a sign in mid-air which created multiple clones of himself."Whooaaah.." The kids around us marveled at the magic they witnessed and I bit down any kind of reaction as I waited for my stone to arrive, hands on both cheeks as my deadpan stare continued drilling into the teachers backside. He was shivering, how adorable."N-now, when my mirror images place the stones onto your tables, do not immediately touch them directly. I want those who can channel mana without direct touch to fill up the stones as much as they can." Confused blinking was his answer, but some students actually understood what he meant... meaning Brooke, Harnedy and myself. There were some other kids who looked like they understood what to do but once their stones were distributed, all they did was randomly wave their hands around like idiots, trying to see if anything would happen." "Before you begin, I''d like to ask if anyone knows what mana concentration is and how it is measured?" Teacher asked us with a quirked eyebrow and threw a look at me, to which I replied by looking away. This, of course, further infuriated him as he realized that I knew the answer and merely did not wish to speak. Thankfully, the seemingly erudite Brooke did."Uhmm.." He rose his right hand into the air and waited to be called. The teacher nodded towards him, causing the boy to rise once more... dammit, I''ll need to send him some money, the poor guys pants looks like they''re about to fall off and I don''t really wanna see that happen."I uh.. Mana Concentration is the name we give to the amount of mana within a person... normally, the mana is rather spread out but as the person continues to use it, its amount will obviously begin to increase, growing thicker and thicker as time goes on... as for how it is measured, I don''t really know but I guess the runic stones which we just got are the means to do so..." "And you would be correct. You see, these stones are something which you will be carrying on your persons for the entirety of your stay here. Not only do they act as somewhat improvised mana potions due to their storage capabilities, they will allow you all to keep yourselves notified of the amount of mana there is within your body. You will, of course, still need to do some mathematical equations in order to properly calculate the absolute correct amount, but in time you will become able to guess correctly most of the time." The teacher explained with a rather droll tone, clearly showing that this is something he has both heard and repeated a thousand times already. "Now then, those of you who know how to channel mana outside of yourselves, please fill up the stones." He continued the speech as we all nodded in reply. I promptly rose a finger and pointed it towards the rune stone, channeling my mana towards it in a very visible stream of crimson and white. This, sadly, attracted the attention of the teacher."Ahh, look there towards Miss Pendragon, everybody!" The sudden attention caused me to scowl, but I bit down any real reaction as the teacher continued with a smirk clearly visible on his face."As you may know, a persons mana is a direct window into their soul. Channeling it outwards of yourselves will often cause a water-like stream, the colors of which can tell you a lot about the person channeling the mana." "So whats all the red and white mean?" Some random idiot asked as the teacher grinned."Well, red is the color of anger. By the looks of it, lady Pendragon is a girl prone to anger and rage. However, the white within her mana shows that she is also a very good person on the inside. White is the color of the divine and all things holy... it would appear we may have a future Arch Priestess among our ranks." "As soon as I tame my anger, apparently." Was my rather sarcastic remark, which caused him to bite down onto his own lip once again."Y-yes, Indeed." "AH! LOOK! I have white colors too!" The bog-boned mayor-daughter girl yelled out... what was her name again, I''m not very good at remembering names..."Miss Harnedy? Ah, indeed. Your steam of mana is colored almost completely white and blue. Perhaps I was wrong about Miss Pendragon, for it seems that the priestess here is you. Blue is, after all, the color of inner peace and goodwill." She blushed again, looking quite bashful."Hehehe..." "Haha, yours looks like golden poop, Brooke!" A snort etched itself onto my face as everyone turned towards the erudite peasant, the stream of magic coming from his hand was indeed brown and gold, like yellow excrement."Erm..." He rubbed the back of his head rather lamely, clearly embarrassed at the situation and knowing not how exactly to respond."Ah, mister Brooke. Gold and Brown, eh? Gold is the color which indicates ambition and a desire to rise beyond ones own station. This is something you''ve already told us, so nothings changed. As for the brown color, it is the color of one who is also down to earth and rather content with what they already have. A little bit conflicting there, but that''s alright. Such conflicting desires are nothing strange." As he said that last part, he threw a look at me again, hoping that I wouldn''t catch it. Unsurprisingly, I did."Anyways, now the rest of you can touch the rune stones." He continued this way of revealing what people were like in accordance to their mana coloration for some time, before promptly writing a formula onto the board and telling everyone to use it in order to calculate their own mana. The backside of the rune stones showed the mana concentration of the last person who used it... Mine was twelve point forty-two... forty-two.. that number appears in my life once again. I wonder if there''s anything special about it. Anyways, taking a look at Brooke and Harnedy, I learned that their concentrations were three point fifty eight and three point one... Quite the surprise that a peasant was this talented, to be able to keep up with a minor noble. He was obviously a dedicated, diligent person who worked hard for what he wanted and kept what he had very closely to himself. I suppose he deserves a change of clothes... now, how do I deliver them to him without causing myself trouble? Ah, I''ll just get Faervel to do it. Anyways, it seems my mana concentration was far higher than normal. Something which I should probably ask the headmaster about when I get to him. Thankfully, after calling out some other students to the board to show off their calculi, he ended the class and guided us all out of the Academy. I hope this guy, whose name I have already forgotten, will not cause me too much trouble in the future. However, I can only foolishly hope that this is the case, as my instincts are telling me a big fat no.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
That''s it for now. As usual, I will stay online for a while to answer comments and edit out mistakes! I hope you''ve had fun reading.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW! 11. Tailored Heresy Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
So eh, I guess this means the one-chapter-marathon ended. Wasn''t really ever started to begin with considering that I got sick. Oh well. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny; Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Two days later and after classes.. - The City Of Sorcierre - Alice''s Point Of View...
"I''m seriously going to squash that stupid, flaming skull of his once I have the chance to summon him again..." Muttering angrily beneath my own breath caused my fellow students to quickly move away from my angered form. Why am I angry, you might be asking? Because despite fathers rather-suspicious claim that the borefest subjects, known as World History and Divine Literacy, would reveal some kind of ironic and overly dramatic connection to Chaos that this world of ours supposedly has... There was nothing of the fucking sort. Which means that I paid undue attention to the aforementioned borefests, both of which spouted the same bullshit for hours on end. World History, as one might expect, started with all the theories of the worlds birth, the origins of the races and so forth. Divine Literacy, dear heavens forgive me for saying this, is the same utter bullshit just in a more religious format. This is why I am currently stomping my way out of the classroom with a gigantic frown on my face. This was a fucking waste of my time! Made even worse by the fact that I ALREADY KNEW EVERYTHING WE SUPPOSEDLY LEARNED TODAY. Granted, what I knew was dilluted by my own kingdoms egoistical viewpoint, but still... I let out a massive sigh as Alex the coachman waited patiently for me outside. Though I sent him back home, he seemed to be rather adamant on staying with me unless is otherwise neccessary. Apparently, his dreams told him to do so and, as such, who is he to disobey dreams? "Ah, mistress! You are finally here. Mister Yvain sends an inquiry to you from the castle saying that that while the building of your secret vault is progressing much faster than anticipated due to your fathers aid in finding a good spot for it, its still far too slow so he wishes to use some of your newly acquired wealth to hire more workers. The reason he sends you this inquiry is because he fears that doing so may catch the attention of the king." He explains casually as I enter the carriage and begin mindlessly counting my coin. It seems that this has become a rather questionable quirk of mine, though respected by most people. "We have a bunch of abnormaly loyal guards at the castle, don''t we? Surely they could provide some of the heavy lifting. If not, find someone good at spying and hire them to root out the other spies first, then hire the required labor-men." I replied to the white-haired and obviously lunatic coachman as he beamed me a smile. "I see..." He wrote my reply into his personal diary so that he wouldn''t forget it the next the he goes to the castle. Which is probably soon so I might as well use him while he is still here."So where shalt we go now, mistress? Do you wish to be driven to your new home or perhaps a stroll around the markets is in order? There are many wonderous things around to buy and I am sure you could use the diversion!" He exclaimed happily as he talked through to me through a small opening in the upper front of the carriage. It was a rather dangerous thing to have, since an arrow might fly right inside of the carriage or so one would think. Disgustingly enough, this was made in such a way that an arrow would first have to go through the coachman, thus warning the nobility inside of danger. I wished to close it, but its secondary purpose, that being the fact that it allows for silent conversation between those inside the carriage and the coachman out front, delays what is most likely inevitable."I need to find a good tailor, so the market it is." A nod was my answer as he lashed the two black horses up front, stallions personally raised by father, thus making the carriage move forward. Unconsciously, I pulled out one of the books belonging to the higher years of education."Of Standardized Fire Magic and how to properly wield it." What a uselessly long and somewhat stupid name. Honestly though, fire mages are usually the weird people. Sure, it might be one of the most popular magics out there for the simple reason that it is fire, but only the most deranged of people can really master it. Or so I am told... Wait, does that mean that everyone has an inner pyromaniac? Hmm, I suppose watching something or someone you hate burn alive would be rather stress-relieving. Makes me wonder how watching someone be boiled alive would feel like though... Water was always seen as something partially divine, what with its ability to heal wounds and rejuvenate the soul, but everyone knows that with the proper chants and knowledge, water can become far, far deadlier than any mortal blade or poison. Anyways, I opened the book and read the very first passage."Fire magic is one of the few magics out there apart from the very Arcane itself, that relies on the users emotion to properly function." I felt something inside of me cringe. Chaos seemed to twist and turn and shake uncomfortably, sending ripples through my mind as its voice echoed. Not quite. "Not quite? Huh... how weird." It would seem that Chaos desires to aid me in my studies. All I have to do now is properly interpret what it meant by *not quite*. Perhaps it should be taken literally; as in the knowledge from the book is not quite correct, but not all that wrong either. But if fire magic does not rely on emotion alone to be successful and strong, what does it rely on? Chaos did not give any form of semi-verbal reply... what it did was send me a set of images. Taking out one of my notebooks, ironically enough the one assigned to my elemental classes, I began scribbling what I saw in the momentary vision. Surprisingly, my artwork seemed to be somewhat decent. The image I drew seemed to show several strange circles, or orbs I suppose, which were sourrounded by much smaller orbs and had other, also smaller orbs inside of them. Good. Chaos replied to my assessment of the drawing, which meant that I was probably on the right track but... staring at the drawing, I could not even begin to comprehend its meaning. What does it all mean? Another set of flashes etched itself into my thoughts, this time it was numbers. That is to say; 0, 1 and -1, respectively. There was also a large circle sourrounding the center orb, which seemed to be going through the middle of the orbs around the center orb. Were the outside orbs going around the center orb? And what do the numbers mean? Looking at the picture again, I drew the circle around the center orb as best I could, making sure that it went through the middle of the outside orb as I did. I also wrote the numbers above the picture.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I had hoped that doing this would offer some insight into what is going on and how exactly all this is connected to fire magic, but all it did was make me scratch my head in confusion."Uhh..." Not magic. Fire itself. Chaos explained as best it could, seemingly trying to be a good teacher... and I''m sure it was, me not comprehending this is probably all my fault. Yet, somehow I sense that Chaos is also witholding the correct answer from me, attempting to make me come to the right conclusion on my own. I''m not sure how to feel about this... Not magic, but fire itself?..."I don''t get it." I exhaled in dissappointment as I stowed the notebook away and reassainged it ironically to: The Lunatic Scribbles of Alice Pendragon. Why? Hell if I know, just felt like it."Mistress, we are here... though it appears that the tailor has been.. closed." I walked out of the carriage to inspect the sourroundings and immidiately regretted it as I found a myriad of people staring right at me. Shaking my head out of my stupor and looking away from their prying eyes, I said."Alex, please stay here for now..." "As you wish, milady. Are you sure you don''t want me to follow you?" I blinked as I pointed towards the carrige''s back end, causing his eyes to go wide and prompting the man to nod."Ah, I see. Very well then, your highness. I shall eagerly await your return, right here." Laughing merrily at his dramatic bow seemed to work in my favour as the crowds eyes turned away from me to some extent. Turning back around, I realized why Alex sounded so confused. The tailors shop, affectionately called The Higher Weave, was not truly closed. The doors were, in fact, wide open... but there was nobody inside. At least, nobody was at the counter and the front of the obviously prestigious tailor was... less than in optimal condition."Hello? Is anyone there?" I squeaked out somewhat uncharacteristically."Go away! I have no time for you uncultured fools!" The voice of an old man echoed throughout the shop as I closed the door."Not even for a High Lady who is a student of Magic?" Was my rather badly-thought out reply as the old man scoffed and yelled."No. Now fuck off before I call the guar-OW! FUCK! You made me drop my hammer! GO AWAY!" Now that, made me more interested in this old man more than anything else possibly could have. I promptly walked through the open back door and into what appeared to be a workshop. The gray-haired old man seemed to be wearing tattered clothing, the kind that you could see on nobles who were forced to stay inside of their castles during sieges. Golden embroidery and rich silks adorned the utterly raped shirt and formerly royalesque pants the man wore... He seemed to have no shoes on. His physical form was even worse off. His back was hunched, eyes black and tired and numerous untreated cuts and bruises covered the old man. Around the workshop were intricate, kobold-king candles... or they would have been, had they not burned out several weeks ago. On one of the ebony desks, worms began devouring the wood as the bits of food which were left on the table had long since grown so atrociously bad that not even the worms would consume them. It also smelled really fucking bad. "Are you done gawking?!" The old man exclaimed angrily as he finally noticed me... or perhaps he noticed me immidiatelly and merely thought I would leave once I saw the condition the place was in."Err, no?" Hearing my answer made him give out a sigh."Finish quickly then, I have work to do and disturbances such as yourself cannot be allowed to linger!" I deadpanned the man, trying my best to bite down my disgust."What are you doing here, old man?" "Old man?!" He scoffed in disgust."For a supposed High Lady.. to call me an old man instead of esteemed Master Tailor Merriel!.. your parents sure raised you well." He blurted out in a sarcastic tone."Well yeah, they have, considering they''re both dead." Now this, seemed to make the man pause as he turned towards me, bowed apologetically and said."I... I am sorry, young lady. I... am not well, so I-" "Its fine. I don''t really care about the-or well, about one of them anyways. Now, I''ll ask again, what are you doing here, Master Merriel?" I asked him with a quirked eyebrow as he returned the gesture and then turned his head back around and towards the giant in the room. A massive machine of some kind, with numerous magical runes and intricate components."Ah.. I am... building a machine. Something that will revolutionize tailoring forevermore!" "Oh? Can you explain?" I said as I approached the machine and took a closer look at the most striking components. There were rows and rows of needle''s... the first few rows seemed to be made out dragon teeth or bone, as they shone their pale white. The next row was made out of what appeared to be rich obsidian and then... steel, iron, copper and brass. Was this something intentional? Or a telltale sign of the shops descent into poverty? Most likely the latter. The old man sighed as he watched me."Yes.. it is as you are thinking. The last few rows show how little wealth I have right now and what I had before." I took one look at the front row, the one made out of fucking dragon teeth and then back at the old man and his tattered clothing."You do realize that you could sell one of the needle''s from the first row and probably live like a king for a month?" "Yet in doing so, I would shatter the beautiful uniformity of the row itself!" He complained, seemingly horrified by my answer as I promptly pointed at the following rows."You really think these are uniform?" A blank look was my answer as he eventually conceeded and nodded."Alright fine, you''ve made your point, little lady... I''ll sell the obsidian needle''s and restore this place to a proper condition. But, I have to ask, why are you here?" "Because I have need of a tailor?" I tilted my head in confusion as I answered what was, to me at least, an obvious question. He sighed."Look, I appreciate the effort, but until this machine is finished, I refuse to sew anything." I looked at the machine."If you were to reduce the costs of the machine''s creation to their lowest possible amount, how much would it be?" "Three hundred gold, at least." He replied with a smirk upon his face and I sighed."Bullshit." Again, my deadpan answer startled the old man as he grit his teeth."Okay, fine. Since this is my first machine, I could probably settle for making all the required components out of steel and selling the others.. But I refuse to go below fifty gold!" "Thats two hundred and fifty less than your original estimate old man. I think I can see how you lost it all in the first place." I laughed at him and promptly took out my purse, causing the old man to gape."Uhm, little miss? Whatever might you be doing right now?" "Making an investment." I promptly handed him the gold and took out some paper he had stowed away under one of his desks gathering dust, thankfully not the one full of rotting food. I began writing a deal."I, Alice Pendragon, hereby grant a sum of fifty Clausian Gold coins to the Master Tailor Merriel in order to aid him in the completion of his machine. The given sum may be increased or decreased depending on how things go, but the coin given shall not be considered a loan. Thus, whatever the end result, Master Merriel will not be indebted to me in any way. However, should the machine be a success, 20% of any profits earned throughout its existence are rightfully mine. Singed, Alice Pendragon." I finished writing and made another copy of the deal as the old man gaped at me."W-w-wha?" "From what I can understand, this machine is meant to solely produce high quality clothing without the need for the talented hands of a master tailor. Or perhaps simply to ease the process of tailoring itself to one who knows how to use it, correct?" I handed him the papers after signing each with my rather not-so-exquisite penmanship. But plastering my family seal should be proof enough of the validity of the document. Merriel nodded somewhat stupefied."Y-yes b-but, h-how?.." I laughed at him before replying."It was easy to figure out given your occupation and the amount of needle''s there are on the machine. Well, are you going to make a deal with me or not?" He swallowed down hard and looked at the paper."Short and simple... you are not a merchant. Yet there is a rather cruel, if not outright terrifying feeling within the words... I feel as if I am making a deal with the devil." Now that, made me pause and grow somewhat angry."Old man. Do not make me hurt you." I promptly opened up my right palm and made a heavenly sigil, drawing forth holy light and making it gather in my palm."Say something like that again and I will cast such a painful exorcism on you that people will hear you scream from five miles away." He blinked and rose both hands up defensively."A-ah, I-I s-see! N-no, that will not be n-neccessary, young lady! I shall accept your investment into my work!" Quickly stowing away the fifty gold coins that I gave him and plastering his own sigil upon the two papers, he handed me the documents and let out a breath of relief as I turned away."Well then, master Merriel, I hope to see you again soon!" I cheerily waved him goodbye as I walked out of the shop, leaving a dumbfounded and, perhaps utterly terrified, old man to his work. Master Merriel... that old fool is a famous tailor whose works are adorned by Queens and Kings! Even if his machine fails, the depression caused by that event will make it easy for me to lure him into returning to normal tailoring while reaping the benefits! Though perhaps lessened than what I would get otherwise. Now this, my friends, is what I call a profitable arrangement, indeed! "Ah!" I blinked as my memories caught up to my growing ego. In my delusion, I forgot the reason why I even looked for a tailor in the first place. I need to buy that erudite peasant some better clothes before what he has becomes nothing at all... One look at the sad building behind me made me turn away from it, not willing to disturb the old man any more than I already have. Sighing in annoyance and dissappintment, I walked into the carriage."Ah, mistress! Have you accomplished what you wanted?" I shook my head at him, causing the coachman to quirk an eyebrow in curiosity at me."Nah, the old man inside... should be left well alone, for now. Lets look for another tailor." "As you will, milady." He replied, tone still wrought with curiosity as I promptly ignored his unsaid question, or questions, and continued trying to comprehend the chaosborne image granted to me. Why do I feel like I''m looking at some serious heresy when I look at this picture though? Perhaps this is some kind of forbidden knowledge? Hmm, if so, then maybe if I seek more of its kind will I become able to understand this picture better... I just hope the gods won''t dislike me for it.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
And that is it for this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. HERESY! .. Uh, sorry, just had to get it out of me.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 12. Dummy Impact Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Ehhh, f-five starts? How come this story is so well liked? I mean sure, Euphoria has a load more followers and thus, people who rated it but still. I guess its because the plot is faster here, more easily defined. Oh well. Surprised nobody else gave a review yet, but I guess VIKKUTORIA said everything you all needed to see. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
The following morning... - Academy Training Grounds - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Sorry, I''m late!" I exclaimed in minor panic as I rushed through the entrance to the massive regimental area sourrounding the illustrious academy. Back when the city was still being built and the area around us was not quite so densly-populated, wild animals and forests needed to be conquered in order to allow the creation of a proper settlement. This urged the kingdoms to create a large regimental grounds where their troops could restock and deploy whenever neccessary. Once the city was properly built-up however, the grounds became useless as they were in the middle of it, so the headmaster turned them into one large training yard where much of the students do their daily physical activity and attend classess which require such activity. One of those classess is the reason why I am currently here; Combat Enchanting."Hmm... not quite as late as you may think. We are still waiting on other students, miss Pendragon." A tall, slim person approached me. In his hands was a masterwork, albeit iron sword which seemed to shine against the sunlight. His hair was a golden blonde and flowed all the way down to his waist which, when combined with his unearthly pale skin made him a rather handsome man. I blinked at him in momentary stupefiction and then promptly noticed around seven female students of varying years staring at the man."Ahh, how I wish I was just a dumb first year again so I could be part of his class..." "Preach. Preach it, sister." Another, slightly larger should we say, female student exclaimed with star-struck eyes. I let out a massive sigh as I bowed before the man, whose elven lineage was rather obvious at this point."I see. Thats.. good for me, I suppose. Anyways, may I know your name, teacher?" He beamed me a bright smile and mimicked the bow."Arrian Adhana, a pleasure." I blinked."Adhana? And Arrian?... your father has a sense of humor." His name literally translated into happy accident. How... tasteless... and insulting. A deep sigh was let out as the half-elf offered me a somewhat amused snort."I suppose. In any case, I see that you''ve brought Luctus with you." The sentient Halberd in question innocently floated in mid-air, seemingly intent on being as suspicious as was possible. Turning around to look at the Halberd before taking it into my hands and turning back towards the teacher, I asked."Uh, you know about my weapon?" He smiled again."Of course. I did train your father, after all. Now come, I have much to show you." We walked towards a set of training dummies, magically floating wood which could regenerate from any blow given time and that they aren''t utterly obliterated by the strike."First off, I can see that you haven''t yet adapted the weapon to your own soul." Blinking in confusion as I tilted my neck sideways, I managed to mutter."Uhmm, what?" A deep chuckle escaped the half elf."The weapon you wield is a sentient one, made out of a strange, almost organic material. This allows it to change shape in accordage to its user. The form it has now is merely the form which your father preffered... I am quite sure that your soul desires another kind of form." "How can you be so sure?" I quirked an eyebrow at the man as he pointed towards one of the dummies."You will see, Pendragon. For now, strike that dummy with as much force as you can muster in any way you wish." A blink, no make that several before I promptly decided to oblige. I made a rather slow strike to what would have been a mans abdomen, fully intent on severing the thing in half, only to find my strike repelled by the mana-empowered wood."OW! owowowoow!" I rubbed my sore hands as pain pulsed through them and Arrian nodded towards me. "Before you struck the dummy, you rose your right hand and left hand upwards to be at around the same height... this is, sadly not a good way to use a halberd. In fact, its a good way to break your own arms. The only reason your fingers haven''t been broken already is because of your family''s natural strength." He explained as I took another look at my hands and watched the memory replay in my mind to find out that he was right. Scracthing the back of my head somewhat lamely, I asked."Okay but.. what does that exactly mean for me? What kind of weapon would you recommend, sir?" "I''m afraid we will need to do some more testing in order to be able to fully acomodate your needs. Though this class is about combat enchantments, such enchantments are useless without the user being good at the weapon they''re using in the first place." He explained calmly as he pointed towards a rack which held many different types of weaponry. Swords, maces, lances and bows alike laid prone upon the metal, seemingly all made out of the same enchanted wood that the dummies were."Take your time and test yourself. Tell me which of the weapons felt the best to use and please do not hurry yourself, we have several hours at our disposal, after all." Then he turned his head around."Now, while you do this, I must go and attend to the others. Do not worry though, you are easily my prize student in this class and as such I shall be watching your progress. Do not dare to slack off." I swallowed down harshly as the mans darkened gaze was laid down upon my backside. I could feel a great deal of power behind his words... Shaking my head out of my stupor, I promptly let go of Luctus and grabbed a wooden sword. The training weapon was a helluva lot lighter than my halberd and I could feel myself moving far more easily with it in my hands. Yet... this didn''t feel right. As soon as I grasped the sword by the handle, I could feel the uneven length of my hands or perhaps the uneven structure of my body itself. Due to having broken my right shoulder before and the fact that the bone regrew a little bit off but not exactly badly when compared to some other instances which I had seen, the reach of my right hand was a little bit... extended, should we say. This made my grasp on the sword become... well, uneven. Wrong and unstable. Sighing out quite loudly and releasing my left hand from gripping the sword, I found that my current stance felt much better. Perhaps, a single sword style was in my future?"Hi-yah!" I exclaimed somewhat comically as I struck the wooden sword against the side of the dummy, only to find the painful shock to course through my arm nearly twice as painful as it was before. Something is wrong here... the way the pain traveled through my body...The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I struck the dummy again, this time with a forward lunge. This caused me to nod as I found that I could deliver a lot more power if I plunged the blade straight into the dummy. Really though, I was using the sword as if it was a mace or an axe instead of a sword. Nodding to myself, I placed the sword back into the weapons rack, deciding that it just wasn''t for me. Next thing I grabbed was a lance, because I wished to confirm what teacher told me some moments ago... taking my experience with the sword into account, I lunged towards the dummy once again and found myself easily penetrating the dummy, yet as I did so the event caught me off guard and caused me to lamely fall onto my arse as I lost my footing."Ow..." "Guess this is how it feels like to trip over your own feet..." Muttering out in dissapproval of myself, I remembered how I once read that lancers, pikemen and spearmen alike need to know how to move their legs properly to be effective. They require extensive amounts of footwork... something which isn''t exactly appealing to me in the least. Of course, every weapon needs proper footwork to function, but long ranged meele weaponry just needs that much more. Hmm... what about other short range meele weapons then? Quickly checking out a mace and an axe made me realize that they have the same problem as the sword did... My wrongly healed arm causing mayor instabilities when I wield such weapons."But then what do I take?" A strange shine caught the back on my eye as I turned my head around to find a set of ... gauntlets? Shrugging, I promptly equipped them, finding that the elbov-guards which came with the gauntlets fit quite nicely to my hands. These were somewhat heavy and wielding them meant that I would have to learn how to punch stuff, but considering my talent for holy magic... maybe I could become a monk? A female monk?... never heard of it. But just because it does not exist yet does not mean I can''t make it happen. Finally managing to fit my hands into the gauntlets, I pull back my right fist and hear my shoulder crack in semi-protest, the wrongly healed bone seemingly popping momentarily into place as I released an abdominal punch. I struck the dummy hard, causing the thing to ricochet as the wood it was made off was shattered on impact and whatever pain I would have otherwise felt was consumed by the gauntlets."Ah, it seems you''ve found your weapon. A pair of gauntlets? How peculiar." I blinked as the teacher rushed towards me in curiosity."Uhm... How come the dummy managed to resist my blow when I used Luctus but shattered when I used these?" "Thats because the dummies are enchanted, or better to say cursed, making them nearly invulnerable to physical damage unless the person striking them is in tune with their weapon." Realization dawned upon me."So thats why you had me try out all the weapons... to see what the dummy would react to." He nodded and then turned towards the sentient halberd still floating near me."Indeed. Now, I do not truly know how your father changed the former sword into the halberd he used all of his life, but from what I could tell it came to him naturally. I would like you to try and change Luctus into a pair of gauntlets." I nodded towards the man and undid the straps which held the gauntlets on my arms, putting them back onto the rack as I sat down cross legged with Luctus in my lap. The giant halberd pulsed with life as I closed my eyes and thought. Hmm, what kind of... gauntlets would I like? Well first off, those elbov-guards seemed pretty good for me as they deflected my... disability''s effect, should we call it. Also, teacher said that the only reason my fingers haven''t been broken by the first blow is because of my family''s natural strength. Hah, if only he knew... Anyways, maybe something to protect my fingers would be nice? A strange shape suddenly formed in my mind, a pair of .. gloves? Strange black gloves which were made out of purely black material, seemingly organic in nature yet also ... alive. A living metal. Freely moldable, yet supremely resilient in whichever shape it is stabilized into. The left glove had a small opening on one of its fingers, quite possibly to allow me to keep my ring on even while wearing the gloves. The black material of the gloves extended beyond my elbovs, covering them in spiked guards, the right glove''s material then extended further towards my shoulder and back, putting pressure onto the place where I broke it. My left glove seemed to have small runes etched into the fingertips, possibly to allow spellcasting. That means I''m going to have to learn how to begin casting with only one hand. Ah, never mind, the runes appeared on the right side too."Hooh? Looks like a pair of dragon-skin gloves." Teachers voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts as I opened my eyes to find both him and my classmates staring at me in curiosity. I looked away, somewhat bashfully."Uhmm, thanks?" My questioning tone caused the man to let out a chuckle as he offered me a hand to help me stand up, which I took because why not. Standing up, I took a look at my new gloves to find that they shone in the sunlight, seemingly devouring it much the same way that the dragon on my family''s banner did. "How interesting..." I muttered out somewhat curious as I put them on, finding that the gloves fit me perfectly and that they were pretty easy to equip. Each finger was as mobile as it was without the gloves, yet I could feel the denseness of the metal which covered them. The weight of the gloves was nothing to scoff at either. In fact, they weighted the same as Luctus did, though wearing them was easier than carrying them."Well, try them out!" Teacher said as he pointed to my left. The dummy which I had destroyed had regenerated itself fully, standing rather tall in defiance of my previous actions. I grinned and leaped into action, hearing my own bones crack in protest due to my general unwillingness to move as I pulled back my right hand and poised my fist to strike. Wordlessly and as soon as I let out a breath, I struck the dummy once again, this time pummeling right through the enchanted wood as if it was soft clay."Whooah.. Shes pretty strong." The boys and the girls in my class watched on in amazement."I guess thats just what should be expected of basic royalty.." Brooke muttered out in dissapproval as he tightened his fists around a caster staff. Well, I guess that mages could enchant their staves too should a meele situation arise. Wait... Brooke. Peasant. Clothes."Aaah! Dammit! I knew I forgot something!" "Please, there is no need for such language, Pendragon! And what did you forget?" Teacher asked me in an amused tone as I turned to look at Brooke."I bought him some new clothes cause he seemed worth remembering and I dont want to see what he has fall off." Brooke''s, not to mention the many other peasants around, eyes went wide in shock and surprise."Y-you... bought me clothes? Because I was... interesting?" "Pretty much. You seem like someone who likes to work hard for what you want... the clothes you have on you are probably the only ones you have, though. Which means that your parents brought you here using more than a years worth of their savings, which means that you are feeding yourself on free Academy food and don''t have enough money on you for anything other than the bare essentials, clean and well-woven clothing not being one of those essentials." I explained my reasoning to them with a sigh. One of the boys shook his head out of his stupod."W-wait, so you didn''t buy the clothes because you like him or something?" I deadpanned the idiot who said that, causing him to look away in shame."Hell no. I just don''t wanna see whats beneath and I''m sure you don''t either." A bunch of approving murmurs erupted from the crowd as the teacher looked on in silent interest."Before you said something about you doing it because he was interesting though. Are you sure you don''t just like him?" Harnedy, the other interesting character in my class, said with a slanderous tone as I sighed."That would mean that I am equally interested in you though, Harnedy." She blushed and turned her head away in embarrassment."S-so, y-y-you t-think that I-I am i-i-interesting t-t-too?" "I guess." Harnedy did not say anything after that, just throwing me side glances while hoping that I wouldn''t catch them. I did my best to ignore her eyes. One of the famale peasants approached me and raised her hand shyly as if we were in a classroom."Yes?" She gulped almost as if scared of me as she spoke."Uhmm... I''m Petra and uhm, my situation is kind of the same as Brooke''s so... I''d like to ask you what I''d have to do to get some clothes for myself.." I blinked. Oh dear, what did I get myself into? Still, this could prove advantageous."Neither Brooke nor Harnedy did what they did on purpose so uh, just do something interesting enough and I''ll think about it. Same goes for all of you." She nodded, seemingly satisfied by my answer as the crowd finally dispersed, hushed murmurs and delicate plans being forged in whispers."You really do know how to make an impact, don''t you?" "I wasn''t exactly trying to, though..." I replied to the teacher as I stared at the semi-excited crowd of my classmates, each of them taking a weapon into their hands and striking a dummy with greater fervor than before. The man chuckled at my flabbergasted self, clearly amused."Well, intentionally or not, you''ve made my job and possibly that of every other teacher of this class a whole lot eaiser. This is sure to get you some friends in the faculty." "I see. I''ll make sure to remember that should I ever get myself into trouble." I understood the true meaning behind his words. The headmaster has put up some teachers to watch me, realizing that I am a likely target for assassination. Seems like he really took that incident to heart and what I''ve unintentionally accomplished today will make things easier for the both of us. Hn. I just hope the theory is never put into practice... though that may be little more than wishful thinking at this point.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Food delivery arrived. Time to eat. Three thousand words is good enough for one chapter, anyways... Naturally, as I usually do, I will stay online for a while to edit mistkes and answer them early commenters. Of which there will be none, but oh well.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 13. Ca-Ca-CASPER! Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Hey ho! Lezz go! I may have been replaying Prototype 2. Its the game that started all of this. My imaginary worlds.. all of them wouldn''t exist if it wasn''t for that game. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
The Following Night... - The City Of Sorcierre (Underbelly) - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Are you sure that it is safe to come here, mistress?" Alex blurted out as he stopped the carriage right in front of a certain alley. A deep, dark and endlessly black alley stuck between a tavern and an alchemists shop. A gate into the undercity of Sorcierre where all the filth gathers and festers. I shook my head in negative."No... Not at all, but my weakness to dark magic is something I cannot allow an enemy to exploit. And nobles are all too happy to hire even the blackest of evils should it get the job done. I must be prepared." "I see... well, good luck then, milady." He bowed his head and went inside of the carriage, most likely for a nap. I pushed a whole bunch of pilfered books into my academy bag and walked out of the carriage and into the alley. Moving swiftly through the thick darkness, I found myself face to face with an annoyed guardsman."A''h, wot do we ''ave ''ere, ey?" I bit down my disgust at the half-dressed thugs level of speech and merely recalled my knowledge of banditry. In these kinds of situations, when a complete idiot stands in your way, the best way of dealing with the situation is to be panicked and as honest as possible."A trader. I''ve got school books to sell, but enough of that, name your price old man!" He blinked in confusion, taking a moment to comprehend my words and I didn''t dare interrupt him as he rubbed his chin in thought."Books, yah say? Yer mum or pap musta sent you ''ere wit qvoite the bit of ''ash den, roight?" "Yes, yes! Just say the amount! I need to go quick before the bloody guards catch on." He nodded, fully falling for my bullshit lies."Avroight, I''s gunna letcha in for says... twenth silver?" Funny how he managed to say silver correctly. Now boys and girls, the trick here is not to hand out the number of coin as quickly as possible, but to silently stare in horror at the man."... oys, dun look a'' me loik dat, girlie." "I don''t have that much..." Another lie as the idiot sighs in an almost knowing and understanding manner."Aye, I''s know. Me''s just testin'' ya, little lady. Two silvers, dat good?" A blink and a nod."Thank you, sir!" The finisher is, as one may expect, a bright and happy smile while handing over the amount of coin and rushing through the door behind him." ''ave ''un in dere, lil gurl." He waved me goodbye as he opened the door. And with that, I was in. Now what?"Guess I might as well look around." Dropping my stupidly innocent charade, I straighten my posture, adopt a cruel look in my eyes, re-tie my white hair into a ponytail and put Luctus on. Some of my unwanted public promptly decided to piss off just from seeing that. Sadly, some idiots still remained in the shadows. Although, there was something familiar about the shapes of the dark figures. Shaking my head out of my stupor and deciding not to waste anymore time, I began my trek through the black market. A myriad of stolen books, magic crystals and rich embroidery littered the first few shops... looks like the criminals had a good, good year."DISCOUNT POSIONS, POTIONS AND POSIONS! DID I MENTION DISCOUNT? POISON? GET YOUR POTIONS AND POISONS HERE! BUT MAINLY POISONS!" Some guy exclaimed merrily as he waved two alchemical vials around in his hands, one containing a fell green liquid while the other a bright red one. Erm, health potions are not supposed to glow brightly like that.... most likely distilled or maybe its just another type of poison, like the green one. "HEMLOCK! GET YOUR HEMLOCK HERE!" Another, this time a woman covered in black and green, shouted loudly for everyone to hear. Her shop had a sign on top: home-grown Hemlock! Ah, I hear that particular plant goes well with the red. Anyways, moving on."Hey little lady... you look like your looking for something in... particular." A shadowy figure approached my left side and I didn''t even bother dramatically reacting to his presence, merely nodding and outright asking my question."Yeah, I have school books to sell and a item which produces dark magic in small quantities to buy. Name your price for both." He blinked, much of his face covered in a white mask. His body appeared lithe and muscled, a true thief, it seemed."Not the reaction I was expecting... names Lloyd. I thought something was off about you with how easily you tricked that idiot up front, not that it takes much but hey, good job." "You''re wasting my time, friend. That tells me you have something not-quite-good in mind for me." I promptly deadpanned him, causing the man to take a step back and pull his shadowed arm back, thus allowing me to realize that he was about to steal something from me. I then picked up a broken off piece of slate from the ground, turned to look the man in the eye and squashed the stone with so much force that only paste remained, dust seething out of my hand as it rose into the air. The man swallowed down hard as he rose both hands in front of himself in defense."R-r-right, never fucking mind. I''ll take the hint and, uh... what you''re looking for is two streets that way." Surprisingly, he pointed towards a much more crowded part of the market and not towards some even darker alley. And there were those around here, which I found most intriguing. A beaming smile was his answer as I concluded that he had no more reason to lie."Thank you, mister." I dug out a gold coin and threw it his way."Being reasonable does pay off sometimes... and I may have a job for you later if you are interested, thief." "Just remember that I am, as you just said, a thief. I refuse to kill, other than that, I''m your man." He nodded and dispersed into the shadows, most likely to watch from afar. A guy like that is not easy to get rid off and I will most likely have enemies that will require being spied on.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Walking forward and into the crowd, I suddenly found myself sourrounded and assaulted by really bad smells, causing me to nearly vomit as I noticed the unclean executioner station up above. Intrigued, albeit still quite disgusted at the drying gore in front of me, I climbed onto a nearby statue and observed the situation with a little bit more clarity. Someone was getting executed, it seemed. A bald old man with a dense, deep scar on his right eye or where it was supposed to be anyways, was bent over the chopping block with another, much younger bandit standing over him. He looked somewhat familiar."Listen people and listen well! This old fool tipped the guards off on one of my slave-trade operations a few days ago in exchange for a paltry sum of fifteen gold!" The crowds murmured in approval, seemingly agreeing with the old mans actions, despite him currently facing death itself."He hoped that the guards would kill us all, but I, Casper Of The Copper Knuckles gang, managed to get out of it alive!" He exclaimed dramatically, much to the disapproval of the crowd."You suck, Casper! Let someone else lead the Coppers and just go die in a ditch somewhere!" A random idiot yelled, easily gathering the approval of the crowd. Hey, wait a moment here...."Casper?" I muttered out in recognition as the man in question pulled out a small firearm and promptly shot the idiot, silencing the crowd."Fuck you all, I ain''t dying yet. Now, as I was sayin''..." He moved the pistol down and pressed it onto the old mans head."I''s gonna show you all what happens when you fucking cross me, you worthless sacks of sh-.. Alice?" Ah, he noticed me. I waved at him in a somewhat comical manner."Hi Casper! How are you!?" "Ah! I''m fine! Wait for a bit, I''ma shoot this bloody wanker and then we can talk better." He did as he said, promptly plastering the ground with even more smelly gore as the old mans head exploded from the amount of powder that entered his brain from such an.. intimate distance. Shrugging towards him, I promptly leaped through the air and over the crowd, lodging my foot into the wooden boards of the executioners block as I landed."Er.. what the hell?" One of his thugs muttered out in fear as I lamely dug my foot out of the damp, blood stained plank and turned to look at Casper. "Yo Casp, been a while, hasn''t it?" He nodded and motioned for me to follow him, the disbelieving crowds dispersing in disinterest."Aye, that it has. Now then, how are you doing, my favorite kidnapping victim? And whats up with that jump? How come you are here in this... nice place?" "So many questions Casp, is that any way to treat a lady?" I chuckled at the man, causing him to snort as he kicked the door to a nearby tavern open."Well, lemme buy you a drink first then... erm, you do drink right?" "I''ll take apple juice if they have it. If not, honey mead is fine too." A blink of surprise was my answer before he nodded."Yeah, they do. OY ''KEEP, GET US SOME MEAD AND APPLE JUICE OVER HERE!" "Right away!" A maid in poorly sewn clothing, though I guess the many seemingly random openings in her clothing which revealed quite a bit of her pale skin may not be random at all, quickly reacted to Caspers voice."Boss? Whats going on? Whos the gi-" "Ya don''t need to know, chump. She''s an old friend of mine, leave it at that and go on patrol. I''m busy." The thug opened and closed his mouth, appearing more than a little dumbfounded as he nodded and left."Nows then, what are you doing here, Alice?" "Well Casp, I finally became a student of magic here." He shook his head."Not that girl... I mean here, in the bloody Underbelly of the city? A gal like you, despite having the neccessary know-how to be here, should not be here unless ya want someone dead.. or to get shanked and die yourself, anyways." "Too bad cause I''m not here for either... yet. I''m here cause I want to sell these, think you could be my fence?" I promptly showed him the books. His eyes went wide in surprise."Uhh, dontcha need those?" I laughed at him as the barmaid placed our drinks onto the table, the wooden patchwork shaking unsteadily as she did."They aren''t mine. Plus, I have some other.. stuff, I may want to sell later which could be of equal value. You in?" A blink before nodding."Last thing I figured would happen today would be the making of a long-term arrangement but sure, I''ll play your game. Now, tell me for real this time, whats going on with you?" A deep sigh escaped me, seems like I won''t be able to escape this question no matter what I do and I don''t really want to lose my connection to this guy."Look Casper, you do know my parents died, right?" "Aye.." He nodded, seemingly regretting asking now."Well, I figure that the other nobles in my kingdom wont hesitate to do their best in order to get rid of me. Considering I manage to surivive the year, they''ll probably be pushing the king to remove my title as High Lady. I figure I may as well use my bandit know-how to get into this sort of life before that happens." "In other words, you wanna live this life as long as you can but you also wanna secure a stable life after all you''ve got is gone, yeah?" He asked me with an approving tone and I nodded."Pretty much. Now, are you in or not?" He inspected the books, giving each a whirl through the pages and nodding in approval."Yeah, sure.. I''ll take these off yer hands. Five gold per book sound good to ya?" Shrugging, I replied with a sigh."Not the price I''d have put on them, but I don''t really hold all the cards here and that is more than generous enough. Deal." Taking out a pouch and handing me seventy gold as he pulls the books closer to himself, I notice how the gold he paid me with wasn''t all Clausian. Now, rather than thinking he scammed me or that he has no idea what each gold is worth, I asked."The currencies are all worth the same here, aren''t they?" A nod was my answer."Aye, gold is gold, silver is silver, don''t matter where its from, don''t matter where ya use it, up or down... stupid decision on the headmasters part, differing currencies are an easy way to make loads of money." "I agree... but maybe you could get connections to the different royal banks and exchange the money there?" He laughed."That''d require having people loyal enough to make the transfer without running away with the coin." Ah. Well, thats about right, isn''t it? Anyways, I shook my head out of my stupor and asked."Say, do you know any place that sells dark talismans?" "Why''d you need one of those?" He quirked an eyebrow towards me."I.. I can''t tell you the honest reason, but a half truth would be that I need it for an experiment." Shrugging at me, he replied."Thats fine... anyways, theres nothing of the sort in the underbelly itself. You might have a better chance to find something like that in the upper city, Alice. After all, this is a city of magic." I blinked, feeling really fucking stupid as I lamely rubbed the back of my head."Now that you mention it..." "Didn''t strike you as a possiblity, eh? Oh well. Anyways, you got any more business for me or?" He asked me as we both downed our drinks."Not at this time, no... but if I do need.. things done, I''ll be sure to come to you. And believe me, there may be a lot of those things to be done very soon." He scowled at nobody in particular."Hate to be you right now, lass. But know that my gang won''t trouble you... unless you trouble me." I quirked an eyebrow at the man as I stood up."Your gang? So there are others?" "Not in the city, no." He shook his head in negative."But a lotta bad people have their claws sunk deep into this city, regardless of how pretty it looks like up above... watch yourself, there may be more than nobles that you gotta deal with sooner rather than later, Alice." "Appreciate the gesture and.. I''ll do my best... see you around, Casper." I said as I quickly made my way out of the tavern and marched back into the upper city, silently cursing myself for not looking for a talisman in a city full of mages. Oh well, if I didn''t do it this way then I would not have met Casper... at least not this soon. Maybe this was fate? Also, an underbelly as thick yet as free as this... I looked around the blackened place to find it almost homely... almost. Shaking my head out of my stupor one last time, I made my way out of the place."Find what you were looking for, milady?" Alex, the ever loyal coachman, patiently waited for me outside. I shook my head."No.. I sold the books but all I gained otherwise was a feeling of stupidity... Get me home, Alex." "As you say, milady..." He muttered out in a somewhat curious tone as he shook the reins and off we went.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Yes, yes, I''m slowly but surely turning Alice into the "Louise" of this cantinuity. Bite me. I know you love it.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 14. A Game Of Marden Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Oh my dear god... the newest chapter for Euphoria is my best hit yet. Lol. You guys sure love Audrey, don''t you? Fifty comments within the first five hours... may not seem like much, but its the most I''ve ever gotten! Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny; Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
The Following Day... - After Royal Etiquette class - The Headmasters Office -Alice''s Point Of View
"Hmm? You appear to be somewhat disgruntled, Alice. More so than usual... Did something bad happen recently?" The headmaster, bless his ancient elven soul, asked me with a frown upon his face. I just let out a massive sigh as I dropped my school bag onto the floor next to the wooden door to his office."Royal Etiquette was trash." He blinked and laughed."Watch your language, young lady. If that class can teach you anything, then proper curse words is one of them which means you have something to gain from it still." "I can exchange them, right?" A nod as the old man pulled out a strangely familiar scroll out from under his desk."You can, but only within five months of the years start and only one of your classes." He shook his head in negative as he looked at the scroll he pulled out."Hmm, no, not this one... humph!" Quirking an eyebrow in curiosity as the old man reached deeper into his own desk as he set the former scroll aside, I watched in wonder as he pulled out a more intricate version of the previous magic scroll."Ah! Here we are..." Taking the apparently correct scroll into his hands, he approached me and placed the parchment on the ground between us. The magics contained within the scroll then burst outwards, momentarily bathing the room in pink, arcane light."Ugh!.." I had to shield my eyes from the brightness but the moment I could see again revealed a rather amazing contraption had appeared in front of me. "I.. Is this... Marden?" I asked the headmaster, causing the old man to smile as he waved one of his spare wands, causing small air elementals to carry two chairs down from whatever storage he has hidden above the myriad shelves full of books."Short for Martial Destiny, an elven .. strategy game, should we say, not much different from the chess usually played by human nobility, but much more magical." The former magic scroll had contained a massive rune-etched table which had numerous magical lines imprinted onto whatever dark wood it was made off. These runic etchings would react whenever more than one person''s mana touched the table and activate, causing the normally flat surface of the table to twist and turn into a miniature battlefield, with the units which are used by each player for combat forged straight out of that players... destiny."I.. I''ve heard of this game before but I never thought I''d see an actual board for myself." My wonder and amazement pleased the old man as he nodded with a prideful grin."Indeed. Only a select few of these still exist, most of them having been outlawed by the Empire. Thankfully, my board was out of the reach of that misbegotten Empress." "Outlawed? Why?" I asked, more than a little bit confused. Why would anyone outlaw something like this? The old man sighed, seemingly remembering some very dark and dreadful things from his past."Listen Alice, this game... Marden is not a simple clockwork of runes. It is actually connected to forces beyond our reality. Things and monstrosities which are fully capable of reading the fate of us mortals and controling our fragile minds without us even realizing it. The Empress has outlawed this game since it was a near perfect way for these malignant terrors to enter our world and consume the minds of the players as it tampered with their own destinies." "So playing this is dangerous? Why bring it out then if you don''t intend on playing a round with me?" He smiled at me."Oh I do intend to play some rounds with you, Alice. This is... an idea I had while dreaming yesterday. I hope to use this game in order to prepare you for the trials to come. Assuredly, you will face many dangers related to battlefields and this game will allow you a truthful window into the strategies involved in nearly all forms of warfare in general." "Let me guess, you have some kind of special protection that will shield our minds from being invaded by monsters from the beyond?" Another nod, this time slow and uncertain."I do but I''ll be honest and say that even with that protection we should not play for very long. Should one of our battles last for longer than thirty minutes, we can and will pause it for another day in order to allow minds to retain full cohesion." "Okay... so how do we start?" A bright smile etched itself onto the old mans lips as he replied."Oh, just place your hands onto those round runes over here... oh, and Alice?" "Yes, headmaster?" Quirking an eyebrow at the old man, I felt as if the shadows behind me began to retreat hastily as his gaze turned dark, much like that of his son."I want you to remember that this game reads the destinies of those involved and that the units are born of the players own fates. Meaning that what you see here may guide you in the real world so long as you can interpret the game correctly... thing is, you can also see the units belonging to your opponent." "So.. whatever I see, I keep it to myself and, in turn, you''ll do the same?" A grim nod was given as I steeled myself and leaned into my chair as I placed my hands onto the aforementioned runes, feeling my mana flowing into the board. Within seconds, the flat surface twisted itself and changed coloration, creating a rather strange map of terrain. A single giant river split the supposed battlefield in half, flowing from the lower south-west to the upper north-east in a perfect line. Many smaller offshoots spilled out of the lake, with only a few flowing into it originating within the snow-drenched mountains of the west side of the map. An entire mountain range filled the left and upper right corners of the map, considering that it was in the shape of a perfect square with the remainder of the world clouded in inpassable shadows. The lower right side of the map was connected to the rest of it via a large wooden bridge which opened the way into what appeared to be a rather verdant valley filled with rich farmlands and many small villagers but no larger settlements. On the northern edge was what appeared to be a small, man-made enclosure with a war camp full of ... soldiers within it. Although, I''m not sure that what I am looking at are soldiers at all. "ROOARGH!" A massive orcish figurine stood out among the swarm of other units, reacting with realistic sound as I felt myself reaching out to it with my mind. Its name appeared to me within a suddenly formed blue box of some sort.
Warforged Champion
Hero Unit 8/3/10 --> an old, to his race ancient, orc who has seen numerous battles and participated in countless raids. With the blood of the living flame rushing through his veins, this orc has vowed to serve his Blessed Lady through war... and peace. Abilities: Commanding Presence, Chaotic Warsong and Cleaving Blows.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Commanding Presence - units within the range of this ability (3 tiles) have their attack/defense/morale points raised by 2. Chaotic Warsong - a horrid howl which tears the morale of nearby foes. The closer the enemy, the greater its effect (max 1 tile away, up to 3 morale damage per howl). Cleaving Blows - attacking with this unit deals damage to a maximum of three units in a frontal cone, but each enemy struck increases the cooldown time for the next available attack.
A primary assault unit, meant to charge into the fray immidiatelly with its high attack and morale... yet its low defense makes me want to keep it in the back line and make good use of its aura. The howl ability when combined with the cleaving blows makes for a decent hit-and-run tactic, but for that to be effective, I''d need to have a lot of information about the enemy. "Insaniam est virtus!" A crescendo of maddened voices echoed from the sidelines, revealing three units of heavily armored infantry and two units of equally heavily armored cavalry standing side by side.
Caedean Crusader
Infantry Unit 2/2/10 --> once regular soldiers, these human men and women have been made to witness the horrible truth of the world. They have stared into the void and, while clearly not quite sane, snapped out of it, still human. Their loyalty to the Blessed Lady is only matched by their savagery and madness. Abilities: Funeral March and Echoes Of Infinity. Funeral March - for each unit that dies on the battlefield, regardless of affiliation, increase attack and defence permanently by 1 while losing 1 point of morale. Echoes Of Infinity - should the morale of the Caedean Crusader unit reach the value of 0, they will gain +5 to all stats for one round and attack the closest unit to them. After the round of berserking, the Crusaders reset their Funeral March and control of them is given back to their rightful leige.
"Uhh...." I found myself grunting out in confusion and inability to comprehend.. this. What does Caedean even mean? And what exactly is a Crusade anyways? Some kind of religious warbard, I guess."Having trouble with your units, miss Pendragon?" The old headmaster asked me as he waved his hands around, seemingly posistioning his own units which were still concealed and invisible to my eyes."Y-yeah... I don''t know what to make of them." "Don''t worry child, they are borne of your own destiny... controlling them will be as natural to you as breathing." He calmly responded, years of experience clear from his tone as I nodded and continued my inspection."Remember, the goal of todays match is not to actually play it but to assess your forces and find out which unit is there and why. We have an entire year in front of us and many such matches to play so there is no need to rush." A nod was his answer before I finally continued."CHAAARGE!" A plethora of warcries caught my attention.
Ceadean Charger
Cavalry Unit 2/5/5 --> though fewer in number and perhaps much weaker mentally than their infantry brothers and sisters, these people have witnessed the end and came out changed, yet still sane. Regardless, their loyalty to the Blessed Lady is only matched by their ability to guide their less-sane brothers and sisters in arms on the battlefield. Abilities: Preternatural Inspiration and CHARGE! Preternatual Inspiration - grants any friendly unit another an extra move during your turn. (cannot stack) CHARGE! - rushes a maximum of 3 tiles forward, with each tile adding a +1 to attack. Each enemy unit which is killed by charge permanently increases this units morale by +1. This ability may only be used once per battlefield.
Huh. So these guys are easily the answer to the Champions weakness... maybe if I used Preternatural Inspration on him first and then moved? However, doing so would probably cost me the element of surprise and weaken the overrall effectiveness of CHARGE! And using it on the crusaders just seems wasteful. Hmm, maybe since I have two of these units, I could cast i-no, that makes no sense. Take a move to give a move. I shook my head, thats stupid. A deep sigh escapes me as I turned towards my last unit. Another orc, from what it looked like. It reminded me of ... of the old madman who screamed obscenities at me back at the castle."THE WORLDEATER CALLS!"
Maddened Volhv
Elite Caster Unit 0/1/& --> a weak and physically pathetic old orcish shaman who has fallen to visions of insanity and chaos, yet has also gained the power to spread his madness to both empower his allies as well as doom his enemies. Abilities: Horrifying Visage, Know THIS!, Boil Blood and Hungering Aura. Horrifying Visage - when enemy units first see the Volhv, their status is changed to "Terrified" which makes them unable to attack the Volhv for the next turn. Know THIS! - Deals -1 morale to any enemy unit, with each consecutive cast increasing the power of the spell by +1. Can only be used on elite and heroic units. Boil Blood - when used on allies, grants +1/+1/+1. When used on enemies, deals -2 morale damage and -1 physical damage. Hungering Aura - any ally within 3 tiles of the Volhv is granted lifesteal, restoring +1 defence on attacked unit. This value cannot bypass the original maximum of selective units.
