A Life She Never Knew About [Open]

[Zaxan]

Máen Vev | Half-Elven | 20 year old Female

A cloaked figure was traveling an almost abandoned trail down through the mountainous terrain that was Raiaera. A pair of green eyes shone beneath the hood's dark shadow, her pale face evident. She was slimly built, but with muscle from her travels. From what she had calculated, she'd been living nomadically for 3 months as of today.

Máen Vev kept her eyes on the ground, fearing a fall during this decline in the path. She was barefoot, as she had been for the majority of her life. Being raised by the Dryads, she hadn't needed shoes. Her feet were calloused-over heavily, diminishing that necessity for many other species. A curse was released into the air as she tripped on a stray stone, one she had even seen her foot step towards. She slid down the steepest part of the path and onto a smooth area where water had eroded the rocks away. Máen winced as she lifted herself from the ground, her crimson-hued hair falling into her face and obscuring her vision. With a sudden panic, Máen looked to ensure that her bow remained tied to her back, along with her arrows. She removed her pack and exhaled a sigh of relief as her weapon was still in good shape after she had fell on it.

Instead of standing, Máen sunk to the ground. "This may be a good time to rest." She breathed in shakily, the cool mountain air seeping through the cloak's fabric and to her skin. Máen shivered, rubbing her arms in a feeble attempt to warm herself to no prevail. It was lonely out here, especially without seeing a friendly face in three whole months. She pulled her cloak's hood down further, closing her eyes to take a small nap before further travels.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

The Land...

I could feel her anguish, her pain...

As a Paladin of Ixian Knights...Lorenor stood on a hill somwhere in the Plaguelands...near to Maen's cloaked figure. But he had not noticed her just yet. He'd been in Raiaera for some time now...training against Xem'Zund's remnant forces. On his own. On foot. Nobody else seemed to wish to brave the dangers that Lorenor faced. The walkers...they still wandered across the country side and The Red Forest to that day. Lorenor looked off to the distance, it had been some time since he'd arrived at Benoist. Month's had passed. If they could be freed...like I was freed from N'Jal's grasp...perhaps there is a chance to redeem them. That is something worth fighting for. Lorenor smelled blood and death in the air...it seeemd to taint the very ground itself in Raiaera's Red Forest. He was a proud man, a Hero in this dying age of Althanas's history. He looked around for a moment, his standard issue Ixian Knight cloak swishing about like a hungry serpent.

As he stood atop the hill many thoughts passed through his mind. Most of them are mindless by now having been tainting by Xem'Zund...I have to think on a way to free them. If I can be freed from N'Jal's grasp there is hope for them yet. My brothers and sisters... Lorenor wasn't that different from the wandering mindless walkers that lurked in the shadow. His eyes saw things in a different light since he had awakened during his Reformation Period with the Ixian Knights. Sei Orlouge had given Lorenor a newfound purpose...and he intended to repay Sei with every ounce of power he could acquire. Lorenor travelled alone, he was used to that. Working alone...the path of Faith was not one for the faint of heart. It was deep wiithin The Red Forest that Lorenor often found himself training against the remnant forces of the madman, Xem'Zund. As he looked around...those thoughts were somber, and quite serious. He knew he was fighting a dangerous battle...but it was one that had to be fought.

He didn't care about the native Raiaerans too much...he merely knew one matter.

The walkers still walk. They must be put down.

Wind came in from the East, he stood there for a long moment, atop the hill. It was afternoon and he had been fighting for a long time. The fighting had almost been non-stop and it felt good to know who his enemy was. Once...he had been a follower of N'Jal. But that point was long since gone. Now...he was a Paladin of the Ixian Knights..whatever that meant in that day and age. It had provided him with a sense of purpose though, one he could not deny. As a devout follower of the Holy Light, the Paladin knew his kind was a dying breed. It saddened him many ways...but he did not mind the burden. The crusade against Xem'Zund's forces would continue...with that Lorenor began to walk forward from his current position. It was at that point that he saw movement out the corner of his eyes...The presence of Evil is there... He knew the scent of the walkers by then. He'd fought them skillfully for many days now. Drawing his mighty sword, he stepped quietly through the grounds of the Red Forest...the red trees were unnatural and filled with a dark taint.

The very nature of the forest was difficult for Lorenor to be in...he only felt pain and sorrow...and an unending rage.

