lnnortal
01-27-2009, 02:17 AM
All he wanted was a moment--- just a moment.
Time enough to steady shaking hands and wipe the blood off a blade that had snapped in half. Precious seconds won with blood and bone and pain and lives- (always other people’s of course. The 3rd Magus Division paid dearly that day)- telling himself over and over again “I'll get out of this alive!” “This can’t be happening to me” and everyone’s favorite…
“I WILL GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE BECAUSE I REFUSE TO DIE!!!-----FOR HONOR! FOR GLORY! FOR THE HOR-”
An idiot obviously.
Time enough though…dearly bought, to step back and persuade himself that this was all just a dream---no, a nightmare…that if only he’d pinch himself hard enough or want it badly enough, that the waking world would drain away in spiraling hues of black and white and red to wake…
to everyday life in Elderine, his Father’s home, safe and warm, but most importantly---far, far, far away from this place...
But wait.
Why bother cleansing a blade that he would only dirty again?
Oh well…
Time to step back into the fray.
***
‘The first and arguably the most important thing you learn in the Academy is th-'
“-GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF THE CLOUDS MAGGOTS!! DO YOU THINK THIS IS A PLEASURE CRUISE WE’RE RUNNIN'?!? A HARKAN COULD HAVE COME DOWN HERE AND ****ED YOU ALL UP THE *** IN THE TIME YOU USELESS %$*#$%@ SPENT SNIFFING EACH OTHER’S ASSES!! NOW DROP AND GIVE ME-“
‘My old Academy Master. Charming isn’t he? Lived through 7 of the wars and still got all the limbs to show for it. No-one knows whether they respect or fear him more.
I’ve heard rumors from other initiates…that he disobeyed direct-orders to stay in bed after being hit in the head with an Assassin’s arrow. This was during the last war. He couldn’t find his weapons (the staff buried them under the General’s tent) so he apparently knocked out his guards with a well-timed Deva, took their weapons, rallied his brigade and took the fight to the enemy. He supposedly single-handedly cornered their army on one side of BloodMunch Pass (the rest of the brigade was on the other side) and personally slaughtered half the hostile forces and routed the rest right into the blades of his troop.
What an obvious pack of lies isn’t it?
I do believe he killed them all himself.’
***
‘As I was saying…the first and arguably the most important thing you learn in the Academy is that it doesn’t matter how strong or tough you think you are. Our foes are legion, a veritable tide that would wash over our lands and destroy all we have worked for. Not only do they massively outnumber us but are stronger than us man-to-man. Or should I say man-to-creature, man-to-beast, man-to-sentient life-form, man-to…ah, whatever.
But you say you are no ordinary mortal? You trained your Fighter’s body all your life…? Meditating under waterfalls, breaking rocks with your thighs, falling down ravines to break your falls from mountains and so developed prodigious strength and vitality to rival the greatest Warriors? Ahh, you also learned the art of arcane swordcraft from the Old Masters and have the diploma to prove it!!???
In the words of my old Academy Master-'
“DON’T BE SO PROUD SIMPERING FOOLS! THE ENEMY’S WEAKEST STONIE WOULD CRUSH YOU UNDER HIS TREAD AND BARELY NOTICE THE SMUDGE YOU LEAVE ON HIS SOLE. It is the same with all our forces…
Our Mages who command the flame, frost and storm quiver at the might of a single Pinky Matron, our Archers, though swift of foot and sure of aim, wielders of venomous barb and skilled in stealth are nevertheless cut down like wheat by the Trumpy Assassins. Our Clerics, who command life and death with a word and erase all bodily harm and malaise are laid waste by the enemies’ Guardian-CORES, those foul constructs whose breath destroys a man utterly, so that there is nothing left behind to even ATTEMPT to heal…
Even in mere swordplay, we are bested. Those few of the beasts who deign to take up the blade are natural masters one and all. What hope would you have as you are now, against a Swordsman of the Red Clover…? Of whom even a neophyte can eviscerate entire squads. A Red Clover, one who is literally born with a sword in its hands, whose sole pleasure in waking life is to refine that deadly art that comes so naturally to it to the utmost pinnacle of skill and lethality.
