The Stranger

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The Stranger

Postby Tracy » Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:44 pm

Light from darkness, everything from nothingness.

Dazed and confused, Malachai sat up.

'Where am I?'

'How did I get here?'

'Why do I have such a headache?'


His attempts to remember anything were futile. He had went to bed, and the next thing he knew he woke up in this strange place. He had heard rumors of the new lands, but this wasn't what he had heard. He had heard about the monsters and the land.

But this was sand. He hadn't heard about sand. It was hot, it was dry, and he was thirsty.

He reached for his runebook and his book of chivalry only to discover they were both missing. 'Strange, I know I had them in my pack. They were blessed, too! How did this happen?'

Scanning the horizon, he found a single lone tree. He staggered towards it in hopes of finding water.

As he drew nearer, he found there was no water there. Exhausted, he dropped to his knees. Using the tree for shade, he lay back and tried to go to sleep, maybe permanently.

As he drifted off, his mind carried him to strange places in his past. He saw his mother cooking in the kitchen when he was a youngster. The images flashed forward to when he was 12. His mother was in the kitchen again, but she was not cooking, she was crying. She had, at that time, just received word that her brother, Malachai's uncle, had been slain by reds and would not be resurrected.

The images continued, and as they drew nearer to the present, they became closer together and more vivid. They also started moving from a first-person view to a third-person view, so he was actually watching himself. The last image he saw before drifting off to sleep was him going to bed in his Feluccan home. A man in a black hooded robe walked up the steps, then teleported in the door so as not to make any noise. He pulled something blunt out of his belt and hurled it at Malachai's head. Just as it hit, Malachai drifted off to sleep, and the images ceased.
Tracy
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Postby Tracy » Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:46 pm

Pain.

What was that? Was it a dream?

It couldn't be. It hurt too much.

In one fluid motion, Malachai awoke, sat up, reached for his sword, realizing it wasn't in it's hilt, and recognized the hiss resounding through his head.

It had been so long since he had been scared by a giant scorpion. Was this what it had felt like when he began his journey so many years ago?

He quickly kicked at the creature, knowing its limitations, its lack of strength. As he arose, he suddenly recognized the pain in his leg, the nauseous feeling flooding over him, the instant dizziness. He was poisoned. And he was thirsty. Such a terrible combination.

Reaching into his pack, he realized he had only two bandages and a bottle of ale. Knowing the venom from a giant scorpion wasn't life-threatening, Malachai sighed, resigned to the fact he would just have to wait out the effects of the poison. The wound would heal with time, but it could heal so much faster with a bandage. It itched, it burned, it oozed blood and venom. He wanted so much to just put one bandage on tightly just above the wound, just to stop the flow of venom into the rest of his body, but alas, he must conserve. With only two bandages and no visible sources of clothing in sight, no telling how long he would have to make them last, or what he would have to go through to get back to the normality of his life with PAE. It seemed like it had been so long since he had fought against the murderous scum that seemed to overtake his home facet of Felucca, alongside such greats as Rahl'de'bahr, Julion, Magnus, Aramus, Luther van Spelt, Karena, Pharon Lifebain, Kira, Zillgard, Dara, and all the other great warriors who pursued reds with him weekly. That life seemed so far away now. Now, here he was, scared to death of a scorpion!

"Where am I?", Malachai said aloud, knowing fully well nobody was able to hear him.

Maybe I can figure out where I am if I survey the area and look for land formations that are familiar, or perhaps what all monsters spawn around here... He shuddered at the thought. He was in plain clothes, with no weapon, no chivalry book, no runebook, and only two bandages. Even in plain clothes, I still resist quite a bit of damage. My resisting spells ability makes me an elder mage. In reality, even with such high resist, he could only resist 43% of all damage that hit him, hardly enough to stay alive in these conditions, especially if there were more "challenging" monsters present.

Malachai was awakened from his thoughts with the realization that the poison had worn off. Good, now it can begin to heal. It would still be a lot faster if I just used one of these bandages, but, then again, I have no clue what I might run into out here.

He pulled the ale out of his pack and popped the cork, thankful that he had something to drink, even if it would make him drunk. At this point, he didn't even care.

His mind drifted to the dreams he had the previous night. Did it really happen that way? He wondered. Who was that hooded man? Was he a ninja? He must have been, he wore the belt of a ninja. But why wouldn't he have just completed his task hidden? Malachai had heard the tales of the hiding and stealthing abilities of some of the ninjas. Even PAS had its own ninjas it used in battle.

