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| Author | The tale of a (un)dead man |
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This is my first attempt at writing a LWM fan-fic,so please do constructive criticism :)
The chronology is after "The Chronicles of Skunder" and before the civil war.
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https://www.lordswm.com/forum_messages.php?tid=199990 | Chapter 1: The tale of a (un)dead man
“You scumbag. You have no honor and yet you dare challenge me. I will show you my wrath. You won’t get away with it.” screamed Lavel as he charged towards Mar’C, a necromancer. Fighting exhaustion, he charged at Mar’C’s back and slashed his sword at him. As soon as the sword touched Mar’C the phantom disappeared and it was too late before he realized he was tricked.”You say you have honor and yet you strike at your enemy’s back, you are the scumbag.You shall be punished”, said Mar’C as he came behind him and he started chanting a spell,
“E’phorias Dale.”
The knight felt something push him hard to the ground; he tried to resist it but he couldn’t. As it pushed harder, he felt his bones creak and his ribs break and soon he dropped down to the ground.dead.Mar’C sighed, “What a pity”.
“Aurexia”. The body of the knight began to dissolve into thin air and his spirit was being absorbed into Mar’C staff.
Mar’C was himself a knight once a few millennia ago. Coincidentally, he was also killed in fight by a necromancer of the name Shi’Rick, and was raised again as an undead to serve him. After serving him for over 200 years, he broke free from his clutches and ran away. After running for a long time, he eventually confronted Shi’Rick in the serene forests in the hills and in the battle that ensued, he killed him. It is said that whoever kills an undead will gain power but eventually be devoid of humanity, which is why the undead are known as the eternals. Those who were valiant enough to face them would one day themselves turn into what they hunted. Prior to that, Mar’C gained unimaginable power from Shi’Rick and his staff, Ri’efals but by doing so, he lost the last thread of humanity which was hanging onto him. Though he could have commanded Shi’Rick vast army he decided to free them from the shackles of the bond which made them to obey the necromancer. All he wanted was revenge from Shi’Rick for turning him into such a monstrosity and he had got it. He would then carry out on his adventure in the woods, surviving and fighting anyone who would threaten him.
Mar’C picked up a stone and threw it in the air.”Siefralsh”, he said and the stone burst into a beam of light and turned into a portal. As Mar’C stepped through it, he reached his castle. Unlike other “necros” (as referred to by the general public), who would occupy abandoned mansions and made them their castles, he instead lived in the ruins of El’atrazhoul, the ancient city of the Dark elves during the Great Demonic Invasion. Mar’C found solace in these ruins, and the dark energies which still corrupted the place would fuel his power.
When he was in his castle resting, he would ponder for hours about his life or “afterlife” .Despite being completely undead, he had what can be said a ‘remnant’ of humanity in his mind-An image of his wife, whom he loved more than himself. For 2000 years, it had struck with him; perhaps it was this image that was keeping him sane. But it has been long time since then and the image had gone. Now, he was cunning, manipulating creature ready to kill anyone and satisfy his needs.
He analyzed the orb in his hand; it was small but glowing and dark as in not its color but its nature. Lavel was guarding this orb and Mar’C wanted to get it at all costs; when Lavel did not agree, he killed him. It was that simple for Mar’C now.
===
Meanwhile, in the depths of the caverns of El’atrazhoul…
“He is late again”, uttered Shefrill.
“I know” replied Gilnear.They were waiting for Mar’C.
“Forgive me for being late, I was caught up in some work” said Mar’C as he reached the group.
“What work?” questioned Hilfenhaus.
“This” Mar’C said as he displayed the orb to the four.
“Ah…Back to business. Is this the location?” asked Hefretik.
“Yes”.
Mar’C had met this band of Dark Elves a few weeks back. They had come to the ruins of El’atrazhoul to research on those ruins. They found him or more | They found him or more so, he had found them, for his own agenda. Unsuspectingly the dark elves helped him as he promised them of ancient ruins which would open door to ‘wonderful’ magic.The orb which Mar’C got from Lavel was a compass of sorts, it pointed towards a power hidden deep in the ancient ruins of El’atrazhoul.
