The KingDavid story ...

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The KingDavid story ...

Postby KDSonoma » Sat Dec 20, 2008 8:12 pm

The original story I wrote in like 30 minutes as a back drop to starting PAS on Sonoma:

Days of smithing

I never knew my mother. She died when I was born. That always made me feel a special sense of sadness, that I cost my mother her life.

In the earliest of my years, I wanted to be like my father before me. A town smithy in Vesper, he was a great craftsman, and loved his work. Due to his grandmaster abilities, people came from far and wide to avail themselves of his services.

I played as children do, and my childhood friends, DeGuy and Sunstroke, were always with me. We would pretend that we were knights traveling with the King on grand adventures.

One day, only a week before my 17th birthday, a stranger came, surrounded by many knights clad in silver armor. All of the people bowed as he approached. KingVictor! I had heard of such a person, but I never expected to actually meet him. My father had told me stories of how he traveled and fought with the King, when he was simply known as Avatar of Sonoma. I loved those stories of adventure and danger. Now he was here!

The King walked up and hugged my father, and they started talking. I noticed a strange looking person that I had not seen before in the crowd. He wore robes and had a funny hat, and looked much like a magician. I watched as he slowly worked his way towards the King and my father. Some instinct grabbed me and told me that something was wrong. I froze with fear, watching this magician as he began to yell something I did not understand. All of a sudden, my father leaped in front of the King, as a great ball of flame burst from the mage's hands towards the King. That flame ball struck my father, and knocked the King backwards. Within moments, the mage was sliced to bits by the many knights that rushed in to defend their King.

My father was dead. My life was over, so I thought. This evil mage had taken the one thing I loved most in the world, and I was unable to do anything about it. Yet, somehow, I knew something bad was going to happen before it happened. The King, who had no children, was so overwhelmed with my father's act that he adopted me as his son.

My life would never be the same.

Life in Nujel'm was so different than my life in Vesper. I had all of the things that children dream about. I had come to love my new father over time, and we were inseparable. I lived in the palace, and my favorite place was the library, where I could read of my father Avatar's adventures with the King. I was now known as Prince David, and I had the best of everything. Personal tutors taught me the things I needed to learn if I was to one day be King. I was always wary of Dalcorn, the mage that taught me the ways of magic, but I grew to trust him gradually. There was just something about him that made me uneasy.

One day, as KingVictor held court in our palace, a large group of people approached him. I happened to be standing nearby, with Dalcorn, when they arrived. The guards seemed hesitant to let them in, and positioned themselves between this group and their King, halberds raised. KingVictor said "Let them approach ", and the group moved towards the King. That old feeling struck me again, that something bad was going to happen, and I was not about to wait this time. I made a bolt towards KingVictor, only to realize that Dalcorn had grabbed my robe and stopped me. I cried out "No!", as a mage appeared from the middle of that group and called forth the most horrifying blast of lightning I had ever seen! It struck KingVictor and knocked him to the ground, in obvious pain. The guards responded quickly to this attack, but the mage opened a magical portal and disappeared with the remainder of the group that was not struck down by the first volley from the guards.

The King was dead. I had lost my father, again. I turned towards Dalcorn, who had a smile on his face, and yelled at the top of my lungs, "Guards, seize him!", pointing my finger at the man I had come to trust. He went willingly, almost gleefully, with the guards.

My life had changed again.

I was now known as KingDavid of Sonoma, and at age 19 would have many trying days ahead. My first action was to appoint Sunstroke and DeGuy as advisors, as they were my wisest friends, and the only people that I felt I could really trust.

My first act as King was to sentence Dalcorn to death. I was filled with rage and ordered the execution to take place immediately. Sunstroke advised me that I should consider some other alternative, as this may seem a harsh response. DeGuy advised me to carry this out immediately, and show that there was no sentiment for murderers. After careful consideration, I decided to appoint a panel of upstanding citizens to decide his fate.

It was Sonoma's first step towards a judicial system. The jury brought back a verdict of death, and Alcorn was executed the next day. Up until the end, he failed to talk, so I was never able to find out why he did what he did. I learned that revenge did not make things better, as I still lost my father, and executing a conspirator did nothing to change that.

The nobles took advantage of the fact that I was young to try to intimidate me. Several came to the palace and demanded an audience with me. I spoke with them, and listened to their demands of more local control. One of these nobles was young like I was, and he struck me as a braggart and showman. His name was Blackthorn. I had a bad feeling about him early, not quite as strong as my feelings of impending doom, but nevertheless a feeling of something evil.

