Fight or Flight

[Kryos]

Kryos raised his eyes when James brought over the small container. He left Anne’s trembling body, and after sheathing his blade, took it from James’ hands. It was light, so there wasn’t a very big chance that it was dangerous. Still, he held it away from the others as he undid the tie at the top, and opened the bag. Nothing happened. Relaxing, he brought his arm toward him, and peered inside. The sun, now directly overhead, pierced the canopy and lit up the contents. Inside was a beautiful gem. Kryos reached in and pulled it out to examine it in the light. The others leaned in to see it as well. The dark surface seemed to swirl, as if vapor was trapped on the inside.

“Hey, what’s this?” Lucas reached into the previously thought empty satchel, and pulled out a small piece of paper. The human scanned the message. Suddenly, his eyes widened and his face drained of color. He passed the note to Kryos, who grabbed it with his fourth and fifth fingers, since he was still holding the stone and the bag. He looked at the elegant words and read.

Scourge,
The creature has been completed. Now awaiting your orders as to where to attack. Please send instructions via these minions. Also, the Corruption Stone, which is included with this message, has been finished. The owner of the gem will be able to turn living beings into the minions easily. It is a gift from Morian.
Always ready to serve,
Rashilan Penna’ak

Kryos’ eyes widened like Lucus’ had and stepped back, holding the gem away from him. “The power to turn a living person into a zombie.” He turned to Lexxum. “This stone is dangerous. It must not fall into the wrong hands.” He paused, thinking of other options. “Actually, it would be best to destroy it, though by the looks of it, that won’t be easily done.” He replaced it back in the bag and tied the top shut. He turned and approached Allaria. She was softly singing healing songs, while her hands carefully looked over the burnt flesh. He knelt down next to her and placed the bag by her side.

“Take a look at that when you have time. Find out what you can. It’s a Corruption Stone, so be careful.” She nodded once and then redirected her attention back to the wounded girl. Kryos stood and looked at the two men and Lexxum. “Well, Lexxum. We lucked out. Apparently this Rashilian Penna’ak is the one behind this. Judging from the direction that the zombies were coming from, she’s to the southeast. But we need to be careful. I’m a little worried about what this ‘creature’ is.” He walked over to the group of warriors and faced the southeast. He pulled his weapon out, preparing himself for the danger ahead. They were out to get a necromancer. He shook his head and grinned, surprised that things would turn out this way.

“Well, then. Let’s go.” He began making his way through the trees yet again. Only this time, he and the others were the hunters, instead of the hunted.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

I took a look at Anne, tears still flowing down my eyes. I wiped them from my face, tossing them to the ground a moment later. In my eyes I was the one responsible for Anne's injuries, which in many ways I was. The Tap Buster was reluctantly picked up and placed back in my possession. My scaly face, along with powerful maxilla reflected itself in the glow of my sword. I looked at myself for a long moment. I wasn't the young Lexxum that first got off the boat and showed up at Anebrilith so many ages ago. I'd become a man of amongst my people now and would have stories to tell them when I returned home as a great lizard warrior. My saurian physique rippled with rage as I pondered the next course of events. We had to hunt a Necromancer now, sure it wasn't Netha'Tu, but it was a Necromancer nonetheless. One of Xem'Zund's loyal servants. I walked over to Kryos for a moment and decided to share my experiences with Netha'Tu. We'd spoken quite a bit already during the journey, but I hadn't yet had a chance to reveal much about my encounter with Netha'Tu himself.

"The Necromancer will be extremely powerful. He is a trusted servant of Xem'Zund we should watch out for his tricks. When Typheus and I fought Netha'Tu, that Necromancer was able to conjure up infinite armaments made of plynt. Terrible wizard's lightning, and other powers too foul to mention. We best be on our guard. I doubt that we will have enough on hand power to defeat him by ourselves. But we have to give it a try, for Anne's sake. For Valinatal's sakes."

There was more that I wanted to say, but time was of the essence. We needed to make sure that the Necromancer faced justice. I kept Tap Buster in my hand in a loose grip. I was aching to do some damage on more zombies, the recent battle was dreadfully short. I wanted to satiate my anger and rage. Walking in the general direction that Kryos suggested, I felt my heart heavy. My tail swung gently from side to side as it moved the foliage beneath me. I felt like I was forcing my legs to move with the weight of the guilt I felt for Anne's plight. I took one last look at her small form. I knew that Alk would stay behind and guard her. The area was dangerous with all of the zombies walking about, the living dead. I took the front of the group feeling my rage building up in my heart. I could hear the vessels of the arta speaking to me, commanding me forward. It wanted me to submit to my hate. Submit to my saurian rage. I would allow such a thing to occur when my enemy was upon us. I had a few cards I could play after all. As I walked I kept clenching my free hand, which happened to be the clockwork one, open and closed.

The metallic hand still felt like a strange addition to my body. It weighed much differently than my organic hand once weighed. It felt more like a blunt object attached to my arm than anything else. Somehow, a natural, archaically induced feeling made the hand feel like a normal hand might. I was eager to slam the metallic fist against the skull of some foe. I wanted to break limbs. I wanted to tear flesh. I wanted those responsible for the fall of Valinatal to suffer greatly. I could feel the wind blowing, and the ground beneath my boots. Occasionally, my heavy boots crunched thick foliage beneath me, broke tree branches and bits of roots from red wood trees. I was making a lot of noise, but I wasn't trying to be stealthy. The heavy armor that I wore from Valinatal's outfit. It took a bit to get used to wearing the heavy armor, but the extra protection came in handy where my scales might not be able to protect me. As in when enemies used magics. I thought about the battle with Netha'Tu. It ended in a severe loss, I was forced to take a hit for Typheus that would've killed my friend.