Then...he saw the thing again. Movement. A small group of walkers were talking with each other, and Lorenor spotted them in time. He had not noticed their target yet...the female that was resting by the red trees. There were four walkers all together speaking in the common tongue. Lorenor crouched down and stalked towards the walkers, his eyes immediately filled with hatred towards his kin. Again, the disturbing thought filled his mind. I am not so different from them... But Lorenor knew to his credit...he had learned to control his hunger a long time prior. He readied his weapon and began to focus on the Holy Light. He placed himself a mere five or six paces away from the walkers...and then he noticed their target. A figure in a cloak was resting by one of the trees...alone. No! Lorenor thought to himself and acted before he even could think of what he was doing. He knew he had to save the sleeping figure before the walkers could claim another innocent victim. Lorenor ran and immediately cut down the first of the four walkers.

The dying walker burned into ash.

One of the closest of the walkers turned towards the charging Paladin. "Paladin..." The walker said angrily and all three remaining walkers charged towards Lorenor.

Those were Lorenor's kind of odds...

[Zaxan]

She wasn't cold when she was asleep. When the darkness from behind her eyelids took over, taking her far away from the cold. In her dream, she was home with the Dryads once more. Máen was nestled into her hollow oak's trunk where she'd slept every day for twenty years. From inside the trunk, she could hear the soft murmurs of the Dryads: "She's not one of us.. she's not pure.." These words would echo in Máen's head for a lifetime -- and would cause her to pack her few belongings and leave the Dryads behind. She was walking down the path, a warm breeze blowing over her when she was interrupted abruptly by a creaking voice calling, "Paladin.."

A chill was sent down Máen's spine as her eyes opened at the sight of a decomposing face staring into her's, just inches away. A gasp escaped her mouth. She scuttled backwards until her back was up against the sharp stones. Máen winced as she felt the tiny stones on the pathway digging into her palms, cutting them minutely. She was struggling for breath when she looked up. A man, or so she thought, was approaching at quite a fast rate. The walker turned it's gaze from her to the man in armor. Seeing a chance to escape, Máen reached down to grab her bow and arrow as to not attract attention back to her. She knew the path behind her lead up onto the ridge above where the walkers were currently. If only she could get to it..

Máen began her incline on her hands and knees, constantly looking back to confirm the distracted state of the decomposing figures. She was half-way up the slope to where she would have an advantage with her bow when a few small pebbles tumbled down the side of the ridge. Máen froze, holding her breath as she glanced in the general downward direction of the armored man and undead.

[redford]

It was difficult finding game in the corrupted landscape of Raieria, especially with the corrupted prowling during the day, and even more terrible horrors stalking the evening shadows. What little foxes and rabbits they had caught were diseased and malformed.

It was stew again today, it seemed. But, John thought, ducking under a branch as Rayleigh collected soil and flora samples for her research, stew is better than not-stew, I'll have to thank Osiris when we return for his way of cleansing the animals.

Cleansing them enough to eat at least. He really did need to ask them to bring spices on the next supply run, even Vincent's strange earth-food was better than this nonsense. The creak of a bowstring going taut lightly disturbed the silence, and a twang followed. Another rabbit for the sack, thanks to Daniel's hunting skills, apparently given him by his father, though the boy spoke little of the man.

Another noise now, this one louder. A growl, not animal, but not quite human either. John jerked up a closed fist, looking around for the corrupted who sounded off. He caught sight of the malformed elf and placed his palm horizontal, lowering it slowly, signaling a silent crouch from the group. It was difficult to tell, but he looked like a scout, part of a horde. Even though they were all adept fighters, a thousand undead is still a thousand undead. Then a voice, raspy and old, broke through the trees.

"Paladin...." the voice called, somewhere beyond, likely with the main horde. It repeated, a call throughout the undead camp, repeated by several to signal some kind of advance. And so they marched, slowly but with deliberate step. John frowned, they'd never spoken before, except in screams and grunts, but at least they were moving off.

"Paladin...Paladin....Paladin....." the voices repeated as a few moved into his field of view, walking away and paying them no mind.

Rayleigh, it seemed, had a different outlook. She whispered to the half-giant.

"We should follow, it would help to know their motivation."

He looked back a bit in disbelief. "We should use the diversion to get out of here."

"This is the first time they've spoken at all, much less an intelligible common-language word."

A double-take from John followed, and he looked over to Daniel. The boy nodded his agreement, loading his bow on his back and pulling one of his swords a few inches from his sheath.

