Sunday, August 14, 2005

   Sorry about the previous post... EPISODE 1 available

Hi again I guess. I feel kinda bad for my last post, since it wasn't like me. But, for your information I now have a job, and a good one at that. Luckily I was able to talk to my apartment manager and allow me to pay my rent with my first paycheck, which gives me a significant break financially. SO... that news means I was able to start writing again. WHOO! Here it is, part one of episode one of my new story. LALALA... My title is "Luna Spectre"... ENJOY. Episode 1 - Initiation A thick haze settled along the horizon as a shadow of a warrior emerged. The man was thin, but muscular and showed signs of fatigue. His long blood red hair was ragged and frayed. This man had been through hell. His body was covered in blood not his own, partially hiding the tattoos that showed his status as a battlefield elite. He thought to himself for a moment, is this all worth it? How many times will I have to kill to receive the answers I seek? He shook his head to clear his mind of the troubling thoughts. No, I have a duty to uphold. I must not lose my focus. As he crested another hill, the landscape changed form from rolling green plains to a charred and black rock covered in soot. He had reached the base of Mount Vaggra, home of some of the worst criminals his country had ever encountered. The volcano had been named after the group that had taken residence here, The Vaggras Legion. Not many actually know what their purpose truly is, but one thing is clear: they perform rituals of sacrifice and terrorize innocent people to achieve whatever that goal may be. The man stopped to listen for a moment, realizing that there was a multitude of footsteps approaching him from behind. He looked around and noticed a dormant crag that seemed large enough to hide his small frame hidden mostly by a large dead tree. The man crawled inside and prepared to launch a preemptive strike as he readied his sword yet again. When will they learn? They’ve been defeated. What can they accomplish now? The sound of the footsteps grew ever closer and the warrior sprung into action as the first opponent came into view. He scrambled out from the hole in the rocks and brought his sword above his head as he leapt into the air. A look of astonishment broke across his face as he came down to the ground stopping his blade only inches from the neck of his subordinate. When the realization of what just transpired hit, the man who was attacked reeled to the ground in fear. “Lord S-shuka! W-what the hell?!” he stammered. The man with the sword just looked into the sky and lowered his weapon as he let out a sigh of disappointment. After a short pause he looked back at the man on the ground. “Landoso, I never knew you to be one to ignore orders. Why… did you follow me?” he said slowly as if a little agitated. Landoso collected himself and stood up, the men behind him still in marching formation. After brushing himself off he looked at Shuka. “Sir, Lord Kios suggested that I lead a detachment of fifty men to assist you in clearing the outpost ahead. I agreed.” Shuka gave a dirty look at this information. “Sir, they may be more well defended than previously thought. It’s better to be safe than sorry.” Landoso stated cautiously. “Kios underestimates me. I have given him fourteen years of service, all of which have been nothing short of remarkable, and he still refuses to allow me to go on missions alone?” “Your service is precisely why Lord Kios sent us. He believes that you are too important to risk losing in a bad decision like this one. Despite the fact that the Vaggras Legion seems to lack any organization or great warriors, they do have numbers on their side. We may have won the battle earlier, but we have lost our fair share of men as well. Lord Kios is just making sure you are not one of those losses, Lord Shuka.” Shuka rolled his eyes at this. There were few who could match him in battle, he knew it. He’d been through worse scrapes than the battle he had just fought through. The Vaggras Legion had decided they were going to permanently occupy the province by assaulting the capital of Halmenheim with a very large force. Lord Kios responded with a force of twelve thousand and he decided to command it personally. However, Lord Kios’ army was still outnumbered three to one. Strategy, discipline and experience is what allowed Kios’ forces to emerge victorious. Unfortunately the Vaggras commander had made it out of the fray and had retreated to an outpost on the edge of the volcanic peak. Shuka believed he could take out the remainder of the Vaggras forces on his own, so he set out in pursuit. The forces he engaged earlier were no threat, so the remainder shouldn’t be much better. Although, Landoso had a point. “Fine. You’ll join me on this one, but I want you to hang back till I give you a signal.” One of the men in the detachment piped up, “And what will that be sir?” Shuka thought for a moment, running his own battle strategy in his mind. The outpost ahead used to be a mining station for Halmenheim, producing