Grodak
"What do you mean?" Grodak asked, a hint of a snare in his voice. Grodak had been feeling like Grall was hiding something, something important, from him and he did not like it.
"I mean," Grall spoke in a calm and collected voice, "even a young God, like myself, needs to train."
There it was. The secret Grall had been hiding from him. But, for how long has he been sitting on this?
Grodak, out of anger, swung his fist and connected with Gralls chin. Grall, however, did not turn his head or flinch from the hit. Grodak stared in astonishment, the little brother he once pushed around and even harmed. The same brother who had difficulty with a weakened demon and needed his help to keep it in check, now was stronger then him.
"Brother," Grall began, his voice as calm as ever before, "why do you try to hurt me so? All I have done is help you. Is that cause to inflict wounds on me?"
"Gr-Grall," Grodak stumbled over his words, his fear from before now taking hold, "I-I didn't mean anything by-"
"I know you didn't, brother." Grall said, his words likes ice on Grodaks hot temper and flames for Grodaks fear. "If you cannot bring yourself to trust me enough to accept my help, then I shall wish you luck in your endeavors."
With those words, Grall vanished, no doubt returning to the Shadow World to continue his training with whomever his teacher was. Grodak stood in his forge in silence for a few minutes, forcing the bile that had built up in the back of his throat to go down. Other then Cassandra, Grall was the first person to ever make him feel like he was nothing in front of him.
Once Grodak calmed his nerves and pushed the bile back down, he left his forge and wondered to the thrown room. He allowed himself to collapse onto the seat of the thrown and just sat there, wondering why he had always treated Grall as he had back there. As his mind wondered, so did his fingers, feeling all the crevices of the throwns armrest, until he felt a piece sink inwards.
Curious, Grodak stood up from the thrown and leaned down to take a look at the piece. It appeared to be a button of some kind and when pressed, the floor behind the thrown slid open.
"What do we have here?" Grodak asked no one in particular as he walked over to the opening, peering in to find a white hound hooked up to a machine. "What in the blazes is this contraption, Tyril?"
"Its a cloning machine." A voice spoke behind Grodak causing him to turn swiftly on his heels. There, standing in the doorway, was Tyril. He appeared to be exhausted and held one of his sides as if in pain.
"A what?" Grodak asked, he knew full well that if he had rushed to Tyrils side, he would just be pushed away.
"A cloning device." Tyril enunciated his words as if it was a simple device that anyone could, and should, understand. "Its a device that was crafted by the Casarns many years ago, before the second war of races. They used it to create artificial souls that they could use to sustain theirselves with."
Grodak looked at the device in disgust, he could not believe that such a device was created. "Why is it in my castle, then?" Grodak shouted, the fear from before now felt like a distant memory.
"Your castle?" Tyril asked, such venom in his words that Grodak had to stop himself from bolting out of the room. "I do believe this is my castle, I have yet to name a successor. You would be wise to remember that, Grodak."
Grodak felt the same fear he did from Grall over take him. Tyril, even in his weakened state, was a force to be reckoned with.
"At the very least, Grall fully understood that and never questioned me when I asked for something to be done." Tyrils voice calmed a bit as he slouched against the wall. "Anyways, I reperposed the machine to clone animals, but only those that have been turned into wraiths."
"Why did you do that?" Grodak asked, the bile that had risen to the back of his throat now pushed back.
"At first," Tyril began, "it was to created food for the citizens during a drought, that was more then sixty years ago." Tyril grunted as he pushed his body off the wall and stumbled forward, his white hair falling to cover his eyes. As he reached the hound that stood perfectly still, almost motionless save for its panting, he reached a shaking hand out and patted the hound on the top of its head. "Now, I just use it to test warriors."
"Why hounds, though?" Grodak asked, his eyes followed Tyril as he pet the hound lovingly.
"Simple, Grodak." Tyril said as he looked up into Grodaks eyes. "A warrior will stay and fight, but a coward will run."
Jaxale
"I don't think we are in Kansas anymore, Dronde." Jaxale said, he hadn't a clue where he had heard that saying before, but it felt fitting for this situation.
Dronde nuzzled Jaxales cheek then pointed his head towards a sign. Jaxale looked at the sign and read the words aloud.
"Welcome to Whitewater, home of the races." Jaxale looked to Dronde confused. "What does 'home to the races' mean?"
Dronde just stared back at Jaxale as if to say the obvious, that Jaxale knew as much as Dronde did.
