Re: Eighteen story - Memories of fateful events
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 7:49 pm
Memories of fateful events
As the fleet sailed back towards Naggaroth, Arithair fulminated at the failure of his latest plan. It had been so simple and yet so clever that he could not believe his target had thwarted him again. Even though he had lost nothing in this attempt, the fact that a mere slave had thwarted his plan made him feel furious and humiliated. Worse was the fact that he had been so sure of the slave’s terror of the druchii that he had not bothered to incapacitate him with magic, not seeing him as a threat. This was a thing to remember he thought, that no one should ever be underestimated.
One evening, Uriaeth invited his retainers to a feast in the Black Ark. Halfway through the meal, Nymerith turned towards Arithair and spoke.
“How have you come to serve Uriaeth?” he asked.
As he turned towards Uriaeth’s newest retainer, Arithair surveyed the room. Uriaeth was in a deep conversation with the Black Ark lieutenants while his other retainers were drinking wine and boasting of their actions during the latest raid. As for Durithir, he had been irascible for the whole journey, clearly angered by the wound he had received and the loss of his slave.
“This at least is a small consolation prize” thought Arithair. He then spoke.
“Following the defeat on the Finuval Plain” he said, “my corsairs and I were ambushed in the wilds of Chrace by a noble carrying a great banner and his white lion bodyguards. The noble challenged me to a duel, confident that he could not lose and actually spend the first few minutes toying with me while his warriors were exterminating mine. He then became so overconfident that he actually told me he found me too tall. He then struck a decapitating blow but as he had unintentionally warned me of such an attack I was ready and managed to dodge it and immediately counterattacked. His sword had missed my head, mine did not. His bodyguards were so horrified by what I had done that I was able to retrieve both his head and banner and run for my life. Sadly, I was the only who managed to escape the pursuit. I then managed to reach the landing site in the Shadowlands where those who could were embarking on ships to escape. When I returned to Karond Kar, Uriaeth was impressed with my slaying of the noble during a duel and he offered me the position of captain of his private ship as his previous one had been killed”.
This was both the truth and a lie. After having killed the noble like he had said, he had unleashed dozens of black swords against the white lions who had been forced to recoil as the swords hacked at them. He had retrieved both the noble head and the banner before consuming the energies of the dying white lions to increase his speed and easily escape.
Later while enjoying a glass of wine alone in his cabin, Arithair kept reminding this duel, enjoying the memory of the noble’s face when he had realised Arithair’s blow would behead him. This had been a fitting end for an arrogant idiot. It felt like a good night to remember past events and he let his mind drift to many years before, to the fateful battle that had shown him what he truly was and put into his hands the power to shape his life with this discovery.
Three centuries earlier
“It is hot” thought Arithair as the druchii raiders set camp in a cave leading to the Dark Path, a network of underground rivers under the jungles of Lustria.
Indeed, for the druchii used to the cold climate of Naggaroth, Lustria was almost unbearably hot. They had come at this entrance of the Dark Path because they knew there was a temple nearby. As they left the cave to march towards the temple, lizardmen emerged from the jungle. Their army consisted of half a hundred saurus riding nauglirs, several hundred skinks divided into two groups and several huge saurus-like creatures Arithair identified as kroxigors. Expecting this, the druchii quickly formed their ranks. Narenthra, the sorceress overseeing the expedition took place among the darkshards and unleashed a freezing wind that killed several skinks. Meanwhile the druchii bolt thrower and darkshards released a hail of bolts towards the nauglir riders. Although these saurus’ scales were as hard as steel armour, even they could not survive such a relentless storm and they were quickly obliterated. At this moment, one of the skinks pointed a staff at the darkshards and a lightning bolt leapt from it and struck them, killing several elves. Losing their nerves due to such an unexpected attack, the darkshards fled back towards the entrance of the cave.
“This does not sound good” thought Arithair.
Facing them were the group of skinks escorted by the kroxigors. He could see how a melee with these creatures would turn, the skinks would provide a wall of flesh that would prevent the druchii from attacking the kroxigors who would use their superior size and range to strike above the heads of their smaller cousins. The corsairs’ leader then pointed his sword at the other group of skinks with the wizard and ordered them to charge. This unexpected and reckless move stunned both units of skinks. The targeted group reacted too slowly, having expected their kinsmen to prevent their foes from attacking them and the druchii had not trouble reaching them. The lizardmen tried to defend themselves but they were no match for the skills of the corsairs and they were quickly exterminated. Seeing the priest trying to escape, the corsair captain shouted.