I yielded to some of their demands, and stood fast against others. I had a feeling that they left the meeting with mixed feelings. It was not to be my last meeting with the nobles.

I then decided to do something somewhat reckless. Without telling anyone, I slipped away from the palace one day, wearing peasant clothing, and mingled among the crowds. I was interested in what the citizens were saying, and I thought this may be a great way of getting that information.

What I heard astounded me. The nobles had apparently been spreading much gossip about our meeting, and accused me of collecting taxes randomly from citizens in order to provide enough funds to keep the royal palace open. A very large gentleman then made his way through the crowd, stating that he was collecting taxes on behalf of the King, and that citizens should pay or die. The crowd grew restless, as this person went person by person, threatening to kill them unless they handed over their money.

I stepped up and confronted this man. "On whose orders do you collect this tax?" I yelled. "By orders of the new King!" he replied. "Not true, my good man. I have it on good authority that the King has never given that order!" I yelled back.

The burly man made his way through the crowd towards me, and grunted, "I will now collect from you, lad!", and brandished a sword, covered with dried blood stains. Realizing that I was cornered, I began looking for an escape from this crowd of people. He grew ever nearer, and raised his sword to strike me down. I prepared to use magic, but realized that I had no reagents on me. Just as the sword fell towards me, it stopped with a loud clanging noise. Two others had drawn their swords and positioned them in front of me to block his thrust. Now these two pushed the burly man back, as one exclaimed "You better be careful with that weapon before someone gets hurt". "Yeah, maybe you", said the second man.

The burly man backed off with a confused look on his face. He turned and went into the crowd. "Now, what good authority might you have that will confirm that this is not an order from the new King, my friend?", asked the taller of these two strangers. "I need no authority other than my own. For I am the King", I responded. "Ah, the King, eh. I guess the stories about needing money are indeed true, as is indicated by your choice of tailor", said the second stranger.

"I am the King, I really am", I cried out, to the laughter of the crowd. "If you are really the king, show us your face, for I know a friend that once worked in the palace as a cook, and would clearly be able to identify the true King".

I dropped the cloth covering my face and stood in front of these strangers that had just saved my life. "Well, what do you think?", the taller stranger asked a face in the crowd. The lady came forward, and I recognized her instantly. "Gertha, good to see you again", I said. I had not seen her in over a year, but she was able to recognize me quickly. She instantly dropped to her knees and said, "My liege". A hush went through the crowd, and all dropped to their knees except the two strangers that had saved my life. "I'll be darned, he is the King. Well, Nis, I guess that ones on us", said the taller stranger, as they both also dropped to their knees. "Rise, please. No need for this. I am of the people. I was one of you once, and fate has dictated that I become King. I will always be of the people. What are your names, good sirs?" I asked the strangers. "Niscandia, my lord." "Ranma Saotome, my lord" they responded.

I had made two friends that day. I later learned that Blackthorn had paid that burly man to pretend that he was ordered by the King to raise these taxes. My feelings had again warned me of evil, and I knew now that I could trust those feelings. I then proceeded to enact many new changes to Sonoma society. I appointed local judges at every major town that would hear and settle disagreements between citizens. I set up a community warehouse whereby nobles and towns could give 5% of their crops each year to a central warehouse in Nujel'm. The grain was stored, and whenever a particular noble had a bad year, they could request a dispersal of grain from the warehouse. I also supplemented this warehouse with grain I bought myself, so there was always plenty.

The only town that decided not to participate was Trinsic. A new local noble had put pressure on their town council not to participate. He promised to support the town with his own crops should they have a bad year. His name was British.

In the summer of '93, we saw the most horrible combination of fires and pests ever witnessed in Sonoma. The towns that participated in the Community Warehouse needed disbursements, but there was plenty of grain available. Trinsic citizens suffered horribly. British reneged on his promise, as he lost most of his wealth due to the poor crop yields. British blamed me for his loss of wealth, and has never forgiven me.

I received word that Trinsic citizens were starving, and immediately called for a meeting of the towns and nobles participating in the Community Warehouse. I related the misery of Trinsic, and although there was hesitation, I was able to get them to agree to send grain from the warehouse even though they had not participated. Trinsic was saved, and became a staunch ally of mine. British fled north in search of other lands, still blaming me for his losses.