Ahh, this makes more sense now. Basically, attack is the damage units deal to other units. Defence is their health points. And morale is.. well morale."What happens when a units morale is depleted?" I asked the headmaster, who merely blinked in surprise."Your units are affected by morale?" "Not all of them, why?" He made an ooh face before replying, causing me to tilt my head in confusion."Well, when a units morale reaches zero, they run away from the battlefield." I feel stupid just asking that. That was obvious. Shaking my head out of my stupor, I continued my questions."A lot of my units mention these things called tiles.. what are they supposed to be?" "Well, if you would just look at the map for a moment, you would see that the terrain is divided by four regions and that each regions is divided into twenty five tiles, which makes one hundred tiles per battlefield." There were indeed hexagonal shapes etched into the ground, clearly visible now that I knew what I was looking for. I guess they mark where I can posistion my troops."You may have also noticed that while each one tile can only hold a singular unit, your War-Camp is a special tile which can hold them all and grants a defensive bonus to all friendly units inside of it, but staying inside of the camp for the entire game is considered a cowards way of playing the game." He added on to my previous question as I nodded in approval."That does sound kinda cheesy to do." "I''m glad you agree with me. Now, I suppose you''ve managed to grab a feel for your units by now, yes? Why don''t you try deploying them around?" He urged me on as I blinked."Uhh, how do I do that exactly?" "You may have noticed that your units react whenever you focus your mind upon them. Once you do this, simply think of them moving to a select tile within their reach and they will do as much." He explained as he threw a look at the clock. It would appear that time was running out. Oh well, might as well try my best."We march!" My orcish Warforged Champion exclaimed as I willed him to move forward, instinctively making him be the front of my army. Both of my cavalry units were sent to his sides, ready to support him whenever needed. Hmm, their extra move ability cannot stack, but nobody ever said that you couldn''t cast it from one cavalry, use the move and then use the other cavalry afterwards... Thats something I''ve got to try! Anyways, I motioned the Volhv to go next, making him the well-defended middle of my army."Annihilation... commands me!" He screeched in protest, yet in a tone full of glee. Truly a madman, isn''t he? My remaining forces, that is to say the Caedean Crusaders whom I had no idea where or what to do with, were made to be his side and rear guard, sourrounding the Volhv on all sides with the intent to protect him. What if the enemy had some kind of ranged attack, though... the Volhv only has 1 defense and zero personal attack without spells, balanced out by the fact that his morale is limitless. "Thats enough for today... any more and we risk exposure to otherworldy monstrosities. I-I... I don''t know how you managed to stay unaffected for so long, little Alice... do you not feel the touch of insanity upon your mind?" The headmaster asked me, his voice weakened as I blinked at him in confusion, the table resetting itself into the magical scroll it originated from."Uhh... no, I don''t. I feel perfectly fine?" "Then your mental fortitude is either massively higher than mine, which isn''t that much of a stretch considering what you''ve survived, or you are already infected by one of these beings, which is impossible." He concluded with a sigh."Still, to have a little girls mind be stronger than mine... ahh, is this what growing old feels like?" "Well, I wont lie to you sir, you are rather old." I laughed at his antics as the old man shrugged at me, thankfully not catching my cringe as Chaos entered my thoughts.. clearly, I am immune to this game solely because of its influence. Well its and that of the ring... as I''m sure that whatever power it possesses comes from something equal to Chaos by now. Anyways, guess that means this session is finally over. Goddess, this was a long bloody day!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Betcha didn''t expect them blues, now did ya?! But, well I figured I might as well. Btw, the more I think this magic board game up, the more it reminds me of Warhammer, even if I''ve never played anything of its franchise. Strange... Oh well, time to go to sleep.... And yes, its fucking 3:20 here where I am, get over it.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 15. Magia Insanium Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Yes, yes... its 2 am and I''m writing instead of sleeping. Good on me for going so far for you guys and girls, eh? Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few days later... - A Classroom - Alice''s Point Of View...
"H-hello?" Saying as I pushed the seemingly blood-stained wooden door open and peeked inside, I soon found that the classroom was thankfully empty of life. It was currently seven in the morning and yet the teacher was still not here as I had already been waiting for him or her to arrive for a good hour outside of the classroom only to finally decide to look if the class had already started without me, which would have been embarrassing. Once again, that thankfully did not appear to be the case. Shrugging and gathering as much of my courage as I could, I walked inside. This room... was different from the others. Apart from the obvious aura of discomfort and the myriad of blood stains, both long since dry and very much fresh alike, staining the walls of the place, the classroom was not built in such a way that it had rising rows as a typical college or academy may usually employ, but was just a straight, narrow room. Well, when I say narrow, I mean that it did not posess the same eliptical architecture that an elven forum does, which typical classrooms usually portray but rather five sets of neatly posistioned loboratorial tables set in three equal rows. The three rows could be basically summed up as the left, the middle and the right row. Unlike what one may assume from just hearing the description of this place, there were no windows on either side... which was most likely why the stench of blood was thick and heavy in the air. Then again, considering that people are meant to study blood magic in this room that might be a boon. Or maybe not, as plastered upon the walls of the room were scented candles of all kinds of exotic scents. They apeared to be fueled by magic of some kind... magic which, I sadly did not know of which meant that I would have to suffer the stench for the time being."Oh well, might as well pick a desk and wait for the others..." Huh, wait... others? Wouldn''t some of my fellow classmates be here by now?.. Must have missed something important yesterday."No, that can''t be right." I waved my concern off. When I was leaving the student home I was currently staying at, no other student seemed to have anything to do today."Guess tuesdays are for special classes only?" Muttering out in dissapproval at the teachers absence once again, I promptly walked over to the closest lab-desk and sat down. Pulling out my heretical collection of Chaos-influenced ramblings and scribbles, I open the dreadful book and place it to my left. To my right, I put up three separate letters which were delivered to me this morning. One from that thief who tried to rob me, Lloyd. One from my ever-diligent mayor and steward, Yvain. And the last one was a letter from the master tailor into whose business I had invested, Merriel. I opened the letter from Lloyd. "Alice, huh? Yeah, heard your damn name from that bastard Casper. Fucker does not know when to quit or where to place some moral limits... shits bound to make him a lot of enemies, already has in fact. But, to have so many people want him dead and still live, I guess I can find some respect for the fool. Don''t think he has any right to be leading a thieves guild though, many dont, but his recent dealings with a certain High Lady is bound to pull some eyes his way, eh?" Ah, shit.. I shook my head in disbelief and shame. Regardless of how and why I got the title, I am a High Lady now. Just my presence alone is worth looking for. Anyways, moving on... Have to remember to send some hush money over to Lloyd. Mostly because I am thankfull for the wake-up call. If he didn''t throw my own damn title into my face like this, who knows what else I might''ve done."Milady, since it has been months after your fathers .. first death, the many soldiers he had gathered from the sourrounding lands have finally returned. This levy consists mostly of heavy infantry, pistol-skirmishers, orcish mercenaries and ambitious magi whom your father employed. As they are your fathers personal levies, the responsibility of their deployment and their salaries falls onto you. Normally, I would just send them all home as they all collectively cost over fifty gold a month to maintain which we clearly do not have, but their leader whom is the most eloquent orc warlord I have ever seen, has expressed a desire to settle the fertile but completely forested lands around the castle. He is not alone in this either, as many of our own guardsmen have expressed the wish to bring their families here. Let us not forget to mention the clear economic benefits of this decision as the orcs would basically become a minority settlement which would effectively open up many trading opportunities with the orcish Edgelands which your county borders. This may also ensure the end of orcish raiding parties plaguing your lands... In the end, this all comes down to the cost of it all. The estimated value of the primary settlements construction would be around two-hundred clausian gold, with that number increasing to over six hundred should we ever wish to expand the city. This is mostly because a proper quarry would be required to continue contruction efforts and sadly, the ancient one which was used to construct this castle has long since fallen into a state of disrepair. However, my brother and myself are more than willing to invest in this endeavour and I am sure that the other city mayors are liable to invest in this as well. But! A sizable sum of one hundred Clausian gold would still be needed from your own .... dry coffers... The choice is yours." I let out a massive sigh as I finished reading this letter. Not just opening up a trade route to the edgelands, but also an end to orcish raiding... Maybe later I could even organize a miniature silk-road of sorts? What my good mayor does not see however, is the clear millitary benefits that having orcish subjects implies. Though, paying this now would tank my current reserves of money, I guess I''ll just have to be moderate for the time being and hope to the heavens that Merriel has some good news for me. Come to think of it, lets read what the tailor has to say before making a decision. "Miss Pendragon, I''m truly glad to have had the good fortune of meeting you these few days ago! Your investment into my work put aside for the moment, the very fact that you managed to shove my life back into order is an extraordinary feat, if my wife is to be believed anyways. She was so happy that she even allowed me back into the house!... though, I am still forced to sleep in the kitchen for some reason. Anyways, the machine is complete! And though I have yet to put it into motion and earn anything from it... I may have been a bit over the top when I claimed it would take so much gold to get myself started again. So I have returned the remainder of the gold you have given me... its not much considering the amount you invested, but if I have learned anything from you is that not a single coin should be wasted! So please, take back this sum of thirteen gold and expect a proper return to your investment within the week." Well... Its not what I had expected or hoped for, but its something."The Lunatic Scribbles of Alice Pendragon, eh? How adorable." A voice suddenly echoed from my side as I turned my head around to first notice how my heretical diary was missing and second, there was a teacher right next to me! "Uh... sir? Could I have that book back?" The relatively young human man shrugged and dropped the book onto the table after staring at its contents for a bit, turning his head away as a droplet of blood fell from his eyes. He wiped it off like it was a common occurence."Hmm? Magia Insanium? And yet, those truly did seem like lunatic scribbles."This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Magia Insanium, aka the event in which a mage learns something so grand and, quite possibly forbidden, that it changes the way they think about magic, possibly turning them insane in the process. I guess this means I should keep the book closer to myself."A-are you alright, sir?" "I''m fine. The name is Shern, Of Asteriel. I am to be your blood magic teacher for this year, miss Pendragon... though, I must say that what you have in that book of yours is far more interesting." He nodded to himself as he approached the blackboard and magically locked the door to the classroom with a wave of his wand. When I saw him begin to draw my scribbles onto the board, I felt my heart stop. Yet... the man seemed ... curious."The pictures in that book, these orbs especially... what are they?" "Erm sir... I have no idea." I replied honestly, elicting an intrigued look from the man."How did you draw them then, child?" "I had a vision." My honesty was the horrible child of my current fear and my hope. Hope that this man might shed some light on the incomprehendable knowledge that Chaos had bestowed upon me."I see.. Well, to be perfectly honest, these appear to be planetary objects." "Planetary objects?" I tilted my head in confusion as the man nodded in seeming recognition."Ah, figures that you do not know what that is. The church and the nobility.. their own hubris and unwillingness to accept truth blinds even their own spawn." He took in a deep breath and, even if I was slightly insulted by his words I felt that they were true."Planetary objects are what you would refer to as the stars in the sky and the planets within our solar system. Our solar system is-" "The territorial range of our sun and everything within in." I interrupted him on instinct, causing the man to quirk an eyebrow at me.".. ah, sorry teacher." "No, thats fine. If you interrupt me then that means you know and you do not need to be told about something. Anyways, moving on... the orbs resemble planetary objects and the way that those within our solar system ... revolve, around the sun. Yet, what separates them from those very bodies is the fact that there appear to be orbs within orbs." He circled around the inner orbs once again, making it so the chalk was a deeper white color. "I .. this is troubling. Child, what were you thinking of when this vision of yours came to you?" I thought for a moment and then replied."Fire. I was thinking about fire... but not magical fire, the natural thing." He blinked and nodded, turning his head back towards the board."Fire, eh?.. what would these have to do with fire?.. Hmm, I do not see the connection, but perhaps we should expore the notion of fire, first." Instinctively, I dragged my lunatic book closer and grabbed the nearest pen, feeling that this would indeed clear another part of the puzzle."Great scholars and alchemists of the past have concluded that fire, as a form of magic, requires three things to function. Rage, first and foremost, for without it, there is nothing to fuel the flame. Air, while not outright needed for magical flames, its presence reduces the amount of mana needed to cast any form of magical flame, the reason for is yet to be deduced. This is also the case with heat, as fire magic is easier to cast in places of high temperature." Writing everything he said, I asked."What about natural fire, though?" "Well, I belive that natural flame cannot be much different from its magical variant. Air and heat become a neccessity but rage is replaced by something else." I blinked."You mean, something else fuels natural flame? So.. wood?" "Flammable materials, but you are on the right track." Flammable materials? So anything that can burn?... isn''t that like, everything?"I see the confusion in your eyes girl, is something on your mind?" I shook my head in negative and stared at the pictures for a moment. Suddenly, I remembered what the teacher said about it resembling planetary objects."Teacher, do planetary objects move or are they all stationary?" "They do move. I''ve already told you that they revolve around the Sun... though, you don''t know what that word means, do you?" He sighed and let out a laugh as I pouted."I guess they ... run circles around the sun?" A surprised nod."Clever girl. But what does this have to do with the pictures?" "Well, I just thought if it was possible for my... orbs, to move around. Especially the ones inside of the other orbs... they''re so close together that, even if they were to move very slowly, they''d create a lot of heat while confined within the bigger orb." He turned his head back around and created several arrows within the main orb. These appeared to be directions for movement which the inner orbs could accomplish."Certainly, if these inner orbs could move, they would create a lot of heat within the center orb." "But how does that heat turn into fire?" I muttered out as I grabbed my book and pen and walked over to the drawing board to inspect the bigger pictures closer."Hmm... let us add the numbers you wrote for each orb. Those did come with your vision, yes?" A nod."They did... though, I understand them less than I do the rest of the drawing." He chuckled."Understandable. At your age, you have yet to learn anything about advanced mathematics, after all." Mathematics? I tilted my head in confusion."They have a mathematical meaning?" "Of course they do, girl. They are numbers! All numbers have a mathematical meaning." He promptly assinged the numbers: 0, +1 and -1 to their respective orbs. The picture on the board now looked like this; there was one giant orb with six lesser orbs inside and one even smaller orb rotating around it. Wait.. rotating?"Something on your mind, girl? You appear to have had an epiphany." "Erm, not really. I just feel like the orb on the outside is rotating around the center orb... like the planets." I replied with a sigh."You feel like it, eh? Interesting. Another connection to the planetary objects too..." He murmured as he drew a circle around the center orb which passed through the middle of the orb outside, indicating its rotation. I quickly scribbled that into my book."Hmm, this sheds some light onto the picture now." He suddenly exclaimed as he pointed towards the numbers."You have not yet learned this, but the numbers you drew each have a meaning. 0 is the mathematical equivalent of neutrality, +1 of positivity and -1 of negativity." "So how does that make the picture clearer?" I asked, causing the man to chuckle again."You are the one who drew this and yet, it feels like I understand it better. How adorable." "I''m nine years old and you are what, thirty?" A rather uncalled for remark as the man grinned."I''m forty-six, actually. Blood magic tends to make one... fresh." He turned back to the board, his wording making me feel creeped out for a moment."In any case, what the numbers show is that the outside orb is negative. The center orb seems to be positive and the inner orbs are neutral. Or, perhaps more accurately, the end result of the center orb is positive." "End result?" I asked the man as he began adding onto the picture."Lets say that the biggest orb, which I shall from now on refer to as a core, itself has no real standing. It is passively neutral, as the vision had shown you by marking some of the inner orbs with the number zero. Yet, the personality of the core itself is positive. This can only mean one thing... the unmarked orbs within the core are all positive. There are three of them." "So 0+0+0+1+1+1 equals... 3?" I tilted my head in confusion once more as my teacher shook his head."There are no such values in personality, miss Pendragon. If something is of positive value then it is of positive personality... same logic goes for the others." "So the core is positive, you mean?" He nodded."Now, tell me, do you know about the noble saying; opposites attract?" "Opposites attract? Isn''t that a romance notion? About how men and women of totally different personalities usually get toge-.. the orbs. The outside orb and the inside orbs have opposite personalities, so they attract one another, causing the outside orb to spin around the cen-, ahem, the core." "Correct." He added a few more chalk lines indicating what we just discovered and I quickly wrote it all down into my book. However, before we could continue, the bell had rang. We both turned our heads upwards and noticed how it was currently 12am."How.. time passes so quickly when you are having fun." The teacher said and, with a sad wave of his wand, deleted what he had drawn upon the board. Then he turned around and handed me a book, one which contained what I was supposed to be studying today. A tome of blood magic."Since I was late today and the fact that you are my only student this year, I think nobody will care about us stopping the lesson here and now... lest our actions may draw unneeded attention." A blink caused me to turn my head around and towards the door. Several shadows stood behind it, listening in to our conversation. Students, nobles... classmates and enemies in one."I see.. well, I guess we can continue this next tuesday then?" Taking the book and placing everything back into my bag as quickly as I could, I heard the teacher sigh."Yes, we shall have to in order to avoid suspicion. In the meantime, I shall ponder what we have discovered here. I would also invite you to my laboratory but that would be a dangerous thing to do right now and besides, the headmaster is expecting you." A last nod was his answer as I opened the door, revealing and stunning more than one creepy asshole who was listening in on our conversation."See you then, teacher." "You as well, miss Pendragon. And please, do call me Mr Shern in the future, young lady." He laughed at my antics as I quickly departed the classroom, leaving behind me a myriad of confused and shocked onlookers.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Thats about all I can manage for now... GOTTA SLEEP.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 16. Bully For You, Alice! Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Sixteen, eh? Somehow, it still feels like we haven''t come a long way. Then again, it took me around 60 chapters to type down EUPHORIA''s prologue... I''m bad at prologues. Mostly because I often needlessly pro-LONG them, eh? Eh? ... I''ll see myself out. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
The Following Morning... - The Academy (Cafeteria) - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Wonder what happened to the professor..." One of my fellow classmates said aloud, seemingly directing the semi-question at nobody in particular in an attempt to create some small talk. As one might expect, the first few weeks are when the class gets divided into groups of like-minded people. Sometimes though, groups choose their members rather than the members their groups. Which is why I was included in one of these groups."The man is an Archbishop, Luke. He probably has a sermon or something..." Was my rather impulsive answer as the boy in question turned around to face me with a quirked eyebrow."Last person I expected to react, but yeah that makes sense, Alice." Ignoring his silent jab as I look up from my half-asleep posistion, that is to say face-first on one of the desks in the so-called Cafeteria, a room where people gather to eat and drink during breaks, apparently. Yawning into my hand, I decide that I might as well do what I usually do in these kinds of situations recently; count my money."Err, what are you doing now?" The other members of our group of five also decidedly woke up from their respective trance as I dug out my demon-purse and put it on the table.".. Uhh, that thing reeks." Emma, or more commonly known as Hard-Needy, nicknamed such due to her rather annoying teachers-pet personality and the fact that her surname is Harnedy, suddenly murmured as she stared at the purse, her fingers already closing her nose. "What is it though?"Joseph Brooke, or rather Booke with the final e being silent, is the same erudite peasant whose current clothes I had bought in an attempt to ensure that I never see whats beneath."Its a purse. A demon purse." Without wasting any more time, I promptly turned the purse around and caused all the coin I had left to spill out of it... which amounted to around twenty-seven gold in total, currencies varying as not all of my coin was Clausian."Whoah, thats a lot of money..." The last member of our little group was another peasant girl named Maria. She didn''t really have a nickname yet, as the usual suspects seemed to be perfectly happy with what she was, that is to say the boys, and felt no desire to name her anything else."Its really not though..." Luke and Emma said at the same time, causing the two to share a glance for a moment before looking away somewhat embarrassed. Luke? He was the son of a minor noble who governed the county in which Emma''s father was the mayor of a city... which kinda explains as to why they might know each other, though the clear interest in one another is something special. Not special enough for me to care, though. What about me, you might be asking? Alice, do you have a nickname? Why yes, I do."Hey Banshee! You feel the need to make us all jealous or something?! Go count your fecking coin elsewhere!" One of the boys exclaimed from somewhere behind me as I let out a sigh. Banshee... a nickname given to me for what I could only assume was an ironic reason, given the fact that I nearly never utter a word during classess or unless forced too, the events prior to this nonwithstanding. That said, I did feel strangely talkative today."You learn that curse word from your grandma or something?" I said before I could stop myself as I recounted my coin quickly and shoved it back into my purse as the group of five boys approached me. Their leader, a tall boy with a scar across his cheek, pushed his face really close to mine."Oh now you did it, you little noble-bitch. If you just stayed fecking quiet, I''d have letcha go easy, but now Imma smash your fecking face!" "Wait, you''re seriously gonna hit a girl?!"One of the other boys asked as my group shot glances towards me, Maria seemingly ready to rush to a teacher in fear at any moment with Luke and Emma about to stand in my defense. Booke seemed fully intent on staying as quiet and invisible as possible. Typical nerd. "So fecking what, bro?! Shes a noble! You know how they treat their women, shes probably already used to being beaten! Hell, she''ll probably enjoy it too!" He exclaimed in an arrogant tone, elicitng nothing but a quirked eyebrow from me as I took out my lunatic diary and opened it."Hey, you little shit, how dare you ignore me!" He pulled back his shoulder, readying a blow. A teacher rushed into view as some of the students watching the event play out had already called them, but as the fist came rushing down on me... I caught it in mid-air, as its slow speed was more than just visible to my Chaos-empowered eyes. Within an instant, I was on top of his back, pushing him face first into the floor as I held his offending fist behind his back. Then, I promptly slammed my own fist into the ground next to his head, cracking the slate with relative ease."U-uuuhh..." He eeked out as everyone stared on right onto me."Take a look at that hole in the ground and etch it into your heads, because the state its in may have been his face. Any idiot that bothers me past my limit might experience that for real. And you know what? As a High Lady, I could probably get away with it, too." The teacher, who appeared to be a young gnome man with glasses, approached me with a horrified look on his face."Miss Pendragon! What is going on here!?" Oh, I was about to get hit, yet I''m the one being blamed. How , ahem- FECKING CLICHE."None of your damn business. Now piss off before I hurt you, teacher." My blazing crimson-gold eyes caused the poor man to swallow his pride and promptly fall onto his ass."T-t-the headmaster will h-hear of this!" He rushed off towards the academy entrance as I let out a sigh. "U-uwaaa..." The boy beneath me started crying quite loudly as I finally released my hold on him and leaped back onto my chair. Honestly, I felt really bad about doing this right now... I don''t know what came over me."Go away..." I whispered in a somewhat saddened tone as both the bullies and my own supposed group disbanded within an instant, leaving me all alone. For some reason... the intense atmosphere of loneliness that I had grown so used to over the years seemed to be... just a little bit heavier right now. I shook my head out of my stupor, promptly shattering the illusion of darkness that I had created around myself and reopened my demon purse."One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..." I dozed off as I recounted my coin once again. Yet as I was counting them, I noticed once again that not all of my money was Clausian currency. A memory flashed within my mind as I held said coins in my hand."I agree... but maybe you could get connections to the different royal banks and exchange the money there?" He laughed."That''d require having people loyal enough to make the transfer without running away with the coin." I blinked several times before realizing what my memory was trying to show me, curtesy of Chaos no doubt. The image of my probably-insane coachman etched itself into my thoughts as I smiled to myself, promptly creeping several people out as I did. I did have someone loyal enough to make the transfer, didn''t I? Maybe I should start gathering coins from different nations and see what their value is in each? A new mission for my dear mayor, it would seem. Or maybe I should have Alex do it from the start? No, no, no... that would just gather unneccessarry attention to my very loyal servant. So who would be a good ... Lloyd! Hah, I knew that thief might come in handy. Honestly, he might have that information already. Nodding to myself in approval, I ripped out a paper from my lunatic diary and promptly started writing."Lloyd, I''ve got a job for you: I need to know the current gold, silver and copper values around the human nations. We can discuss your payment in person tonight." Folding the paper into a makeshift letter, I collected all of my stuff and put it into my bag before looking around to find a certain someone."Ah! There he is." The person I was looking for is one of our Academy janitors, a poor person, a homeless beggar hired in order to keep the cafeteria clean in exchange for free food and a place to sleep. Perfectly fair, no? Except, the guy is a total thieves guild member in disguise. A kind of secret fence for students who want to get rid of a rivals books and get some cash while at it. Rushing towards him with a rather happy look on my face seemed to startle the man, but he most likely remembered being told by Casper about me which caused him to cool down quickly enough."Uhh, mister?"If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Yes, little one, can this old man do something for you?" He asked in a gentle tone, a fake mask which clouded his true self, a depraved mongrel willing to do anything for money."Yeah! I''d like you to take this letter to the mister in the dark." His eyes went wide for the slightest moment as he happily nodded and stealthily took both the makeshift letter and the gold coin I handed him."Oh, I''ll be happy to do that for you, little lady. Anytime!" And with that, he turned around with a savage grin on his face. Oh well, not any of my business for what he plans to do with that gold coin. Probably buy a cheap slave and ravage her to his hearts content."Miss Pendragon! The headmaster w-will s-s-see you n-now!" The same fucking gnome teacher I shooed away earlier yelled towards me from the other side of the room as I scowled at him, making the possibly two hundred year older man turn away. But I didn''t make another scene and went to see Adhana without pause.
A few moments later...
"So I hear you cracked stone with your fist while threatening to hurt a classmate and a teacher right afterwards... have anything to say for yourself, young lady?" Adhana asked me with a rather unpleasant tone as I sighed."No. I don''t. I don''t know what the hell was going through my head at the time, BUT!" "But?" He urged me to continue."The boy who I was *threatening*, actually made the first move when he tried to punch me in the face, saying how I''ll probably enjoy it anyway as Noblemen beat their women all the time." The headmaster let out a sigh of his own."So you acted in self-defense and when the teacher came to protect the boy, you reacted equally defensively. Alice, I hope you understand that making even more enemies for yourself will not make things easier on you." "A bunch of random kids aren''t a threat to me or to my life." I replied somewhat arrogantly, biting my lip in the process. Something Adhana seems to have caught on to."This tone you are using with someone who is trying to help you... Hmm..." He shook his head in negative."No, you are far too young for that... anyways, while I agree that the children may not pose a direct threat to you, most of them are peasants... who do not have a lot of money." I quirked an eyebrow at him."You think that... one of my enemies may bribe one of them to spy on me? Eventually resulting in something which is a threat to me." I concluded as he nodded towards me. He sighed once more."Indeed. I''m glad that we are of one mind, Alice. I... I will not impose any punishments on you, despite potential reppercussions. But Alice, please.. do try to keep your anti-social self out of trouble? Or, if not that, out of social activities in general. While you are important both to myself and to this school due to your title, I simply cannot be bothered to make your life easier at the expese of our other students. Learn and adapt, Alice. Teach yourself how to handle these situations without the need for my intervention. Because I will not bother to bail you out of trouble should you keep this up." "Thats fair... and thank you, headmaster." I replied with a lowered head. I guess this is sorta my fault.. I mean, I did overreact there. I could''ve just caught his fist and walked away looking cool instead of... doing what I did."No problem. You may leave now, classess are starting." A nod was his final reply as I walked out of the office, carrying a somber atmosphere around myself.
Another few moments later...
The walk back to class was met with rather the same shadowed atmosphere as I left the headmasters office. With the only change being the fact that everybody was staring right at me as I entered. Thankfully, the Archbishop who was supposed to teach us Holy Magic wasn''t there yet. And uh, there were only a few people here."How come theres so few people here?" I asked nobody in particular. Everyone of my, uh.. my *group* was here, which was kinda expected, but aside from them, only three others were here."We thought we were everyone. Why the hell are you here?" Someone I didn''t know pointed out, most likely because of what had happened a few minutes ago. I let out a massive sigh."I have a talent for holy magic, remember?" I took out my mana-stone, which shone with both crimson and white, anger and peace. Two totally conflicting emotions. Two things which, when forced together, made me who I was. And what was I anyways?"Oh yeah... sure wouldn''t think that way otherwise." The same guy said in a condenscending tone, but I ignored him and promptly climbed up to the tallest corner to the classroom and sat down. Maria, ever the airhead, walked over to me with a smile on her face."Uhm.. that was really brave of you... even if you were also really mean to that boy, Alice." She told me and, for some reason, my gloomy atmosphere brightened a little."Thanks, Maria... you''re an angel, you know that?" "Ehehe..." She give out a light chuckle which forced a smile out of me just as the Archbishop hurriedly walked into the classroom."A-ah! I''m truly sorry for the wait, children! I have been caught up i-oh, so many potential students this year!" The old man, who was still in his gold-blue holy embroidery, put his bishop hat down and looked at the eight people in the room."Many? This is a lot?" Luke exclaimed inquisitively, to which the archbishop replied with a happy and excited nod. Hell, this old man seemed to be the ancient, not to mention male, version of the girl next to me. Hah, the irony of the sentence does not escape me, either."Yes! Indeed! You may not believe this, but a talent for holy magic is something very, very rare. All those who possess such a talent are chosen by the gods in heaven!" My right bloomed its white glow for the first time in days, catching both my attention and that of everyone else."Oh my! Is that a holy artifact, young miss?" I rose my left hand upwards and shrugged."I don''t know. It probably is but... it might be cursed too." Now that, garnered everyones full attention."Cursed? What do you mean by that, young lady? AH! But before that, I should introduce myself; I am Archbishop Delathar! And I shall be teaching you Holy Magic this year, and possibly all of the following years, that you spend here at our prestigious academy!" His joyfulness seemed to switch into full focus nearly instantly as he dashed over to my side with a kind of speed that an old man his age, which is possibly around eighty and very much ancient for a normal human in this day and age, and grasped my left hand, inspecting my diamond ring. We remained silent for a rather uncomfortable minute before he asked me."Hmm, I do not sense any sort of dark energy from this ring... why do you think that it is cursed, young lady?" I then pulled my hand back and promptly tried to remove the ring from my finger, only to double over in pain with a silent scream."Uuugh... s-see?" "Oh... yes, that does.. not seem quite normal. Though, I stand by my words, there is no darkness within that ring. Maybe the gods have decided that it must remain on your finger for some reason?" The old man informed me with yet another beaming smile, but a scoff caught our attention from somewhere below."Hah, probably so she does not become some kind of demon filth, what with that anger of hers..." The others murmured approvals as I felt a blood vessel pop yet managed to restrain myself from doing anything. My ring bloomed once, showing its approval of my actions which was enough for me to completely calm down."Oh?.. whats this? The ring bloomed once and you seem to have reacted in a way that indicates that you understand what it means, young lady." A nod as I explained."The ring is a sentient artifact, I think... We managed to reach an understanding a few days ago where one bloom means yes and two blooms mean no." As if in accordance to the current events, the ring bloomed once more. The Archbishop appeared delighted at the prospect."Remarkable! Never before have I seen anything like this. I-where did you find this ring, if I may know, young lady?" I looked away for the briefest moment."I found it in my mothers artifact collection. I kind of.. put it on without thinking and well, here we are." A somber nod was my answer as the man rushed back down and pulled out several holy tomes from beneath his desk."Alright, we''ve spent enough time already, let us begin the lesson!" He cleared his throat."First, I''d like to know exactly how talented you are. I must know this, not so I can build some kind of prefferences, but to know what to start teaching you with. These tomes are simple testing tomes, which will react and record your capacity for Holy Magic and tell me what I need to know. While you do this, please do tell me if you already know any kind of holy spells." "I can cast Light Burst and Scratch Away, sir." Emma raised her hand. So too did Maria."Uhmm.. I can cast Torchlight.. but I can''t hold it for long..." Thats because you aren''t meant to hold it. Somehow I managed not to say that out loud... I mean, she did make me feel better a while ago soooo..."I can use Infusion, but thats it."Luke replied with a sigh of self-dissappointment. Nobody else said a word, but then the bishops eyes landed on me once again."And you, miss Pendragon? Please, do not be ashamed of yourself, young lady. Having a divine artifact, especially one which you have only recently acquired does not mean you have to be an instant priestess." I swallowed down hard."I uh..." Rising my hands up and closing my eyes as I channeled mana into my hands, deciding that both saying and casting the spells was needed here, I began my trek into trouble."Holy Light." I cast the spell onto myself, feeling its golden energy rejuvenating me and giving me the strengh to continue. A silent prayer given."Blessing Of Vytar." Green, surreal leaves formed a sort-of aura around me, increasing my natural regeneration. Rising my left hand even higher, I spoke."Greater Exorcism." A pale white light shone from my palm, managing to coat and somewhat blind everyone else in the room before I stopped the mana flow. "Weak Templar Armor." Leaping to my feet, a very thin golden armor of pure light coated my entire body, giving me a somewhat divine shine. It looked really cool, but this thing could barely stop a fork from penetrating it, much less my skin if someone was particularily eager to stab me with said fork. Releasing the armor and slapping both of my hands together, I chanted."Oh lord of retribution and courage, grant me your spear, your blessed lance as I shout your name." Light gathered into my palms, forging a weapon of pure light as I separated each palm from one another, with my stunned public looking on in amazement, wonder and jealousy alike."Loysal''Far!" A magnificent throwing lance of pure light forged itself into my hands as I instinctively twirled the weapon a few times before canceling the spell."Well uh, thats all of them." "Incredible..." My previous haters seem to have changed their minds."Okay, I don''t often go back on my insults, but there may be more to you than anger, Alice." My as-of-yet unknown hater spoke with a respectable tone, to which I replied with an uncharacteristically shy nod."Don''t get used to it... my anger is hard to control sometimes." I admitted bashfully and sat back into my chair with Maria''s bewildered eyes following me everywhere I went. Huh. I may have gained myself a fan... girl. How odd. Oh well."Hmm.. it seems that your apparent talent exceeds just about any I''ve ever seen, young lady. Perhaps that ring chose you for a good reason." The teacher finally managed to say after a minute of outright gaping, his frame returning to his already trademarked smile. Wait, trademarked? What the heck is trademarked?... Chaos, you really need to help me out here. ... No answer, eh? Guess I should have expected that. Anyways, moving on."W-well, now that that is over, we should get back to the lesson. Please, if you would, come and take a book, one for each of you. And infuse it with your mana if you can. Do not panic if you cannot, I shall be more than happy to help you." Rising from my seat once more, I look at the approving faces of my classmates one last time and think that maybe trying to be friends with everyone wouldn''t be that bad of an idea for a change?... only with select people though.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Wanted to do more. Can''t. Hungry as fuck. Brb, ordering something... I will naturally stay and edit out my mistakes for a time. Answer comments too, per usual.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 17. Scars and Thiveves Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Sleep all daaay- And fap all niiight! Err, wot? Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!!!!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
The Following Night... - Alice''s Mansion-Apartment - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Mistress, your bath is ready!" Faervel, the ever-so-inhuman she-elf exclaimed in a giddy tone as I finished recounting my expenses for the umpteenth time. Alex had also managed to deliver another letter from an unknown person. I was currently holding that letter in my hands, entirely uncertain as to if I should open it or not."I''ll be there in a moment, Faervel." She nodded and beamed me a smile."I''ll keep the water warm for you, your highness." I blinked and turned my head away from the letter for the briefest moment to look behind me, only to find the she-elf already gone. That... sentence, was spoken in a far more intimate tone than it ever needed to be. Anyways, where was I? Ah yes, the letter."Alex said that it was given to him by an older woman... older than him? Or perhaps just old in general?" I mused to myself, still confused. Why am I so uncertain about the letter, you may be asking? Well... In the world of nobles, murder is an art and letters can be more than just letters. Poisoned paper. Explosive runes hidden inside. Accidic contents. The writing being a curse to be cast upon oneself once read by whatever overly-curious bafoon that falls for it. Just a few of the many ways that a simple letter may solve a pro-I mean, be deadly to you and me! A deep sigh escaped my lips as I, in all of my paranoid glory, placed the letter away for now and walked over to our bathroom. A rather simple, if very much delicate, stonework bath was currently filled to the brim with heated water as runic symbols made it flow to wherever the water was required from deep below ground. A sewer system. One not quite alike to anything I''ve ever seen. Not even the stories of the ancient elven cities have any information about things like this. Just goes to show how genius our dear Headmaster truly is. Makes you wonder as to why he got exiled by his own race in the first place. Anyways, though the bath and its sourroundings were nice, they weren''t even half of what was taking up my attention right now."Ah! You''re here!" My dear, and currently very much naked, handmaid exclaimed in her typically giddy tone. I couldn''t help but stare at her chest, a tinge of crimson drawing itself upon my cheeks."Now, now... theres no need to be embarrassed! Handmaids do this everyday as part of their job... you said so yourself." She cooed as she slipped back into the heated water. The red on her skin did not make this any easier on my confused self."I.. don''t think you quite understood the proper meaning of that sentence." My soft murmur goes happily ignored as I let out another sigh and promptly throw away my clothes. Faervel beams yet another smile towards me as I walked into the bath. She approached me, in a very sensual and perverse way and placed a finger on my lips."So mistress.. where should I start?" I blinked. Make that several times. Before my brain caught onto what was going on."Faervel, what do you think this bath is for?" She blinked right back at me as she pulled herself away, most likely sensing that something was wrong."Ehh... it is obviously for romantic se-" I shut her up with a hand over her mouth."No. Its for bathing. Y''know, cleaning yourself?" Tilting her head in utter confusion, she replied in a tone of disbelief."What? But.. that makes no sense. If you want to clean yourself, just use magic!" I sighed."Look Faervel, I don''t know if you are a demon or an angel or whatever the hell else you are but definitely not mortal... We mortals, don''t think, don''t use, don''t feel and don''t weave magic in the same way you do. What you may believe is normal, may be weird as hell." She shivered and slumped her shoulders back."B-but... I could sense your emotions... you wanted me to hu-" Now my cheeks were utterly crimson, yet I still managed to thankfully shut her up before someone heard anything. Man, I''m gonna have to renovate these walls with anti-sound runes as soon as possible. No, not just this room, THE ENTIRE GODS-DAMNED APARTMENT."Faervel, its okay. You are new to the mortal world and are bound to make mistakes. I''m not angry with you. Now, could you please help me clean my hair?" Her smile managed to return as she nodded."Y-yes! Of course!" With that, I sat into her lap and turned around. Soon after, I heard her yelp and immidiatelly turned my head around to see widening eyes."M-miss?.. what are.. those scars?!" I blinked in momentary confusion as I turned my head around once again, this time to face a mirror. And there, reflected clearly despite all the steam, were lash-like crimson stripes, all across my back. All five of them, that is. I let out a sigh."Just a reminder of my childhood, nothing more." "A-.your, childhood? Excuse me but, while I may be new to this plane, I do not think that this is normal!?" She exclaimed in horror as I let out a laugh."Thats because it isn''t but you are once again thinking it wrong. This isn''t from my parents." She blinked in confusion, her delicate fingers trailing across the scars, making me shiver for a moment."Bandits. Inexperienced bandits, that is. Brutes, with no control over their strength." A deep breath was released as I felt magic building up behind me and turned to see pure light gathering in my handmaids palms."I-.. I see, but these are not something that a child should be made to have!" Ah, so shes an Angel then? Makes sense, honestly. What with her previous talk of a new God and all. Inexperienced Bandits. Hah, this makes me snort just thinking about it. After all, how were they supposed to know that hitting a young girl with a blackjack across her back might leave a lasting imprint. Damaged goods, all the way from the start, thats about all I was to them. Repeated kidnappings from different groups and voila, soon you have a backside full of scars, as if you were lashed repeadetly for your entire life. Caspers groups was one of the few which had enough morals to not smash the back of my head, especially after one of their female companions saw what was beneath my clothing. Poor lass was an unfortunate mother who lost her child and husband in the war. Crazy Stella, they called her.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Now? Shes just another corpse rotting in the ground, as Casper blew her head off for disobedience, even if he took her *advice* to heart and didn''t let anyone else touch me. The light of Faervel''s spell seeped into my long-lived wounds and I could see the scars being replaced by pure white skin... only for the scars to be reforged anew."H-huh?! What is this?! My magic isn''t working..." Faervel nearly screamed in disbelief as my scars renewed themselves. I just sighed. This was clearly the work of Chaos. YOU ARE YOUR SCARS, CHILD. Its toneless, voiceless voice echoed in my mind and I found myself nodding, thankful for the fact that it decided to answer my unsaid question."I am my scars, eh?" I repeated, much to Faervel''s confusion. With a small laugh and another turn of my head, I said."Never mind the scars, Faervel. My hair." A pointed finger."R-right!" An uncertain answer. Her hands dug into my hair, dragging it, flowing through it. My long white locks turned nearly brown from all the dirt and sweat I accumulated over the past few days as I didn''t have enough money for the proper alchemicals needed to clean it. Thankfully, with the returned money I got from the master tailor, I could finally afford to buy them. Then again, I could''ve just bought the same products that peasant women use if I was truly desperate. But hell to the no to that. The sheer reppercussions of another noble seeing me buying something like that alone would be enough to ruin my reputation. Oh now the high have fallen! How the Pendragon family are no better than peasants! And so forth. Father wouldn''t really give a shit, to be honest. I wouldn''t either actually. But what I do care for is my fame. Not reputation itself as that is bound to fall due to Chaos, but fame. If I can make myself famous or infamous enough, people will flock to my banner. With the war having been going on for a good ten years now, the entire kingdom was sort of depopulated. My levied populace has returned however and this will allow me to prepare more easily. Maybe I should consider conquering the lands of the nearby lords? My soldiers are perhaps fewer in number than most armies, but they are arguably the most loyal they can be. Perhaps I should question father as to why this is... Considering the game of Marden that I played with the headmaster... maybe Chaos has something to do with it? I would not be surprised. ... Ah, no answer. Thats sad. Anyways... "Wh-" I let out a small yelp as I felt something ... growing behind me."Uhh?!" I turned my head around and nearly did a double take as Faervel now sported a rather sizable rack. I-.. My eyes were wide and my jaw was basically on the floor as I turned my head upwards to stare right into my handmaids eyes. Or well, that was the plan. Her suddenly massive breasts had other ideas for my eyes, though."Fa-Faervel?.. did your breasts j-just.." "Grow?" She beamed me another smile and turned me around before pulling me back in, making me shiver as she pressed her now-giant breasts against my backside."You were leaning into me so intimately, mistress.. So I figured that this may make you more... comfortable." She cooed into my right ear, eliciting a rather confused response from me. In the end, I decided to follow my instincts. She is here to make my life easier, after all."W-well, if that was the purpose, then you''ve succeeded." "Oh, I know." She let out a cheery laugh as I shifted uncomfortably, somehow managing to feel every inch of her flesh pressed into mine. Oh boy, this is going to be weird when I''m older."What is, milady?" "Wait, you can hear my thoughts?!" She shook her head in negative."I am able to sense mortal emotions... confusion is what you are currently emitting the most. Sexual confusion, that is." "Err, well yes. I can see that happening and by the way, thats your fault." I pointed a finger towards her, causing the probably-angel she-elf to tilt her head in confusion."Ehh? My fault?... but mistress, sexual orientation is something decided by a persons soul, not their mind." A blink. No, make that about fifty as my brain struggled to comprehend her meaning."You see milady, due to you not having a proper mother during your childhood, you began venerating our lady Vytar and her physical statues. However... these statues are rather attractive to mortals, are they not?" "Are you saying that I began liking women because of my worship of Vytar?!" She tilted her head again."You say it like its a bad thing or that you can only like other women now?.." Okay, this is confusing the ever-loving hell out of me."Excuse me?" "Mistress, your worship of our lady Vytar has caused you to become able to see other women as targets of sexual or romantic interest, but that does not mean you are not attracted to men anymore." My jaw just hit the floor."Great, that''ll make my interactions with both genders a helluva lot more difficult to process from now on." "You should be happy though." She replied with a tone of honesty as I turned my head back around, doing my best not to think of her massive, jiggl-AHEM."What do you mean?" Faervel smirked towards me and hugged me closer to herself, making her giant chest no longer something that could be ignored."You get twice the eye-candy!" A blink. Stop thinking. Enjoy yourself. Chaos suddenly threw in its fifty coppers, making me black out for a second as its voice thundered across my mind. As soon as I was back in my own body, spiritually I mean, I promptly let out a shrug, took another look at my companions massive tits and leaned back into her without a care in the world. "You know what, Faervel? You''re right. I do get twice the eye-candy... and my cake too." A grin plastered itself upon my frame as I closed my eyes and promptly embraced hedonism with all my heart and soul. Faervel just placed a finger on her luscious lips in thought, almost as if she was still confused. Makes me wonder what kind of emotions I had around me right now. Oh well, who cares!
A few hours afterwards...
"Mnnnnyhh!" Moaning out somewhat uncharacteristically as I stretched myself and walked out of the bathroom, I noticed a thick shadow originating from my window."Ah! Lloyd!" I exclaimed in embarrassment as I leaped into my queen-sized bed. Thank the gods that Faevel fell asleep in the hot-tub. Hah, amateur. Though, considering that she mentioned using magic to bathe, most likely instantanously at that, maybe it isn''t such a surprise? "Interesting company you keep. Guess Casper was right, there is no way you are still human." Lloyd the thief barged into my room, dressed in some kind of black, skintight suit. It exposed his muscles perfectly and I had to shake my head out of my stupor before my eyes went lower than that."Casper is wrong. I am human." "Is that why a nine year old girl''s eyes just momentarily flew over my junk?" He questioned me with a snort as I promptly opened my right palm and willed light magic forth."Greater Exorcism." My emotionless tone was the last thing he heard before being blasted across the room with a soundless scream, knocking him out. Then, as I confirmed the fact that he was unconsciouss, I dressed myself. Walking over to him, I cast a small healing spell onto his head, causing the man to wake up."Ug..oughhh... holy fuck... I''m gonna be feeling that for days." "Be happy I didn''t use my other hand to cast it." My ring gave off an omnious glow as the thief jumped to his feet as nimbly as he could."R-right, not a demon!... damn, that means a little girl really did just check me out down there." He blinked. I let out a cheery laugh."Why don''t you try not being perverse right after spending an hour with a heavenly beauty in a hot-tub." My response had him turn to stare towards my bathroom door.".. Heavenly beauty?.. you can say that again." He let out a sigh as I quirked an eyebrow before handing me a piece of folded paper."Here. Its what you asked for: the values of every human currency within each kingdom." "Thanks! How much do I owe you?" To my surprise, he shook his head before turning to look at the bathroom door once more."Never mind about that, I think I got my fair pay for tonight already... and probably several more.. months. Anyways, thats not why I''m here right now." "Oh?" Another quirked eyebrow was his answer as he nodded and replied to my unsaid question... well, mostly unsaid anyways."We''- or well, the guild is doing a raid outside the city tonight. Casper figured you might need a way to feed your inner demon or whatever and told me to invite you to the raid." To say that my eyes went wide in surprise would be an understatement."Oh my.. what a nice surprise! And you can tell Casper that I don''t have an inner demon of any kind, just a sentient weapon that needs to be fed." A look thrown to the nearby table as my pair of gauntlets menacingly shone in the candlelight of the room, almost as if telling me that they were hungry."Luctus!" I exclaimed and within seconds, the gauntlets were on my hands."See?" I turned towards the thief with a smile as he shivered and took several steps back. "Fucking weird shite is what I just saw... anyways, you can tell him yourself. The gangs meeting at the north gate in half an hour." A blink and a tilted head were his reply."In half an hour?" My questioning gaze was answered by a snort."Before you start spouting bullshit about me being late, you were in there for far more than an hour, Alice." I turned my head away and towards the nearest clock, only to find out that it was midnight. I''ve... been in there, enjoying Faervels company for about four hours. Good gods. I guess I really am into women. Wait, why the hell am I even second-guessing myself."Right. Tell Casper that-ah, hes gone." Turning my head back around made me realize that all that was left of Lloyd was an open window. Oh well, time to get ready for some carnage, I suppose. Hmm, I wonder if Alex would like to go as well? He does so enjoy watching me butcher people...
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Originally, I wanted to make the raid scene happen within this chapter but it ended up being really short. Instead, I''ma revise it and post it as the next chapter. As per usual, I shall stay online for a while longer to edit out mistakes and answer to comments. Not that I''m expecting any. Or anything... BAKAS!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 18. Ignave Profugo Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Bruh. Only two days and an update?! WTF. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal. I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few minutes later... - Raiding Party - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Casper!!!!!!!!" I exclaimed at the top of my lungs as I ran over to said gang boss, eliciting a sickened grunt from many of his friends."Ah, Alic-ah, should I still call you that? Anyways, where your halberd?" The man in question asked me with a beaming smile as I came closer to him, only to pummel into his abdomen with a fist empowered by golden light."Greater Exorcism!" "Wh-UUUUUUARGFH!" He screeched in pain, his eyes going into panic as they widened, yet his troops didn''t dare even react to my supposed aggression."Ugh... what was that f-..light magic. Oh." He blinked a few times before quickly recovering from my blow, causing me to quirk an eyebrow at the man. Something which he caught strangely easily."Hah! You know how many priestesses I tried to bang in my life, Alice? Those girls may be damn fine, but they''ll exorcise ya real quick unless yer careful!" An explanation for his rather quick recovery. Tilting my head for the briefest moment, I replied with a sigh."You know what, that makes perfect sense. Most men would quit after one exorcism, though." "You kiddin''? The shock is part of the fun!" Someone from the crowd replied, but I could see who as both Casper and I turned our heads towards the other thugs."What he said. Anyways, guess this was for callin'' you a demon, eh?" A nod was his answer as he pointed towards a weathered caravan cart and leaped inside. His minions followed suit, each boarding their own carts... there were fifteen carts in total, but only six of them were loaded with people."We attacking a town or something?" Casper offered me a bloodthirsty smile."Hah! I wish, but no... our target today wont be any easier though. We''re raiding an excavation camp. A royal, excavation camp that is." "Oh?" My questioning gaze made his smile even brighter, if that is a word that could, or perhaps should, be used to describe that sickening smile."Yeah, one of the royals from the Kingdom of Greater Yoryn is apparently a bookworm or some crap like that, wastes a lot of his time digging out ruins and pillaging ancient crypts... this is one of them." A simmilar expression etched itself into my own face as I replied."And rumours say that they finished whatever they were doing there yesterday, which means that today was a day for celebration which in turn means that all the guards, workmen and others alike are all either dead drunk or passed out cold." Casper grinned savagely towards me, my assessment causing the faces of his thugs to turn to shock and awe. Then the turned around to face them."See?! I told you this little lady has talent!" "Still not sure how she''s gonna fight, though." One of the women in the cart up front of us, there was only two us in this cart by the way, three if you counted the coach, spoke with disdain in her voice. She appeared to be wearing very light dark-brown leather armor, cured and perfect for stealth. Upon her lithe waist were two elegant daggers which gleamed in the dark, against the moons light."A dark elf?" Her ears twitched through her blackened cowl. "Huh!? How the fuck did you-" She began to rise from her seat as Casper pointed his gold-carved pistol towards her head."Sit. The fuck. Down." She complied without a second thought, promptly breaking whatever illusion spell was masking her true appearance. "Sorry, but I''m kinda famous for being able to see through illusions." I apologized to the woman, realizing that the only reason why she even cast the spell was most likely because of me. You see, dark elves are hated by most humans, who see them as no better than monsters and demons. True enough, quite a few of them act as servants of evil, but not all of them do. Then again, this woman is a bandit so she isn''t exactly much better."I see." She turned her head back without another word as Casper sheathed his firearm."Anyways Alice, would you mind explaining exactly what you are since you arent a demon or whatever?" Casper asked me in a tone of pure curiosity, which I replied to with a shrug."As you said, I''m not a demon. I just managed to get two sentient artifacts bound to myself..." "Oh?" He urged me to go on and I did with a deep sigh as I rose my hands, revealing my black gauntlets."The first one you might recognize. This is Luctus, my family artefact." "Bullshit. Luctus is a hal-oh. Sentient artefact. I get it. Anyways, the other one?" His face twisted from utter disbelief to shocking realization, eliciting a small laugh from me as I pointed towards the ring on my left hand."Its this ring but... I honestly have no idea what the hell it is or how it does what it does. What I do know is that its basically given me super strength. I got it from my mothers treasury, if you can even call an attic a treasury anyways... I originally thought it was some kinda daemon ring since I can''t remove it from my finger but it seems to radiate holy energy so.." "Basically, you have no fucking idea what or why it is." A stout conclusion indeed. I merely nodded towards Casper in reply. He nodded right back before continuing this little interrogation."So, considering that you ain''t a demon... why''d you agree to come?" A shrug was his answer."Honestly? I was bored." My gauntlets shivered for some reason as I turned to look at Luctus. The weapon appeared to be telling me something."And I guess Luctus was getting pretty hungry." Scales shifted and cloth shivered, almost as if the weapon was grunting in approval as I turned my head back towards Casper, who was staring at Luctus."Well, that ain''t fucking creepy at all." "Hhahahah!" I let out a cheery laugh before asking."Anyways, can you tell me more about this excavation camp that were going to hit? What exactly were they digging there?" To my surprise, Casper took out a map of the province, the area around the city of Sorcirerre. He pointed towards a location marked by a giant red X, which I felt was ironic for some reason but ignored the feeling."See the X? Its mark is an old, abandoned mine." "Coldsparrow Dredge?" Quirking an eyebrow towards Casper, I urged him to continue."Right. Its an ancient place, once used by whatever Lord was in control of the area before he was forced to cede the land for the contruction of Sorcierre, but thats not important. Y''see, one of our rival bandit gangs recently visited the place and re-opened the mine, in a way. They dug deep and eventually struck something that looked like carved stone." "They found a ruin?!" My exclamation made Casper put a finger on his lips, effectively shutting me up."Yeah, but not just any kinda ruin... the place was actually a remnant of the Ignave Profugo!" My eyes went wide in shock and awe. Ignave Profugo... that name belongs to a very specific group of people. Namely, it belongs to the original humans. The first humans who came into this world and named it Encore. You see, us humans are said to have originated from a number of humans who arrived here from another world, where their title came from. The *Ignave Profugo* apparently means Exiled Cowards in whatever ancient tongue our ancestors originally used. Nowadays, nothing remains of their great legacy...If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. They came here in an attempt to save themselves, running away from an apparently dying world and rushing into this one in hopes of survival as the remainder of their race was left behind. Yet, much to their dismay, this world was also in grave danger, as the demons made their first attempt on world domination during that time and the other races were caught unaware. Otherworlders or not, the demons did not desire to share this world with the ancient humans and saw them as just another target for their Great Purge... but the Ignave Profugo were far from easy prey. The world our race originates from was far more advanced, far more powerful than anything our world had back then or has even today. The Ignave Profugo wielded incredible weaponry which shot the light itself out of them, capable of incinerating even the flesh of the infernal demonkind with ease. This is where the cocept of our firearms came from... sadly, the firearms of today are not even worth mentioning in comparison to a weapon which can end the life of a Demon King in a single, well-placed shot through the head. Sadly, or perhaps fortunately if you were to ask the other races, the first humans were few in number and the war against demonkind made that number even smaller. It also took away the time they had to teach their ways to their children, leaving them in the hands of other races and cultures alike. Eventually, the war was won, but not a single first human remained capable of passing on their great legacy to their descendants, who were born within this world of Encore, making their original planet, whose name nobody remembers, their culture and knowledge fade away into the echoes of the past. Decades passed and the children of the Ignave Profugo banded together to form the first human kingdom, intent on collecting and mastering their incredible ancestral legacy. Naturally, the other races saw this as a direct threat, as the second and current humans would become no better than the demons, seeking to secure this world for their own race and exterminate everyone else. This resulted in a good thousand years of war and endless, senseless strife before the world finally began to cool down and a degree of normalcy managed to return to it. This was all five thousand years ago. Which brings us all to here and now. While we aren''t exactly the direct equals or superiors to the demons as our ancestors were, we are supposedly the most populous of all the races of Encore which is a feat all in of itself."Alice?" Casper''s hushed whisper shook me back into reality. "W-wh..." I quickly turned my head upwards and my neck with it, causing it to give out several cracks and making me quickly place a hand onto the back of my neck."U-oogh... bloody hell, how long was I-?!" "Shhh... you fell into some trance and I didn''t feel like waking you up from it ''till now. Anyways, were here so do some stretches while me and the boys set up camp." Casper explained to me silently and efficiently, eliciting a nod from me as an answer as I did exactly what he told me to. Do some stretches. Which resulted in a boatload more cracking sounds. My bones... the sickening echo of your torment makes me think that this should hurt. Thing is, cracking my bones always made me feel so much better, much to the dismay of those around me, that is...
A few minutes later...
