Post by Burning Rose on Feb 20, 2008 22:31:11 GMT -5
The ground was dry, and black, as usual. No sun rose from behind the distant mountains; It never had, though the air had once been brighter. In the back of his mind, Balligor thought he remembered something, somewhere, that looked much like this. Somewhere bright, and warm. A happy place, not one so rotten and decayed. The thought crawled over him like a slimy worm; he desperately needed to find the source of this memory, and yet...
He shook it off. Balligor had not yet been late for briefing, and he did not intend to be. Rumors around the Cakkram had spread that the sudden meeting was in response to a sighting of Redspines in the foothills, but Balligor doubted it. He thought back to an earlier battle, during the spring (If it could be so called), when a vicious tribe of Redspines were driven off easily by the new recruits; Redspines were not a thing to be feared, and there was certainly an air about that instilled that very feeling.
Mounting his Charhoof, Balligor searched the Horizon for signs of the Cakkram. The Bloodcaps towering ominously in the distance, he was able to regain his bearing and set off towards home. As he rode, his Blackened skin was visible by the light of Charhoof, and it disgusted him. Immediately he remembered why he hated the light. However, besides the light coming off the Charhoof's burning mane, the flaming footsteps left behind did little to heal this scarred land. If a more suitable mount was found, Charhooves would be driven to extinction in order to possibly better the land. Instead, the only other living things in Darkrealm that could be mounted were reserved for lower classes, as they make much worse mounts.
The Stench of death was quickly replaced by the black smoke drifting up to Balligor's Nostrils, another reason he hated Charhooves so much. If he had not had such smoke in his face, Balligor might have seen what fell from the sky on this day. It certainly would have saved him considerable time, but alas, he did not. He did, however, hear the earsplitting sound that followed, and drew his mount quickly to a halt.
Searching the landscape, he noticed Shrubs growing in this area, an uncommon sight in Darkrealm. He lowered himself from his mount and examined the herbs; many were useless weeds, but he did find three specimens of Sparkclove, a highly flammable plant that was also used to cure poisons from redspines - the only thing truly dangerous about them.
Gently picking them from the dry, cracked ground, he placed them in his knapsack and clambered back onto his mount. He now rode at a gallop - he was certainly late by now. However, his location of Sparkclove might be reason to let him off easily. In just a few moments, the cakkram was visible on the Horizon, and Balligor knew he would make it - barely.
A Charhoof in full gallop through the crowded streets of a cakkram was certainly a strange sight, but no one dared confront Balligor about it. Not on this day. Something strange was certainly going on, and none of the Cakkrans would dare interfere with that. Besides the current situation, Balligor's status as an officer of the cakkram's defensive force would free him from any responsibility for, say, severely injuring a Cakkran who got in his way. Definitely not any higher races, but truthfully, no one looked out for Cakkrans but Cakkrans, and they held no major governmental positions.
Now leaving the cakkram, Balligor entered the main part of the city. Dral'mandir was not the greatest city in the Empire, and certainly not the most industrialized, though it contained many residents. The simple reason was that most of the nearby resources, including Cakkrans (For that was what they were most useful for, cannon fodder), were being diverted to the Defense of the City. It was originally set up as a forward base during the 4th Rebellion, before the Demons were pushed back into the mountains. More recently, the declining environmental conditions (They were always declining) had driven Native Cakkrans to it's secure walls.
The scenery around him shifted suddenly with the 12 foot high Wall. it faced east, towards the Bloodcaps, a relic from the 4th Rebellion. a large Hole in the wall lay in his path; Nattari Guards stood guard, keeping lowly Cakkrans from leaving their designated areas. As Balligor passed through, they directed their unblinking Obsidian Eyes at him. It chilled him to the core. Even this battle-hardened Officer wouldn't dare upset one, he knew better. The Nattari did not stop him, for they knew him from previous experience. He was glad, too, for he did not wish to see those 10 foot tall Golems stare into his soul anymore.
