Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Craken29 08-10-06, 07:46 AM	Hey! I play in the Gathering Storm and I write a story that was firstly started by Sterfan, the Dragon Keep Game Master. The Story itself is divided into 7 Chapters. I have written the first Chapter already. Just tell me what you think about it :P ! It is set in an old Library, of an ancient guild that was called the Dragon Shadow! Enjoy! The Dragon Keep Chapter 1, Reclaimed By Nature A Shadow invades the library, freezing everything it touches. The season's bitter invades the place, turning the book pages and blowing forgotten parchments on the floor. The Shadow has now completely invaded the place, unites to form a tall hooded man in front of the Librarian. After having spoken to the old lady, the Shade walks towards the rows of old parchment and books. He suddenly stops moving, turns towards the self, and searches for a book. The he touches a dark, hard covered book that was titled: The Dragon Shadow. He then holds it firmly in his hand, and pushes it towards the ground. Instead of the book falling down, it stayed on the self, but it was the self that moved. The self rotated around itself, save from lookers' eyes, leading to a staircase underneath it. And the Shade vanished. The staircase is pitch-black, and shadows seem to watch this Shade as he makes his way down. Before long a shadow form into a Dauthi Trapper, which moves to intercept the shade. "Of all things the shadows are the most watched here, what business do you have here?" The trapper asks in a wispy and half audible voice. And as he waits for a reply, the eyes of a few more Duathi can be seen within the shadows. The Shade, now encountered by the Dauthi Trappers, stopped, and replied to their leader. “I had once been the Dragon Shadow guild. I had collected many powers and could have claimed to be a Master easily, until I was betrayed by a certain foe. The guild then decided to exile me to a distant land. After my exile was done, I came back to this land, swearing to get my revenge. And now, I will kill every single being that took part in this guild. I will torture them, kill them and slay them!” As he said those last words, the Shade ran towards the leader, took hold of his head, and took out his dagger and slayed him. The Shade knew that there was no escape for him now. And so, he took out a round artifact and threw it on the floor. It exploded instantly, letting out thick and black fumes and the Shade vanished into the trap. Following the flash of light, the staircase stood truly empty, no trace of a shadow, no trace of the Shade. The duathi who escaped this bombardment travel further into the bowels of the keep, past the private dormitories and rooms of extremely potent and volatile spell books and tomes, to a former dwarven mine that had unearthed things the dwarves had barely survived. They pass the ancient guardians of the cave and through the mystical seals that kept only the most trusted of the Inner Circle out. Whispering to the assembled bodies there they dissipate back into the shadows when they are done. The man in the largest chair sits back and holds his temple in his palm. "Could this be the Master, while he claimed to be only a member of ours, he is in essence similar to the Master as he was, perhaps he is just confused." The perfect dialect makes itself visible long before the Dragon Mage does, "Or perhaps he is as he speaks, an old enemy of ours, transformed by his hate and his ordeals. The reckless murder of one of our dauthi allies, however, does mark him as one whom we should keep a careful watch over." On the floor above, everyone one went wild, running and screaming, after they heard the bombardments and the dauthi screaming for help, with only one vein connecting the head to the body into an open gap. Nobody understood what was happening or what happened but soon enough, they would.... The Shade was well hidden. He was in an old room, filled with parchments. There was no light, making it easier for him to hide. He waited in a corner, prowled on the floor. And then he came. The last dauthi, the only one that had survived. Quickly, the Shade lurked behind him. And before the dauthi had time to realize what was happening, his hearth laid on the floor. Now, the Shade new if it would only be him against the Guild Masters. The Shade walked towards the east side of the underground Library. There, he found a hatch. This hatch led to a staircase, leading downwards. The Shade then went down. He reappeared in the maze he once traveled through, the walls were lighten up by blazing candles and Shadows and Dauthis patrols could be heard, making it harder for him to pass unseen. As he had expected the Guild Masters had found out of his coming. In the form of the hooded man, the Shade proceeded deeper into the maze. But it wasn't the fact that the Guild Masters were alerted of his presence that frightened him, but the fact that he wasn’t the only unwanted visitor...and the most troubling thought was, were the Guild Masters trying to get him, or the other one? Up in the Library, everything had calmed down. The Librarian quickly reacted saying that it was a false alert. The agony of the Dauthi was not real. Of course, the shadows quickly game to execute him and consume the body. The Shade was in the middle of the maze when he heard a loud scream. Now he knew he had to act quickly! Quickly, he rushed through the maze, direct by the echo of the scream. And there he was....the man that was in the maze with him. He soon realized they weren't the only ones and understood why that man screamed. Then blankness... “...mhm.....mmmhhmmm.... .... ... [zc...zc....zc...zc..zc] ...ouch...” The Shade woke up slowly. His head pounding. He opened his eyes, one by one, and found