War of the Immortals

[Isolde]

Adriana

After awhile of silence between them, Adriana spoke up. "Lokken," She said in a quiet voice,"If it will not bring you too much sorrow will you tell me of your family? I have never known the closeness of family. I was enclosed in my tower at a very young age and only visited by tutors and my father when he absolutly had to come."

Her curiosity had gotten the best of her,"You must have been so very close with your son to refuse generations of traditions in favor of your love. I...I have never known that and I am curious. Tell me about the time before your family was taken, please. Tell me how it was to be surrounded by family and know you were loved no matter what happened or who you were."

The request may have sounded like it came from a child but it was real. She had often thought in her tower how it might be if she suddenly lost her 'gift' and was able to return to her family to be accepted and loved by them. It never happened of course but she often daydreamed about it.

 

[Morgoth]

"My family was all I ever hoped for. The kids were perfect in my eyes. They were little troublemakers from the very start", Lokken smiled. "My wife was beautiful and kind and I loved her with every ounce of my soul. But then, one day, came Fuge, my nephew. He was jealous, but I didn't see it. I onvited him in, and warmed and clothed him and raised him. One day came, when my family was having a picnic and I was at a battle. Fuge hired 50 mercenaries and ambushed them in the forest. They raped and killed them all. Except for my oldest son, who was with me at the battle. We returned, fairly happy that all had gone well. We discovered their bodies in the forest about 2 days later. They had all ready begun to decay. I sensed the power field and chased after Fuge and his men. I killed the men easily, but Fuge had somehow been cursed. My son killed him. But the next day, we heard of him again, now in the form of a Giant. And so began our curse", he said.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana

Adriana turned in the saddle to place her arms around Lokken at his tale of woe. Her heart went out to him and she felt the need to comfort him especially since he just lost the last of his family.

As she hugged him, a thought occured to her and she looked up into his face her own having a puzzled look. "So are you saying that this Fuge, your nephew, can change shapes? Than you dont know exactly who you are chasing or who is chasing you, do you?"

 

[Morgoth]

"No, I explained incorrectly. When he dies, he can inhabit the form of another. And I know this, because I can feel his energy. And even now, he arrives on this world to try and make his next attempt at my life", said Lokken, feeling touched at her embrace.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana

Adriana sat up a little straighter, her eyes flying open with surprise. "He is here? Now? Than he is going to attack you isnt he? And how do you fight something that cannot die but simply takes another form?"

She shook her head. Somehow that revelation shook her to the core. That was one more enemy they had to fight.

 

[Morgoth]

"I have to kill him my self. No one can even intercede in our battle or he will simply climb out of hell", said Lokken. "And yes, I do believe he will try to kill me again", he said.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana

Adriana shivered and turned to face forward again. She did not envy Lokken having to fight his own family and especially one that had taken all that he had from him.

They rode on in silence for awhile, the only sounds those of the army marching along with them. "Lokken," She said after awhile,"is there no way I can help you in this personal battle of yours? I would gladly do what I could, you know that."

 

[Morgoth]

"You help me just be traveling with me", he said gently. Thrinta suddenly rode up to him. "My Lord. There seems to be a large army ahead. Almost our size. They bear the standard of the armored hawk", he sad this last sentence in a whispered hiss. "He is here already. And with an army", said Lokken. "Move the army away. Hide us. I do not wish to fight him yet", said Lokken. Thrinta sped away.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana

Adriana's eyes went wide and she asked breathlessly. "What will happen when he cannot find you? Will he endanger others to get to you?" That of course was a silly question. The man had killed the whole of Lokken's family to get to him. The thought sent shivers down her spine and she pressed herself closer to Lokken, feeling comfort in the contact.

 

[Morgoth]

"No, he only wants my head. But he will kill everything for it. But if he tries, I will force a showdown", said Lokken, sighing.

 

[Angelus]

Cristian

Cristian opened his eyes and the first thing that he saw was the person who was looking down at him. He tried to sit up but found that he couldn't and wondered why until he heard the person say, "It is best that you don't move. You were almost dead when we found you and you are still injured so it would be best if you do not do anything that would cause you to injure yourself more."

"I have to get out of here," Cristian said, "I can't stay."

"You must for your body has suffered a mortal blow. That is why we have taken your spirit out of your body- so that we can save it and not cost you everything."