It was then that I met Janice. We met while I was touring Britain one day. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever met, and I instantly asked her to marry me. This was a different feeling altogether, and my instincts told me she was the one for me. We were married at the Palace and had a son a year later, Peter.

Life was perfect.
We were finally united as a shard, and I decided to place reminders around the world of all the virtues that we should strive to follow. It took seven years, but finally all of the shrines were completed. I myself visited each one, and encouraged my citizens to do the same.

Then one day, I received word that a great number of orcs had been sighted outside of Vesper, and were attacking the citizens outside of the town. I gathered my forces and led them into battle to protect that fair city. There were hundreds of them, but we eventually were able to destroy them all. Then word started to arrive from all parts of Sonoma that groups of monsters were roaming the countryside and attacking many towns.

This seems too much of a coincidence, so I sent out my scouts to find out more, while I raised an army. I asked the nobles to provide what they could to supplement my forces, and was able to raise a substantial army. The problem was, every time I would wipe out a group of ettins or trolls, another would appear. I also heard word of mages being seen among these monsters, perhaps in cooperation.

Then I got the news: My scouts had determined that the flow of monsters was coming from the depths of the dungeons of Sonoma. The very dungeons that had been sealed for centuries were somehow opened and teeming with monsters. The mages had apparently found a way to open the dungeons and control the monsters, and were waging war against every town in Sonoma!

I pleaded with the nobles to help me raise more armies, and they finally agreed. Amazingly, British and Blackthorn volunteered troops for the first time, but in return they demanded more freedom to rule at the local level. They wanted the ability to appoint judges, and they also demanded that each lead an army into battle. Under the circumstances, I had no choice but to bargain with them.

At first, things went well. We agreed that we would clear the continent first, and then deal with the island of deceit, as it posed a smaller threat to citizens (being almost uninhabited). I led the southern army to Trinsic and then fought my way east towards Skara Brae. Many brave warriors distinguished themselves through those battles, and with Sunstroke and DeGuy at my side, we swept our way to Skara Brae. Once reaching the coast, we ran into a problem. The orcs had taken the last boats and found their way to the island town, and were battling the citizens in the streets. Fortunately, we were able to round up enough woodcutters and shipwrights to quickly build a few crude boats. I went over with the first boat, and my troops fought valiantly against the large number of orcs. Each boat that came over with troops was then loaded with citizens, who were evacuated to the shore. Niscandia and Ranma were critical in the organization of this exodus, and without their help, many more would have perished.

We finally overcame the last of the monsters and were able to return to the mainland that night. That was my first good night's sleep in a long time, and things appeared to be turning our way. I the middle of my sleep, I awoke with a clear feeling that the world was ending. Something was wrong, for I could feel it. I ordered my troops to awake and march north and east towards Britain.

On the way, my fears were confirmed. My wife and son had been stolen from Nujel'm Palace and were being whisked away by a mage and his horde of orcs. I could not believe this news. Scouts reported that a small force from Nujel'm had tracked the orcs and were following them north towards the uncharted wastelands.

I force marched my army north of Britain, bypassing the city and funneling troops through one of the narrow passes to the north, in hopes of catching up with these kidnappers. We met the contingency from Nujel'm, and with their aid were able to catch up with the mage as they were trapped in a mountain pass. Our armies attacked and killed most of them, and captured the mage and the last remaining orcs. No trace was found of either Queen Janice or Prince Peter. When I questioned him, he said that the Queen had died trying to escape, and that the Prince had escaped. Apparently, they made an escape attempt and the Queen threw herself on an orc that was about to kill the Prince. She died, but that allowed Peter to escape.

We searched the mountains for two days and found no trace of either of them. I was so enraged by this time that I ordered a prison to be dug out of the walls of that mountain, and to have the remaining orcs and the mage imprisoned there for the duration of their lives. That is how dungeon Wrong came to be. I left some of my best trackers and troops to guard the mage and orcs and to continue the search for the Queen and the Prince, and did the hardest thing I ever did in my life: I marched my troops towards Britain to regroup with British and his forces.

My scouts then reported that Xanadu, located in the only desert in Sonoma (east of Britain and north of Cove), was razed earlier that week. Word from my scouts was that all citizens were killed by a horde of ettins and trolls, all led by a mage. Blackthorn's army was supposed to be in that area, and I wondered if they had been defeated; however, the scouts went on to say that while the town was being attacked, Blackthorn's army was camped just south of the city, and never responded.

