Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- ayenee:character:median_darkthorne [2017/08/10 21:47] – amorceas
+++ ayenee:character:median_darkthorne [2017/08/14 19:56] (current) – amorceas
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 <WRAP center 35em>
 ====== Median Darkthorne ======
-~~NOTOC~~
 ^ Median Darkthorne ^^
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
-=====The March of Destiny=====
+====The March of Destiny====
 "What happened here?!" Carver pondered as the group of hunters emerged from the forest to what was left of their town. "The whole town has been burned or trampled down like dead grass." The night air was heavy with the smell of nature, smoke, and death. It was quiet except for the mutterings of a few of the hunters looking for loved ones. The only other sound was the crickets and cicadas and the dying embers of fires. The hunters became shadows moving in the moonlight, sometimes crying out as they touched a still hot piece of debris or stumbled into a depression.
@@ Line 256: / Line 256: @@
 ====The Blood Thirst====
-Long ago the gates to the Western Great Wall were opened by a curious Emperor. Armies of men and women poured through seeking to tear the land apart for its bountiful riches and mystic secrets. The gates shut and trapped the outsiders within. The Westerners had thought the outsiders were the worst of their problems. Then they met the immortal Barnabas Pope and his children the "sete di sangue" also known as the "bloodthirsty". Barnabas had once sought immortality and found a wasting disease. He died thinking he had failed and awoke a monster the world would never forget.
+They sailed down the river on a make shift barge.
+Roman: "The barbarian guides seem to think this is a bad idea."
+Median: " It is the quickest way back to the bivouac and the fjord. I don't care what superstitions they hold. Whatever holds such a grip on this river has never met me."
+As Median looked out at the mountains and the jagged spines he thought about how beautiful the landscape was, despite the constant gray clouds and the superstitious natives. The vivid green grass, snow covered peaks, cold clear water, and the rocky hills. They almost reminded him of his home in Sharlazan on the edges of the Stryga kingdom.
+He stood up, the lapping river thudded against the bottom of the barge. He could feel it beneath his feet. The water ahead rippled as though something moved beneath its surface. A fish perhaps or a river otter? Median turned around and looked at the barbarians that used long sticks to push the barge down the river. They seemed to have not noticed. The water's calm and steady flowing surface reflected the gray sky, but whatever had disturbed it was no longer there.
+Roman: "We should probably fish while we are waiting. I am starving."
+The barge rocked, Median thought nothing of, then it rocked again. Something thudded on the deck of the barge. It was a large slimy twisting tentacle. It snatched up one of the guides lifting him off the barge and twirling him about in the air as it wrapped itself around him. He screamed and was suddenly plunged into the water with a large splash. Roman drew his sword.
+One of the other barbarian guides started yammering something that Morgan began to translate.
+Morgan: "River Kraken?"
+Roman: "I thought those were just myths."
+Four more tentacles landed on the deck of the barge gripping it and pushing it up in the water.
+Roman: "Alright I believe"
+The barge creaked and the binding that kept it together began to snap in the creature's grasp. Roman chopped off some of a tentacle with his blade before being grabbed up by another tentacle. He felt himself lift up off the deck and then the cold water surrounded him. He looked down into the darkness of the river, a large beak snapped eagerly down there. He managed to bring his sword down on the tentacle and started to saw through it. It released him.
+The creature screeched in pain and renewed its attack on the barge. Roman could see its large yellow eye now. The Kraken was massive, much larger than the barge, It had a brownish black hue to it that helped it blend into the river itself. Its lower half disturbed the silty bottom of the river sending up clouds of murk that obscured the rest of Roman's view. He broke the surface of the river and was quickly plucked up by Median.
+As Roman caught his breath he watched Median dive over the side of the barge. The water behind the barge suddenly exploded outward. Bits of gore and Kraken rained down on the barge.  Median emerged from the water and pulled himself back up onto the barge. The water was now black with blood and ink.
+Median: "You said you were hungry." He tossed a squirming tentacle at Roman's feet.
+Morgan spoke with one of the guides and turned back to Median.
+Morgan: " They say there are giant eels and giant leeches in these waters as well."
+Median: " Is that what they were so scared of? Seems a trivial thing to dread."
+Morgan turned back to the guide and began to question them once more. There was a loud snap as the timbers that had been bound to make up the barge began to separate. The bindings had snapped and now the barge began to take on a v shape. They guided it to the side of the river and disembarked.