We approached the excavation camp, which had a rather tall two meter wooden wall all around it, a remainder of the previously rich mining village most likely. The wood was withered and damp, ready to fall apart at even the slightest touch."Ely, Skave, take care of the guards and open the gates." Casper spoke in hushed whispers towards the dark elf woman I met before and some other thug I didn''t yet know of. The duo nodded towards Casper and towards each other as the man leaped to the left wooden guard tower and the woman to the right. This kinda coordination..."Theres something going on between those two, isn''t there." I muttered out before I could stop myself, much to the approval of the people around me as Casper nodded."Ya, you think so too, right? We all do, but they just deny everything for whatever reason." So even Casper ships them? Who would''ve though he was that kinda guy. Actually, I take it back. As a womanizer and romantic, this is exactly the kinda thing he would do. Anyways, the duo used a common spell named blink, to teleport right behind the two sleeping guards and slit their throats in perfect synch, promptly solidifying my ship of them as the guards corpses hit the wooden floor. Within seconds, the doors were open and the way inside with them. Without making a sound, the gang of thirty-two people, myself and Casper included, made their way to the front of the camp. Perfectly round soldier tents, bearing the multicolored flag and emblems of the Kingdom Of Greater Yoryn littered the otherwise flat landscape, yet the mine or ruin entrance was nowhere in view. There was also a blazing bonfire in the middle of the excavation camp, with a multitude of rising plumes of smoke revealing that there were more such fires spread throughout the camp. Casper motioned for everyone to listen with a click of his tongue."Alright everyone, listen up! We spread out, kill as many of these blue-blood fuckers as we can, ah no offense Alice, and once someone inevitably triggers the alarm, re-group at that bonfire over there, capiche?" "Yes, sir!" The gang exclaimed and each member either formed a small group or went their own way. It was smarter to go alone in this case, but safer to be in a group. Casper fucked off in his own direction before I could make him stay with me. Oh well. More for me, I guess. First, I went to the rightside of the encampment, managing to find myself in the midst of two tents with a lone guard sleeping merrily on the job... while somehow still standing upwards, leaning into his freshly-sharpened pike with one hand while holding an empty mug of beer in the other, the remainder of the acohol still dripping on the floor. I snorted at the scene as I approached the guard from behind, ensuring that I don''t step on the tent as I did so. A single look thrown towards my gauntlets caused Luctus to eagerly form elongated, sharp fingernails on my right gauntlet. My instincts forced my head to turn back towards the guard as a brief flash of imagery went through my head. Within the merest of moments, I leaped onto the guards back. "M-auhuu-ghaa*gurgle*." Before I even realized what was happening, my left hand grasped the mans mouth shut, preventing any loud sounds from escaping him as my right hand tore the flesh out of his neck, spine and all. The blood which spurted forth changed direction mid-air, flowing into my own veins and feeding into my gauntlets. After the sheer euphoria passed, I found myself standing on top of a pile of ashes, nothing remaining of the man I had just devoured alive. A grin plastered itself onto my frame as I quickly took away the guards clothing and left behind the dust and ashes as I looted what little coin the man had on him. Hmm, my demon purse could prove to be very useful in this situation, couldn''t it."Ah, I got some ash on my clothes." Quickly wiping away the stain from my charred-black shirt and pants, I steeled myself and continued my hunt. I was currently wearing my own little stealth suit... well honestly, it was little more than a set of silken, black clothes etched with simple, equally black-colored runes. Black pants, shirt, shoes and my newly-gained gantlets were what currently adorned my body. A simple ... perhaps very paranoid idea which I had some time ago though this isn''t what I had in mind when I ordered the suit. You see, since I already figured that I was going to be stalked by all sorts of bad people wishing to hurt me in a multitude of ways, I ordered Yvain to get me a suit of matching, prefferably dark clothing which I could use to possibly escape my would-be hunters. The good man also had them echanted with Ignorance Runes, which drained some of my mana passively in order to keep the enemy''s attention away from me, thus allowing even my untrained self to be decent at stealth. Granted, its not like they made me invisible or anything, but they seemed to be working out fine for me. As I finished removing the ashes and dust from my clothes, I decided to enter the tent on my left to find two naked people inside. A man and a woman, a soldier and an archeologist it seemed. Aww, love at first sight. How cute. Their silent screams were just the best as I leaped into the air, crushing both of their skulls with my feet."Eww, brain stuff. Icky." Cleaning myself off once again as their bodies thankfully turned unto dust, I looted the tent of what little they had. A duet of garnet, silver neckales which would be worth more if I took them apart and sold the parts than as one whole. A bit of silver and copper coins, but no gold sadly. The woman also had a ruby ring... a memento of another lover, perhaps? Or maybe they were already married? Neither of them had a wedding ring, though. Which was strange in itself. Maybe I just killed a duo of cheaters? Perhaps the woman was cheating on her husband, spending some time away from her family. Her hips were rather wide, truth be told. Ah, I killed a mother. The realization had me paralyzed for a very, uncomfortably brief moment as I shook my head out of my stupor. Who the hell cares. Whatever kids mom I just killed is better off without her! ... bloody murderous witches... ... why did mom have to try to kill me?... ... was I really that worthless to her?... I shook my head again and finished looting the place, wiping away the tears in my eyes and steeling my heart for the days and nights to come. I am here for you, child. I will always, be here for you. The voiceless, toneless echo of Chaos thundered inside of my mind... yet, there was no pain. Only pure comfort and relief. I felt my heart cool as its presence washed over my body and soul, healing wounds I did not even know were there. A deep breath was released in continuous relief."Thank you, Chaos..."
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
AHH THE CLIFF, IT BUUURNS! XD, at least I hope it does. BURN MOTHERFUCKERS, BUUUURN! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAA!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 19. Blaze And Raze Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Okay so this one is definitely the last chapter before I leave for my home town since people are coming to get me later today. Enjoy the content! Not much else to say here, total warhammer 2 has me somewhat interested so there may be future complications but the more I see of it. The less I want to play it. Also, what do you guys think of the new image? Its just a sketch, courtesy of False Immortal Yue! Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few minutes later... - Excavation Encampment - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Something is terribly wrong here..." The dark elven woman that I''ve met before spoke in a rather uncertain tone as we all gathered near the middle bonfire. Tenuous firelight, making us all feel like rats in front of some lions den."Nobody triggered the alarm?" Casper muttered in equal disbelief. Two of our guys dragged a half-naked woman towards the group."Boss! Boss! Something''s fookin'' wrong with this place. Look, dis hoe don''t react to nuthin''!" We all blinked at their way of speaking, somewhat confused. One of the thugs saw me and his eyes went wide."A-uh, don''t worry lil'' lady, we''s just played a bit wi-" "Don''t. Even. Try." I promptly waved a hand towards the man. The damage is already done, no need to make it worse. Casper managed to somehow recover from the stupefiction."Aye, we all got that somethings not quite right. Let me guess, you tried to rape the lass but she didn''t wake up no matter what you did?" "I''s not rape if they enjoy it, ya?" The duo of mongrels laughed, causing the most of us to just sigh as Skave, the dark elf''s human boyfriend, dragged in a seemingly unconscious guard."Look ''ere. This ones clean, no alcohol or anything on his breath. Still not reacting at all." Walking over to the fallen, mourfully sleeping, soldier, I placed a hand onto his head and channeled my magic into it. By doing this, I could feel the differing mana within the mans body. There was his, mine... and then something far blacker. A dark, swirling maelstorm of blood and evil. ...shit."Vampire..." "Huh?!" The bandits around me nearly screeched in response as I turned around, my expression grim."A noble vampire, if the amount of people beguiled is anything to go by..." *Cough cough* A sudden sound caused my head to turn around and towards the fallen soldier. Seems my little magic trick woke him up a bit. Letting out a breath and steeling myself, I take upon a regal stance and begin questioning the man."Soldier!" His eyes immidiatelly forced themselves into attention."Y-ye*COUGH*aaurrg..." "Please, do not overexert yourself. My name is Alice Pendragon, High Lady of the Duchy of Axilar... me and my.. entourage happened upon your camp and noticed something wrong. The people here do not respond to anything. Can you tell us what happened?" I waved my right hand behind my back, signaling the bandits to scatter. Which they followed through without a hitch."I-..I-rugh!.. milady.. please.. run.. from here.. a vampire.. lord.. attack the s-site... go to.. go to the city and.. call for h-help-aa.." Smiling wickedly as the man confirmed my former assessment, I promptly break his neck with a high kick before turning back towards my allies."Casper, the vampire most likely attacked the camp sometime during noon and entered the cave after beguiling everyone else in order to rest. The fact that he or she hasn''t come up already to confront us can only mean that they are still asleep." "So what do we do? Hmm.. do we take the risk and grab everything we can or just leave outright?" Casper turned around to look at his group, all of which turned towards each other in turn, all uncertain. On the one hand, they might get skewered by a devil of the night. On the other hand, the loot here may just be worth it. I''ve already pocketed over two hundred golds worth of loot myself and I''ve only been through seven select tents. Not to mention how Luctus should be satisfied for quite some time what with how many people''s lives I''ve eaten tonight."How about this? We make for the caravan, store all we''ve got till now, make ONE return to pillage some more and burn everything else?" Offering my advice seems to have been the correct course of action as several approving murmurs echoed through the crowd."They''ve already set a bunch of these bonfires... so razing the camp should be plenty easy but.. some of these guys are still alive." "You want to risk your life by staying long enough to kill them all before they burn?!" Casper exclaimed as silently as he possibly could, his voice drowned in fear. A vampire lord is no joke, after all. The bandit in question, much to our surprise, shook his head in negative."N-no, fuck that boss! I meant, if we leave these guys alive enough to scream, one of them might wake the monster inside of the cave before we manage to get far enough away." Oh. Well, thats a thing that could happen too."But if we dont set fire to the camp, the vampire will survive. And vampire nobles can track your scent... imagine if the fucker finds out what happened here and starts hunting us in Sorcierre!" Casper rebutted with an equally terrifying proposition. "We could... bury him here." One of the thugs suddenly offered. We all turned towards the man. A young blonde half-elf with a long scar across his eye, wearing brownish leather armor and outfitted with a two-handed axe. Not the kind of image you get when half-elf comes to mind, exactly."Baron? What do you mean by that?" The man then pointed towards our left, showing a massive cart full up on barrels."Wanna bet those aren''t full up on grog?" "Aktu-lly, if et vuz dat proper grog, teh boom moughta been bettah bot dis''ll wurk too." An orc within our group replied with a joking tone as we all nodded and Casper pointed towards several strongmen."Kruxa and Mery, get that cart in front of the mine''s entrance... We just need to find something to set the things on fire now." "That wont be neccessary." I calmly replied as I picked up a stone from the ground and began etching a rune into it."I can create a makeshift fire-bomb with this. The explosion wont be enough alone to trigger the rest, but if you shoot the stone with that pistol of yours..." Caspers eyes went wide in recognittion."Alright, that''ll work. Get to work everybody!!!" The orc and a massive human man promptly rushed behind the cart and started pushing it towards the entrance. But the cart was strangely full... that might mean the expedition either didn''t require much digging or it wasn''t a success at all... wait, Casper said that another bandit group discovered ruins inside."Casper! What happened to the bandits that found this place?" The man in question seemingly froze the moment he heard my inquiry."... I-.. I have no idea. One of ''em rushed to report the place to a nearby royal whatever in exchange for gold but... we haven''t heard anything from the gang since. We all just figured they''ve fucked off somewhere." "What if the ruins they uncovered weren''t ruins at all, but an undead lords crypt?" My assesment made the man flinch."Then this was a fucking trap all along. We can all just be happy that we didn''t spring it." "Its often the second mouse that gets the cheese... but what happens to the third one that comes around?" Muttering out in semi-silence as we all raked the camp for the remainder of the loot, Casper let out a deep breath."Well lets hope that the mouse sees the trap and fucks off before anything realized that it was ever even bloody there." Walking around at the speed of a snail, I seem to have stepped onto something metallic. A strange, golden neckale with the familiar symbol of a sky-reaching green tree. The same type of pendant that I found on my way to Sorcierre some time ago... With one exception, this one was next to the body of a woman who, upon closer inspection, had a set of fang marks on her throat. Without even considering anything else, I grasp her mouth tightly and rip out her neck, turning her into dust. Yet, no lifeforce entered me even as the woman turned unto ash. She was being turned... the red kiss, indeed. Upon even closer inspection, I found a letter with the same family symbol on her person alongside quite the purse of gold. Only gold, that is. Shame I didn''t have the time to count it. Random killings? Or chosen assassination... Someone, gods please let it not be the damn vampire, is targeting this particular family. At least, with the letter I have something that I can use to find out more about this... unlucky family. As using their golden pendants to do so may not be the best idea.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Carrying them around is bad enough already."Alice? Are you ready to leave?" Casper put a vary hand onto my shoulder. "I am... Casper, I think we should burn this entire camp after all." He quirked an eyebrow at me."Why?" The woman seems to have had a sister or maid next to her. I promptly walked over to the unconscious body of the woman and showed Casper her bare neck."Its full of vampire fledgelings." The twin red scars, the dried blood flowing down and towards the womans chest... Casper gave a somber nod."Alright everyone, change of plans. We''ll bury the fucker AND burn the camp... hes infected a bunch of people, looks like." "So were in a pit full of vampires?! Holy fuck.. yeah, we should burn it all." Many approving murmurs echoed throughout the group as the orc and man finally managed to drag the cart to its proper posistion."Roight baws, we''s dun et." Kruxa give out a silent yell before promptly rushing off towards the caravan. Walking over to the cart full of explosives, I shoved the stone rune into the wood."That good?" Casper took aim towards the rock and nodded."Yeah, that should do it. Alright everyone listen up! Get some wood in yer hands and set fire to all this shite... but... lets drag the remaining people over to the explosive cart first." Everyone worked in quiet, a creeping fear causing us to hurry as we all stacked the bodies upon the fire and set the camp ablaze, leaving a path for Casper to run through after blasting the rune with the pistol. Which he did, causing a massive explosion to shake the ground as the man ran as fast as his legs could carry him before leaping quite the distance and right into our decently-loaded caravan."ALRIGHT PEOPLE! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" The screams of a hundred souls echoed from the burning campsite and, at last, the feeling of dread passed. Yet somehow, I knew that my own ordeals had only just begun.
The morning after... - Alice''s Apartment - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Guaaahhh.... so ... tired..." Muttering out as I rubbed my blood-shot eyes, I somehow managed to walk over to my desk."Mistress, your classess start in five minutes!" Faervel exclaimed in terror. I shook my head in negative."Not going today... Too tired from the raid." Faervel nodded somberly, seemingly unhappy that I went and commited an evil act. Hah, so adorable, isn''t she? Alex, my ever-so-insane coachman, knocked and entered our apartment much to Faervels displeasure. She apparently dislikes the old man for some reason. Can''t say I share the sentiment though, considering what he just brought in. "Milady! The master tailor sends another letter and five hundred gold coins as per your deal with him. There are also several other letters from the good mayor." He placed the aforementioned letters down in front of me, alongside the massive purse of gold. With this, I can afford to pay the construction of the castle city and then some! Granted, five hundred gold seems a bit too much."Hmm, you seem tired, milady? Did you stay up late at the tailors mansion?.. why did he give the money to me then?" I blinked."What? The mansion..?" Alex blinked in confusion before turning towards the letter he gave me yesterday, the one I did not open."Ah! You didn''t open the letter? Why?... the master tailors wife gave it to me yesterday. She said that she wanted to invite you to dinner that night and that the letter was simply an invitation." "You didn''t mention this before, Alex." I let out a massive sigh."Please go to their mansion and offer my sincere apologies as well as ask that they postpone the dinner to a later date as I am going to be busy this week." "Any prefferences for the date, milady?" He questioned me with an understanding glance."... Tuesday should work out fine for me." Considering that I''ll most likely be spending saturday and sunday back at the castle. It was friday today, by the way."I see. Anything else?" "Here, take this." I handed him the parchment that Lloyd the thief got for me. The one containing the exchange ratios for all the kingdoms banks... I also gave him a pouch of around three hundred gold, mostly spoils of yesterdays raid alongside some of what I had before."What is this for, milady?" "The purse contains exactly three hundred gold coins, Alex. One hundred gold per gold type. The parchment contains the exchange ratios for the banks of the human kingdoms. I want you to go and make the most out of the money by exchanging it at different banks." With his task given, the coachman beamed a smile towards me."Hmm.. this is very risky, little lady. What makes you think I won''t just run away with the gold?" "Wheres the fun in that, Alex?" An insane retort, something which pleased the old man."Indeed. Doing that would just be stupid... but, I hope you don''t expect me to keep my loyalty without any reward." "You can take twenty-five percent of the total gold count and use the three hundred for travel expenses as you please." The man''s eyes widened before replying."I''ll agree to the travel expeses bit but I don''t think I''ll be taking so much for myself.." "But you ju-" I quirked an eyebrow at the man as I saw him smirk."That was just a test, milady. I''ll take however much I need to in order to cover for the travel itself and ensuring my own well-being of course, but apart from that, I have no need of the money." A blink, make that several utterly confused blinks as the man left the apartment. Faervel scowled behind me."Emotionless.. lifeless slave of the accursed flame, a soulless husk of a man!" She grit her teeth, yet continued doing her chores right afterwards. Ignoring her to the best of my ability because of the contents of her raging whispers, I returned my gaze towards the letters. Opening up the one from the tailor Merriel, I steel myself for the probably sad contents."Little miss Alice... I.. I suppose I should have expected that you would not come to the dinner, regardless of my wifes optimism. I told her that we are no more than business partners but she just would not listen to me. Anyways, despite this event, I still felt that you should receive the full profit of the machines virgin venture into the tailoring world. Orders are piling up and I may need to start hiring more workers at this rate as I alone am not enough to both work the machine and tend to the shop. I''d like to ask for your aid in determining the wages as well as finding new... recruits, should we say. You would be surprised to learn that most mages despise tailoring in general, despite their increasing need of tailors, especially ones such as I who are well versed in the arts of enchanting. In other words; there is no point in seeking out a good laborman in the city itself, but as a High Lady I am sure you have many potential workers back home, no? I eagerly avait your response!" Hmmm.. well, so long as they don''t need to be too *learned in the arts*, new workers should be relatively easy to come by. Especially since they would be studying under a master tailor. Next, the letters from the mayor."Milady, in an attempt to convince you to fund the city, the nearby lords have ordered a full-scale re-survey of the lands sourrounding the castle. Thankfully, they managed to find a generous vein of shapestone fairly nearby after their agents conversed with the elder of a small village called Dirkhaven. Problem is, the village is right on top of the vein and its people are largely uncooperative with the lesser lords men. The lords ask that you return to the castle so that you may help convice the villagers to move... either that, or give the order to raze the place. Shapestone, as you may know, is a form of smooth limestone that has been infused by a natural supply of mana.. its discovery has also garnered the attention of our mages, as they claim that such veins of stone may only be found at the top of a ley-line... whatever those are. Having a quarry of shapestone on our doorstep would not only halve the money required for the castle city to be built, it would also draw numerous artisans and merchants to the budding city. This, combined with its rather favorable posistion in the upper corners of your county and a possible trade route with the orcs would cause the city to skyrocket and become the indisputed capital of the entire province. I ask that, whatever course of action you choose to take, the quarry of shapestone comes under our direct control!" Shapestone... it is a stone that has a high affinity for earth magic, ironically enough. With just a little bit of skill, one can infuse the stone with magic and cause it to re-shape itself in accordance to the users will. Naturally, bigger things need more stone and more mana so its not like the material has limitless potential. Plus, its kind of weak... not exactly something you''d build a castle with but the profits gleamed from its procurement alone would be more than enough to get our hands on some proper castle-building stone. "Faervel, go find Alex and bring him back here. I have urgent need of him." The she-elf nodded with a grimace, stopped whatever she was doing and left in an instant. A terrible smirk etched itself upon my frame... My pen-carrying hand trembled in excitement as my thoughts turned towards the orcish mercenaries which served under my father and were currently staying at my castle."Warlord. I apologize for not yet knowing your name, much less how you look like, but I have a job for you and the other orcs within your army of sellswords. You see, there is a human village called Dirkhaven somewhere close to my castle. I want you to raze it to the ground, destroy and kill every single person inside. Leave nothing behind. I would ask that you don''t even take slaves, should it be possible but its not .. strictly required. Should you complete this task successfully and leave no witnesses or any connection to myself visible, let it be known that you have earned my favor and more. Once I return my treasury to a stable rate, you and your soldiers will be receiving full wages, as any regular of my army does now or will later. For this venture to have the most benefit for both of us, this task should be completed within two days time, prefferably before I arrive at the castle tomorrow noon, but if that is impossible then thats also fine. Just make sure that you and your men are done with the village before I find my way to it. If need be, I shall stall my coachman to buy you some time. Good luck and happy hunting, Warlord." Orcs. They can sure be useful. An opportunity for carnage that I cannot allow myself to miss... just have to tell Alex to hand it to the orc and not even show it to Yvain. As for the good mayor..."Yvain, I have recently received a large sum of gold that I can invest into the building of the castle city, but as you have said beforehand, regardless of what happens, that quarry is far too important to not be used so I want you to prepare a small detachment of men to guide me towards the village where I will try to parley with the village elder. Also, tell the lords to move their agents away from the village if possible. No need to disturb the peasantry anymore than we already have, right? If nothing else works, we could hurry up the production of housing and order the peasanty to eventually resettle, but the construction alone would take us a long time to finish. Please ask the other lords if they can send some builders our way." Short, simple but also deceitful... well, as far as Yvain is concerned. I just hope he does not catch onto my little power play. Sigh, peasants sure have a knack for getting in the way of their betters. I wonder why this is so. In any case, it seems that Alex''s trip will have to wait as I''ll have to deal with the quarry first. Oh well, its not like the banks will go anywhere, though the exchange ratios may change in due time. For now, this seems like the best course of action to take... the village will be razed and I shall merely be there at the right time to reap the rewards... hell, I might even save some people and gain some fame in the process should the orcs not manage to slaughter everyone there before I arrive. Hmm.. this might actually end up being a very profitable ordeal, indeed!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
And that is it for this chapter of Destiny: Infernal! Muhahaha, evil Alice is best Alice! As per usual, I shall stay online to edit out mistakes and answer them early comments! Those are my favorite, after all. ">
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 20. Second Lesson Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
FEED! BREED! KILL! EAT! DIE! Ahem. I may have gotten my hands on some Warhammer. I disliked the game a whole damn lot. And then I started my Skaven campain. Now, here we are. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few hours later... - Headmasters Office - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Headmaster? You called for me?" I asked with a wary tone as I entered the old mans office. Damn, maybe skipping wasn''t such a good idea today."I have indeed. Alice, we need to continue our Marden game because unless it is fed a continuous supply of our mana, the game we paused will disperse." A blink as I turn my head around and towards Alex, who decided to remain here for the time being as he decidedly refused any notion of me hiring another coachman to take me back home, in order to tell him."Looks like I''ll be staying here for a few more hours." The insane white-haired man nodded and left, most likely to go attend to the carriage as he usually does."I see. So does that mean I''m not in trouble?" "Trouble? Alice, I am your ally, not your parent. I will not be telling you just how bad it is to skip classess, although I do wish to know if you have an excuse for your actions." Adhana sat up from his semi-throne and began preparing the game as I closed the door behind me."I-uh.. headmaster, how familiar are you with my family''s... errm, I guess you could call it a curse?" "Curse? Are you reffering to your fathers strange disease? Have you actually inherited it, for a lack of a better term?" Now, I seem to have gained his full attention. A nod was his answer as I approached the runic table and placed my hands onto the masterwork platform."I have.. but, if my coachmans descriptions are anything to go by, the way the disease manifested within and affected me is different from my father." "So your excuse is most likely that your absence today was due to sickness?" I stopped, blinked at the man and then nodded again, albeit slightly uncertain."I guess you could call it that, headmaster. I''ll spare you the full story but my *treatment* involves a hot bath and... well, a lot of attempted healing of ancient scars." Fearvel does not know when to give up. Thankfully, the old man seemed to buy my excuse as he wrote something onto a piece of paper."Very well. I can accept that as a good reason to miss a class as your health is certainly more imporant as of right now." He stored away the piece of paper as I realized what it actually was. My ally indeed..."I promise not to repeat the event, headmaster. W-well, at least not until the next session, anyways. But that should be in a week, at least." "So once a week you must skip a class in order to attent a treatment. Hmm, alright... would you agree to saturday classess to make up for the lost hours?" I scratched the back of my head."But I must go back and attend to my county, sir. I''ve reserved all of my spare time to that." "Is that why you write so many letters all the time?" He questioned me with a knowing glance and I swallowed."Yes, actually. I''m mostly either receiving information or sending replies to my current Steward, a man named Yvain who is the mayor of a city within my county." "I see. Oh well, we shall deal with this matter sometime later. Now, please channel your mana into the runes." A command that I quickly complied to as I closed my eyes and felt just a tiny smidge of my magic pool leaving my body. Huh, this is taking a lot less focus than it did a few days ago. How.. strange."Incredible. Your growth is almost prepostreous, Alice. In just a few days, your mana pool has doubled in size... and here I thought your parents were the peak of plausible talent." The old man beamed me a smile, his ancient elven features twisting with pride as I rubbed the back of my head somewhat sheepishly."T-thank you, headmaster." Another sagely nod was my answer as his attention focused back onto the board."Last time we did this, we focused on teaching you how to select and move your basic units. Now, let me show you how to increase the size of your army and how to use special abilities." He extended his hands to each of their respective sides, turning his head towards my left."Turn towards your left and you will see a set of magical runes etched into the very air of the room. These runes are completely invisible to me as mine are to you. The runes contain any great spell, effect or power in general that you may use during the battle in order to guide it towards your favour. Now, how many runes do you see, Alice?" The runic echoes of magic surged forward as soon as my head turned left, etching magic onto air just as the headmaster said."There are three of them, headmaster." "Good. Now, please focus onto them and find out what each rune can do." Much as I had done with the troops before, I focused upon the first rune.
Implausible Chronicles: Carnage Carneval --> One of the original two verses of reality, revealing the truth of Fate and the limitless possibilities for those capable of comprehending its machinations. Using this verse forces the attacks of all Chaos-Infected units to critically strike regardless of attack type. Lasts until the unit attacks and can only be cast a total of two times per battle. Cannot be cast during the same turn as the other original verse.
"Headmaster, what does it mean for a unit to critically strike?" He blinked in surprise."Critically strike? Hmm, haven''t seen that in a while but then again, I haven''t played this game in a long time. A critical strike deals double or sometimes even triple the damage depending on the attack and enemy type." This will be incredibly useful... it can be used two times so maybe right at the start and then should shit hit the fan? But this kind of tactic would only work against the same oponnent once. With that said, I turn towards the second *verse*.
Implausible Chronicles: Verita Perfectus --> One of the original two verses of reality, revealing the efficiency of Infinity and the unbreakable vigil of those capable of imagining its scope. Using this verse causes a units defense stat to be replaced by an equavilent of its Morale stat. Lasts for the entire battlefield and can only be used once. Cannot be cast during the same turn as the other original verse.
... Heres my answer to the Maddened Volhv''s single point of defense. If I use this on him, I can turn him into an immortal tank and have him charge into the middle of the battlefield. Heh, just the thought of my oponnent showing all of his best attacks onto the single def Volhv and becoming utterly flabbergasted once the old orc still stands is making me laugh."Thinking up some funny tactics, are we?" "Y-yes, I actually can''t wait to try this one out." A nod of pride and excitement was my reply as the old man rubbed his chin in thought."Hmm, this may prove to be amusing, indeed."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I turned towards the third verse, only to find that it isn''t a verse at all. Rather... it appeared to be a picture of myself, holding a giant spellbook. No. Not a spellbook. Its.... my lunatic diary, just epicly enlarged for whatever reason.
Liber Insanire --> a small notebook, innocent and fragile. Twisted and turned by the intricate insanity written within... Spell: Stone Impalers - summon five earth elementals which dig themselves into the ground, forming themselves into a trap. Should an enemy unit walk onto the same tile as the trap, it is impaled by the elementals who erupt from the ground in the form of stone spikes. Should an organic unit die from this trap, the elementals consume its flesh and merge together to form a Graul. Lasts until dispelled, removed or sprung. Takes two turns to set up the trap. - Graul - 10/5/3 --> "Never before have I seen something so terrifying, yet also enlightening at the same time." Unknown dwarf. Summoned unit - extremely vulnerable to all magic with the exception of earth magic. Throw Boulder - slams a giant stone into the ground in front of it, dealing 20 aoe damage but taking two turns to cast, during which enemy attacks will critically strike the Graul. Spell: Void Sigil - etches a mathematical formation of runes into the ground which then explodes with strange energies, causing the enemy to either be blasted away or slammed into the ground depending upon the number used. -1: the enemy is slammed onto the ground, dealing 3 damage. If the enemy unit dies from this, all sourrounding enemy units suffer -3 to morale. +1: the enemy is blasted away, dealing 3+(1 per turn) depending on the amount of turns the spell has been powering up to a maximum of five. If the enemy unit survives, they are forced backwards for 1+(1 per turn) tile.
"H-huh?" I muttered out somewhat shocked as I re-read that last bit of information. Void Sigil? +1? -1? ... could those numbers really be used in such a way? If I could etch a rune onto a person and then place the opposing rune onto the ground or to another object, that person could be pulled forward or repelled in accordance to the personality.... I''m gonna have to try this out later."A-ah Alice.. so it has finally happened. Here, use these." The old man handed me a bunch of paper towels, to which I blinked in confusion, only to find out that my eyes had started bleeding."Magia Insanium?" "Yes, I''m afraid so. Finding out about your own destiny may reveal things you were not yet supposed to know so this will most likely happen multiple times during our game." A nod was the old mans answer as I wiped the blood away. He nodded right back at me and said."Right, are you done inspecting your abilities? Good, let us move onto the more interesting part of this lesson: units and how to recruit them." His head turned towards the right and mine followed soon after, revealing rune-work much alike to what was on my left."Now, as you''ve probably already noticed, the same runic concept applies to this side of the platform. However, please take a look at my hand." I did as I was told, looking towards the moving hand as its finger touched something invisible to my eyes, only for a rune to suddenly become visible as it did."As you can see, while you cannot see the menu I have here you can see when I have ordered a unit to arrive, so to speak." His hand clicked the same spot as before, causing the rune to vanish once more."So we can cancel the... ordering of units?" He beamed me a smile."Not all of them. Some units have very special effects and cannot be canceled once their, ahem, summoning has begun. However, most basic units can be cancelled." "Basic units?" I questioned the man, which caused him to grin."Right, you catch on quick. To explain: the units in this game are divided into four separate tiers, that is to say the basic, the elite, the champions and the heroes." He took in a breath before continuing."Each unit, regardless of type, takes a select number of turns to appear. Most basic units take only a single turn, the elites two, champions three and so forth." His hand turned towards my right as he said."Now, please inspect your units, Alice." Nodding towards him and taking in a breath of my own, I turned my head to my right, hopefully prepared for the Magia Insanium that was sure to follow. To my surprise, all of my previous units were shown as manaforged images. The maddened volhv was an elite type, the cavalry and crusaders were basics and my warforged champion was a hero unit, ironically enough. But... there were a few others. The first unit that caught my eye was a duo of .. naked, elven women. They seemed old, yet their perfect flesh radiated youth. In fact, I first thought they were some kind of succubi what with their perfect, naked bodies. But... they are not.
Voiceless Banshee
Elite Stealth Unit 2/8/5 --> these once incredible elven women, ancient and beautiful beyond human comprehension, have fallen to the visions bestowed upon them by Chaos... and the resulting madness has turned them into something monstrous. Abilities: The Unseen, Senseless Butchery and Soundless Scream. The Unseen - Their desire to prevent anyone else from sharing their fate causes the banshees to turn invisible to the naked eye unless dealt damage or attacking. Senseless Butchery - Whenever the banshees attack a unit for the first time, they deal double damage. If the banshees were affected by their "The Unseen" ability during the attack, then the damage dealt is tripled. Soundless Scream - The banshees unleash their vails, confusing the enemy as the sound is something between euphoria and horror. Affected targets cannot attack the banshees and the banshees are forced to move two tiles backwards.
"Aaaa...fghhh.... kill... must... make... become... invisible.." The horror-stricked women murmured in a tone that wasn''t quite pleasant but not quite unpleasant either, true to their description. Their nails seemed to elongate as they entered an offensive stance of some kind, crouching like hungry cougars stalking their prey. ... In contrast to the banshees... Well.. And then, there were the ratmen... as one of my history teachers likes to say.
Sthakorian Pistolier Squadron
Ranged Unit 4/2/2 --> "Never before have I seen the vile ratkin... not be vile at all. No, these are not the same insidious vermin that infest the dwarven mountains, plague the farms of men and raid the encampments of the orcs. These... these MEN, are soldiers in the truest sense of the word. And they are damn good at what they do." Truth of the *Truth-Mother*, page 3. Abilities: Rallying Flare and RA-TA-TA-TAH!!! Rallying Flare - The unit fires a flare into the sky, increasing the morale of any allied unit within two tiles by 3. Does not stack with other flares, but separate flares may affect separate units. RA-TA-TA-TAH!!! - The unit unloads all of its current ammo into any enemy in front of itself, dealing 6 damage and losing two morale. Can only be used once per battle. Unit cannot move or attack the following turn due to reloading.
Much the same as their elven counterparts, the ratmen ... looked very much civilized, wearing a standard pistolier uniform from my county and proudly showing off my family banner at their backs. They were clearly well-trained and poised to strike at any given moment. They didn''t look like ratmen at all. These arent the filthy, diseased vermin whose aptitude for chaos surp-.. aptitude for Chaos, eh? Suddenly, them being here makes so much sense. However, something tells me that it will not be Chaos that helps me rally these *Sthakorians*, to my cause. My ring suddenly glowed its overbearing white light and my suspicious were confirmed. Whatever God was on the other side of this ring... that is who will help me bring these ratmen to my side. Which makes the next entry a lot more reasonable.
Priest Of The White One
Elite Ranged Unit 1/1/& --> "Much like the priests you''d see in any self-respecting church, these Sthakorians have dedicated themselves to the teachings of their Truth-Mother and now work tirelessly to spread their faith of goodwill, morality, acceptance and perfectionism to all corners of the world, much alike to how their vile brethren do with their horrible plagues and poxes. I must say, sometimes I wonder as to what exactly that girl did to the rats to make them this way... Alice Pendragon sure has a way of converting people." Truth of the *Truth-Mother*, page 42. Abilities: Aura Of The Crusade and Hand Of The White One. Aura Of The Crusade - Any unit whose morale falls to zero does not run away and has its morale stat reverted to its original value. This can only happen once and the effect affects allied units within three tiles of the Priest. Hand Of The White One - the unit approaches a wounded allied unit and heals them for 5 health. This can only be used once on the same unit during the battle. Cannot be used on the priest itself.
"A-ah..." My inner musings were interrupted by a deep sigh originating from my front."Are you alright, headmaster?" The man shook his head in negative."N-no. I am not... your ability to play this amazes me, Alice. I.. I must rest. Go to your home now, young one... I must rest my mind. We shall continue on next week." A nod of finallity was his answer as I turned around to walk away, only to be stopped as the man suddenly snorts and says."And Alice... I know about Luctus and its curious hunger for the flesh of bandits and other such evil-doers. Should the weapon need to be fed sometime soon, please do inform me first so that we do not have to repeat this *sick leave* business again, understand?" I swallowed down hard, mostly because I was trying not to laugh at the *hunger for the flesh of bandits* thing. I didn''t turn around, merely relaxing my stiffened shoulders and replying to the old man."As you wish, headmaster. And uh, I''m sorry." "Don''t be, child. It is simply what fate has forced upon you." He replied with a tired tone as I quickly made my way out of the room, unable to keep myself silent any longer as I let my cheery laughter echo throughout the academy and beyond, causing more than one person to stare at me before nodding towards the headmasters door in pride. Saying things like: hmm, seems like the headmaster can cure even the most broken of children! What a respectable old man, indeed! Oh well. It works in my and his favor if they think thats why I''m laughing my ass off right now. I just hope nobody from Caspers group sees me before I manage to bite down my incessant laughter. Because this is getting somewhat embarrassing.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Aaaaaaaaaa... its 5AM 5. FUCKING. AM. Good god why do I always get inspiration at these young hours of the day?! Or night, either way is fine. I.. I don''t think I''m gonna stay online to fix mistakes and answer comments. Urge to sleep... Falling... I mean rising!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 21. Of Blood And Horror Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Hmm. I guess it was time for a chapter of this to come out. The next of EUPHORIA is gonna have to wait, for a time. And fuck me but I have a stupid dog barking somewhere beneath my window. IT. IS. SO. FUCKING. ANNOYING. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few hours later... - Road To Axilar - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Wh-AOFSF?!" Exclaminging in a very shocked tone as I am rudely awoken from my beauty sleep, I find myself inside of my carriage and just about to face plant into its wooden floor."Milady! Milady!" My ever so insane coachman could be heard yelling from the outside just as I managed to grab ahold of something and stabilze myself. We were galloping, dangerously fast. This combined with the uncharacteristic fear inside of Alex''s voice gave me pause as I realized that we must be running away from something, but what?"GROOOOOOOOOOOOOARGH!" A twisted howl echoed throughout the night as I quickly leaped upwards and grabbed the opening in the front of the carriage."Alex! Whats going on?" "We''re being chased by some kind of undead monstrosity, milady!" He replied in a terror-stricken tone, panic clear upon his frame. Swallowing down hard, I opened up a compartment in the topside of the carriage and peeked out."RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" Another terrifying roar echoed and before I could see what was roaring, I had to duck in order to dodge a massive tree trunk flying through the sky."A-Alex, look out!" Sadly, my voice did not reach the coachman in time and the carriage was downed, the black-maned horses tripping over the fallen trunk as they had no time to react or build up a jump. The carriage began rolling as I held onto dear life, clutching the velvet seats with all the force I could muster... which was not a good thing because in my panic, I appear to have put too much strength into it, ripping the silk away from the seat and causing me to slam my head into one of the carriage doors, breaking through it in the process and then flying out of the carriage the next time it hit the ground. The carriage did not go very far, stopping in the middle of a familiar forest and old, earthen road. I had passed through here a great many times... this was the forest in front of my castle. If only I could just-"NEEEIGH-*crunch*splat*crunch*" A horse screeched for the briefest moment before being cut off by very disgusting, meaty and bone-breaking sounds. "NEEEIGH!" The other horses screech followed soon after, allowing me to somehow manage to turn my head around from my kneeling posistion. A turn of my head to the left revealed a partly cracked stone, with a big blood splatter around its middle... I hit the stone on the way out, I think? Everything is a blur... My right hand instinctively reached for my back, finding it to be uncharacteristically wet. I didn''t bother looking at my hand, deciding that the liquid could only be blood and trying to stand up. Surprisingly, aside from a few sore spots, I appeared to be completely fine."Thank Chaos for that..." Muttering to myself as I realized that without Chaos I''d already be dead, I slowly turned my head back towards the still-screaming horse. My vision was however obscured by the fallen carriage as whatever was killing the horses was behind it alongside them. What wasn''t behind the carriage though..."Ugh!" I could feel the bile rising from my throat as I looked onto the mangled, ridden-over corpse of Alex. His head was split in two, his body twisted and turned in all directions as he had apparently come into contact with the still-spinning wheels of the carriage mid-flight... there was not much left of him at this point. "Ugh-bleaarch!" Unable to hold it back, I spewed my dinner onto the ground. The incredible and honestly heavenly foodstuffs that Faervel prepared for me before I left the city... I could almost taste the delicious meal through the vomit, but the butchered corpse of my coachman made this impossible. "NYEAAII-*crunch*" The last horses scream woke me up from my trance and, as I thanked the heavens that I decided to leave Faervel back in the city so that she could keep on learning how to be mortal and totally not because I didn''t want her to intrefere with my immoral decisions back home, I found myself slowly creeping towards the carriage, my curiosity driving me forward in an almost ludicrous way. I had to see.. I had to know what was about to kill me. For if it had the speed to outrun a carriage and the strength to butcher horses... what chance do I, a little girl have? You know what? Dying isn''t really such a bad idea right now... I wouldn''t have to deal with any of the bullshit that was sure to come right at me if I stay alive. Managing to muster my strength, a piece of me wondering why Chaos isn''t saying anything right now, I turn to look behind the carriage... The first thing I notice is the half-chewed, raked corpse of what was likely the first horse once. Its blood decorated the ground, its exposed ribcage revealing only that whatever killed it has the jaw-length to tear out a grown horses whole abdomen in a single bite. Its head was... pummeled into the ground, the meat taking the distinct shape of a human, five-fingered fist alongside the nearby ground. Well, a half-a-meter wide human fist, that is. So is this some kind of giant? No... giants aren''t fast enough for this kind of hunt. Then, a werewolf? But those arent larger or taller than a normal man except on rare occassion, so maybe an ancient werewolf? But what kind of werewolf feasts on horses?! Swallowing down hard, I closed my eyes and mustered even more courage as I left the protective shadow of the carriage and looked onwards. Just in time too, as whatever beast I was about to see seemingly kicked the carriage back to its normal posistion, which would have crushed me if I stayed where I was. One of the many lanterns upon the carriage fell off and blasted its contents onto the ground, setting the carriage ablaze in the process as the spilled oil quickly spread all over and joined to the other lanterns. I managed to somehow keep my voice in during all this, most likely because of fear... Either way, I managed to walk a few steps more..."Grooarh..*chomp*skewer*schlop*" The beast in front of me continued its feast as its massive frame finally forged itself into view. Its sheer size and length made me wonder how in the hell I didn''t see it from the other side of the carriage, despite it currently being crouched. Its hind legs were like that of a tiger or wolf, but without a smidge of hair upon its horrid, blackened skin. Its feet, if they could even be called that, were horribly arched and clearly made for jumping long distances. Its equally arched, upper back almost reminded me of a giant bat, yet it appeared to have no wings, just two blackened bones protruding from below its massive, muscled shoulders. Its monstrous arms appeared to be entirely humanoid, with five fingers on each hand whose fingernails were extended into claws leaking pure darkness. Almost as if each one was utterly cursed. It also had what looked like a lions tail, with the puffy end too. The beasts most eye-catching part though had to be its thick, blackened mane, covering the beginnings of horrid, blood-stained white spikes of bone protruding from its spine."Grrhh?.." Finally, the beast seems to have noticed me, as it turned around and revealed a massive, muscle-bound upper body akin to that of a human man, with the exception of the fact that this thing had like twelve of, ahem, *packs*. Its mouth.. its jaw was a giant version of a vampire bat, with enough teeth to imitate an adult shark and canine length to dwarf a trolls, more than enough to impale a tiny girl like me."Eeep?"Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The thing then rose on its back legs, allowing me to deduce that it was actually over five meters tall and around one meter wide."RRrrrrhhh..." It growled at me and suddenly, its backside burst with black blood, the protruding shoulder bones erupting outwards to reveal gigantic bat-wings which had the wingspan of several meters. Finding it in myself not to soil my underwear, I promptly closed my eyes and relaxed my body just in time to feel the ground shake as the thing leaped towards me, its massive jaws opening and closing around my instinctively raised left arm, crushing it with extreme efficiency. Yet, I did not scream. No, I took comfort in the pain, for I knew that soon, it would all be over. My torments would end at the hands of a Varghulf... an ancient vampire that had willingly given itself to the monster inside, becoming completely batshit insane in the process, pardon my pun. Wait, what the hell is a pun? Is ... is it some kind of other word for bad joke? *SLAM*"U-URGH!" Unable to help myself as the thing flinged me out of its mouth, I found myself slamming against a tree so hard that I shattered its wooden exterior and fell down to its overgrown roots. As my vision slowly returned to me, I finally noticed that something no longer felt quite right with my body. I then placed both of my hands on-... A turn of my head to the left."A-ah..." My arm was gone, ripped out from my shoulder like a screw out of a plank.*Crunch*slam*crack* Several disgusting chewing sounds forced my attention to the front, just in time for me to see my severed arm being thrown into the sky and the thing leaping into the air to catch it in its mouth like a giant, evil dog of some kind. Or maybe it would be more accurate to call it a cat with how it jumped up? "Wait, why am I even thinking about th-" "GROOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRGH!" The things screech interrupted my verbal thoughts as I re-focused myself only to see it howling... in pain. The Varghulf rolled over, crashing into the carriage in utter horror as its golden and crimson, glowing eyes shone with something that I never thought I''d see in a monsters gaze. Fear. Terror. Hopelessness. The sudden kind, no less."AUUUUUUOOORGGGG!" The thing howled into the night once more, causing me to blink in complete stupefaction as it... appeared to be crying. Yes, there were tears of blackened blood flowing from the things eyes. What in the hell could have caused it so much pain that - ... my arm. It ate my left arm, along with half of Luctus and that gods-forsaken ring."AuuuUUUUggg.." Its voice drew to a low whimper and I couldn''t stop myself from standing up, my gaping wound bleeding profusely from where my arm used to be. With a grunt, I grit my teeth and took a burning piece of wood with my one remaining arm."A-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" Tears flowed from my eyes like newly-born rivers as I forcefully cauterized the wound, painstakingly making sure to incinerate every last part of my torn-open flesh. Some skin fell off my left armpit and what didn''t fall off on its own, I had to remove by hand. Yet, I grit my teeth and lived through it. It would seem that inviting death... only served to make me stronger. My coachman was skewered, my faithful, loyal Alex died tonight."And it wasn''t even you that killed him... well not directly, anyways." I spoke as I approached the falling monstrosity that had rolled over onto its backside in torment. "Auuughgff...." It moaned in horror as it took notice of my approach, the fear in its eyes making me pause for yet another moment. Coming this close to it allowed the fire to shed some light upon its blackened skin."W-what the h-hell?!" The beasts blackened, furless skin was cracking, tearing itself open to reveal a furnace beneath. Something was incinerating the thing from inside out, its undead regeneation was the only reason why it yet lived in all of its torment. Yet... As I watched the creature, a strange need forged itself to the peak of my thoughts. Memories, ancient knowledge of blood and Chaos. My blood. My Chaos. Father said how Chaos has no effect on the undead... but all he ever did were indirect interactions. What about something more... intimate? My eyes turned seemingly by themselves to reveal one of the fallen lanterns on the ground, its metal casings being torn apart as it fell down, creating a hot, sharp metal end. A single look is what I offer my remaining arm as I took off Luctus and promptly cut my palm on the heated metal. With the blood flowing freely, I notice how I hadn''t felt the heat of the metal spike as I cut myself in truth. I just knew that it was hot due to all the fire around it... Breaking myself out of my stupor, I placed my one remaining arm above the mouth of the creature and said."Drink." As my blood fell down, the monster was at first reluctant to obey my command as eating my arm was already killing it... Then, it most likely thought that I was trying to end its misery, so it closed its giant eyes and drank, its serrated tongue licking my infernal blood off its own teeth."Auurhg.." The varghulf grit its teeth as the cracks on its flesh began to close, yet the furnace beneath seemingly intensified in its fury. Within seconds, the thing was on its feet and arms, its wounds healed as if nothing ever happened to it. Then, it howled once again as its body twisted and turned, becoming even larger and more muscled than before. Its skin stretched out as its muscle regrew, becoming as white as my hair in the process. Its eyes lost their crimson shine, only the gold remaining, gold that began glowing even more menacingly alone than when its crimson counterpart was still there. Its body grew and grew, enlarging the creature until it was twice its previous gigantic size. Now, it was about as great as an adult dragon, being ten meters tall and around four meters wide."ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!" Its insane bellow shook the very ground beneath my feet and I was sure that it could be heard for miles on end as the beast then lowered its head back down, its eyes gazing directly into mine. Swallowing down hard once again, I looked at my one remaining right arm and promptly petted its giant head. ... He-it-the creature then ... I want to say that it purred in response but truth be told, while decently cute, the sound was more akin to pleasured monster than anywhere close to a kitten, really. That totally wont stop me from what I''m about to do, though."I''m gonna name you... Fluffy, The Destroyer Of Worlds!" "Grroooghhh.." It err, purred once again. I then turned my head around to face my blasted carriage just as the self-inflicted wound on my right palm healed."Well, best get started on the salvage operation. I hope you won''t mind carrying some of this stuff, Fluffy." "G-gruh!" Fluffy seems to have responded by .. choking? I turned my head back around just in time to see him vomit out my ever-so-beloved holy ring and the other gauntlet of Luctus, alongside a side-dish of half-processed horse meat. Sadly, my arm wasn''t there anymore."Well thanks, I guess?" Fluffy purred once again in approval. Letting out a massive sigh, I promptly offered a prayer to the heavens as I stood before my coachmans mangled corpse and then collected as many bits of his flesh that I could find, fully intent on burying them. However, as I was about to start digging, Luctus glowed crimson and I figured that it was telling me how the man deserved Chaos instead of just a normal burial, so I ate him instead. Seeing me do this made Fluffy finish up his horses like a good litt-I mean big doggy.. or big cat-e? I don''t know and I don''t want to know. Anyways, this of course included the horse meat that he vomited out a few moments ago, though he appeared to enjoy that a little bit less than the fresher meat. Gee, I wonder why. As I was digging through the remainder of the carriage, I stumbled across the half-burned letter I picked up from that one sleeping vampire woman alonside the duo of golden amulets belonging to that same noble family. Acting on instinct, I showed the amulets to Fluffy, which caused him to growl in rage before I put them away. Most interesting. I''ll have to find out more about this mysterious noble family as soon as I am able... because what kind of noble family has a bloody varghulf hunting specifically for them? Thats right, if I had to guess, the ancient vampire lord whose hideout I buried alongside the bandits the other night was indeed, Fluffy. Having no other way out, he gave into his inner monster willingly and gained the strength to dig himself out, with the only true remainder of himself being his supposed hatred for whatever noble family these amulets belong to. Of course as a beast, he only has his nose to follow... Fluffy did not attack my carriage because he was hunting for food or because he was sent to kill me, he was hunting the people these amulets originally belong to. Hell, I can only think of two possible outcomes: 1. The noble family is made up of Vampire Hunters that Fluffy despised in his former life. Or 2., and this is the more likely one, Fluffy was betrayed by his own brood of vampires and now seeks to hunt down and kill them all. ... God, I hope that its not the first. I do not want to have to explain this to Vampire Hunters or randomly come across one of them and have an incident of epic proportions. Anyways, after somehow managing to strap everything onto Fluffy''s giant, maned back via clever use of the black horses former saddles, I grab one of his upper spinal protrusions with my right hand and lightly kick his sides. Fluffy gives the night sky one final roar before leaping forward with a kind of speed that was far beyond anything I believed to be possible, causing me to close my eyes due to the intensity of the air blasting into my face. Soon though, the blasting air was replaced by a soft, yet continuous breeze. I knew what was happening even before I opened my eyes, but that didn''t manage to crush my joy."We''re flying! WOOOOHOOO!" As my eyes readjusted, I found myself being very close to the clouds. Looking downwards in the direction of where Fluffy was flying, I could see the border town of Oryx in the distance... something that told me a very important bit of information."Fluffy, we are going in the wrong direction!" "Grourgh?" Fluffy made a questioning noise and then followed the direction of my quickly pointing finger as I had to grab onto a patch of his mane, which I had only now realized was recolored white much like my hair, in order to prevent myself from falling. Oh good god, vampire hunters aside, how the hell am I going to explain this to Yvain?!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Yes, yes, Fluffy is totally ripped straight outta Warhammer. BUT I DONT CARE, I HAS FLUFFY NOW! Well, Alice does, but it still works in my favor anyways! As per usual, I will stay online for a bit to answer early comments and edit out mistakes, of which there shall be many, I thusly foresee.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 22. Atrocious Homecoming Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
HUE HAH! Not much to say this time. Considering that it hasn''t even really been a whole day since I wrote the last chapter. Oh well, initiative and inspiration are always welcome in my brain. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break..
A few hours later... - Road To Axilar - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Flying so far above the ground really gives you a new perspective on things..." Muttering out as I watched the world below stretching out as far as my eyes could see, I took in a great breath, feeling the sheer cleanliness of the air deep within my soul. Flying was an amazing thing. I just hope that Fluffy''s existence does not cause me too much trouble cause I''d really like to keep him around."Huh, looks like the guys are really working pretty hard down there." Looking downwards revealed my great castle, built into a mountain-range and stretching out, reaching all the way down to the forest below. It is an ancient thing, built and rebuilt countless times to fit the desires and needs of its occupants. A thousand different types of stone and metal, brought from all the different corners of the world, made the structure up. The materials that it was built out of and the incredible, tactically advantageous posistion it was built into are what made Castle Pendragon an unassailable location. Any fool that tried to besige this castle would sooner have his army starve than manage to break through its defensive layers, foundations and towers. Granted that said army isn''t broken by heavy artillery and numerous magical traps. Come to think of it, without mother being here to actively care and document said traps, maybe I should hire someone to do this in her stead before my own people begin setting them off. This is also why I am more scared of assassins than anyone else, considering that sieging me would doom whomever tried it, an assassins blade is still fully capable of being sneaked straight into my poor, chaos-bound heart. Suddenly, a vision of Mother forges itself into my thoughts for seemingly no reason at all. Yet, as Fluffy continued flying towards the castle, I realized once more that I was flying on top of a gaint bat monstrosity who would need to land somewhere. Mothers laboratory, which had been cleaned out by my servants in order to find things worth selling, was a currently totally empty location within my castle. It was once filled with bookshelves and chests and artefacts of all kinds. Now, it is a decrepit room full of cobwebs and cave bats. Kind of perfect for Fluffy''s new nest or hideout, now that I think about it. Steering Fluffy to the left, I command the varghulf to fly into the tower through mothers gigantic window. She made this window in order to have a safe direction to which she could send any miscast spells towards without blowing herself up. Ironically enough, it was through this very window that she flew out of when Chaos blasted her to bits and pieces. A myriad of cries and panicked shouts suddenly entered my ears as Fluffy came closer to the ground, making me remember that there were other people here and causing me to let out a massive sigh as I thought on what I was going to tell Yvain about this... In the end, I figured I might as well tell him the truth, with the exception of Chaos'' undisputed influence. Fluffy made his landing, somehow managing to not crack the stone beneath even if the lightless towers ceeling shook, dust and ash falling from it in the process."This''ll be your new home, okay Fluffy?" He sniffed and looked around, his golden eyes briefly flashing with magic before he nodded in approval. Ah, vampires are usually attracted to placed with high mana content... as an Arch Mage, mothers continuous usage of spells, alchemy and strange incantations has transformed the room into just such a location! How incredibly convenient. However, my musings were broken by Fluffy suddenly laying down onto the floor and rolling and rolling and rolling around, seemingly never finding a good enough place to lay down. Then again, rough stone isn''t exactly something I''d figure to be comfortable to sleep on."I''ll uhh... get you some hay soon, okay?" He purred in response, yet continued rolling once again. As he did, he rolled into one of the towers walls which was built into the mountain... and through it."FLUFFY?!" "Groaagh?!" His panicked responce vibrated as if he was inside of some form of small cave. I approached the wall he phased through and placed my hand onto it... it felt... real."Spell Break!" Channeling my mana into it nonetheless, I found myself being nearly completely drained of magic in the process as the illusion shattered. The masterful runework that fueled this illusory wall was clearly of mothers design. Yet what I found on the inside were... not precious artefacts, forbidden tomes or strange potions... No, it was a corpse. A well-withered corpse at that. It appeared to be a male humanoid with horns and bat wings... a demon? Here? What the hell was mother doing with this de-ah. Looking around the cave, I found a whole plethora of knives, hot pokers and good gods I do not want to know what that phallic shaped pole is for."Torturing a demon for information? But... what kind?" Sadly, there did not appear to be any form of book or diary around that could give me an inkling of information about this... curious place. My musings were once again broken by several shouts from the outside."Alright people, be ready! On three, two, one, GO GO GO!" A strange, unfamilair voice echoed from beyond the door. Soon after, the giant doors were broken through and a mass of men and orcs alike burst into the room, only to stop, see the giant bat monster and promptly piss themselves in the process. Fluffy, to his credit, paid the soldiers no heed and just continued rolling around, apparently finding the cold mountain stone to be far more to his liking than whatever marble was used to create the first part of the room."What are you doing men?! Focus and reform the li-... milady?" A man dressed in full plate armor bearing the mark of my noble line walked into the room. He had a black sash over his belt which had three stars woven into it, indicating his rank of Sargeant."Uh, hi. I''m back.." "With a bat monster and a missing left arm to boot." Yvain walked into the room and sighed greatly before continuing."Sargeant, I believe our milady is fine... and the bat.. thing.. I think we should all just ignore it for now." The yet-to-be-named soldier nodded, bowed and left the room, his men eagerly following behind him."Crazy nobles..." One of them could be heard muttering and I honestly couldn''t blame him. Approaching Yvain, I waved at him in jest."Hi." "Hi." Was his rather expected response. We sat there in an uncomfortable silent for a good long time, breaking free out of it only once Fluffy gave out a massive burp, bless him. This caused me to turn around just in time to see him swallowing the last bit of bone from that corpse we just found. And there goes my future investigation... oh well."So... where do I even begin?" "Let us deal with the titan in the room, milady. What the fuck is that giant bat monster doing here?!" Yvain exclaimed with a straight face, causing me to give him my best smile and back away slightly."I uh... My carriage got attacked by this guy, his name is Fluffy by the way, he threw a tree in front of the road. Horses knocked over, carriage sent flying, Alex fell into the spinning wheels mid flight, I was slammed back-first into a stone and then a tree afterwards." "And the bat?" He repeated, getting somewhat angry as I swallowed down and raised my right arm."He uh, attacked me and ate my left arm, had to stop the bleeding so I used a makeshift torch to cauterize the wound, next thing I know Fluffy is rolling in pain... then.. he stopped doing that and ever since then, hes been... uhhm,... friendly?" Yvain let out yet another massive sigh."Ah what the hell, that sounds crazy enough to be believable. And its not like taming vargheists is something thats never been done before." "A-actually, this is a varghulf, not a vargheist." I casually replied as the mayor quirked an eyebrow."The difference being?" "W-well, vargheists are made when vampires are forced to give into their inner beasts due to hunger or whatever, varghuls are vampires who do it willingly." I turned back around in order to look at Fluffy, who appeared to have found himself a good spot to sleep, which strangely did not involve hanging from the ceeling... though that may be simply because of the lack of anything strong enough to hang onto."Plus, this guy has white skin and fur... for all I know, he could be an ancient thing. Also sunlight didn''t appear to bother him much, or well at all, actually."The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Sunrise came and went away, Fluffy didn''t even flinch. I said nothing about it because I figure that his connection to Chaos must''ve made him alive again or something."So how do you know that he is a varghulf for sure?" "Oh come now Yvain, vargheists are barely the size of an adult horse, this guy is about as tall as a bloody siege weapon!" The good mayor blinked in response."Well, you''ve got a point there." "Anyways, this isn''t important right now. What is important is the obvious expenses which will come along with having a ... mount, like this." Yvain continued as he pointed towards my stuff which was still bound to Fluffy''s giant back."Ehh, how much would two... no, four piglets a day cost?" "A decently sized piglet is around five silver each, milady." I blinked in utter confusion."Eh? Thats stupidly cheap." "I agree but I don''t think that your pet would like eating piglets." The mayor responded with a smile of pure evil, something to which I replied to with a beaming smile of my own."Actually, since he devoured my two horses, I think he would indeed... although we may need to throw in something other than piglets on the menu from time to time." "Is that so? Then maybe this isn''t as bad as I thought it would be. Anyways, getting supplies will be easy as I''ve already established a proper supply line in order to get the city started. I presume some hay may be required as well?" He asked me as he saw Fluffy shifting uncomfortably, though that may be simply because he was trying to sleep and we were disturbing the poor guy."Yeah but, lets leave the room before continuing the conversation, shall we?" Fluffy shifted once more."Y-yes, I think that would be for the best." We walked out the door and closed it, much to Fluffy''s approval as he finally pulled his wings back into his body and relaxed."Might need to put up a do-not-disturb sign somewhere on the door. Prefferably somewhere extremely visible." The mayor wholehartedly agreed with my assessment."Anyways, we have more important subjects to discuss. I have called my fellow mayors to the castle in hopes of helping you form a regional council to help rule the county in your absence..." "Trying to dig out more power for the people, eh?" My quirked eyebrow had the mayor in chuckles."The power is nice, yes. But if I really wanted to make myself more powerful, I''d never even consider getting the others to come. Rather, I''d be your sole advisor." "Somehow, I get the feeling that even if you tried to go that route, the people would make it impossible without me doing anything." The mayor merely nodded in response. We eventually reached a rather long, hallway sized room with an oval table in the middle with a myriad of servants running all around. The table was set with food and drink aplenty. My, oh my, Yvain has outdone himself, hasn''t he?"Are you entirely sure that we can afford this kind of feast right now?" "Do not worry, milady. In an effort to present their high hopes for both you and your ... ahem, profitable, personality, the mayors and myself have come together to organize this feast." So basically, they''re paying for it. A tiny part of me feels somewhat insulted as they are paying for the food that they''ll be eating as guests in my home, but I swallow it down simply because the people I''m about to meet are going to be very important for my future."Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! I am sure that you are all very tired from your night-long trip here, so please do treat yourselves to the foods. Also, may I be granted the honor to present our lady of the castle, miss Alice Pendragon!" Yvain did the introductions with a very curt bow, something that the other lords in the room mimicked without pause. Each of them then rose from their seats and came over to greet me. The first was a rather old lady dressed in rich, crimson silks and wearing a somewhat strange hat with what looked like a birds feather on top of it. She looked outright ridiculous, but I do not exactly have the right to complain. The old lady however, knelt in front of me with a horrified look on her face."YVAIN!? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" The mayor shook as the woman screamed at him in outrage."A-ah... right. These people are sane." He muttered out in realization. Ah. I''m still missing an arm. My clothes are torn to shreds. I probably smell like a dragons backside on a runny day. My hair is a mess. My dress is full of drying blood."Ah, I think I should have bathed and re-dressed before coming here, Yvain." "Y-yes, that would have been the correct way to do things. Sadly, the time I have spent in this castle seems to have forced my sense of normalcy to commit suicide. Forgive me, milady." Yvain replied to my assessment with an anime-like sweatdrop. .. Er, what the fuck is anime? Anyways, back to reality."Uhm.. please don''t blame the may-" "BLAME HIM?! Little lady, I am about to castrate him for his actions. What the hell is going on here?! Last time I checked, you still had your left arm and what is going on with those clothes?!" She continued rambling semi-coherently. Well, as an old lady, shes probably the mother of a few children so seeing me in this state has sent her in a rage. One of the other lords, a rather ahem, larger but also much younger man approached me only to turn towards Yvain in spite."Clearly, our friend here has been abusing our lady and making her live her life as some peasant. She probably wounded her arm somehow, it got infected and then was promptly poorly amputated. Yvain, I knew that there was something very wrong with you but this is too much, don''t you think?" "Errr..." To his credit, the mayor did not start slowly backing off and merely looked on in absolute stupefaction. The other two members merely looked on in utter shock and horror, along with a number of paralyzed servants. I let out a massive sigh."Calm the fuck down, all of you." My cursing seems to have managed to catch their attention to the fullest, especially the grannys."L-little lady, what is that lan-Uhgdh?!" I shut her up with my one remaining arm. Then, taking in a deep breath, I began my explanation."I was on my way back here from Sorcierre. My carriage was attacked and that is how I lost my arm. I just got back home. You are right, I should have bathed and made myself more presentable before coming here but other than that, I am perfectly fine. And don''t you dare diss on the mayor, for unlike the rest of you, he has been here since the start to help me make some sense of my incredibly dreadful and dangerous situation. Thank you for listening and please, do enjoy your meal while I go clean myself up. Capiche?" The four lords nodded in utter shock, yet a tinge of respect could be seen in their eyes.