Walking several feet forward, I noticed that the terrain was decorated with something else. The flesh of the dead. There were corpses everywhere, and some of them were in various states of mutilation. It seemed that a few of the corpses had injuries consistent to a drowning death. Some of the bodies were removed from the nearby river and recently dragged by something or someone. I could see some undead creatures pulling bodies nearby with their rotting limbs. Immediately, I dived forward to take these creatures out as I saw them as my enemy. I skillfully swung my weapon towards the creatures and decapitated the nearest one. A rotting skull was severed from an equally decomposed body. A burst of black blood shot up from the stump of a neck. The permanently dead figure slumped down to the ground as a fallen memory. The nearest zombie was several feet away and suddenly broke into a run away from our group. I gave chase. Soon, I found myself upon a low built valley and wasn't concerned with the simple fact if the group was following me or not. At this point I didn't care. Vengeance was on my mind.

I saw the zombie heading towards a structure. Stopping my mad sprint, I noticed that the structure was a fair sized tent. Narrowing my eyes into thin slits, I studied the situation unfolding before me. An area of the camp was set aside for the construction of a forbidden beast. Many bodies were resting in the center of the camp. These bodies, in turn, were combined together using the knowledges of Necromancy. I observed the zombies working and then I saw a power source attached to a device used to generate fuel for the monster. The whole thing resembled a clockwork mechanism. I'd seen a few of these in Fallien. I looked down at my metallic hand for a moment, and it dawned on me that I might be alone. Suddenly, a form emerged from the tent. I studied this form and saw that it was the undeniable form of a woman. This revelation made me even angrier. Her eyes had a mystical green glow about them and I noticed that she was staring directly at me. The zombie I'd chased so blindly into the hand of the enemy was communicating with her in some sort of fell tongue. The Necromancer pointed at me. And with that one accursed moment, the beast of flesh and bone awoke. Horrible, glowing emerald eyes flowed with energy from the beast. It was a good two stories tall, and made of rippling muscle. I looked upon the horrible contraption as it stood up, pulling chains up from the earth with it. It roared mightily and broke several chains that held it down. I prepared myself for battle...

[Kryos]

As Kryos crested the hill and looked down into the defiled camp, his eyes widened in horror and disgust. The whole place was a production line to create the “creature.” It was adeptly named. Slowly, the corpses that were drawn from the river were lifted up by an unseen force to be pressed to the monstrosity. Gradually then, the corpse was absorbed into the being. Then, by the woman’s command, it rose up. The eyes were glowing green, mirroring the eyes of the necromancer in control of it. It bellowed and began to walk toward the Kryos and the others.

“Well, any idea on how to kill this monster?” James asked.

“Yeah, damage it as much as possible without dying.” Lucas responded.

Then, there was no more time for discussion. The creature loomed before them. It reached back its colossal fist and made to slam it into the ground.

“Move!” Kryos yelled, taking off to the side of the monster to avoid being hit. The fist crashed into the earth with an earsplitting explosion. Kryos stumbled, losing his balance, fighting to keep his hold on his sword. The mutant zombie looked around for its prey. Kryos didn’t hesitate, and rushed forward to the leg of the beast. He brought his sword down as hard as he could, feeling the sharp edge hit the flesh and tear through it about half a foot. The creature roared as it lifted its leg, tearing the blade from Kryos’ grip. A giant, eroded hand swept by, crashing into Kryos, sending him back into the forest. He landed thirty feet away, gasping for air. Rising from the ground, he stumbled back toward the fighting ground. He could see Lucas and James both shooting arrows into the beast, before discarding them to go to short ranged combat. His muandrian stuck out of the creatures’ left leg. He made for that, trying to stay out of the creature’s way. When he finally made it, he grabbed the hilt and pulled it free, only to recoil in horror a moment later. There, beneath the flesh of the monster, Kryos could see what remained of the corpses that were used to create it. The body parts of the dead were fused with the golem, used for its vile purposes.

Suddenly, an arrow whizzed past Kryos. The other zombies down in the camp were still active. It looked as if these were more skilled than normal zombies. He swung around.

“Lucas! Take care of the five zombies in the camp! We’ll try to handle things here!” he shouted.

Lucas, who had just dodged a giant fist, nodded and took off to make the undead return to being dead. Kryos, meanwhile, readjusted his grip and prepared to make another assault.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

I could hear frantic yelling. My allies had caught up with my sudden sprint into the enemy camp. All had gone horribly wrong. My thoughts were on killing the nearest zombies when the creature suddenly got up from its containment unit and all hell broke loose. Since I was busy taking down some of the nearby zombies, I looked in the general direction of Kryos to see how he was faring. The lad was busy taking the mutant dead on. Lucas and James ran past me and for a moment, I felt confusion. I was torn between trying to make a direct assault on the Necromancer and helping Kryos out. Turning towards the Necromancer, I noticed that she kept staring at me with an amused, lustful expression on her face. I decided that I would take on the Necromancer so that I could avenge Valinatal. She was a representative of Xem'Zund's forces and so, I wanted to make certain that I could take her down. Kryos and the others would keep the monster occupied. As I ran towards the woman, I took down several more Arta warriors that didn't stand a chance because of my rapidly increasing rage level. I could already feel the need for violence.

I pushed my powerful body forward with a direct objective in mind; kill the Necromancer that stood before me. She radiated energies as I quickly stomped across the ground between my former position and my current position. The afternoon sun seemed to make the Red Forest appear as a sanguine substance. I noticed the blood stained trees around this particular area of the Red Forest and I was glad that Anne wasn't here to see this terrible monster. With Tap Buster at the ready, I swung my weapon and cleanly severed the neck of another arta warrior. Some of these warriors were armed but it wasn't enough to get past the current rage I felt. It was steadily increasing. And before I made it to the Necromancer's position I let out a mighty, unearthly howl. A burst of energy suddenly erupted from my body. I could feel the arta cells taking my person over. Within an instant of time, my red scales grew into a black color. I could see the look of shock on the Necromancer's face. My muscles became even more knotted as this occurred making my visage that much more intimidating. The Necromancer looked upon me with a scowl and prepared her powers.