As the effects of the alcohol washed over him, Malachai began trying to find identifying features of the strange land around him.

Peering in the distance, Malachai saw the distinct ridgeline of a mountain range. Mountains, desert, rocks, and sand. And a foot trail. Perhaps there was traffic. Continuing to sip the ale as he thought and surveyed, Malachai wondered if there was a town nearby, perhaps, or maybe a house with a kind owner or perhaps a vendor. If he could just buy some overpriced bandages and a sword, any sword, from a vendor, he might have a chance at survival. The vendor could route a transaction through the Bank of Britannia and he would be set. Maybe, if he was lucky, he might find some level 1 mage scrolls or even a full chivalry book!

He knew he was getting ahead of himself, because, as of yet, he could see no houses. But with the mountains came the promise of a possible mountain spring. With that, growth, and, even better, life. Any company would be better than a scorpion. The mountains were on both sides, and it seemed as though the trail led straight through them. Glancing over at the setting sun, Malachai realized it was beginning to get dark. He quickly deducted from the position of the sun that the trail led in a southwesterly direction. Hopeful that he was still on the mainland and heading back toward Britain, and not on some barren, deserted island, he looked at the unkempt foot trail hopefully, and began to walk forward.

Two steps into his journey, however, he was suddenly pulled to sobriety by the shrill shriek of an Ophidian Knight-Errant. He instantly recognized the sound with a start, knowing he was ill-equipped to deal with such a foe. He looked to where he thought the sound was coming from, but it was of no use. The mountains surrounding him reverberated the echoes of the screech, making it sound as though he were surrounded by Ophidians on all sides.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Ophidians of all types began spawning all around him. Holy God, they're everywhere! Suddenly, it dawned on him where he was. He had been here before. Hopefully he could make it out alive, but he was doubtful at the prospect.
Tracy
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Mastica's Light of Love (1) Artemis Entreri Medal of Honor (1) DeGuy Medal of Honesty (1) Zerena Medal of Sacrifice (1) PAS Royal Guard (1)

Postby Tracy » Thu Oct 12, 2006 4:16 pm

Knowing his life depended on his every move at this point, he deftly maneuvered between an Avenger and a Matriarch, in an attempt to break away from the innumerable amounts of ophidians still spawning all around him. Hissing, moaning, and screeching, the ophidians slithered towards him from all directions.

He shoved a grotesque, slimy apprentice mage to the side as he ran by, but due to the sheer size of the monster, quickly fatigued. Finding what looked to be an escape route, he dashed between a knight-errant and a zealot, then ran by an avenger, who stabbed at him with it's scythe.

Immediately, Malachai began convulsing in pain from the intense poisonous burning eminating from his right arm. He continued his attempt to run, despite the convulsions, mainly out of sheer determination, willpower, and pure adrenaline. He started applying a bandage, tourniquet-style, just above the wound, knowing that if the poison reached his heart he would be dead instantly.

Out of the crowd of ophidians he ran, still in extreme amounts of pain but satisfied he was able to make it out from inside the group of monsters alive. The bandage broke. Blood spewed forth from his arm, turning the sand immediately in front of him to an amber red, and poison rushed through the vain that had been previously pinched off. He ran along a jagged mountainside in an attempt at finding some place to hide to tend to the wound before it was too late, but delirious from the pain, found nothing.

With blurred vision he continued blindly, feeling his way along the mountain path. He stumbled. He fell.

The poison had begun to fully run its course. He knew at this point he wasn't going to make it. As he drifted out of consciousness, his last thought was that his god had failed him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And so it came to pass in the 7th year of the return of the King, that his humble servant Malachai lost his life.
Tracy
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Posts: 2388
Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2006 5:40 pm
Medals: 5
Mastica's Light of Love (1) Artemis Entreri Medal of Honor (1) DeGuy Medal of Honesty (1) Zerena Medal of Sacrifice (1) PAS Royal Guard (1)

Postby Tracy » Thu Oct 12, 2006 5:19 pm

It felt like he had been asleep for eons. PAS had undoubtedly went through a constant state of attrition, meaning if he ever found a way back, he probably wouldn't know anyone anymore. But that was the least of his worries. Malachai felt entirely numb everywhere, and found himself in a strangely indescribeable location. It was pitch black, yet he could see clearly. There was no sun, there was no moon. There weren't any stars, either. No real light production source, but yet, he could see.

This must be the void, he thought, which means I'm dead. So...what now? He took a moment to survail his surroundings. What a drab place this is. You'd think if people were expected to spend any amount of time here, it would look a bit more festive, he opined.