+Morgan: " They said they can repair it, but with it getting dark we might as well set up camp. Oh, and the river is not what they feared. They talk of the "pale ones". It seems there are other humanoids in these mountains and the valley this river goes through it home.
+They made camp. Median lay there looking at the flashes of lightning in the night sky. The night was quiet. He looked to the camp fire where Roman, Morgan, Demi, and their three guides sat. Morgan had sent the deathly figure that they had defeated back to their base camp. He sat alone just outside the light of the fire.
+Morgan: "Are you contemplating the next epic feat that you intend to accomplish or just enjoying the quiet?"
+Median: " A bit of both I guess. Sometimes I like to just enjoy the silence, the scenery. It helps me think."
+Morgan: "Roman and Demi have been sparring since we landed. I think silence is a very rare commodity these days."
+A strange sound drew Median's attention away from their conversation. One of the guides suddenly shrieked as blood spurted from their neck. A metal object jutted from the guide's neck. It was a throwing knife. The air was rife with tension as Median glanced askance trying to peer into the darkness. He could hear the slightest movement, but he was unable to sense the minds of any lifeforms. Roman and Demi disappeared into the night.
+Median could sense them a few feet from where he stood. Together with Morgan and the remaining guides they took up torches and delved into the night. The ground about the reed thick river was bulbous, it has once been a flowing river of lava many years ago. The solidified rock was now covered in thick green grass. The river from the melting snow and rain had carved its way through this valley over time. A huge section of stone rose up from the sloping mountain side. Its face was striated in an odd pattern. The many satraps of the Darkthorne lands used to mark where their lands began and ended with images of their family crests.
+He wondered if this pattern were something similar. To him it resembled a snake eating its own tail. Words beneath the carving said "sete di sangue". He had no idea what language that was or what it meant. Ahead there was an opening in the mountain, a set of stairs plunged into the ebon maw. He sensed Roman and Demi descending here.
+Median: "They pursued something down these stairs."
+The guides began to shake their heads and began to back away from the cave. Median urged them to enter, but they continue to babble in their language and refuse. He hit them with a wave of force sending them back into the river. Flashes of electricity pulsed with light as slimy black bodies slide against one another. A massive snake like form rose from the river and snapped its jaws onto the guide silencing his screams and taking him beneath the surface. There must have been at least fifty of the giant eels forming a ball in the river. The guides vanished just as quickly as they had hit the water's surface.
+Morgan: "You need to work on your anger issues. How are we going to find our base camp now? The river diverges ahead of us."
+Median scowled.
+Median: "Fear made them useless. They would have died here alone either way. We have to enter the cave."
+He treated the death of the guides as a piddling thing. The walls here were etched with numerous carvings of snakes and strange serpentine letters. As they proceeded the air became warmer and Median could hear footsteps ahead of them. The staircase exited into a large opening, a cathedral. Pale, hoary haired figures sat in pews. A path cut straight through the pews to an altar. Behind the altar two giant snake heads jutted from the wall, lava poured from their open mouths into a trench where it moved like a flaming serpent weaving a path till it descended into a crevice. A man stood behind the altar, his pale skin and hoary hair made him look like one of the dead, his face was gaunt. His eyes resembled a snake's and in place of his canine teeth were curved retractable fangs dripping with venom.
+Barnabas Pope: "Behold my children! Here comes our salvation!"
+Median felt a bit of unease as the hundreds of faces gathered in the cathedral suddenly turned and looked on him. Their eyes were like the man behind the altar. The snow white color of their skin and hair was strange.
+Median: "I am no savior. I am a conqueror. The destined god-king of the West."
+Roman and Demi stood to the side of the staircase and quickly joined Median.
-Together with his children, they drank the Topaz kingdom of the West dry. The streets were filled with the dry husks left behind after their feeding frenzies. Barnabas viewed the world as his playground, and mortals as nothing more than fruit to be picked and devoured. In the West, he became such a threat that the invaders and natives put aside their differences and united to defeat him. Barnabas was injured by a powerful spell. His children carried him deep into the Dragon Peak mountains.
+Barnabas: "So you say. I say that you are the one that will change our own cursed fate."
-Today Median and his followers marched through the valley of the darkness. The valley that Barnabas and his clan had fled to. The valley was filled with caves so numerous that it looked more like a giant prairie dog dwelling. The barbarians refused to cross the threshold of the valley, their superstitious fears paralyzed them.
+Median: "Who are you and what is it that you want? Get to the point because my umbrage is at its limits."