John sighed.

"You are both fools. Stay down, follow behind them, we'll see where they go."

[Rayleigh]

"Fools?" Rayleigh echoed, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Can't say I've ever claimed to be anything else."

John drew in deep breath, and exhaled on a long sigh, but he said nothing more. There was nothing he could say. Rayleigh Aston was a mystery to him, and her peculiar behavior was about as predictable as the wind; there would always be something there, but why, and how strong, could never be determined with any sort of accuracy. There was a lot of energy crammed into that small frame of hers, and more than a little of it as wild as the forest that surrounded them. Most days, he quite liked that about her. But gods, if it did not make missions like this more difficult. To further complicate matters, Vincent had declared the mechanic the leader of this particular expedition. The brawler suspected it was merely to make the woman happy, as it had been no easy feat to convince her to come along. There was also Vincent's irrational feelings toward Ray to consider, but that was none of John's business.

If only she could find it in her heart to be a tad more consistent. A moment earlier, John would have bet money that Ray would flee at the sight of the undead man, muttering in a voice like the wind through the trees. He decided to share his thoughts. "I thought you hated the corrupt?"

"I do," Ray replied simply, shoving the three vials of soil deep into her worn leather sack. Expertly, she cinched the top, flipped the cover over, and thumbed the buckle closed, before straightening. Even standing at full height, the top of her head hovered somewhere in the middle of John's broad, barrel of a chest. It was comical, really. "But the sooner we find answers, the sooner we kill them, and the sooner I don't have to look at them anymore."

John frowned. "I said stay down." His tone was tinged with urgency, and more than a little annoyance.

His partner, on the other hand, merely rolled her eyes. Then, cocking a single eyebrow, she motioned to herself, and then motioned to him. "Do you worry that they'll see me before they see you?" she questioned, though not altogether unkindly. "Fat chance of that." She waggled a finger at him. "You should be the one crouching. But I guess you'll still be taller than me, probably."

As her gaze moved back to the corrupted figure, all traces of good-humor, and all color, drained from her face. "John," Rayleigh stated, now matching his urgency. "Is that undead chasing after something?" She squinted. "What is that?" Suddenly, horror crept into her tone as realization dawned. "There are people down there." Then, more loudly. "There are people down there!"

Helplessly, she turned to glance between the half-giant and Daniel, who stared back with wide eyes. "Are we going to do something?"

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor was a skilled Paladin.

He was used to walkers that could talk but had no idea that it would likely affect the sanity and concentration levels of everybody else. Lorenor's eyes narrowed as the first one burned to ash and vanished to the great beyond. One down... He thought to himself. He did not yet sense John or Rayleigh's presence...but something else instead. As the first one burned to ash Lorenor was already swinging into action. His face was filled with concentration. His blade was glowing with the powerful energies of the Holy Light. He would use it to great effect against the walkers.

The closest of the walkers was already making his way towards Maen's position. Lorenor would not allow another to be hurt by the walker's hunger. He saw the exposed back of the walker as it stalked slowly towards the recovering girl. Then, Lorenor attacked. He bounded forward feeling something akin to rage in his heart. He didn't know the girl that the walkers were after, but he knew that she could have potentially become a casualty of war if Lorenor did not act. Lorenor swung his mighty weapon towards the back of the undying creature. Disregarding his own safety, the undead Paladin knew that his purpose, the sole reason for being was his crusade against the darkness.

"Burn." Lorenor said coldly and released a potent blast of holy energy at the exposed back of the creature. He held the grip of his weapon with both hands tightly, and stabbed at the creature. A moment later, it was already burning to ash with a death howl. Lorenor slashed his weapon out of the vanishing creature's body as it flared up and burned to ash. He placed himself immediately in front of the girl that was present. He was in a full battle stance. His mind was a furious storm of righteous rage, and he knew...he was the of the last of his kind. Paladin. The remaining walkers began to gather their numbers when something else happened.

Two figures were making their way down the hill, one a giant of a man...possibly a Salvarn...the other a girl he'd seen before.

Where have I seen her before? Lorenor recalled the bar...the time in that bar where Rayleigh and her allies were present. The big man lumbering down the hill as well was present there too...he'd recognized them both. That brought back an unpleasant memory of Madison Freebirn and the man named Lichensith. He imagined that he was still considerably weak to take his crusade to the likes of those two. Someday though...One day I will be strong enough to avenge Eiskalt...and fight for all who fell that day....that time I was powerless back then. Never again! Lorenor stole a glance back to the girl behind him as the walkers began to slowly surround. He looked at the girl and calmly spoke.