“Arithair!” he screamed. “Catch that wizard and guard him with your life”.
Arithair quickly captured the skink and turned to see the corsairs turning towards the second group of skinks preparing to engage them. At this moment, Narenthra extended her hand towards the skinks and their souls were suddenly ripped from their bodies. While half of their numbers fell dead to the ground, the bolt thrower opened fire and a few kroxigors fell, each of them pierced by spear-sized bolts. Although their regiment was decimated, the lizardmen did not succumb to panic and charged the corsairs. However, the skinks were now too few to effectively serve as a living shield for their taller cousins and were quickly exterminated by the much more skilled elven fighters who were able then to engage the kroxigors directly. The towering lizardmen swung their immense clubs but their moves were slow compared to the speed and agility of the elves that were mostly able to avoid their attacks, only a handful of them falling to their weapons. Meanwhile the corsairs hacked at the creatures’ belly, less armoured than their backs, before retreating out of range. Quickly, the kroxigors fell, bleeding from dozens of wounds, their death heralding the victory of the druchii.
Following their victory, the druchii looted the temple of its treasures. As they were carrying their loot to their ships, Arithair was instructed to bring the skink wizard to Narenthra. When he entered her tent dragging the chained prisoner, the sorceress looked at him with a surprised look. Her lips then curved into a cold smile.
“Two additions for my ring” she said.
Incomprehension and fear raged for predominance within Arithair’s mind but he mastered himself.
“I do not understand” he said.
“You do not know? Tell me. Can you feel and see the winds of magic? Can you sense the casting of spells?”
Arithair thought about this and admitted to himself that he could always sense the presence and use of magic very clearly.
“Yes I can but we are elves. Are we not more tuned to sense magic?” he said.
“Yes but those with magic powers can feel them even more accurately. That is right. You have magic powers” she said obviously enjoying the look of shock and disbelief that showed on Arithair’s face.
“What does it mean?”
“It means that your life is forfeit. The practice of magic by male druchii is prohibited by order of the Witch King himself and as you have magic powers, that makes you unfit to live”
Without thinking Arithair drew his swords but Narenthra spoke a word and unbearable pain filled his body. He fell to his knees, moaning with pain.
“Now after many years of study and experiments, I have been able to make a ring that can absorb and store the souls of wizards and tap into these souls to increase the magic powers of its wearer. Now I will take your soul and lock into my ring. You should be pleased. Your otherwise meaningless life will serve a greater purpose.”
She then took a dagger seething with dark magic. Fighting against the pain, Arithair closed his hand firmly around the hilt of one of his swords. As the sorceress bent to slash his throat, he struck with all his strength, his blade striking her directly into the heart. At once, the pain faded and an icy dread came to the druchii.
“What have I done?” he thought.
If the other druchii found he had killed the sorceress, they would kill him even if he had killed her in self-defence. Looking around, he saw a book and piles of notes and picked them up. Seeing that it was a book dealing with dark magic and notes dealing with the magic of the ring, he browsed through them, a desperate idea taking shape in his mind. He then decided on a course of action. He knew that he needed not only to cover his murder of the sorceress but also take measures to prevent the discovery of his powers from happening again. Taking Narenthra’s ring, he slipped it on his finger before taking her dagger and stabbing the skink wizard. He then tried to seize his soul and smiled in awe as he managed to do it and lock it within the ring. He then spread oil everywhere in the tent before leaving it and throwing a flaming brand inside. The result was immediate, flames surging like living things and consuming the tent and the bodies inside in a matter of minutes. As the other druchii came to see what happened, he took a terrified composure and spoke.
“The skink wizard has committed suicide by unleashing his powers in a final explosion. I barely escaped with my life” he said.
“What about Narenthra?” asked someone.
“Is it not obvious?” said another, “She is dead, killed by the explosion.”
The following day, the druchii sailed back to Naggaroth.
The present.