"I know that sword. You took it from one of the Commanders in Netha'Tu's army. I personally, had it constructed for Netha'Tu."

"Then it shall be your undoing."

"It glows with the powers of the Tap. How did you get it enchanted in such a manner? I must know! Speak Saurian!"

"These are secrets I take to the grave witch! There shall be no further discussion. I am taking you in for crimes against Valinatal and against all of life!"

"My, my. You're such a brave little lizard. But I want you not to--"

And it was already too late. Blood poured down her pretty, pouting, crimson stained lips. She wore an expression of shock as I'd moved to run her through. There would be no games. No pretty speeches, no hesitation. My form was flawless as I moved on the Necromancer and caught her almost completely off guard. A part of me wanted to know more about the servant of Xem'Zund, but we could always ransack her camp after we defeated her creation. "You're a fool lizard. My time wasn't nigh. You serve those bastards at Valinatal but I serve Lord Morian. Xem'Zund commands a massive army. I am but one commander. What hope do you have against us?" And then she did something strange. She grabbed the blade of my sword and pulled herself out of the deadly attack. Blood poured from her injury. She walked off the blade, and moved a few paces back. Dizzy as she was, she managed to move anyway. Her eyes looked upon me with mischief in them, hostility, and something else that I couldn't quite place. She had raven black hair and an athletic physique.

"I'll make you regret that Lexxum Vordic!"

"How do you know my name!?"

"I will show you the power Xem'Zund commands. I will show you the powers of Morian!"

Morian was a name that she kept repeating. It was mentioned in that letter that was found earlier too. Who was Morian? What was Morian? Was he another Necromancer like Xem'Zund? I pondered these matters. And then suddenly, I felt the air around my body grow heavy. I had a full minute to act upon her, but so captivated by her beauty was I, that I opted to hesitate instead. So many mysterious were unfolding all at once, that my head hurt from the information I was receiving in my current state. And then, something happened. As the air grew heavy around me, I felt a sensation of weightlessness and my body started floating. She raised her hand to gain control of my physical vessel. "You come to me with the taint of Netha'Tu's warriors! I will make you regret that decision as you are forced to take on your own friends! You will know terrible pain Lexxum Vordic!" A moment later, I was slammed against a tree, hard. Pain coursed through my body but the pain did something quite unexpected. The arta vessel within me began to completely overtake me. I felt trapped within my own body as the transformation into my black form was complete.

"Destroy your allies."

Was all she said. And I obeyed her command...I began to move upon Lucas, James, and ultimately, Kryos.

[Kryos]

The terrible beast slammed his fist into the ground yet again, missing Kryos by a few feet. He rushed forward, swinging his blade through the air and leapt up upon the closed fist of the mutant. He started to run up the length of the giant arm, slashing with his sword, until the other fist made a wild grab, pushing Kryos off his perch and to the ground below. The air was pushed out of him and he struggled to rise, gasping.

“Lexxum!” he managed. But no reply came. Frantically retreating to the trees, he searched for his friends. Lucas was attacking zombie minions close to the giant tent, while James was dodging the mutant. Then, he finally found Lexxum. What he saw, though, made his eyes widen in horror. The great saurian had turned into a menacing shadow. The normally bright, scarlet scales appeared to be stained with ink. His eyes, though, were filled with an uncontrollable fury. He stood in front of the necromancer, but then, he turned and started towards Lucas. Kryos’ breath caught as he saw what was happening, then turned and frantically ran out toward James.

“James! Back Lucas up now! Try to help!” James turned and immediately made his way to Lucas’ position, but when he saw the new development with Lexxum, he started shouting to Lucas to let him know that their friend was somehow being controlled. Just as Kryos turned back to the monster, he heard the sound of metal clash together.

The defiled creature was turning, intending to follow James. It was then that Kryos hesitated. What chance could he have of taking down such a thing? Rather, how long could he fend off attacks until he was smashed into the forest floor? He thought of running. He could easily leave and go about his way, safe from such a monstrosity. The beast was getting farther away. How easy it would be. He would die if he stayed. He started to turn and leave, when Anne’s face suddenly filled his mind. He stood still, as the image which he saw began weeping, then turn and disappear into darkness. Fury rose in Kryos’ mind as he thought of the guilt he would have if he deserted his friends. He wanted to become someone, and that would never happen if he acted like a coward. He turned raced toward the menace, swiftly gaining on it, while activating his Blood Gaze. His Shrodeye glowed crimson, analyzing the movements of the beast, as well as those within his sight.

As he neared his opponent, he shouted at it to turn its attention to him and away from his allies. It roared and lifted its right foot and smashed the ground. Dirt shot up the hillside and flew across Kryos’ face as he raised his arm as a shield. The monster, now about thirty feet down the hill from him, began to run, barreling its way up the hill, earth rumbling with every footfall, intent on killing the minuscule annoyance that kept distracting it.

[Lexxum_Vordic]

Pain. It coursed through my system like a tornado. No. Like an earthquake that ravaged my insides. It felt as if lightning was traveling across my epidermis burning me with the power of a million volcanoes. One terrible thought coursed through my predator's mind. The pain was mixed with a supernatural desire to cause violence. The arta vessel choked out my blood and made me want to tear out my own insides. My eyes were hazed over with a blood red, crimson cloud as I looked at the world. I kept blanking out of consciousness and my brain struggled with the fact that I was about to hurt my friends. And I couldn't control my body! My black scales made me a devastating of shadow of my former self. I was a creature of destruction now and I wanted to destroy anything that came too close. Friend or foe. A zombie got in my way as it was heading towards Lucas and James. I grabbed at the zombie with all of my fury and quickly tore it to shreds. The last piece I removed from the body was the head, and this, I tossed in the general direction of James with all the force I could throw with.