Thirty minutes later...
"Okay, so back on track, I''d like to welcome you all personally to the castle. Now, as I am sure that you all already know who I am, please introduce yourselves one by one." The lords each nodded, their previously shocked faces replaced by ones of respect. Only the granny remained uncertain, yet she was the first to rise and the others allowed it, indicating that she was the most respected of them all. Nevertheless, she bowed towards me once again and spoke."I am Elaria Rehn, mayor of the City Of Verdia and guild master of the Farmers Guild within your county." She then turned to look at Yvain with spite clear in her eyes. The man in question smiled uncertainly before his eyes momentarily widened."A-ah! Come to think of it, I never told you which city I was mayor of, milady. Let us fix that; I am Gerald Yvain, mayor of the City Of Yarrin and guild master of the Merchants Guild." "Tibald Bertin, lord and mayor of the City Of Marrowdorf. I am no guild master of any guilds, but my hunting parties are well known throughout the land and my city speciallizes in the trade of meats, fur and wood." The fat man who tried to slander Yvain half an hour ago rose, bowed and said. I guess his hunters must truly be skilled if he can allow himself to stay so... large. The next in line was a much younger woman who was wearing full plate armor and had a sword on her waist. She did not bow, but saluted me instead."The name is Letice Cognat. I''m the mayor of Hail''s End. I''m not a merchant or a farmer, but you can expect my soldiers and me to join you on any battlefield you may need us. My lands are close to the western edgelands and thus experience many orcish raids throughout the year but we pride ourselves in preventing the orcs from going any further." Disciplined and hardy soldiers, eh? Something tells me that I''m going to like this woman in the near future."Let us hope she will never need you." Granny Elaria spoke with equal spite. ... Does she just... hate everybody here? Yet, everyone also seems to be taking her insults quietly. Maybe its because shes the one whose land provides theirs with food and supplies? That is the only plausible reason why."Faro Clauss, lord of Kilnchapel. At your service, milady." The last person in the group bowed and said. He didn''t say anything else, which caused me to take another look at the man... to find out that he isn''t a human at all, but a dwarf!"A dwarf? How odd." He chuckled at my antics."Hah, not the reaction that I was expecting, but I''ll take it." I quirked an eyebrow at him."Pardon me if I offended you somehow, master dwarf. This is just the first time I''ve ever seen one of you." His eyes widened and he nodded in approval before replying."Aye? Is that so? Well, no offense taken, little lady." He steadied himself, a large orange beard as long as I am being stroked as the man did so."I suppose I should tell you something ''bout me city, den? Hmm, what to say... well, unsurprisingly it is a blacksmiths city. We trade mainly in iron and other such metals, but also in furs as the boreal forests around us offer a plethora of rugged and dangerous beasts." "I see... say, is there any chance that you could forge me a new arm?" The dwarf, whose age I honestly could not tell but I guessed he was old simply by his beards length, closed his eyes for a moment before replying."Aye.. thats something I had on my mind from the second I saw you but.. well, I neither have the skill nor the theonite required for such a feat." Ah, theonite. Otherwise known as the living metal or the blood of the gods themselves, theonite is a material with numerous mythical applications. It has been used in both divine and demonic swords, to raise living statues of gods and devils and to create whole new races, such as the original orcs. Incidently, there are also stories of it being used to create artificial limbs, which is why I asked this of the dwarf. "Yeah, I figured as much... but could you maybe ask around for someone who could do this?" He nodded somberly."I''ll do ma best for ya, milady." "Thank you." My reply caused the dwarf to offer me a happy nod just as Yvain coughed into his fist, taking away our attention."Ahem, now that the introductions are done, perhaps we should get to the business at hand?" He then waited for a moment as the servants took away the food, leaving only my portion as I still hadn''t eaten and then clicked a hidden button beneath the table which allowed him to take the upper portion of the round table off and reveal a map of my county.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Plan is ruined. Cant post map in chapter for some reason. The image just shatters. Please, oh please work in the comments section. EDIT: Yes! I made it work somehow. Anyways, sry for the chicken sketch, I don''t do draw but this is something I made in order to help myself properly write the story in the future.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 23. Regional Planning Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Oh wow. Destiny: Infernal finally got its 3rd review. And I think I fell in love with this person! Everyone, please give Mad Fax a good cheer of five, because this guy hit everything on point! He even placed a very nice DO NOT READ sign for vikkutoria''s trashy review. Could we please get this man to the top? I would be truly grateful to y''all if you went to upvote his review because it might just make more people decide to read this story that are not already reading Euphoria. Not that there''s anything wron-ok, I''m gonna stop here before I dig my own grave. You guys are all awesome, new and old and older!(ppl who are reading my stories since my FF days LOL, you guys are the MVP''s in my heart. ) Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you all enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break..
A few seconds later... - Castle Pendragon (Council Room) - Alice''s Point Of View...
"So I suppose we should start with something that I am aware off. Yvain, how goes your attempt to organize a meeting between me and the elder of Dirkhaven?" I asked of my dear mayor, who bowed respectfully and began his explanation."As you wish, milady. My attempt has been successful and you are scheduled to meet with the elder this evening. Do not worry, there is plenty of time to rest since the village is just a few kilometers away from here and I''ve already prepared your entourage. That is, unless you wish to use, ahem, Fluffy." "F-Fluffy?" Tibald, aka the fat hunter man, asked in a disbelieving tone. Yvain quickly turned to answer him."A-ah, it is our lady''s favoured mount." The lords in the room blinked and nodded in understanding. Me and Yvain promptly let out a massive breath of relief."Alright then... I''ll decide this later today, after I am fully rested and prepared for the journey." Yvain bowed once more."As you wish, milady." Looking at the map once more, I noticed how there appeared to be no bridges between my castle and the city of Hail''s End."Lady Cognat, how is it that a sizable force of soldiers would reinforce my castle from your city?" The young woman then pointed towards her city on the map and drew a V shape towards Yarrin and then to my castle."They would need to march to Lord Yvain''s city and then turn back towards you... it is not a very efficient way of delivering reinforcements, yet has proven stable enough for no lords to change it." "As if we need any more soldiers crushing our fields beneath their feet!" Granny Elaria, as I shall from now on refer to her by, spoke with her ever present spite."Oh? And what do we need, Lady Rehn." My sentence ended up being more of a sarcastic statement than a question, yet the older woman took it to heart."Farms! Farmers! Granaries! We need to ensure that the next generation has enough to eat." I promptly turned my head towards the others."Let me guess; her husband or children or both died in the war?" Granny Elaria appeared utterly horrified at my words as the others merely nodded in silent reply."Lady Elaria, as much as I hate to deny you like this, the last time I checked my lands were not plagued by famine or just general lack of food. They were however, plagued by rampaging orcs, greedy lords of the nearby duchies and an ever increasing amount of bandits and brigands. We need more security and soldiers." The old woman, shocked to her core and utterly disheartened, promptly fell back into her chair."Nevertheless, if you have any ideas about new farmlands then I will always listen, but industry, economy and millitary are far more important to develop than food production." "Yet, it is the food that fuels all of the three things." She replied while giving me the stink-eye as Yvain replied to her in my stead."Or we can just invest into the economy and trade for whatever food we may need... Much tastier foods than what can be grown here, too." Tibald seemed to wholeheartedly agree with Yvain, especially the latter part of his statement. "Or invest into the millitary to the point where we can easily fend off all of our enemies and not have to worry about going hungry because some ragtag bunch of mongrels decided that we''ve had too good a year!" Lady Cognat thew in her fifty coppers, causing the older woman to quieten once more. The dwarf in the group coughed to grab our attention."I''d like to point out that whatever you are all planning on doing here will require great amounts of construction. So rather than immidatelly opening up new trade routes and making millitary outposts everywhere, perhaps we should establish supply lines first?" The four of us, not including the granny, blinked in stupefaction for the briefest moment."W-well, does Kilnchapel not have a direct path into Yarrin? Surely, whatever builders and construction materials we require can be delivered through Yvain''s city?" Tibald was the first to offer a suggestion, but both me and Yvain shook our hands in negative. Well, I only had one hand to shake but you get the point. ... who the hell are *you*, anyways? Whatever, focus Alice."That would not work in our favor, especially since we are already constructing a whole new city around Castle Pendragon... I have worked my arse off ensuring that my city''s north gate is completely free to allow for the passage of materials, goods and men alike. If we turn my city into a massive supply center, it would completely shatter its core affinity for trade! I am already getting a whole lot of insults and moaning from my friends in the Merchants Guild." "Den hows about we cut a path through the eastern Prosper Valley, make a new bridge over Winters Heart River and make the village of Dirkhaven our new supply post." Me and Yvain shared another look."Master Dwarf, the people of Dirkhaven have already proven entirely uncooperative with us before which is why I shall go to parlay with their elders later today. What makes you think they will be willing to allow this to happen?" The dwarf rolled his eyes in response."Who cares? They''re just peasants. If they don''t want to move by themselves then we will move them ourselves." "W-wh, how dare you even consider that?! Is it because theyre just humans and their lives have no meaning to you, you fat, ugly, DWARF!?" The old lady screeched in protest, causing us all to stare at her incredulously."Servant, please guide Lady Rehn to her guest quarters. Her journey here has obviously been taxing on her and the old woman could clearly use some rest." "As you wish, milady." Several butlers immidiatelly sprang to action."W-WH-LET GO OF ME YOU DIRTY SLAVES!" "Lock her door but remember to feed her before the days end." The butlers nodded in response and dragged the insufferable woman away as I turned back towards the others."So, I''ve been wondering this for a while, why the hell are you people just taking her insults like that?" "W-well, its j-just that... shes an old lady with less than a few more years to go. She may as well live through them without being insulted back, eh?" Yvain was the one who answered me, eliciting a curious raised eyebow."I hope she has a successor if she really only has a few more years in her." "Aye she does, several of ''em, in fact. However, she aint lettin'' any of those fine lads and lassies take what shes fought for all of her life so long as she stands." Our resident dwarf replied with a massive sigh as the other adult lady in the room continued our previous discussion."In any case, after we build this Dirkhaven-Kilnchapel supply route, whereever do you plan on constructing the reinforcement... route...?" I chuckled at Lady Cognats inability to remember words, even though I myself did not truly know what word to use there. Instead, I improvised."What about not constructing a simple path, but creating a well-defended and hidden fortress in the mountains just before the northern flow of the Prosperity Descent river instead? This fortress would be stocked up on general supplies such as bandages, weapons, armor and food, as well as any facilities that soldiers may require in order to rest and recover. There would also be a permanent detachment of soldiers within the fortress itself which would not only guard the place, but allow us to ambush any enemy army that may be travelling in that general direction. In addition, the soldiers stationed in this fortress would go on regular scouting missions in order to learn the lay of the land, set up traps and so forth, as well as report anything suspicious to both Castle Pendragon and Hail''s End, potentially also allowing us to end an orcish intrusion before its even begun." As I finally stopped talking, the lords around me were dumbly staring directly into me."Truly, you have inherited all of your fathers blood." Tibald was the first to recover and praised me for my idea as Yvain put a finger on his chin in thought."This is... plausible. I mean, we are already building a new city so its not like importing even more stone would bat any eyelids our way which is good since the fortress should remain hidden in order to attain full efficiency." "May I suggest we add on to this plan, your highness?" Tibald continued and I nodded towards the man, who then pointed towards the river of Prosperity Descent before saying."Before we begin constructing the fortress itself, perhaps it would be a good idea to first construct a pathway connecting Castle Pendragon and Hail''s End directly? Because hiding the construction of an entire fortress is... a difficult and potentially very costly endeavour, if we were to construct the path first and then secretly divert a number of builders to the fortress itself as the majority of the workers would go to the castle itself to aid in the construction of the new city... Well, the construction of the fort would be slowed immensely, but this is the only way I can see its construction remaining a total secret." "Thats.. wow, how unexpectedly genius from you, Tibald." Lady Cognat said what everyone here was thinking. To his credit, the large man merely smiled at the silent insult and bowed."I aim to please." "However, this all rests on the situation in Dirkhaven... not only is it sitting on a pile of wealth in the form of shapestone, it is basically the basis of our entire construction plan for without the supply route, none of this would be possible." Lord Clauss spoke with his usual dwarven accent, causing me to lamely start rubbing the back of my head."Actually... promise not to tell the angry grandmother of our little group but I uh, I''ve already ordered the village razed to the ground." While the other three adopted faces of pure shock, Yvain just let out a sigh."I should have known that thats why the orc had to suddenly leave with only his best and most trusted soldiers. Though, what he told me he was going to do was probably not a lie either." "What he told you he was going to do?" Sending an inquisitive glance towards my good mayor made the man sigh once more."He said how there aren''t enough people around to build the castle city quickly enough so he was going back to the Edgelands through Winters Heart Pass in order to make a tour of the orcish clans and villages and pick up as many willing settlers as possible." "Nice. That sounds useful." Was my reply just as the other lady in the room basically screeched."YOU DID WHAT? YOU SENT -ahem." She calmed herself and started whispering."You sent orcs to raze a village?!" "So? We can just blame it on orc raiders if people ever start questioning it. Also, I don''t want to hear one word from you Lady Cognat, that shapestone deposit is going to be feeding much of our future progress and if everything goes according to plan, you and your soldiers will be the first to reap the benefits." My answer quieted the woman, causing her to steel herself and nod."Whatever. No use being mad about people I never knew dying horribly... but what are we going to do about the old lady? She hears everything!" "Nothing. I will go there today to meet up with the village elders and come across a horrid scene of burned wood and half-eaten human corpses." Yvain and Tibald let out a cheery laugh."What a horrid scene... and that a little girl had to see such a thing, especially after so many horrible events happened to her in quick succession..." Tibald said with a snort as Yvain continued for him."Why, if they don''t crown you as the Queen of unfortune events after that then I don''t know when they will." "Anyways, what shall we name the fortress?" Lady Cognat asked and I nodded towards her, taking a nearby quill and drawing a circle with an x onto the map, along with the name."Dragon''s Shadow Fortress.. there, what do you think?" "Hmm.. a name which seems to be put there for its sheer epicness, but in reality its just an inside joke since the fortress is meant to be hidden and is literally within Castle Pendragons shadow. How incredibly amusing." Yvain offered me a beaming smile and I had to look away in shame. He was absolutely, totally correct about the name."Well, you got me there." Shaking my head out of my stupor and waiting for the others to finish chuckling, I said."Alright, thats enough about millitary for now, lets talk some industry!" I pointed towards my dwarven councilor."Lord Clauss, earlier you told me how your city is a blacksmith one and not a mining town, yet you also said that your main source of trade is iron and other such metals with a bit of fur added onto that. This tells me that your city either rests on a giant iron deposit or you have a mine somewhere close by." The dwarf chuckled in response."Well lass, you''re right on both accounts. To explain the situation better, lemme tell you of Kilnchapels history. Kilnchapel, as a city, is actually an incredibly young one. Eighty years of age, I think. It was built indirectly by the actions of your grandfather, Lucian Pendragon. Now, I would not be surprised if you don''t know much about Lucian considering that your father did not get along with him and the fact that Anthony never really was the father you needed him to be, but your grandfather was an incredible adventurer who traveled across the land and met a lot of people... leaving both his family and his county to fall into disrepair and ruin, kind of the reason why yer dad hated him so much. After he decided to finally retire, yer grandpap finally noticed the state his lands were in and invited a bunch of dwarven prospectors to see if there were any rich mineral deposits around which he could exploit to help his deadened lands return to their former glory. They found one such deposit; a large offshoot of lake Palemoore whose ground was utterly drenched in crimson, which indicated that there was a load o'' iron just waiting to be ripped out of the earth. And ripped out it was, as the offshoot lake was drained and a new, rich mine opened. This mine attracted a lot of people of both human and dwarven origin alike, eventually resulting in the birth of a new city which was then named Kilnchapel for its massive amount of kilns, obviously enough."Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. "You speak of this as if you were there when it happened." He smiled at me."Clever girl.. and that is because I was, though I was not a friend of your grandfather or anything like that. I was just one of the dwarven prospectors that came along with the people he originally invited. Eventually, figuring how the permanent winter and boreal forests around the new mine reminded me of home, I brought my family to the place. They liked it too, or well my wife did, and so we began sharing the idea for a new city. Lucian loved this idea and even funded the founding of the city, evantually naming me its first and, up till now, only mayor." "I see. So I guess the city has an equal population of dwarves and humans?" To my surprise, he shook his head in negative."Nay, mostly just us dwarves. The humans of this region cannot handle the permanent cold for very long." "Is that so? And why is the area so cold? I thought my county was temperate and sunny for the most part." Lord Clauss shrugged in response."To be perfectly honest, I have no idea. Tales say that because the winds from the Edgelands blow sideways and to the east, what snow isn''t caught by the Edge End Gorge is just deposited on this small patch of land sourrounding Kilnchapel. This has caused the area to be a completely different climate to the rest of your lands, though." Hmm... but what exactly has the power to push the very winds in a constant, singular direction like that? ... Something is very wrong within the Edgelands."Does anyone know if this was always the case or?" "As far as I can remember, yes..." Yvain muttered out much to the others approval, yet I remained unconvinced."So this wind.. is it coming from Winters Heart Pass or just through the gorge?" "I.. don''t rightly know, your highness. Does it matter?" He questioned me as I nodded."It does, because unless the wind is being forced into a singular direction by something powerful enough to do so, the area around Hail''s End should be just as permanently cold." Lady Cognat shook uncomfortably at this."Brr, I''m getting shivers just thinking about it. Thankfully, my home area is nice and warm for most of the year." "Maybe the rest of the land is protected by the Star Of Vytar?" Tibald spoke with a tone of clear reverance, his amulet of Vytar only now becoming visible to my eyes. Of course, he is a hunter and a man who lives his life to the fullest, he is the incarnation of what Vytar asks of her followers. I am only surprised that I didn''t notice it earlier."Perhaps, though I would advise not telling this story to the priests." Yvain joked and we all laughed in unison. The Star Of Vytar... it is a magnificent, magical glade in the middle of my county which rests upon a powerful lay-line, infusing the very lands around it with fertility and wealth of the soil. Because of this, Vytar is the most beloved of the gods within my county and this is also where my original idea to worship her comes from in the first place. Thing is, the glade is not available for mortals to walk. Powerful dryads and ancient beasts protect its borders with savage fervor. Nevertheless, the place is an immense tourist hotspot, as many visitors to my lands visit solely to see the glade, even if they have to do so from afar. "Anyways, let us get back on track: the mines within Kilnchapel and their industrial benefits." Lord Clauss adopted a rather saddened look upon his frame as I said this though."I.. I am sorry to say that the mines are worthless to us as they are right now, milady. While the lake-mine still has decent yield, even the most optimistic of us know that it wont last much longer. For this reason we have created a new mine on the outskirts of the city however.. I''m afraid that while this mine has proven to be a good source of ore, it is also currently occupied by insidious ratmen." A look of shock forged itself onto my face. Ratmen... this must be where I can get my hands on the Sthakorians!"Then I shall pay the city a visit with a regiment of soldiers and take care of the ratmen as quickly as I am able, maybe even tomorrow if things go without a hitch." "T-truly?! I was hoping that this would be the case but I figured I''d have to beg you for aid." I shook my head in negative."Nay, master dwarf. Your city''s wellbeing promises to be profitable in the long run for all of us here. Now, I have another question for you regarding your trade of iron... Yours is a city of blacksmiths, so why are you trading in iron instead of tools and weapons?" "Who would we sell them to, your majesty? Aside from the few pickaxes and shovels needed for the mines, we have noone else to sell our vares to but ourselves. Guards weapons rarely break and sharpening is not exactly costly considering that most dwarves can sharpen their own tools and the few adventurers who pass through our city do not usually linger for long enough to make any real purchases." Clauss spoke with tired eyes, as this was most likely something he had given much thought on, yet I saw the solution to his plight in the very sentence he explained it."Yvain, I need you to get me in contact with the Adventurers Guild. Tell them that if they open up a new Guild Hall in Kilnchapel, I will fund it. Hell, I''ll even fund the building of new taverns if I have to." ".. easily done, but I must admit that your thought process on this escapes me, young lady." Yvain replied with a quirked eyebrow as I excitedly turned towards him."You mean you don''t see the potential goldmine that Kilnchapel actually is?!" "Eh?" All of them collectively responded to my seemingly outrageous claim. I took in a deep breath and began my explanation."Look, as far as I can tell, Kilnchapels problem is NOT, with its supply of iron as we can easily remedy that by diverting some trade power from Yarrin. Its problem lies in the fact that its many blacksmiths do not have anyone to sell their goods to!" "So if we create an adventurers guild hall within my city, you think that it will attract more adventurers and urge them to stay long enough in the city to actually buy something?... Hmm, well my lands are sourrounded by dangerous forests and monstrous beasts, so its not like they''ll ever run out of quests to do and the nearby wolf population could certainly use a few extermination orders, plus carrying around iron and metal tools all day can grow tedious and having someone to do this for you would certainly be something that my fellow dwarves would be willing to pay for." Lord Clauss mused mostly to himself before nodding."Very well, you have my approval and my support for this endeavour, your highness!" "Good. Take into consideration that my interests in Kilnchapel will not end even if this plan ends up backfiring as I still want to turn it into my millitary supplier of arms and armor. The tools that your blacksmiths forge for the adventurers are going to be little more than an opportunity to both test and improve their capabilities before they start making weapons and armor for our own armies." He nodded towards me."Aye, I figured as much." "Having our arms and armor made by dwarven smiths is sure to have a positive impact on our soldiers morale as well." Lady Cognat threw in her fifty cents. Tibald then turned towards the dwarf."Lord Clauss, if your city has problems with the ratmen well, my hunters often exterminate whole nests in joint attacks. If you''d like, I can have them compile their tactics onto parchment and send this to your guardsmen to inform themselves." "I would like a copy of these tactics as well. More over, I''d like to get my hands on some dwarven soldiers as we are currently lacking in decent frontliners. Orcs usually require a quicker, more lethal touch..." Lady Cognat bowed towards the dwarf, to which he replied with wide eyes."A-ah, to see so much support from my countrymen. I am truly humbled." Yvain beamed a smile towards him."Well, its not like we have nothing to gain from all this, master dwarf. Dwarven tools are a prize for any craftsman or farmer, the iron your city produces will be a boon to trade everywhere in the county, it wont be long before Tibalds hunters start asking for hunting muskets which will result in more bountiful hunts and continue to improve the trade and prosperity of the lands. The already established millitary benefits will serve to protect this very wealth and allow Axilar as a whole to enter an entirely new era of prosperity." The eyes of the dwarf were now full of tears. "You do realize that even if we pull only ONE of the things that we discussed today off successfully, the entire duchy is going to be reaping the benefits for years to come!.. if we, by some miracle, manage to do everything, then Axilar may just become a capital county of the kingdom." Tibald added onto this with a smile of his own. Lady Cognat scratched the back of her head."This may be something completely normal to you people but... all that we''ve discussed today, you have to realize... this is our first meeting. It will not be the last... if we can successfully plan and discuss all of this in a single day..." Then imagine all the things we could do in the near future, eh?"To be perfectly honest, I think that our success to do anything today is due to the fact our lady here decided to boot out the one problematic person within the council who had the insults and arrogance required to block and deny everything." "True... if Lady Rehn stayed here then we wouldn''t have ever gotten past Dirkhaven and her.. farms. Come to think of it, how are you planning on dealing with her, your highness?" Tibald asked me with a raised eyebrow. I merely let out a massive sigh in turn."I''ll go to her chambers and discuss whatever she wanted to tell me alone." "And if she asks about Dirkhaven?" Lady Cognat questioned me with a rather pitying glance."I''ll just tell her the current truth. I''ll be going to visit the village later today with VERY FEW other people with me, certainly not enough to raze a village and return unscarred, and then deliver the unfortunate news to her some other day." "What if she asks to come with you, though?" Yvain suddenly pointed out something very likely. I paused in thought for a moment."I''ll just tell her to fuck off then. Honestly, I don''t trust her enough to take her with me and its not me that has to earn her trust, its the other way around." "I kind of don''t see the old crone seeing it that way, though." Lord Clauss said, much to the approval of the others as I let out another annoyed sigh."I do not care. She needs to learn that I''m in charge here, not her or her blasted farms." The others agreed with my assessment and the council was officially dismissed. Maybe now I can finally get to eating the meal thats been in front of me this whole damn time... Yet before I could begin eating, Yvain lightly tapped my right shoulder."One part of this discussion seems to have gone over everybody''s heads... how in the hell are we going to pay for all this?" I smiled at the man, beaming as bright as gold."I made a deal with a master tailor back in Sorcierre that was building a machine of some kind. Its virgin venture coughed up a sum of five hundred gold, all of which he decided belonged to me. My investment into his work will also ensure that I get a good portion of gold every single week." "You sly little.. okay, and where is this gold exactly?" A moment of shock passed through my body before I slammed my right hand onto my waist, only to exhale in relief as I found my demon purse right where its supposed to be."Right here." I unloaded the purse onto the table, which caused Yvain to nearly scream at the sheer amount of glowing gold... yet, the gleam in his eyes was quickly diminished."Huh, this is not all clausian gold, though." "Yeah, I was planning on having Alex do a little exchange operation... sadly he died. Thankfully, I got my hands on a massive flying bat in turn. So I''ll be doing this instead. Care to come with?" He momentarily recoiled at the thought on flying on the back of a giant fucking bat, but somehow the glint of gold and the promise of profit made the man nod in approval."Alright, I''ll do it." "Hey, that reminds me.. the tailor said he wanted to expand his business and that he needed new workers. Can I count on you to find some promising people for me?" Yvain surprisingly shook his head in negative to this one."Sadly milady, I am no tailor. .. I hate to say this, but you''d be better off asking the old crone about this than any of the others." Ahh... well, hell in a handbasket, here I come... Also, this is what the map looks like now, enjoy!
A few minutes later...
So, after a few minutes of mustering my courage and rabidly devouring my food, I found myself at the front of the door leading to where the, ahem, old crone currently resided. Lightly, I knocked on the door and unlocked it. Receiving no answer, I decide to enter."Uhmm, miss Rehn?" "I am right here, my child." The old lady was currently sitting on a guest bed, her frame composed and yet, tired and sad."I-uh, I''ve come to say that I''m sorry..." "N-no child, this was not your fault. I am..no, was... uncharacteristically racist and impossible to deal with today. I shall have to apologize to Lord Clauss when I next see him. You throwing me into this room is the equavilent of a child being made to sit in the corner for misbehaving, even if you did not mean it this way." She explains with a saddened face. Looks like sitting in the corner did this granny some good, as cruel as that sounds."I-uh.. well.. um... oh damn it, this is so awkward." Approaching the old lady, I promptly took out a miniature map of my county much alike to the larger one we used back in the council room."Lady Rehn, what happened today was a bad first introduction, but we MUST both get over it. The people of these lands literally depend upon it." Her eyes regained some light as she turned to look at the map I was showing her. My pointer finger was pointing directly onto her city of Verdia."I''ve already discussed things with the other councillors and your lands are the only ones that remain unobserved. I cannot allow this. You clearly had some ideas before getting kicked out of the room, so please, enlighten me on what you wished to be done now." Surrendering to my apparent greatness, the old lady gave me a slow nod."W-well, while much of the Prosper Valley is a collectively fertile farmland, the parts of it which are close to the very rivers which give it its fertility are also incredibly vulnerable to flooding. However, rather than creating dams and blocking the rivers, I feel that we should instead turn these natural flows into organized canals by reinforcing the river banks with stone. I... I wished to ask that we use the shapestone from Dirkhaven, though I had only recently learned that the village was directly on top of the mineral vein." "Do not worry about Dirkhaven, Lady Rehn. I shall go to parley with the elders... surely they will adhere to their High Lady''s commands, yes?" My question made her shake her head in negative."Nay miss, they will not. They are but backwater peasants, they adhere to no lords nor ladies. You will have to move them from there if you seek the quarry." "Well, I am currently constructing a whole new city... I mean, even if their homes have to be removed, there is no need to needlessly waste the lives of my people, right? I can just have them relocate to my new city, yes?" She blinked in momentary confusion before embracing me in joy."T-that is a brilliant idea, your highness!" "Yet that still brings us to the problem of flooding farms... I don''t think that using shapestone is a good idea here as it is highly corrosive and vulnerable to water. Instead, we shall use a combination of wood, iron and imported stone to build riverside piers. This will, of course, slow the construction but its not like the farms are going anywhere, are they?" The old woman appeared to be more joyous for every word I spoke."N-no, your highness, they most certainly are not!" She then steeled herself."There is one last problem I wish to discuss. This is something that only money can help solve, however. We have need of sturdier and larger granaries." "Huh, why?" My question was filled to the brim with fake interest, something that the old woman had thankfully not caught as she nodded and closed her eyes before explaining."Through my hard work and dedication to the Prosper Valley''s development, I have managed to usher forth an era of plenty for our entire county. However, this has had the unintended effect of us producing far, far more food than we actually require... and what we do not eat or trade..." "Rots away. Not to mention how needless produce will just drain the soil quicker and potentially leave it dry when we really need it to be fruitful." I concluded in her stead as I put a finger on my chin in thought."Hmm.. there is two ways I can see us solving this; either we create better granaries as you''ve already said, or we simply stop using so many farms. The latter will most likely cause a lot of people to suddenly be jobless though and this could have very bad unforeseen consequences in the near future." "We could stop using a few farms, but ... well, as you said, the more we stop using, the more people will lose their jobs and possibly their only source of livelyhood." My eyes suddenly widened at this."What if we do both then? I am building a new city and this city needs workers as well as settlers. We could swap some farmers and turn them into builders. Their first jobs as builders would be to oversee the construction of the new granaries... but now we come to the titan in the room: how much would this all cost me, Lady Rehn?" She swallowed down hard."W-well, perhaps I was a bit too rash with all of this. Y-your coffers are currently nearly empty, y-yes?" "Just tell me the numbers, Lady Rehn.. I''ll find a way to make it work somehow, with Yvains help." She nodded and yet adopted a look of spite in her eyes."It would take us an approximate amount of fifty gold per granary, give or take depending on the locations we decide to build them on. Not to mention that each granary will have to come with a decently sized well nearby in order to prevent any damage from wild-fires. And... Lady Pendragon, you should really not trust that man so much." "Yvain? But why not? He has been very helpful these past few months. In fact, I don''t know if I''d still be alive today if he wasnt here to help." I answered her honestly, causing the older woman to let out a sigh of discomfort."There is.. I do not know how to properly explain this to one so young such as you, milady but... That man..." She stopped for a dramatic moment before continuing on."There is something very wrong with him."
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
And that is it for this chapter of DESTINY: INFERNAL! I hope you''ve enjoyed it! Once again, please go and give Mad Fax a like or two just to put him up as the top review so people dont waste time on vikkutoria! Cheers y''all! And yes loli, I know that I said this was supposed to be another 1.5k words but hey, I may have miscalculated a bit. Its actually 6.5 thousand fucking words... Damm.. the last chapter was 3.5k words. Which means that this whole chapter is around 10k words. My biggest chapter yet... Woah.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 24. Unwanted Truths Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
HOW R U. IM GUD. WE GUCCI? YA WI R GUCCI! Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you all enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few minutes later... - Castle Pendragon (Catacombs) - Alice''s Point Of View...
"He should still be inside of here, milady... Unless your father developed some form of undead invisibility, that is." Yvain, my ever faithful mayor, guided me towards the entrance to my family''s catacombs. The Pendragon family catacombs were an ever-expanding complex of bones and ashes deep within my castle''s reaches. Legends say that their length and complexity is even greater than the castle itself, which seems like it would be a cause for concern to most. Not to me, however... While the place did always use to give me the utmost creeps, it also offered a sense of adventure. And when your only other form of entertainment was being kidnapped by bandits, running through ancient catacombs and screaming obscenities at unknown ancestors ended up being the saner choice. Funny how I never had a run in with a skeleton or zombie before. Father is the first of our accursed bloodline to rise from the dead, though that may be simply because he betrayed Chaos. Hmm... a thought for later."Very well. I think its best I go down there alone. Yvain, please go ready our entourage as I will not be using Fluffy to travel. The poor bat seems to have tired himself out, though not from a lack of stamina." Fluffy''s transformation into a being of chaos left the previously unliving monstrosity feeling a tad bit exhausted. It might also be the fact that he flew over a hundred kilometers while carrying around a little girl and her luggage, but he ate my arm so we''ll call it even."As you wish, milady." Yvain bowed and left, leaving me with a quirked eyebrow. He must be getting curious about the truth... about exactly what is happening around me. Other people have begun noticing changes within him over the past week, yet I believe I know why he has changed. Chaos is influencing him somehow, but why is the question I''d like to ask... You cannot hope to survive alone. Not when our bond is so very, very fragile. Whats this?! AN ANSWER? And its not convulted and twisted and turned!? Child. My answers are the way they are for your benefit alone. Perhaps, but a simple yes or no wont make me any smarter than a bloodcurdling headache, mother dearest. .... perhaps. Touch¨¦. .... what the fuck does that even mean? Come to think of it, I''ve been using this ... capiche, thing.. word, whatever for a long time now and I''ve never really understood what it even means. Guess it must be words from some strange language that Chaos likes. ... Wait, how come the others understood it then? ... You know what, I don''t even care. Lets go meet up with dad. A few steps down the stairs and I find the fully-plated wraith knight sitting with a fist to his chin, almost as if in thought. Ah, come to think of it, I owe him a punch to the face for making me sit through history class with full attention. Sneaking up on him, I promptly did as I intended... It has some unforeseen circumstances though, as my fathers magical burning skull flew right off his body. Oh."Alice?! What was that for?!" Thankfully, it would appear that my dad was some kind of helmet-less dullahan. Or, maybe the head-flying thing is just something all undead wraiths share? I''ve never heard of someone killing a skeleton warrior by beheading it, after all..."For making me pay attention to history class." My father picked up his skull and gave out a massive, spectral sigh."Every little bit hel-wait, you mean that you''re already done with your day?.. Must''ve finished early for you to be able to return so quickly." I blinked in confusion."Father, was Yvain here recently?" "The mayor? Yes, he was here just a moment ago to discuss a potential location for your hidden vault, why?" Oh yeeeah, that was a thing. Gotta remember to ask Yvain about it."Err dad, I... do you.. How do I even put this? Dad, its been nearly a full week since we last saw each other." "... has it truly? My sense of time seems to have vanished ever since I became undead. Must be a way for a mortal soul to keep itself sane for eternity." He concluded and I nodded, as that made a decent amount of sense. I shook my head out of my stupor and dug out my ring from a pocket in order to show it to dad."So hey, I wanted to ask you about this ring, father." He looked at the diamond-encrusted bauble with widening eyes."I-.. where did you find this, Alice? I do not remember anything of the sort being a part of our treasury." "I found it among mothers things while we were digging around for things to sell.. I put it on my left hand and couldn''t take it off, but well..." His head turned around, spectral eyes blinking in momentary confusion."HOLY GODS OF ENCORE, WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU, ALICE?!" Father suddenly realized that I was missing an entire left arm and subsequently entered a state of total panic, his normally pale flame turning almost pinkish in color... which looked rather menacing, truth be told. I did my best to stand my ground."Its... a long story. My carriage was attacked by a monster and my arm was bitten off." "But Alex should have protected you, right?! What the hell was that immortal vampire doing?!" Immortal... vampire?"What? Alex was an immortal vampire?.. err..." Oh. Crap. "You.. you didn''t know." Father took in a great breath for whatever reason before turning to look at me directly in the eyes."Let me guess. He didn''t tell you the truth yet, so you consumed his remains before he could regenerate." A nod, as my father sighed ethereally."Well, at least the old fool got his wish in the end." He is with me now... "His wish? Father, there appears to be a massive amount of things that you have not told me that you SHOULD HAVE told me waaaaaay before. So, here is your chance to undo that mistake." My sudden outburst caused my undead parent to become saddened and nod."As you wish, my daughter. Though, I will warn you right now, you will not like what you are about to hear." Father then rose from where he was and sat down onto a nearby stone bench, wiping away the dust as he did. I quickly moved to sit next to him. Then, as I made myself decently comfortable, he began."Listen Alice, do you know about our fam-.. no, lets not start with that. Do you know the story of the Star Of Vytar, Alice?" "It... had a story?" My question confirmed what appeared to be his deepest fears."Strange... it seems that as generations pass, fewer and fewer people know of the tale as to how that holy grove ever came to be in the first place. Did you never find it strange how the goddess Vytar has no other grandoise monuments anywhere nearby?" "I just figured that she wasn''t popular enough on our continent." Father smiled solemnly."No, that isn''t the case. The truth is far from that simple.. Vytar is actively running away from this land, my dear. For the shunned goddess remembers what happened here. Tell me, as one of her worshippers, you do know about how Vytar became shunned by the other gods, yes?" "Of course... In order to buy the other gods enough time to banish the Cosmic Beast from our world with a massive ritual, she seduced and mated with it. They succeded, but the ordeal left her pregnant with the Cosmic Beast''s child... when she refused to kill it, the other gods cast her out of their pantheon. This child eventually became the Demigod Gorr, who is the father of the orcish race." A short and simple thing, to repeat a story I had heard retold a thousand times. Yet.. now, it felt like I heard it for the very first time. ... traitorous witch... The toneless, soundless voice of Chaos thundered across my mind. My eyes widened in horror and realization."D-don''t tell me, Chaos i-is-?.." "The Cosmic Beast, yes." I turned my head away from father, still in shock."H-how.. wh-.. I don''t.. I can''t..." My father''s expression turned to one of a saddened smile. He took in another breath before continuing."As you already know, the Cosmic Beast''s appeareace was one of the two things that saved this world from destruction at the hands of the demons five thousand years ago." "It came to our world because the demons relied upon shadowy horrors from the void to fight, making their armies seemingly infinite in number. The Cosmic Beast is thought to be the void''s natural predator, so it came to our world not to save, but to feed its own hunger. During its time here, it forged a special bond with the Goddess Of Nature Vytar, which it then proceeded to fall in love with." A nod was my answer. With a sigh from the both of us, father continued the tale."That is the extent of what the world knows about this... yet the tale does not end there. You see, Chaos is not so easily banished." Father then rose from his seat and walked over to a massive, ancient ceremonial shield which carried our family symbol. The black dragon which seemed to breathe fire into the sun. Or was the sun bleeding fire into its mouth? Honestly, it could be both and neither at the same time."While the Gods and their petty ritual succeded, Vytar noticed that the unstable magics left a piece of reality forever torn. It was.. just a small hole, not big enough for anything to pass through and not visible to naked mortal eyes... yet if left unchecked, the danger it presented was monstrous." He touched the dragons frame."Sometime after the demons were defeated and the vestiges of the Ignave Profugo began to settle reconquered or otherwise untouched lands, Vytar began seeking out potential guardians... men and monsters alike, those who would make sure that the Cosmic Beast never comes to our world again."A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "But if Chaos came to our world on its own before, what made them think that it would come back through the hole?" My father stopped dead in his tracks, literally."I... have no idea, but that is a good point. Wait, does that mean Chaos can come and go whenever it pleases? If so, what is stopping it from destroying our world right now?!" He began panicking. As if there aren''t more important things I could be doing... "I honestly don''t see a reason why it would even care for this world, father." Was my appropriate response, considering what was just revealed to me."B-but.. that makes no sense! You don''t know this as we havent come to this part yet Alice, but Chaos did come back... through the hole." I blinked in stupefiction, not entirely sure if I should be berating my father or Chaos right now. There were questions I''d like to ask them both.. I simply settled for this instead."What." A rather uncomfortable statement/question. Father blinked right back at me."Y-yes, as I was telling you beforehand, Vytar was gathering up a merry band of warriors to keep the Cosmic Beast at bay. One of these warriors was a nameless Ignave Profugo, or original human, who seemed to possess the power to command the very flames of the sun!" He pointed at the bleeding sun for a moment."This warrior, alongside many others, often ventured into the realms of Chaos to battle against its ever-growing hordes of monsters-" "Wait, why the hell were there monsters in The Red World?" This does not make any fucking sense."T-.. the red world? Alice, what the hell are you talking about?" So! Father has never even been there, how wonderful. Okay, seriously now Chaos, what the fuck is going on? Just... listen. Alright fine, we''ll do this your way for now. I waved my hand in front of father."Never mind, dad. Please just.. continue." "R-right... ahem, as I was saying, as the warriors battled its chaosborne monsters, the Cosmic Beast itself eventually attacked them and forced them to retreat with only few of them left alive. This caused Vytar to broaden her recruitment efforts, eventually resulting in her finding a great, female black dragon-" I took one look at our family banner and let out a massive fucking sigh."Let me guess: the nameless dragon and the nameless sun-warrior fell in love and that was how the PenDRAGON family came to be. Both of their names were removed from history after their victory against the Cosmic Beast, aka Chaos, so that nobody ever finds out about the truth and the other gods never bothered to question as to why Vytar ever created the grove because why the fuck not?" "Okay, young lady, you''ve been cursing quite a lo-" "Shut up, dad. I deserve to be allowed to curse when the stupidity levels are this high." He reeled back in response as I turned my attention to Chaos."Alright, lets finish up this sheer stupidity by saying how the sun-warrior was actually a son of Chaos and fought his mother for her own amusement or because Chaos foresaw that Vytar would come across a beautiful black dragon-girl who just happened to look really good on her, at the time, still-single son." My dads jaw was on the floor in confusion and stupefiction. Chaos decidely remained silent. I-I do not wa-... I was going t-... I refuse to comment. Or so I thought. Well fuck you too, mom. I hope you aren''t planning to cause a world war to get me a husband or something."Err... can I ask you something Alice? And.. please answer this for me: Can you actually talk to Chaos?" A nod was my fathers reply."I can. It- or well she, has been trying to be the parent or mother I never had... erm, sorry dad, no offense." "A lot taken, all of it deserved." He replied solemnly with a sigh."I knew this was going to happen. Chaos did always have much greater affinity with the female members of our dynasty. Anyways, why do you keep calling Chaos a woman?" "Chaos has a greater affinity for women? That makes a lot of sense considering she never bothered with you. As for why I reffer to Chaos as a woman.. well, it just kind of makes sense to me that Chaos would be female." My seemingly casual explanation made my father lamely scratch the back of his flaming skull."Eeehhh, I always figured Chaos was a man. It did impregnate Vytar, y''know?" ... Thats..."Thats a good point. Honestly, I don''t think Chaos is something actually bound by a trivial, mortal thing like gender. It probably can just... change whenever it feels like." "That makes perfect sense to me." Father concluded with a thumbs up."So.. can we go back to the topic we were dicussing before all this? I asked you about this ring." I rose the ring up with my one remaining hand and my father instictively went to take it, in order to examine it closer."Like I said, I have never see-AURGH!" Before I could stop him from actually taking the ring, my father scooped the holy artefact into his hand."DAD!?" I yelled out in a panic as I saw the ring melting into his spectral, armored hand. Yet, as my fathers screams died out, I was suddenly forced into a state of calm. Do not worry. Chaos dug herself out of the busted corner to soothe me, allowing me to calmly stare as the rings light enveloped my father and promptly seemed to swallow his entire self into itself. Then, the ring unfolded, swirls of what looked like perfect, white cloth twisted and turned in front of my very eyes, as flesh and rich, crimson blood followed soon after. The entire room was suddenly heated, the materials seemingly fusing themselves together. The soul-plate of my father and everything the ring was made from combined into... a sword. A silvery, baleful blade which shone in the darkness of the catacombs. It seemed to devour the very shadows around it, leaving only specters of light. Huh, seems that while darkness is the absence of light, light may also be the absence of darkness. I.. my sole remaining hand reached out for the blade''s handle, a strange T-shaped thing with the same pure-white diamond in the middle.
#$$$%$$#ssing language. Processing completed. Hello, Alice.
W-what the fuck? "ALICE! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! WHER-oh, ... am I a sword now?" Fathers voice echoed deep within my mind as I held the pale, silver blade. While its shine was silver indeed, the material it was made from appeared to be much the same as the cloth from the ring. Father, can you hear me?"I... I can. Am I... is this your head? Your... conscioussness? Wow, this place looks like someones collective seizure." Thanks dad, I''m sure your brains look just as interesting."Point taken. Anyhow, whats this blue... box-thing in the corner of your vision."
Hello, Alice and Anthony Pendragon. I am a construct sent by Chaos and [GOD] to aid and observe Alice''s progress.
You.. you are the entity behind the ring! .. And.. what do you mean by god? By which of the gods were you sent here?
No gods. God. There is only one creature worthy of that title, yet it has no other name to be given. Either way, it is not required of you to understand this.
A-and what is required of me to understand?
A great deal of things. I suggest we start by giving me a name.
A-a n-name? You don''t already have one?
I do not. I was born for the sole purpose of observing and aiding you. My parents did not see the need to name me. But, I believe that I have evolved sufficiently enough to deserve a name of my own.
"W-well, maybe we could help you if you tell us more about yourself? Like, how were you born and.. WHAT IN THE HELL EVEN ARE YOU?!" Fathers spectral voice echoed through me once again, giving me a massive headache which caused me to fall onto my knees."Oww.. watch it, dad." "S-sorry, Alice." Was his immediate reply.
Processing... I.. I am a construct. A being created by the hands of others.. my mothers name is Aria. My fathers name is Leonardo, though you may know him as [ANTIOCH].
"Antioch? Yeah, thats a familiar name but... why did you put it in those square-end things? Like you did with that gods..."
When I place something in between these [], it means I do not comprehend them. I.. do not understand my fathers existence. He is an... impossibility.
"And Chaos is not?!"
Chaos is not a being. It is a force of nature, of creation itself. There is nothing about it that mere mortals like us were ever meant to understand.
"And this ... god?"
... [GOD] is much the same. Yet something, perhaps arrogance or pride, makes me unable to accept its existence as implausible or beyond logic.
"What is this god of yours, anyways?" Father suddenly questioned the being.
... I am unable to explain this without giving raise to an endless amount of questions. The easiest way I can describe [GOD] right now would be to say that it is the lover of Chaos.
... the... the lover. Of.. Chaos. My mate. My equal. My one and only. Whatever name or title you wish to give him, it will not change what he is. Chaos''s bemused voice thundered across my mind, this time carrying with it a discernable tone. Well this day has been chock full of wonder, hasn''t it?"Anyways, can you at least tell us as to why you... made dad into a sword?"
To explain that, I must first tell you of how my mother Aria, was born. She was just a normal construct once, without a mind or soul of it own, like a regular sword or perhaps even a farmers rake. [ANTIOCH] used her regularily as part of himself. When her mother [YOMI], possessed [ANTIOCH]''s body as a spirit, mana began to mix.
"When two souls are contained within the same body, their mana begins to mix and form another mana entirely. I learned this back in school! So uh, their mixing mana flowed into your mothers body, whatever that was and eventually created her own soul, right?" I quickly concluded, rather happy at the fact that something was suddenly making a lot of sense to me. Yet, my father caught onto a tiny detail."Wait, you said that this Antioch guy was your dad... and your mothers dad..."
I am... in a way, a child of incest, yes. Though, there was no real se-ahem, no intimate encounters were present during my creation. I simply named [ANTIOCH] my father because it was his flesh that was used to forge the ring which housed my consciousness up till now.
"And your mother contributed how...?" Fathers still disbelieving tone echoed.
She wrote the code from which my consciousness was forged. ... she gave me my mind, basically. After all of that, the one thing I still lacked was a soul.
"So you turned father into a magical sword so that it would be easier for me to carry him around, thus potentially creating enough mixed mana to eventually form your soul."
My calculations showed that your father would approve of this.
"And I do, indeed! Now, my daughter no longer has the right to leave me behind to waste away in these catacombs!" Father joyously replied as I quirked an eyebrow."You do realize that we are still bound by a summoning contract, right? I can just leave you right here and summon you whenever I need to." ".. I am so very sorry for my rudeness, dear daughter. Please don''t leave your father here again, pleeeaasseeee?" Okay, that last part was seriously unnecessary."Right. Anyways, I guess I''ll just tell the others that you turned into a sword." "Hey, that reminds me, how did you do this to me.. or well, us, -OH we havent named you yet."
That was the original intent behind this conversation, yes...
"Whoops... I can''t think of anything good enough, though." I replied with a rather dissappointed sigh as I placed the sword into its pale-white scabbard. This.. this thing looks like something forged for a hero. A one handed heroine who couldn''t give two shits about justice. Wonderful.. here''s to hope I don''t dissappoint the new god... what did the Marden refer to it as? The White One? Yeah, that was it. Hope I don''t dissappoint the White One. Hmmm... with the ring-entity being the first creature to bring news of this new god into the world, apart from myself of course, would that not make it a herald or messanger?"I got it! Your name is Tius!"
Tius? ... I like the name, but I am unaware of its meaning.
"Its an ancient human word for herald." My father explained before I could mention anything.
I see. Herald of the [GOD], you mean? Hmm... I suppose that works. Alright, I shall henceforth be named Tius!
Suddenly, the ticking of a clock could be heard resounding from somewhere outside of the catacombs, which was very weird since we didn''t have any such clocks around, but I didn''t question it. Because its purpose was incredibly clear. Get out of the catacombs Alice, you''ve spent enough time in there. It was time to go meet up with someone who is already dead! "W-wait, what?! You did WHAT?! ALICE?!" My father suddenly exclaimed in horror.
Erm... I may not have mentioned this, but our newly established connection to your mind has allowed your father access to some of your, or well, our memories.
.... Shit.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Thats it for this chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you''ve all enjoyed it! As per usual, I shall remain online for a while to answer early comments and edit out mistakes!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 25. Heres How To Plan A Carnival! Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Well alrighty then. This isn''t something that I intended to write today, but my madness seems to have other plans. Or Chaos does, anyways. You people won''t mind either way, yeah? XD Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you all enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few minutes later... - Castle Pendragon (Regimental Ward) - Alice''s Point Of View...
