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The Future in High Def /or/ The Birth of Triani Nigari |
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Alone, so alone.... Where was everyone? "Wyrm? Terika?"
They are coming for you child.
The voice, if that is what it was, was flat, spoken with a tone that was similar to Zak's, the voice of his ancestor he'd heard two years ago.
They will come for you, and you will have another choice to make- be someone worth living, or be someone worth killing.
"Who are you?! Show yourself!"
Winged creatures flashed through his head, a seer, six winged beings- angels- laughing together in a beautiful garden. A journey, the loss of something of great value, but the gain of something more. Power, strong enough to bring the might low, stronger than anything Eryan had ever experienced. Rejoicing, happiness, contentedness. Everything seemed to be a wonderful, if slightly dangerous, life.
Betrayal.
Despair. Loss. A emptiness that even Hate ran from, something it could not consume. The darkness flew away, the light grew frightened. Planets and stars winked out with fear, the Dead walked, the Living died. The war fought, and the Emptiness won. Still not enough power, grew stronger, punished the Betrayers, the one time family. The Garden dead. One cast out, five destroyed in spirit, in flesh- no longer angels, but not fallen demons. Something in between.
I was.... not strong enough.
"What... what are you?" Eryan asked awed
I am.... Despair. I am... Solitude. The end of all that is, was, ever shall be. What was created, I was made to end. And in the end, that was my failure. Eryan could now see a cloaked figure. It looked Old, yet ageless. Unending.
"I chose to have both Love and Duty, and both were taken. I chose Duty, and I had my life be empty.... and my Love is gone, beyond even my grasp. So I seperated myself, into the different parts that made me powerful. I gave Duty a Steward, Love a Vessel, Despair a cycle, Power a Purpose.... and all that remained was solitude. The Punished will come.
Choose Wisely.
Love or Duty?"
Eryan woke in a cold sweat, dark and unfamiliar surroundings. Wyrm snored lightly on the pillow next to his head. It had been three days since the Pookas had been rescued. Three days since he'd been forced to bury the dead kits and females, leaving their deaths unavenged. Forced to let the damned man escape to a cell where he'd be out in a few days....
"Its not our place, Eryan." Terika had said. "We are not the Law of this town, we are simply swords for hire. Well known, well meaning, useless swords for hire. Dead swords if you kill him."
Why was he so angry? Sure the little folk were protected, but so were the fey, the dwarves, a few wandering forests, and other things. Sure they were sentient, but he'd killed plenty of sentient creatures in his work.
He pushed the thoughts in his head aside and began his morning routine. First, exercises to get his body moving. His arms flowed from one movement to the next, then changing so that each hand was doing something completely different, then he switched. It was practice to cast two silent spells at once- something that was complicated even for him.
After his exercises, which had included sword practice, he checked his equipment. He would be going out soon enough to get his license renewed, and he didnt want to be missing anything. The sooner he was out of this City of the Damned, the better. His eggs were fine, warmed by the fire. His blade was still sharp and shiny as the day he'd got it. His spell book, components and travel case were neatly packed, his armors and leathers were laid out neatly, with his boots polished. Wyrm was fed, the dragon had woken in the midst of practice and gobbled down most of his own breakfast, and his scales cleaned. As he checked each item, he placed it in its proper place on his person. In a few minutes, Eryan the boy had been transformed into Eryan of the Dragon, or whatever they were calling him now.
Wyrm slithered and glided to his masters arm and took his customary place at the shoulder.
Eryan left the room, careful not to wake Terika as he slipped past her door on the way out. Thanking the Innkeeper, he started off for the local guildhall and prayed for an uneventful day.
The Guildhall of the Sword Guardians is a pretentious name for something that is part barracks, part Tavern, Part armory, and part office. In short, it was more of a military inn. While the place was called the Guildhall, it was home to many different guilds, each having various rivalries and strengths. There was a Guildhall in every major city, and a minor Hall in most minor villages. Eryan hated it.
Large and pretentious on the outside, boisterous and dingy on the inside, it was, to him, the epitome of human stupidity.