"Look out James!" They were hesitating. I was a threat to them now and they were still hesitating because I was a friend. Thoughts of madness coursed through my brain now, and after a moment, everything faded to darkness. I felt myself traveling to some far away place, this sensation happened to me before and felt somehow familiar to me. The battle before me became a distant echoes in my head. They sounded farther and farther away until they were but memories. I found myself traveling across the dune sea, Suravani's bosom. Suravani. The mother of people in Fallien who was responsible for our creation, and yet we worshiped Lord Mitra. Therein lay the irony of my existence. We were creatures bred for warfare and yet, I found myself hesitating to attack my friends. I found myself hesitating because I hadn't been granted a choice in this matter. My eyes were flowing with a fury that reflected the agony I was feeling in my very atma. When I looked around again, I found myself on the dune sea running. Running from a beast that was superior to myself.

I was crying to my people for help, but nobody would come. I found myself alone in the wild lands. A place of deserts and oasis, a place where my ancestors once thrived. Now, the deserts created its own natural glass that made it difficult to walk on in certain parts of the bosom. The specter chased me and I turned around to find out I was running from...myself. I suddenly stopped my run through the wild and turned to face my pursuer. My tormentor. I turned to face the demons within my own blood. Staring at my opponent, I lunged forward, and, in turn, the dark version of myself ran towards me. There was an impact of two great forces that sent a reverberating shock across the air. The two titans fought one another for dominance of the vessel. And in the physical world, I was busy fighting against the warriors before me. When something new happened within me. Visions of Anne started to fill my head and I cried out in agony as I was resisting the commands that Rash had given me. In my state of madness I needed to destroy something. Lucas and James backed off from my roaring person. A nearby zombie came at me, and I grabbed it and easily tore that second zombie to shreds like the first.

My muscles were screaming for violence. I looked at James and Lucas, but turned around for there was a greater enemy to destroy. My arta blood was drawn to the archaic energies of the Necromancer. Destroy my friends. She had commanded. But they weren't friends. I had found a way to usurp her commands. In my insanity, I managed to convince myself that they weren't friends. No. They were enemies. But I had a greater enemy to defeat and it was that pretty faced girl that haunted my dreams. I turned around and stopped my pursuit of the my former companions and ran towards Rash. The girl looked at me with utter shock. "What are you doing Lexxum!? I told you to destroy your friends!" And through my pain, I found a way to gain control of the arta's vessel in my body. I found a way around the powerful magics in my blood. The fury that lurked within. I took Tap Buster into my hand and prepared for combat. As a Necromancer, she seemed to hesitate which was something that Netha'Tu never did. Maybe she was more of a sweet talker? Or a bed rider?

I didn't know which was the case. As I lunged at her she conjured up a weapon made of plynt, a longsword, and our two great blades collided. Her eyes were looking at me with her inner fury and she met my sword with every amount of skill I lunged at her. "I'll make you regret you were ever born, Lexxum Vordic!" I grinned at her comments. Sharp teeth were visible through the grin. "Spare me your words little girl. You will soon meet those that judge you. You will soon feel the fury of your Ancestors in the Halls of Suravani and Lord Mitra. You will know the pain and anguish you have caused others." I made the promise to her. I had experience fighting the Necromancer Netha'Tu. I was used to dirty tricks and tactics. She met my sword strikes blow for blow. Suddenly, I felt the air gravitate beneath me, and I was tossed aside like a rag doll. I grunted when I landed, some ten feet away from her position. I stood up and stared at the Necromancer for a moment and continued my charge against her. That's when she launched her terrible powers of Necromancy against me. From her hand, a powerful bolt of horrible green energies swelled through the air and crackled against me. I felt a burning sensation strike my chest, and I looked down and a strange sensation filled my body. I had a gaping hole through my chest. The light armor I wore from Valinatal's guard hadn't protected me from such an intense blast.

"All your words for nothing."

Tears swelled down my eyes as I looked upon the girl for a moment. But in the midst of it something else happened. I managed to take Tap Buster and shove it through her shoulder, injuring her further. My task was completed after that. Steam flowed from my body where the powerful energy had touched me. I was dead...I fell down to the ground and released Tap Buster even as she threw it to my side.

"Pity. You would have made a better servant to me in your state of undeath."

******************************************

Lucas looked at James after their mighty companion fell in battle. A look of stunned disbelief crossed both of the companions' faces. Lucas and James both simultaneously turned towards Kryos. "Kryos! Lexxum fell!" Lucas yelled even as he continued to fight nearby zombies. Rash looked upon the warriors. "We will meet again." She said and began to walk away, a portal opening up in front of her. James saw the shot, and allowed an arrow to fly, and at the same time...she walked into the portal. The arrow followed her into the portal. James would never know if his arrow actually met its mark or not, but now, they had the monster to deal with. Worrying about Lexxum for later, James and Lucas rallied together around Kryos in order to defeat the fell beast. They ran into close combat range in order to engage the giant warrior effectively. They were hacking at the various mutilated pieces of the beast in order to inflict some sort of damage to the titan...all in a hope to protect friends from the ravaging terror they now faced. And the loss of their greatest companion was fresh in their hearts...

The End.

****Spoils****

001-Full suit of Valinatal Armor made of Steel, Masterwork in quality and a Vlince cloak with the insignia of Valinatal's army.