ore and minerals from the volcano, and Shuka had visited it a few times before. The layout for the outpost ran through his mind like a freight train. “Keep your eyes open! As soon as the west tower catches fire, I want you to split your forces. One third will join me there, and the rest will assault the east side. If I’m thinking correctly, the commander will have taken residence in the command station in the mining shaft. This will make it easier to do our job since he’ll have only one way to escape, through us. Don’t even let them know you’re here until I set the fire, got it?” Landoso nodded as the other men gave a firm, “Yes sir!” “Alright, we still have a ways to go before we get there. Keep tight.” Shuka stated as he headed off, up the slow incline of burnt rock, one hand placed on his sword as if prepared for anything. ****************************************************************************************** A large but muffled explosion sounded that the enemy had come, causing everyone in a large room scattering in all directions. A tall figure in the center stood up abruptly. “What’s happening? Certainly Kios isn’t foolish enough to follow us here! I want a report immediately!” A pair of men burst into the room shortly after the man gave the order. One of them had an astonished look on his face, “Vixoin! Shuka “The Immortal” is here! We are preparing a force of men to protect you, but…” Vixoin highly agitated responded to his subordinate, “Shuka is not immortal you imbecile! He may be a skilled warrior, but no one is immortal! Make sure to get all our best fighters assembled, Shuka will pay for his arrogance today! Even if I have to help you.” Vixoin turned and grabbed a staff that was leaning against the side of his seat. He passed his right hand over the top of the staff causing the top to glow a dark red. “The side of the Vaggras Legion that hasn’t yet been seen may be what is needed to dispose of this nuisance, but I don’t think he is that dangerous. Ha ha ha…” The man reporting gave a puzzled expression to the statement Vixoin made, “Uhhh, do you think Master Mikhail would approve of that sir?” “It doesn’t matter how much skill a warrior has! The ways of the dark arts are enough to overcome anyone! Now prepare our counterattack!” Vixoin said defensively. As he turned around the man who argued with him took off to assemble a defensive position. Vixoin chuckled to himself, “Master Mikhail would appreciate it if I could persuade this ‘immortal’ to our cause. He has no idea what is in store for him.” Vixoin said as a smiled crept across his face. “Fight well Lord Shuka, …fight well.” ****************************************************************************************** “HE BROUGHT REINFORCEMENTS!!!” someone yelled as he fled away from the larger group of Shuka’s men fighting their way through a small mass of enemies. Shuka just shook his head, “No tactics at all. Surely this Vaggras guy has heard of something called strategy has he not?” he asked one of the soldiers behind him as he cut down another opponent who ran at him from his left. The soldier behind him shrugged and brought his attention back to the opponent he was facing, smacking him in the face with his shield and burying his axe in his enemies collarbone. Shuka sighed, “Let’s finish this!” Shuka led his small detachment up a small incline and had them hold position till Landoso’s men arrived. As Landoso made his way up the rise with a bit of difficulty and stopped to catch his breath near the top. Shuka noticed a large blood smear across his belly. Feeling concern, Shuka walked over to him quickly. Landoso realized what Shuka was going to say and cut him off before he said anything, “Don’t worry sir, it’s not mine.” Landoso said wheezing with a smile on his face. “But the bastards had a decent fighter who brandished a club. Caught me by surprise. He got what was coming to him, believe me.” Shuka looked at Landoso for a moment and smirked. “Alright!” he said as he shook Landoso’s shoulder playfully and turned around, “Phalanx formation! By the book men. We’re most likely going to be assaulting a heavily defended position. It’s just over this ridge.” The men did as told and prepared themselves in a tight group, me on the outside locking their shields together and the ones in the center raising them above their heads, Shuka and Landoso filling the center with a few pikemen. “Remember to protect your feet! Once the first of you enter the chamber, you break formation, the rest guard our rear till we take the head of their commander, understood?” “SIR!” the men responded in unison. “Forward!” Shuka ordered. The mass of soldiers moved fairly slowly over the ridge, but steady and methodical. A mass of about a hundred men awaited them only about 200 paces away directly in front of a tall cliff. From inside the shade of the shield cover Shuka observed the best he could. “There’s not as many as I was expecting.” As their group continued on, Landoso looked to Shuka, “You think they have something up their sleeve sir?” Shuka shrugged at this, “Not