The Central section of the City was far more hospitable than the outer Cakkrams. Buildings made of mud and sticks were quickly replaced by stone abodes. Some low-class Tnarsi stared at him as he rode by, still at full gallop. Balligor had no qualms with Tnarsi, after all they were so similar to his own race, the Paz'jeel, and compromised most of the civilized portions of the Empire.
As he rode through the town, he caught sight of his goal - a large, black building rose high in the center of the town. Across it's walls were scars of battles past, singes and slashes, a history of struggle against ruthless demons. The mighty 4 stories stood in stark contrast to the Cakkrams he had previously been in, even the rest of the City around him. The sharply spiked roofs warned trespassers that there were no laws barring any and every kind of treatment to those without clearance who dared to enter. The Ominous tower almost glowed with Darkness, a quality that most heavily Paz'jeel inhabited buildings shared. The ground around the building was even worse than outside the City - the citizens might as well have been walking on corpses.
Ah, home.
He dismounted his Charhoof, dubbed 'Nightmare', and hastily bound it to the Hitchings. As he ran inside, he was stopped in his tracks by a familiar voice.
"Officer Balligor! I have a mind to throw you out into the Demoniary weaponless and let them tear you to shreds right now! Why are you late?"
"With all due respect, Colonel Tal'eel, I was out surveying the area outside the City when I got the message from your Fen-bat to return. I found some Sparkclove, if that helps," Balligor added.
"Sparkclove? That's hardly worth you being this tardy to such an important meeting!" he spat, horns pointed menacingly at Balligor. Balligor always hated getting chewed out by Tal'eel. Those horns were longer than any he'd ever seen, a sign of Strength, and Tal'eel liked nothing more than shoving them in his face.
"Why is this meeting so important anyways? I didn't even get to complete my Watch-duty, and I'd like to know why!" he said quite disrespectfully. It was a bad choice of words, and the tone in his voice didn't help. Tal'eel was ready to shove him against the wall, and he knew it. Still, he continued. "There were rumors around the Cakkrams that it's about redspines, but surely you know better than to - "
"Cakkrams? Balligor, if you ever mention anything from those cesspools to me again I'll slice your tongue out!" he retaliated. This was not good. "I know better than to interrupt Watchduty for some measly redspines! Besides, you incompetent cur, if you were on patrol, and it was about redspines, wouldn't you have seen them?"
"I suppose so..."
"Good! I'm glad you apparently have some sort of a brain in that hollow skull of yours! Now listen, and listen well you insubordinate little mongrel! If you ever talk to me that way again, you'll have to do the rest of your talking through an Oracle, because that's the only way anyone'll here what stupid things you have to say! Now would you kindly enter your seat in the Briefing room? This is an important matter, and for some reason the Queen has contacted me personally to tell me that she wants you to handle it!"
'The Queen?', Balligor thought to himself,'Why would she bother with minor affairs like those of Dral'mandir? More importantly, why would she request that I handle it? If it is so important that she interferes, why would she think I could handle it better than a Royal Captain?'
He didn't bother to ask anymore questions; he knew Tal'eel would simply repeat the same drivel. The only way he would find out what was going on would be to walk into that room and ask the queen himself.
The Briefing room was dark, and quiet. The only light rose from an image of the Dark Queen, standing on the across a large obsidian Table in the center of the room. The center of the Table was carved into the Shape of the surrounding land: The Bloodcaps to the East, the Dral'fen to the South, and lake Paznir to the Northwest.
In the immediate Southeast of Dral'mandir, ruins of a long-lost civilization stood, currently inhabitted by Venommars. They had migrated from lake Paznir, through the Dral'fen and the Paznite River into the ruins, although no one was quite sure why. The local Ijfara was content to leave them be, at least for the time being, because the ruins seemed to be completely worthless territory.