And use it on you…
Go ahead and try. Just don’t expect me to pick up your pieces…”
‘………………’
‘I think that was the only time I heard him speaking and not shouting...’
***
Dodge,
“STOP TRYING TO DODGE MY ATTACKS AND START SUCCEEDING!!
NO!
NO!!!
NOOOOO!!!!!!
THAT’S IT!!! I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS PATHETIC DISPLAY!!
I’M BRINGING OUT MAH AXE! BUT FIRST…DROP AND GIVE ME FIFTY, YOU @#$@ING MAGGOTS--”
-
Parry,
“PARRY LIKE YOUR $@#%ING LIVES DEPENDED ON IT. BECAUSE I’M @$@#ING TELLING YOU NOW IT SOON $@#$ING WILL!! FIND THEIR WEAKNESSES AND MAKE THEM SUFFER FOR THEM!!
-SUNNN!!! YOU IDIOT!! MAKE THEM DROP THEIR WEAPONS, DON’T DROP YOUR OWN!!
@%*$!!! YOU USELESS SACK OF #$@%!!
DROP AND GIVE ME FIFTY YOU—“
-
Strike,
“YOU CALL THAT HEFTING DISPLAY OF IMPOTENCE A HIT?!?! I KNOW $@#$ING CLERICS HIGH ON DEX WHO CAN BELT ONE BETTER THAN THAT!! DROP AND GIVE M--!!”
-
Remember lessons beaten into a body,
“I’LL KICK YOUR ASSES SO HARD—YOUR GRANDDADDY WON’T BE ABLE TO SIT ON HIS A## NO MORE!!
CAN’T YOU $@#$ERS EVEN BREATHE RIGHT?!??!
NOW…DROP AND GIVE--”
-
weathered and beaten beyond possibility of words to express.
“AGAIN YOU MAGGOTS!! YOU WILL JUMP DOWN THAT CLIFF AND YOU WILL *@$%ING LIKE IT!!
THE ENEMY DOESN’T GIVE A DAMN WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE A #@$@ING ‘MORTAL FEAR’ OR WHATEVER OTHER CRAP YOU USELESS LUMPS OF FLESH SPOUT OUT OF THAT PIE-HOLE YOU CALL A MOUTH!!
But before you jump….
DROP AND GIVE ME FIFTY!!-"
-
Trained to act without hesitation or restraint.
“I WELL NEARLY LOPPED YOUR ENTIRE HEAD CLEAN OFF YOUR SHOULDERS MAGGOT!! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF??
NEXT TIME…YOU WILL NOT FLINCH, YOU WILL NOT SHIRK, YOU WILL IN FACT LOOK DEATH RIGHT IN THE $@$#ING EYES AND SPIT INTO THE COLD HEART OF THE ABYSS ITSELF!! AND MOST IMPORTANTLY....YOU WILL NOT TAKE A SINGLE STEP BACK!!!
YOU HEAR ME MAGGOTS!?!? DROP-"
-
Hear the call for retreat sound in the distance.
"Noo-
The third division's gone..."
-
Run.
“MAGGOTS!! GET BACK HE-"
-
Obey your orders, like the perfect weapons you were meant to be.
SCREW THE RETREAT!!!
I HAVE THEM IN THE PALM OF MY HAND!
CHAARRGGEEE!!!
-
It wasn't supposed to be this way...
DAMN IT!!
MOCK YOU FOOLS MOCK!!!
THEY'LL NOT GET PAST US TODAY!!
KEEP YOUR CLERICS AL-!!!
-
Fall.
GET UP MAGGOTS!!!
I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET!
YOU HAVE ONLY BEGUN TO KNOW THE MEANING OF PAIN!!!
Live.