002-The Wild-A place that Blood Lizards sometimes go to during times of great stress and physical torment. This place is a pocket dimension of Althanas and during their stay in this place, they are better able to deal with times of great physical stress. In some cases, stronger Blood Lizards are able to project their soul into The Wild and leave their body in a zen like robotic state. During visits to The Wild, Blood Lizards can interact with higher powers like Lady Suravani or Lord Mitra. These are blood visions that often tell of various incomplete futures that are yet to pass. In Lexxum's case he was able to send his soul into The Wild in order to surpass the clutches of death at the hands of the Necromancer Rashilan Penna’ak. Lexxum experienced a physical death, but his powerful spirit lives on in Phantom form.

[Kryos]

The monster rushed toward him, dragging its chains the whole time. Kryos prepared to dodge to the side to avoid the attack, his crimson stained eyes watching for the shift in weight that would signal the attack. There! He leapt to his right, diving on the ground and rolling out of the dodge easily. His attacker slowed to a stop, giant form turning. The thing bellowed at Kryos, infuriated that it had been foiled. It grabbed one of the chains connected to it with a horrible hand and whipped it through the air. The deadly chain sliced through the air toward him, who in turn dropped to the ground to avoid it. The metal links missed him and connected with the trunks of trees behind him, snapping the wood with earsplitting explosions. He scrambled out of the way of the falling objects, racing down the hill to a safer location. He was able to see how the rest of the battle was going.

Lexxum, a terrible image of what he once had been, was engaged with Lucas and James. The great beast was fast, incredibly fast for one so large, with moves precise and wild at the same time. Kryos skidded to a halt down from his opponent, about to turn and face it, when Kryos’ eyes, now fully activated in the Blood Gaze, enhanced even further. Time seemed to slow for a moment, as they narrowed in on Lexxum’s dark form, analyzing the movements, watching every shift in weight, every step in his footwork, everything about how he was currently fighting. As he watched, his advanced eyes took that information and stored it in his brain, ready to be summoned forth at his bidding.

Time rushed back to normal speed and Kryos gasped, shocked at the phenomenon. Then the giant, mutant undead was upon him yet again. He turned and tightened his grip on his sword, wishing that Allaria was here with her Turlin magic. The monster rushed Kryos, but this time, he waited where he was, not dodging out of the way of the immediate attack. Instead, he raced forward, sword cutting through the air and into the inner thigh of the creature. The undead bellowed in pain and stumbled past him, its legs passing on either side of the Dwiilar. Turning, he followed it, intent on keeping it away from the others. For a brief moment, he saw Lexxum destroy an undead minion, ripping it to shreds with his powerful claws and sword, before the monster obstructed his view. Running forward, breath becoming heavy from the intense battle, he switched his grip on his weapon so that the blade pointed down. He reached back, yelling, and thrust the blade into the knee joint of the monster with as much force as he could muster. The blade sank deep into the flesh of the beast, ripping through whatever material it was that allowed the monster to stand. The blade went half way in, before it stopped. Roaring in agony, the mutant fell its hands and knees. Leaping up on its leg, he ripped his sword free and prepared to strike again. However, the leg beneath him jerked violently and sent him a little way into the air.

As he flew, gravity regaining its hold on him, he beheld Rashilan Penna’ak, the necromancer of Morian, release a shot of emerald magic from her hand, which proceeded to rip through Lexxum’s chest. Landing once again on the ground, Kryos saw Lexxum silently roar and swing his weapon through the woman’s shoulder, before he too, fell to the ground, smoke issuing from his gaping wound.

“No!” Kryos gasped, unwilling to accept that such a great warrior and companion had been defeated. Distantly, as if in a dream, he heard the two humans shouting something, before the necromancer turned and left the battle site through a portal that she had conjured. An arrow, fired from James’ longbow, raced after her, before the portal disappeared. But that didn’t matter to Kryos. Rage filled his being as he gazed upon the still form of Luxxum’s body. Then, something happened. His eyes summoned back the memories of the fights he had analyzed, replaying the exact movement for him. He witnessed the fight that had happened moments ago between Lexxum and the human warriors. His crimson eyes suddenly became lit with greater luminescence and they clearly shone in the gloom of the forest. He rose to his feet, muandrain clenched in his fist, anger brimming in his eyes. He raced to the titan, now in the camp once again, and began to fight with the style of the great saurians, a gift given to him unknowingly by Lexxum.

He moved like the blood lizards, working in unison with James and Lucas, as they sought to bring down the terrible creature. He leapt from one place to the next, hacking at the rotting flesh before him, trying to cover Lucas and James as they fought on. The creature growled as it was dealt more wounds without it able to give back any damage of its own. Kryos darted past the creature’s legs to the front side of the golem. Reaching to the ground, he grabbed one of the chains and pulled, getting the monsters attention. The thing reared back, launching Kryos directly at the mutilated face. He swung his sword, blade digging deep into the side of the creature’s head, powered by his momentum toward the great defiled. But that momentum was too great for Kryos to stop. As a result, his weapon was wrenched from his hand, imbedded in the giant skull. The monster fell back, clawing at his face and the wound that he had inflicted, while Kryos flew into the trees yet again, before slamming into a tree. He felt something crack in the right side of his body. He coughed, tasting blood in his mouth as he fought back the pain.

Meanwhile, the monster fell into one of the lines that branched off of the main power source that had been used to create the terror. Green flames erupted from the broken line, burning the dead flesh. Bellowing in pain, the creature tried to escape. Then an arrow pierced the air and the center of the power conduit, racing from Lucas’ crossbow. The following explosion burst from the source like a volcano’s wrath. The tent, as well as any structure in the camp, was flattened under the wall of wind that was pushed outward. An inferno belched up from the earth, quickly consuming the giant, greedily eating up the dead flesh. Lucas and James were thrown back, landing on their backsides as the magical flames began to deteriorate. Kryos was pushed against the trunk of the tree that had stopped him, black hair whipping in the wind. The last thing he saw, before surrendering to unconsciousness, was the beautiful green flames that licked the air, so similar to the ones that had chewed through his friend’s chest.