Balligor sat down in a chair across from the Queen. He had seen her before in paintings, but seeing her now was breathtaking. Her Grey skin was a bright contrast to the burning blue hair on her head. Small sharp horns rose vertically from her scalp, almost like a natural Crown. She was thin, and yet voluptuous. Draped in a Black, Green, and Scarlet vest, she was clearly dressed for military purposes. Her Green Eyes with Crimson irises stared at Balligor gently, no doubt examining him to make sure her trust was well-placed.
"Welcome, Second Officer Balligor of the Dral'mandir Military Brigade," she said, almost sang, truly, with a beautiful voice that almost concealed the true evil she hid. Balligor couldn't help but smile; this was the queen for him.
"I'm assuming you do not know why you have been brought here. If you'll look around, you'll see that none of the other Officers of your brigade are here." She was right. Usually meetings involved all the high ranking members of the Brigade, sometimes even officials from the Ijfara. This time, it was just him, Tal'eel, and the Queen. What was going on?
"Uh, um, no, Your Highness," he stammered. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I'd really like to know what's going on."
"How about you shut your trap and let her explain then!" Tal'eel snapped.
"Tal'eel?" the Queen said.
"Yes?"
"Would you please exit the room. This briefing does not concern you. Thank you for bringing the Second Officer to me."
"Uh... yes, your Highness." He quickly left. Balligor was surprised to see him so flustered. Tal'eel was usually straightforward, and extremely blunt. Balligor recalled him tearing a hapless Tnarsi recruit a new one for forgetting to sharpen his sword before a routine patrol assignment. It truly wasn't a big deal, and had an officer been leading the Patrol that day, not much would have happened. Instead, the recruit never came back to patrol duty. In fact, no one ever saw him again. Rumors were that Tal'eel finally acted on his age old threat of throwing one into the Demoniary, but it was unlikely.
"Your Highness, I hate to intrude, but why would you send him out? In fact, shouldn't this be Tal'eel's job instead of mine, whatever it is? He certainly has more combat experience than I."
"Perhaps, but he cannot be trusted. You see, this matter is urgent, so much so that anyone more suited could not reach the Bloodcaps fast enough. Tal'eel most likely suspects that i know of his impending betrayal, but I doubt he will act on it." This set Balligor's mind spinning. Tal'eel didn't seem like the type for betrayal. At the same time, the look on his face as the queen ordered him out of the room was one Balligor had never seen before. The look of fear. However, he didn't bother to ask what she meant. He figured it would only raise more questions. "To be blunt, You're the only one I can trust who's close enough to the Bloodcaps."
"What's in the Bloodcaps that's so important, Your Highness?" he added. In his curiosity, he had almost forgotten his station.
"I'm sure you noticed the Loud sound from the Bloodcaps earlier?" In fact he did, though he recalled being unable to trace the origin. "The Simple explanation is that I have been expecting a Delivery, and now it has been delivered. I need you to climb to Bloodblade Peak, where you will take it back here before it is damaged by the wilderness."
"A... A delivery, your highness? Of what s-sort?" He stammered. Things were getting stranger and stranger.
"You will find out when you reach it. It is imperative that you do soon, because it fell from the sky, as promised, and so it is in quite the vulnerable state."
"The sky? Are you telling me that something has fallen from the sky - From somewhere outside of Darkrealm - into the Bloodcaps? Just like that? And you arranged it? Your Highness, this may sound rude, but you seem to have lost your sanity!"
Balligor expected her to be taken aback, as an officer uttering such words in that informal of a manner towards a Queen would warrant execution. Instead, she simply said, "I assure you, I know how this sounds. It takes a great deal of power to open a portal of any kind into Darkrealm from somewhere else. However, that is what we are dealing with here. If you perform this mission well, it will be a great victory for the Empire. If not, their could be dire consequences. Can you handle it?"
"Well I... I would think so," Balligor answered. "I have handled Redspines and Implings before. I can't think of much else that would prove dangerous in the Bloodcaps."