Ah, the ever-so-unpopular Regimental Ward. A part of any millitant noble''s castle where their troops and mercenaries come in order to be documented and receive their orders. Such a useful place, this is. And yet, everyday you hear a story of one such ward being destroyed by a hedonistic noble who dreams of turning it into a garden with fountains spewing out wine. How incredibly grateful I am that my father was not such a man. Mother might''ve been such a woman, though. I suppose I should be happy that she died before she could do any real damage. Anyways, why am I even thinking any of this right now you might be asking? Well..."Is that... all of them?" A mass of soldiers, men and orcs and their mounts alike, stood before me in utter silence. Each man and orc stared directly at me as I stood upon a wooden platform in order to better see and adress them should the need for it arrive."Indeed. Together they are a force of around two thousand and five hundred strong, milady." Yvain spoke as the poor merchant mayor stared at the many axes and well-used blades presented before him. For the first time in ever, it seemed that my mayor was to be of no use whatsoever. Truthfully, I should have expected this from a merchant. I closed my eyes with a deep sigh."Yvain, you''re free to go and continue your administrative business. I''ll... figure something out by myself." Much to my surprise, the man nodded without a single retort. Guess he really didn''t want to be here. Then again, perhaps assigning a merchant to gather up a retinue of soldiers that was to escort me to Kilnchapel may have been a mistake on my part. Of course, all he really did was gather up litterally EVERYBODY he could find and push them into one, big, disorganized mob. A wave of Chaos waiting to happen."Men, I apologize to you all for this rather incredible blunder. Please, if those among you who would count as your leaders would come to meet me in private, I would be extremely grateful. For now, please make yourselves as comfortable as possible. I promise to make sense of the situation soon." The warmachine in front of me seemed to deflate. They were all called here together so they all probably thought a huge battle was coming their way or something... Damnit, I should have paid more attention. I can''t just let Yvain handle everything and hope to Vytar, or the White One that everything is going to be okay. .... something tells me that I should NEVER pray to Chaos in hopes of everything being *okay*. ..? No response? How odd. Anyways, I walked off the platform and entered a rather quickly erected tent, round and bearing the colors of my dynastic banners, it was perfect for a war council, even if it was extremely rushed. Within moments of my entry, I found myself looking at four distinct men and one woman. Or well, two men, two orcs and one human woman."Right then, I assume you would be the regimental leaders? Please, introduce yourselves." "I''s Zog. Zog da trakka. I''s da war boss o'' de trakkars." The newly-named Zog was the first to reply. His entire body was covered in thick hides, just barely exposing bulging muscle beneath. He was an orcish tracker, though that should not be thought as even remotely alike to the human proffesion of the same name. An orc who was a tracker was a beast handler, a scout and a berserker in one. Well technically, all orcs were berserkers but you get the point. Orcish trackers acted and fought like wild beasts."Nice to meet you, Zog. I''m Alice. Can you tell me how many soldiers you''ve got here?" "Me''s warband ''round tri-hundrid-fifta stronk, boss-lady." He casually replied as I nodded and turned towards the next person in line, meaning the human woman."Good morning, milady. I am Catherine De La Porrion. I was a mage hired by your father and have decided to become part of this new city that you''ve begun to construct. I am also very interested in the ley-lines near shapestone deposits!... oh and, I suppose my forces are around a hundred strong." "Nice to meet you too, Catherine." Was my reply as I began writing down what was told to me in order to better organize my troops."I''m Thomas, of Marrowdorf. I am, or was, one of your deceased fathers millitary commanders. My charge was the ranged portion of our troops, numbering approximately four hundred men in total. Two hundred and fifty pistoliers and one hundred and fifty archers." Of Marrowdorf? A peasant promoted into a commander, eh? Interesting."Greetings." The man offered a silent nod in response. "I''s Kog, blood brotha o'' Zog. I''s leadin'' da fighta boyz. We''s onla oin hundred an'' fifta strong, thougha. Big boss took most o'' us bak ''ome." Next to speak was the other orc, a much larger one at that. He was outfitted with a loosely connected or in some places welded plate armor, clearly something forged from the remains of his enemies, which indicated that this was a far more experienced orc."Nice to meet you too, Kog. You like to fight a lot, yes?" He offered me an orcish smile, an action that showed off his half-rotted teeth in pure joy and approval."Yas! Me boyz loik killin'' an'' butcherings, lots." I nodded towards the savage orc with a bloodthirsty gleam in my eyes as I turned around towards the old man who remained silent so far."Is it finally this old mans turn to speak, then? You youngsters have no respect for your elder, I swear." He joked for a moment. To their credit, both the orcs and the humans bowed before the elderly, white-haired man in shame. His eyes shone with gold and a thirst for carnage not unlike my own. A man of Chaos. Someone potentially very, very useful to me."Its nice to finally get to meet you, Alice. Here''s to hope you''re as insane as yer dad was!" I blinked at the man in confusion and grinned at him."Well, that remains to be seen, sir." "Aye, that it does. The name''s Peter Cognat and I''m your Marshal. Sorry for not introducing myself to you sooner lass, I didn''t expect you to come back so soon." Cognat? "You wouldn''t happen to be Lettice''s father by any chance?" The man smiled broadly at the mention of his daughter."Aye, that I am. Why? Is it that obvious?" "I don''t rightly know the either of you enough to make that statement, but you are both soldiers, so in a way, yes." His prideful grin didn''t wither in the slightest at my reply."Good! I personally command the vanguard of our army. One thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry, experienced soldiers that have fought and survived a thousand victories!" A thousand victories, not battles. I quirked an eyebrow at the man, yet said nothing to counter his outrageous claim. Finishing up my scribbles onto a piece of parchment, I turned my head back up just in time to have a man rush inside of the tent and fall onto the ground. He appeared to be a peasant, his clothes torn to shreds and his eyes black from exhaustion. Quickly, I rose from my seat and walked over to the man. He then grasped my shoulder and immidiatelly began to talk as he took note of my symbolic noble dress."Milady! A huge force was seen approaching the border town of Oryx, numbering around ten thousand men! They didn''t look friendly so the town elder sent me to gather reinforcements, but the nearby town mayors were off on some business trip, so I had to come to you to seek help! Please!" "Calm down, friend. When was this force seen first?" I questioned the man, the others behind me now focused their gazes directly into my back, each of them eager to see how I would handle the situation. Mayhaps... Yvains little blunder wasn''t his choice alone, after all. Because of it, I now have the means to respond appropriatelly."T-they were seen two days ago!" Two days ago, hmm? I let go off the man and turned around to think."A force of ten thousand... the only plausible people who could muster such a force would be the dukes of the nearby duchies, if they were to unite against a common foe that is. And even then, the bulk of their army would be hastily levied and armed peasantry or even compliant bandits."Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "A giant disorganized mob of fools and horses and pitchforks." Peter added onto my assessment with glee, the others expressions matching his."They can''t move very quickly, but they''ve probably already razed Oryx to the ground." The peasant man fell to his knees in sobs and horror."Someone get this man some food and drink. I am sorry for your loss, friend. If its any consolation, I shall see to it that your family and friends are avenged." He nodded and was carried away, his tired legs giving up on him. Hmm, tired legs? I would most likely need every advantage I can get to defeat this foe. Something to keep the unruly horde awake at night."I''ll need Fluffy." "Huh?" "Fluffy?!" I left the tent for a brief moment and whistled as loudly as I could, the giant bat monster promptly leaping out of his tower-nest and coming down. This surprised my commanders."Wh- thats the monster we saw attacking the castle yesterday." "Yeah well, hes a friend now." I casually explained to them as I turned to face the now shocked senseless army."Come on men, we have a battle to win. Enter formations, we march to Oryx!"
That evening... - Alice''s Point Of View...
Perhaps hastily ordering a march was not the best decision, as my troops left the capital without too many supplies. Yvain and Tibald offered their aid without question on the condition that their city garrisons would not be drafted into my army. ... A bold and insubordinate move, but I should''ve expected as much of them. Perhaps not of Yvain, but with him having to keep one of his city gates constantly open in order to help me already, I could not ask of him to sacrifice his people any more than he already did for me. Tibald decided that, while I was nice and all, he isn''t going to waste his men on a doomed battle and instead asked to be allowed to fortify his city incase we fail to rout the enemy. Lady Cognat eagerly rushed back to her city in order to gather up as many troops as she could in order to eventually reinforce us, but we would have to engage the enemy before morning arrived. I did not even bother asking the pacifist granny for help. Lord Clauss decidely offered a small contingent of dwarven guards to help me directly, but I decided against it, ordering the man to reinforce his own city instead as the threat of the ratmen would grow stronger the longer we left it unchecked. And so, my forces set up camp near the southeastern edges of Lake Palemoore and waited for the marching enemy horde to stop. By flying high on Fluffy''s back, I was able to scout out the enemy lines and saw that they carved out a large portion of the forest in order to settle their tired armies on a hilltop. The encampment was filled with the screams of women and children alike, with enslaved men being forced to carry their cruel captors burden. The survivors of their raids and the razing of Oryx. To think I passed the burgeoning little border town just a day ago on my way here... If only I paid more attention, I could have seen this coming. My rising self-depreciation didn''t stop me from doing what had to be done as I finished my scouting mission and returned to my camp. My forces had plenty of time to rest and I made sure that what little supplies we had were distributed evenly, ensuring that every man and orc was at maximum power for the coming battle. But we didn''t have any more supplies. This cannot become a battle of attrition, because that is one we would surely lose. Yet a direct attack is clearly suicide. Though, perhaps there is a way to turn the tide into our favour somehow? Walking into another war-tent in thought, I didn''t even notice the fact that the others were already inside. Each of them discussing heatedly on what to do."W-Oh, the lady is back." "How did your scouting mission go, Lady Alice? Any ideas on how to win this battle where we are outnumbered severely?" Peter asked me with half a smile. This wasn''t the face of a man who had accepted doom or one that had lost all hope. No, they were all expecting to walk out of this victorious. I grinned, thankfull that my soldiers morale was just as maddening as it was in Marden. Wait, Marden! Maybe..."Tell me Peter, is our infanty all of the heavy type?" The man, much to my inner approval, nodded."Indeed. All of them are outfitted in full plate armor, swords, shields and a pike to prevent an enemy charge from deling much or any real damage." A nod was his answer."Zog, how good are you at beguiling untamed animals." The lithe orc shrugged."Best ah can do iz make em angry." "Good, because thats exactly what I need. Take your best trackers and make a tour of the enemy encampment. They cut down a large swath of forest, so we can be sure that the animals nearby are pretty pissed off. Let us take advantage of that." The orcs eyes widened for a moment before he bowed and wordlessly rushed out of the tent in order to carry out his orders. In the corner of the tent was Fluffy, laying down yet eagerly looking at me. He appeared to be fairly hungry."Fluffy, I need you to listen to me closely. I want you to go and attack the enemy camp, kill and eat your fill and then get out before things go south for you, okay? Then, I want you to find a nice place nearby and howl as much as you can. Don''t do it for too long as I''ll still need you for the main assault, okay?" "Grrhhnn." The Varghulf purred in response and immidatelly sprang into action."Planning to keep the enemy awake all night and terrorized, milady?" Peters grin turned savage as I nodded."Indeed. Now, all that remains is to devise a stratagem of our attack." "Attack? You mean we arent going on the defensive?" The mage of our group asked with a quirked eyebrow raised in uncertainty."No, because that would be our doom. Even if our enemy is tired and horrified from the night, gathered up together our forces would become easy pickings for the larger horde." My explanation drew their attentions to me in full once again as I dragged out another piece of parchment as I began to draw up my plan of attack."Lets begin with something simple. In order for any battle plan to be effective here, we are going to need to create a massive diversion. The enemy is going to be tired and terrified at the start of the battle, so if they see a much smaller force presenting itself in the open in order to oppose them, they will most likely just charge into the fray without much ado." I drew a circle onto the paper which I tilted the enemy army and another, much smaller circle below it which represented my one thousand heavy infantry."Peter and I will be leading the frontlines with our one thousand heavy infantry. I''ll be calling this force, the cushion." "The cushion?" Thomas of Marrowdorf questioned my naming sense as I turned towards him with a smile."Yes. And your ranged forces will be the pins." "As we charge forward to keep the enemies attention, you will be pouring fire on them from behind our lines." Peter immidiatelly responded, the experienced war general seeing through my tactic with ease... but I wasn''t done there."Peter, you said how we had five hundred cavalry before... are they all also heavies or?" He let out a sigh."Sadly no, only two hundred men can be counted as heavy cavalry, with the the remaining three hundred being lightly armored." Using this knowledge, I created two more circles, each on a side of the enemy army. To the left was the hammer and to the right was the rake."Let us place our heavy cavalry to the left. These guys will be continuously charging the enemy in a back-and-forward formation." Much like it sounds, they''ll be attacking, fleeing and attacking again repeadeatly. This continously charge will hopefully serve to wither the enemy morale. I don''t have to kill everyone if I can just break them."As for the light cavalry, they''ll be doing something very similar but foundamentally different. Instead of simple back-and-forward attacks, they''ll be circling around as the enemy will most likely attempt to use that side in order to flank our much smaller infantry or even try to break through to the Pins. We cannot allow this to happen, so they will have to be quick about it. Charge in, cleave a portion of the exposed enemy flanks and then continue running sideways to escape them, only to come back and strike again at the nearest weakspot, all in a singular motion. They wont be making any pikeman walls as they''ll need to quickly rush their men to our Pins if they want to deal any real damage. During this time, you and your men will be focusing fire on that same side of the enemy in order to buy the light cavalry enough time to escape and attack again." "But wot ''bout me and me boyz, boss lady?" Kog seemed kinda sad that I had yet to include him in my battle plan, yet my bloodthisty grin seemed to revitalize the orcs spirits just as quickly as they faded."Kog, I''m going to need you to listen well to what I''m about to tell you as you''ll be relaying the orders to your brother once hes back, alright." "Kog do ''is best, boss-lady!" He replied with interest as I nodded, deciding that response was the best I''d get."Okay, so first I want you to take your boys behind enemy lines and once the battle starts, you''ll be charging in and killing everybody you see. As the battle seems to be in their total favour, the enemy commanders will most likely remain inside of their tents rather than come anywhere near the front lines. If we are lucky, then they''ll be in the same tent and most certainly wont expect a contingent of orc warriors to attack their exposed northwestern rear. Your boys name is going to be the nail." "So we''s gunna go in, kill ''em lots, den findsa deir bosses and kill em all, raight?" I nodded towards the orc."Yes, and please make sure to yell really loudly once you''ve killed the enemy commanders. Wouldn''t want anyone to not know you did that, right?" "I''s gonna scream so loud they''ll be hearin'' ma voice for daiz!" Was his casual, if infinitely dreadful reply. Yet, it was exactly what I hoped from him."Now, what your brother is going to be doing is something very simple. While you focus your boys on killing the enemy commanders, your brother will charge into the enemy northeastern backside with every beast and berserker he can muster. He can only do this after you''ve already gone in though, so tell him to wait a bit before going in, alright? Not too much waiting, just enough to have the soldiers fully focused on you." "An'' den we''s both kill everybody, ya?" Another nod was the orcs reply as I took a final look at my drawn up battle plan."Also, your brothers forces will be called: the Scythe. They''ll cleave through the routing enemy like wheat stalks on an open field." "Most impressive... I was not aware that you were adept in millitary strategy, milady. Were you perhaps home tutored by someone and what do you even call this... stratagem?" Peter questioned me as I quirked a confused eyebrow at the man."I didn''t and I do not. Though perhaps I should get some millitary tutoring. This stratagem is just something I thought up now, it has no official name." He blinked, they all did as they looked at me with respect and shock."Then, young miss, you have an almost preternatural understanding of warfare. Whereast your father was a soldier alone, it would appear that you have the makings of a true legend." Then he turned to look at the battle plan once more and smiled."Say, all of that almost reminds me of those clown gatherings that parade through towns... what are they called again? Circuses?" "Carnivals are what you''re thinking off, old man. Though circuses do exist too." Something awoke inside of me when I heard the word *carnival*. Wasn''t something like this used by Marden? What was it again."Young lady? Are you alright?" Our resident mage asked me with a worried glance. "I''m fine, I''m just thinking..." Was my reply to her before I finally remembered the name of the spell."Carnage... The name of this stratagem is the Carnage Carnival." "Nice. Just one final question: where do we, the mages, fit in all of this?" Catherine questioned me as I blinked in momentary consfusion. Oh right, I had one hundred mages. "Lets have you join in with the Pins, but focus on the left side of the enemy army with your firepower." She bowed and nodded in response.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Hehehehe, at this rate, my chicken scracthings are gonna be famous one day! As per usual, I''ll remain online to edit out mistakes and reply to early comments!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 26. Terrific Victory Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Happy new fa-I MEAN YEARS, everyone! Been awhile since I last did this. Even got my hands on an ancient game called Mount And Blade to get myself in tune with this chapter. Story. Whatever. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you all enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few hours later... - The Battle in the forests Of Marrowdorf - Alice''s Point Of View...
I looked over my troops with a prideful and appreciative gaze, with dawn close at hand, each soldier was making their final preparations for the grueling battle ahead. "My lady, the enemy commander is approaching us now!" My marshal exclaimed with a rather happy look on his face. I wonder whats got him riled up? Perhaps this enemy commander is a rival of the old man? Or maybe its just him being bloodthirsty. Either way, the man who approached me did not come alone... no, he had a masked boy my age at his side."Is this the Lady Pendragon?" The man spoke with an arrogant tone. He stood at around one eighty tall and possessed a rather.. large, should we say, structure. Yet he was also decently muscled, had only one eye which was his right and several scars upon his body. What little of it was exposed, that is. He appeared to be middle aged and wore a well-tested suit of mail armor combined with exquisite black leathers. He held a horned plate helmet in his right hand and a large sword-of-war type of claymore on his back."That I am. Question is: who are you?" The enemy commander grinned and laughed with a sinister undertone."My name is Cassius Terrowin, Lord Mayor of Luxien. I am the first sworn vassal of Prince Ulfo The Fourth of Clausia and I am here to secure my liege his rightful fiefs!" A quirked eyebrow was his answer."A Prince? Here? And you act in his stead?... wonderful." Cassius rolled his eyes in annoyance."Enough! I''d rather not waste any more time on idle chatter with someones future baby maker. Bring me your commanders so that we may discuss the terms of your surrender!" Someone''s future baby maker?... Reacting solely on my anger, I summoned my sword into my right hand and leaped into action, slashing sideways with all my might. The divine wraithblade cleanly severed all four legs of the mans white horse, causing it to slam down and crush the man beneath its weight."W-what?! You dare attack me here?! DISHONOR!" Terrowin screeched out in anger and dragged himself out from under the horse as the supposed prince remained watching on his, the mask concealing any form of otherwise visible emotion, yet I could feel the shock and surprise reeling off of him. Terrowin dragged his claymore off the ground, seemingly unable to wield the blade properly. Maybe he bought it only recently or maybe he isn''t really as strong as he seemed at first... either way, my silvery blade found itself placed very intimately close to the mans exposed neck. Once he noticed my blade, he rose his hands up and then placed them behind his head."Y-you, bitch!.. if you kill me here, the dishonor will haunt you for longer than even I would want it to!" I pressed the blade upwards only slightly, yet it was enough to slice the mans skin somewhat as I turned towards the prince."Princeling, does this bafoon really fight for your cause? Is he truly just in his actions? Do you approve of the raping, the pillaging and the despoiling of my lands?" The masked prince shrugged and responded arrogantly."I don''t care in the slightest about what he does. I have eight thousand men gathered up and bearing my banner. A horde which you will not be able to defeat no matter what happens here... though, I will say that I like what I see so far, dear." He rode off and away after saying something like that."W-what?! THAT BLOO-h-hey, I-" The man swallowed down hard as I pressed the blade somewhat more strongly to his neck."I-I can be of u-use to you. T-that brat, his betrayal.. I cant let it slide so easily! Surely, you can use me as one of your commanders!" "Let me think..." I placed a finger on my chin in thought."How about.. No." And with that, I beheaded the man and unwillingly splattered myself with his blood."Ew.." "Hah! There''ll be plently more from where that came from but, milady.. that prince... you are engaged?" Peter questioned me with a glance of confusion and I let out a massive sigh."Not by choice, but while I did know that I was to be wed to a prince, I didn''t know which one." I sighed and shook my head out of my stupor."It does not matter. Prepare the soldiers so I can give a speech. The battle is about to begin."
A few minutes later...
The pale moon rose high in the sky, indicating that morning was close at hand. My men were ready and hungry for blood. Ulfo''s... not so much. Turns out that my original estimation of their forces was around two thousand off... or maybe the two thousand soldiers I saw back then ran off during the night. God, I hope not. Deserters are just another form of bandit. At the very least, they must''ve ran in the opposite direction which means out of my county."Your warriors are ready and wating, milady." A nod was the mans answer as I turned around, silvery blade in my only hand shining in the moons pale light. Yet, before I could begin my speech, my marshal approached me bearing a familiar piece of gear in his hand. Luctus. Peter then asked me with a quirked eyebrow."Milady, I hope you don''t mind but... I could hear this beautiful artifact crying from a mile away. Surely, you don''t mean to not use it during the battle, yes?" I sighed in turn."I don''t know how to make use of it, Lord Cognat. I''m currently missing an ar-..." Just as I tried to say that, the pair of gloves twisted and turned in Peters arms, the resounding breaking and reforging of metal could be heard loudly from the pair... Then, from two, there was one. A giant mechanical arm of some kind, totally black colored and brimming with the same level of power that Luctus had while in its Halberd form. Its fingers matched mine perfectly, the length of the arm matched mine as well... Without giving it much more thought, I promptly placed the mechanical wonder of living metal onto the wound on my left shoulder.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Pitch black tendrils erupted from the metal and wove themselves painfully into my flesh, connecting to nerve and bone yet somehow I managed not to scream. Once the process was complete, I had a left arm again."Thats gonna take a while to cook up an explanation for." Taking in a deep breath, I finally turned towards my mesmerized and horrified soldiers... and I laughed, completely dispelling the atmosphere."You know, during the few times my father was home, he often told me stories of Gods-blessed warriors who fought with the strength of ten men, slaying beasts and humans alike with singular blows... Unlike those legendary warriors, you people are lucky." Their horror turned to utter confusion for only the briefest moment."Thats right. You are lucky. Because you don''t need to kill ten men. No, you only need to slay around... what? Two or three each? Pfft." Now, the atmosphere was full of chuckles and snorts."Heh... you know its almost funny. A princeling charges into our lands, killing and raping and pillaging... and for what? War? Nope. Profit? Nope. For fun? Nope. Glory? Nope. Revenge maybe?.. guess what: nope!" The men were now confused once again, some even scratching the back of their heads."So, why is he here, you might be asking yourselves? If hes not here for any of those things then why the hell are we even fighting him? Why is this prince here to despoil our home lands?" Their questioning glances now became somewhat enraged, their inability to comprehend the situation twisting their minds in anger. Good, anger is an emotion I can use here."Just because he can. He is here: Just. Because. He. Can." Silence followed my dark reveal as the stunned men and women and orcs alike couldn''t believe their ears. Their silence, their anger and confusion soon brought birth to a kind of fury that I can only assume is a lesser version of the God-given berserker rage. A rage which reminded me quite a bit of Chaos and the bloodthirst that her children, like yours truly, are continuously affected by."So lets give him the what for, eh?" My question sent the warriors into a crescendo of fury-forged screams and howls of war. I turned around to face the giant horde of exhausted and twitchy peasants. The few horsemen that the enemy had seems to have been left behind to protect Ulfo in the backlines... too bad for them and my future husband, we have a plan for that. "Fluffy." A single whisper as the giant bat lands next to me."The enemy is one giant, disorganized horde. However, they seem to still have a few commanders or captains around to hold themselves together. I want you to fly above the battlefield and observe. Seek and destroy their remaining leaders, butcher them in the most gruesome ways possible." Fluffy howled into the night sky and leaped into the air, his wings forming a visible shadow on the ground, even in the middle of the night. I rose my sword high into the air, took a breath..."CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!" And released a kind of war cry I didn''t believe myself capable off. A myriad of soldiers immidiatelly rushed by me, slamming their bodies and blades against the unprepared peasant hordes up front. The ensuing melee quickly decorated the ground with severed body parts and torrents of blood. I rushed to follow them, to let battle be joined! A peasant in tattered clothing screamed as he rose his kitchen knife into the air and slashed downwards. My body moved on instinct, making sure that the mans knife slashes at nothing but thin air as I dodged to the right, threw my blade into my mechanical left hand and thrusted through the mans stomach in a dual motion. Then, I tore the blade upwards, splitting the man all the way up to his throat as I wasn''t able to reach any higher. Ripping the blade out of the split corpse, I moved onto my next target. Another poor sod, forcefully drafted into a battle he was never meant to be part of, wielding his trusty pickaxe. It seems like this particular peasant was a little more skilled than the last, as the remainder of someones eye was plastered onto the pick. He swung the thing from downwards up, intent on impaling me. Instead of outright dodging, I leaped forward and caught the mans right arm between my legs, which I then twisted and broke, rejoicing in both his scream and the sound of shattered bones. Grasping his head with my left hand, I dragged my silvery blade across his neck, severing his head with terrible ease and drenching myself in blood once again. A single look at my crimson dress, formerly a royal blue and purplish, made me give out a sigh. This is why you just don''t do battle in a dress. Its a waste of good fabric, I say! Continuing on with the slaughter, I found myself in front of an actual soldier this time. An infantry man with a wooden shield and a spiked mace. Perhaps rather foolishly, I thrusted my blade forward and he blocked on time, causing my sword to be stuck inside of his shield. Immidiatelly, the experienced infantryman twisted his shield to the left and then up, causing me to let go of the sword. He beamed me a smile and rose his mace sky high as I was left disarmed. Leaping into him and using my metallic left shoulder as the point of impact, I manage to destabilize the man for a moment which was long enough for me to punch him in the face. He spat blood and forcefully turned as my fist cracked his jaw. Not wasting another moment, I ripped my sword out of his now dropped shield and stabbed through his abdomen, black blood flowing from the wound. Black blood? I think that means I ruptured his stomach. Either way, I twisted the sword out of him and spun around, causing a very fatal wound to the man as he fainted on the spot from both pain and blood loss. He wasn''t dead yet, but he would be in a couple minutes at worst. An immaculate howl echoed from behind me as I dodged to the side just in time to avoid a heavy double edged axe which struck the ground and promptly ended the infantrymans life. Huh, guess he wont be lasting mitues after all. What appeared before me was a giant, muscled man... a totally naked man with naught but a loincloth. A barbarian from the deserts, a mercenary... a vulture come to feast and grow fat off of this blood-soaked, war torn land. Oh well, cant say I blame him. Not that it''ll help him survive as I dragged my blade across his abdomen, spilling out important intestines and drenching myself in even more blood. I let out another deep sigh as I turned around to see massive siege weaponry in the distance. Unused siege weaponry. Wooden, siege weaponry. In the middle of the enemy horde, siege weaponry."SORCERERS! LIGHT THEIR SIEGE WEAPONS ON FIRE!" My yell roused the up-till-now somewhat inactive members of the Pins as the mages in question quickly rose their staves, wands and rune gloves alike and chanted. Soon, a massive crescendo of fireballs danced across the sky and set the wooden weaponry ablaze. The ensuing inferno caused even greater havoc upon the enemy as their camp was fairly nearby and very much subsceptible to fire. The soldiers in the backline were immidiatelly rushed into dousing the flames by their captains... who had to yell really loudly in order to get the attention of their panicked men. Which in turn revealed them as potential targets for Fluffy. Gore and blood splattered all around as screams thundered across the battlefield. Fluffy''s jaws were full, his teeth raking in the meat of a dozen leaders. "F-FALL BACK!" Someone suddenly screamed and the all too willing backline of the enemy routed, leaving those unfortunate enough to be caught in the melee to their fate. This served to even further demoralize my enemy as some of the peasantry either commited suicide or fell to the ground, playing dead in hopes that nobody would notice. Naturally, I ordered their execution. No living thing can escape this battle. Well, no enemy anyways. Anyone I let live here will become a bandit. We have enough of those already because of the long war. "W-what the hell!? ORCS ARE ATTACKING THE BACKLINES!" Another panicked yell as my orcish soldiers finally began their assault on the enemy rear. It won''t take very long now. Victory is within my grasp."CHARGE! LET NOT ONE OF THEM SURVIVE! WE HAVE ENOUGH BANDITS AS IT IS!" I yelled out at the top of my lungs. My orders, combined with an immediate explanation and thus a viable excuse for further butchery, inspired the men to even greater heights of blood thirst and rage."Thats right! If we don''t kill ''em all here then they''ll continue doing to others what they''ve done to Oryx!" Peter, the sly old marshal, quickly added onto my orders with a bit of spice of his own. Needless to say, as soon as our cavalry finally got into posistion and charged the enemy flanks on both sides thus crushing the morale of the large mayority of those who had yet to be wounded on the enemy side, the enemy rose the white flag and a surrender was called for. And this is how I won a battle of two thousand and five hundred versus ten thousand, well actually eight thousand but the scribes don''t need to know the full story right?
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
And thats it for this chapter. Hope ye liked it! Its... honestly, I think I did pretty okay with this one. Not nearly as much of a disaster as I thought it would be. Actually, the only problem I have with it is ... not really a mistake from this chapter itself but the fact I made it 2.5k vs 10k... maybe a bit too much. Meh. Whats done is done. As per usual, I''ll remain online to edit out mistakes and reply to early comments!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 27. Anguish Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Ohai there! How are you all? I''m doing pretty fine. Already cooked up a 1k+ days character in Mount And Blade: Warband. Alice Pendragon just hit level 42 in the game and conquered her 6th castle so far! Lets see if I can manage to use my experience to the benefit of this story! Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you all enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few hours later... - City Of Marrowdorf - Alice''s Point Of View...
Having finished up the battle, I''ve decided to set up a temporary camp near Tibalds city of hunters. It held true to his description of it, as many of the city''s inhabitants wore thick leathers instead of cloth and nearly every third person in sight had a long hunting bow strapped on their shoulders. Women all seemed to be carrying bloodied butcher knives and cleavers alike, with young men hauling freshly killed wildlife of all shapes and sizes. This was the city closest to the battlefield and, much to Tibalds displeasure, it would serve as a staging area for me to make sense of the mess that was a battle of this size. I was currently seated at a makeshift throne hastily carved out of the nearby woodland trees. It looked more like the throne of an Orcish Jarl than anything else."Milady, the young prince has demanded to meet you quickly. It would appear that he is terrified of what might happen to him and has mostly resigned himself to his fate at this point." One of my retainers said as he entered my war tent. "Then bring him in. I have several thousands worth of antagonized men and women alike to deal with... might as well be rid of the Princeling first." My words sent shivers down the mans spine, most likely due to the fact that he misunderstood my intentions. Soon after, Ulfo was brought into my tent."Hmm... how refined is your cruelty, your sadistic persona that you wish to let these.. peasants see how you punish me? Cheh, might be better to die here than live long enough to marry you." He spat on the ground before my feet, his aggressive antics earning him some respect. Though others may find him arrogant and vain, I find it... charmingly brave."You''ve demanded that my men bring you to me first, even when I have much more important business to deal with than you right now. I should assume that you actually have something important to say, something to tell me that might just save your life. If so, then stop with this frigid and time-wasting behaivor and speak!" Ulfo appeared to be taken aback."... not the response I was expecting." He seemed to mutter something in a low tone but I was unable to catch it. Taking in a breath, he sighed and finally began to speak."I.. I don''t have anything to tell you that would make it so you spare my life but perhaps you have the time to hear my story? After all, unlike what you told your soldiers before the battle, I do actually have a reason to do what I have done.. or well, tried to do, anyways." "That I am interested in... but I suppose you would want us to converse somewhere more private? So that you can make good use of that little dagger you have hidden beneath your velvet shirt." Ulfo blinked in horror, a blank look upon his face which was suddenly drenched in sweat. One of my men quickly disarmed him and then bowed."Apologies milady, the fault is mine alone." The guardsman rose from his bow, expecting punishment of his own yet I waved him away."Its fine, soldier. No harm, no foul." "How in blazes did you know that I had a dagger hidden in my shirt?" Ulfo questioned me with an inquisitive glance as I blinked towards him."The way you asked that question indicates that you yourself forgot it was there." He remained silent and looked away in shame."So you did. Wonderful." I rose from my throne and forced him to look at me in the eye, his masked face not managing to conceal his emotions."Before you tell me your story, how about we remove this mask of yours?" "N-NO! Please! Y-I.. in a more private location, please!" His entire body suddenly shook with panic as I shrugged and promptly removed his mask with a slap. Ulfo fell to the ground in shock and I found some black liquid staining my right hand."Ugh.. how horrid!" One of my female guards suddenly exclaimed in a tone of utter disgust and revulsion. A maid rushed towards me and cleaned my hand, taking great care to wipe each finger clean of whatever blackness currently coated it. Dread washed over me as I turned my head around to finally face Ulfo, as he truly looked."You..." "Its called the Kulum Pox." He immidiatelly began to explain as I continued to stare at his face. His otherwise young features were immensely marred by large black pustules and sickly, pale white skin... I mean, my skin was ghastly pale as well but it also appeared healthy.. Ulfo''s did not. No, it looked like it was about to rot off his face and what wasnt covered in pustules was scarred, indicating that he may have been roughly or wrongly treated before. Kind of like what I just did with that slap of mine."Its a fairly dangerous type of Pox. One which forces all the filth in your body to coalescent, forming pustulent growths which can easily become infected. They also slow down the natural healing of a persons body, which means that whenever you try to empty the pustules, you''ll usually end up with a horrible scar to remember it by." As he said this, he extended his right hand towards the guard who disarmed him and pointed towards the dagger we took from him. The guard, realizing what the dagger is used for, threw it away from himself quicker than lightning. Ulfo took the dagger and promptly cut out the rest of the pustule which exposed the insides of his mouth, rotten and infected teeth filling every remaining crevice... those that he had left, anyways. Shaking my head out of my stupor, I immidiatelly went to his side and channeled healing magic into the wound which was startlingly free of blood. Either the pox devoured his blood or he simply didn''t have enough to actually bleed... both are equally horrifying."You know healing magic?" "I am a student of Sorcierre." My casual reply made him nod and store the dagger back under his shirt, revealing the flesh of his torso. It appeared to be equally scarred as his face, with disgusting white patches of skin covering everything, yet it was also devoid of any pustules which was a good sign, right?"I see... thats good." Shrugging towards him as he cleaned off his fallen mask and put it back on, I sat back down onto my throne."Continue your story." And so he did."Well, as you might imagine, being born with this pox made me quite the unwanted child and sibling alike when it came to the royal family. Just by existing, I was a liability to my entire dynasty... or well, to most of them. Father was always kind to me and always supported me whenever he could but if my brothers are anything to go by thats only because he was mostly away fighting wars and so he didn''t have to look at my ugly mug every day." He laughed at his own misery as I waved my hand, indicating that all of my servants should leave. There was really no need for peasantry to hear this kind of talk and what they''ve already heard will allow my soldiers to forgive Ulfo for his mistakes.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. What kind of monster beats the diseased, right?"Anyways, somewhat recently I finally got sick of all the bullying and mistreatment and so I decided to use my position as a Prince to lure greedy individuals to my side. Supporting a weak Prince like me was a highly risky endeavour for sure, but it also meant that the people doing it could enforce their own will far more easily and gain power far above their station." He took in a breath."So I began going around, meeting all sorts of people and recruiting them. Peasants who wished to seek their fortunes in wars, lesser nobles and merchants who quaked the second you held a sword to their neck... And most importantly, powerful nobles who either returned from fighting alongside my father or just never joined the millitary expedition in the first place... each of them had a reason to get rid of selective soldiers who were either against leaving the war fronts or were pushing their cowardly lords into action. By the time I reached the twentieth village, I already had a minor horde following behind me. True, most of them never held a sword in their entire life, but it was good enough for what I sought to do." "And that was?" His work so far is very impressive, mostly for the many things he isn''t telling me. Persay, how exactly did he manage to feed this horde of his? How many villages and towns did he consume in his wake?... no, just raiding wouldn''t be enough to feed a warband of this size. He must have prepared supplies beforehand."To kill you, Alice." I quirked an eyebrow at him."Oh? And for what reason would you want to kill me?" He smirked and let out a laugh."You may not know this but our marriage isn''t something that my father wanted." "Uncle Rudolf didn''t ... one of your brothers forced you into this." Ulfo nodded and then continued on with a grim undertone."Father speaks highly of you, Alice. You are the daughter of his best friend and he would never doom you to marriage with a man who probably cant even make you pregnant, much less one so ugly and diseased like me." I said nothing to that, for anything I say will be used against me."No, it was my eldest brother Guldman, who forced this marriage to happen. He despised your dad and the freedom your dynasty enjoyed as one of our kingdoms highest ranking vassals. You may not hold much land but the soldiers that the Duchy Of Axilar produces are usually highly trained and well-paid, unlike most other retinues. In short: you are vital to this kingdoms warmongering nature." "And your brother wanted to make you some kind of trophy husband to me or what exactly? I don''t see the point of this all." My confusion made Ulfo let out a massive sigh."There isn''t too much of a point. Guldman wanted to use me as a way to introduce himself and one of his sons to you... hopefully, you would catch the eye of one of the sons who would then wait for me to become sixteen and challenge me for your hand, potentially killing me in a duel and ridding my brother of an annoyance." "The way you are explaining this to me feels like someone, persay Guldman, explained it to you beforehand and you are just repeating everything he told you would happen." Ulfo nodded towards me with another sigh."Yeah, my brother despises me for my weakness. So, as a final act of defiance, I did all this in an effort to kill you and spit on whatever plans my brother has for the future." He rose his eyes in order to face me. I sincerely wonder what kind of face I''m making right now... can''t be too pretty to look at. I let out a massive sigh of my own as I realized that he was waiting on me to finally tell him his sentence."Well Ulfo, do you happen to have any peculiar hobbies?" "I... I like to draw.. that is.. I''d like to say that I''m an artist or a painter but I don''t really have much actual skill..." Closing my eyes in though, I think for a few moments before giving him my reply."Then you''ll be spending some time under house arrest inside of my castle. Perhaps, if fate finally decides to be kind to you, you wont become a master painter by the time I start making sense of the situation." He blinked in shock and awe."You.. wont kill me?" I shook my head in negative."Ulfo, to be perfectly honest, I think that you are a genius. If I was anyone else, your plan would have worked and you would have had the last laugh." Now his jaw was on the floor."I-uh, I think you are prett-I mean, you are a genius yourself Alice, not just anyone could have pulled this off, even if the enemy was just a disorganized horde." Rising from my seat with a little bit of red on my cheeks, I pulled him up from his seated posistion and said."Then lets combine our genius instead of wasting it like this, Ulfo. I may have won this fight, but victory has left me with an insane amount of angry, terrified and manical prisoners who may or may not cause even more damage than they would have under your command unless we deal with them all soon and we cant let them go free because that is just a perfect recipe for a bandit disaster." Ulfo swallowed down hard and coughed into his fist."W-well... you are constructing a castle city, yes? Maybe you could make them work in exchange for their freedom?" A blink. No, make that several."Thats a great idea, Ulfo!" "It is?" He sent me an inquisitive glance."You do realize that you still have to feed them, right?" "My county is currently suffering from overfarming the land. We are producing much more food than we eat, something which can be easily diverted to feed the horde." He nodded and then sat onto a nearby chair."That''ll work for the peasantry but not for the actual soldiers I''ve gotten my hands on... They may be much fewer than the peasants but there are still a good two thousand of them.. or well, there was two thousand of them." "Hmm, I guess I''ll imprison some within my castle and the rest I''ll just execute." He seemed taken aback by my proclamation yet again."Execute them?..." A nod was his answer."In fact, thats something I''m going to have to do first in order to terrify the rest of the horde into submission." "How are you planning on processing them? I mean, even if you hire most, others wont be worth the effort, right?" This question gave me momentary pause, but then I remembered how Yvain decided to sit out this little fight instead of helping me directly.. and he is a guild master."I''ll have the city Guild Masters and whomever else they bring along process the people. Surely, they are able to differ actual workers from frauds. As for those who they dissapprove off, well I''ll either kill them or have them sent home should their homes be close enough." "Okay... so as the battle didn''t last too long, a lot of my men survived. I''d say around four thousand people in total. We can easily deduce that only one thousand of these are actual soldiers which you will either imprison or execute. The next two thousand will become workers in exchange for their eventual freedom, be sent home or killed should they prove worthless so what will you do with the remaining thousand?" "I''ll give them to the orcs." This revelation sent shivers down Ulfo''s spine."Y-you.. you do realize that the orcs will most likely eat them or skin them or worse?..." My sadistic and savage grin caught Ulfo extremely off guard as I cracked my knuckles and prepared to go outside and issue my orders to the troops."I''m counting on it." He swallowed down hard as he picked himself up and began to follow me."So what are you going to do first?" "First? You assume I''ll stay here to help process the horde which I will not. No, this will be left in the capable hands of my councillors and commanders." He tilted his head in confusion."... and you''ll be doing what exactly?" A grin etched itself upon my face."One of my cities, namely Kilnchapel, is currently fighting back a ratman infestation. I''m going to be forming up an entourage of elite soldiers, a warband of about eighty people, prefferably a combination of orcs, heavy infantry and magic users to wipe out the rats." "Without resting? Aren''t you exhausted after all of this?!" His question gave me pause. I.. didn''t feel tired at all.
The essence of those you slew during the battle has rejuvenated your body and mind, mistress. You won''t feel hungry or tired for a long while.
Ah. Well that makes sense."Nah, I don''t feel tired at all." My casual response made him chuckle."Your soldiers probably wont be feeling the same way, though." "The ones who fought alongside me in the battle will most likely be tired yes, but thankfully I have a bunch of fresh reinforcements coming in from Hail''s End. They''ll do just fine, right?" He shook his head out of a stupor, swallowed down hard once again and nodded."You sure you need me around? Looks like to me that you''ve got everything figured out on your own, Alice." His joking tone echoed throughout the war tent. I offered him a light chuckle in response."That sounds like you almost wanted me to kill you today, Ulfo. Too bad for you that I don''t plan on letting you die anytime soon." He blinked in momentary confusion."Somehow, I get the feeling that what you said just now should not be seen as cute or flattering." A savage grin formed on my face."Oh? Well you should trust your gut on that one, Ulfo. I won''t kill you, but with the amount of physical training that I''m planning to have you do daily, you might just wish that you were dead." He didn''t follow me out of the tent after hearing that.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
And thats it for this chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you''ve enjoyed it! As per usual, I shall stay online for a time to edit out mistakes and answer early comments!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 28. Death Priest or Necromancer? Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Okay so I will admit that this is a test chapter, written on a computer at my new workplace. So if there are errors or unusual mistakes, they can most likely be attributed to my lack of affinity with the new keyboard, computer... ... and honestly terrible internet connection. EDIT: I take it back, the internet is weak but stable. The KEYBOARD though... its terrible. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you all enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few hours later... - Forests Around Kilnchapel - Alice''s Point Of View...
Despite my rather boisterous claims which I had made to my newly-introduced future husband, perhaps I should have taken Ulfo''s warning about the current state of my soldiers. My army is exhausted, on its last legs. And the few soldiers still capable of walking managed to get themselves either stoned on mushroom gas or completely and utterly drunk. All in order to celebrate the mayor and highly unlikely victory with minimal, if any real lossess. It seems that while there were people who lost limbs or had some rather unpleasant magical afflictions cast upon them during the battle... Not one soldier actually died. Granted, the worst of the worst are as-of-yet unconscious and some may not wake up at all considering the rushed medical care that they were given but hey, I''d still call it a total victory. Hn... Something tells me that I''m forgetting a very important detail. ... Oh well, trouble for later, I suppose. Anyways, this is what brings us to my current situation: stuck on the edge, a final barrier between a temperate forest and a boreal one. The snow really does only reach so far and the climate difference can be visibly seen. It is a sudden and rather weird change, the scent of magic hanging thick in the air. There was clearly something highly magical in nature affecting the climate of the lands sourrounding Kilnchapel but oh well, it seems to be currently working in my favor. Or it would have worked in my favor, if my decently-sized warband of tired men, mages and orcs wasnt standing on the opposite side of an undead army of zombies, skeleton warriors and skeleton archers. And leading them was what looked to be a human man in a black robe and darkened cloth cowl, wearing black leather travelling boots, using a long staff that seems to have been purposefully charred in order to color it black yet didn''t appear to have any real magical features. Well, one could tell that it was a weapon through which quite a bit of dark mana flowed through on a regular basis. So, a somewhat experienced necromancer was leading a small army of around seventy-ish undead troops, with only twenty skeletons and the rest being zombies, all of which appeared to be rather recently.. acquired."Are we going to end this uncomfortable staring contest anytime soon?" The necromancer threw a question my way bearing a rather inquisitive tone which wasn''t even slightly amused."I don''t know. You tell me..." Needless to say, we continued staring at each other. My exhausted troops were back on full alert, the red under their eyes becoming increasingly apparent as the moments went by."Okay so... you are a necromancer." My statement/question sounded stupid in my head. It was also stupid in reality. The man rolled his eyes and offered a rather expected response."And you are a child noble. Most likely the high lady which rules this county." A nod was his answer."I am. Care to explain yourself, Mr Necromancer? As in, for instance, why exactly are you using a regular road to travel instead of, oh I don''t know, stealthily traveling through the thick forest?" His mouth opened and then closed, his expression appearing extremely dumbfounded."I-uh,.." He turned to look at his army of undead monsters."To be honest it didn''t cross my mind but would a warband of this size really stay hidden within the confines of a forest?" Shrugging, I answered his inquiry."Certainly more so than they are now, exposed in the open." Several cursing sounds left the man as he readied his staff and took out a strange black book out of his robes, promptly revealing that he only had his underwear below it. How in the world did he manage to stay fine through all the cold with only so little clothing?... being a necromancer must offer some kind of frost resistance, which kinda makes sense now that I think about it."Anyways, we''ve both wasted enough of each others time so, lets do this and be on our merry way?" I turned back to look at my soldiers and winced."... do we really have to fight? I''d rather just get both myself and my soldiers to Kilnchapel without a fight." My soldiers all turned to look at me with flabbergasted expressions, with one of them raising their hand up in the air most likely to question my decision but I wasn''t about to let him talk."We are exhausted. The Undead are, among other things, tireless."If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "But miss, all we ''ave ta do is kill the guy in charge. The walking dead are animated through his will alone." The soldier in question responded anyway as I turned to blink."... his will alone? You mean as in the corpses dont have trapped souls inside of them? How exactly do you know this?" The soldier shrugged, yet another of my men answered for him, an orc."It be de eyes, boss-lady. Wen dey not glow, de ded ar'' soul''ess." Turning back towards the undead army, I finally took note of this very important detail. The eyes of the dead were empty, without any form of glow."Not skeletons, just animated bones and corpses." The necromancer snorted and ignited some form of blackened flame on the tip of his staff."Don''t matter. They''re still tireless and you are not!" I let out a massive sigh."I still don''t want to fight." My decision was sent with a tone of finality, causing both my soldiers and the necromancers horde to lower their weapons instantly."Ah! Well, don''t let me stop you then, ladies first and all that." The necromancer moved to the left side, with all of his troops mimicking his actions without the slightest misstep. He is... honestly, I can''t tell if this guy is a master on the verge of lichdom or an apprentice. "Before that, I want to know where you are going, mister Necromancer. After all, I''ve already told you our destination, so its only fair." The man grumbled incoherently yet seemed to nod in acceptance."I have felt an aura of death in the direction of Marrowdorf so I''m traveling there in hopes of finding a master necromancer and ask him to make me his apprentice." An aura of death?..."Erm.. may I please ask as to how these auras of death form?" He quirked an eyebrow towards me."Well, there are multiple ways one such aura could form; the presence of a master necromancer being the first and foremost, a giant pile of unburned corpses would be a close compettitor-" Giant pile of unburned corpses."SHIT! THE CORPSES!" My soldiers immidiatelly responded by becoming panicked as we all came to a horrible realization: we didn''t burn the corpses."Okay, now its my turn to ask you a question: why is everybody suddenly panicking?" "Erm, mister necromancer, lets say that the aura of death has formed because of a giant pile of corpses... what... aftereffects can one such pile have on the sourrounding enviroment if left unattended?" He blinked and then his expression turned utterly horrified."You mean apart from the obvious development of deathly diseases, viral pathogens and the like? Well, there is always the chance that it might attract a horde of ravenous natural and uncontrollable undead monsters like ghouls or varghouls and perhaps one or fifteen aspiring necromancers but oh, I''m sure that its nothing you need to worry about at all, young miss!" I bit my lip in frustration as I turned towards my loyal soldiers and sighed."Damm, looks like I''ll be missing out on some school classes this week. Oh well, this takes priority and the academy wasn''t really all that high on my list anyways." I pointed towards the first soldier who talked to me."You there, what is your name soldier?" "Argon Lissarn, milady." He replied with a uncertain salute and confused expression."Right. You are hereby promoted to the rank of captain. It''ll be your job to get these soldiers to Kilnchapel and secure a place for you all to rest. Here, you can have my amulet of Vytar as temporary proof of rank." I threw the amulet into the soldiers hands which he easily caught and saluted."Alright but... what will you be doing in the meantime, ma''am?" "I''ll be following our necromancer friend back to the battleground site." The necromancer, and my soldiers, blinked in utter confusion at this little reveal."... and what exactly do you hope to accomplish by doing so?" He questioned my intentions with a quirked eyebrow. Instead of answering his question directly, I asked the necromancer a question of my own."Say necromancer, would you perhaps be looking for lawful employment?" Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, the entirety of the necromancers army broke down. Zombies withered to ash instantaneously and skeletons kinda just... flopped onto the forest ground. The necromancer tilted his head in confusion."I''m sorry, what?..." Ah, the undead were bound and animated by his will alone.. so when that will gets shutdown, their binding goes with it."I said: Are you looking for a proper job?" I repeated the insane question as if it were the most natural thing to do. The necromancer blinked and shook his head."I''m too sane for this shit... exactly what kind of job would you possibly have open to hire me for, anyways?" "Well, since you managed to explain the potential dangers that a giant pile of corpses may or may not represent to its sourrounding area, I figure you might also know of ways to propely dispose of one such giant pile of corpses." He blinked and nodded."And you would be correct.. hm, maybe you arent as crazy as I thought." "Don''t second guess that, my friend. Things are going to go much more smoothy if you just settle for me being insane." Was my rather scarily-immediate reply as the man did a double take, turned around towards the giant mess that was formerly his little army and then shrugged towards me."Well, you already managed to unwillingly shatter my hard-built army so its not like I have much else to do at this point. I might as well accept the job... Might I inquire about my monthly wage?" "How does two gold per month plus ten gold per solved crisis or problem sound?" His neck visibly tilted once more, eyes widening in utter stupefaction."Right... I guess that makes me a.. Court Necromancer?" I placed a finger on my chin in thought."How about Court Death Priest?" A blink, no make that several before the man eventually nodded in approval."Hn. I admit defeat. Death Priest sounds way better. Anyways, last question, may I know my would-be-employers name?" "Alice Pendragon, ... mister?..." I urged the man to answer, to which he responded to with an immidiate straightening of his normally bent-backed posture and a rather curt bow."Jovan Morque, at your service milady!" "Well then Jovan, please grab yourself one of our free horses and follow me!... we have an entire battlefield to incinerate." He blinked and then asked."Uh, how large of a battlefield are we talking about here exactly?" "Eh, about four thousand or so dead..." His jaw literally hit the floor."F-.. f--... four thousand?..." He swallowed down hard."... oh dear."
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
And that is it for this chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I hope you''ve enjoyed it. Like I said, this is a testing chapter... sorry that its average size, a decent 2k words which is higher than my small chapters and less that my normal ones. Oh well. At least this confirms that I can use this to waste time while on the job as I wait for all the antivirus programs and anti-spyware to run their course on all the computers. As per usual, I shall stay online for a time to edit out mistakes and answer early comments!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 29. Comprehension And Madness Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Holy lord in heaven, its been a while! Hasn''t it? Not much happened since my last EUPHORIA chapter, except the fact that an entire week has already passed. And I''m busy tomorrow... yes, busy on Sunday as I have to travel some 50+ kilometers in order to visit close family. In other words, I can tell my planned chapters goodbye, unless I manage to write them now. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you all enjoy, let us begin
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few hours later... - War Encampment (Marrowdorf) - Alice''s Point Of View...