Suddenly, he heard a voice, if that's what you would call it. It sounded more like the wind. And instead of coming from a direction, it sounded like it was in his mind, like it came from everywhere.
"You have stolen them from me, and me from them!" it howled.

"Stolen what? And who are you? And what are you talking about?"

A shadowy, hooded figure with the face of a skeleton emerged.
"You follow the way of the paladin. You restore life. I am Death. I must have souls to survive, and without me there would be no death. Suffering on all shards of Sosaria would be eternal. There is a balance, a natural order of things. All things live, and all things must die. You, and others like you, have upset this balance, and I feel my power beginning to weaken. After death, all beings serve me, but I have no use for your kind. If you do not serve me in this realm, your spirit will cease to exist."

"So, you're saying that you are Death, and that I've kept enough people alive to weaken you?"

"Not you, but others like you. For the last millenium, people who have died on Sosaria have been resurrected continuously, with very few exceptions. This is not the natural order of things. It is because of my weakened state that I cannot hold all souls long enough to bring them here. The longer this continues, the weaker I get, and, in time, I will cease to exist. When Death no longer exists, Pain and Suffering will thrive."

"Okay..." said Malachai, "but how does this pertain to me?"

"You have been selected because of your strenth of character and conviction. I have used the last of my power to summon you here. If you fail at the task I am about to set forth for you, Death will be no more."

"Why would I want to help you? I am a paladin and oppose all who are of the Dark Arts."

"In your former life you were a paladin. You will be reborn a necromancer, a dealer of death. You will never truly die, but will live in my service for all of eternity. Do you understand?"

"I won't work for you! My entire life has been in opposition of the necromancer. You said you chose me because of my strength of character and conviction. So you already know what the answer is going to be."

"Then you shall simply cease to exist. Know, however, that the suffering of the human race for all eternity shall be of your doing..."

"And if I do work for you?"

"Then you save the human race from their suffering, and deliver them to me, so the balance can be retained", Death said silently.

"And what of Mondain? Was he, too, a servant of yours?"

"Yes. As was the Avatar. Each plays his role in their own way, whether or not they know it."

"The Avatar AND Mondain? How does that work?" Malachai queried.

"It was planned. It was a game thought up between Life and I. At the time, Sosaria had become overpopulated, and both Life and I were weakening. Mondain had died, but had been a great mage as a human. I enhanced his power and gave him the Gem of Immortality. He is now the most notorious sorcerer of all time.
"The Avatar worked directly in the service of Life, in an attempt to free Sosaria from the hold of the Gem. Unbeknownst to both of them, I had designed the Gem of Immortality to create separate universes when shattered. The more shards, the better. The Gem was intentionally misnamed the Gem of Immortality, when, in fact, it made nobody immortal. In fact, it sped time up by a factor of 50.
"You know the story well, I'm sure. But there are some things you do not know. The Gem was an attempt to create more area, and thus more souls. It was because of the Gem that Life has been able to flourish as it has. Had I not created the Gem, and had Mondain not used it as planned, both Life and Death would have ceased to exist, as would all of Sosaria.
"The area you are in now is now known as the Void. The Void exists because the one true Sosaria was destroyed when the Gem was shattered.
"In truth, thousands of years have passed on this plane since the Gem was shattered. In your world, it was less than a century ago. Life and Death in perfect harmony, it was a beautiful time, but I have become weakened as of late, because of the paladin sect, as I told you.
"If you refuse the task, then the balance will be gone for all eternity, but if you accept it, you return things to their natural order. Will you accomplish my mission?"

Malachai was stunned. He had no choice. His words were simply, "Yes, master."
Tracy
PAS Royal Guard
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Posts: 2388
Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2006 5:40 pm
Medals: 5
Mastica's Light of Love (1) Artemis Entreri Medal of Honor (1) DeGuy Medal of Honesty (1) Zerena Medal of Sacrifice (1) PAS Royal Guard (1)

Postby Tracy » Thu Oct 12, 2006 9:15 pm

And so Malachai was transferred back onto the Sonoma shard, where he was reunited with his body and empowered with the gifts of death. He no longer cared about his missing chivalry book, as he would never need it again.
Tracy
PAS Royal Guard
PAS Royal Guard
 
Posts: 2388
Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2006 5:40 pm
Medals: 5
Mastica's Light of Love (1) Artemis Entreri Medal of Honor (1) DeGuy Medal of Honesty (1) Zerena Medal of Sacrifice (1) PAS Royal Guard (1)


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