Cristian looked at the person's face and recognized it as that of his teacher. He then realized where he was and what had happened to him; he had been killed with his own spell and he was now in his god's private domain- the one where his most priviliged were. The one's that did the most good while they were alive. He looked around and wondered why he was here as he had turned his back on everything. He looked at his old master, "Master, why am I here. I don't deserve to die just yet."

"You are not dead Cristian. You are being given a second chance; something a lot of us wish we were being given but I am here to tell you that you must use this wisely and do something to defeat Garath because if you don't then all of this will be over and whatever god is helping that dark being will take over everything and mold it in his or her image."

"I will do my best master but-"

"No! You must never doubt yourself. You have more power than you know and I am not talking about magical power but I can not tell you more than that."

"Master. I have to talk to someone if that is possible and tell her that I am alright."

"I'm afraid that that is impossible. You can only do that when you are alive."

Just then a ball of light flew out of nowhere and hit Cristian. He was lifted into the air and as he floated further upwards he heard his master say, "Remember what I have told you and use this chance wisely."

Cristian opened his eyes again and looked around to find himself standing a fair distance away from the village that he had been in. He then saw the destruction he had caused and shook his head then closed his eyes and pictured Adriana's face.

Adriana- if you can hear this don't say anything. I hope that you are well and that are you are not grieving for me because it would be best if you didn't. I will not be joining you as you do not need be to be with you. Tell Lokken that if he needs my help to send a message through you. Your friend Cristian.

Cristian then opened his eyes and put his hands to his face, and was shocked to feel the beard there. He then smiled before he cast a spell of direction and headed off in the direction of the strongest magic.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana

Adriana's eyes flew open wide and she clasped her hands together and held them to her chest. Turning to Lokken, she relayed the message from Cristian.

"He's alive!," She said, tears filling her eyes and voice,"He's alive! Oh Lokken I cannot believe it!"

Impulsivily she threw her arms about Lokken in her joy and held him tight. Then what he had said hit her and she looked up at him.

"A showdown? But you could be killed!," Her body trembled at the thought,"Oh, no...please...we must avoid him at all cost. I cant bear the thought of you dead!"

 

[Angelus]

Cristian kept on walking along until he came to the walls of a city and looked up to see a guard look down at him. The gates of the city then opened and Cristian walked through them. As soon as he was in the city he looked around and was amazed my the amount of people there. There were noises and smells from a hundred different things and people which seemed to come to him at the same time. Cristian continued to walk along, all the while guided by his magical sense of direction.

Before he knew it he came upon an inn and walked towards it, opening the door. When he walked into the inn several heads turned his way and looked at him before turning back to what they were doing. Cristian walked over to an empty table in the common room and sat down at it. As soon as he had sat down a serving girl appeared and asked him what he needed.

"A glass of water please," he said as he handed her a silver piece. The girl's eyes opened wide when she looked at the silver piece in her hand and she ran off to the bar to get him his water. He then noticed the pair of eyes looking his way and turned to look at the person, getting a shock when he noticed the person's face. The person smiled before he got up off his chair and walked over to where Cristian sat, the mug of ale still in his hand.

As soon as the person had sat down he looked at Cristian and said, "Well as I live and breath- I never expected to see you in a place like this."

"I wish that I could say the same Gaven but-"

"Hey, this is the first inn that I have been to since I left your company," Gaven said with a smile as the serving girl returned with the water and then stood there with a smile.

Cristian looked up at the girl and told her that he would call her again if he needed anything else which caused Gaven to start laughing. Cristian looked at him with an inquisitive look which caused Gaven to laugh some more. Cristian looked at Gaven and smiled before he picked up the glass of water and took a sip.

"You just brought yourself a girl for the night," Gaven said which caused Cristian to sip out his water and look at Gaven with wide eyes who just nodded.

"All I did was give her a silver piece-"

"For a glass of water. No wonder she thought that you wanted her for the night. You are going to get yourself into trouble soon. Aren't you glad that I am here to keep you safe."

"I feel ecstatic," Cristian said which caused Gaven to laugh out loud.

"Now, tell me why you are here at the same time that I am here?"

"Well now that is something weird. I was in the forest a fair way away from here when I felt this large explosion and wondered what in the nine hells it was. I decided to go and check it out and rode in this direction when something told me to come here and wait for someone to show up. I have been waiting here for a while waiting for you you know."

Cristian looked up at the ceiling and knew exactly what had happened. He smiled as he knew that he would need help and one of his closest friends would be the best help that he could get. He looked at Gaven.

"If you are meant to come with me then I will welcome the company but where I am going is not going to be fun. Where we are going is probably going to get the two of us killed."

"What else is new."