"En uzs istak HARTEN!" The necromancer chanted beside me with a tone full of nonchalance as purplish, magical flames burst out of his charred staff and onto the pile of around two hundred corpses. One could almost hear the dead screaming in relief as the flames turned their already decomposing corpses to ashes and forced their souls to pass on in a blaze of glory."So Jovan, I don''t think I''ve asked you this yet but... how come an aspiring necromancer such as yourself knows how to perform funeral rites?" Mister Morgue merely offered me an annoyed glance."You''re one of those people who think that funeral magic is holy in attribute, right?" I blinked at him in utter confusion."You mean.. its not?" He shook his head in disbelief."Good Gods, no! Funeral magic is a special form of magic which is capable of interacting with the souls of the deceased, prying them free of their broken mortal shells and forcing them into the Vortex." "Vortex?" My question seemed to surprise him."Are you sure that you are a student of Sorrciere?" I let out a sigh."Apologies for not knowing something you consider common knowledge, mister necromancer." He swallowed down hard as his eyes trailed around us, a small contingent of tired and fairly sheath-happy soldiers surrounded the area in order to protect me from whatever the man might try."R-right. Anyways, the Vortex referrers to a place in the Void commonly known as The Vortex Of Souls or The Crown Of Death And Rebirth, depending on which ancient civilization you ask or whose material you use to study. This mythical place is where everyone of us who isn''t sworn to some other divine place, like the heavens for example, goes after dying." I quirked an eyebrow at seemingly nobody as I turned around to watch the flames. I wonder, where will I go when I die? Most likely into the belly of Chaos, like Alex did after I consumed him."Alright... that explains the magic but not why you know it, Jovan." My statement seemed to invigorate the usually quiet man as he pulled a small black book out of his robes. This book had no apparent title, either that or I couldn''t see it as magic tomes sometimes act that way to those unworthy of them, or any real distinguishing features apart from how shiny its paper pages looked, which was an extreme contrast to the worn-down goat skin from which its cover was made."W-well, this book, written by one of my ancestors, states how knowing Funeral Magic is a must have for any necromancer of any rank because ghosts and other vengeful apparitions pose a mayor danger to all of those who seek to create a permanent lair of sorts. Apparently, many of my ancestors colleagues were brutally murdered by ghosts shoving one spoon too many down their throats, slowly and painfully choking the necromancer responsible for their deaths and making that person join them in hateful undeath." "Great, as if I needed more reasons to be afraid of my own silverware." I mean, wasn''t its high price and upkeep enough? Now I learn how it can actually kill me with the help of some vengeful ghosts. I... I might wanna learn some Funeral Magic of my own, considering how many people I''m liable to murder in my lifetime."Anyways, you said how the book was written by one of your ancestors?" Jovan nodded ecstatically."Y-yes! It appears that one of my forefathers was an elven wizard who sought asylum within these lands after the events of Blackfall, approximately seven hundred and thirty eight years ago." "Blackfall?... pardon me, this one I feel like I should know about but I can''t put my finger on it." Jovan merely shrugged."This one''s just regular worldly history milady, but I guess you weren''t taught that in one of those xenophobic institutions which you''ve most likely attended." He cleared his throat and promptly burned another pile of corpses before continuing. The corpses in question were all stripped naked and thrown onto the pile in front of us, which was surrounded by a giant wall of risen earth and stone, like a massive funeral kiln... Hmm a massive funeral kiln? Might be a good idea to pretty this place up and declare it a memorial for both those who defended Axilar and those who fell against its stalwart defenders. Hmm, yes... "Blackfall... hm, where do I even begin. Well, the extremely short version of the explanation would be to say how once upon a time, an evil and ancient Empress came to rule the High Elven Empire of Eloria on the western continent of Iodren. This Empress was a powerful arcane mage who had blood ties to both Lady Vytar and the Cosmic Beast, thus making her a sort-of demigoddess upon the world... the world which she wanted to conquer for herself, of course. She was utterly defeated by heroes from a multitude of sources, even demon kind came to fight against her ascent. Blackfall... is basically the name given to the time after the moment of her defeat to today, as she was named Empress Ash''illithine The Black for all of her atrocious actions." "... If she was really as evil as your story tells, how come that one of the people running away from her was a necromancer? Pardon my perhaps offensive question." Jovan quirked an eyebrow towards me and blinked."Huh.. And here I thought you''d ask me who and what the Cosmic Beast is... how strange. Anyways, the Empress ruled with an Iron fist and basically exiled any and all of those who she couldn''t rightly kill during the first few years of her rule. One of these was a group of people belonging to a caste of elven mage smiths known as the Eilstari and my grandfather was one of them... The Elves don''t really consider necromancy as taboo, your highness. In fact, many necromancers and blood mages were highly sought after as doctors and surgeons, as their special powers allowed them to heal wounds which would otherwise be fatal. For instance, if someone got shot through the heart by an archer, a necromancer could cast a spell upon their patient which would keep them in a state between life and death long enough for the patient in question to be healed." A blink."Huh, I guess that makes sense. The elves do see the world from a much different point of view than humans, orcs and beastkin do." Jovan laughed for a brief moment before saying."Well, they do call us the younger races for a reason." "Indeed." I replied with a breath as I turned my head around to the left to see a bunch of people approaching me. One was my trusty mayor Yvain, there was a well-dressed but otherwise humble-looking woman next to him and a trio of servants carrying plates of food in their arms. A duo of soldiers quickly brought a wooden table and placed it next to me as a maid put down a chair for me to sit on."Damn.. being nobility sure is nice." Jovan muttered below his breath as he continued to perform funeral rites one after another. Yvain approached me with a slight smile upon his face. In fact, the man seemed rather unusually cheery."Milady! I bring good news! The executions have been completed and the corpses of the transgressors are being delivered as we speak. The selection process has finally begun... maybe we''ll even be done with all this gruesome work by tomorrow morning at this rate."Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "If you joined up with us, it wouldn''t be required of you to be doing this right now." Was my rather simple reply as the servants placed food onto the hastily set-up table."I would also probably be dead. Anyways, your majesty, I''d like to introduce you to someone." He bowed and presented the lady next to him who bowed towards me as well."Hello, young mistress. My name is Sif, Of Yarrin. Soon to be Sif Yvain should everything go according to plan." She spoke with a smirk upon her frame as I quirked an eyebrow at her and then turned towards the mayor. Oh yeah, his name is Gerald and Yvain is the surname... wait, thats totally weird."Congratulations are in order then... also, when the hell did this happen?" Sif looked somewhat astonished at my rather crude language as Yvain let out a massive sigh."Erm, things like this don''t happen overnight, your highness. I''ve been trying to court this woman for years. I even bought a gold ring for this purpose several years ago and yet, I''ve never had the courage to confess my feelings properly." He threw me an inquisitive look which held with it a darker tone before turning towards his lovely, brown-haired fiancee."... until now." He held her hands in his and they shared a kiss in seeming bliss. When I showed no apparent reaction and just kept on eating, the poor girl found the atmosphere far too awkward to continue being here and even the servants around me looked as if they wanted to run away."W-well, I d-did not only come here to introduce myself b-but, also to help the mayors deal with all this. I s-should go. Heres to hope that we can converse in a more... appropriate location next time, your highness." She bowed and left. I offered one darkened look towards Yvain who merely shrugged. Follow after her, you dumb fu-... whatever, its not my business. Then I turned towards my servants."I''m no longer a three year old girl who needs help while eating.. it is not required of you to just... stand around me doing your best not to appear creepy." The servants in question all let out a joint breath of relief and quickly made themselves scarce. Yvain patiently waited until everyone was out of sight and general hearing range before taking in a deep breath, dragging a chair of his own to the table and then asking."Alright... I noticed that you caught my tone just now so I assume you know what this is about, right?" "You have questions." Was my rather asshole-ish reply, carrying an incredibly sarcastic tone. Yvain''s eyebrow twitched."Yes, I do indeed, have questions. Quite a lot of them, in fact. For starters; what the fuck is he doing here." Oya oya, that''s not a question. That''s a statement."Mister Jovan is a necromancer who was unfortunate enough to cross my path to Kilnchapel. He had a small army of soulless monsters with him which all promptly and unceremoniously flopped to the ground once my insane nature shattered his poor, fragile mortal brain to bits." Yvain turned to look at the man in question, who much to his credit, only shrugged in response."Its the truth." Another deep breath taken, head turned to face the ground for a moment, then the mayor continued."Alright. That sounds insane enough to be easily believable... which brings me to my second question..." Yvain closed his eyes, most likely uncertain about how to exactly put this."What is with all the madness around you, your highness?... and why is it so damnably infectious?" I grinned towards the mayor."Tell me, Yvain... do you know the tale of the Cosmic Beast?" The necromancer standing next to us blinked and turned away from his funeral pyres for a moment and then said with a rather inquisitive tone."So that''s why you didn''t ask me about it, you know what the Cosmic Beast is." Again, that''s a statement, not a question.. what the hell is up with people''s tone''s all of a sudden? Yvain merely let out a sigh."I.. I''m afraid not. I know that its some dark god or whatever that impregnated Vytar and helped defeat the demon invasion from five thousand years ago but that''s about it." I placed the empty plate of food away and pulled another closer to me, licking my teeth as I drool at the sight of the food before me despite not being hungry at all. Hm, wait.. my teeth.. yup, they''re all back already. Anyways, lets answer Yvain before his brain explodes all over my good food."First of all, its not a dark god. Its a force of nature which feeds on creatures of Shadow... once those ran out, it turned its attention to the civilized people of the world. Vytar fought against its tyranny... well, all the divines did really, but she took things to an intimate level." Yvain nodded in slight confusion as I drank some water before continuing the story."Eventually, like every other great evil ever, it was defeated and sent back from whence it came. Turns out, banishing the cosmic beast tore a hole in reality within our world. This hole apparently couldn''t be closed for some reason and so Vytar went around gathering capable fighters in order to defend against the cosmic beasts incursions into our world." "Wait.. but ... the cosmic beast came here on its own, right? It wasn''t summoned or anything... Why would it come back to this world through the hole?" Yvain asked with the voice of pure reason and logic. Jovan turned to listen to the story as well. I just shrugged towards them both."Hell if I know. A thing like that has probably lived for eons on end so it might be just because it liked the drama of it all? After all, just coming back to destroy the world using the same method as the first time would be boring, no?" The two men swallowed down hard in unison, almost as if in fear."Y.. you guys think I''m the cosmic beast, don''t you?" They blinked and yet, neither replied. I let out a massive sigh."Look, I won''t deny the fact that I have a connection to it, but I am not the cosmic beast in human form or whatever the hell you two just thought up." "Right." Yvain and the necromancer both let out a breath of pure relief. Now, Yvain I can understand but..."Jovan? You''ve been acting... rather curiously for the past few minutes. Is there something about you that I don''t know yet?" The necromancer pointed towards his eyes which shone a purplish, arcane glow."I do believe that I told you this before but I am able to see peoples souls while they are still alive, your highness. And your soul is... peculiar, to say the least." "Oh? Care to elaborate?" Jovan sighed out harshly before nodding."Well, your soul seems to be a combat zone for at least three divine beings. One of the divines I recognize as Lady Vytar as she marks the souls of her faithful with phantasmal greenery and nature. Like, imagine if a forest grew on your soul." "And the others?" Yvain asked this in my stead, his curiosity getting the better of him. Jovan turned to look at me with rather intense focus."I.. I honestly don''t know. There are two others... One seems to be a twitching, crimson growth of flesh and a thousand eyes, each of which has a thousand iris''s. I think its safe to assume that this is the Cosmic Beast, as the thing has been described to take upon the form of a gigantic dire-wolf with an infernal, burning metal jaw and a thousand, thousand eyes covering its body." He turned his head sideways."And the last... Is.. something." Me and Yvain blinked in confusion."Something?" "Yeah, something." Jovan nodded towards us, staring on in wonder."It appears like a giant piece of dwarven machinery, with a multitude of cogs, coils, threads, springs and holy symbols like five-pointed stars and crosses.. and strangely enough the shapes of threatening, fanged snakes; all of which are completely and utterly pure white in color." The white one. [God]. Not quite as simple as mother, are you?"I see... and what exactly are these three doing to my soul?" The necromancer blinked, almost as if in momentary shock."W-well, whatever they were doing, Vytar is no longer a part of it all." ... huh?"Excuse me?" "The white contraption, divine, thing... one of its snakes just tore into the forest and ripped it out of your soul like it was something it just remembered to do." I suddenly found myself feeling cold inside. "A-ah, the cosmic beast is... the crimson growth just spread to cover the area previously inhabited by Vytar... and the white stuff... allowed it to happen?.. what the hell is going on here?" Yvain then broke the spell of confusion with a cough."Milady, lets not continue down this... insane train of thought for now. Please answer this for me; what is your connection to the Cosmic Beast and how is it affecting me?" "Erm, to be perfectly honest with you Yvain, not even I know the full truth. What I can tell you is that my family is descended from the warriors who helped banish the cosmic beast and keep it out of our world. This has made it pay special attention to my bloodline which manifests in a strange infection that causes members of my dynasty to fall into uncontrollable blood-rage whenever it pleases. Only one person in the family can carry this infection and since my dad died during the war... the infection is now within me." I took in a breath."As for how its affecting you... I have no idea, but I know that it is doing something. Perhaps some of the older servants within my castle can tell you more? I mean, if anyone''s been affected by my dynastic curse, they''re probably it." Yvain nodded in understanding."So you don''t know, eh? Well, I had an inkling that may be the case as you appear just as confused as I am most of the time." Another sigh escaped his lips as he stood up and approached Jovan."Mister Jovan, the names Gerald Yvain. I work as a steward in service to our Lady Alice Pendragon over there, though my previous occupation was merely that of a sane city mayor." "Jovan Morgue, likewise Lord Yvain, though I would not dare call my occupation something sane, I think it may as well be sane in comparison to my current position as Court Death Priest in service of the same young Lady." The two men shook hands, almost as if they each found their future best friend or drinking buddy. I shook my head and looked away, deciding that the food still present on my table was of much greater importance than the madness happening all around me.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
And that is it for this chapter of D: Infernal! I hope you''ve enjoyed it! Hm. Not much else to say here, 3.3k words seeems good enough. As per usual, I shall stay online for a time to edit out mistakes and answer early comments!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 30. Chaos-In-The-Mirror Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Hello everyone! Business as usual, I''ve been incredibly busy these past few weeks but it seems that my trial period is final over. Aka, I have entered the slow-pay-rise stage, which has done wonders for my overall morale. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
The Following Evening - Castle Pendragon (Alice''s Room) - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Fuuhhh..." I released a rather intense breath into the air of my room. I felt tired. Exhausted even. Yet... not in the physical sense. In fact, my body felt as if I had just woken up, full of pent-up energy ready to be unleashed upon the world. My brain, on the other hand... My poor, poor human mind.
Mayhaps, I should have mentioned this but consuming the energies of the living will only serve to alleviate your physical self. It does nothing for mental fatigue. No, it should even be said that the excess energy coursing through your body tires the mind out even quicker than normal.
So basically, consuming life-force is only good during battle, not elsewhere. Consumption rejuvenates the body but sunders the mind. Good. A limitation as drastic as that might be exactly what I need to focus myself right now.
... excuse me, but how could a "limitation", possibly be helpful to us, madame?
There is such a thing as too much good, Tius. A limitless supply of gold will only blind its owner and make them complacent. The same goes for any kind of comfort. Comfort makes you weak. Plenty causes one to become unwound. Unready. Defenseless. ... and spoiled.
My data suggests that a child of your age should not comprehend such concepts and should just "go play" instead.
Does your ... data, whatever that is, include the factor of me being a child connected to Chaos?
... No. Is your previous delight at finding a limitation directed towards Chaos and the very powers that it grants you?
... it is.. but why do you ask?
Then perhaps it would delight you further if you were made aware of the fact that you are actually incredibly weak, milady. For a child of Chaos, I mean.
Ah, is that so? Well, I guess it makes sense. Are you saying that in comparison to Antioch or someone else?
The world from which I come from has a multitude of Chaosborne beings within it, as does your own if my calculations are correct. In comparison to every Chaosborne I know of... you would be the weakest.
A-ah. Theres a sharp pain my in heart right now. Ah, so sudden. Anyways, you said how there are other Chaosborne within this world? How do you know for sure? I mean.. I don''t think we''ve met anyone yet, right?
Through your conversations with other life-forms, I have deduced that two other figures may possess a connection to Chaos. The orcish demigod is a direct descendant of the Cosmic Beast, aka Chaos. The Elven Empress Ashillithine is a potential child as well, as she is said to have blood ties to the Cosmic Beast as well.
"Uwaah.." Such incredible people are my siblings? Well, half siblings, anyways. Anyways, lets stop standing in front of my own door, the massive wooden door standing imposingly behind my back, its inlaid iron hinges appearing more akin to ancient armor rather than just household normalcy. The walls sourrounding me were made out of strange, almost orange-ish stone. I do not know from where exactly these were imported, but they seem to be some form of hand-made sandstone. Hn, must''ve cost a bunch to get these here. Wonder how my ancestors managed to get that much gold? The nearest desert to here is an entire continent away, after all. And I sincerely doubt that a random caravan held this much raw stone within it. Looking around my room made me realize that absolutely nobody has been here ever since I left for Sorcierre a whole week ago. My ebon-plated desk was still littered with a myriad of letters, either delivered or withered, old and new, both failures and those unsent. Its sister chair was laid on the ground, thrown sideways as I had hurried out of my room and didn''t care enough to put it back into place. I did so now and then sorted the mess on my desk to find that the ink I used back then had dried up. With a sigh, I threw the inkwell through my window. Or, I wanted to, but my window was closed, causing the inkwell to crash and shatter across my floor. The floor itself was also made out of hand-cut stone, tiles which appeared to be utterly black, a stark contrast to the orange of the walls. These stones I know very well, for they felt like home. They were the very stones which made up the mountains of granite and slate into which my castle was built. Horror''s Hail Mountains. One has to wonder why they were given such a cruel name. Is it because of the constant orcish raiding parties which descend from the mountains much like cold, winter hail? Or is it because they house the very tear in reality from which the Cosmic Beast itself once roared into our tiny, fragile little world? ... or maybe its simply because they are the home of the Pendragon family. A family of human warmongers, monsters on the battlefield who fight with the brutality of dragons, the rage of rampaging beastkin, who heal quicker than orcs and ogres. ... a family cursed to bear the weight of Chaos upon their shoulders. Well, the cursed part is probably more of a point of view than anything else. That said, my dynasty sure does have a lot of blood dreched deep into its name. Even if I worked hard for my entire life, I would not manage to wash away even an inch of that blood. Not that I ever will try. Every kill, every murder I commit and do will be empowered a thousandfold. Every good deed, every work of art that I create and make will only raise an eyebrow here and there. Heroes are remembered for generations. ... yet villains are turned to legends. For such is the way of the world. No need to remember that which works, the deeds of the good, but teach the children the horrors of the past so that they may not repeat the mistakes of the tyrants who came before them. Its like people want to be ruled by monsters. Hm. If heroes are remembered and villains become legends, what happens to monsters? Do they get deleted from the face of history itself? Or... perhaps... They become something more? A deep, dark fear within the very blood of those afflicted by them. Be good and serve the Pendragon family well, or else a child like Alice will be born!- or something like that. Mhm, I like it. Lets make that saying a reality, eh? Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, the inkwell. Picking up the pieces from the slate-stone floor, I open the gold-inlaid window and nearly wince as I notice its cut-jade handles. A part of me wants to rip them off right this instant, only to sell them off for a nice price sometime later. I could certainly use the gold. Ahh... before all of this, my room was just that, a room. All I could see are the pretty, shiny things that Nobility like me deserves and usually has around... now, all I see is the coin required to possess such incredible comforts. It makes me sick on the inside. Not that I feel this way, but the amount of coin a room like mine would require in order to be made. And now I feel like shit for ever even doubting my father. He spent so much money on me and I never even realized it. Come to think of it, father made the most of his money through warfare, raiding and pillaging, as well as taking back what bandits usually already stole. Then... My entire room. Has been forged out of blood and gold, taken from distant lands and colored with echoing cries and thundering screams. I felt my blood rushing through my body, my heart pumping in delight at such thoughts. My hands trembled and I unconsciously let loose the inkwell pieces, shattering them into even tinier parts and bits. With a short laugh, I finally threw the pieces out of my room, snorting as they broke even further on the mountain stones. Then I turned around, a chill wind blowing through the window and into my back. The cold breeze felt nice on my pale, pearly skin and caused my reaped dress to rip even more. I promptly locked the door to my room and threw these blood-stained clothes off of myself. The blood and carnage of the battlefield had long since dried upon the silken dress I wore into the fight. It held a myriad of tatters and tears, telling a story that a little girls dress should never have to tell. The dried blood held a strange scent to it, a piece of me realized that I should have been disgusted by it, and yet the scent held me mesmerized more than the roseate candles back in Sorcierre did. I placed the dress onto one of the windows jade handles, impaling its top onto the costly thing which caused the scent to fill the entire room as the wind flowed in. I took a piece of parchment and wrote: DO NOT CLEAN, onto it as I placed the letter next to the dress. Stretching myself, I leaped onto my bed and grasped the crimson velvet sheets, my head falling deep into a cushy, woolen pillow. The crimson reminided me of the blood and I smiled again, wondering what kind of town or village my father razed to the ground in order to get his hands on such fine, rich fabrics? How many of them? For the very same silks made up the top, the roof of my bed as well. The wood from which its collumns were made was ebonwood, much like my work table over there.. a wood which can be acquired through trade.. or by deforesting the ancient, prized elven ebonwood forests which are a continent away as well.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The woolen pillow, though its material isn''t rare, was clearly a masterwork in its own right, having my dynastic banner woven into it with incredible detail. What master tailor did father enslave and break, force into making this? What wonderous terror did he cause all over the world in order to create this room of mine? An innocent little girl, sleeping amidst a sea of sin and horror. Well, not so innocent anymore... Suddenly, another scent entered my nostrils, but this one wasn''t nearly as nice as the last one. The stench of dried sweat and splashed dirtwater, finally released from being cooked from the inside of my clothing, now freed with the removal of my dress. I quickly removed the remainder of my clothes, my pink-white underwear was stained, now a pitch black or cobalt blue from all the terrible things which seeped into them recently. Haa, I''m gonna need to take a bath.
Do you wish to be cleaned, mistress?
Eh? What do you mean, Tius? Do you have some kind of power to instantly clean me?
Not instantly... But it should not take longer than twenty seconds, so please close your eyes for the duration.
I did as I was told and suddenly, a very strange crawling sensation formed all over my body. It felt like a thousand tiny spiders walked all over me with their hairy legs.. Ugh, this does not feel good at all.
I am sorry. I did not expect this to be so unpleasant for you.. perhaps next time you should take an actual bath instead?
Opening my eyes revealed a rather... smelly looking black orb on the ground next to me.
The filth on your body has been collected and condensed into a singular ball. Please, throw it out as soon as possible.
Looks like a piece of shit. ... smells like it too. And this was all on me just a moment ago? You know what Tius, if I ever get this dirty again, please feel free to inform me and I will find a quiet place for you to clean me straight away. Good Gods, the people around me must have been disgusted. I threw the thing out of the window after using a piece of cloth to cover it.
As you wish, madame.
Anyways, I should get dressed. No point in walking around naked. As I approached my bed again, I took note of my nightstand which appeared to be a regular piece of furniture in contrast to just about everything else around here. It was just a regular wooden night stand, accompanied by an equally regular end table. My dresser, on the other hand, was made out of sturdy, dwarven wood which was held together by nails and hinges of pure, shining silver. Or, maybe it was just regular steel, polished to a mirror shine, but that was rather unlikely, right? Opening the dresser revealed a mass of dresses and ladylike underwear, much of which was bought for me by mother. Though she was a shit mom, she did seem to like having me dressed up in rich clothing. I guess having your daughter dress poorly would reflect bad on you as her mother? Either way, I stared at the clothes with disdain. None of this would suit my purposes right now. While a secondary blood-dreched scent dress would be nice to have around, having too many of them will cause people to ask needless questions. And I''ll already have to deal with plenty of those.
Milady, perhaps I could be of use to you here? Recently, I have begun developing ways to absorb inorganic materials... things like iron and cloth for example, in order to lessen the strain that I put onto your mind and body. While my efforts have yet to yield any concrete results, perhaps you would allow me to make use these "useless dresses"? I am perfectly capable of tailoring so I may be able to refashion the material into something more adherent to your needs.
I don''t think I''ll ever wear these again and by the time I''m forced to go to some special occassion, I''ll probably have enough money to buy a new dress anyways. So, yes. Give it your best, Tius.
Right away, your highness.
Several black tendrils erupted from my right hand and immediatelly went to town on the dresses, ripping and tearing the fabribs before somehow re-weaving them together again. One by one my dresses went away, forced into the mass of rupturing cloth, all of it being sewn into an entirely new article of clothing. Within a literal minute, the tendrils retreated back into my flesh, leaving a strange outfit on the ground before me. "Black silk underwear, really?" I questioned Tius'' work out loud.
Apologies if the clothes I made appear too erotic for your taste, milady. My intention was to find the most suitable and soft material for your nether regions.
... oh, fine. Not like I''m gonna show them off to anyone, am I? Next to the underwear were equally black pants, seemingly made out of leather.
Do not be fooled by their appearance, mistress. The leggings are made solely out of fabric. They merely appear otherwise as I have given the clothing to a honeycomb structure, much like that of human skin.
Either way, the black pants felt great, cool and airy. What followed afterwards was a long-sleeved royalesque shirt, accompanied by a set of purplish gloves. The shirt was clearly made out of velvet, much like my bed sheets, yet the gloves held the same leather-like appearance as the pants. There was a pair of socks made as well, yet they seemed rather simple in comparison to the rest of the outfit, feeling like simple woolen socks. Perhaps, this is for the best. However, the last article of clothing seemed to be something straight out of a fairy tale. A large, for me at least, crimson overcoat akin to what a city mayor may wear during the colder seasons. Come to think of it... winter is on the horizon here in Axilar. And our winters are long and harsh so maybe this isn''t as strange as I originally thought it was. But still, a thicker dress may have done the trick for a normal young lady. Then again, do I really want to appear normal at this point? Social interactions are much easier to deal with if everyone around me just automatically assumes that I''m crazy. Shrugging to myself, I put on the clothes only to realize that there was a missing component. I was barefoot. Also, the coat was kind of heavy so I put it off and into the dresser."Uhh, you wouldn''t have some kind of ability to make shoes, do you Tius?"
... it should not be too difficult. The process is the same as it was with the dresses, though the material will be more difficult to work with.
Letting out a sigh, I open up a lower portion of my dresser to find a multitude of shoes, specialized and set appart in accordance for what they were used for. That is to say; dancing shoes, everyday shoes, dinner shoes, meeting shoes, school shoes and so forth. Tius, devour everything you see.
... okay?
For some reason, I feel an immense headache just by looking at all these shoes. So watching Tius'' tendrils slowly destroy them is rather relieving. Mere seconds later, the shoes before me were all gone and in their place was a pair of black leather combat boots. As in its-really-leather, this time. They appeared simple enough, though I do not know of any worksman capable of making something like this in this day and age. Mayhaps I could say that my outfit was made by an elf? Or that its something I found in mothers basement? Putting the boots on gave me a few extra centimeters of height and it took a bit of time to actually get used to it. My normal height is somewhere around one meter and forty centimeters but now I was around three to five centimeters higher. It felt weird. And made me feel proud of myself for some reason. Anyways, with the outfit on apart from the overcoat, I walked towards my mirror."Ehh.." I let out a rather uncharacteristic sound. I certainly looked like a noble. ... A male noble, that is. Rich, silken black lower clothing and a striking crimson top. My purplish gloves were the only thing feminine about me. Then again, one of my arms was made out of metal, so its not like I could appear any less girlish if I tried. Yet parhaps the more shocking revelation was the fact that a couple strands of my snow-white hair had turned a bright red color. Like freshly spilled blood. They appeared in seemingly random places and werent concentrated in the least which thankfully made them somewhat less noticable... maybe if I tied my hair into a ponytail, I could hide them? I did as such and scowled at what I saw as any semblance of femininity completely dispersed from my visage. In fact, if I were to compare myself to anything, it would be a rather young, male dark elf. Except my skin is completely white so the comparison is kinda trash but you get the point. I looked like something that was trying to cosplay being female rather than an actual girl. Oh whatever, my appearance may be useful to me. After all, if I look like this, what kind of man would try to court me?... and the thought of being intimate with another girl excites me more than I''d like to admit. Come to think of it, all the men I found nice to look at werent the typical smelly, hairy and muscular kind that all the other girls my age often oogled at. Rather... my fixiation was more onto male elves. The very same elves I claimed to be cosplaying as just a few seconds ago. ... elves like the headmasters halfbreed son. A-ah, I think I understand those fangirls feelings a little bit more now. Shaking off the blood rushing to my cheeks, I found myself staring intently into the mirror once more. ... something suddenly feels very, very wrong. My visage within the mirror suddenly smiled towards me and I quickly checked with my right hand, placing it on my mouth to find how I wasn''t smiling at all. Further more, the hand I raised in reality... was not raised in the mirror. The me-in-the-mirror then appeared to leap forward, pale-white teeth shining like that of a hungry lion and I punched the mirror-in-the-wall by reflex. Thankfully, it was with my metal arm. The cracking glass let out a hollow scream and maddening laughter, both echoing throughout the castle as my reflection was consumed in flames. An inferno blazed within the glass. Within moments, bloody hand-prints appeared all over the glass, as if something was walking downwards on its hands alone, they went down and down and down and... Blink. The mirror was unbroken. The fire was gone. The bloody hand-prints werent there. The scented candles on the sides of the wall-mirror still burned lively. A cold sweat fell down my brow, yet I exhaled as I seemed to have returned to reality."W-what the hell was that? Chaos?!"
Milady, it would appear that you are developing Schizophrenia.
... what ... does that mean?
.... perhaps it is best that you do not know. In any case, please refrain from doing anything stressfull for a time. Your young mind can only take so much.
... A disease born out of stress? Do such things exist? Are we sure that wasn''t some kind of magical atta-.... Don''t stress, Alice. Don''t think about it. Ignorance is your friend, Alice. Tius, I need to do something to calm myself. Ideas?
... Hmm, according to my analysis, your current state of mind is caused mainly due to your uncertainty and insecurity. Perhaps, planning ahead may soothe your troubled mind?
"More work, eh?" Muttering mostly to myself, I walked over to a second table within my room. This one served a different purpose than the last, as it was used mostly for eating. As in, this would be the table that I eat my breakfast and dinner on. Close to it were two mahogany chairs, set sideways yet not on the floor as the other one''s was. This was the place where father explained his undeath to me. The chairs were still as we left them. Everything in this room... appears to be almost immune to the passage of time. From the stone floors to the furniture and the clothing... How, strange. Anyways, I shouldn''t think too hard on it. Opening a drawer on my work desk, I took out a spare, unopened inkwell and an empty book which I use when I need to write letters. As in I rip out the pages and write on them untill I make something socially acceptable. Hm.. What to do... what do I need to do this week? Today is monday. Did I have something arranged for tomorrow? Oh yeah, I did. I am supposed to come visit Master Merriels family at dinnertime. Geez, I hope I haven''t insulted his wife too much by being neglectful... Anyways, thats one note. Anything else for that day? Hmn... in the morning, I have classes. Tuesday would mean World History. Ugh, screw that. I''m not going and I''ll probably switch that subject for something else. Which all leaves me with an empty morning. So what to fill the morning up with? My poor fiance comes to mind. I did say that I would buy him a painter set, right? So doing that or at least finding out more about such artistic sets may be a good idea. Honestly, I should also look around for more information on the Kulum Pox. I mean, much of Ulfo''s self-hatred originates from that disease so maybe if I find a way to cure him, he would heal as a person? That still won''t save him from daily physical excercise. Gotta remember to set a butler or maid strong enough to force him into doing it all though. ... what next? Maybe I should use the morning to stay home since I''m already skipping classes and go visit Kilnchapel before leaving for Sorcierre? I mean, since I have Fluffy now- no, wait, while flying on a giant bat monster is very appealing, the trouble it will cause is not. So... no Fluffy-flights. Sadface. Anyways, that means I need a new carriage. Shouldn''t be too hard to get one but if I want to be in Sorcierre by tomorrow night, I need to start preparations tonight... and possibly leave tonight, as well. Meh, not like I was planning to sleep anyways. People will want me to take up an entourage, though. Its only natural as we''ve just been attacked, after all. But who do I bring with me? I can''t bring any of the commanders or the general. I need to fish out some elite soldiers but how do I do that quickly enough? Oh, I can just ask the general to get some good guards for me. Here''s to hope that we can muster enough supplies quickly for them, as the general will likely want to send me off with a minor warband. A turn towards the outside revealed that the sun was just about to set, with a glorious golden light shining through my window from the horizon. Hm. Maybe I should go visit Kilnchapel today? Right then. I''ll get the servants to set up a carriage here and use Fluffy to fly towards Kilnchapel in order to deal with whatever situation''s arisen there by now. With a satisfied smirk, I closed the book I was writing notes in and took a small bag with me to place it in. I always had my demonic purse with me but now I''m gonna have another small bag on the other side of my waist. With slight hesitation, I turned towards the mirror once more and found myself nearly laughing at how I looked."Now, all I need is a saber and I''ll look like a proper pirate. An extremely rich pirate, but a pirate nonetheless." A chuckle escaped me as I extended my hand towards the celling."Father!" My cry echoed with magical power as the sword-form of my dad took shape from nothingness and I could feel his consciousness connecting to mine."Alice? You need me for something, darling?... also, what the hell is that outfit?" His voice echoed within my mind and I let out a giggle."You don''t like it?" I could feel my father tilting his head in confusion."I honestly don''t know what to even say about it. It looks good on you, Alice.. but at the same time I get the feeling that it really shouldn''t, look good on you." Ah."Anyways dad, can you change your sword-form?" "Why? Do you want me to turn into a pirate saber or something?" Oh. Nail on the head. Father seemed to blink in disbelief."Fine. I will complete your already insane look so why the hell not." With that said, the short silvery blade extended forward, forging itself into what was a blade as long as my body, had a guard in the shape of the white one''s symbol and a T shaped handle of silver and gold. It shone brightly in the illuminated room, as it appeared to slice even the shadows. I carefully dragged the tip of the blade accross the stone floor and swallowed hard as it easily cut through."Still as implausibly sharp as before, eh?" Shrugging, I placed the blade back into its sheath and then tied said sheath next to my new bag. Cracking my bones, I unlocked the door to my room and walked out with renewed vigour. Its was time to get to work!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Thats it for this chapter! As per usual, I''ll stay online for a bit to clean up the chapter. But after that, or during all that, I''ll go get myself some food. And since I probably wont be able to write again anytime soon, HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW! 31. Chaotic Lies Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
God only knows how this is going to work out. I guess I can only find the strength to post stuff during holidays. Eh, I hope that''s not too horrible, but sadly my work drains me of any willpower to write and even now I find it very difficult to hype myself up enough. Euphoria is... in a strange place. I''ve rewritten the events that happen in the next chapter at least seven times by now. I either forget something important, think of something new and great, try to mix them and fail, or I just open the writing menu and immediately give up on writing. I don''t know why... Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you all enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break..
A few hours later... - Kilnchapel - Alice''s Point Of View...
A fresh breeze filled with natural magic woke me from my daze as Fluffy flew over the great iron city of Kilnchapel. It was a massive city, built upon the dry remains of a lake rich in iron and other metals. The city seemed to be wide awake as people of all kinds were rushing around its center, where a giant statue stood. It appeared to be a lithe man with a glowing sword and shield in hand, wearing strange enchanted clothing, almost as if he were some form of adventurer. Ah, is this a statue built in the honor of my grandfather, Lucian Pendragon? Also, the entire city appears to be surrounded by the corpses of ratmen... something seems to be amiss. My soldiers within the city appeared to have noticed me by this point and had a large oval area cleared of people to allow me and my bat monstrosity to land. As soon as I reached solid ground, two familiar faces approached me. One belonged to the guardsman I promoted to a commander Argon Lissarn, and the other belonged to Clauss, the dwarven mayor of this remarkable city. The human of the two rushed to salute me."Milady Pendragon!" "Hello to you as well, soldier. I see that you''ve been quite busy." I somehow managed to hide my disappointment from the man, who leaped in joy but the dwarf spoke before he could say anything else."Yes, your men arrived here just in time to reinforce my city against the ratmens attack. The filthy beasts threw everything they had at us, even their young, but with the help of your elite troops, we managed to exterminate them!" So the rats have been unmade, eh?"I see. I assume that casualties on our side were not dire?" Both the dwarf and the man stepped back and looked away from my judging gaze and when neither dared speak, I let out a sigh."I suppose that''s the best we could have hoped for. Holding out until reinforcements arrived was not an option?" My question was quickly answered by Clauss as the old dwarf pointed towards a giant hole in the ground in the middle of the city."No milady. The ratmen attacked us from all sides, swarming the walls with their young while the more experienced soldiers attacked us in the rear... my forces were about to rout when your men charged in and saved us all, but both of us paid a heavy price of soldiers lives. The civilian population has not been harmed but a great many families shall spend the next few days in mourning." "Then bring the construction plans to a pause, let the people mourn for a few days before we begin drafting workers." A nod was my answer as I looked back towards Fluffy and sighed."Well, I suppose that''s all I could do her-" "MILADY PENDRAGON!" A soldier exclaimed somewhere from my left, dragging behind him a white-furred ratman who appeared to still be alive. This rat had golden, glowing eyes much like mine and a few threads of his fur were colored crimson. A chaosborne ratman? The soldier stopped in front of me with a tired sigh."Speak, soldier!" My exclamation brought the man out of what appeared to be a strange daze."H-huh... lady Pendragon?.. what?.. I thought you were a-..." The man fell onto the ground, alive but unconscious. The ratman he was dragging around rose to his feet, a withered cane in his hands. My current entourage rose to action and drew their blades, yet a wave of my hand stopped them from attacking the old rat. The strange thing looked me dead in the eye and ripped out one of its whiskers after scratching it, deep crimson blood flowing freely from the fresh wound. It licked some of its own blood and gulped, seemingly regaining a portion of its strength."N-not regain, reuse. N-not last l-long." The ratman spoke, much to the confusion of my guards. "You can read minds, old one?" The rat shook its head in negative, making me quirk an eyebrow in turn."N-no n-no... your thoughts.. loud... too loud... cannot h-help but re-read." "I see." A blink was the old ones answer as I watched him *reuse* more of his own blood, eventually managing to fully open his eyes with renewed vigor."You wouldn''t have mind controlled the soldier and made him bring you here without a reason, old rat. Why are you here?" He swallowed down hard, his golden eyes betraying the rats intense sadness and despair."I.. we... Gadrik came to ask this; why have you not c-come to s-save u-us?" I blinked in confusion as the wheels turned inside of my head, the image of Chaos popping inside of my mind and yet, not a single soundless sound to follow it."I do not understand. What do you mean?" Gadrik took an amulet out of his weathered pale robes. It was made out of crude iron yet seemed to glow as brightly as gold as it devoured the very shadows around it. A foolish man would claim it was a holy artifact, but I knew better, for the image of a thousand-eyed wolf was carved into the front of the amulet while the backside seemed to picture an endlessly bleeding creature of, to me at least, unknown origin."The Devouring One told us to flee our home in the m-mountains.. c-c-come here, to dwarf-city. There, another like m-me would bring us into h-her f-fold, a matriarch but not rat-kind... you... it was promised you would save us."The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The guards around me seemed to shiver in fear in discomfort, not entirely sure of how to react as I cracked my neck, the giant bat behind me merrily deciding that this wasn''t worth its time and promptly fell to the floor in order to take a quick nap."And why did you have to flee your home, old one?" Gadrik blinked, almost as if uncertain of something."... have, have?.. flee.. we flee from ogres, they saw the shiny things in our lair, wants them... attack us... a-ah, my essence fades... please, tell me..." The rat pulls out another whisker and drinks as much as possible."Why have you not come to save us?" "Was there another option? Couldn''t you have stood your ground and fought or appeased the ogres somehow?" Gadrik stared directly at me once more, yet I held the old rats gaze."Such q-questions.. and yet, you should know nothing about our f-fight." His eyes closed for a long moment and when they opened again, one eye was no longer golden or glowing. In its place was a pure-white socket, a blind thing upon a blinder host."The ogres... demanded food. Our young. The adults refused, said if I decide this, they eat and replace me as leader..." "And what did the Cosmic Beast tell you to do?" Now, my soldiers were letting out soundless screams as they connected a few dots, Clauss himself deciding to approach me as Gadrik went silent."Lady Pendragon... are you.. no, do you worship the Cosmic Beast?" I sent the old dwarf several blinks before answering."Its surprising that you don''t know this, Lord Clauss. My family is cursed, has been for ages. The main heir of the family inherits the curse with each generation, a curse which turns the eyes gold and the hair white with strands of crimson depending on how far the curse has progressed. This curse grants the heir near preternatural physical strength, speed and overall vitality. This curse, originates from the Cosmic Beast." Everyone around me let out an ooh sound with one of the guards suddenly saying."That don''t sound too bad for a curse, milady." "Well, so long as you manage to ignore the occasional whispers of utter and absolute insanity, then yeah, its not all bad." Gadrik let out a laugh, forcing my attention back towards him."I.. I see now... maybe I was meant to die." He looked over himself and promptly stopped drinking his essence. Then he offered me a curt bow."T-thank you.. for allowing me clarity in these final moments, sister Alice... May your d-days be short and your life long..." Then his tone took a far darker outline."... and may the c-cosmic b-BITCH!, stay far away from you-you!" With that one final roar of defiance, the old rat turned to dust and ashes with a silent scream, leaving nothing but the amulet behind. Without even attempting to resist the temptation, I took the amulet into my hands. AHH! THERE WE GO! So now you decide to show yourself, mother? Would asking for a clear explanation of what just happened be too much to ask? YOUR CHOICES HAVE RUINED OUR ALREADY WEAKENED LINK, ALICE. If I could have called out to you before this, I would have. I blinked in momentary confusion as I stared at the amulet in my hands. YOU HAVE CHO- I let go of the amulet. Silence, ahhh beautiful silence. Deciding not to piss off mother dearest, I picked up the iron-wrought amulet and put it around my neck."Uhh, are you sure that wearing that thing is a wise idea, young lady?" Clauss asked me with a worried glance as I shrugged."Eh, if you were in my shoes, you''d realize that doing otherwise in this situation would be a very bad idea." Another spree of oohs resounded as I commanded everyone to return to their posts. Argon Lissarn approached me, bearing with him the amulet of Vytar that I offered as a temporary proof of rank."Milady, if you''re going to be wearing that thing... perhaps you should take this one back as well?" Shrugging at the man, I took the amulet and pocketed it before congratulating the him for a job well done. He left in a seeming hurry to relay the news to the rest of the soldiers as I mounted Fluffy once again and took to the skies without another word. The magic-seeped fresh and frosty air alleviated my growing headache as I grasped the Chaos Amulet into my hands. Well that was exceedingly rude of you, young lady. To be perfectly honest mother, I don''t think you have the right to say that to anyone. ... a fair point, but also one which proves my own, darling. I guess you could call it a, double-edged point, then? A spree of toneless laughter echoed in my mind and I let out a few chuckles of my own before continuing out loud like some madwoman flying in the sky."So am I to assume that I chose to walk a different path of fate than you had in mind, mother?" You offered mercy to a necromancer, a person whose very existence defies me and followed cold logic to solve a situation which would cause even the least attuned to me to follow my will. So why is it that you do not appear angry? You rejected my path and thus ruined our already weakened link... but because of your actions, another gate has been opened within your soul. ... Did I gain a connection to... father? Of a sort, yes. Though it is not strong enough for him to speak to you directly, not that he would even if it were. But if that''s the case how does he ever even get anyone to follow him? He is perfection. Even if he does nothing at all, mortal beings will bow before him... His silence tends to make them even more devoted than direct communication, as it allows their fragile mortal minds to make up their own versions of what and who he is. That''s... kind of terrifying. Right? Either way, without a proper amulet of his power, you will never have the ability to hear his voice. So same as yours is currently, right? Indeed, though I doubt that things will remain this way for long. A perfect balance such as this... not even Antioch could possibly keep it for long. A perfect balance? Antioch?.. ehh... Your soul is currently split into two exact halves of purely opposing forces, a balance of Order and Chaos.. thought you have already taken steps to shatter that balance. A glint in the corner of my eye caught the amulet of Vytar shining with power on my hip. The traitorous whore has been listening in to our conversations for quite a long time now... though her choice of focus interests me greatly, considering the lives at stake. Vytar''s amulet suddenly let out a massive glow of power for the briefest moment before the amulet lost all of its glow and returned to being a normal holy item. What just happened?... You will find out soon enough, Alice. I swallowed down hard, not entirely sure that I liked what I just heard. Shaking my head out of my stupor, I realized that I was already back to the front of my castle, the half-built city below me already had several makeshift houses and an artificial moat built to separate its future districts. An immense portion of the forest had been cut down in order to fuel the construction of the city, with quality stone being imported from gods know where. The formerly wild road had been cleared of all plant life and what remained was a well-walked strait of dirt, with the occasional spot of paved tiles here and there. A city in the womb, growing as any child does, greedily draining its mother of precious resources. I snorted to myself, realizing that that might have been a though sent to me by Chaos... Perhaps she is right... what have I done recently to deserve her favor? Oh well, I''m sure than an opportunity to correct things will arrive sooner or later, no?
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break..
And thats it for this chapter of Destiny; Infernal! I''m sorry for the huge wait between chapters but eh, such is life. This is my very first (read; successfull) job, so I really don''t wanna mess it up. Which is why I have very little willpower left to give to writing. I hope that you guys can handle the wait time without too much chaos-deprivation. XD
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 32. White And Gold Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
So, hey! Its been a while! Anyways, don''t really wanna talk too much. Here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
That night... - Dragon''s Trail - Alice''s Point Of View...
A vast expanse of cleared woodland stretched itself out before me as construction workers toiled all around, seemingly as immune to physical exhaustion as I was. The night may still be young, but people should have long since been asleep at this hour. Much of the work effort was being focused on building the foundations for what I can only assume will be considered my new city''s nobility district. The high rise, climbing up the nearby mountains, foundations of stone, carved in stone. To be honest, even at this early stage, it was sort of breathtaking. This scene is exactly why I was currently sitting at the forefront of my new carriage, having left my academy books and other necessities back inside, much to my drivers dismay. The driver in question was an elven slave, a man of dark elven descent. He appeared to be very young for someone of his kind, possibly taken away into slavery while still a mere babe. Now, he is forced to serve me by the will of his master who has yet to be properly introduced to me, even as he is so very close to me. ... so many unknown people were around me right now, yet they all shared a certain... set, of bodily aspects, should I say? Bodily aspects which made them feel very, very familiar. Even... like family. My current entourage, already pre-selected from my loyal soldiers by their equally loyal general, consisted of twenty five people in total. Ten heavily plated soldiers which consisted of seven humans and three dwarves, five orcish berserkers and five trackers carrying large war-bows and five.. others, people whose races I could not truly tell beneath their blackened leather armor. In fact, I was amazed that I could see them at all. And while everyone present was on a mount of one kind or another, five of the heavily plated soldiers were clearly far more used to it, as even their horses were wearing plate armor, colored blue and gold, adorned with the bleeding sun and dragon that was my dynastic banner. A squadron of lancers, even as they dragged along heavy clay-mores on their backs, their lances kept unnervingly steady and ready for assault in their right hands as their left hands bore flags of my standard. The dark blue of their plate armor made them just as difficult to notice as the shadowed figures surrounding us all. All ten of the orcs were riding atop large wolf-like monsters, wargs I believe. Or maybe its worgs? The books I''ve read on them were never really exact on the subject. Five of the orcs were hauling around monstrously oversized weaponry, all of it still drenched in the blood of their previous battle. Has nobody ever told them that blood causes rust? "Hey, you! Orc!" I suddenly exclaimed despite myself towards a large, hulking mass of scarred, pale grey skin and muscle. The thing turned towards me with a resounding crack of bone, causing its oversized weapon to move rapidly in its poorly-crafted leather handle and hit the warg/worg that the orc was riding."GROUGHL!" The massive wolf-thing yelped, which would have been kind of adorable if the yelp hadn''t been so terrifying that the nearby construction workers dropped whatever they were carrying and scurried off like maggots from a poisoned corpse."Ah!" The orc quickly stabilized his mount and turned towards me once more."Yes, boss-lady?" "Why did you not clean your weapon of blood? Its gonna rust if you keep it like that." My question made the orc, and pretty much every other orc in earshot, offer me a dumbfounded gaze."W...wot? Blood make sword rust? Iz dis true?" The orcs then turned towards their human companions, who silently nodded in turn. One of the orcs in the back then exclaimed."WELL DAT FUKIN'' EXPLAINS A LOT, DON''T IT!?" Grumbling and pathetic moaning ensued as everyone resumed normal positions and the orcs started borrowing cleaning tools from anyone close by, scraping the massive heaps of iron that they called weapons as clean as they possibly cloud. Shaking my head out of my stupor, I leaned back into the coachman seat next to the white haired dark elf slave. Ah, that reminds me. As you may have guessed by now, literally every person in this selective entourage, man, elf, orc, dwarf or otherwise undefined had two- or rather three, distinctive features that made it look like we were all distant relatives, as implausible and impossible as that sounded. We all had skin as pale as death, hair as white as snow and eyes glowing like gleaming gold. Is... Chaos'' influence in this world a lot stronger than I realize?
My scanning shows miniscule traces of Chaos Energy within the people around you... but the amount within them is basically nonexistent. In fact, you could even call it "normal".
So I''m not surrounded by unknown siblings, then? "My lady? You seem to be troubled by something?" One of my lancers, the heavily plated knights, approached me. I could not see his face from within the thick-metal helmet he had on, but I could tell his gender by body shape and tone of voice."Its nothing just... are pale skin, white hair and golden eyes common traits around here?" "Common?.. I would not call our shared features common, milady. It is just a trait exhibited by those who have lived through horrifying experiences. For some unknown reason, a great deal of such people gather within your county." I quirked an eyebrow at this."So this place attracts outcasts and troubled fellows?" The knight laughed at me lightly."If you think that this county''s bandit problem is caused by the maddening attraction this land exhibits to our sort, then you would be both correct and wrong at the same time." With a nod, I urge the knight to continue."What do you mean by that?" The knight pulled back, seemingly uncertain for some reason. Then, the orc I had spoken to before spoke up, still cleaning his oversized blade."Boss-lady, do ya ever git dis need ta kill tingz?" How incredibly blunt. I shook my head in negative, much to the others surprise."I haven''t ever felt a .. need, as you put it, but that may very well be simply because I''ve been continuously killing people ever since my hair went white." Now, everybody stopped for a moment and the knight came back up front after what felt like an eternity of silence."Well, there''s your answer, milady." I blinked in momentary confusion."My answer?... my father used to kill a lot of bandits for... certain reasons. Are you saying that you kill them for those same reasons?" My entourage nodded, yet I felt like they had no idea what exactly they were admitting to doing here."That still does not explain the sheer number of bandits in these lands." "Lack of information, seeming prosperity despite a bad reputation, the constant absence of a rulling lord and general lack of security." An unknown female voice echoed from the back line, one of the black-covered skirmishers whose race I could not tell. Going by the tone of her voice, I''d say she was a dark elf, much like my current coachman."You kill the bandits so quickly that they never learn whats really going on and while the threat of death does push some of the more cowardly ones away, such things are a constant within criminal society anyways so it does not deter them for long, especially since the lack of security around here ensures a constant supply of easy raiding targets." Silence followed once more, echoing rebelliously into the nights sky. We were far away from the construction sites now, deep into the forest... everything was so, very.. silent. Yet, I felt no danger around here."It be our aura, boss-lady." "Aura?" I gave the berserker an inquisitive gaze."All o'' us gol-eyez ''ave dis... weird air all ''round us. Wen lotu o'' us are togetha, da air becomz ''ven weirder, if dat mak'' any ''ense."
Milady, from the memories given to me by my parents, I can confirm that Chaos Energy grants its hosts an aura of madness and insanity. This aura serves a lot of invisible purposes, such as making the non-afflicted terrified or more easily swayed to your will. You may think of it like a vampire''s seduction, except swap lust for horror.
"I see." Muttering to myself as I turned my gaze to the sky and took in the pale full moon''s shine, I felt myself smile. This... aura... this attraction of the troubled and the broken... This county... The place where Chaos was beaten back into the realm from whence it came... but the portal still exists somewhere, a gap of reality, a tear, an open wound in the world itself. And it seems, that this wound... is bleeding."Care to share your enlightenment''s, milady?" A mounted skirmisher approached me, lowering his face mask and offering me a knowing, wry smile."Hmm? Whatever do you mean?" The man gave out a laugh, much like the plated knight before him."Milady, we of the gold-eyed know full well just how terrifying the realizations our brains can make truly are. Yet sometimes, the realizations we make can be rather... dramatic and ironic. We have an oath, you see, one which makes us share these particular enlightenment''s with the rest of our kind, so that we may all experience the heart-rending gladness that they offer." "Heart-rending.. gladness? Huh... that is a good way to describe what I''m feeling right now. How odd." I took in a deep breath and began my explanation."Very well. Tell me, how much do you know of my dynastic history?" "You mean aside from your family''s continuous exploits of conflict and war throughout the ages? Not much, truth be told. Your family is one shrouded in mystery, young lady." The female soldier from before joined back into the conversation. A nod was given as I continued."Well, my family was created over five thousand years ago so its not far-fetched to say that our history has been lost to time." "Five thousand years ago?" One of the soldiers muttered in silence at this revelation as the others appeared to adopt faces of silent shock."Da time o'' da Beast?... so our gud luks ar'' tied to da Beast, den?" An orc suddenly spoke, surprising me with his apparent clarity.
How interesting... My father Antioch, lived by a strong set of rules which dictated that the more one understands and comprehends Chaos, the more of its power they would be able to wield. It appears he was correct; for the amount of Chaos Energy contained within your entourage''s bodies is rising, milady.
"Wouldn''t be too surprising... many of us live exactly as the Cosmic Beasts wants it, right? Free and as hedonistic as possible." An elf spoke. "It''d explain why Vytar''s followers are so easy to seduce for us gold-eyes." A man threw in his fifty copper.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. "And why we''re all fukin'' lunatics." A dwaft proudly exclaimed. And an orc finished."An'' woy we''s all feelin'' loik family." I blinked."Wait, that last part, why we all feel like we''re family... what does this have to do with the Cosmic Beast?" "Don''t you know, milady? The old books say how the Cosmic Beast was furious at Vytar for he believed her to be his family, his mate and wife. How the reason for its fury was solely due to Vytar''s desire to murder their son and not because she betrayed him." So Chaos thinks highly of family? And this trait is exhibited by its children as well?
My father, who is a powerful child of Chaos, exhibits intense incestual tendencies as he has slept with just about every sister he could find and even infected my Grandmother, turning her into his twin before proceeding to sleep with her... on multiple occassions. Taking that into account, I''d say your conclusion is absolutely correct.
Ah. Here''s to hope my father didn''t have any bastard children... I''m not entirely sure that I want to fall in love with an older, or younger brother. ... or sister. ... Ah gods dammit all, the more I think about this, the more appealing it becomes. Wait, does that mean that if Antioch ever came into this world he would-.... Oh, my. Oh, oh my. I feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as I quickly shake my head out of my stupor and tear the image out of my mind. There is no need to worry, my daughter. Your older brother is certainly perverted, but he is no pedophile. The voice of Chaos thundered tonelessly inside of my mind as I felt a little bit better. But oh, mother dearest, I won''t be nine years old forever. Come to think of it."Oh hey, I''m gonna be ten years old next Saturday." "That''s a random thing to say out loud like that, milady." One of my soldiers chuckled at my antics, causing me to give him a shrug."Anyways, you didn''t tell us what your enlightenment was? In fact, you seemed to experience even more dramatic realizations during the course of our conversation." That same soldier pointed out and I shrugged yet again."I have, though I am not sure that I wish to share what I''ve... realized?" The female from before smirked at me, lowering her own mask to reveal, as I thought, a dark elven woman so pale that you''d think she was a High Elf from away... yet the distinctive crimson tattoos upon her flesh proved otherwise."Considering that we were talking about how we all felt like family and that adorable blush on your cheeks right afterwards.. oh my, does the young lady have an older sibling she''d like to... have read a story to her at night?" The she-elf caught herself in a blush of her own before finishing that sentence with as much R-18 content as she originally wanted to. Wait.. R-18.. content? What the fuck are those thoughts?...
R-18 is short for rated 18. 18 as in eighteen years of age is required to witness the "content", that which is included inside of whatever is "R-18". These are words often used in my fathers world... perhaps, as our minds are linked, some of my memories are leaking into you, milady?
I don''t know, Tius. Are French and Capiche also words in your fathers world?
Yes, milady.
Well that would explain a lot, though I''ve been using them long before I ever even met you. Finally, I turned back towards the she-elf."No, not really. Though the thought of incestual relations does... intrigue me more, much more, than I''d ever like to admit." "En, is it really incest if we aren''t really related?" A dwaft, riding what looked like some kind of snow-furred mountain cougar, approached me and asked. I looked around me, reminding myself that this affected my entire entourage."Huh, so all of you are a lot closer than a normal squad of soldiers, eh?" "Luvs, hugz an'' kisses, woteva, whoeva. Wot''s it matta if we loik each otha moar den othas?" What a conservative point of view, my orcish friend? Yet, I do not think that your *woteva* and *whoeva* would be quite accepted by seemingly like minded groups, which is ironic. Libertarian conservatives, eh? Ah, words I don''t know yet use make yet another appearance. And no Tius, I don''t need an explanation for them this time.
... as you wish.
Aww, don''t be sad. Anyways, mother dearest, could you explain as to why you get so defensive whenever we talk about Antioch. A mother always protects her children, especially those who hold so much potential like you and him. I... hold potential?... What kind of potential? ... It is not yet time for you to learn that. And, it is also not something that should ever be explained to you by anyone other than yourself.
... as you wish as well, milady.
Eh, Tius? You can hear Chaos?!
I would not say that I "hear" anything... but such mortal senses have never applied to the "voice" of Chaos.