"The walkers are here...no time to explain." Lorenor said to her. "Come with me if you want to live." He added, and hoped those words would help the girl...he then focused his attention on the walkers. They are getting closer...

Then something happened...

He noticed that John and the girl named Rayleigh were getting closer to their position...

And he caught what was happening. "Shit!" Lorenor yelled as he cut another Walker down. "What are you doing?!" He yelled, maybe without meaning to at the girl he was trying to save. "There are more Thaynes forsaken walkers heading this way!" Lorenor did not realize until that exact point that the walkers had amassed in numbers. They usually didn't...but sometimes they did. Gotta fight now...a LOT... His vision began to focus on the nearest walkers and he began attempting to cut them down. He prepared for what he only just realized was coming...he prayed to the All Thayne that he was not too late.

[Zaxan]

As she gained in elevation, the stones continued to fall to where the walkers were chasing after her. Her breaths became shorter with every step she took. Her grip tightened on her bow as she turned around to face the walker who had become so close, she couldn't get away from the stench of decay. The undead had no eyes, just the vague body of what used to be a large man. Maen pulled her bow into an offensive position, keeping her arrowhead directly aimed for the skull of the undead. Biting her lip, she released her arrow. It sang into the air, greeting the left eye socket of the walker with ease. After seeing the walker halt it's approach, she turned and began climbing the mountain-side once more.

Her foot slid on the rocks, causing her to fall to the earth. She grumbled, but then, the Paladin's voice caught her full attention, leaving behind the pain searing through her knees. "Burn." The space between the Paladin and the walker lit up. The walker's scream was one she would never forget. When the Paladin stood before her, she could hardly make eye contact. He wasn't human like she'd thought. He was undead. "Come with me if you want to live." Maen gasped lightly, standing without further bidding. She moved closer to where the Paladin stood, turning her back to him to face whatever walker was coming to attack, as if she could protect herself. When the Paladin turned his attention from the walkers to a pair running towards them, her chest clenched. Was this the end? Was this how the world outside of the Dryad's Forest would end her?

"Who are they?" Her voice came out, feeble and shaky. Her body was shivering with adrenaline and fear. She had never seen such terrible creatures as these walkers. When she saw another walker coming towards them, she shrieked, backing into the Paladin before correcting herself and standing behind him.

[redford]

John was quick to regain his composure. Whoever was down there would not last long with the corrupted closing in from all sides.

"Yes, Rayleigh, give me a moment."

A knowledge of the battlefield was infinitely valuable to any batallion or commander, and John was no different. There was a slight decline until the forest cleared, reaching a small mountain that climbed with a rocky incline up on to a ridge a ways off. There were shadows moving there, the corrupted seemed to have set themselves a trap.

Not good. They needed to break the circle around them, create a diversion, drive them toward something outside the circle of their number. If he could somehow take their attention from their prey, it could work. He spoke, pointing out a treeline beyond the corrupted to the side of the rocky face.

"Daniel, quick, take Rayleigh and circle around there, be ready to break through and get them," he turned to Rayleigh. "You know how to use that?" he pointed to Daniel's bow, but waved them forward. It was too late to teach the mechanic how to hit a target, much less how to line one up.

"No time, you gotta go now! Watch for my signal."

Daniel was already drawing a sword with one hand and shoving Rayleigh his bow. The girl hesitated, speaking.

"What is it?"

John smirked, winking at her as the liquid metal of his armor slid upward, its mercuric form hardening on his skin, a titanium skin-tight armor.

"You'll know. Now GO!"

With that, the two rushed down the gentle incline, skirting the encroaching circle of hundreds of corrupted, not counting those on the ridge. John began to walk toward the edge of the undead circle, perhaps twenty deep; allowing the gentle decline to increase his speed. Soon he was jogging, then running, then sprinting at the corrupted. For a moment there was naught but the thump of his feet on the ground as he leaned a shoulder forward into the first of the undead.

A crunch followed, and the thing fell to the ground, crushed by John's foot as he lost momentum, leading at another with a fist and roaring mightily. His head tilted unnaturally to the side and he dropped as the half-giant felt groping hands at his back. He reached behind, grabbing a forearm and hurling whatever it was attached to in front of him, bowling a particularly decaying corrupted at his compatriots, knocking several over. he turned, forming a blade in his hand from his armor, slicing through whatever was behind him in an arc. With a couple paces of distance between himself and a slowly-advancing mob, he screamed into the air.