himself in a small room. All around him was noise of some sort of machines. He lifted his hands ... to his surprise his hand didn’t lift up. He tried the other one but it was no use either. He was tied up to a lighten wall. Of course! Now he understood! He was locked up in the Triangular room. It consisted of 3 small rooms, making the shape of a triangle, but why was he locked in there? That were the 3 Masters had their conference. There was nothing he could do, he was stuck for good. The door suddenly exploded, nearly cutting off his left hand and he was punched unconscious. He woke up a while later, free to move. He brought his hands to his head but something was changed, he was unmasked. His long, blonde hair swayed freely. He could have been mistaken by an elf, but his pitched black eyes gave him away that he wasn’t an elf or a human. In the shadows lurked a man. He looked ... he looked... just like him! How was that possible? He was the exact same copy as him, a clone, apart from his dead look. Now he understood. 20 years ago, the Shade was sent to exile. But he what was in front him proved him wrong. Was he ever sent to exile? He was sent through a portal called the Debtors's Knell. There, everything seemed dead. The time didn’t flow and he didn’t get any older. Once his 20 years off exile was gone, he had gained horrible powers. He brought death to anything he touched with his hands and brought in chilling air. Of course, the portal sent him far away from the Dragon Keep hallway. His molecules must have double, creating a more dangerous him. But was he really sent for an exile? Or was it a scientific experiment? A trick they played on him? What ever the reason was, the Shade knew there was no turning back! He walked outside the room, with his new ally forward. But then the Shade stopped and turned around when he heard the same screams as before. He ran towards the third room. Was he hallucinating? How can two people have the same scream? His clone told him not to go, that they didn’t have time and if he opened that door, their future would never be the same. But it was too late, the he had already opened the door. The Shade opened the third door only to discover a woman tied up to the wall. Why and how did she get in such situation? But The Shade couldn't answer that question now. The Shade decided to untie Once she was untied, he escorted her towards the door. On the back of her small shirt was graved Opal. Once out side, the group noticed a Dragon Whelp emerged from the center, where there was a gap. It was time to move fast now. The three fugitives walked towards cell N 1, where they climbed a ladder that lead to the second level. They continued their way up until they were back in the Maze. But luck had changed side, the Masters knew that they escaped and the Duathis and Shadows would never let them go easily. The Shade threw a smoke bomb, killing a few of the closed Dauthis and decided to back off. The explosion broke a wall, leading to three different passes. It didn't matter which one led to the exit, but rather which one was the safest. Opal leaded the dance, choosing the central one. After a couple of minutes of running, the group halted at a dead end. The dead end consisted of a cliff. If you would fall from it, you would have fallen in a basin of water, which was of course 600 meters down. The shadows and Dauthi were now closer. Opal pressed on the middle button of her mechanical box, creating a sword in her right hand. Even if that was a hollow gram, it could still kill a couple of Dauthis. The Shade was un-armed and fought with his fist. It didn't really work but it easy the best he could do. The foes than froze and backed off. The Clone stood in front, pointing his arch towards Opal. "YOU!" shouted the Shade, "It was Opal that had screamed for help in the Maze, not you. You were kidnapping her and I fell into your trap. You shall die for what you have done!" "Oh, should I?" replied the foe. Once his sentence finished, he fire at Opal. The arrow was aimed on her chest, pushed her away from the cliff with a concentrated power. Opal fell straight down as a falling star would have done. “I told you not to free her; it would have been so easy if she never had been involved. Of course, she would have died one day, but it would have saved you a lot of time!" said his foe as his eyes were following Opal descent. The Shade move backwards, with his back to the end of the cliff. He took a long breath and dived backwards, reaching for the basin. "Fool!" cried the Clone as the Shade's splash was heard. “Get hold of the bodies" he commanded as he walked away... The metallic armor on Opal's waist had saved her from being wounded, but the first collision between the water and her head had knocked her out. She was now as good as dead. The Shade had jumped down the cliff to try to save Opal, but he was too late. He had survived the shock but had last Opal. As he opened his eyes, he saw a terrifying sight. All that he once new where drowned in here. The monuments, books, decorations and friends all lied in there. How deep the water was one of those questions nobody could answer. His powers couldn't work in the water so it was no good to try. He caught sight of Opal, a couple of meters below. He swam back to the surface to take a large mouthful of air, and nose-dived back in.... The Shade had found a little beach, if you could call it that. He laid Opal down on the cemented sand and waited for her to wake up. He then heard noises coming his way. He, They, had to run quickly, no time to waist. They had survived the first time, but this wont insure them that they would win again. The Shade carried the body and started moving in the other direction. Once save from the sound in a dark alley, the Shade laid the body down. He