"Right." Jaxale said feeling stupid. "Then I say, lets go there and see if there is an adventurers league, we are starting to run short of coins after all."
Dronde snorted his approval and they began to head to this Whitewater. As they walked, Jaxale kept talking to Dronde about this new Whitewater.
"Do you think this Whitewater will also be ruled by that king, what was his name, Tyril?" Dronde snorted an affirmative as they walked.
As they reached the city's first check point, an orc stops them. "Who goes there." He said in a guttural voice that sounded like he was gurgling marbles.
"Hi," Jaxale said as he waved to the orc, "I'm Jaxale and this is Dronde. We are looking for-"
"I don't care what you are looking for. No one is allowed to pass without identification. So," the orc said as he looked down his ugly green nose at Jaxale, "do you have identification?"
"No, but-" jaxale stopped as the orc began to cackle, or maybe it was supposed to be laughter. Jaxale couldn't tell.
"If you have no identification, then get lost, or," the orc lifted his spear as he spoke, "I'll run you through."
"Can I talk to whoever gives out these 'identifications' so that I can get one?" Jaxale asked, unfazed by the orcs threats.
The orc smiled, a sick sadistic smile, as he readied himself to throw his spear. To Jaxales relief, an elf stepped in and stopped the orc. They spoke for a moment in hushed tones, to quiet for Jaxale and Dronde to hear.
The elf then turned to Jaxale as the orc walked away, cussing profusely. "I see that you are a warrior, am I correct?" The elf asked, his voice as sweet as honey as his brown short hair blew in the wind.
"That is correct," Jaxale said, his voice low and cautious, "but why-"
"Excellent!" The elf proclaimed, his eyes darting between Jaxale and Dronde. "The king will be pleased to hear that. We have been needing more riders as of late and I think the king will personally offer you a spot in town."
Jaxale thought this over for a moment before answering. "Ok." He said, excitement in his voice. "Take us to see the king."
Imp
Imp stepped foot onto the fifth alter, this was the final one. The last three had him sacrifice both his legs and replaced them, along with his left arm, with golem parts. Exhaustion was close at hand and he knew not what this alter would ask him to sacrifice.
As he stood at the alter, a voice spoke behind him. "Are you ready, master?" Cera asked, her voice coming across as child like.
"Yes." Imp said, his voice weak from the fatigue he felt.
"Then," Cera spoke, her child like voice echoing in the small chambers that they stood in, "place all augments on the lit patterns and repeat after me."
Imp did as told, all of the towers had some strange test that he had to overcome. The first one was enemies that had been planted there ages ago, the second one required him to face Malik, the third had him show his kindness, the fourth tested his knowledge, and this one.... Imp had yet to find out, but every tower rewarded his success with pain.
Cera, the guardian of this tower, spoke words of magic and Imp copied every word, clinging onto every syllable. Imp did not speak until he knew he could pronounce the words correctly. As the last of the words left Imps lips, a strange surge of power flowed into his body, causing him to shake and jerk at random.
Moments passed as the power continued to course through his veins, until, abruptly, it ended. The power, however, did not leave his body. Instead, the power became one with him.
"We are finished, master." Cera said as she took a bowing position. "Master of the towers."
Grall
Grall had not expected Grodak to take him up on his offer, but he wanted to extend the offer anyways. No matter how much abuse Grodak put Grall through, they were still brothers who were fighting for the same thing.
Grall shook his head, a bruise forming along his lower jawline from Grodaks punch. It stung, but only for a short moment before the Shadow World healed him.
"Wreag," Grall spoke low, knowing to well that no matter where he was, wreag would hear him, "I would like to continue my training now."
Wreag stepped out of the shadows and approached Grall shaking his head. "I have nothing else to teach you." Wreag said, a hint of sorrow laced in his voice. "You have learned all I can teach, the rest is up to you."
Grall let out a sigh, he had feared this might happen and dreaded the day it would come. It was official, Grall is now on his own with no one to help him when he needs it.
Grall nodded his head in understanding, then sat where he stood and began to meditate. Once his mind was cleared, he started searching his abilities, slowly checking each one to see what he could, or will, be able to do.
Cassandra
Cassandra walked into the outskirts of the city, easily finding Sakurako and Malik standing in a field waiting for her.
"Sorry I'm late," Cass said as she approached them, "Grodak stopped me to talk and I didn't want to elude to the truth that you, Malik, was in the castle."
"It matters little, my daughter," Malik spoke with a soft, almost fatherly, voice that sent chills up Cassandra's spine, "as long as you are here."