At this she leaned in, and the Formal expression on her face vanished. In a truly candid manner, the Queen ominously whispered, "Believe me, Balligor. There are much worse things in the Bloodcaps."
He shook it off. Balligor had not yet been late for briefing, and he did not intend to be. Rumors around the Cakkram had spread that the sudden meeting was in response to a sighting of Redspines in the foothills, but Balligor doubted it. He thought back to an earlier battle, during the spring (If it could be so called), when a vicious tribe of Redspines were driven off easily by the new recruits; Redspines were not a thing to be feared, and there was certainly an air about that instilled that very feeling.
Mounting his Charhoof, Balligor searched the Horizon for signs of the Cakkram. The Bloodcaps towering ominously in the distance, he was able to regain his bearing and set off towards home. As he rode, his Blackened skin was visible by the light of Charhoof, and it disgusted him. Immediately he remembered why he hated the light. However, besides the light coming off the Charhoof's burning mane, the flaming footsteps left behind did little to heal this scarred land. If a more suitable mount was found, Charhooves would be driven to extinction in order to possibly better the land. Instead, the only other living things in Darkrealm that could be mounted were reserved for lower classes, as they make much worse mounts.
The Stench of death was quickly replaced by the black smoke drifting up to Balligor's Nostrils, another reason he hated Charhooves so much. If he had not had such smoke in his face, Balligor might have seen what fell from the sky on this day. It certainly would have saved him considerable time, but alas, he did not. He did, however, hear the earsplitting sound that followed, and drew his mount quickly to a halt.
Searching the landscape, he noticed Shrubs growing in this area, an uncommon sight in Darkrealm. He lowered himself from his mount and examined the herbs; many were useless weeds, but he did find three specimens of Sparkclove, a highly flammable plant that was also used to cure poisons from redspines - the only thing truly dangerous about them.
Gently picking them from the dry, cracked ground, he placed them in his knapsack and clambered back onto his mount. He now rode at a gallop - he was certainly late by now. However, his location of Sparkclove might be reason to let him off easily. In just a few moments, the cakkram was visible on the Horizon, and Balligor knew he would make it - barely.
***
A Charhoof in full gallop through the crowded streets of a cakkram was certainly a strange sight, but no one dared confront Balligor about it. Not on this day. Something strange was certainly going on, and none of the Cakkrans would dare interfere with that. Besides the current situation, Balligor's status as an officer of the cakkram's defensive force would free him from any responsibility for, say, severely injuring a Cakkran who got in his way. Definitely not any higher races, but truthfully, no one looked out for Cakkrans but Cakkrans, and they held no major governmental positions.
Now leaving the cakkram, Balligor entered the main part of the city. Dral'mandir was not the greatest city in the Empire, and certainly not the most industrialized, though it contained many residents. The simple reason was that most of the nearby resources, including Cakkrans (For that was what they were most useful for, cannon fodder), were being diverted to the Defense of the City. It was originally set up as a forward base during the 4th Rebellion, before the Demons were pushed back into the mountains. More recently, the declining environmental conditions (They were always declining) had driven Native Cakkrans to it's secure walls.
The scenery around him shifted suddenly with the 12 foot high Wall. it faced east, towards the Bloodcaps, a relic from the 4th Rebellion. a large Hole in the wall lay in his path; Nattari Guards stood guard, keeping lowly Cakkrans from leaving their designated areas. As Balligor passed through, they directed their unblinking Obsidian Eyes at him. It chilled him to the core. Even this battle-hardened Officer wouldn't dare upset one, he knew better. The Nattari did not stop him, for they knew him from previous experience. He was glad, too, for he did not wish to see those 10 foot tall Golems stare into his soul anymore.
The Central section of the City was far more hospitable than the outer Cakkrams. Buildings made of mud and sticks were quickly replaced by stone abodes. Some low-class Tnarsi stared at him as he rode by, still at full gallop. Balligor had no qualms with Tnarsi, after all they were so similar to his own race, the Paz'jeel, and compromised most of the civilized portions of the Empire.