sure,” he said to Landoso then ordered, “maintain formation men!” The group of soldiers let out a resounding, “HA!” From his position, Shuka saw a man in the enemy formation point towards them while saying something to the rest. All of a sudden, about a dozen started to panic and abandoned their posts followed shortly by another dozen or so. Landoso chuckled audibly, “Discipline accounts for the strength of ones forces. Their nothing but bandits in my eyes. They should know they’re only making things easier for us.” About then a small shower of arrows struck the group, bouncing off the steel shields and peppering the ground with broken shards of wood. A few paces later, another shower of arrows followed. Due to the skill of the warriors Landoso brought with him and their formation, not a single arrow penetrated the mass of shields. Landoso smiled as if happy with himself, “I told you I wasn’t going to take any chances, I brought the Vanguards!” Shuka smiled back. These were among the finest warriors in all of Lord Kios’ military. All of them destined to become generals in their own right. They were a group of ninety altogether and Landoso was able to wrest fifty of them from their army’s encampment. Impressive, Shuka thought, since Landoso was technically outranked by everyone in their group. Finally, the mass of shields and swords reached the line of the enemy and fairly quickly forced it’s way through, leaving wounded or dead men in it’s wake. Within a few minutes, Shuka’s group had reached the entrance to the mine and the path to the outpost command center. “It’s the left one!” Shuka said quickly and the group turned slowly and made it’s way to the opening in the side of the cliff. As ordered earlier, the front of the group broke formation and filled the entranceway. Shuka and Landoso made their way forward into the first chamber of the carved out command post. What they saw appalled Landoso as it showed on his face all too obviously. The Vaggras Legion had definitely redecorated the place to fit themselves since they took up occupancy. A fireplace in the center with hides stretched along the floor around it was the only thing that reminded Shuka of normal civilization. The rest of the chamber was dimly lit with a massive amount of candles, showcasing the etchings of weird text covering the walls. Every ten paces around the wall there was a set of a small altar and a shelf containing a few scrolls each. On one of the altars laid the carcass of a boar. Protruding from it’s ribcage was a small knife with a wavy blade. Ornate decorations lined the top of the chamber, hanging down just above Shuka’s head. They were a link made from assorted minerals and stones, and each individual rock was inscribed with some sort of marking. Something smacked Shuka’s arm. Shuka lifted his arm to look at it, revealing a splat of blood. Huh?, he thought to himself as he looked up again. Something brushed his cheek this time, and wiping his hand across his face provided more blood. Sickening…, Shuka told himself, these ornaments are made from entrails! They certainly have issues to deal with. “Where is everyone at?” Landoso asked Shuka stumped as the sounds of clashing blades echoed behind him. “You stay here. There’s no way the commander would change this place this much and then just leave without a fight. I’ll be right back.” Landoso nodded at this and Shuka headed further into the cavern. ****************************************************************************************** Shuka made his way through chamber after chamber in the cave, the sounds of battle behind him fading. I don’t remember this place being so large inside, Shuka thought. Something isn’t right. Upon entering the next chamber, Shuka immediately noticed a large stone obelisk in the center of the room. This chamber appeared more intricately decorated than any of the others he had passed through. As Shuka neared the obelisk, their seemed to be a detailed picture carved into the surface. Interested, he ran his hand across the surface as he analyzed what his eyes were seeing. The picture showed a detailed landscape with mountains and a lake. On the lake stood a castle of a design he couldn’t recognize. There were stars in the sky signifying that the scene was at night, but the most intriguing and disturbing part of the engraving was the large sphere that hung in the sky behind the castle. Shuka squinted, what is that supposed to be? Shuka brought his hand to his face and rubbed his chin. He had never seen any painting or engraving such as this before. Some sort of orb that floats in the sky? What kind of lies are they trying to teach their followers? Right then a hand landed on Shuka’s shoulder catching him off guard. “What do you make of it?” Shuka spun around to come face to face with Landoso. “What are you doing?” Shuka said sternly. “Your choices to ignore orders here recently is starting to get on my nerves Landoso!” Landoso bowed his head as he said with much hesitation, “I apologize Lord Shuka, but… I’m… no longer able… to follow your orders.” “What?” Shuka replied