Cristian smiled. He then looked at Gaven just as a woman appeared behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, Gaven looked up to see the face of the woman behind him and smiled before he turned to Cristian and told him that he would be busy for a while, leaving Cristian alone at the table just as the serving girl appeared again and sat down on his lap.

 

[Morgoth]

"I am happy he lives", said Lokken gravely. He dismounted the horse, and the whole army suddenly stopped. He raised his hands and a black sphere encircled the army. Suddenly, the sphere dissapeared. "It is well, Adrianna. Fuge can not approach us for now. I have made it that we are sort of like shadows here", he said to her.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana

Adriana looked down at Lokken, the smile slowly fading from her face. He was deeply disturbed and she could see that. Sliding from the horse, she walked up to him and gazed up to his grave face.

"Lokken," She said, her voice gently,"is it the appearance of your nephew that makes you so solemn or is it everything that has happened. Please, talk to me. I want to help you as much as you have helped me. I know that you have been hurt alot in the past but you cant push away everyone. You will lose that side of yourself that your family so loved and I dont think you want to do that."

 

[Angelus]

As Cristian tried unsuccessfully to tell the serving girl that he didn't want her for the night the door to the inn opened and several people walked in. Cristian knew that there was trouble as soon as they looked at him and pointed. He looked up at them as soon as they stood near the table and said, "Yes, what is it that I can do for you gentlemen?"

"You are to come with us- now."

"Hmmm- well I am afraid that I can't do that. Now, if you would please leave me alone then I can finish my water."

One of the people then grabbed the serving girl and pulled her off Cristian's lap and Cristian knew that there was trouble brewing as he felt the blade of a dagger press up against his side. He looked up at the person and smiled before he closed his eyes and heard the person scream out in pain.

The leader of the group pulled out his sword and pointed it at Cristian's throat and said, "You will come with us or I will kill you were you sit."

Cristian looked at the group and knew that if he did something else then one of them would kill him. He got to his feet and said, "Can you at least tell me where we are going?"

"No."

The group walked from the inn with Cristian in the middle of them and as they did Cristian saw Gaven as he walked out of the room that he had been in. When Gaven saw the group and Cristian he knew that something was up and decided to follow them.

As soon as the group left the inn they walked through the streets until they came upon a set of warehouses. The leader of the group walked to the door of one of the warehouses and knocked on it just to have the door opened. The group walked into the warehouse and Cristian was pushed before them.

He looked around and saw that this place looked totally deserted but he knew that looks could be deceiving. Just then a figure dressed in a robe appeared out of nowhere and walked towards where Cristian and the group stood. As soon as he was in front of Cristian the person looked up and laughed.

Cristian's eyes widened when he recognized the laugh and said, "Elicia- how can this be?"

The person threw back the hood of the robe and looked at Cristian with nothing short of pure hatred. Her hand then shot out and connected with the side of Cristian's face with enough force to rock it to the side.

"You left me to die you bastard! How could you have done that to me!"

"You were dead Elicia. There was nothing any of us could have done," Cristian said, still in shock.

"There was something that you could have done; something that I was forced to do so that I could live again. So that I could take revenge on those who left me behind and I have taken revenge on every one except for Gaven and you and after I destroy you then I will go after Gaven."

Suddenly an arrow flew out of nowhere and struck one of the group in the back of the neck, causing him to fall to the floor. Elicia looked at Cristian and screamed out before she shot a line of flame at him. Cristian looked at the flame that came ever closer and jumped to the floor just as the leader of the group came up behind him. The line of flame hit the leader and he screamed out as he was consumed at the same time that Gaven jumped down and drew his sword, cutting forward and into one of the group who fell to the floor.

"You! I will kill you!"

"I have heard that before and it has never happened before."

Lightning flew towards him but before it could reach him Cristian appeared and held up his hands. The lightning slammed into his hands and flew everywhere, making Elicia scream out some more which caused the lightning to gain in energy and forced Cristian back a step. Cristian turned to Gaven and shouted out, "Get out of here now!"

Gaven looked at Cristian and stared to say something but before he could a bolt of lightning hit the floor by his feet. He decided to take his friend's suggestion seriously and ran to the door, slamming into the guard as he did. The two of them flew out the door, leaving Cristian and Elicia to battle inside the warehouse.

Inside the warehouse Elicia stopped with the lightning attack and said, "You are stronger- that is good for I would hate to destroy a weaker opponent."