It was also where he got paid, so he never complained except from far away.
Walking inside was easy, the door simply opened for a Guardian. From there, he walked through the tavern to the offices. As it was nearly six in the morning, most of the Guardians were asleep, and the others were milling about, waiting for some quest to be announced, or their wages to be paid.
Tapping on the door of the Handler of the Unaffiliated, Eryan was irritated. The smell of smoke lingered in the air, with a touch of unbathed men who rode horses or other equines into battle. The sweat clung to the place, making it unpleasant even at the best of times.
"Hello?" came a raspy voice at the door. "Who is it? Do you know what bloody time it is?! The Monks of Darkness aren't even up yet!"
The door opened to reveal an old dwarf, one Hrej Steelbender. The sinews of his arms spoke of forges and battle. His eyes spoke of little sleep, and long nights.
"Sorry Hrej. I know it's been a few months since Terika was here form me, but I needed my license renewed... and you know how I hate towns." Hrej had been the one who'd issued his first license, and therefor was his Contact. Guilds could go to any affiliated contact for their pay, but unaffiliated were stuck with whoever issued their licenses.
Hrej's face softened when he realized who his guest was. "Come in, boy. Come in. I know these damned humans build the crappiest things and call it beauty." he motioned Eryan to enter and shut the door behind him. "A spot of Mead?" he offered.
"No, thank you, water if you have it though. I think Wyrm's getting to the fire breathing stage."
The dwarf nodded, and poured a glass of water. Handing it to Eyran, he turned back, and went behind his desk for some papers. "Just a renewal? Seems like you should be carousing with the ladies, or getting into bar fights. Still, you are a quiet kid- s'what I like about ye." The dwarf slipped from cultured common to a dwarvish lilt a the drop of a hat. "Alright, your license is renewed, for about another six years."
"Unless they say that Im hot headed again." Eryan murmured as he sipped the water.
"Yes, well charging at a village for accidentally waking a mother dragon is a bit over the top, lad." Hrej said with a little laugh. "Speakin o' dragons, there's word that there's a need for someone with your talent for dragons. Nuthin concrete yet, but ya want me ta get word to ya if I can?"
Eryan nodded. "please. Im getting real tired of being known for Wyrm's good behavior though- you should see him when we're traveling."
The dwarf nodded, watching the little dragon sip some of the water as well.
"So, what's this I hear of you catchin a Pooka poacher?"
"Im not sure how, maybe its one of the familiar things, but I heard something cry out as we passed by. As you know," Eryan grimaced at the thought of the meat. "I cant stand most meats. I think it has something to do with all the dragon kill I was forced to eat in training, but I digress. The man was selling their flesh as rabbit meat, due to their small size. I admit to losing my head a bit..." The dwarf smiled at Eryan's version of 'a bit' There was a crater where the man in question's shop used to be. "... but I listened to Terika and got the Pookas out first. And the rest is quite obvious, seeing as the man is incarcerated instead of incinerated."
"Well, ye got paid for it- though the guard's are taking credit for the arrest." the dwarf passed a pouch of coins. " There's quite a bit more, but it goes to the Vault with everything else."
The Vault was an old Wyrm's den. The creatures in question lived in large communities, but they were all large creatures. The Guardians discovered the caves filled with treasure, and that original treasure funds all the guilds across the land, keeping them free of politics- the crown and other governing bodies had no rule over the Guardians, and the Guardians did what the others couldnt do. Terika and Eryan had sprung for a private cave, expensive but worth the money- no one would steal from the Vault, to do so was instant expulsion from the Guardians and then execution. Not to mention that you needed specific wards to actually get in.
"Boy," Hrej continued. "You an' yer cousin have made a name fer yerselves. Now, this old dwarf knows you two dont play well with others, but mayhap you two should start thinkin of startin up yer own guild? Freelance is all well an good, but a guild pulls in more quests."
Eryan and Hrej continued talking for hours, but the idea stuck out in Eryan's head.
Why not make a guild?
 Azzy Rael · Thu May 20, 2010 @ 06:10am · 0 Comments |
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