"COME ON! THAT ALL YOU GOT, DEAD MEN?!?!?"

Hopefully they got the signal. He smirked, hoping he would be able to escape, and not require a rescue himself. He launched himself at another corrupted, aiming to buy as much time as he could.

[Rayleigh]

Frowning, Rayleigh accepted the bow that was thrust toward her. She awkwardly slipped her arm through it, and slung it over her shoulder. "What are you going to do?" the girl demanded. She knew that John was more than capable of looking after himself, but even one giant could not take on dozens of the undead. She did not care for the odds, and so she remained stationary, her eyes narrowed, her brow creased with concern.

But the big man was already turning from her, his own expression set with determination. Her mouth opened to speak again, but a hard shove from Daniel had her stumbling. "Wait-" Ray exclaimed, scrambling to right herself. By the time she did so, she was already part-way down the embankment. "Crap." Daniel was already paces ahead of her, and she scampered after him, readjusting the unfamiliar weapon as she went.

Why she carried the bow at all still remained a mystery to her. Rayleigh had never used one in her twenty two years of life, and she suspected even beginners luck would not help her pick off nearly one hundred enemies. Such a feat may have been possible had she had her pistol with her, but she had opted to leave it behind. John would be with her, she had rationalized that morning, and they would be in and out. She cursed her own stupidity, and the careless curiosity that had prompted her to follow after the undead paladin, rather than making a prompt exit.

As they ran, Rayleigh heard John shouting, and winced at the thought of his drawing the undead's attention away. That must have been the sign he spoke of, and she liked it even less than the thought of their small party splitting up.

The pair ran for another couple of minutes. It felt longer to the mechanic, who had still neglected to add more cardio to her daily routine. Her heart galloped in her chest, and a fine misting of sweat plastered stray tendrils of brunette hair against her freckled forehead, by the time Daniel slowed.

"Alright," he began, reaching back to tug a few arrows from the quiver on his back. "Take these, just in case."

Just in case I suddenly learn how to use this thing? But she accepted the offer nonetheless.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor killed another that burned up into ash. And then another.

His mind barely registered the girl's questions. But he tried to make a moment to answer them. "We call them Walkers." Lorenor said calmly. "A few of them will talk, those are the more dangerous ones. I've encountered ones who can talk in my lifetime..." Lorenor swung his mighty weapon and cut another down. He saw the man named John, summon a powerful attack at another group. This is a serious problem... He swung and cut another. He looked at the girl. "We're making our way towards the reinforcements. They might be the only chance we got. Don't let any of the Walkers bite you, understand?" Lorenor said. He cut another at that point.

"On my mark I want you to go, do you hear?" Lorenor was pointing towards the man named John Cromwell. "Up the hill, I will be right behind you." Lorenor kept attacking as he talked, moving in a fleet footed fashion. His eyes narrowed, he used the Holy Light to great effect. Then Lorenor, noticed the girl, Rayleigh running towards their position with another person he never met before. Some fucking back up never hurts...good. Lorenor nodded as he cut another. Burning sulfur and and ash filled the air and made it hot. Lorenor's body glowed intensely as he cut more down. He was trying to buy the girl time to get to their back up. Lorenor was hoping the newcomers were ready for a battle cause one had just started.

Lorenor looked at Maev. "Don't worry about me, just GO!" He yelled, and made sure her back was covered by his martial skills. He would not allow the girl to fall to such darkness under his watch. Then at that point something happened...

A Walker, somewhat taller than the others made it's way towards Lorenor. "Lorenor..." It hissed in plain common tongue. Albeit with a deeper echo than the living, but still a normal voice none the less.

Lorenor frowned at that as he looked up at the Forsaken. Forsaken were a race of Undead who were self aware and capable of speaking. Some chose to follow the spider Thayne, N'Jal. Some were free to follow their own beliefs. But this one was clearly a remnant of Xem'Zund's army. Lorenor realized what it was. "I'ts a fucking Dread Lord!" Lorenor yelled. "Fall back!"

The tall Forsaken warrior walked towards Lorenor and looked down at him.

"Lorenor..." It said again.

Then, the old Paladin knew what he had to do. And threw himself, with all his might, at the Dread Lord.