Cristian didn't say a thing he said a single word and a blue green ball of energy flew from his hand and hit Elicia, causing her to fly off her feet and into a large group of boxes. He walked towards her, another spell already appearing in his head but before he could release it he looked at the robe and saw that it was empty and he heard a voice say, "This is not over Cristian. This is far from over."

Cristian then heard a noise behind him and turned quickly, a fireball in his hand to see Gaven run in; his sword in his right hand. Gaven looked at Cristian with wide eyes as the fireball disappeared in his hand and said, "What the hell just happened?"

"I think that my trouble just got a lot worse my friend and I am afraid that you are in this with me."

Gaven slid his sword back into its sheath and with a sigh said, "I think that I need a drink."

Cristian laughed.

 

[Angelus]

Garath

Garath walked down the halls of his castle brooding, one of his generals had been killed by Lokken and now his enemies had disappeared. He had tried to locate them several times but couldn't find a trace of them. He walked into his labratory and walked over to where his black tome sat. He leafed through the pages, trying to find one particular spell and laughed when he found it. He then began to say the words that were on the page and heard a soft rustling behind him. When he turned he saw a shadow like creature who stood there looking at him with disdain.

"Why have you summoned me here mortal," the shadow creature said.

"I have need of your services. There are several mortals out there that could stop what I am trying to do and I would like them to be found."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"I am asking you if you can find them for me and kill them if possible."

The shadow creature smiled, showing its fangs and said, "I will do as you ask but only because I need to feed and these people sound like they have the right sort of magical energy that I can feed upon."

Garath smiled as the creature turned and walked through the wall behind him to find the people that were troubling Garath so much.

 

[Morgoth]

Fuge: Fuge sat in his newest form atop a large throne. He had decided to steal a Daemon Lord's body last time. The huge muscles rippled under the sunlight as his personal gaurd, the Wrathbearers carried his throne. He suddenly sniffed into the air and smiled. "I smell you Lokken", he hissed quietly. "I also smell some kind of strange, powerful, and evil creature. How interesting", he thought to himself. "Wrathbearers, turn about. Take us to that castle!" he shouted, pointing to Garath's castle. "This might prove most interesting", he said to himself.

Lokken: "It is Fuge. He was very close, but now he suddenly is moving toward Garath's castle. I guess what they say is true: Evil attracts evil", he sighed, his face brightening.

 

[Isolde]

Andrea

"One problem," Andrea said to Lokken,"We are moving toward Garath's castle. And if this Fuge of yours joins up with him than we are all in trouble. This is not a good situation!"

 

[Morgoth]

"That is true. But my soldiers will become enraged at the sight of Fuge and battle even harder. Then I can clear the distance and finish Fuge and Garath. Garath is nothing without his god. I know. I almost killed him, but he used a trick of his god's", said Lokken.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana

Adriana crossed her arms and stared up at Lokken. "So, it comes down to you battling the higher powers...maybe Cristian battling them too. Both of you putting your lives on the line."

The exasperation showed in her voice as she said,"Are both of you trying for your deaths? I understand that you feel you have nothing to live for now that your family is gone but look at how many being depend upon you! Can you not for one moment think that I...that they...would like to have you around for a little bit longer?"

"Stop trying to do everything yourself and let me help. I was cursed or blessed with these powers for some reason. If it would mean your survival will you please let me help?"

[Edited by Isolde on 03-15-2001 at 11:22 PM]

 

[Morgoth]

Lokken sighed. "Okay. Your powers are great indeed. You can use them very greatly. I will let you join in battle with me. And I do not try to end my life. I only try to help for the greater good", said Lokken.

 

[Angelus]

Cristian

As Cristian left the city he turned to Gaven and asked him if he knew where to go. Gaven looked at him blankly and told him that he was fooling him which caused Cristian to smile. Cristian then looked around and called up the same direction spell that he had used the day before and pointed off to the east, "That way. We have to go that way."

Gaven looked at Cristian and knew not to argue with him as they began to walk in the direction that Cristian had pointed in, wondering what they would find.

 

[Isolde]

Adriana

Adriana huffed. "You woulnt know it looking at either of you. Both set on taking down this evil and not depending on anyone else."

With a heartfelt sigh, she added,"But you dont need to go this alone, Lokken. I am here and I do want to help. Now, should we continue to Garaths?"

 

[Morgoth]

"Yes, we should start immediately", said Lokken, remounting his horse and helping Adrianna up. The black sphere suddenly shrank, until was gone. Then, the army began to move, completely silent. They made good time, considering their size and that they did not trample the terrain.