***
This story is posted here for Archive and Storage purposes.
To
Be
Continued
Time enough to steady shaking hands and wipe the blood off a blade that had snapped in half. Precious seconds won with blood and bone and pain and lives- (always other people’s of course. The 3rd Magus Division paid dearly that day)- telling himself over and over again “I'll get out of this alive!” “This can’t be happening to me” and everyone’s favorite…
“I WILL GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE BECAUSE I REFUSE TO DIE!!!-----FOR HONOR! FOR GLORY! FOR THE HOR-”
An idiot obviously.
Time enough though…dearly bought, to step back and persuade himself that this was all just a dream---no, a nightmare…that if only he’d pinch himself hard enough or want it badly enough, that the waking world would drain away in spiraling hues of black and white and red to wake…
to everyday life in Elderine, his Father’s home, safe and warm, but most importantly---far, far, far away from this place...
But wait.
Why bother cleansing a blade that he would only dirty again?
Oh well…
Time to step back into the fray.
***
‘The first and arguably the most important thing you learn in the Academy is th-'
“-GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF THE CLOUDS MAGGOTS!! DO YOU THINK THIS IS A PLEASURE CRUISE WE’RE RUNNIN'?!? A HARKAN COULD HAVE COME DOWN HERE AND ****ED YOU ALL UP THE *** IN THE TIME YOU USELESS %$*#$%@ SPENT SNIFFING EACH OTHER’S ASSES!! NOW DROP AND GIVE ME-“
‘My old Academy Master. Charming isn’t he? Lived through 7 of the wars and still got all the limbs to show for it. No-one knows whether they respect or fear him more.
I’ve heard rumors from other initiates…that he disobeyed direct-orders to stay in bed after being hit in the head with an Assassin’s arrow. This was during the last war. He couldn’t find his weapons (the staff buried them under the General’s tent) so he apparently knocked out his guards with a well-timed Deva, took their weapons, rallied his brigade and took the fight to the enemy. He supposedly single-handedly cornered their army on one side of BloodMunch Pass (the rest of the brigade was on the other side) and personally slaughtered half the hostile forces and routed the rest right into the blades of his troop.
What an obvious pack of lies isn’t it?
I do believe he killed them all himself.’
***
‘As I was saying…the first and arguably the most important thing you learn in the Academy is that it doesn’t matter how strong or tough you think you are. Our foes are legion, a veritable tide that would wash over our lands and destroy all we have worked for. Not only do they massively outnumber us but are stronger than us man-to-man. Or should I say man-to-creature, man-to-beast, man-to-sentient life-form, man-to…ah, whatever.
But you say you are no ordinary mortal? You trained your Fighter’s body all your life…? Meditating under waterfalls, breaking rocks with your thighs, falling down ravines to break your falls from mountains and so developed prodigious strength and vitality to rival the greatest Warriors? Ahh, you also learned the art of arcane swordcraft from the Old Masters and have the diploma to prove it!!???
In the words of my old Academy Master-'
“DON’T BE SO PROUD SIMPERING FOOLS! THE ENEMY’S WEAKEST STONIE WOULD CRUSH YOU UNDER HIS TREAD AND BARELY NOTICE THE SMUDGE YOU LEAVE ON HIS SOLE. It is the same with all our forces…
Our Mages who command the flame, frost and storm quiver at the might of a single Pinky Matron, our Archers, though swift of foot and sure of aim, wielders of venomous barb and skilled in stealth are nevertheless cut down like wheat by the Trumpy Assassins. Our Clerics, who command life and death with a word and erase all bodily harm and malaise are laid waste by the enemies’ Guardian-CORES, those foul constructs whose breath destroys a man utterly, so that there is nothing left behind to even ATTEMPT to heal…
Even in mere swordplay, we are bested. Those few of the beasts who deign to take up the blade are natural masters one and all. What hope would you have as you are now, against a Swordsman of the Red Clover…? Of whom even a neophyte can eviscerate entire squads. A Red Clover, one who is literally born with a sword in its hands, whose sole pleasure in waking life is to refine that deadly art that comes so naturally to it to the utmost pinnacle of skill and lethality.