Since that day, Arithair had studied dark magic with the help of the book. As this training was theoretical, it was quite slow but as he could only cast spells that could not be seen, it was not a problem. As his mastery of them had increased, he had used them to manipulate the crew of his ship into appointing him as captain. With the ability to manipulate minds, he could subtly force others into loyalty and submission. When the druchii had invaded Ulthuan more than a century earlier, he had led his crew in battle. They had killed many asur but when the main part of the druchii had been slain on the Finuval plain, the hunters had become the hunted as the asur counterattacked. As they were retreating, Arithair’s fateful duel with the asur noble had taken place. After having escaped the asur with the noble’s head and his banner, he had manage to secure a place on a ship about to leave. In Karond Kar, the highborn had been impressed by Arithair’s slaying of the asur noble and had appointed him captain of his private ship in reward. As soon as he had begun to serve Uriaeth, a plan had taken shape in Arithair’s head: to manipulate Uriaeth into marrying him to his daughter Natharia so that he could inherit the highborn’s wealth and household. He had not suggested this precise course of action to Uriaeth when casting manipulation spells on him. Trying to convince him to marry him to his daughter would have been too direct and would have attracted unwanted attention. Instead, he had planted the seeds of his plan into Uriaeth’s mind in an imperceptible but relentless way, like water slowing eroding a rock. He had told him that the best way to make sure his daughter was not married to one of his enemies was to elevate a loyal retainer to the rank of prince and have him marry Natharia. This way, he would have the best ally a highborn could hope to have. Following the marriage, he would have used his powers to kill Uriaeth and seize complete control of his household. However two people had appeared and become a threat to his plan. The first one was Karaskia. Now that she had signed her agreement with Uriaeth, the sorceress had become an omnipresent member of Uriaeth’s raiding expeditions and battle. Her presence represented a threat as there was the ever-present risk that she sensed him casting a spell and discovered the truth. Still, she was not the real obstacle to his plan, Durithir was. Having spent time with him, Arithair could see why Uriaeth had named him a retainer. He was clever, there was no denying that, but his young age, complete inexperience of politics and plotting, and justified terror of Uriaeth made him a perfect puppet for the latter. One thing that always gnawed at Arithair’s mind was that Uriaeth had perhaps named Durithir his retainer because of his own suggestions. Indeed, Durithir was only ten years older than Natharia and was extremely malleable. Perhaps Uriaeth intended to marry Natharia to Durithir and this was the reason why he had the youngster learn everything there was to be learned about being a noble. Arithair relaxed. No matter what was Uriaeth’s plan with Durithir, he would make sure they did not interfere with his own plan. After all, Uriaeth was not the only druchii that could be manipulated with magic.
As the fleet sailed back towards Naggaroth, Arithair fulminated at the failure of his latest plan. It had been so simple and yet so clever that he could not believe his target had thwarted him again. Even though he had lost nothing in this attempt, the fact that a mere slave had thwarted his plan made him feel furious and humiliated. Worse was the fact that he had been so sure of the slave’s terror of the druchii that he had not bothered to incapacitate him with magic, not seeing him as a threat. This was a thing to remember he thought, that no one should ever be underestimated.
One evening, Uriaeth invited his retainers to a feast in the Black Ark. Halfway through the meal, Nymerith turned towards Arithair and spoke.
“How have you come to serve Uriaeth?” he asked.
As he turned towards Uriaeth’s newest retainer, Arithair surveyed the room. Uriaeth was in a deep conversation with the Black Ark lieutenants while his other retainers were drinking wine and boasting of their actions during the latest raid. As for Durithir, he had been irascible for the whole journey, clearly angered by the wound he had received and the loss of his slave.
“This at least is a small consolation prize” thought Arithair. He then spoke.
“Following the defeat on the Finuval Plain” he said, “my corsairs and I were ambushed in the wilds of Chrace by a noble carrying a great banner and his white lion bodyguards. The noble challenged me to a duel, confident that he could not lose and actually spend the first few minutes toying with me while his warriors were exterminating mine. He then became so overconfident that he actually told me he found me too tall. He then struck a decapitating blow but as he had unintentionally warned me of such an attack I was ready and managed to dodge it and immediately counterattacked. His sword had missed my head, mine did not. His bodyguards were so horrified by what I had done that I was able to retrieve both his head and banner and run for my life. Sadly, I was the only who managed to escape the pursuit. I then managed to reach the landing site in the Shadowlands where those who could were embarking on ships to escape. When I returned to Karond Kar, Uriaeth was impressed with my slaying of the noble during a duel and he offered me the position of captain of his private ship as his previous one had been killed”.
This was both the truth and a lie. After having killed the noble like he had said, he had unleashed dozens of black swords against the white lions who had been forced to recoil as the swords hacked at them. He had retrieved both the noble head and the banner before consuming the energies of the dying white lions to increase his speed and easily escape.