The five started moving through the ruins one after another to find the source. After walking several miles and searching hundreds of ruins, they came at a partition. One way lead to a series of caves, tunnels which would cause more and more confusion. The other way was a bridge above a bottomless pit. They decided to split up just in case they don’t miss anything. Hilfenhaus and Shefrill decided to go through the caves, while the rest chose the bridge.
At the bridge…
“This looks ominous”, Gilnear commented on seeing the pit below.
“When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you”, Mar’C muttered as he moved.
“What?” asked Hefretik, cautiously minding his steps.
“Nothing…just be careful”. Mar’C was never affected by fear or pain. People said it was his arrogance(when he was human)which didn’t let him feel it and which made him fight Shi’Rick, and now being an undead he still was fearless, literally.
”Noooo!” a scream resonated through the ruins. It echoed multiple times, and when it reached Mar’C it had reverberated throughout the caverns.
“Wha…did that sound like Hilfenhaus?” Hefretik asked in shock turning towards Gilnear.
“I...I...don’t know. We must go there at once.”The three rushed there at once.
The three bumped into Shefrill, who looked as if he had been tortured for hundreds of years. His clothes were torn; his face mask missing and he had a huge cut in his abdomen.
“Who did this to you? What happened to Hilfenhaus? Where is he?”
“It was Mar’C...” Shefrill uttered as he passed out.
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https://www.lordswm.com/forum_messages.php?tid=1999903 | Gilnear turned towards Mar’C and charged at him with his staff, but his staff went through him. He saw the real Mar’C come forward as his phantom melted into air.
“You backstabbing, bloody b...” his speech was cut short by a spear protruding from his chest. He turned in pain, holding the spear only to see Hefretik, whose eyes were red and hands full of blood. Gilnear stood in shock and despair.
“Don’t blame him; it was I who made him kill you. The complexity of darkness magic when fully understood can destroy armies from within” Mar’C explained Hefretik’s action to the dying Gilnear.Gilnear fell with a thud to the ground.
Mar’C moved towards Hefretik and whispered something to his ear.As he turned, he heard a scream followed by a thud.
“Aurexia”, he chanted and the souls went inside his staff.
As he moved over Shefrill, he realized that he was still alive. “
“Hmm...I think I might still need you.”Mar’C said and started dragging Shefrill to a cave.
A few minutes later…
*Breathing slowly*, Shefrill woke up in a cave which was darker than all the other caves. He found his hands and legs were bound. Standing in front of him was Mar’C, chanting some spells and holding the orb in his hand.
“Ah...I see you have regained consciousness” Mar’C said as he turned towards Shefrill.
“Why the hell did you kill them? What happened to Hilfenhaus? Why did he attack me?” Shefrill screamed at Mar’C ignoring the blood dripping from his mouth.
“This is a dark-elven city, so why would I need dark elves? This orb here” he said, holding the orb in his hand “is useless without a dark-elven presence for it to work. I was worried that I may not find any of you vermin, and then you guys come and made my life...uh afterlife easy. As for why your friend attacked you, he was under my control.So...any last wishes?”Mar’C said unperturbed of killing anyone.
Shefrill suddenly started laughing hysterically. Mar’C at first thought it was due to fear, which makes many go insane in the final moments of their life, but as his laugh continued, Mar’C’s frustration increased.
“What is so funny? What are you laughing at?”Mar’C asked seizing Shefrill by his tunic.
“You needed Dark elves and you found them easily, don’t you find something wrong with that?”Shefrill taunted Mar’C.
“What? What do you mean?” Mar’C asked in panic, becoming the laughing stock of the Dark Elf.
The Dark Elf suddenly froze, blood dripped from his eyes and nose, he laughed and said “He is here…Master will be happy to meet you” As he spoke these last words...his body hardened like stone and burst like ice.