~ / | \ ~

James rose to his feet, gazing at the dying flames. The explosion that Lucas had created had totally demolished the camp as well as the creature. He turned and helped Lucas up.

“Nice shot there.”

“Thanks. It seemed like the only chance we had.”

“Agreed. Come on. Let’s go see if anything is left.”

Lucas nodded and they both began striding toward the decimated camp. Nothing was left of the tent, the flames had consumed that as well. They started picking their way through the wreckage, salvaging any spare arrows they could find. But there was a strange occurrence there. Lexxum’s body, as well as his mighty sword, were no where to be found. They looked all over camp to be sure, but they could find no trace of the great warrior. They were puzzling over this when a faint light gleamed at them. Lucas crossed over to it and pulled the object out from under burnt remains. The weapon that he held belonged to Kryos, the strong material having resisted the intense heat.

“Kryos.” he said, turning and rushing toward the trees where the youth had been launched into, James right on his heels. They came up short when they saw him lying against a tree trunk, apparently unconscious. James rushed to his side and gently shook his shoulder, urging him to wake in a low voice. Suddenly, Kryos’ face grimaced in pain. He groaned, moving his left hand to clutch his right side. He coughed and spat out blood.

“Sorry,” he murmured.

“Nonsense,” James replied. “That move was brilliant, though a bit more planning might help next time.”

Kryos chuckled at this, though every breath hurt. “I think two or three ribs are broken.”

Lucas came in then. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get you back. Come on, James. Let’s get to work.”

They left Kryos’ form and started looking for two straight pieces of wood that would get Kryos to the care of the elves.

~ / | \ ~

Allaria and Ellers kneeled close to Anne’s side. They were softly singing the ancient songs of healing, slowly repairing the burnt flesh. Alk lay on the ground a few feet away, whimpering now and again. The seared skin had recently been oozing a strange fluid until they had been able to close the wounds. They had stopped the progressive damage that had been implanted in the burns and now they worked to toughen the sensitive skin. As they had worked, Anne’s body had relaxed and stopped shaking. It was a good sign. If they continued to treat her over the next few days, there should be no permanent damage. But she would carry the scars with her forever.

Allaria opened her eyes and placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“Let’s take a small break and get something to drink, or we’ll become exhausted.” Ellers nodded and pulled her hands off the skin of the young girl. She turned and grabbed a water skin from her pack and unscrewed the cap. Once she began to drink, she realized that she was parched from their exercises. Allaria also had gotten some water, drinking quickly. She then lowered the water, replacing the lid, and looked to her right. On the ground was the bag that Kryos had left her with, with the Corruption Stone. She had heard of them in her studies while in the School of Turlin, but had never thought that someone was so powerful as to create it. It wasn't that difficult to do, except that it was hard to get so much dark energy into such a small object. Otherwise, Allaria herself could make one, though she would never dream of doing such a thing. Her hand reached out and grabbed the bag, turning it over to dump the stone on her palm.

The swirling mist created intricate patterns beneath the surface of the stone, tempting her to lose herself to it. Ellers gasped beside her. Allaria looked at her, closing her fist over the stone to shield it from her view.

“Careful. The stone is meant to be alluring. It can destroy the weak minded easily.”

Ellers, who looked like she had come out of a trance, blushed and turned away, rolling on her back. Allaria turned back to the stone, closing her eyes. She softly hummed a simple Turlin spell, trying to reverse the effects. After a few minutes, she stopped and checked to see if anything had happened. There was no difference to the shape of the stone, but the dark mist seemed to be a little lighter. She smiled to herself and placed the gem back in the bag. Rising, she stretched her body out, inhaling deeply. She then relaxed, air rushing out of her lungs, and then proceeded to get some food from her pack. She was just pulling out a dried fruit when she heard a voice sound throughout the clearing. She looked over and saw Lucas emerge from the trees, carrying the leading end of a makeshift stretcher. James carried the other end, and lying wounded between them was Kryos. Ellers rose and rushed to them as they gently lay the stretcher down, followed quickly by Allaria.

“What happened?” Ellers asked.

“He’s got two or three broken ribs, that’s what happened.” James said. “We met the one responsible, as well as a mutant giant of an undead. Took out the entire camp just to take it down.”

As Allaria began to heal Kryos, he clenched his teeth in pain. “Geez, Kryos. What did you do?” Ellers asked as she cataloged his injuries. “This will take time to heal.”

It was then, as a white light was emitting from her hands, that Allaria asked the question. “Where’s Sir Lexxum?”

She was answered by silence. Looking up, she saw Lucas and James exchange sorrowful looks. James then sighed. Quietly, he whispered, “He’s dead.” Alk’s howl of anguish spoke for the two elves as they kneeled there, magic pouring from their hands, as they tried to understand what James was telling them.

One Week Later

The majestic city, Anebrilith, was relatively calm compared to the state that Eluriand was when Kryos had left it. As he walked toward the docks that lay in the eastern side of the city, elves and humans alike moved with purpose and not panic. Order had been established and everyone in the city were doing their best to help escapees.

A human boy brushed past Kryos, making him wince in pain. His broken ribs, four in all, were still healing after the battle a week ago. Needless to say, when their group had gotten into the city four days ago, it was a relief to all of them to be able to relax from the constant threat that dwelt in the Red Forest.