As he rode through the town, he caught sight of his goal - a large, black building rose high in the center of the town. Across it's walls were scars of battles past, singes and slashes, a history of struggle against ruthless demons. The mighty 4 stories stood in stark contrast to the Cakkrams he had previously been in, even the rest of the City around him. The sharply spiked roofs warned trespassers that there were no laws barring any and every kind of treatment to those without clearance who dared to enter. The Ominous tower almost glowed with Darkness, a quality that most heavily Paz'jeel inhabited buildings shared. The ground around the building was even worse than outside the City - the citizens might as well have been walking on corpses.
Ah, home.
He dismounted his Charhoof, dubbed 'Nightmare', and hastily bound it to the Hitchings. As he ran inside, he was stopped in his tracks by a familiar voice.
"Officer Balligor! I have a mind to throw you out into the Demoniary weaponless and let them tear you to shreds right now! Why are you late?"
"With all due respect, Colonel Tal'eel, I was out surveying the area outside the City when I got the message from your Fen-bat to return. I found some Sparkclove, if that helps," Balligor added.
"Sparkclove? That's hardly worth you being this tardy to such an important meeting!" he spat, horns pointed menacingly at Balligor. Balligor always hated getting chewed out by Tal'eel. Those horns were longer than any he'd ever seen, a sign of Strength, and Tal'eel liked nothing more than shoving them in his face.
"Why is this meeting so important anyways? I didn't even get to complete my Watch-duty, and I'd like to know why!" he said quite disrespectfully. It was a bad choice of words, and the tone in his voice didn't help. Tal'eel was ready to shove him against the wall, and he knew it. Still, he continued. "There were rumors around the Cakkrams that it's about redspines, but surely you know better than to - "
"Cakkrams? Balligor, if you ever mention anything from those cesspools to me again I'll slice your tongue out!" he retaliated. This was not good. "I know better than to interrupt Watchduty for some measly redspines! Besides, you incompetent cur, if you were on patrol, and it was about redspines, wouldn't you have seen them?"
"I suppose so..."
"Good! I'm glad you apparently have some sort of a brain in that hollow skull of yours! Now listen, and listen well you insubordinate little mongrel! If you ever talk to me that way again, you'll have to do the rest of your talking through an Oracle, because that's the only way anyone'll here what stupid things you have to say! Now would you kindly enter your seat in the Briefing room? This is an important matter, and for some reason the Queen has contacted me personally to tell me that she wants you to handle it!"
'The Queen?', Balligor thought to himself,'Why would she bother with minor affairs like those of Dral'mandir? More importantly, why would she request that I handle it? If it is so important that she interferes, why would she think I could handle it better than a Royal Captain?'
He didn't bother to ask anymore questions; he knew Tal'eel would simply repeat the same drivel. The only way he would find out what was going on would be to walk into that room and ask the queen himself.
The Briefing room was dark, and quiet. The only light rose from an image of the Dark Queen, standing on the across a large obsidian Table in the center of the room. The center of the Table was carved into the Shape of the surrounding land: The Bloodcaps to the East, the Dral'fen to the South, and lake Paznir to the Northwest.
In the immediate Southeast of Dral'mandir, ruins of a long-lost civilization stood, currently inhabitted by Venommars. They had migrated from lake Paznir, through the Dral'fen and the Paznite River into the ruins, although no one was quite sure why. The local Ijfara was content to leave them be, at least for the time being, because the ruins seemed to be completely worthless territory.
Balligor sat down in a chair across from the Queen. He had seen her before in paintings, but seeing her now was breathtaking. Her Grey skin was a bright contrast to the burning blue hair on her head. Small sharp horns rose vertically from her scalp, almost like a natural Crown. She was thin, and yet voluptuous. Draped in a Black, Green, and Scarlet vest, she was clearly dressed for military purposes. Her Green Eyes with Crimson irises stared at Balligor gently, no doubt examining him to make sure her trust was well-placed.