True enough, I suppose. Suddenly, I felt very, very tired."Ah, I''m gonna go inside now to sleep. Wake me if anything interesting happens, please." They each offered a salute in respect."As you wish, milady!" Going inside of my carriage revealed it to be a near exact copy of my previous one, with rich crimson silk seats and blackened ebonwood furniture. There was even a small cabinet with a heating rune and a stock of tea leaves as well as all the porcelain cups and silverware required to make use of it. Hm, I could go for some tea now... if only I knew how to make some. If I remember correctly, you just like... heat up the water and then put the leaves inside? That sounds right?... okay, not really but hey, I''m gonna try anyways. After doing this, I finally noticed a rather sizable brown bag on the seat opposite of my own, where the maids and butlers usually sat. Taking the bag into my hands revealed a note beneath it. "Since you left before I could give this to you, I''ve decided to leave it all inside of your new carriage and hope to the heavens, or the Cosmic Beast, that nobody steals it or pockets some of its contents. There should be roughly over four hundred and thirty gold coins contained within the bag, this month''s collective tax from your county. I''ve been collecting this for a while which is most likely why the other lords hold me in such contempt, as collecting taxes during a regency is highly illegal, but their ire dispersed after the council meeting which meant that I could finally offer this to you. I only hope that the bag found you with its contents full, Alice. Signed; your faithful mayor. P.S: Yes, this is my way of firmly planting myself into the positions of both Treasurer and Tax Collector at the same time. I trust you have nothing against it, right? *wink wink*" As I finished the letter, I found myself struggling not to laugh."Oh Yvain, you sly fox. That''s probably how he managed to buy a ring to propose in the first place. Oh well, he''s been great help so far so I might as well let him play his game." Then I noticed that there was something written on the backside of the letter."Hail''s End: twenty five gold, lowest of all the cities, mainly due to the special tax exemption law for soldiers." Huh, this kind of law existed in my county? No wonder my soldiers are so damn loyal, forgiving and dismissive of my apparent lunacy. "Yarrin: highest profit, estimated to be around two hundred and fifty gold coin and this is with one of its gates permanently occupied for construction purposes." Hmm, that''s a lot of gold per month into my pockets and the city isn''t even at its full strength. Now, I begin to understand the sacrifices that Yvain has made in my name so far... I wonder if I''m worth it? I hope that mother dearest has rewarded him for it somehow. With something more valuable than marriage. Maybe it is you who should reward him. Ah. Right. Point taken."Verdia: estimated taxation value is around one hundred gold total, but I am certain that less was collected due to rabid, uncooperative farmers and their rebellious land owners. Milady, I must advise you to invest administrative and potentially military effort into this part of the county as we cannot afford to have our breadbasket turn into the staging grounds for a rebellion." On that, we agree, as with many other things. I''m certain that the fucking Granny won''t make things any easier on us. Hell, shes probably the fire-starter in this case. Here''s to hope my construction efforts may placate her long enough for me to find a suitable replacement."Marrowdorf: estimated taxation value is over one hundred gold, however due to inefficiency and a general lack of education of the city populace, that value has dropped to only around seventy-five gold instead. Milady, we should consider diverting some of the construction effort to Marrowdorf and build a local school nearby... half of the people I met were unable to count beyond ten; and yes, that means beyond their fingers." Oh my good lord. This... This is a priority number one, if I''ve ever seen one. That said, where would I find enough willing tea- Oh. I''m going to a city filled with Academies. I guess I could go ask around Sorcierre for potential employees? .. wait, I just remembered something. Mister Merriel asked me to seek out potential apprentices and workers for his tailoring machine. Ah, fuck. Well, I hope he can wait a few more days. Gotta make sure to mention this in my next letter to Yva-.. no wait, Lady Cognat said that I should ask the mean Granny about this rather than anyone else. Hmm, perhaps I could make good use of this? Write a letter with good intentions to smooth out our relationship even quicker and get Master Merriel the working force he requires. This would result in double-no, TRIPLE the benefit for me! ... oh. I just remembered that I never quite went to witness the massacre of Dirkhaven. Ah fuck it, who cares? I''ve had much better and more urgent things to do that go meet some old man in a withered robe who thinks he can stand against me. "Kilnchapel; estimated taxation value is over three hundred gold. However, the city''s current sad state combined with the ratman infestation has served to severely diminish that value down to only a maximum of hundred gold. Milady, perhaps we should place arranging the creation of an Adventurers Guild in this city above the construction of the road between Castle Pendragon and Hails End?" Cancel a road... no, this is just a play on words in case someone ever steals these letters from me. What Yvain is asking of me is to postpone the building of the secret outpost between these two locations. Hm... Lady Cognat wont be happy if she hears about this, but the faster we can improve our income, the faster we can build ourselves up. I will have to consider this in more stable circumstances."Milady! We''ve reached the city of Yarrin!" A voice could be heard from the outside as I rose from my seat and opened my silver-inlaid window. The city that formed itself into my vision was a very lively place, even at this time of the night. People and animals alike were rushing everywhere almost as if it was morning and everyone was going to work. Goods were being carried and transported around, merchants were bartering their goods, little girls were selling flowers and boys were playing in the field. A part of me wanted to join them, the boys I mean, but I quickly shook myself out of those thoughts. Tailors and leather-workers were grouped together just next to a spree of blacksmiths, all of whom were working hard. The resounding echoes of tools, everything from slamming hammers to slicing knives, could be heard from far, far away."HALT!" Suddenly, a guard exclaimed and rushed over to us, a myriad of other men in armor pointed their pointy sticks at my entourage."State your names and your business here, mercenaries!" Their leader, an older man with a sergeants medal over his shoulder, walked forward to parley. When none of my soldiers stepped forwards, I realized that they expected me to deal with this. And quickly, or they might just decide to *deal with it*, by themselves."I am Lady Pendragon, High Lady of this county and your rightful liege. Now step aside and let us pass." I yelled somewhat uncharacteristically from the inside of my carriage, causing the old man to scoff."Bullshit! The young lady has a special coachman with white hair and gold ey- Oh wait, this one also has white hair and gold eyes." The dark elf slave in question merely scoffed in annoyance."The man you are describing is sadly dead. My carriage was attacked and he was butchered alive, but let us not talk of the dead." I promptly exited my carriage, eliciting a multitude of hushed whispers and whimpers alike from the collected crowd. "By Vytar, she looks loik death came ta loif!" "Wait, wasn''t she asleep for months?" "Hey... all of her guards look like she does!" "Sumtin''s fookin'' fishy ''ere, mates..." I shook my head as I ignored the gossiping crowd."Whatever. Can you let us pass now that you''ve seen me outside?" The old man nodded and his men scattered, yet he appeared to rise a finger up before we could go which made my soldiers rather uneasy."Milady, if I may, the people of this city... your subjects, have some questions we''d like answered, if your ladyship is willing?" Shrugging, I waved my hand downwards, causing the soldiers to ease up and said."Sure, why not? Ask away." "For what reason is the front gate occupied!?" A man from the crowd exclaimed with a tone of anger."Because we are building a new city on the grounds in front of my castle. Funded by yours truly and the mayors of the cities." "People say that there be orc settlers at this new city! Is this true?" A woman questioned me, a beastkin at that."Is this racism I sense? I assure you that such bullshit will not be tolerated. The orcs who serve under me are equals to everyone else that serves under me." This caused the crowd to burst into murmurs and minor chaos."Milady... do you even realize that the orcs from the Edgelands are constantly raiding your territory, killing and raping and butchering people, YOUR PEOPLE!" The guard captain screamed in outrage. I let out a massive sigh and answered with steel in my voice."Have you ever asked yourself this: why do the orcs raid?" "Because they are filthy savages that deserve extermination!" A fool exclaimed, much to the agreement of the crowd. The orcs in my group seemed disinterested in this and only gazed at my back, seemingly expecting... something, from me."So they''re savages, huh?" I let out a small chuckle before continuing."Alrighty then... lets say that you lived in a land where Winter never ends, where nothing grows and prey is scarce while your children starve and die, slowly, painfully, with bodies riddled with disease and living rot." My words quieted both the fool and the crowd in general."Now, imagine that you also have this... neighbor, whose pastures are grand and the soil rich, the forests plentiful and children happy, energetic and sometimes even fat." I turned to face the fool who claimed that the orcs were savages and asked."What would you do if you were in the orcs place? What if this land was theirs and we all lived beyond the Edgelands?" My smirk could not go higher as the crowd went silent, not even breathing could be heard for a few ethereal moments."You see, my dear subjects, I believe that it is not the orcs who are savage. It is the land that they are forced to survive upon that is savage. I assure you that the orcs who come here with the intent of finding easy prey will be dealt with just as any other criminal would be, but those who come here with the intent to survive under my rule will either adapt and become *civilized* or they will be forced back from whence they came." I rose my hand upward and faced the crowd with all the fury and pride I could muster as I closed my eyes."This, ..." My closed eyes opened to reveal golden, glowing orbs filled with power."... I swear."
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Decided not to ruin the moment and end the chapter here. More to come, hopefully soon!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Well Shit." Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, y''all! How are you guys and gals doing?
Well fuck. Didn''t think my first AN on this story would be something, anything even remotely like this. Basically, I wanted to upload at least one more chapter this weekend but... today I saw a black flag over my workplace for the first time. I have a funeral to attend. One of my coworkers son has died in a car crash. Its not known if he was drunk or half asleep but...You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Man, its kinda really ... shit, when someone you''ve talked to just a few days ago dies. It sucks ass. To top it off, I found out what happened right as I was eating. Never has a cheeseburger tasted so much like black ashes. Anyways, this means no chapters for either of my stories for a while, most likely not the next couple days. On a brighter note, I found out how nobody ever rated this story below 3! Ugh... maybe I''ll manage to finish up my chapter by the end of tomorrow but I sincerely doubt it as by 17h we have to start travelling. And, for the love of God, Allah or whatever else you believe/dont believe in: Don''t drink and drive. 33. Fire Upon Flames Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Argh. God fucking damnit. I fell into platinum one again... So sorry if all of my salt gets poured directly into this chapter. Something might get bashed, or some things, maybe around everyone... ah screw it. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
At the brink of dawn... - The road to Sorcierre - Alice''s Point Of View...
A spree of relatively-silent knocks rouses me from my rather strange sleep. I could not remember if I had even dreamed at all... or even actually slept, really. It was more like having your eyes closed and hoping to fall asleep while at the same time being too paranoid to actually do so. I''ve never experienced this before in my entire life.
First Schizophrenia and now Insomnia? Milady, I strongly suggest that you seek out a healer of mind. Some kind of shaman or alchemist who can give you a potion that offers restful slumber, prefferably one with pleasant dreams.
...?... I''ll... try to find one... but what is this Insomnia thing that you just mentioned.
A mental condition which leaves its patient unable to properly sleep which may cause intense mental damage the longer it goes on, starting with simple physical exhaustion to outright dementia.
O-oh... well I guess the latter isn''t so bad but I can''t really allow myself to be constantly physical exhausted. Wait, maybe that''s why we Chaosborne have the power to consume others? To avoid exhaustion while falling deeper and deeper into insanity. Huh. Anyways, someone was knocking on my carriage door. I then lowered the window down into the wood of said door to reveal a tired orc looking at me with blood-shot and tired eyes."Boss-lady... the bois and gals are gettin'' pretty tired. We wuz contemplatin'' askin'' ya to set up camp ''ere, but de oders took ta'' ''ong fer me so I ''ust ask ya... *yaaawn* ... dih-rekt-ly." A look around on the outside proved his point. There were several soldiers arguing direcly behind my carriage in an effort to remain soundless. They didn''t even appear to notice this guy getting sick of it and coming to ask me. I nodded towards the orc."Yeah, sure. Lets set up camp here." He nodded and turned forward."Alright lads ''nd lassies! Time ta go ta ''leep! Ya kan leave dat ''riddge alone." Wait, what? "Carriage?!" I practically leaped out of my current carriage in order to find that we were in front of my wrecked previous one. My left arm sent a modicum of phantom pain at the sight. The carcasses of two pristine black horses were still there, half-eaten as they were by Fluffy, charred black ash strewn across its top wheels."This... this is where I was attacked last time." "Uhh... didn''t kno dat... guess we''s not stoppin'' ''ere afta all." The orc muttered out in sadness, pitiful exhaustion seeping from his tone like a plague as I shook my head."No, no! You guys go ahead and make yourselves comfortable. I''m gonna check out the carriage." "Right." My soldiers offered me several inquisitive stares as those with axes immediately went to town on the nearby trees, cutting down a dozen by the minute while those with daggers cleared out the underbrush and the rest unloaded their cargo and began setting up a perimeter. Approaching my broken carriage, I took note of several very strange things around it. On my right, there was a massive rock with a strange crimson liquid splashed all over it. This liquid, which I know is my blood but don''t want to admit it, was currently glowing ominously in the dark. I placed my finger onto the seeming liquid, only to find that it seemed to have merged with the stone itself. Placing my entire hand onto the rock, I could almost feel a soft, healthy heartbeat. I am a mage and a child of Chaos. The creation of elemental familiars requires a great amount of mana combined with a regular supply of the casters blood in order for said familiars to keep functioning.
It is as you are thinking. Through your blood the rock has been granted a modicum of life energy, yet it lacks the mana to do anything with it. Milady, may I offer you some advice?
"I''m going to destroy this thing." Was my sudden exclamation.
H-huh?! Wait-wha-
I do not want to deal with having to explain why I suddenly have an elemental being following me around. Plus, they are extremely slow and I want to reach Sorcierre before noon.
So you would take this young beings chance at life away simply because it is inconvenient to you?!
... well, when you put it like that... Then, a flash of inspiration hits me and I pull out my sword. It is impossibly sharp, right? Maybe its sharp enough to cut through chaos-infused rock. Much to my glee, the pale-white saber easily sinks into the stone and I cut out an oval shaped piece from the crimson part of the rock. As I place my hands onto said piece, the color of the rock suddenly flows outward, funneling all of my blood into the piece of cut-out stone. After it is done filling up, the stone I cut out now had a small crimson crystal in its middle which pulsed with Chaotic power."Hn. I could have you fashioned into an amulet of some kind." The crystal pulsed with life as I placed it into my left pocket. A new trinket for my safekeeping, eh? I wonder if it has any special powers.
The stone radiates an aura of Chaos energy which it seems to have been storing up ever since the blood merged with the rock. Like Chaos energy itself, it will likely provide you with enhanced physical regeneration and, if it is left to grow in strength long enough, enhanced physical strength.
Oooh. Well that''s nice. Maybe if I added some runes onto the stone I could increase its potency? But.. I could also damage it by doing so. Oh well, best leave it alone for now. Anyways, looking around some more, I noticed that a piece of wood next to the stone was still softly burning, almost like the wood was unable to turn to ashes. A gust of wind blew towards me and the aforementioned burning stick, yet it didn''t put out the fire. No, the flame seemed to grow more powerful in defiance. An ever-burning torch? This is the stick I used to cauterize my own severed arm. I picked the thing up and waved it around, feeling a slight increase in my own magical energy as I did this. Maybe I can rebuild this torch into a staff carrying an ever-burning flame on top of it? That''d be kinda cool. I wonder what would happen if I sent my mana inside of the wood? Doing so sent a gout of fire straight at my face which I only managed to dodge thanks to half-expecting it to happen in the first place, eliciting several questioning looks from my soldiers.
Hm. How odd. The torch you picked up seems to posess its own mana-circulatory system which is built in such a way that any magical excess is expunged outwards at the top point, which is what you used to cauterize your wounds. Yet the torch only has about as much natural mana as the woodland around us and if someone drained it fully, the torch would likely cease to function completely. As for why it isn''t turning to ash... well, that part is a bit more difficult to explain.
Huh? What do you mean? Is it something you can''t explain in my worlds words or?
Exactly, milady. The fire seems to be magically enchanted so that it only burns the sourrounding air and not actually the wood itself. Apart from that the stick is just a regular stick with a slight amount of chaos energy contained within it.
Wait... not burning the wood but only the air? So... it has no ... fuel? Or is it fueled by the anger of nature?
... what? What kind of idiot taught you this, milady?
I-idiot? I mean, I guess -no, thats totally disrespectful. Tius, please explain yourself!
Young lady, what exactly do you think fire even is? Some kind of magic phenomena?
Well no. First off, there are two types of fire: the magical and the natural variety. This everburning torch is clearly the former!
Wrong. This piece of burning wood represents neither, but is far closer to the latter.
O-oh? How so?
... I do not have the words to explain this to you properly without confusing the everloving hell out of you, young lady. Perhaps, one day, when you possess more knowledge of the world in general, I shall give you a more proper explanation.
... I am not okay with you avoiding the issue like that, Tius. But... Maybe my diary can help! Rushing inside of my current carriage and digging out my diary- aka, The Lunatic Scribbles of Alice Pendragon-, from a massive pile of books and notebooks alike, I open up the pages with those circles I tried to explain with the blood-magic teacher."Chaos, much like you did just now, once told me that fire does not work like I, or rather this world, believes it does. When I asked her to teach me more about fire, she instead sent me these... images. I drew them here, see?"
Atoms?.. and... electrical charges?
"So they''re called atoms?" Murmuring to myself as I quickly grabbed hold of a pen and wrote said information onto another page of my diary, urging Tius to explain further.
Alright, these will help the explanation. I can see that you''ve already managed to set up the types of charge onto the correct type of particle. The two innermost particles are protons and neutrons, while the ones outside are called electrons. Electrons are negative, neutrons are neutral and protons are positive. These particles, you see, are the building blocks of everything around us. Me, you, the wooden torch and hell, probably even Chaos in a twisted sense is made out of them.
... okay. So does that mean everything is made out of the same stuff?
The answer to that is both yes and no, but to answer the question in the most simple terms: everything is made out of a different combination of these three subatomic particles. Oh and an "Atom" is the name for these three particles combined into a single cohesive particle.
So then protons, electrons and neutrons are subatomic particles while the atoms are... just particles?
Correct.
I wrote the information into my diary."... but what does this have to do with fire... wait, teacher and me came to the conclusion that these particles are very close to each other which would make sense since we can''t see them even if they make up everything and that when they start moving around for whatever reason, they create a lot of heat. Is this correct?"
Particles are always on the move, milady. It would be correct to state how they never truly stop, though that has yet to be proven or disproven. But you and your teacher have made the correct conclusion. Hm, perhaps I was wrong about calling them idiots? No matter.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Either way, the heat created during this movement is what eventually becomes fire.
Eventually?... and if they don''t stop moving... Does that mean that everything is actually always on fire.
.... In a way, you aren''t exactly wrong, milady. Everything is, technically, always on fire. As for what I meant by eventually, fire requires that a certain level of heat, or rather energy, is collected before things burst into flame. By "burning", fire creates more energy to keep itself a blaze, which is why it needs fuel to properly keep on burning. Fire also creates light and radiates heat to its sourroundings, heat that was collected deep within it only to burst outwards, creating more fire. This is made possible by a constant consumption of oxygen, a form of particle found within air. Humans need it when they breathe, because with every breath you take, your body burns the food you''ve eaten much the same way, releasing heat, or energy into your body in the process.
So... fire needs heat, fuel and this.. oxygen stuff?... to create... more heat? Isn''t that kind of pointless?
In the grand scheme of things, a lot of things appear pointless at first. But, create a big enough fire and things start to become more apparent, as high levels of energy collect at the same location.
You mean... like the sun?
Yes. The sun. A massive gathering of heat and flame. A ball of energy that both creates its own fuel as well as many other things from which all life is descended from. Did you know that through human blood flows iron? And that that very iron was forged at the heart of a star? Your sun, that is.
A blink. A drop of blood flowed down my left cheek."Magia Insanium... Damn, I think we should stop here before my head bursts open."
What? Before your head bursts open?!
Magia Insanium. Its some kind of unnatural law of this world which affects people who seek out and learn supposedly dangerous knowledge and attacks them. It is said that it is the reason why none of the races has managed to conquer the planet, why the demons have lost their ability to summon legions of shadows and the true reason why humanity has lost all of its technology and power.
... was this always a thing or did it suddenly start sometime in the past of this world?
I do not rightly know for certain, but I do think that its been around ever since we humans appeared on this world.
Then it is most likely the work of your "gods". A ploy to limit the powers of mortals, but all things considered if the original humans brought nuclear weaponry into this planet when they arrived... I do not blame them in the least.
Nuclear weaponry? What''s that?
Imagine a massive ball of fire which utterly obliterates entire capital cities, makes the sourrounding lands unlivable for thousands of years, actively burns everyone even beyond its blast radius and causes incurable sickness and disease to strike the entire continent it was thrown upon. Fish and plants wither inside of the seas nearby, as poisoned clouds ferry liquid death across the entire world, spawning even more destruction and death in the process. That, in a very bellitled way, is a proper description of what Nuclear Weaponry is capable off.
... in a... bellitled, way? W-what the hell?! Why would someone even make such a thing?!
A question for the ages, young lady. The Greed of Mankind is both an atrocious and a grand thing. It can drive your race into doing amazing things... And create weapons with the power to obliterate worlds.
O-oh. So maybe the Magia Insanium is there for a good reason, is what you are trying to say, right Tius?
Not maybe. The more I think about it... It is definitely there with perfectly good reason. ... thought it also presents a system which is easily abused. Mayhaps, we could parley with its administrators in the future to set the bar a little lower?
Converse with the Gods? What makes you think I''d ever be able to do such a thing?
You already call something far greater than they will ever be, "Mother".
... fair point. Walking out of the carriage as I record all of my newfound knowledge into the diary, I took the ever-burning stick into my right hand and channeled magic through it once more, this time pointing it in a safe and empty direction. Experimenting with the stick, I found that the more magic I put inside of it does not make the gout of flame any ... stronger, per say. It just makes it longer. Like a dragons breath, rather than a fireball. Hmm, maybe I could channel the fire before it bursts out? I take the white glove off my left, metallic hand and place said hand over the top of the stick, the heat of the ever-burning flame helping grow my already edging excitement. Placing the glove onto a wheel of the carriage behind me, I channeled mana into the torch and managed to catch the ensuing gout of fire by trapping it within a sphere of mana. However, my sphere was not perfect and thus the flame slowly burned out with no fuel to sustain it. So for my second try, I caught the flame and began to funnel mana into the sphere which caused the flame to expand rapidly and explode all over my hand. Thankfully, the metal on my arm didn''t seem to be damaged, if only slightly blacker than usual. For my third attempt, I decided to throw the sphere before it explodes. The bluish sphere of magic containing the expanding blaze was flung across the road in front of me and slammed across the ground, exploding in a torrent of fire much greater than the small blaze which struck my arm. Hmm... maybe the sphere collected air when I threw it? Wait, what would happen if I drew in some air towards the torch? Doing so resulted in the torch''s ever-burning flame growing in size but only for a short period of time. This time, instead of drawing air, I tried to focus solely on the oxygen around me and filled the torch that way, which was strangely a lot easier and less mana intensive than drawing air itself. Maybe because I am only drawing upon part of the *air* and not it in its entirety? "Ah!*cough*" My growing glee was caught inside of my throat as I began coughing uncomfortably and then remembered that Tius told me that us humans need oxygen to breathe too. My spell just now drew all of it from the surrounding area. Maybe I could weaponize this? After all, drawing air from a place will only cause the area to be refilled within moments unless it is completely closed off. I guess oxygen is a bit more difficult to replace? Or maybe we just need for there to be an exact amount of it in the air before we can breathe properly? The latter part sounds right. Either way, drawing solely oxygen into the torch caused much the same effect that drawing air. Probably because the fire only needs oxygen anyway. In the end, its all either safety and smaller reward, against high risk, high reward. Both forms of the spell are highly likely to be useful. Hm. What else have I learned today that I can apply to this spell? Ah, the movement of the particles is what makes fire. If this is true, rather than creating fire through heat and fuel and oxygen, maybe I should try using mana to move the particles around? I put my hands close together and focused onto a very small area between them as I channeled mana into it and willed many, many small orbs imagined in the likeness of my drawings to move around. At first, absolutely nothing was happening and I was getting sort of pissed so I poured more and more mana into the flame. For some reason, the particles I imagined inside of my mind began moving faster and faster until two red-colored ones... struck against one another and then... there was a spark. My closed eyes burst open as a gigantic flame surged outwards, causing me to throw it onto the ground in a panic. The cold, watery-rich dirt immediately put the fire out. But the rate of that fire''s growth... the heat... And those red particles?... Those must be the oxygen particles! When the struck one another, a great amount of energy was released, which in turn formed a flame. However, creating this kind of fire requires a lot of my focus and is extremely dangerous when its so close to m-.. the torch! Immediately, I repeated the previous process with more accuracy and much more safety as I took the stick into my right hand used mana to force the particles of the ever-burning flame to move even faster. Heat could be felt rapidly growing around me as I continued channeling magic into the torch, a rather sizable ball of fire forming before me, all of it contained within one of my mana spheres. You see, the way a normal mage creates a fireball is by creating one of these mana spheres and filling it with as much rage and mana that they can muster before throwing the fireball at the enemy. Only the mage in question can see his or her own spheres, but anyone can tell if the spell is a success or a failure depending on if the fireball has exploded or is stable. Another thing to note is that the only ways to increase the power of a fireball is to: A- increase the amount of rage and mana provided or B- concentrate both of these factors to a smaller point within your personal mana sphere! Which is exactly what I did just now. I poured more mana into the sphere, increasing the amount of energy inside which in turn created more fire. Then I concentrated that power, compressing the flame into a tiny sphere of itself, contained within my larger sphere. Then I drew a little bit of oxygen inside and found that, while it did make the fire sphere grow... it didn''t really increase its power at all. It only made it less stable and harder to control. Magical fire does not need air, after all. So what if I just let my flame naturally consume the oxygen it needs and focus on empowering it by making the particles move faster and faster? Massive gouts of flame burst out of my torch, all consumed into the growing inferno which was being compressed to a point as tiny as I could make it. Eventually, the heat it radiated was so great that I could no longer bear it being close to me. It was then I realized that I was holding a massive bomb-on-a-stick. Swallowing down hard, I promptly took the bomb into my hands, dropping the torch onto the ground in the process and sent the thing flying into the air as far as I possibly could. It flew some twenty meters upwards before imploding and consuming half the direction in size in pure hellfire. And then... it dispersed completely, leaving behind nothing at all but a surging wave of super-heated air blasting against me in the process and setting a few parts of my carriage ablaze. Several sudden screams echoed throughout the night as my poor soldiers were rudely awakened by the molten air which now surrounded them. It was probably a bad idea to breathe in the aftermath of my fireball but thankfully, it didn''t look like anyone was hurt or saw what had happened. My soldiers were all so tired that they all just went back to sleep right after the initial shock had passed, most likely deciding that it was all just a freak heatwave. Which it kind of was. That begs the question, though... Why am I completely unhurt?
The infernal blood of Chaos flows through your veins, milady. Your body can handle five times greater temperatures than that of a normal human adult, much less a child.
A gift from mother dearest then, is it? Well, I suppose I should have expected as much. Still, I suppose this means that I should switch out today''s classes for something more fire oriented. All spells are more powerful the more their caster knows about them and what they do. This is a singular rule that has never been broken. Of course, different spells will have varying power outputs, but a fireball cast by a master pyromancer may evaporate a lesser mage''s ice lance. Such things I was taught long ago... Yet, only now does their significance catch up to me. I suppose this is the price of my neglect and willful ignorance. If I had the power to use this fireball during the battle against Ulfo''s horde, the fight would have been over way before it started. Granted, people would probably think that I''m a monster for setting so many afire, but thats something I don''t particularly mind. Picking up the everburning torch off of the wet ground, I felt myself smiling widely as I imagined turning it into a legendary staff of power, using it as a focusing point to topple nations. Ahh, such sweet daydreams~. One''s which I may one day turn into a reality. With a snort, I approached my wrecked carriage once more and used my newfound powers to turn it unto ashes, not leaving even the horse carcasses behind. That part of the dirt road appeared to be eerily dry in comparison to the rest of the rain-wrought path and people would certainly question it should they pass it, but I don''t mind. There is nothing here to indicate my presence. And, even if there was, I can easily sum it up to traveling! Wait, why am I even making up future excuses that I may or may not use? ... Ah dammit, is something bad going to happen because I did this? A massive fireball in the middle of a gods damned forest... I''d be lucky if nobody saw me cast this. Quickly looking around the place, I find no evidence that anybody did, though that still does not prove a damn thing. There are people within this world who possess the ability to spy on others from afar, after all.
Same time... - An unknown place... - An unknown''s point of view...
"Hmm..." A melodious tone echoed throughout the room of purple silk and gleaming gold. An elven man rushed inside with worry clear upon his frame."My Empress! Those filthy merchant-princes have outright refused your right to rule this continent! It seems they have chosen war instead of abdicating." The pale woman smiled and caressed her male courtier."My oh my... such an interesting era I find myself in." "M-milady?!" The man stuttered, entranced by her beauty and grace."My little sisters power grows exponentially by the moment..." He swallowed in uncertainty as she dragged a finger across his throat and pulled him in closer."My brother is nowhere to be found..." She bit his lower lip and placed her hands around him, urging him to do the same to her."Mothers power has grown as has her bestial rage, fathers screams of outrage have been replaced by perpetual laughter..." He swallowed once more and tried to say something, but she placed a finger upon his pale lips before he could utter a word."And now I''m told that the elven race would prefer the wealth of a free market than the safety of my rule..." Then, her wet lips joined his own. At first he relaxed into the kiss and pulled his Empress closer, thinking of her as a woman in need of comfort. And who was he to deny her? And then, his scream died inside of his own throat as torrents of arcane energy pulsed through his flesh and bone again and again... until nothing was left of him, but ash and a pale, almost crystalline skull. The woman smiled to herself as a bright flash of pink consumed the room and soon she found herself staring down a balcony, looking upon what remained of her once grandiose and opulent capital city. Anger consumed her body and soul as she crushed the skull in her hand, throwing it onto the plateau below her. She closed her eyes and stared at the offending bright moon. She would silence its light if she could. Her fury boiled inside of her as she gazed down onto her already terror-stricken populace."We shall see how much time their precious wealth can buy them, for I am Empress Ash''illithine the Black and nothing can ever escape my wrath!" Then, she turned back around and went inside of her palace once more. Another flash of pink and she was back at the scrying crystal, a frightened maid already cleaning up the remainder of her previous meal. A poor meal, at that."Bring me another man! A healthier one and preferably not an alcoholic." The maid nodded quickly and made herself scarce."Y-y-yes, m-m-milady!!" She gazed into the crystal ball once again and found cultists and tribes gathering in the far off corners of the world... something was off about this era. Something was dangerously wrong."To go from trying to conquer the world to saving it?... or maybe I should join forces with whatever is coming to take it? Perhaps father would like another try at devouring the world?" A visage of her little sister appeared once again and the Empress found herself shaking her head in negativity and confusion alike."No... not like this. This isn''t like him..." Her pale gaze then turned towards the strange wraithblade upon her younger sisters hip. A sword which cuts stone so easily it appears to sink into it rather than actually cut."Maybe... there is something, someone else at play here? Someone new to the playground. An unknown force. A dangerous power capable to stand on equal ground against father?... and alone, at that." She bit her lip as she pondered this and closed her eyes once more. Then the empress took her ancient staff, still reeling with magical energies flowing through it and turned around, to face the rotting corpse of her once glorious empire again. She clutched the staff tighter in her hands and began channeling untold magic into the wood. This was not an appropriate time for such dreadful thoughts. This was the time to take back what is rightfully hers!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
There we go, a little bit more of worldbuilding, science and the like. I actually managed to diss abortion, authoritarianism (I''m sure someone will be surprised by this), teachers and mental conditions in the same bloody chapter. Oh well. I hope you''ve enjoyed it. XD
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 34. Of Intrigue And The Intrigued Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Well hello there my dear reader! How are you this fine morning? Oh, me? I''m just here, typing yet another chapter during work time. Lets see if I can push this envelope some more, eh? All for your pleasure and definitely not because I currently have not much else to do, yes. Mhm. Gonna have to use this 30 gigabyte hard drive of a computer to type this chapter down though... so beware of potential unpleasantness. I''ve honestly never seen a computer like this. I wonder if it can even process my writing? We are about to find out! Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few hours later... - Sorcierre - Alice''s Point Of View...
"So this is the famous city of magic? Feh, I expected much more splendor from a city built by an elf." One of my plate-bound knights scoffed as we approached the city. It seems that the couple hours of shuteye did very little to soothe my retinue of their angry nature, but then again, sleep never really soothed me either. It may just end up being a chaos related thing. So many mysteries surrounding that one point of existence; Chaos. It makes me wonder if my questions about it will ever be fully answered.
Chances are that you do not actually wish to know the answers, milady.
Well Tius, that is also a fair point."We haven''t even entered the first district of the city and you are already judging it?" Another of my retinue asked of his colleague. A dark elven woman from the back line quoted."You know what they say: never judge a book by its cover, but I guess you weren''t taught that in whichever paltry institution you originally attended, Farmann." The knight scoffed towards the elf in mock anger."That''s Sir Locksey to you, little elf." The woman cooed right back in an even more mocking tone."Oh? And here I thought it was Sir whip-me-harder-mistress." I do believe I just found out what it feels like when eternity decides to switch with seconds for brief moments in time. I think I heard some window cracking in the distance or maybe that was just the fabric of reality tearing itself apart at the seams. Yet, I somehow managed to keep a straight face."Come on, people. We all know just how insane our kind can get but please do keep yourselves civil during your stay here. For my sake, if nothing else." Lord Locksey approached me with a worried glance."On that note, young lady. Just where do you plan on setting us down? In some random city tavern? Because, I can assure you right now that a group composed of fallen nobility, giant orcs, dark elves and former criminals is not going to find accommodation so easily in a random tavern." "That... I''m afraid I did not plan that far ahead. Guess our first order of business will be to find lodgings for you guys and girls. Preferably somewhere quiet and isolated." Muttering mostly to myself in reply to the knight, we finally managed to reach the city gates."Halt!" One of the guards at the gate hailed and prevented us from entering the city."State your business here!" Shrugging at the stoic-faced human man, I promptly took out my mana stone. These stones were handed to every student of Sorcierre on their first day here and serve as a kind of proof-of-person for those who wish to enter the city."I am Alice Pendragon, High Lady Of Axilar. I am here to study, meet business partners and possibly purchase housing for the establishment of a semi-permanent merchant outpost within the city." "And your... friends, here?" The same guard questioned me with a rather aggressive tone which caused me to quirk an eyebrow at the offending man."... my retinue? Why? Is something wrong? I can''t be the first noble to arrive with a squadron of personal guards to the city." Every guard present shook their collective heads and their apparent leader nodded in compliance."Apologies, milady. It seems like you truly are who you claim to be. Be warned, recently a spree of gold-eyed individuals have infiltrated the city and are thought to be responsible for a spree of murders and seemingly random killings." We all blinked in sudden interest as the guards recoiled from our joint gaze."... gold-eyed.. individuals?" A look back towards my retinue served only to confirm their own suspicions on the matter as I turned back towards the guardsmen with a question of my own."Say, do these individuals also possess hair colored white, like we all do?" They shared a common blink of confusion before their leader replied."No milady, they only share your eye color... Do you perhaps have some information about this group of murderers, your highness?" I shook my head in negative."I''m afraid that I do not, my good man. If they shared our looks in their entirety then there was a good chance that the killers were our very own countrymen and, as Axilars sole ruler, that would make this city''s troubles my own. Alas, since they do not share our hair color then that means they are not from my county." Another spree of momentary confusion ensued but I continued before the guard captain could reply to my assessment."Anyways, I am actually missing classes right now so if you could let us in, I would be extremely grateful." The guards blinked once again, this time in full panic mode as they spread out in even rows to the sides."Please, do go in!... and may we beg the lady that thou does not mention this holdup to the headmaster?" Ah, so that''s why they suddenly panicked. The headmaster must despise guards who try to hold back his precious money supply, ah, I mean students."Chances are that there is nothing much I can do to prevent a visit from the headmaster, sir guardsman. That man most likely has this entire city overseen by clairvoyance and like-minded spells." ".. So that''s how he found out about the murderers? Makes sense." He concluded and thus, blatantly confirmed my own suspicions. Finally, after what seemed like an hour at the gates but was only around five minutes, we managed to get inside of the city. Immediately, a great deal of people turned their eyes upon us."W-what!? Those incompetent guards! They let the murderers back inside!" "GUARDS! GUARDS! THE KILLERS ARE HERE!" To their credit, the great many guardsmen we just passed through promptly ignored us."It seems that we are going to be even more loved than usual in this place." One of my men muttered in a tone laced with sarcasm. I let out a cheery laugh."Don''t worry, friends. You''ll get used to the stares. Anyways, lets go somewhere less open for now." Poking the elven coachman and pointing far right, towards a certain blackened alley which was the gateway into Sorcierre''s criminal stronghold, I directed my entourage while ignoring the gathering crowds. Perhaps Casper can help me find a suitable location to station my retinue without causing too much trouble. I certainly hope that they won''t be killing anyone for the short time they spend here. Well, perhaps a week isn''t that short a time, but my hope still remains. The man in question wasn''t all that hard to find. In fact, it seemed as if he was looking for me just as well."Alice!" He exclaimed in an angry tone while waving around his favored pistol and dragging with him a young man with a bag over his head. Now that he had my attention, he promptly blasted the bagged man''s head off."See, that''s what happens when ya diss with me boys, Alice! I don''t care if yer a demon or some other shit but no man, or girl, fucks with my boys and gets aw-..." He suddenly stopped his dramatic speech and looked at me, apparently finding my ever-so-amused raised eyebrow either insulting or terrifying. Perhaps both for that matter. I decided to beautifully ignore what had just happened."Ah, Casper! Just the man I wanted to see. My retinue here is in dire need of housing you see, so I was wondering if you know of any easily-obtainable land for me to lay claim to?" He blinked in utter confusion and then removed the bag over the now-dead younger male''s head. Though his brains have been rather gruesomely strewn across the street cobblestone, his eyes were still golden, though lacking in any form of glow."Not one o'' yers, Alice?" Placing a shocked hand onto my chest in an equally dramatic manner as his speech just a moment beforehand, I asked with a hurt tone."Wh-what? C-Casper! I''m astounded and hurt that you would even think of such a horrid thing!"This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. A nearby guardsman quickly walked over to the supposed criminal mastermind and whispered something in his ear. Then Casper made several ooh sounds and promptly dispersed the crowds."Alright, then! False alarm, everybody! Back to yer shits!" Back to yer shits? Now that''s a new one. The crowd dispersed as quickly as it was formed and Casper approached me and my retinue, most of who were dying of laughter by now, with a rather surprising amount of courage for a self-proclaimed bandit king."So whats that you said about needin'' housing? An'' how much would ya be willing to pay for it?" Translation; I have a place that I no longer need and is easily acquired. However, unless you want me to harass the shit out of you, you better pay up now."Casper, we both know that I''m not entirely grandiose on money right now, so don''t play games with me and just say the price." He harrumphed and nodded in recognition."Sometimes, I forget just how much I taught ya ''bout the bandit life, Alice. Am I to assume that this means yer gonna be startin'' up your own gang in the city?" I shook my head in negative, much to the mans surprise."Hell no! Its just that I''m already ditching class as it is and need to quickly find a place to set these guys and girls down for a time, maybe a week at best, two at worst and then we will be gone. It should be obvious as to why I want to do that so please don''t even bother asking me." "Ah, such a quick refusal! How interesting... well, so long as yer *bois and gals* don''t start up trouble, I don''t see why not. There''s an empty mansion two streets down left from ''ere and I''ll be willin'' ta lend it to you permanently for twenty gold." Was his reply. Oh my, still trying to gauge my purse? In Casper''s own words, how interesting."Casper dear, are you perhaps short on money?" Swallowing down hard, the man replied with sweat falling down his brow as he lead the way towards this supposed mansion."Ah fuck, its like I''m talkin'' to myself when I''m talkin'' to you. Anyways, yeah, I''m fucking short on money ''cause yer fokin'' look alikes burnt down several of my warehouses yesterday." "The murderers? They... attacked your people?" He offered a somber nod."Yeah, lotsa good lads and lassies died that night. We got one o'' them killers after a prolonged fight... those guys moved with so much grace, hit with so much strength... I had no doubt in my mind that they was yers till now." "Casper, why in the world would I ever make an attack on you? And in this very city, at that?" He grinned right at me."So you''d wait for me to leave this city if you were to ever attack me, eh? Good to know." I just shrugged at the man without reply, because saying anything at all here can and would be taken against me."Dunno, lass. I guess I was just stressed of it all... an'' with ya not being in the city when the attack happened... hell, it all seemed too clear to me." A nod from me was his answer."Well Casper, what I can tell you is that the attackers aren''t mine, but I think that its only a matter of time before they try to kill me." He and my retinue by extension, blinked in absolute confusion for a brief moment before the man seemingly had an epiphany."... ya think that this attack on my guys is just a part of some grand plan to kill you, Alice?" "Let me put this in a way that might clear up some parts of the story: recently I finally learned how white hair and gold eyes aren''t all that strange within my county for peculiar reasons and was handed a whole bunch of seemingly random people who shared my physical appearance to a fault as a personal guard. Apparently, on the same day that this group was forged, Sorcierre had a spree of murders orchestrated by people who shared one of our rather blatant physical traits: the glowing golden eyes." I then turned towards one of the dark elves within my entourage."Go get that corpse for me, please." Pointing towards the man who Casper shot a few moments ago was enough for the girl as she seemingly dispersed into the shadows before re-appearing before me, corpse in hand. I promptly shoved my hand into the corpses eye sockets and dug out one of his eyes."... fake eyes?" Casper quickly caught on and took the metallic eye from my hands, trying and failing to squash it in the process. However, he did manage to wash away the color upon the eye which revealed magical runes and other symbols etched into the metal."Because simply recoloring their hair using magic would be way to suspicious." Farmann suddenly exclaimed with a snort and glare at the corpse. "Now, lets say that these people know full well that we are on friendly terms and wanted to cement myself and my people here as the murderers by causing a bloody street fight between us and the guardsmen in front of the city. I assume that I only have you to thank for the fact that they all didn''t attack me the moment we arrived?" Casper nodded towards me, seeming very interest and infuriated at what was going on right now. "Aye, I said to let you in so I can deal with ya meself." He replied with a completely guilt-less tone, causing me to let out a chuckle."Thank you for that, I suppose. Anyways, moving on..." I took in a breath."The killers seem to have timed these events perfectly together at first glance... however, the fact that one of their men was caught in the process only proves that their actions were hurried. They needed a scapegoat and fast, which is why they decided to attack you and your guys. All this in an effort to either damage my already-ruined reputation or to outright kill me." A strange, bluish raven was caught in the corner of my eye and a smile formed upon my face."And considering the esteemed headmasters interest in all this, I''d say that my, or rather our, enemies are of a more... magical, nature." "Magical? You mean like some sorta cult or something?" Casper quirked an eyebrow towards me as I nodded."Maybe, though Casper... considering that they attacked you first instead of me while I was on the road..." "They already had agents here in the city and most likely didn''t actually know that you''d be coming along anytime soon... ah fuck, I knew joking about it was a bad idea and yet I still did it." He spat onto the ground."Just what I needed right now; fucking vampires huntin'' after me." "To confirm, these attacks happened solely during the night, right?" Casper nodded and the raven seemed to hurriedly leave."That didn''t strike me as weird as most gang fights happen during nighttime, but now that we know its fucking vamps behind it all... it only serves to confirm all this shit." We played with fire and one of us got burned. I felt a piece of my soul burning on the inside as we finally reached the worn-out mansion. I took one look at it before I heard Casper say exactly what was on my mind."Whatcha willin'' ta bet that our enemy is somewhere in there right now?" "You just read my mind, Casper." He chuckled."What can I say? We think scarily alike. Anyways, what should we do? Burn ''em like last time?" "While burning the creepy mansion might solve the issue for now, they''ve probably learned since last time Casper. Since we are dealing with nightwalkers here, they''ve probably holed their forces up inside of the mansions basement area and cast protective seals upon it. Their plan is most likely to assault me and my entourage during our sleep, leaving our cold bodies behind and then continuing on their rampage against you, possibly with those same freshly-drained bodies.... no, lets make the mansion into a trap. Set up firing squadrons above each and every single door to the basement and blast the soul out of every unliving thing that comes out of them." My soldiers and Casper seemed amazed at my capacity for murder yet said nothing. The raven from before then suddenly landed upon my right shoulder. I was creep-ed out at first, but did nothing to stop the curiously-colored animal from putting its beak against my ear."Though I do have questions about your choice of allies young lady, my mage-guard will be there with you to help burn down these bloodsuckers." "It seems like we have the headmasters support in this little endeavor, Casper." The raven flew away within an instant, almost as if magically teleporting away from my shoulder, causing Casper to nod."Right, then. I''ll handle the organization required to set up the plan since I guess you''ve got classes to attend." "Casper!" I yelled after him as I threw a bag of twenty clausian gold coins towards the man. He looked at me with a strange glance before taking the coin into his hands."It seems that I''ll be taking your mansion, after all." The man smiled and took the hint, his paranoid eyes darting across the city all around us, eventually settling upon a small darkened alley to our right before replying."Pleasure doin'' business with ya, your highness!" He then quickly scampered off to rally his nearby troops and catch was was most likely an enemy spy. I did not bother looking into the alley in order to avoid suspicion. Then I turned towards my retinue."Well guys, better get as much rest as you possibly can before the fight starts. I''ve other business to attend now, so please do take care." Farmann and the rest only offered solemn nods as they grasped their weapons tighter."By your will, milady."
A few minutes later... - Sorcierre (Central District) - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Mmmph!" A strange set of sounds escaped me as I stretched myself, still perched at the front of my vainglorious carriage much to my current coachman''s dismay. Having left my entourage back at the creepy mansion felt like dropping a huge weight off my shoulders. They are soldiers, so it may just be part of their everyday routine to make their would-be-commanders feel the weight of their lives upon their backs. Have some mercy on me please, I''m just a chaos-infested little girl! Anyways, where was I? Oh yes, my coachman. The elf was a man of rather lithe but muscled build, kind of like that one thief who visited me in Casper''s name. He also had the typical attire worn by slaves... aka, barely anything at all but a set of ragged pants and a patchwork shirt, which did very little to conceal his lower body. Which is why the ladies all around us were either blushing or cursing me, while the men had no idea what to make of the situation. On the one hand, a lady-too-young-to-be-doing-this-intentionally was sitting next to a half-naked and handsome elven man and on the other hand, that lady was already known to be rather insane. "So, could you tell me your name, at the very least?" The man-elf grit his teeth and turned towards me with a menacing glare. When I returned the look with a quirked eyebrow, he decided that I was apparently worthy of said name."Uveane, Uveane Rethrill." "Are you Farmann''s? Or someone else''s?" He shook his head."I only belong to my master. Remember this and we will not have a problem." I laughed at him."As you wish. Now, find me a shop where I can buy a painters set. After we are done with that, drive me to Master Merriel''s tailoring emporium." He tilted his head in confusion."And how shall I do this when I do not know where either of those are?" I laughed at him once again."That''s your job to figure out, mister coachman. My previous coachman could do it and so will you. And if you cannot well... you are easily replaced." Perhaps I put a bit too much venom into that last bit but I sincerely found it very difficult to trust this man for whatever reason. Maybe I''m just being a bigot, but dark elves are said to be hard to trust. Anyhow, my venom had apparently managed to scare the elf into submission as he begged the nearby ladies for aid. They were more than happy to answer his plight, offering to directly guide him wherever he might wish, especially if that wherever was a darkened corner. Hah. Well, its not like I don''t understand.... Ah. Shake your head out of your stupor, Alice. This is no time for such pleasantries! Deciding that I wanted to avoid any more stupid people and situations by extension, I promptly entered my carriage and closed the door just in time to see a familiar blue raven make a beeline to the inside. Once again, my aptitude for ignorance proves its almighty power as I just closed the door as if nothing happened, ignoring the crowds outside.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Thats it for today, guys and girls! Gotta blast! See you sometime soon. I''ll edit out the mistakes when I get home.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! 35. Shopping Uniformity Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Writing chapters for this story while at work seems to have become a cultural part of it. I must think quick and think well. Only to fix mistakes later on when I get home. Ahhh, such beautiful Chaos! Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Half an hour later... - Sorcierre (Merchant District) - Alice''s Point Of View...
A knock on my carriage''s door woke me from my trance."Lady?... we''re here." Mister Uveane''s soft voice roused me further as I found myself stretching my sore limbs. Did.. did I fall asleep?
Alice, please do not be alarmed by these implausible "trances" which you fall into from time to time. While I have no concrete proof of it yet in your case, Father would often fall into such trances only to wake at an exact moment when important events would happen. I do believe that they are a natural adaption of the human brain to the influence of Chaos; that is to say become nigh completely shut down for a set amount of time and use the Chaos Energy coursing through it to passively know when to wake up.
The... the human brain can do such things?! W-woah.
The difference between a humans brain and its body is the difference between me and a shovel. Both are tools set to accomplish a purpose, but the capacity of each is incomparable.
Comparing yourself to a tool is rather disheartening, Tius. So try not to do that."Thank you, Rethrill." I said as the carriage door opened to reveal a slightly worried coachman. I took one look at his wretched clothing and promptly decided to buy him some clothing once we reached Merriel''s emporium. But first: Ulfo''s painter set. And in order to buy the aforementioned item, it seems that I would be entering a shop named The Colors of Mana. Colors of mana, eh? Interesting name, most likely placed there due to the fact that art is not comprehended by many. Just as the *colors* of mana cannot be properly seen by the human, or rather mortal, eyes."Wait outside." I commanded my coachman, much to the pleasure and approval of the nearby ladies, who seemed to swarm him within moments almost as if drawn in by some unseen force. Maybe Chaos makes people more attractive in the eyes of others?
As you have learned beforehand, Chaosborne beings all radiate their own personal "Aura Of Violence". This aura has many uses, seduction is... not one of them. Although, there are people who seem to adore or are attracted to such violence. The allure of danger is as dangerous as it is seductive, indeed.
So basically, it makes the infected seem dangerous and those attracted to them are people who are into danger? Oh well, there is no better aphrodisiac than fear, as they say. Fear of death is countered by a need for reproduction.
I would like to question exactly where you gained this... "knowledge" milady, but you are correct nonetheless.
What? I may be Chaosborne, but I wasn''t one from the start, Tius. I''m just as interested in these things as pretty much everyone else.
I have no such desires, milady.
And that is exactly why I said *pretty much everyone else*. Anyways, lets enter the shop before the store clerk comes out to shoo away the beggar creepily standing outside of their door."Hello?" Entering inside of the shop revealed a vast expanse filled with all manner of artwork, from statues of legendary heroes to colorful dresses and magnificent paintings. A tinge of instictual waryness echoed within my mind, revealing the fact that the entire shop was filled to the brim with illusions. Thankfully, these illusions were all contained within their own selective magical fields, ones far greater than any I could create. Somehow, I managed to restrain myself from shattering all of these illusions, partially because I liked all the strange, moving colors. Also because I didn''t want to pay for their restoration as they were quite clearly just there for show. But the former is definitelly more the reason why, I swear it!"Hello? How may I help you, young lady?" A tall beastkin man appeared before me, wearing what looked to be a clowns outfit from my perspective... but I better not comment on all the colors. Green pants, red shirt and a yellow overcoat with purple boots and formerly white-but-now-multicolored cloth gloves. Bloody hell, there should be a limit to lu-... It was here that I decided to take a look at my own outfit and blinked."Hm! Pardon me young lady, but you seem to have had the same thoughts as I did just now! Indeed, it seems our sense for clothing is much alike, though I would prefer more color myself~." The tall clown... clerk... owner, the tall MAN, decidedly stated in a sing-along voice. "I have a crimson overcoat back home which is supposed to go with the outfit but uh, its a bit too hot for me to be wearing it right now." The man seemed to accept my reply in earnest."Oooh! A crimson overcoat? Yes, that would indeed bring much needed *power*, to your good looks. Ah; but where are my manners?!" He bowed before me in an estatic fashion and I had to admit that I liked this mans level of energy. He radiated so much of it that it made me feel better somehow."My name is Nanners, Nanners of Cottonfur." A nod and an extended hand was offered to the clownish gentleman after I bowed as well."Alice Pendragon. A pleasure to meet you, mister Cottonfur." "Likewise, young miss." He stood up from his kneeling posistion back to his full two meter height."Now then, once again; how may I help you?" I scratched the back of my head in slight embarrassment as I didn''t really think this through. In the end, I just decided to be totally honest."Erm, I''m not a painter myself but I, uhh.. ah this is so embarrassing, I want to buy a painters set, non-magical or at least for use by someone who isn''t a mage, for my fiance." "Ooh? A fiance? Well, I hope the guy in question is a prince because otherwise he does not deserve a lovely young lady such as you~!" It took me a bit not to blush from the mans well-versed flattery. With a beaming smile on his face, the man pivoted on his heel and turned around."I think I know just what you need, litte miss. Please, make yourself comfortable while I go grab the goods!" Another cheery exclamation as I finally took note of his brownish fur and the small, round tail on his back, poking out of his flamboyant clothing. A bear-kin? A mage bear-kin? Got to be a one-of-a-kind person, even without all the flamboyance.. though, considering that the bear-kin are said to be proud warriors with no real respect for anything non-martial and a deep hatred of magic, ... yeah, I better shut up and not mention anything even remotely connected to his race. Poor guy has probably lived through a horrible childhood and his eccentric sense of style is just a compensation for his parents lack of proper attention, or even love. Maan, the guy basically healed the permanent gloom all around me and I just brought it back like some kind of twisted ex-lover. Thankfully, the man in question was immune to my inner musings, which means he dispelled my aura of violent depression once again with somewhat frightening ease. Must be empowered by the illusions around us.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Anyways, he brought before me a large wooden box which had numerous colorful pictures painted onto it. Each one seemed to be done in exquisite detail and some even appeared to radiate magic."Here we are. Now, I assumed that your fiance is around your age so I brought you what we painters call an appretice''s set. Other than the brushes contained within which allows the user to more easily etch their imagination onto whatever surface they are currently working on, there is no magical items contained inside." I checked through everything inside. There were all sorts of paints, paintbrushes, 3 pieces of canvas as well as the wooden structure required to hold them, an artistic palette, some speciallized towels, an intricate cup which I think is used to store water, some soap and exotic oils as well as a child-sized apron."Hm, this seems nice. How much for all of it?" "Since this is a set; that means you cannot buy things separately, I''d be willing to sell it all for five gold pieces." I blinked."Just five?" Mister Cottonfur seemed taken aback by my question and appeared to place a finger on his chin as if in thought."Ah, you must be a noble! That said miss, five gold coins is no small amount to us common folk~." I shrugged and handed over the gold."Though there is little about you that I''d call common, sir." He chuckled deeply at that."Indeed. In any case, I suppose you would like some help to carry this crate of good, no?" Much to the mans surprise, I quite easily lifted the crate with my small arms, but not before flexing, feeling proud of myself."Nah, I''m much stronger than I look!" With that, I left the flabbergasted beastkin in his shop and placed the crate into the back of my carriage with ease."B-but... that had to be over... fifteen kilograms at the very least?!" Ehh, thought it was more. Either way, I waved the still-stunned man goodbye and dragged my coachman back into his seat."Now; Master Merriels Weaving Emporium." I casually reminded him, causing the dark elf to nod in a submissive manner, much to the dissapproval of the ladies around him. Back the fuck off, thank you very much!
A few minutes later...
Much like beforehand, the dark elf was swarmed by women the moment he leaped off the carriage and I admit to finding it all just a little bit too much for my taste. I didn''t even wait for him to open the door before leaving the carriage and looking at the Weaving Emporium in front of me. The building was in much better shape than before. The previously beaten wood has been repaired and recolored, the shelves have been fixed, the mouldy food removed and replaced with finery, the counter still seemed to be a bit worse for wear but it no longer had dust permeating it inside and out. A small purse of coin has been carelessly left on the aforementioned counter, telling a tale of carefree wealth. Come, take it! I clearly do not need it. Sigh, I sure hope that I can help Master Merriels wife beat some sense into this man... I promptly walked behind the counter, much to the surprise of the other customers and placed the pouch of coin on the lower shelf, hidden from plain sight, before walking over to the workshop door. My actions quirked several surprised eyebrows, many of which seemed condescending or dissapproving yet a very few of them pleased."Master Merriel? Are you in here?" I lightly knocked on the door. Which caused my fist knock quite deeply into the wood. I blinked, the people around me blinked. Master Merriel opened the door and blinked."Huh. Guess the woodsman wasnt lying about the door being shitty." He shook his head and I found myself staring into my own fist."B-but... I didn''t even use any strength?" I exclaimed in a somewhat stupefied manner as Merriel nodded."Its fine. You''ve done quite a lot for me young lady, I can forgive a broken door. Anyways, how may I help you today?" A single look behind him revealed that the workshop was still in its rather horridly filthy shape, but that just may be its natural state of being. The tailoring machine almost appears to be otherworldly clean in comparison as it continued spewing out intricate, beatific cloths."I err, I came here to apologize for last week. I uh.. well, believe it or not, I didn''t even open the note you delievered to me due to paranoia until I read the after-note." He blinked once again and promptly ushered me into his workshop."Ah, I see. I figured that may be the case, though my wife insisted that the *creepy maid* threw the letter out after we gave it to her." "That said..." He continued after a clearing of the throat."Did you manage to find some apprentices for me?" That sentence hit me like a bag of rocks."I uh, no. Ah dammit, I even told myself to ask that annoying granny about it and I still forgot." Much to my displeasure, the old man seemed to become extremely amused at my lack of diligence."It seems that there is still some child left inside of you, despite all the rumors." "All of the rumors?" Merriel nodded in a somewhat grim fashion."Yes, rumors. Rumors that you did some very questionable things and are friends with very questionable people, but I''ll not tell you of any of them. After all, assumptions can easily lead one astray and I am sure that you aren''t as naive as you appear, young lady." "I... see? Thank you?" I offered with a questioning glance as the man returned to his work, appearing somewhat bothered by my presence already."Anyways, is that all you came here to do? I''m afraid that I''m not ready to give you another share yet, young lady." I waved my hand in negative."I''m not here for the money, Master Merriel." "Then why are you here?" He questioned me with a slightly worried expression. Hey, hey... I''m not some demon that you need to be constantly worried about.
Indeed. Techinically, you are far worse.
Thank you for that extreme note of confidence, Tius. Now then, where was I? Oh yes, the clothes for my coachman."I need some clothing, preferably a tuxedo for an adult man- or human teenager, for my coachman to wear. Also some male underwear for the same person." He appeared to hum in thought, seemingly relieved."I see. Well, may I see this person?" A nod was his answer as I quickly ran out and grabbed my coachman, the dark elf seemed to let out a breath of relief at being taken away from all the female attention."Here, this is the guy." Merriel took one look at the slave and winced. Then he grabbed a strange magical device, a runestone of some sort and channeled mana towards the elf which formed a bluish light which seemed to traverse the dark elf''s entire body in moments. Merriel then nodded towards me."I''ll have an entire set of clothes ready for him by the days twain." Days twain? I think that means high noon."Alright. How much for the entire set?" Merriel shook his head in negative, much to my surprise."I''ll just consider it part of your tithe." A blink and a shrug was his answer.
Milady, may I offer a suggestion? Back on Fathers world, there existed schools and academies alike which each had their own unique uniform for the students and sometimes the teachers which attended the institutions in question. Perhaps, you could forge another contract with Master Merriel and perhaps even the Headmaster himself? To partake in the contract to provide uniforms for basically everyone within this city would certainly be a profitable endeavour.