-Median: " I have defeated death, do you think I am afraid of some legend about people disappearing in this valley, about beasts feeding on unsuspecting travelers?"
+Barnabas: "How rude of me. I am Barnabas Pope, former mercenary Lord, then wealthy baron. Those days were a mere spark in the flame that is my long life though, they happened four millennia ago. I sought the secrets of the West and found them. The secret to eternal life became mine along with its curse. The garden of the gods had a tree with fruit that could grant immortality. It gave a bitter sting with that reward. I found that I could make others like me. I gave the great ruler known as the Impaler my gift and the Countess of blood as well. I have made many others like myself. Usually out of boredom, or because I saw in them the same longing that once existed in me."
-Roman: " We shall show you that the god-king fears nothing. We will enter the valley and slay whatever beast that lurks there and show you that you follow an unstoppable force."
+He waved his hands about towards his followers.
-Morgan: " Should I summon death's champion?"
+Barnabas: "They all had the same void within themselves as I did. They were not meant to be among the vermin. They were meant to ascend to a higher state of being."
-Median: "No. I'll go alone this time. I shall show these fools that nothing is to be feared except me."
+Median realized how crazy the stranger sounded and looked to his companions who seemed to agree there was something off.
-Median stalked forward in the rain. He walked until he was in the center of the valley. He yelled for whatever called the Valley its home to show itself.
+Median: "Interesting story, now we shall take our leave, good day sir."
-He waited and as he waited he could see the numerous red eyes peering at him from the darkness of the caves. They whispered and hissed from the darkness. Finally from one of the higher caves emerged a pale skinned figure with ashen flaxen hair. The pale man wore black plate armor and a red cape. At his belt were two scimitars with jewels in the pommels.
+Median turned to leave when the man appeared in front of him.
-Barnabas: "Forgive my children. It has been some time since we have welcomed strangers in our valley. I see you have representatives from many of the barbarian tribes with you as well as the shadow rider. Impressive feat. I applaud your skills. Now, what exactly is it that you want?"
+Barnabas: "Leaving so soon? You haven't even heard the best part."
-Median: " I want to show these superstitious mongrels that the only thing they need fear is me."
+Median threw a punch meant to destroy the man. He was surprised when the fellow simply became mist and then reappeared nearby.
-Barnabas laughed.
+Barnabas: "Oh come now, violence will get us nowhere. Can't we all just get along?"
-Barnabas: " They are right to fear this valley. I would say that you would be advised to do the same, but I can see your list of accomplishments and I assume you are not one to be picking a fight with."
+Roman performed a monant with his sword cleaving a gash from the man's head down to his waist. The wound quickly began to reknit itself and seal.
-Median chuckled
+Barnabas: "I like you, cleave first and ask questions later. See I knew we would get along famously."
-Median: " It would appear so. I am at an impasse then. You are far too smart to simply fight me and I am far too bored to sit in this valley waiting for these barbarians to over come to their senses."
+Morgan threw a bolt of necrotic energy at the pale man. He simply caught it in his hand and looked it over like a child inspecting a toy. He found it dissatisfactory and tossed it aside and wiped his hand on his breeches.
-Barnabas: "A vexing situation indeed. Might I offer another option?"
+Barnabas: "So I was going to propose that we march with you to the West. My children and I would lend our strength, indulge in a bit of blood letting and drinking. I mean you are going to leave lakes of the stuff in your wake, someone might as well put it to some use. Besides if you intend to enter the West you will have to go through Pacifika. I have a debt to repay them in kind."
-Median yawned.
+Median found the stranger's abilities to be interesting. He could use such talent among his ranks.
-Median: " By all means since we are being civilized about things. I will hear this proposal of yours."
+Median: "Hmm fine, might you be able to lead us to the River's end?"
-Barnabas smiled and bowed.
+Barnabas: "That we can do. See my children, I told you it would all work out. I have waited twenty years for your arrival."
-Barnabas: " I think you will like it since it serves both of our desires. You seem to be amassing an army, by the deeds you have accomplished and the ships and camps by the shore. I have grown bored of residing here in this valley like a hermit. My children brought me here so that I could recover. It has been ages. I ask that you allow me and my brood to travel with you. We shall fight along your side as long as we are allowed to freely feed as we see fit."
+Median: "Awaited me? How did you know I would arrive?"