His eyes gleamed in the morning light as a light mist struggled to remain in the city. He rounded the corner to the docks and passed through the main gate and onto the wooden planks of the harbor. Four magnificent ships lay peacefully in the water; the rest had departed for Scara Brae earlier. He approached one of the ship’s gangplank and looked at his comrades, already assembled. The two elves were in fine, white robes, quietly conversing with Anne, Lucas and James. Anne. The poor girl was sitting astride Alk, her constant support. The scars that ran along her right arm and face were clearly visible. They would grow less pronounced with time, but they were a horrible testament to her adventures, as well as what connected her with Lexxum. His heart felt heavy when he thought about him. When Anne was told, she had cried for a long time, and Kryos didn’t blame her. The usually glittering, blue eyes that she had were now sorrowful whenever one looked into them. He adverted his gaze when she looked up at his approach.

“Well, I guess this is it then.” Lucas said. He turned to Kryos. “Thanks for all your help. We wouldn’t have made it without you.” Kryos just nodded his head to him in response.

James then spoke. “Uh, I wanted to apologize, Kryos.” He rocked back and forth, clearly uncomfortable. “I’m sorry that I held us up in the forest, and I don’t know . . . ”

That incident had apparently been eating at him since Lexxum died. “It’s all right, James.” Kryos reassured him. “We were all under a lot of stress. Don’t worry about it.”

Allaria turned to Lucas and began to give him instructions about how to care for Anne’s injuries on the trip, since they had decided to stay in Anebrilith and help any survivors that came in. Anne, meanwhile, slid off Alk and went up to Kryos. He dropped down to a knee to speak to her.

“Kryos, aren’t you coming with us?” She asked, hope bright in her eyes.

“No. I will stay here, keeping an ear out for any news of Lexxum. After all, no one can explain his body vanishing like that.”

Anne jumped at Kryos then, hugging him tight. Kryos clenched his teeth as his ribs protested, but he hugged her back.

“I don’t want to leave you!” She said. “Come with us!”

“Shhh. I’ll be all right.” Kryos was a little uncomfortable. He wasn’t use to being near a child. “You need to go with Lucas and James to Scara Brae, where it’s safe.” He pulled her off of him and looked into her eyes. They were filled with worry and fear. “Please. You must go with them. I’ll keep in touch.”

Anne just shook her head. “No! If you won’t come, then I won’t go! I’ll help you find Lexxum, then we can all leave together!”

Kryos rose and backed slowly away. “No. You can’t. It could be dangerous.”

“I don’t care. I was with you in the forest. I’m staying.”

Kryos breathed deeply, closing his eyes. He wasn’t sure what he should do. It was Ellers who made up his mind for him.

“It will be all right, Kryos. She’ll be safe with you, wherever you go.” Opening his eyes, he saw the two elves standing in front of him. “She really is strong. Besides, she may be more able to find Lexxum than any of us, since it was he that she connected to most.” Kryos sighed and gave in. He nodded.

“Then I take it that just James and I are sailing? Man, maybe we should stay too.” Lucas said.

“Don’t be stupid, Lucas.” Ellers responded. “There really isn’t anything that you can do here that’s useful. The best thing for you to do is to leave. Just let us know what’s going on once in a while.”

“She’s right, mate. We aren’t needed here.” James patted his shoulder. “Well, I guess this is goodbye, isn’t it?” He then went up to Kryos. “Thanks a lot. I wish you well on your journeys. And make sure to look after Anne for us, ‘kay?”

Kryos nodded. “Thank you. May you have safety on you trip across the seas. It has been quite an adventure.”

So it went, the two humans making their farewells to Anne, Allaria, Ellers and Kryos. James even said goodbye to Alk. They moved up the gangplank and into the other people making their way up to the deck. Once aboard, they waited at the rail. After ten minutes, the finishing preparations were made and the ship cast off. James and Lucas wove to them as they sailed farther and farther away. Then they grew so small that they disappeared into the rest of the ship.

“Will we be seeing you and Anne around, Kryos?” Allaria asked.

“Probably. We’ll stay in town for a while, listening for news. Maybe in a month, we’ll sail around to Alerar and visit my home to see if anything has come up there.”

“Well, goodbye then, for now. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to drop by.”

Kryos nodded, then motioned for Anne to follow. She rushed to Alk and led him along.

“Oh, wait a moment, Kryos.” He turned back to Allaria, who was reaching into one of her pockets. She pulled out a beautiful white gem. “This was the Corruption Stone,” she said, seeing the question in his eyes. “Some of the more powerful mages here purified it.” Kryos took the stone and marveled at its color and glimmering shape.

“Hmm,” murmured Allaria. “There’s an idea. Kryos, let me see your sword.” Confused, he slowly pulled out his muandrian, still a little dull from the fight with the creature and the resulting fire. He gave it to the elf, who in turn placed it on the ground at their feet. Taking the Purification Stone from Kryos, she laid that on the hilt of the weapon. She started to sing. Then, as the ancient magic took hold, the stone began to merge with the weapon. The magic in the stone spread along the length of the blade and hilt, vaporizing the dark smears from its surface. When she finished, the blade glowed a soft white and appeared to have vapors running through it, just like the stone had. The light dimmed to nothing until the sword looked ordinary. Kryos bent down to pick it up, noticing no change. However, when grasped the hilt, the glow returned.

Amazed, he asked, “What did you do?”

“I fused the two substances together. Your blade now has a holy attribute to it. Needless to say, the undead shouldn’t prove as much trouble as before. Also, only you can summon that glow. It will respond to none other.”

Mystified, he gazed at his new sword. He then reached up and sheathed it. The scabbard too, glowed softly for a moment before dimming. “Thank you,” he said. Allaria bowed. She then turned and left with Ellers. They turned a corner and out of sight.

“Well, come on, Anne. Let’s go.”

“Ok.” She said happily.