It was incredible to think that an entire town of people had been killed, although Skara Brae may have suffered the same consequences had my army not been there in time. My scouts further reported that British's army, meanwhile, faced the least resistance, and he spent more time parading through the streets of Britain than fighting the enemy.

I quickly marched my army south through the pass back to Britain to meet with British (I found him drunk in an inn when I arrived), and our forces marched further east to meet Blackthorn. When we found Blackthorn's army, still camped south of where Xanadu lay in waste, I questioned him about the reports that his army could have intervened. He denied that he arrived in time to help, and stated that the town was already a shambles before he got there with his advance troops. He said that he had word that I wanted to meet up with his army, so he waited for my arrival.

I was furious, but this was not the time or the place to discuss matters further. I led the armies towards Minoc, and finding it abandoned, then proceeded south to Cove. At Cove, we found a sizable orc fort, and proceeded to lay siege to the orcs. After four days of heavy fighting, we were able to destroy the orcs. I had sent British and Blackthorn ahead of me towards Vesper, the last city under siege on the continent. After finishing at Cove, my troops marched towards Vesper, and actually caught up with British and Blackthorn as they neared the city.

I was again furious that these two incompetent leaders would endanger my citizens, but I drove my troops forward into battle. By this time, my troops were exhausted, and were having difficulty with the orcs that were besieging the city. I pulled back and ordered Blackthorn and British to lead an assault into the city while my troops went around the orcs encampment and attacked them from inside the city (amazingly, the citizens of Vesper put up so much resistance that few orcs were able to penetrate the city defenses.

British and Blackthorn balked, and I had them both removed immediately and replaced with two of my generals. Before they could start complaining, we made the final assaults, and my troops caught the orcs completely by surprise, totally and completely demoralizing them.

Only one more dungeon stood in our way. Dungeon Deadly, accessible only through a portal, was supposedly the last dungeon where monsters were appearing. Only one mage was rumored to be alive, and when the mages died, the monsters under their control ceased to work as a team.

We arrived at the portal, and it was surrounded by hundreds of orcs, ettins, and trolls. We proceeded to destroy the horde, but it seemed that for each one we killed, another came out of the portal. I fought my way up to the portal and threw every bit of magic I had at the mage. He was knocked back into the portal, and I took out my glass sword (a gift given to me as a child by my father) and struck the portal. It collapsed into the ground and let off an enormous explosion. When I awoke, the monsters were dead, and there was a great victory howl from my warriors. Sonoma was safe again.

I had lost my wife and son, but Sonoma was free of the mages' control. I returned north to Dungeon Wrong to help continue the search for the Queen and Prince, and was stopped by an emissary from Napa Valley. I had been requested to help fight evil on that shard. It was a matter of life or death, and this new evil supposedly represented a threat that would extend to Sonoma if it were not stopped.

I rallied my troops and proceeded to Napa Valley. Upon my arrival, I was told that this new evil was called pks. They were travelling throughout the countryside and camping out at dungeons, and were killing citizens at an incredible rate.

We fought alongside those of honor and were finally able to reduce the pk threat to a minim over the course of six seeks. Its was time to return home. I bid my new friends farewell, and returned to my home, Sonoma. When I arrived, I was amazed at what I found. Apparently, time had changed, as many years had passed on Sonoma in the six short weeks in Napa Valley. But nobody could tell me what year it was. Apparently, Blackthorn burned all of the historical books on the shard, and he or British (or both) had rewritten history.

Now there were new tales of how British and Blackthorn came to power, and nobody had ever heard of me. British has called for marshal law, and has removed the judicial system that took years to set up. Xanadu had been replaced by a city named Oasis, and the dungeons were open again, with monsters galore (although not coordinated by the mages). But worst of all, I found that the pks had somehow made it to Sonoma and were terrorizing the citizens here as well.

That is where my story ends, and begins, as I attempt to right the wrongs in Sonoma, and fight for the freedom of my citizens. I am of the people. I will not rest while they toil under scoundrels like British and Blackthorn. I vow to unite this shard and to do all within my powers to return this shard to its destiny as the greatest of shards.

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Remember I wrote this fast and 11 yrs ago, so be nice! :)

KD
KDSonoma
King of Sonoma
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