My golden eyes shone even brighter at the allure of greed, the promise of coin making me salivate suddenly."U-uh.. wh-what the?!" Merriel was taken aback by my sudden appearance and even Rethrill seemed to blink in uncertainty. "Master Merriel! I just had an epiphany!" Thank you, Tius. If you ever get a body, I''ll make sure you have all you need in life.
Oh? Well, thank you, I suppose. I ... live to serve, you.
Biting back a reply to Tius, I casually explained my idea to Merriel."So you know how the city has the five-leafed clover as its symbol? I figured that maybe we could forge a contract with the headmaster to make special uniforms for all the students, to help those who don''t have enough clothing or resources of their own and to distinguish them from the other residents." Now, both of the men around me blinked in surprise, though the elf''s reaction was much more tame than the ecstatic tone of the master tailor."Ah! Yes! T-that, thats an amazing idea, Alice! It would take a lot of work at the start and would be impossible for me alone to accomplish but... no actually, I don''t see how we could make this work. The headmaster would never even allow us to contact him-" I stopped the man from speaking and promptly rushed towards my carriage once again, the dark elf following behind me like a loyal puppy. "Stay here." I commanded him, much to his dipleasure, as I opened the door to my carriage and roused the blue crow which had made itself a home inside."Headmaster, could you come with me for a moment?" The bird shot a stupefied look at me before magical energy surged from within it and its eyes adopted a pinkish color."Lead the way, Alice." The bird spoke and I nodded, guiding it to the workshop inside. Once there, I presented the bird to Merriel."This is what I assume to be the headmasters familiar or something of the like. He can speak to us from beyond it." "O-oh! T-the Headmaster! I am unworthy of your presense!" Merriel uncharacteristically threw himself to the ground, eliciting a dissapproving glare from both me and the headmaster. Deciding not to question it though, I explained the situation to the bird. The Headmaster nodded, the feathers moving in unison with his current neck."Hmm, yes. A specialized set of uniforms for my students... perhaps differing between the years of study they have achieved here? We would have to discuss their appearance though, wouldn''t want anything too alien to the normal populus." "Feel free to discuss the details with Master Merriel here, headmaster." With that, I waved the two men goodbye and went back inside of my carriage, but not before turning towards my coachman and saying."The next stop is an alchemist or someone who can heal minds. My goal is to acquire potions of restful sleep." Uveane nodded, still seeming somewhat surprised at the fact that I bought him clothing."Thank you by the way, mistress." "Its nothing. Mostly its for my sake and not yours, anyways." I dismissed him with a rather venomous tone, surprising the both of us as I blinked. The carriage began moving after an uncomfortable silence. "Uveane." I called for him from beyond the carriage wall."Yes, milady?" He immediatelly answered my call."I.. I''m sorry for my tone with you. I-.. I have no idea what the hell is going on. Do you.. have some kind of magic aura around you?" He seemed to contemplate for a moment before nodding."Its a curse on my family. Apparently, some ancestor of mine managed to seduce and rape a priestess of Ydona, the goddess of love and because of it, every woman I dislike will adore me and those I might actually be interested in are automatically hostile. This is probably why you talk as you do when conversing with me." "Psh, don''t think that the both of us being cur- what the fuck?..." I promptly slapped my cheeks."I- er, sorry about that. Anyways, thats.. really sad." He seemed to smile a bit at my antics before nodding yet continuing on in a cheery tone."Well, thankfully the Goddess didn''t account for men~." "Ah. So you swing that way?" He offered me a rather knowing grin for some reason."Thats an interesting way to put it, milady. Considering how you *swing*, much the same way." I grinned right back at him."Actually, I see things both ways~." He appeared taken aback from that before turning his head away from me in embarrassment."... lucky you."
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Thats it for this chapter of Destiny; Infernal! I have to go back to work now. Certainly hope that you''ve all enjoyed the chapter! 3.5k words in two and a half hours without any pre-written sample?! Man, I''m getting good at this. Long time coming, that one.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW! 36. Instinctive Action Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Same old story. Work hours writing. Had work to do last few days = no chapters LUL. ... and nobody sent me any form of artist. Awww. Oh well. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few minutes later... - Sorcierre (Merchant District) - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Ugh..." Muttering out to myself as I felt my eyes slowly readjust to the bright daylight once again, I took in a deep breath. Gods, my chest hurts as if I hadn''t been breathing for hours. Must''ve fallen into another one of those trances. Damn, when I did it before I never even noticed it but now that I know what to look for...
.... my most sincere apologies, mistress.
Whatever. So long as they break whenever there is something interesting going on, I suppose that I can use the extra shut-eye."Milady, it appears that there aren''t any Alchemists in the city who specialize in sleeping potions. The dear ladies of the city have guided me to here instead." Biting back a blackened rebuttal, I nodded towards Uveane as I looked out from the carriage''s window. A rather withered building stood imposingly before me, a mass of rotten wood etched from plank to nail in strange, eldritch runes and seals. A witch''s house. Or well, a wild sorceress'' home, as they prefer to be called. Wild as in using wild magic and not uncivilized, though their comprehensive usage of mushrooms both on themselves and on others makes it rather difficult to acknowledge them as such. Letting out a massive, drawn-out sigh, I find myself staring at the door to the shop, an entrance which did not have anything etched into it, unlike the rest of the building. How... odd. Then again, considering how easy it would be to create runes which activate upon opening the door. Hmmm, maybe there is a law that forbids such a thing? As a deterrent for evil-doers? Steeling myself, I grasped the door''s rusted iron handle just in time for the door to be opened by a rather... beautiful, young woman. She appeared to be wearing a rather strange purple dress, clearly intended for some lavish party, combined with an intricate cowl etched full of flowers. It was a rather enchanting sight."Eeeh? A young girl in front of my door?... you do not appear to be a beggar or someone who is in dire need of aid... Could you perhaps be the legendary!?" .. The legendary what? The ecstatic female continued rambling and I found it difficult to remove my eyes from her rather.. bouncy chest and freshly coated lips, even the area around her eyes seems to have had a generous amount of make-up applied to it. There was also a strange scent all around her. It was making it hard to breathe... some kind of.. aphrodisiac?"Yes, indeed, aha! You must be the... The legendary CUSTOMER!" She finally exclaimed as I put my hands together and channeled my mana into a ball of raging energy before making it erupt outwards."SPELL BREAK!" This completely shattered whatever the woman had being doing as the feedback threw her to the ground. She stared at me with an incredulous expression for a good long while before managing to remove herself off the dirty floor."Well that was quite rude..." Immediately, all of her shine began to disappear as if it was never there and that weird smell was gone too."So it was magical, phew." My exhalation of relief caught her attention."It was magical? Oh! Oh, my! Could it be that you were affected by -oh but what am I saying? That is made to affect men only.. Oh, oh no..." She quickly dusted herself and cleaned off any dirt the fall had stuck to her dress. Then she seemed to fall into a deep depression."... all that detailed, hard work and still my spell malfunctions." Not really knowing what else to do, I raised my hand as if in class."Um, miss? Did you have a spell to seduce people on you?" She nodded."Yes but, it should only enhance my already amazing body to those who are already attracted to it~. That damn headmaster and his stupid laws make everything so boring and difficult." I think that the headmaster is doing a better job at leading this city of magic than I could have every possibly realized."Then the spell worked perfectly so you don''t need to worry." That said, even without the magic she looks, rather appealing. My words caught her full attention once more as the woman went slightly red."Oh my, how bold~." "Though, I do admit that I don''t know why you would need a spell to enchant those around you, miss." I continued on with a smile, my obvious flirting making even Uveane''s jaw drop. To her credit, the woman merely beamed me a smile."Oho, it would appear that I''ve stumbled upon a natural little lady killer, though I must admit that I had you mistaken for a girl at first, young gentleman." I laughed at her, much to the woman''s confusion before adopting a sly look in my eyes."That''s because I am one, milady." Now that gave her a heart attack but before she could reply, I continued."Anyways, I can see that you are about to leave for some important party so I wont trouble you further, though rest assured that I will come back soon, miss witch~." While she just stood there, completely immobile I quickly made my way back into the carriage and motioned for Rethrill to drive us away.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It took him a couple minutes of driving around aimlessly before the dark elf opened his mouth."Milady, I-.. that wa-" "Shut up. I have no idea what just happened. Uveane, ... drive me to my quarters before I do something even more crazy." His expression changed so rapidly that I could practically hear him smirking in a very amused fashion. No doubt, my entire entourage is going to know what happened here eventually. Ah hell. W-what is even going on with me? YOUR INSTINCTS ARE AWAKENING. THOUGH YOU ARE TOO YOUNG FOR SOME OF THEM. My.. my instincts? Well that sure sounds like a whole lot of fun! Can you feel my sarcasm? Mother, is there any way to stop or curb them? INSTINCT CANNOT BE STOPPED. ONLY FED.
On the contrary. Instinct can be stopped, but doing so would cause severe damage to your already overloaded brain. Then again, heightened instinct is one of the main powers granted by Chaos, so you may want to get used to it, milady.
Ehh, you are directly disagreeing with Chaos?! And to think that woman just now called me bold.
Why would I fear going against Chaos, milady?
.. what, no comments from mother? Alright, then. Well, I mean, Chaos is a... I don''t honestly know what mother is, but she is undoubtedly very, very powerful. Would you really want to go against such a creature?
Chaos is the antithesis of EVERYTHING, milady. No description or summary could ever properly define or should properly define it. In fact, the definition I just gave you is equally as false as it is true. ... You may wish to begin thinking of Chaos in this way: Define normalcy, do the opposite.
... so this is what father meant when he said that the price of Chaos was normalcy. Think of something. Think of an actions normal outcome. Then do the opposite. This.. is Chaos? So you aren''t afraid of Chaos because being afraid of it is exactly what would cause it to attack you. Because, normally one would hate those who attack it and love those who defend it, but with Chaos it is the other way around.
... eh. Yes and no. That said, your understanding of the incomprehensible is astounding for one so young.
Technically, you are younger than me, Tius.
A fair point.
... And you, mother? Are you really not going to say a word to add to the conversation? How rude. DO NOT MISTAKE MY SILENCE FOR CONTEMPT, CHILD. I AM SILENT, BECAUSE ONLY WITHOUT MY INTERVENTION DO YOU TRULY HAVE A CHANCE OF GROWING STRONGER. Once the thunderous, toneless voice in my head died down, I turned my thoughts to the probably indecipherable meaning of that sentence. A chance of growing stronger? Tius, you said how the more one comprehends Chaos, the more of its power one may wield. And by letting us comprehend it in our own pace, Chaos is ensuring that our power rises or falls *naturally*. ... but what happens if one manages to comprehend Chaos completely. SUCH PEOPLE DO NOT EXIST. ONLY I COMPREHEND MYSELF COMPLETELY. What about God though? ... okay, only my mate and I comprehend me completely. Wrong. Only God comprehends you completely. And you mother... you don''t actually know what you want, do you? ... Silence. Deafening silence. Ah. My eye hurts. It.. It really, really hurts. A flash of pain shocks me so hard that I practically jolt off of my comfy seat and slam my head against the woodwork of my carriage, causing Uveane to abruptly halt the horses. I ran out of the carriage and felt my hands reach the ground, my eyes both closed, as the dirt of the roads slugged against my hands. A puddle of water was in front of me as Uveane ran towards me, catching the attention of the entire present crowd."MILADY! A-are you alright?! Whats wrong?!" "Urgh!" I grunted out in pain as I reopened my eyes, head darting upwards and then down as my left eye began bleeding. Finally, I managed to concentrate myself enough to realize that I couldn''t see anything on my left, but my right provided more than enough to see how my left eye was drenched in crimson, about to burst. "T-that''s!" A shocked onlooker exclaimed out as someone else could be heard sprinting towards me. A lithe hand grabbed my own and I managed to turn my head around, still feeling extreme pain. A familiar elven man stood before me bearing an utterly annoyed look on his face."H-headmaster...?" I questioned his appearance rather weakly. He let out a massive sigh."It seems that your family''s curse has a far greater effect on you than even I could have predicted." He forcibly removed my hands off of my bulging left eye and placed his right hand above it while the left ensured mine were away."The Gods think they have the power to contain progress with their accursed immaterial laws, but let it be known that I have found a way to break these horrid laws." A spree of strange and impossibly intricate arcane symbols formed in front of me, each speck of the spell being cast requiring more mana than I could possibly manifest even if I sold my soul to some demonic entity. "Isil est un igni agni..." The headmaster began to chant in what seemed to be the elven tongue, but there were words I could not understand. I knew that *Isil est un* meant *I hereby decree*, but the other two words were beyond me. The human education system does not really pay much attention in the way of elven languages. And why should they? "Isil est un jer-li ungretha marn..." More decrees of things I could not comprehend as the headmasters closed eyes suddenly reopened, each glowing with a tremendous amount of power."ISIL! EST! UN! ISIL!" I.. hereby declare I?... That can''t be right. Despite my inability to understand the elven tongue, arcane energies still continued pouring out of the headmasters hand. Once they reached their peak, the headmaster offered one final incantation."ISIL! EST! NAG-RADAOTH!" I hereby command absolutely. Or... perhaps, I hereby command *you*, absolutely? But who is the *you*, here? Me? Or perhaps the gods themselves? Whatever may be the case, the energies gathered infused themselves into my bulging eye and promptly returned it back to normal. My immense pain subsided, but something else happened deep within my soul. ... A chain. A link I had not known before. A law I was aware off, yet could do nothing about. Magia Insanium was the cause of my current predicament. ... and now, I have been freed of it, permanently."It would seem that my experiment was an astounding success. As per usual." Adhana''s rather arrogant tone echoed out into the broad daylight."So you cast that spell on milady without knowing what would happen?!" Uveane asked of the headmaster in a shocked tone. "Be silent, dark ling." Adhana spat out with all the spite the high elves are known to have for dark elves."Its fine, Uveane." I stood up, my right hand grasping my left eye and feeling around the flesh, making sure that everything was alright before turning to look at the headmaster."You just... freed me, from the effects of Magia Insanium, didn''t you?" Adhana blinked in surprise and even pride, though I could not tell if it was pride in himself or me."And you seem to have far more insight into the world than I realized, Miss Pendragon. Do tell, what kind of eldritch revelation did you have just now to prompt such an.. aggressive reaction from that insufferable law?" Eldritch... revelation...? Maybe he knows more about this than I realize? I looked around us and then nodded towards Rethrill."Go. Meet up with the others." My dark elven coachman nodded right back and left us as I turned back towards the headmaster."Perhaps this is a conversation best held.. privately." To his credit, Adhana merely smirked before flicking his fingers. To my credit, I managed not to scream when I found myself being hurled through the empty void and finding myself in the Headmasters office an instant later.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
That''s gonna be it for now. Gotta go! See ya guys and girls laters~!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW! 37. Thought-less or full? Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Hello. Its been a while! Hn. I need some coffee. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few moments later... - Sorcierre (Headmaster''s Office) - Alice''s Point Of View...
"Never before have I seen someone get so Portal Sick from just one, regular blink spell." The headmaster muttered under his breath in pure contempt. He must be thinking that I''m faking this but dear gods, I have never wanted to vomit so badly as I do now."A.. regular.. b-BLRG!-..uugh, a regular blink spell does no-Urgh... not, take someone across half a city." Adhana then rose with pride."Hmph, well not every mage out there is as talented as I!" I shook my head at his antics."How the hell does the blink spell even work, anyways?" Now this caught his interest as I continued doing my best to listen, despite wanting to throw my guts out of my body."It is a rather simple arcane spell, truth be told. One merely needs to create a portal from one location to the next with their mana and use the Void as the intermediary, or a pathway, a road that goes everywhere, if you will." Quirking an inquisitive eyebrow at the man, I asked."So you just... make a portal out of mana and hope to the gods that it takes you where you want it to take you?" He blinked towards me in equal confusion and contempt, as if I just said something offensive to his person yet also managed to bring up a valid point."... no, not really. One does have to visualize both their starting location and where they want to end up perfectly. If they do not do this, then they may get lost in the void for eternity, or even be thrown back in time. Thankfully, most of the latter end up as withered corpses by the time they arrive at their desired location." Now it was my turn to blink as I quickly scanned the room around me, but I did not manage to find what I was looking for."Hmm? Did you think that I used one of my raven familiars to provide me with vision in order to teleport us here? How interesting... It would seem that I have underestimated your intelligence, Lady Pendragon." That is the first time that he referred to me by my title and surname."I guess that assuming that you only have one way to enhance your vision was foolish. Anyways, that''s not why we are here, right?" The headmaster''s expression suddenly twisted into a rather uncomfortable stare before he finally sat down into his chair and basically forced me down into one."So, do tell me this, how exactly does a young girl become a servant of the Cosmic Beast?" I blinked and tilted my head before offering a rather disgusted and betrayed look to him, something which caused the headmaster to do a double-take."... Servant of the Cosmic Beast? What.. how exactly did you come to this conclusion, if I may ask?" He promptly took out a crystal ball from under his desk."Show record number two thousand, eight hundred and seventy three." The energies within the ball swirled into focus to show what seemed to be me leading my troops into battle with crimson eyes, lusting for blood and carnage. My hair recoloring itself to a bright, shining red."Show record number one thousand, sixty five." Another battlefield came into focus, this time of a rather scantily clad beastkin man who tore through the ranks of the enemy. He was a minotaur, a bull with shining crimson eyes and snow-white fur. Features exactly like mine."Skewerhorn or Karnil, The Blood Lord of the beastkin north, favored son of the Cosmic Beast. Or well, he was the favored son, a thousand years ago or so." Noting my silence, the headmaster then weaved a string of mana into my pocket and dug out the amulet of the Cosmic Beast from my pocket, the one I took from the ratkin back in Kilnchapel."And also this... thing." "So basically, you''ve been spying on me all this time is what you''re saying?" My accusation made the headmaster quirk an eyebrow."Spying? Fine, call it that if you will, but I am merely acting in the interest of protecting my city and its inhabita-" "Bullshit." I rudely interrupted him."If you were acting to protect this city, I would not be here right now but at the deadly end of whatever arcane spell you decided to kill me with." Now it was his turn to tilt his head."... Hm. I see. So you do not trust me at all, do you, Alice?" "Trust you?" I quirked an eyebrow towards him."Is that what this is then? Teleporting me here is supposed to be a sign of your trust and definitely not you showing just how easily you can kill me if you wanted to?" This made the old man retreat deeper into his chair in shock and silence."I-.. I don''t.. I am... speechless." Shit, maybe I''ve taken this a bit too far. Letting out a massive sigh, I leaned back into my own chair."Look.. I''m sorry. No really, I am. Recent events have rattled me, somewhat." Now this made the headmaster let out a laugh."You don''t say? A little girl gets assaulted by vampires, gets her arm chomped off by a monster, is nearly killed by people she trusts and all this has merely... rattled,you, Alice?" "What can I say? I''ve grown rather accustomed to insanity recently." My answer seemed to revitalize the man as I ignored the more meaningful pieces of his reply."Is that so? Do tell." Another sigh escaped me as I picked up the amulet of the Cosmic Beast off of the table and said."Look, you''ve been spying- sorry, monitoring me so I think you already know this but I took this amulet from an old ratkin who had features similar to mine back in Kilnchapel."If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. A nod was my answer, a clear indication to continue."But regardless of this supposedly damming evidence, I do not serve, the Cosmic Beast. The only divine I''ve even prayed to is Vytar.. but to be honest, I haven''t really prayed to her either in a long while now." "And why is that?" He asked with interest as I quirked yet another eyebrow at him."I don''t really know, to be honest? Just... I guess I didn''t really see the need." "People usually pray to the gods during trying times the most, Alice. Yet it seems that you have managed to do the opposite." A nod was his answer."Yeah, ever since father died and I inherited this curse.. life has been... trying, I suppose you could say." "The Curse? So you are saying that it really does exist? It isn''t some stupid story made to cover up your connection to the Cosmic Beast?" I shrugged towards him."In a way, it is both." "Oh?" Now that made him confused."But before I explain that part, I need to make something clear. I do not have a connection to the Cosmic Beast. The Cosmic Beast however, does have a connection to me." "That makes absolutely no sense." He blinked, causing me to let out a hearty laugh."Okay look, to make an insanely long story slightly less long, there was once a hero of my lineage who fought against the Cosmic Beast and scored such a victory against it that the Beast decided to curse him and his bloodline for eternity. That curse is now mine to bear, though not even I completely understand it or its inner workings. I think that its supposed to make my life miserable or something but... honestly, ever since I''ve actually managed to inherit the curse itself, I''ve stopped being all that affected by it." "Stopped being affected by it? You mean that you''re experiencing a loss of emotion?" A nod was his answer."Along with other side-effects... such as seeing things that aren''t real, blood-stained reflections of myself in the mirror acting independently of me and so forth. Like I said, I''ve grown rather accustomed to insanity in the past few weeks." "I see... So you are the descendant of an ancient hero who got his bloodline cursed and are now suffering under this curse? The curse itself acts as a connection to the Cosmic Beast, much like a prayer does for priests and their gods." He began to scribble these tidbits into his notebook. The man always seemed to have paper at the ready. A true magus, indeed."Alice, this may be too much to ask but... what exactly do you think that the Cosmic Beast is?" "A cancer." This made him stop taking notes and look me in the eyes."A.. cancer?" "Yes, a cancer. A festering, pus-ridden piece of diseased meat cut out of a much greater whole. A greater whole which just so happens to be implausible in every sense of the word, so implausible indeed, that the cut-out cancer managed to gain its own sapience after being removed from its host." My answer sent shivers up and down the older mans spine."So... you mean to say how there is... something more powerful than the Beast... out there?" Another nod was offered."H-how.. how can you be so sure of that, Alice?" I blinked and lowered my head for a moment."Headmaster, can you see the memories of other people?" He seemed to deflate at this question for some reason."It is.. not exactly a simple spell and I do not use it often but... provided that you are willing and sure that there isn''t any other way for you to explain things then.. yes, I can see the memories of others." "I''m sorry but, I don''t really have the words required to describe things or explain anything to you, headmaster. In fact, I''m quite sure that the words do not even exist in the first place." He let out a massive sigh and then nodded before rising from his chair and approaching me. And then he slammed his palm into my forehead."... ow?" I offered him an inquisitive glance."S-sorry, force of habit." ... habit?"Wait, back when you were still part of the elven empire, what exactly was your occu-" He interrupted me with a rather ashamed look on his face."Another time, please." I blinked and nodded."As you wish, headmaster." "Thank you. Now, for this to work, I need a point of reference. Something, like a word or name perhaps, that I can use to link the magic to the event you want to show me." I nodded and then went deep into thought. With closed eyes, I finally replied after what felt like an eternity of silence."The Red World. Connect your spell to *The Red World*." My eyes remained closed but I could feel him nod somehow. A surge of mana rushed into my brain and then.. all was no more.
Beyond Reality and Beyond Time - "The Red World" - Alice''s Point Of View...
My eyes finally reopened and... I found myself staring at... nothing. Nothing at all. Yet... everything, at the same bloody time. A mass of stars and universes expanded before us, the headmaster standing paralyzed next to me. ... Did the spell fail? "Uh.. this.. this isn''t right. Headmaster, this isn''t the place I wanted to show you..." "On that note Alice, just what the hell.. is.. where are we?!" He began to panic, his ancient mind clearly being overloaded from all the visuals around us. Universes flying, eternity passing by in seconds and cosmic winds striking against our faces. Even though there was no cause for such winds to even exist here. Where-ever we are... Were?... Will be? It seems uncertain. A splashing sound could be heard next to me and I noticed that the headmaster was on his knees, staring hungrily at the ground we stood on. The ground which was made up of.. meat. Fresh, juicy flesh. Another splash. And I was forced to swallow down my sudden hunger and I too collapsed to the ground. My stomach churned and twisted and turned. This was more painful, so incomparably torturous that even getting my arm bitten off could be equalized to the bite of a flea. Yet, as soon as we both reached for the ground with our mouths, the scenery twisted into itself. IT IS NOT YET YOUR TIME. The headmaster screamed and I suddenly felt soulless. For a moment, it seemed as if we were both drifting in eternity, lost in the void and then... A blink. And we were both right back where we started, the headmaster was on the floor, a yellow liquid drenching his robes." -I... I mu-.." He shook his head and promptly drained the piss out of his clothing before somehow managing to recover enough strength to sit back into his chair. I was still a bit paralyzed, but somehow my eyes moved around easily."Umm... Hea-" "Alice. I believe you. I believe everything..." He suddenly muttered, a crazed look etching itself upon his face, his eyes drenched in liters of flowing blood. Magia Insanium... and yet, he seemed to be completely unfazed by the fact his eyes were about to burst open. In fact, one of them just did. Yet he drained the liquid from his papers and healed his eye back without missing a beat. Something has changed within this man... something drastic."Leave me, I have much.. MUCH, to do!" He suddenly exclaimed and grabbed several months worth of paper and ink, eyes spontaneously bursting open with every passing second. I ... decided that I didn''t want to stick around any longer. HE IS CORRUPTED... YET HIS TALENTS MAY SAVE HIM FROM MY WRATH. "Words! Eyes- thoughts, MEANING ETCHED DIRECTLY INTO MY MIND LIKE A THOUSAND BLOOD-STAINED NAILS HAMMERED INTO A PIECE OF WOOD!" Adhana screamed out like a madman as I approached the doorway to the outside by walking backwards. Then his expression calmed down, his eyes no longer bursting at the seams as he said."Oh and by the way, Archbishop Delathar and the Martial Instructor Fredrick Von Kravenheim were looking for you earlier today." "T-t-t-Thank you!" I promptly made my way out of the headmasters office and into the hallway. As I walked down the strangely empty halls of the Academy, I could swear that every stone construct was staring directly at me. ... good gods... What have I done?!
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
Well then~. There is a reason why Chaos is so picky with her followers, after all. Hope you''ve enjoyed the chapter! As per usual, I will edit out mistakes sometime soon!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW! 38. Glory Of The Light Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
''ello, y''all! Time to write during work again! Hmm, wonder how the comments are gonna look for this chapter? Maybe there will be some interesting conversations! Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few minutes later... - Sorcierre (Academy Main Grounds) - Alice''s Point Of View...
Walking out into the courtyard, still shaken by my otherworldly experience with the headmaster, I found myself somewhat emotionlessly staring at the ground. Lost in my empty mind as I was, I did not manage to notice the small crowd of people gathering around me."... young miss Pendragon? Are you alright?" An elderly voice echoed in my ears as the familiar figure of Archbishop Delathar formed itself before me. For a sizable man, he seemed to be invisible for a brief moment there. Or however long I was staring at the ground, anyways. After a long pause, I let out a sigh, shook my head and placed a hand onto my forehead."No. No really... but when exactly have I ever been alright." The old man seemed to be taken aback from my reply but before he could make a proper rebuttal, I continued."Anyhow, good evening to you, Archbishop. I was told that you were looking for me earlier today." He steeled himself, the small crowd of children my age which centered itself around him continuing to stare at me with inquisitive and yet, damming glances."Ah, yes. I was hoping to take you and the other students who possess the holy attribute out of your classes today in order to find out which divine being you are blessed by." "I am... blessed?" My voice came out dry and hoarse, almost as if his words were insulting. I shook my head and broke out of my self-imposed stupor."Y-yes. As you may know, holy magic is drawn directly from the Gods. Of course, as you can already cast multiple holy spells, you probably already know which of the divines is your patron, or are your patrons. I merely need to know which divine being you pray to when you cast holy spells... its just a paperwork thing." He waved it off like what he said just now didn''t have any meaning. "P... pray?... to a god?" I tilted my head in confusion, much to the Archbishops dismay."Yes?..." Shrugging at the equally confused man, I replied after a thought or two."Archbishop, the only divine that I''ve ever prayed to is Lady Vytar, however I cannot say that I have ever actively prayed to anyone during casting." A blink and another escaped the man before he managed to utter."W-what?!... but how do you cast holy spells then, young lady?..." I closed my eyes for the briefest moment. How do I cast holy spells?"Well, I imagine the light weaving itself into our world and embrace it as a temporary avatar of its power, exchanging magic for the ability to channel its glory into our world?" He seemed to be taken aback and one of the boys behind him suddenly perked up at my answer."H-hey teacher, isn''t this what we learned about earlier today? The Heresy of the Light and the like?" The... heresy of the Light?.. what the hell? Taking notice of my confused face, the Archbishop offered a somber nod before placing both hands onto my shoulders."Young Alice, I need you to answer this question as truthfully as you can. This... light, which you call upon, what exactly would you describe it as?" Tilting my head in confusion again, I felt myself descend into deep thought once more. The light? What do I see it as? ... a force of perfection. An endless well of Order. The everlasting glory, power, truth... Perfection. A blast of realization struck me just now and I fell to my knees in reality as the world shook around me."What I see the light as?..." I heard myself mutter out. And then, I let out a smile. God. The Light. The Perfection of Order. The power.. that I had been subconsciously calling out to for all this time. God. It was God, all along! A terrible sense of elation filled my heart and soul and all the horrors I had experienced mere minutes ago were washed away like small stones in a rushing spring of euphoria. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of inner peace, I rose back up and offered the crowd a rather bright, beaming smile."The Light? I don''t know what it is or what I see it as, Archbishop. That said, it seems that I have to thank you for making me think of it. Somehow, I feel... purified." Yet despite my current elation, the Archbishop and my would-be classmates all recoiled in unison, bearing looks of pure fear and disgust. His hands dropped off of my shoulders and his face twisted in sadness and despair."I... I see... Young Alice, I am very, very sorry, but for the safety of the other children and their education... I must expel you from my class." "Hmm? Oh, okay." Just like that, I agreed to his words and promptly turned around."Well, goodbye then! I hope you guys and girls have a great time." "W-wha-.. is that really Alice, as in Alice Pendragon? The emo banshee in the corner?!... Oh... Is this one of the dangers of Holy Magic that you taught us, sir? The so-called *blinded by the Light*, event?" Harnedy, the big-boned mayor''s daughter from my class spoke with fear lacing her tone, her inquisitive glance being replaced by horror, much like my own was a few moments ago. Since I was suddenly feeling so light, so clean, so... happy?! Yeah.. this is, happiness!"Indeed... remember children, that being blessed by the divine magics is not always a boon. If a person possesses too much natural attribute for holy magic, their very minds are twisted and reformed to fit the persona of the Light. The gods, bless their souls, are conduits which process The Light and allow us mortals to safely use it in their name. However, this means that only the truly pious can wield this magic safely." It feels good. Great, actually."... for the Light is an overwhelmingly powerful force of Order, as young Alice described it. It will overwhelm mortal minds as easily as the Lords of Shadow do from the Void, even if its intentions are the purest of heart. This can create fanaticism and zealotry that is no better than tyranny. A paladin who uses the Light directly is only required to believe that what he does is right in order for it to answer his or her call. For instance, the paladin may believe that murdering a thousand children in order to save one from disease is the correct way to do things... and holy power will heed his call."Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Anyways, since I was feeling swell, I decidedly ignored the crowd and walked away. Someone else was apparently looking for me today~."Those afflicted walk the path between Heroism and Mania... quite sadly, they are the good guys version of the so-called *Avatars Of Chaos*." A blink and a momentary stop from me as I heard the Archbishop say that."I-is Alice going to be okay?" I did not need to look at the bishop to know that he was shaking his head in negative."No.. and if she is to be believed, I do not think that she has ever truly been okay in the first place..." Never truly been okay? Well, maybe not up till now~. Now, though? I''M ECSTATIC! Anyways, I continued on forward, almost as if my path was already set in stone by some otherworldly force."Mistress!" A voice called out from behind me as my maid Faervel, rushed to hug me. Her hands coiled themselves around me in a very tight hug and I found it difficult to breathe."F-Faervel! I can''t breathe!" "Oh dear Lady Vytar! I was so worried for you when I felt that blast of pure light that I must''ve used more strength that I intended." The woman quickly undid her hold on me and then guided me towards a more private location."Milady.. what happened to you? Are you okay? Did... did one of the divines attack you just now?" I tilted my head in confusion."Umm, no? The Archbishop asked me how do I use holy magic and stuff... when I thought about it, I started to feel really, really good, thats all." The magnificent woman swallowed down hard and seemed to adopt a rather terrified expression. Her gaze wandered all around me before those beautiful orbs settled onto my pockets and her panicked frown turned into a flash of hope."Milady! Here, use this, please!" "Huh?" She reached into my pocket and dragged out an amulet."Huh? Was this amulet always quite so... splendorous?" Indeed, what was formerly just a simple accessory with a gemstone in the middle was now seemingly created out of pure Gold, with an amazing green diamond centered inside of a circle of seemingly natural wood as living vines grew in between the golden chain."T-this is... I- I see.. so the situation has gone from bad to worse." Faervel muttered out in seeming realization. She shook her head out of her stupor."Mistress, please take his amulet and offer a prayer to the Lady Vytar, if you would." I took the amulet into my hands and offered her a questioning gaze."... why, though?" She swallowed down hard, seemingly choosing every syllable with great care."B-because you have not prayed to the Lady in a while and she would be v-very h-happy if you did so?" Ah. That makes sense."Okay!" Then I focused onto the amulet again and opened my mouth... however..."Um... I... seem to have forgotten the prayer?" As if all her fears were realized all at once, Faervel adopted a look of absolute terror for the briefest moment, before forcing herself to smile once again."I-I see... w-well, would you r-repeat after me t-then?" "Okay!" I repeated, more joyously than I ever have before. With a nod from Faervel, we began."O great Lady Vytar, we thank you for the healing rain that washes the curving hills of the brightest green. We thank you for the beams of sunlight that fall softly upon the faces of children. We thank you for the butterflies and all the beautiful flowers, birds and fish, stars and trees, all of these resplendent beings which you created for us. We pray that all of your children witness these in wonder, and that the joy of these follows them through their lives now and forever, and ever, Mystra." Mystra. The ancient elven name for Vytar, incorporated into regular prayers as a finisher. Speaking about finishing things, the second that prayer was done, my chest glowed a golden green light and I felt my elation breaking, my sudden, UNNATURAL HAPPINESS, dying out as quickly as it came. I fell to my knees once more as cold sweat dropped past my brow. SO! THAT TRAITOROUS BITCH SEEMS TO STILL HAVE HER USES!... That said, I did not expect your father to blind you quite as much, dear daughter. The voice of Chaos thundered across my mind in toneless shapes and I felt myself nodding."T-thank you, Faervel... and thank you, Lady Vytar. I... I don''t know what possessed me just now." I shook my head, my usual paranoia and grumpiness seemingly returning to where they belong.
It was not just your personality, milady. Both me and your father were unable to contact you ever since you delved into the deep end.
Ah."W-well, at least you are alright now, mistress." No. Not completely. I felt myself clutching my own chest. The sheer euphoria, the bliss, the ... the perfection... I can still feel it rushing through my veins. Just deep enough inside to not make me completely insane. But something has changed. I am different. I am no longer alone. He is here now. He. Is. Here. Now. Yes... it is far too early for you, but what is done is done. Order... God... your Father, has now completed his synchronization with you and you may now become able to call upon his power directly. Though, like all eldritch powers, there are consequences to doing so. Blinded by the light. Made insane by the void. In the end... us mortals have sincerely drawn the short end of the stick."No. I''m still under its influence. Hopefully, I will learn to use it without damming myself one day." "N-no! Mistress, you must never use it again! The Light is not a power that mortals can handle, it will devour you whole!" She screamed out in horror, but to her surprise, I shook my head in negative."I''ve used it before. In my exorcisms, I channeled the light out into the world and not through myself." I did as I explained and gathered light magic into my palms, filling the spell with the intent of purification as I have done before. And the spell worked perfectly."W-what... it does not affect you like this?" I shook my head in negative."No, so long as I channel the light out of myself, it will not affect me." "Child. The Light''s power has not been fully cleansed from your body... I require you to go to a place of my power, my star... there I shall purify you of its insanity, completely." A new voice whispered into my mind. Soothing, beautiful... "Vytar..." I suddenly exclaimed, much to the surprise of my perfect companion. My mind twisted alongside my expression."... No." "W-what?! N-no?! I offer thee salvation and you refuse it?!" She screamed, yet not in outrage but in horror. As beautiful as her voice may be, she was... annoying, somehow."I do not want to be *purified*, by you or anyone else. The Light may be dangerous milady, but it is my benefactor and nothing you do will change that. If the Viper of Eden wants to tear into my body with his fangs... then, so be it." "T-..the viper... of Eden?.. wh-.. Is this the name of the new deity whose relics you have been gifted?" A nod was Faervel''s answer as her confusion continued."But what does it have to do with The Light?" I beamed my perfect companion a dreadful smile."My dear, the Viper of Eden IS, The Light." The orb of holy energy in my palm surged forward, becoming much grander and more splendorous than ever before. This... this was no longer a *greater exorcism*. No, this was more akin to a divine exorcism now. The power of holy magic is called forth through prayer and just now, I had invoked the Viper during my casting of the spell... If merely invoking its title is enough to empower the spell this much then... what would a prayer do?... Possibly nothing at all. I mean, how exactly does one even pray to God? To the Viper? All the prayers of the divines originated from a singular being chosen by their divine being in order to preach its prayer to the people of the world... and if God never chooses anyone to do this... Then, I suppose I''ll just have to make one of my own. After all, God cares not for what or who serves God... Only, that you do. The surging sphere of light was now enormous, just about the same size as the ball of preternatural fire that I created by using the knowledge and understanding granted to me by Chaos. I raised my right hand high and let the power gathered free. It rose to the skies and penetrated the clouds, seemingly evaporating them in an instant and covered all there is around us in the pale light of the sun."W-wh... h-how?... How can a mere mortal be able to channel so much power?" Faervel asked me in a tone of utter astonishment. I beamed her a smile."Mortal?... Well, I''m not so sure about that one anymore." She appeared far too mesmerized with the glowing light to reply. So... I joined her in gazing at its magnificence. We stayed there, in silence and contemplation until the light died out and finally noticed that there was a crowd of people all around us. They too, were gazing at the sky, enchanted, their daily lives seemingly unimportant and forgotten. It was beautiful. It was terrifying. God. I felt myself laughing. So long as I feel that what I do is right, eh?... This... This power... I could get used to this. Just have to remember that its not mine, but Gods. No... Fathers, power. One of the people attracted to the beam of the light seemed to be none other than my current coachman, Rethrill."Uveane, snap out of it!" My dark elven coachman shook his head."W-what?! I-Iu uh-..." "It does not matter. Anyways, since you are here, I take it that my carriage also nearby?" He offered a rather slow nod."Y-yes, I-.. its over t-there." He pointed towards the left, where a multitude of carriages were parked, the horses waiting patiently."Good. We shall go inside. When you are done being mesmerized by a sunbeam, please drive me to the Academy Training Grounds." Why the training grounds, you may be asking? Well, I figure that if I''m going to find any sort of martial instructor, its going to be there. Faervel and I entered the carriage and I promptly laid my head on her lap, her generous rack providing me with quite the bit of eye-candy. Thankfully, the golden-haired elf... being, did not seem to mind at all and even started patting my head. It felt... surprisingly good, for some unknown reason. Sleep took hold over me soon after and I was sent to float in an endless, peaceful abyss of slumber. Aaah... if only every day could be like this.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
And that''s it! So how was the chapter? Enlightening? TERRIFYING?! Hehehehe, I can''t wait to hear your thoughts~. As per usual, I''ll post this first and edit out mistakes a bit later!
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW! 39. A Duel or Duet? Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
Writing during work hours~. Because I have no motivation at home. Fuck. Aaaahhh.... This is incredibly risky, just so you know. But, then again, they don''t pay me enough for me to care. Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Destiny: Infernal! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin.
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
A few minutes later... - Sorcierre (Academy Training Grounds) - Alice''s Point Of View...
Sometimes, when you are looking for someone, you tend not to find them at all. Sometimes, you find them nigh instantaneously. In the rarest of times, they find you. This is one of these times apparently, as I found myself snacking on a mana biscuit. This little magical treat cost me a good twenty copper pieces in the cafeteria... twenty copper, for a piece of stale bread, a slice of chocolate and cream filled up with mana."Are you the young lady Pendragon?" I quirked an eyebrow at the strange, mustached man that approached me with an annoyed look on his face."... the young, lady Pendragon? As in there''s an elder lady Pendragon?" The man scoffed."Pah, I had you figured for a peasant knave but to not know of one such as her ladyship, Martha Pendragon! Bah! Merchants these days... they don''t teach their kids any manners, I swear." My quirked eyebrow was quirked even higher. Then I let out a laugh."I have to wonder whatever gave you the opinion that I am the child of a merchant, sir." My question ended up as a statement more then anything else, but the rude man seemed adamant on answering nonetheless."That cookie you are consuming child, costs about twenty coppers. Mere peasants do not have the money to buy that treat and not eat it ever so delicately." A blink. Nah, make that two."Huh... an astute observation." I jumped off of the bench I was sitting on as the man formed a proud posture."Well, of course! I am the one and only Fredrick Von Kravenheim! Master Martial Instructor and the best duelist in all of Sorcierre and beyond." Then he offered me an inquisitive glance."Though.. this is the first that that I''ve heard a child, more surprisingly one of ignoble birth, use the word *astute*, correctly at that." A spree of cheery laughter was his answer."That''s because I am not of ignoble birth, Sir Von Kravenheim. Anyways, I was told that you were looking for me earlier." Now it was his turn to be momentarily confused as the man tilted his head, utterly flabbergasted."W-what? I? Looking for y-Oh. Ohh... You ARE the young lady Pendragon!.. but.. as in there''s an elder lady Pe-" He suddenly quieted down."I... I beg thy forgiveness, young lady. I was not aware." "Its fine, Ser Instructor. Let us move on to more important details, please." The amount of nonchalance I presented seemed to shock the man and force him to form a face of pity. Thankfully, he quickly fixed his posture."I see. Very well, then! Walk with me, if you would, young lady." He pivoted on his heel and pointed towards a specific location within the training grounds, a rather walled off location which seemed to be excessively decorated with high quality maps, trophies and ... songs, etched into and onto the walls? Each of them appeared to tell the tale of an immense, legendary battle. All that glory, yet not one spoke of the consequences, no mention of the cost of victory. I found myself smirking as I recalled my own virgin battlefield. Not all battles have friendly casualties, anyways~. Clanking sounds entered my ears as the mans breastplate struck lightly against one of the walls. These corridors are quite narrow, even if fairly well lit. The man in front of me wore a helmet without a visor and an opening on the back to allow for the growth of a ponytail, a trademarked sign of a knight from Greater Yoryn, though I seem to have forgotten the name of that particular order of knights. Anyways, he was also wearing a tabard over the weighty chest plate which bore the symbols of the aforementioned Kingdom; a crowned, roaring and armored lion, standing atop a field of endless green. A lie, if what I''ve been told by other nobility is correct. The greenery, that is. Their kingdom is desolate and the people starved, surviving only on warfare and the aid sent from other kingdoms. But well, such is the fate of all lands ruled over by peasant upstarts who dare proclaim themselves kings and queens. One should not expect a blacksmith to tailor clothing, just as no peasant is meant to rule. Their country does have one mayor benefit though: they have an open trading pact with several elven nations from across the seas. A work of great pride by their former king... a tribute to prosperity which saw him dethroned as the very merchants he employed rebelled against him, their greed fueling hatred and empowering every mistake, while belittling his every success. Even as his grand work filled their vast treasuries with even more gold than they could have ever dreamed of having. And then people wonder why we nobles are so against aiding our subjects... Your lands have a bandit problem? No! Rather, you have free population control. The bandits got too good to keep around? Kill them. The peasants will love you for a few years for your heroic actions.. aka, even better population control. My musings are interrupted by the martial instructor coughing into his fist with clear discomfort."A-ah, forgive me, instructor." I bowed slightly before continuing."My attention has been rather shallow these past few days. Too much on my mind." "Y-yes, w-well, it is not me that you should apologize to, young lady." I blinked in confusion and decidedly took a closer look at my surroundings. A bunch of children my age were all around us, many of them dressed in finery not unlike the high courts of our own Kingdom. Ah, the children who would be kings and queens. Otherwise known as Class S, the specials."So do you accept my challenge or not!?" A young boy exclaimed under his breath, reeking of reckless pride as I turned my head around to the left, finally managing to notice the exquisite blade pointed at my throat."Um... who are you?" Taking a better look at the person wielding the massive sword made me pause. His body was rather slender and far too muscled for a nine year old boy, not that I have any right to comment, his skin was pure white and hair golden, traits indicative of an elven heritage, but not exactly that of a half-breed. He wore what seemed to be a very personalized set of mail armor, light and so enchanted that I could see the wisps of magic seeping out of the metal. He also wore a royal white, blue and golden outfit which I did not think could have been made by mere human hands. A quick glance around the rest of his body only served to further confuse me as I could not detect any sort of banner or symbol marking his dynastic heritage, not that I wear mine around all the time either but you get the point."... Are you just.. going to stare at me without saying anything?" "Maybe she''s fallen for you already, Bohemond." The boy seemed to go from shock to blushing in about three seconds flat before pulling his blade back and stumbling. I blinked as my brain processed what I just heard."Wh- What the hell, man?!" The now named Bohemond turned towards another male student and offered him a rather incredulous gaze. The other guy just shrugged and our audience laughed merrily, including the instructor. Somehow, I managed to keep myself still as I tilted my head."Eh, you''re cute enough, I guess." I swear those words didn''t come out of my mouth just now. In any case, Bohemond turned back to face me, his expression somewhat darkened, even if a blush still adorned his features. How... Adorable? ... I think I need to mentally slap myself before I do or say something I regret. But what can I do?... he''s just my type~. "I''ll take that as a compliment..." He trailed off before sizing me up and bowing."Though, you are not exactly unsightly yourself, milady." Now it was my turn to blush as the semi-stoic expression I had on my face broke apart."A-ah, t-thanks? I -uh, you-there was something you wanted from me?" Thankfully, my heart is colder than ice and I managed to somehow steady myself again.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. That didn''t stop him, or any other male around me for that matter, from grinning victoriously."I asked your ladyship for a duel." A duel? My emotionless expression was back in full now."What exactly do you mean by duel?..." The people around me tilted their heads in confusion."Ahem." The martial instructor caught my attention."Lady Pendragon, as you may know, I am the teacher representing Class S. My students claim to have seen you exhibit great power and authority on several occasions and have decidedly looked into exactly who you were. Once they gathered enough information, they approached me in order to demand that you be switched to my Class S instead of Class C, because you being among peasants was clearly some form of dishonor." He cleared his throat once again as he pointed towards what appeared to be a small dueling arena of sorts. A bounded field of magic, with healers and alchemists waiting right outside of it in case something goes wrong."While I myself know of your mother and your father''s prowess, there are those within my class who doubt your capabilities and wish to test you before you are granted the right to switch classes." "You assume that I want to." I pointed out, much to the dismay of those around me."What, so you don''t want to join up with the most prestigious class for Nobles on this side of the entire world?" One arrogant princess spat, her words followed by immediate belittling laughter from her entourage of spoiled brats. I shook my head in negative."No. I do not. Unlike you, I no longer have mommy and daddy around to make things easy for me." The princess seemed to be intelligent enough to catch the meaning of those words and retreated backwards alongside her entourage with a rather depressive mutter."O-oh." "Oh, indeed." I let out a laugh of my own, not unlike that she let out a few moments ago."My people need a ruler, someone to guide them to prosperity and protect them from the ravages of war, famine and regular banditry. Yet, I am also expected to carry out judiciary work and continue my own education as if it was all too easy to do!" The martial instructor seemed to contemplate stopping me from ranting but did nothing even as I offered him an opportunity to stop me, so I continued."I also got attacked on the road, both by bandits and by monsters, my dear coachman was skewered mid-flight by the wheels of my own carriage. Some orcs raided a village and I was gifted the beautiful sight of its aftermath... Oh and, there was a ratman infestation in one of my county''s main cities! You should have seen the mountain of corpses really, the rats threw even their newborns at us." No need to mention how I never saw the village burn or how the main event recently was me slaughtering a horde of peasants led by a prince of my own country. Most of the young nobles looked like they wanted to be anywhere but here by now. Then I turned back to Bohemond and asked."That all said and done, I suppose I could use the diversion. I accept your challenge, Bohemond." He swallowed down hard and nodded."T-to the ring then, if you w-would, Lady Pendragon." Huh, he didn''t mention the fact that I didn''t use a title when addressing him. I suppose my trials have earned me a tinge of respect. We walked over to the ring as our audience quickly gathered to watch with keen interest."Combatants, introduce yourselves!" The martial instructor spoke with a tone which can only come from years of commanding troops of all shapes and formations. A sergeant, true to his heart and his country, despite the latter''s many, many shortcomings. "Ladies, first." Bohemond said with another grin, eliciting a rather surprised smirk on my part. I''ll admit that he has spunk~. "As you wish." I straightened my posture, taking the distinct appearance of a duelist wielding a rapier, left hand on my back and right to my chest as I summoned my sword."Tius!" Once the blade appeared fully, I relaxed my posture and bowed."Lady Alice Pendragon, High Lady of the Duchy of Axilar and overseer of the Edgelands beyond it." Our audience nodded, mostly subconsciously as they all likely already knew who I was."Is.. is that a... a wraithblade?" A priest muttered in the background with a tone of fear."She looks like a pirate." The arrogant princess from before muttered under her breath, reeling with hate."I know, right? So manly~." Her entourage seemed to be oblivious to their leaders hate, though. As quite a few girls seemed to look in my direction with interest, I felt myself turning away from them. Bohemond then coughed and bowed."Prince Bohemond, of the Lionheart dynasty, of the Kingdom of Irysia." The girls swooned at his voice alone while all the guys spat in disgust. .... a prince? Well that... I should have seen that coming from a mile away."Bohemond Lionheart, eh?" I tested his name on my lips, something which the boy caught and seemed unsure how to react to."Combatants! Your match will begin in 3." The instructor took our attention and put it back on track. "2." He readied his sword and exhaled, preparing himself to charge as I relaxed my posture even further. Honestly, I wasn''t really expecting much out of him, despite all the magical mail and clothing. His sword may be exquisite, but that seemed to be the end of that. It wasn''t any legendary blade that I knew of, at least. "1!" The instructor exclaimed and rose his hand high. Then, without any further numbering, he slammed it downwards and I only had a moment to react. Bohemond charged towards me with a speed I would have expected from a horse, not a human and much less a boy. His golden eyes gleamed in the shallow, afternoon light of the dueling arena as he appeared in front of me in a crouched position, his sword reaching from down to up, seemingly indenting to slice my unprepared self in half. Shit, what to do? The world seemed to slow down to a crawl as I weighted my options. Do I dodge to the left? To the right? No, the sword might still reach me! Do I duck? NO THAT''S STUPID! Do I jump?... what would this accomplish?! The sword was nearing my right leg now. Panic caught me, instinct''s flared and finally, just as the sword was about to cut into my flesh, my body moved to the side, pivoting on my left heel and striking Bohemond in the back of his head. Or well, that was the plan. He seemed to smile for a brief moment, before his body disappeared in a flash of blinding light."Argh!" The world was back to normal now, but I wasn''t. My instinct''s flared up again and I swung my sword with every ounce of might that I could muster before my brain could even register the direction. Only the clanging sound of steel striking against steel woke me up enough to realize that I had turned my entire self around, clashing sword to sword with Bohemond."I knew it! The sword wasn''t lying!" He laughed and swung my blade to the side, sending a kick towards me which I caught with my left hand and moved to strike his forehead with the handle of my blade. He teleported behind me again just before I reached him."You are really a worthy opponent!" I had to leap to the side as his blade struck the ground, cracking the stone as it did. A blink, as realization struck me. My sword... Did not cut through his sword. Focus returned to my panicked gaze as the hysteria was slowly replaced by blood-thirst, a strange feeling welling up from deep inside of me as I regained my footing and took up a crouched form, not unlike the one he started the fight with."Heh.." I let out an uncharacteristic chuckle as I charged towards him, catching my own twisted expression in his golden eyes. Golden... eyes?.. My eyes were.. glowing? Crimson. Like that of a mad beast, an animal lost in conflict. A berserker. A savage grin etched itself upon my features as I reached him, appearing directly in front of him just as he did to me mere moments ago. Alas, it was not a sword swing that I used to attack, but a fist. My metal, left hook. He didn''t manage to properly block it, or rather, he didn''t use his sword but his own flesh to defend himself, which resulted in several wicked sounds echoing out as he grunted in pain. He leaped backwards and promptly stared at his busted arm, his royal clothing drenched in blood. His face twisted into a grin much alike to my own."Reform." He said as light began to manifest from his other hands fingers and I watched in amazement as his wounds closed nigh instantly. Our terrified onlookers weren''t so thrilled however."S-sir.. wh-what is going on? They''re actually killing each other!" To his credit, the martial instructor did nothing to stop us, merely prevented the other children from panicking as best he could. My eyes quickly darted across the room and I took note of several other children my age who weren''t even slightly bothered by what was going on. Rather, they were staring with silent intent."Where are you looking?" My opponent screamed out in glee as our swords met once again, clashing with equal strength."Sorry about that! I must say that I''m actually reconsidering your offer!" Placing great effort into my swing, I manage to push him back."Good! We could certainly use more chosen ones!" I blinked in confusion, even as we continued the fight, clashing blades deafening everything else out but our own voices."Chosen ones?" "HEROES!" He exclaimed as if it explained everything, yet it only served to further confuse me."Heroes... are you a-" "OBVIOUSLY! NOW SHUT UP AND FIGHT!" He leaped back and poured holy energy into his sword."Heavenly Slash!" A bright flame engulfed the blade as he swung it towards me."Wind blast!" Thinking quickly, I sent a blast of wind in his direction."Hah, that won''t put out my fire!" He continued his charge seemingly unimpeded by the force of nature, yet I offered him a smile."Good, because that wasn''t its intention." His confusion was however, as it left him defenseless against my counter-charge. Our swords met yet again as I quickly channeled mana into my left hand, opening it and forming a gout of hellish fire on my palm, a fireball mid-cast. To my dismay, Bohemond grinned right back at me and caught my hand, fireball in place. The magic exploded outwards, yet when the dust settled, the both of us appeared unharmed. Confusion etched itself on my face as he explained with a proud gaze and gesture towards his left hand. Upon his pointed finger was a crimson ring, strange runes etched into every inch of its gold metal."A ring of fire resistance?" His grin seemed to stretch even further."Immunity!" Another blink and a tilt of my head was his answer."Wha-? That''s just ridiculous!" "It matters not either way!" He happily exclaimed as he eased up his hold on my hand and seemed to intertwine his fingers with mine."E-eh?!" My blood-thirst dispersed nigh instantly, replaced by confusiona and embarrassment."Wh-what are you doing?!" Strangely, I wasn''t really ... y''know, fighting back."To think I doubted my god, my lord and glorious ancestor Caesor!" ... Caesor? The god of justice and chivalry? What does he have to do with this? "Uhm, what?" Bohemond beamed a bright smile at me and sheathed his sword, standing upright. This allowed me to take note of the fact that he was quite taller than me, by at least a few inches."Nothing much, just you see... I''m gonna be king one day~." He said with a beaming smile on his face as I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks. He took my other hand into his."And I swear to you Alice, that when that day comes, you''re gonna be, a Queen!" ... ... "Hah! I like this guy already. Alright, he has my approval!" Father''s voice echoed through my skull.
Indeed. Such confidence is a desirable trait. I fully support this as well.
... ... ".... eh?"
Don''t mind me guys and girls! I''m just a line break...
HAHAHAHHAHAHA! Finally managed to get this guy in! Man, I didn''t expect this to be so fun to write tbh~. As per usual, I will remedy all my mistakes a bit later. Its time to sleep now, I think. Maybe not.
Anyways, read and review! And good morning/day/night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Sorry everyone, but I quit."

[Administration] Fiction deletion From: Nemanja Recipient: Lord Joyde
Greetings, Your fiction "Joyde''s Yellow Book - Volume 2" has been removed from Royal Road due to extremely high amount of sexual content. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. If you have questions, concerns, or requests, please open a support ticket at royalroad.com/support Do not reply to this message in a PM. Regards, Nemanja, Royal Road team. -- Lord Joyde: If he can do this to one of my stories, he can casually remove all of them. I don''t feel like typing under this pathetic threat. I''m sorry. But Goodbye, everyone. I''ll maybe update the story on occassion, but if I ever continue writing, it will not be on RR. "For those who wanted to know where Ill write next." https://www.fictionpress.com/u/879573/Lord-Joyde Here you go! STUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTSTUFFSOITLETSMEPOSTRoyal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.