The Lush Forest

[Mirror868]

Dalorian

He could not hear the thunderbolt, but the flash of it blinded him. The weight of the Shadow Demon fell onto him, crushing him. But it did not move; it felt dead - no life stirred from it and it did not breathe. The smell of ozone permeated the air.

Unable to move under the weight of the creature, Dalorian waited for his breath to return. Suddenly, he felt the demon being lifted off of him, and he grew at once afraid and hopeful of what might happen. Then, as he finally gasped a mouthful of air, he felt a sharp blow to his head, and all went black.

 

[Dark Warrior]

OOC: Wow, talk about being dragged out of the depths of hell. I thought threads on here died after a certain time. Anyway.
Well, I guess I may as well keep going... hehehehe...
But... right... now... no... time... I'll post next time I'm on here.

 

[Mirror868]

OOC: Hey, glad your still around. I thought I'd have to finish it on my own. We could have left it as it was - would have made for a good tragedy. But I like to finish what I start, and there's the frozen lake yet to face... Who knows? We may find our way before the end...

 

[Dark Warrior]

OOC: Heh, for sure.

IC: Adraelus.

Adraelus booted aside the Shadow Demon that had attacked Dalorian with his powerful forelegs, but when he turned he saw that another had attacked the Half-elf, rendering him unconscious. Suddenly realising that the fight might be hopeless, Adraelus set his face hard in grim defiance.
If he was going down, he was going down as brave and proud, and he was not going down alone.
Leaping forwards, his heavy body crashed into the second Demon that had attacked Dalorian, sending the creature flying out of Adraelus' short line of sight. Turning and letting out a fierce but silent battle-cry, Adraelus stood between the prone form of his companion and the Shadow Demons, who, he noticed, were visible now, despite the mist.
Was it just his imagination... or was the mist lifting?

 

[Mirror868]

The Man in White

The moon was shining brightly, illuminating the harsh landscape. The mist ahead was dense - an anomoly compared to the bright night surrounding it.

Just outside the mist's perimeter was a space that the moonlight could not penetrate. This is where the Man in White focused his attention. Grounding his feet, he lifted his staff and began his incantation. The light of the moon suddenly seemed to become even brighter and a beam of white light shot from his staff directly into the shadowy space. At once the shadow wavered and a figure could be seen within the darkened area, muttering an incantation of his own.

The mission of Dalorian and Adraelus is far too important to be stopped here, by you, the Man in White thought, as he intensified his spell. The mist began to lift and the shadow demons could be seen surrounding Adraelus and the fallen half-elf, moving in for the kill.

But the dark figure in the shadow began to falter, as the interference of the light quickly became to much for him to bear. He turned quickly toward the Man in White and cursed, losing the illusion he had been maintaining - the mist and the demons vanished. Then he turned and disappeared suddenly, into the crisp air of the moonlit night. But not without a backward glance and a silent curse at the Man in White, who had broken his illusion, and spoiled his plan...

 

[Mirror868]

Dalorian

Dalorian awoke to find himself draped over a horse's back, the continual jolts of the ride making him bounce up and down painfully. It took him some moments to realize where he was and on whose back he rode. But with a flash, his memory returned, the images of shadow demons bearing down on him.

"Adraelus?"

Dalorian twisted sideways to see if it was on his friend's back that he rode. He managed to glimpse his friends strong torso up and to his right.

"Adraelus, stop. This ride is killing me."

The centaur stopped and Dalorian managed to slip to the ground, his knees nearly giving way.

"Adraelus, what happened? I thought we were done for. The last thing I remember is those shadow things bearing down on us. I thought we were dead for sure."

Dalorian watched his friend, waiting for the centaur's reply.

They were in the same harsh landscape, the moon low in the sky. He looked towards the moon and thought he saw something ahead shimmering in the distance on the ground below the moon. The Frozen Lake, he thought, scratching his head. He examined his body. He felt weak, but couldn't find any wounds - wounds he remembered receiving during the battle. I've been healed. What has happened?

He looked to the centaur, waiting for an explanation, when he heard a distant howling on the wind...

 

[Mirror868]

Dalorian

"There is no time to explain, Half-Thing," said Adraelus, half turning toward the howling sound, which was getting closer quickly. "Go now you must , without Adraelus."

Dalorian began to protest, "But Adr-"

"Go Half-Elf, or Adraelus will flay you!" Suddenly Adraelus loomed very large in Dalorian's vision, magnificient and threatening. "Don't argue! I have spoken to the man in white!" the centaur roared, his voice somehow at odds with the compassion in his eyes.

The howling sound loomed closer and Dalorian could now see a cloud of dust coming impossibly fast towards them. Already, Adraelus' bow was out with an arrow nocked.

"Run, you fool, Run!" screamed Adraelus, as Dalorian gaped. And Adraelus broke into a full gallop toward the dust cloud, kicking dirt into Dalorian's face.

Dalorian then did the only thing he could do. He ran.

 

[Mirror868]

Dalorian - The Last Chapter

Dalorian ran as fast as he could towards the Frozen Lake. Behind him, he could faintly hear Adraelus' hooves pounding the ground, barely audible amongst the rushing roar of the dark cloud.

As he neared the edge of the Frozen Lake, a shimmer in the air appeared in his path and the Man in White was suddenly there before him. It was the first time Dalorian had seen him since the day he entered the Lush Forest.

He skidded to a halt in front of the Man in White. It seemed that there was a calm surrounding him; the violence of the storm behind him suddenly seemed diminished, but when he looked back the storm was still there, looming large.

"Please help!" Dalorian cried, "Adraelus is back there in that dark cloud!"

The Man in White looked at Dalorian and his look sent peace into Dalorian's soul. "Do not worry for Adraelus. He has his own path to follow. I am watching out for him also." The Man in White then smiled, and Dalorian knew that there was nothing to worry about.

"Now go. You will find a portal on the middle of the Frozen Lake that will take you home." And with those words, the Man in White was gone.

With renewed strength, Dalorian ran onto the lake, moving directly for the center. Several times Dalorian fought and killed shadows moving to intercept him, using his dagger to stab through their ethereal forms.

When he reached the center of the lake, sure enough there was a portal waiting, its surface glimmering, creating its own light. Dalorian turned back to take one last look. The storm still raged, forks of lightning crashing down, making the ground vibrate. For a moment he thought he could see his friend the centaur fighting side by side with a figure clad all in white, shining like the sun.

Go with God, Adraelus, thought Dalorian, as he turned and stepped into the portal.