Later while enjoying a glass of wine alone in his cabin, Arithair kept reminding this duel, enjoying the memory of the noble’s face when he had realised Arithair’s blow would behead him. This had been a fitting end for an arrogant idiot. It felt like a good night to remember past events and he let his mind drift to many years before, to the fateful battle that had shown him what he truly was and put into his hands the power to shape his life with this discovery.
Three centuries earlier
“It is hot” thought Arithair as the druchii raiders set camp in a cave leading to the Dark Path, a network of underground rivers under the jungles of Lustria.
Indeed, for the druchii used to the cold climate of Naggaroth, Lustria was almost unbearably hot. They had come at this entrance of the Dark Path because they knew there was a temple nearby. As they left the cave to march towards the temple, lizardmen emerged from the jungle. Their army consisted of half a hundred saurus riding nauglirs, several hundred skinks divided into two groups and several huge saurus-like creatures Arithair identified as kroxigors. Expecting this, the druchii quickly formed their ranks. Narenthra, the sorceress overseeing the expedition took place among the darkshards and unleashed a freezing wind that killed several skinks. Meanwhile the druchii bolt thrower and darkshards released a hail of bolts towards the nauglir riders. Although these saurus’ scales were as hard as steel armour, even they could not survive such a relentless storm and they were quickly obliterated. At this moment, one of the skinks pointed a staff at the darkshards and a lightning bolt leapt from it and struck them, killing several elves. Losing their nerves due to such an unexpected attack, the darkshards fled back towards the entrance of the cave.
“This does not sound good” thought Arithair.
Facing them were the group of skinks escorted by the kroxigors. He could see how a melee with these creatures would turn, the skinks would provide a wall of flesh that would prevent the druchii from attacking the kroxigors who would use their superior size and range to strike above the heads of their smaller cousins. The corsairs’ leader then pointed his sword at the other group of skinks with the wizard and ordered them to charge. This unexpected and reckless move stunned both units of skinks. The targeted group reacted too slowly, having expected their kinsmen to prevent their foes from attacking them and the druchii had not trouble reaching them. The lizardmen tried to defend themselves but they were no match for the skills of the corsairs and they were quickly exterminated. Seeing the priest trying to escape, the corsair captain shouted.
“Arithair!” he screamed. “Catch that wizard and guard him with your life”.
Arithair quickly captured the skink and turned to see the corsairs turning towards the second group of skinks preparing to engage them. At this moment, Narenthra extended her hand towards the skinks and their souls were suddenly ripped from their bodies. While half of their numbers fell dead to the ground, the bolt thrower opened fire and a few kroxigors fell, each of them pierced by spear-sized bolts. Although their regiment was decimated, the lizardmen did not succumb to panic and charged the corsairs. However, the skinks were now too few to effectively serve as a living shield for their taller cousins and were quickly exterminated by the much more skilled elven fighters who were able then to engage the kroxigors directly. The towering lizardmen swung their immense clubs but their moves were slow compared to the speed and agility of the elves that were mostly able to avoid their attacks, only a handful of them falling to their weapons. Meanwhile the corsairs hacked at the creatures’ belly, less armoured than their backs, before retreating out of range. Quickly, the kroxigors fell, bleeding from dozens of wounds, their death heralding the victory of the druchii.
Following their victory, the druchii looted the temple of its treasures. As they were carrying their loot to their ships, Arithair was instructed to bring the skink wizard to Narenthra. When he entered her tent dragging the chained prisoner, the sorceress looked at him with a surprised look. Her lips then curved into a cold smile.
“Two additions for my ring” she said.
Incomprehension and fear raged for predominance within Arithair’s mind but he mastered himself.
“I do not understand” he said.
“You do not know? Tell me. Can you feel and see the winds of magic? Can you sense the casting of spells?”
Arithair thought about this and admitted to himself that he could always sense the presence and use of magic very clearly.
“Yes I can but we are elves. Are we not more tuned to sense magic?” he said.
“Yes but those with magic powers can feel them even more accurately. That is right. You have magic powers” she said obviously enjoying the look of shock and disbelief that showed on Arithair’s face.
“What does it mean?”
“It means that your life is forfeit. The practice of magic by male druchii is prohibited by order of the Witch King himself and as you have magic powers, that makes you unfit to live”
Without thinking Arithair drew his swords but Narenthra spoke a word and unbearable pain filled his body. He fell to his knees, moaning with pain.