slapped her once, and that was enough to wake her up. They both walked slowly at first, but then started hurrying up as the sounds of footsteps came closer. They brutally halted behind of two black knights. They took a heavy stone each, and knocked them out, hitting the high part of the back bone. The Shade took the two swords left behind by the knights and slayed them bought. He then passed one to Opal. They both had a weapon now but that wouldn't be enough. This could only let them survive another two hours. They took their fast pace again. Neither knew where they were going but they both knew that there was no way back. The sounds where heard again, but this time they were closer. The Shade remembered those footsteps, and their owners weren't just Dauthis and Shadows... The two fugitives knew that there was no time to waist. They were followed by many trackers, 30 to 40 of them, maybe more or maybe less, to the sound of the footsteps. Opal lead the dance, followed by the Shade. The walls were built out of hard and stiff stones, and the path could be distinguished by the red and yellow flames that burnt on both sides. They had arrived at a dead end; they quickly ran back on their footsteps and took entered the right hall. They both continued running, and then took left. This path lead them to another cliff, but this time, a bridge connected it to an opening on the side of a higher cliff. They crossed to the other side and found themselves in a mining cave. A stair case lead up, while another one lead down. “We should go up, but we won’t! As fugitives, we should go up, towards the surface. And we are the fugitives. The staircase should now be tightly guarded, letting us no way to escape. But if we go down, we have a better chance to escape.” reasoned Opal. The two fugitives descended the stairs. After a couple of floors, they reached the foot of the cliff. It was another basin of water, but wasn’t as deep as the other one. The dark water reached up to there neck. They both decided to walk towards a monument. They couldn’t tell what it was, but they both knew they had to move. The footsteps could be heard now. How could that be possible!? They were descending! How did they know they were going down!? The Shade and Opal started to rush, walking faster and faster in the dark and hard water. They had to reach that tower. The Shade looked back. They were in the basin. He could only hope that the tower wasn’t another trap. *** They were now in the tower, climbing the spiral staircase. Their enemies were closer now. The monument was a citadel, were the windows showed the view of the swamp they had walked through. The climb took ages for the Shade, 40 to 50 floors maybe, well it certainly felt that way! Once at the top, Opal and the Shade screamed in horror, it was a dead end! “That can’t be possible! After all we did!” screamed Opal. Their enemies were now just below them. The Shade took out the long sword. A Dauthi came first, and died first. The head was detached from the body, bouncing on his team mates, ejecting them from the staircase. The Shade took a quick peek down the stairs, and it didn’t sound good. There most have been 100 Dauthis; 50 Shadows; a couple of dozen of black knights, but that wasn’t all! There was an intruder…Circu! One of the many Masters… He was known for the respect the soldiers gave towards him. He wasn’t the strongest of the Masters, but him and his men were! And his men were there also, lurking behind him, ready to sacrifice themselves to save Circu. After a brief pause, the Shade continued his fight. Opal was hided by the darkness of the sky, until… “I FOUND A TRAP,” she yelled to the Shade “****! It’s locked! No way to open it!” The Shade backed up, “There is always a way!” He rushed towards Opal and took hold of her. He took out his grenade munitions and threw them towards his enemies. “Opal, I need you to propulse us towards the trap. At 3! 1…2…3! NOW!!!” instantly, the grenades exploded and Opal’s boots bursted up, the grenades exploded the citadel with it. They were both safe in the air, reaching the surface. The Shade looked down, only to see the citadel in flames and Circu burning with it. They did it, they had escaped. They landed on hot sand. Everything around them looked silent and still. Still holding to each other, the Shade enveloped Opal. Such as a Hollywoodian movie contain, they both kissed. They kissed slowly at first, then wildly. An arrow hit them both, first the Shade, then Opal, trespassing them, mixing their blood. And they turned into stone. The owner of the arrow put down his bow and grinned “Time to collect my prey!” and the Shade vanished . . . End Of Chapter 1, Reclaimed By Nature So, what did you think about the first chapter? Here is the prologue of the second chapter, Icing of The Heart! Now caged in Winter's bitter chill, Our people cry, their voices shrill— Eternal cold breaks down their will. Who will stay the Tyrant's hand, As ice and woe both grip our land? The helpless feel his frozen brand Our noble land, enslaved by Rime Is it our fate to freeze through time? If this be true, oh wicked crime. Our land oppressed by silent Cold, We weary wretches, young and old, Pray that Springtime loose his hold. A realm once green now ruled by Frost, Where flesh and field both pay its cost. Those dearly loved, forever lost . . . --The Dynasty of Winter Kings http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/74/icingxs5.png [B]Is it all just Illusions? Always look twice! Recognise any one from the picture??
Rny2 08-12-06, 11:43 AM	2 of them are Ertai, I don't know the others. Take a look at the 'Once upon a time' boards, the folk may be more receptive there. http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=344
Craken29 08-12-06, 12:01 PM	Okay, thnxs!