"Stop that." Cassandra said, her voice was so cold that Sakurako found herself, instinctively, hiding behind Maliks specter. "You weren't a father to me when you were alive, so dont try to be one when you are dead."
Malik, who had seemed to be unfazed by Cassandra's words, stared at her blankly. "When I first found out about your existence, I was not of the right mind." Malik spoke softly but firmly, letting Cassandra know that even if she is his daughter, or maybe especially because she is, he was not to be disrespected. "If I had known of your birth before, I would have-"
"Would have what?" Cassandra shouted, her anger was almost palpable as she stared daggers at Malik. "Saved my mother and I from the abuse we suffered for years? Or maybe killed the bastards that forced theirselves onto me?" Cassandra could not calm herself now, memories of the past flooded forth bringing with it the taste of bile.
Malik remained silent and let Cassandra yell, he knew he deserved it. Cassandra had went through a lot and he was off, becoming drunk off of his new found powers when he should have been there, shielding her from the vile hands of those who wanted to hurt her. He should have been there for both of his children.
"I am sorry, Cassandra, my darling daughter." Malik said, his voice sounding weak with emotions that he had never thought he would feel again. "I should've been there, but I wasn't, and if I could, I would return to the time I had become drunk off my powers and fix the mistakes I made, but, alas, that is not possible." As Malik finished his sentence, he unsheathed his sword and held it out to Cassandra. "Even if I cannot fix my mistakes, I can at least pass down my sword to you."
Grodak
Grodak sat on the throne once more, thinking about what Tyril had said. He knew, of course, Tyril was right about everything and maybe his hatred towards his brother was just due to his jealousy that Grall was a better leader then him. Grodak didnt ponder this thought for long as an elven guard entered the throne room announcing that a Dasari wanted to join the Whitewater military.
Intrigued, Grodak signaled for the Dasari to be let in. As the man stepped into his throne room, Grodak had to bite back his laughter. The man that stood before him was no Dasari, but a full blooded Pyroniam. Many of those who lived on Xeno-Movia made the mistake of confusing the two races, but it was easy for Grodak to tell the difference between them.
"So you are a Pyroniam." Grodak spoke with amusement in his voice.
"Actually," Jaxale said, "I'm a Dasari."
Grodak lifted an eyebrow in wonder, did this creature not know the difference between the two races? Grodak bit back more laughter as the thought crossed his mind.
"Let me ask you," Grodak spoke loudly, the amusement in his voice reaching new heights, "what is the difference between a Dasari and a Pyroniam?"
"Thats easy." Jaxale said, his voice sounding very annoyed. "A Dasari is born with a dragon and thus their souls are forever bound, upon first being born they look like a human only to lqter grow scales to match their dragon counterpart. The Pyroniam just look like lizardmen from the time they are born till they die."
Grodak sat in his throne, listening to everything the Pyroniam had to say until the end. "You have it backwards," Grodak spoke in a calm collected voice, "its the Pyroniams that are born with dragons and the Dasari who are, as you said, lizardmen."
Jaxale stopped for a moment and began to think on this, if what this orc said is true then that means the names have been swapped, which didn't bother Jaxale really, just made him feel stupid. "Yes," Jaxale said, feigning ignorance, "you appear to be right. I have been called both so many times that even I confuse them."
Grodaks smile widened, he hadnt had this much fun since before Grall had been banished from the scar. "Will," Grodak said as he pressed the button on his armrest, an audible click coming from behind the throne, "I hope you can amuse me this much while you take the test."
Three hounds came out of the opening behind Grodaks throne and approached Jaxale. Jaxale gave a wry smile as he turned to Dronde.
"Turn their fur into spikes, Dronde!" Jaxale shouted, pointing to the hounds as they approached.
Dronde let loose a breath of lightning that zigzaged through the hounds, killing them. Grodak smiled, pleased with the results.
Fluffles
Fluffles rode into the courtyard, exhausted from his battles and looking forward to a night of rest in his bed. As he dismounted his steed, an elf by the name of Alero came running out to greet him.
"Commander," Alero said as he took the reins out of fluffles hands, "did you hear?"
"Yes," Fluffles said as he started to head for the entrance to the spy tower, "I heard about how lady Xierma defeated another of the council in combat. When will those bastards learn to stop disrespecting her?"
"No," Alero said as he hurriedly handed the stable hand the reins and ran after fluffles, "I mean, yes that happened but, did you hear that king Grodak is back?"