with an bewildered look on his face. Shuka’s eyes widened as he watched Landoso draw his sword. “You’re the real heretic, Lord Shuka!” Landoso stated aggressively as he lunged toward Shuka. Shuka dodged the initial attack, “What the hell are you doing?” Pulling his sword and blocking the next attack, Shuka took a second to look at Landoso. Landoso’s eyes were filled with rage, but Landoso had always been a kind hearted man, not this bloodthirsty maniac Shuka was being forced to fight. “Lord Kios is a fool!” Landoso yelled, “He know nothing about this world. All he cares about is money and power! Come Shuka, join the Legion. With us you will find the answers you are seeking!” Shuka kept quiet, but inside, the statement shocked him. The Legion? Landoso would never join them. They’re just a rag-tag group of heretics who only want to bring about the destruction of the world. Somehow, someone has brainwashed Landoso into attacking me. Shuka thought as he fought off blow after blow from his colleague. No… this is something more. This must be what they call ‘magic’! “Who are you? Why are you using my friend to fight me?” Shuka asked no one. “Because it’s that much more amusing to do it this way. Ha ha ha…” Landoso smiled. “Coward!” Shuka said angrily as he parried another strike. “Ah, but you’re the true coward Shuka. Living your life in ignorance, dealing with no memories of your past and never seeking the truth about them. Wake up!” Landoso said defiantly as he raised his arms above him, “There is more to this world than servitude and being a great warrior! What about the sky? Haven’t you ever dreamed of what was up there? Or how about all the ruins that scatter the surface of our world? Don’t you ever wonder where they came from, what civilization built them, and what it was that destroyed them? Serving that fool of a leader you call Lord Kios will never provide those answers! Join the Legion Shuka! We have the knowledge you seek!” Shuka just sneered at the remark and took advantage of Landoso’s pose to strike quickly. He rolled behind him and brought the flat side of the sword’s blade to the base of Landoso’s neck, knocking him unconscious. A voice echoed through the cavern, “So… you’re so bent on living the life of a moron? One who ignores his responsibility as a human being, the responsibility to obtain knowledge? I pity you Shuka! We could have used you in our efforts, but you have refused my kind offer one too many times. Come find me Shuka, I will be waiting.” Right then, a passageway revealed itself on the far wall of the chamber. A dark blue mist bellowed out from the opening. Shuka stared at it for a moment and the turned to Landoso who lay on the floor sprawled out. He knelt down, “Landoso… wake up.” he said quietly as he shook Landoso’s arm. There was no reply, but Shuka could tell he was breathing. He exhaled loudly as he lifted Landoso onto his shoulder. Shuka quickly made it back to the entrance of the cavern where the group of soldiers awaited them. They had finished off all resistance quite a while ago and they stood awaiting his return. Two of the soldiers ran to meet Shuka. “What happened sir? Landoso just disappeared on us. We sent Greven in after to search for him, but he hasn’t returned yet. Did you see him on your way back?” “No. I need to go back anyway. You men take care of him, and for the sake of all of you, stay… here!” The two soldiers nodded and took Landoso off of Shuka’s shoulder. Once the Vanguards had Landoso awake and resting, Shuka returned to the chamber with the obelisk and the hidden pathway. Greven was standing in front of the new passage looking as though he was contemplating entering it. Shuka just came up behind him and patted him on the armor, “Soldier… return to the rest. I’ll take care of this. Curiosity doesn‘t seem to be beneficial today.” Greven didn’t even flinch at Shuka’s appearance, he just replied with a firm, “Yes Lord.” and returned the way he came in. Shuka then brought his attention to the passageway himself. The blue mist had nearly filled the chamber he was in now and it seemed to just get thicker further into the passageway. It’s going to be a trap. He told himself. However, Shuka thought about what would happen if he just let this guy get away. He had proved himself to be a dangerous enemy. This “magic” that he used is like nothing Shuka had ever encountered before. He ran through his mind what things could be possible with “magic”. Shuka had only read about it in fairy tales in Kios’ library. Wizards, witches and warlocks… all seemed fictional to him until today. Now that his mind was running, he started thinking of other things as well. This world in which he lived was very odd. New discoveries are made almost daily, and almost always there is no explanation for them. The ruins that Landoso had mentioned while being controlled were one of those mysteries. Buildings of immense size and grandeur filled with technology beyond what humans were capable of. Whenever a location of ruins was discovered, it was deemed “forbidden” by Lord Kios himself. Kios had told Shuka