“Now after many years of study and experiments, I have been able to make a ring that can absorb and store the souls of wizards and tap into these souls to increase the magic powers of its wearer. Now I will take your soul and lock into my ring. You should be pleased. Your otherwise meaningless life will serve a greater purpose.”
She then took a dagger seething with dark magic. Fighting against the pain, Arithair closed his hand firmly around the hilt of one of his swords. As the sorceress bent to slash his throat, he struck with all his strength, his blade striking her directly into the heart. At once, the pain faded and an icy dread came to the druchii.
“What have I done?” he thought.
If the other druchii found he had killed the sorceress, they would kill him even if he had killed her in self-defence. Looking around, he saw a book and piles of notes and picked them up. Seeing that it was a book dealing with dark magic and notes dealing with the magic of the ring, he browsed through them, a desperate idea taking shape in his mind. He then decided on a course of action. He knew that he needed not only to cover his murder of the sorceress but also take measures to prevent the discovery of his powers from happening again. Taking Narenthra’s ring, he slipped it on his finger before taking her dagger and stabbing the skink wizard. He then tried to seize his soul and smiled in awe as he managed to do it and lock it within the ring. He then spread oil everywhere in the tent before leaving it and throwing a flaming brand inside. The result was immediate, flames surging like living things and consuming the tent and the bodies inside in a matter of minutes. As the other druchii came to see what happened, he took a terrified composure and spoke.
“The skink wizard has committed suicide by unleashing his powers in a final explosion. I barely escaped with my life” he said.
“What about Narenthra?” asked someone.
“Is it not obvious?” said another, “She is dead, killed by the explosion.”
The following day, the druchii sailed back to Naggaroth.
The present.
Since that day, Arithair had studied dark magic with the help of the book. As this training was theoretical, it was quite slow but as he could only cast spells that could not be seen, it was not a problem. As his mastery of them had increased, he had used them to manipulate the crew of his ship into appointing him as captain. With the ability to manipulate minds, he could subtly force others into loyalty and submission. When the druchii had invaded Ulthuan more than a century earlier, he had led his crew in battle. They had killed many asur but when the main part of the druchii had been slain on the Finuval plain, the hunters had become the hunted as the asur counterattacked. As they were retreating, Arithair’s fateful duel with the asur noble had taken place. After having escaped the asur with the noble’s head and his banner, he had manage to secure a place on a ship about to leave. In Karond Kar, the highborn had been impressed by Arithair’s slaying of the asur noble and had appointed him captain of his private ship in reward. As soon as he had begun to serve Uriaeth, a plan had taken shape in Arithair’s head: to manipulate Uriaeth into marrying him to his daughter Natharia so that he could inherit the highborn’s wealth and household. He had not suggested this precise course of action to Uriaeth when casting manipulation spells on him. Trying to convince him to marry him to his daughter would have been too direct and would have attracted unwanted attention. Instead, he had planted the seeds of his plan into Uriaeth’s mind in an imperceptible but relentless way, like water slowing eroding a rock. He had told him that the best way to make sure his daughter was not married to one of his enemies was to elevate a loyal retainer to the rank of prince and have him marry Natharia. This way, he would have the best ally a highborn could hope to have. Following the marriage, he would have used his powers to kill Uriaeth and seize complete control of his household. However two people had appeared and become a threat to his plan. The first one was Karaskia. Now that she had signed her agreement with Uriaeth, the sorceress had become an omnipresent member of Uriaeth’s raiding expeditions and battle. Her presence represented a threat as there was the ever-present risk that she sensed him casting a spell and discovered the truth. Still, she was not the real obstacle to his plan, Durithir was. Having spent time with him, Arithair could see why Uriaeth had named him a retainer. He was clever, there was no denying that, but his young age, complete inexperience of politics and plotting, and justified terror of Uriaeth made him a perfect puppet for the latter. One thing that always gnawed at Arithair’s mind was that Uriaeth had perhaps named Durithir his retainer because of his own suggestions. Indeed, Durithir was only ten years older than Natharia and was extremely malleable. Perhaps Uriaeth intended to marry Natharia to Durithir and this was the reason why he had the youngster learn everything there was to be learned about being a noble. Arithair relaxed. No matter what was Uriaeth’s plan with Durithir, he would make sure they did not interfere with his own plan. After all, Uriaeth was not the only druchii that could be manipulated with magic.