"Welcome, Second Officer Balligor of the Dral'mandir Military Brigade," she said, almost sang, truly, with a beautiful voice that almost concealed the true evil she hid. Balligor couldn't help but smile; this was the queen for him.
"I'm assuming you do not know why you have been brought here. If you'll look around, you'll see that none of the other Officers of your brigade are here." She was right. Usually meetings involved all the high ranking members of the Brigade, sometimes even officials from the Ijfara. This time, it was just him, Tal'eel, and the Queen. What was going on?
"Uh, um, no, Your Highness," he stammered. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I'd really like to know what's going on."
"How about you shut your trap and let her explain then!" Tal'eel snapped.
"Tal'eel?" the Queen said.
"Yes?"
"Would you please exit the room. This briefing does not concern you. Thank you for bringing the Second Officer to me."
"Uh... yes, your Highness." He quickly left. Balligor was surprised to see him so flustered. Tal'eel was usually straightforward, and extremely blunt. Balligor recalled him tearing a hapless Tnarsi recruit a new one for forgetting to sharpen his sword before a routine patrol assignment. It truly wasn't a big deal, and had an officer been leading the Patrol that day, not much would have happened. Instead, the recruit never came back to patrol duty. In fact, no one ever saw him again. Rumors were that Tal'eel finally acted on his age old threat of throwing one into the Demoniary, but it was unlikely.
"Your Highness, I hate to intrude, but why would you send him out? In fact, shouldn't this be Tal'eel's job instead of mine, whatever it is? He certainly has more combat experience than I."
"Perhaps, but he cannot be trusted. You see, this matter is urgent, so much so that anyone more suited could not reach the Bloodcaps fast enough. Tal'eel most likely suspects that i know of his impending betrayal, but I doubt he will act on it." This set Balligor's mind spinning. Tal'eel didn't seem like the type for betrayal. At the same time, the look on his face as the queen ordered him out of the room was one Balligor had never seen before. The look of fear. However, he didn't bother to ask what she meant. He figured it would only raise more questions. "To be blunt, You're the only one I can trust who's close enough to the Bloodcaps."
"What's in the Bloodcaps that's so important, Your Highness?" he added. In his curiosity, he had almost forgotten his station.
"I'm sure you noticed the Loud sound from the Bloodcaps earlier?" In fact he did, though he recalled being unable to trace the origin. "The Simple explanation is that I have been expecting a Delivery, and now it has been delivered. I need you to climb to Bloodblade Peak, where you will take it back here before it is damaged by the wilderness."
"A... A delivery, your highness? Of what s-sort?" He stammered. Things were getting stranger and stranger.
"You will find out when you reach it. It is imperative that you do soon, because it fell from the sky, as promised, and so it is in quite the vulnerable state."
"The sky? Are you telling me that something has fallen from the sky - From somewhere outside of Darkrealm - into the Bloodcaps? Just like that? And you arranged it? Your Highness, this may sound rude, but you seem to have lost your sanity!"
Balligor expected her to be taken aback, as an officer uttering such words in that informal of a manner towards a Queen would warrant execution. Instead, she simply said, "I assure you, I know how this sounds. It takes a great deal of power to open a portal of any kind into Darkrealm from somewhere else. However, that is what we are dealing with here. If you perform this mission well, it will be a great victory for the Empire. If not, their could be dire consequences. Can you handle it?"
"Well I... I would think so," Balligor answered. "I have handled Redspines and Implings before. I can't think of much else that would prove dangerous in the Bloodcaps."
At this she leaned in, and the Formal expression on her face vanished. In a truly candid manner, the Queen ominously whispered, "Believe me, Balligor. There are much worse things in the Bloodcaps."
- End of Prologue -