-Median: " Why should I agree, as you have stated I have ships and an army, my deeds speak for themselves. What do a bunch of pasty face hermits have to offer that the mountain tribes and the dark tuatha not?"
+Barnabas: "How did you know you would become a god-king?"
-The pale man broke apart becoming bats that flittered down to the field where Median waited. They coalesced back into his form and he barred his pointy fangs.
+Median: " A dream..."
-Barnabas: "We hunger. The world was once ours. We left dead towns behind us on our daily feedings.  We are much more powerful than mortal mountain tribes. We have lived for thousands of years. I personally have lived longer than the name Ayenee itself. We are an asset that for the time being we are willing to share a makeshift alliance to strengthen your efforts and to ensure our own survival. I care not what you do with the world. I care not whether you achieve your goals, but I know that there shall be warm blood pooling on the battlefields. I came to the West as an invader, much like you.
+Barnabas: " Exactly!"
-I had never seen defeat, but the Westerners are not like the rest of Ayenee. They have ancient secrets that they guard. Secrets that were able to harm even me. I nearly died. I learned from that defeat and I would lend my knowledge to you."
+The pale faced Barnabas held up a hand and a red orb dislodged from the wall behind the altar. It flew to his hand and he held the bloodstone in his hand and closed it about it. When he opened his hand the orb was gone. He snapped his fingers and a blade appeared in his hand. It was a dagger with a blade that curved like a flame. The pommel lengthened in his hand turning the dagger into a spear.
-Median waved his hand dismissively.
+Barnabas: "All packed."
-Median: "Why would I want the help of someone who failed? What advice would you offer me? How to be defeated and tuck my tail and hide in the mountains? You are a rabid dog who bit the wrong hand. You would sooner see me fail than to serve me. You are a vampire."
+Morgan whispered to Median: "Can we trust this man?"
-Barnabas hissed.
+Barnabas: "No you can't trust me, but then again would you trust someone who lured you into a cave? Actually, can you trust anyone? We have goals that are aligned and so an alliance shall work for now. The rest falls upon if you can take the West or not."
-Barnabas: " I hate that word. We are not vampires! We are the chosen. We walk this earth as immortals feeding on the lives that dwell on it. The mortals, your kind included, they live such brief lives. They spend their whole lives trying to reach their potential and die defeated. The hands of time erode their accomplishments. They become forgotten. We are eternal. We are the true inheritors of this world!"
+Median: "It shall be my empire and mine alone."
-Median: "You believe whatever you want to believe, but the only one who is destined to rule this world, is me."
+Barnabas: "You can have it. I have grown tired of these lands. I seek greener pastures on the other side of the great wall."
-Median threw a punch at the ground before Barnabas. The earth erupted leaving a sizable crater.
+Median: "You and your vampires can have the rest of the world for all I care. The West is mine!"
-Median: " Either submit or I shall be known as your extinction."
+Barnabas: "You have made your point. My brood and I are the last of our kind. The West is not a place where we can thrive. I have no concessions about it being all yours."
-Barnabas looked to the cave cliffs where his children still lingered waiting for his command. He begrudgingly knelt before Median, swearing that he would one day feed on Median's blood and make him kneel.
+Barnabas revealed his army of stone to Median who delighted in such an army. He also revealed a faster route for Median to take to leave the mountains. As Median rejoined with his soldiers Barnabas placed a magical miniature ship on the waves. It was drawn out to the water where it began to grow in size. It was big enough to hold his children and the army he had crafted and then some.
-Median sighed and looked at Barnabas.
+Aboard his ship, he looked out at Median with disgust. Mortals were full of greed, it devoured them from within and made them into monsters. He wanted to survive, he wanted his kind to survive, but perhaps it was just another form of greed? The world was changing. It was becoming the realm of man. The elder races were slowly dying off while humans bred like vermin. Even his vampiric race was down to a few hundred. Not just anyone could survive the transformation.
-Median: " You see that was not so hard. Now we move out. Tell your fellows that. There will be no feeding on my army. There shall be plenty blood for you all where I tread."
+To Barnabas, Median was a well-crafted tool that would aid him in his millennia old plan.
-Barnabas returned to his kindred and joined Median's march.
+Barnabas: "I am older than even the name of this back water realm. I have been cast out from former home. They say the Walls of the West keep out invaders. They do not know that the walls keep me in. This is a prison and soon I shall be free at last."
 ====At the Heart of the Storm====

Ayenee Wiki

User Tools

Site Tools

Differences

Page Tools