Mar’C stood up in shock. Suddenly he felt a cold breeze through the caves. He turned only to discover an apparition standing in front of him.
Mar’C asked “Who...What are you? How did you come here?” He couldn’t understand how a simple apparition could be the master of some dark elves.
The apparition in its full voice, “I am the King of Kings; Ruler of Rulers; the first Dark Elf; the first Necromancer, I am Shi’Rick, the Deadliest of Stars, The Death Star”, he proclaimed.
Mar’C stood perplexed, not able to comprehend how the necromancer he killed many centuries ago, has come again to hunt him down. “When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you” He recollected what he said earlier, only he never thought in his wildest dreams, that the abyss would come to look at him.
“But you…you died, I killed you” Mar’C recollected his memories and how he tricked Shi’Rick into a cave where he killed him.
After you killed me, some of my loya liches were able to salvage me into this form,” he said pointing to his incorporeal body, “I had my many warriors looking for you for ages and at last I found you” he smiled.
“But, why are the dark elves calling you their master?”
“And why not? I am the first of the elves to embrace this dark art and I made myself a necromancer to attain immortality. The northern wizards learnt about dark magic and f | “And why not? I am the first of the elves to embrace this dark art and I made myself a necromancer to attain immortality. The northern wizards learnt about dark magic and frowned upon it, while the Eastern Wizards embraced this art, and helped me become a necromancer like them.”
“So you send these Dark Elves to their death to find me?”Mar’C asked getting a grip of things.
“Ha-ha…Do not worry, son. I had been waiting for this for long and now that you have found what I wanted, you may take rest.”
“What? What did you want?”
“Open your mouth,my dear dog.”Shi'Rick frowned.
“Aaaaaah”,a scream shook the cave. | Remember to post feedback here :
https://www.lordswm.com/forum_messages.php?tid=1999903 | Chapter 2 : The tale of a sad man
“Make way for the Ruler of Rulers, the East Wind, the Hand of Justice, the King of the hills, the first of the sons of the united realms, the Emperor”, the guard announced in his grandest voice. All heads turned to face the entrance, where the figure of a man appeared. Soon, they could see him. The ladies rushed to a catch a glimpse of him and the lords bowed their heads in respect. It was the Emperor's birth anniversary.
A grand feast was organized by the richest clans in the Empire, attended by the elite of the elite, no expenses spared. The Emperor's smile was enough to show that he was pleased. He wasn't as of late. There was some unrest brewing in the lands and he could feel it. Though he couldn't use magic as effectively as his mother did, he could connect with the nature and the elements. He knew something was wrong. What was even more worse was he couldn't find it, and this had been eating him up for days.
Between the festivities, a knight approached the Emperor and knelt before him. The Emperor turned to see Sir Edward, his bannerman and his most trusted of friends.
“What is it?”, inquired the Emperor as he noticed Edward sweating profusely, his hauberk not much helping the cause.
“It's Lavel, milord. He's dead”, Edward replied as soon as he caught his breath.
“..but how? Wha..who killed him? Where is the Orb?”, The Emperor stammered as his mind was still trying to comprehend the shocking news. Lavel, the best ranger in all of North, the safekeeper as people called him, his beloved friend. Dead. He was sad but he couldn't grieve, for there were far more pressing matters at hand.
“The Orb is gone, milord”,came the reply.
The Orb. The Orb of El’atrazhoul. The Dark Orb. One of the original Dark Artifacts. Dark magic so pure that many of the Dark Elven sects themselves repulsed it. The Orb had gone into obscurity, forgotten like the Dark Elves, like the war. But, recent expeditions in the nearby caverns and dungeons(hidden deep underground in the valley of the Silent Hills), carried out on the orders of High Wizard, Mercuri had discovered the object.
Uncertain of what to do with it, Lavel, the leader of the expedition had kept the object to himself for safekeeping before returning it to the Court, alas his plans were cut short by his untimely death.
“Prepare his body for I will do his last rites”, said the Emperor. Edward could almost notice the crack in the Emperor's voice.
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