And use it on you…
Go ahead and try. Just don’t expect me to pick up your pieces…”
‘………………’
‘I think that was the only time I heard him speaking and not shouting...’
***
Dodge,
“STOP TRYING TO DODGE MY ATTACKS AND START SUCCEEDING!!
NO!
NO!!!
NOOOOO!!!!!!
THAT’S IT!!! I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS PATHETIC DISPLAY!!
I’M BRINGING OUT MAH AXE! BUT FIRST…DROP AND GIVE ME FIFTY, YOU @#$@ING MAGGOTS--”
-
Parry,
“PARRY LIKE YOUR $@#%ING LIVES DEPENDED ON IT. BECAUSE I’M @$@#ING TELLING YOU NOW IT SOON $@#$ING WILL!! FIND THEIR WEAKNESSES AND MAKE THEM SUFFER FOR THEM!!
-SUNNN!!! YOU IDIOT!! MAKE THEM DROP THEIR WEAPONS, DON’T DROP YOUR OWN!!
@%*$!!! YOU USELESS SACK OF #$@%!!
DROP AND GIVE ME FIFTY YOU—“
-
Strike,
“YOU CALL THAT HEFTING DISPLAY OF IMPOTENCE A HIT?!?! I KNOW $@#$ING CLERICS HIGH ON DEX WHO CAN BELT ONE BETTER THAN THAT!! DROP AND GIVE M--!!”
-
Remember lessons beaten into a body,
“I’LL KICK YOUR ASSES SO HARD—YOUR GRANDDADDY WON’T BE ABLE TO SIT ON HIS A## NO MORE!!
CAN’T YOU $@#$ERS EVEN BREATHE RIGHT?!??!
NOW…DROP AND GIVE--”
-
weathered and beaten beyond possibility of words to express.
“AGAIN YOU MAGGOTS!! YOU WILL JUMP DOWN THAT CLIFF AND YOU WILL *@$%ING LIKE IT!!
THE ENEMY DOESN’T GIVE A DAMN WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE A #@$@ING ‘MORTAL FEAR’ OR WHATEVER OTHER CRAP YOU USELESS LUMPS OF FLESH SPOUT OUT OF THAT PIE-HOLE YOU CALL A MOUTH!!
But before you jump….
DROP AND GIVE ME FIFTY!!-"
-
Trained to act without hesitation or restraint.
“I WELL NEARLY LOPPED YOUR ENTIRE HEAD CLEAN OFF YOUR SHOULDERS MAGGOT!! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF??
NEXT TIME…YOU WILL NOT FLINCH, YOU WILL NOT SHIRK, YOU WILL IN FACT LOOK DEATH RIGHT IN THE $@$#ING EYES AND SPIT INTO THE COLD HEART OF THE ABYSS ITSELF!! AND MOST IMPORTANTLY....YOU WILL NOT TAKE A SINGLE STEP BACK!!!
YOU HEAR ME MAGGOTS!?!? DROP-"
-
Hear the call for retreat sound in the distance.
"Noo-
The third division's gone..."
-
Run.
“MAGGOTS!! GET BACK HE-"
-
Obey your orders, like the perfect weapons you were meant to be.
SCREW THE RETREAT!!!
I HAVE THEM IN THE PALM OF MY HAND!
CHAARRGGEEE!!!
-
It wasn't supposed to be this way...
DAMN IT!!
MOCK YOU FOOLS MOCK!!!
THEY'LL NOT GET PAST US TODAY!!
KEEP YOUR CLERICS AL-!!!
-
Fall.
GET UP MAGGOTS!!!
I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET!
YOU HAVE ONLY BEGUN TO KNOW THE MEANING OF PAIN!!!
Live.
***
This story is posted here for Archive and Storage purposes.
To
Be
Continued