personally that he feared the ruins. Whatever they were, they deserved their fate. Such is the order of things. Deep down, Shuka disagreed, but he served Lord Kios and would do so in a manner befitting a warrior. Shuka stalled a moment. What if the Vaggras Legion did have the answers Shuka seeked? What if they could help him find out who he was, and restore his memories of his life before he joined Lord Kios’ army? A look of disgust crept across his face. No, he decided. He would not choose to seek help from them. The Vaggras Legion preyed upon the innocent. He would not become a monster. Shuka put one foot in front of the other as he headed into the opening in the cave wall, his form disappearing in the thick blue mist. ****************************************************************************************** How long has it been? I feel like I’ve been walking forever now. Shuka stopped. All around him all he could see was the thick blue haze. His hands had been following the shape of the walls on both sides the entire way. This is a long hallway. Shuka told himself. He took a deep breath. The mist didn’t seem to be poisonous, or Shuka never would have came this far. However, it did have some sort of an effect. Shuka felt more aware, like his senses were heightened but at the same time he felt incredibly drowsy. It wasn’t until now that Shuka even paid too much attention to the mist he was walking through. Earlier he had only checked to make sure it wasn’t toxic before he continued on. The mist was very thick. He could feel it separate when he moved his hands through it. It was warm on the skin as well. Shuka felt at ease in this mist for some strange reason. He felt extremely calm and collected, not angry or vengeful like he had when he first entered. He shook his head for a moment. I’m here for a purpose. I don’t need to waste my time gawking at this stuff. Shuka made his way further down the path till his hands no longer touched the walls. He was now in a room of some sort, but he couldn’t see a thing past his arms reach. The only shape Shuka was able to make out in the room was a dull white light directly ahead of him. A thought crossed Shuka’s mind causing him to reach for his sword on his back, but he decided against it. He sensed no hostility in here. The light ahead reflected a bit off of Shuka’s armor, illuminating the mist surrounding him even more. I bet I look like a firefly right now, he thought. Shuka kept quiet as he walked cautiously towards the light source. As he neared it, he swore he could hear the sound of running water, but when he stopped to listen, all he heard was the hum of some sort of energy coursing around the source of light. He continued on eventually running into something with his feet which made him look down. Stairs? That’s weird. Is this some sort of throne room or something? He asked himself. He ascended the staircase slowly growing closer to the large source of light in the center of the room. The stairs eventually leveled out to flat ground again and after a few steps more the large source of light immediately grew smaller and less intense. Shuka was now only a few steps away from it, yet there was no heat or radiation of any sort coming from it. The large ball of light had taken the form of a large crystal shaped like a diamond. It crackled with more and more energy the closer Shuka came to it. Shuka stopped directly next to it and examined it thoroughly. It floated in midair, not supported in any way, yet it provided light that was easy on the eyes. As Shuka looked into it, he felt warm inside, like the feeling he got when he saved people. He hovered his hand above the surface of the diamond shaped energy source, feeling the surge of energy that coursed into his fingers from it. It’s like electricity, but it doesn’t hurt. What is this thing? Shuka thought as he braved the decision to touch it. Suddenly Shuka found himself on the bank of a river with a large waterfall to his right. The scenery was breathtaking as everything around him was lush and green. This place seemed somewhat familiar to him but he didn’t know why. The sky seemed different also. It was filled with strange creatures he had never seen, soaring through the air. The roar of the waterfall had a soothing effect on Shuka. If it wasn’t for his duty, he’d be tempted to give up this pursuit he had undertaken altogether. Shuka looked a little bit more at his surroundings and froze. As he glanced into the sky, a large orb seemed to hover just above the horizon. That thing is massive! Shuka shouted in his mind. Where the hell am I? When Shuka finally collected himself he looked at the orb one last time and then looked into the valley that the river he stood by flowed into. There appeared to be a large city below. The design of the architecture was odd though. None of the countries Shuka had ever visited had that kind of structures. Wherever I am right now, it sure is full of surprises. “Hands off heretic!” a voice boomed, filling the room with an echo. TO BE CONTINUED...

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