They both turned, away from the way the two elves had gone and away from the sea that held their friends. They turned to what they both hoped, was the direction where Lexxum Vordic, the warrior, the saurian, their friend, lay waiting.

Fin.

****Spoils****

01 – Learned Ability: Blood Lizard fighting style. Learned with Kryos’ Blood Gaze just before Lexxum died. He is only able to use it when his Shrodeye (Blood Gaze) is activated.

02 – Purification Stone. This was merged with Kryos’ muandrian (sword), giving it a holy attribute. It is effective against the undead, or anything that has been tinted with dark magic. Due to this, Kryos’ sword glows white when he wields it. The effect has also spread to the scabbard of the sword. This is also the weak magical item of choice.

[Karuka]

All right, I'm sorry this took so long to judge, but here we are at last! Kryos, since this is your first time being judged, I'm going to go over the categories and what they mean.


Continuity: 5

Continuity is basically asking where you came from, why you're here now, and what you're doing after.

I don't know anything about Kryos, why he was in the Red Forest, where he came from, anything, and you didn't go over it at all in the thread. It was like you were dropped out of nowhere into the story. A key thing to remember is that no matter what, your story begins before the thread does. I'd like to see some backstory. I do know what you're going to try to do in the future, though, and that's a good start.

Lexxum, I got a good sense of where you were, although you kept shoving in clips of the past erratically without tying them in enough that I knew what you meant by them. I'm also not entirely sure where you're going from there, since you died. Though there are several possibilities.

Setting: 4

Setting is the environment you travel through and act on. It isn't just the flowers and trees and buildings and air, it's the apple you grab at the stand and the coin you throw the vendor.

You both tended to ignore the setting for the most part, and then put in excess detail when you thought it needed it. Keep the environment and how you act on it in mind, and make sure the reader has a solid idea of it, too.

Pacing: 3

Pacing is how the thread flowed, if it dragged or rushed, etc.

This had numerous pacing issues. First of all, for the plot that I saw, the thread was way too long for its plot. Thus, it had a tendency to start, then stop, then kinda drag its heels, then rush, then stop, then false start, then start again. It made the thread a pretty hard read.

Try going for a simple plot and making it flow smoothly, and then work your way up in complexity. Also, when your partner charges forward, don't lurch back. When he had everyone ready to head out the door in the clearing, you had half of the team sparring.

Persona: 3

Persona is how well each character (NPCs included) showed their true selves.

For Kryos, I didn't feel like I knew anything about him and who he really was until almost the end. I know that this is his first quest and you're just getting a feel for him, but I'd like you to come forward with who he is, be sure and assertive about it, instead of following behind and taking someone else's lead.

Lexxum, despite the fact that you write in first person for this character, you sound really detached from the character, as though you're telling it from his perspective, but not from his head. He also seems more refined than your other characters, despite the fact that you try and show him as bestial.

Also, the NPCs pretty much fell flat. A good rule of thumb is: if you name a character, give him/her character.

Action: 3

Action is what happens, whether it's logical that it happens, and whether it was within your ability to have it happen.

Most of my comments here are for Lexxum.

First of all, the moon hitting the planet, which was a meteor in the last thread, and which you wanted to tell me was now an asteroid, was illogical. If a meteor big enough to cause that much destruction hit Althanas, we'd be experiencing global cooling, crop failure, perhaps mass extinction, and absolutely no survivors at the site. And if the entire MOON, as it said in the thread, were to impact Althanas, I think the planet might break. And the atmosphere would all go away. Xem'zund and his minions would be pretty much the least of everyone's problems.

Anyone who saw any of this was tricked by N'Jal's magic.

Also, when you described the attack that was meant to save Anne, you said it was "more powerful than any Turlin magic." This is powergaming, you are a Level 1, please remember that.

For the rest of the action, it was about as sporadic as the pacing. Nothing for long stretches, and then lots, almost at random, within a very short space of time.

Dialogue: 4

Dialogue is what you say, how you say it, and whether or not it fits.

Kryos, your dialogue was okay. Nothing was particularly special, but he did talk when he had something to say and stayed silent when he didn't.

Lexxum...when you're going to beat the crap out of someone, you don't have the character talk about it. He's a big lizard man, for crying out loud. He shouldn't be all "I'm taking you in for crimes against humanity," that's Alberdyne's schtick. I'd see Lexxum as more the type to roar and try and bite someone's throat out. I also don't see him as the type to make grand speeches.

Mechanics: 6

This is the stuff that takes such things as spelling, punctuation, and completeness of sentences into account.

Kryos, you had a few typos here and there, but otherwise, you're pretty good here.

Lexxum...most of the comments I've made in other threads still apply. You still have fragments, run-ons, and word groupings that just don't make sense. Also, you kept using "trapezius muscle." Honestly, it's simpler and clearer to say "shoulder." Remember what I said a while back? No jargon when there's a plain English word.

Techinque: 3

Technique is the use of aspects of formal writing.

I didn't see much from Kryos, but from Lexxum I saw an attempt at flowery language that confused me and read more as awkward.

Clarity: 6

Clarity is how well I could understand things.

I could understand most of it, but a lot of things that happened on Lexxum's end had me trying to puzzle through what was happening and hoping it'd get clear in the next bit.

Wild Card: 5

This is basically that "other" category, where we lump in other things that don't fit anywhere else.

I'd like to say that this was a good attempt for a first thread, and I look forward to seeing you around the forum.

Total: 39! Congratulations!

Rewards:

Kryos gains 1430 EXP, 300 GP and his spoils, with the stipulation that the holy spell is a weak one. You can have it amped up when you request your magical item. Blood Lizard fighting style subject to RoG approval.

Lexxum Vordic gains 1780 EXP, 300 GP and his spoils, but the breastplate of the armor has a big hole in it from when the necromancer attacked him.

EXP/GP added!