Fluffles paused in his steps, he had no love for Grodak but the very thought of Grodak returning meant that his master, Grall, might have returned as well. Fluffled turned on Alero, his eyes showing energy that had long left him due to Gralls absence.
"Tell me," Fluffles demanded, "was Grall among them? Is he here right now? Is there any word of him?"
Alero backed away from Fluffles, frightened, he had only seen Fluffles like this when he is in a half starved state, and, being a vampire, meant he was wanting blood. Fluffles realized what he was doing and straightened himself, apologizing to Alero.
"I do not know of anyone by the name of Grall, commander." Alero said as he calmed down, his fear shoved aside to answer Fluffles questions.
Fluffles sighed, he knew that no one except for those who were apart of the spy tower during Gralls command would know of him. After all, once he left Fluffles made it his mission to hide all traces of his master and ordered for those who served the spy tower to remain quiet.
"Its fine, Alero." Fluffles said as he saw the worried look on the young elfs face. "Take me to Xierma, she and I have much to discuss."
Imp
"Master," Dorothy, Imps most trusted companion, spoke in a low tone, "is this wise? I mean, the Dasari and Pyroniams do not get along and if you-"
"I know, Dorothy," Imp replied, his tone mildly annoyed at the reminder, "but I am of both races and cannot in good conscience create a city for one and not the other."
These two races had once been powerful in their own rights. It was said that if the war of races had never happened, these two races would be the leaders of the world. Sadly, as a lot of things go, no one may ever know if they could've. Much like the dragons of old, after the defeat of the Casarn, the two races barely had enough men to wage war on a small village, let alone control the world.
"This is true," Dorothy said, her mechanical voice crackling with pain, "but, can't you just create two towns?"
"If I did that," Imp replied, "they would both just start building up forces to fight each other. If I create one town that invites both races to live, they will soon start getting along. I will govern them and make sure of it."
Dorothy looked as if there were more she wanted to say but she kept quiet. Dorothy bowed her mechanical head in defeat and started on another project she had in the works. A crashing sound reverberated off the walls behind her causing her to spin around and look look at Stromp, another sentient mechanical being.
Imp turned around as will to stare at Stromp in frustration. "Stromp." Imp said, his voice laced with intense anger as he took in the tools that Stromp had dropped onto the ground.
"I... I'm sorry, master." Stromp said, forcing his slurred speech to come out some what coherent. "I waz jest getting the-" Stomp stopped mid-sentence as a buzzing sound that resembled the crackling of electricity reverberate through his body.
"Stromp!" Dorothy shouted in worry as she rushed to his side.
Imp let out a sigh, placing his forefinger and thumb to his forehead. This is gonna be a lot of work. Imp thought cooley as he walked over to Stromp. This wasn't the first time Stromp had "fizzed" as he liked to call it. Stromp had a habit of "fizzling" whenever he felt any emotions what so ever.
As Imp approached Stromp, a loud roar could be heard from outside the tower walls. A faint smile spread across Imps scaled features as he looked to the window, a gray scaled dragon flew past.
Grall
After spending thousands of years in the Shadow World, equivalent to a day in the material plane, Grall felt that he had finally mastered everything he could with his Godly powers and decided to peer through the planes to see how the party was doing.
Imp sat at a table in one of his five towers, reading up on a book that was obviously pertaining to the towers theirselves. Adrian was running around town flirting with every woman he came across. Grodak was arguing with the councel over the budget again.
Cassandra and Sakurako were standing in a forest talking. Grall lingered on the image of Cass and Sakurako, something about it made him feel uneasy. As Grall watched, a creature, dressed in black, jumped down on Cassandra, stabbing her in the back.
Grall jumped up, quickly opened a portal to their location and walked through. First thing Grall heard was Sakurakos crystal of anguish, then the sound of a blade moving through the air. Grall threw himself in front of the crying Sakurako who held Cassandra's bleeding body close to her. Grall felt a red hot pain in his back as the knife pierced his skin.
Grall spun around, grabbed the creature and.... nothing. The creature was already dead. The creature lurched forward, a small dagger protruding from its back.
Grall watched as a young human woman jumped out of the branches of the tree. She did not give herself time to recover before throwing herself beside Cassandra.
"Leader." The young woman shouted as she shook Cassandra's body. "Leader please wake up."
No response, Cassandra, the last of the Altain race, had been killed by a coward in black. The human woman let out a scream of anguish and tore at her clothes, revealing a symbol on her chest. The symbol of the Altean, a secretive organization that is known only to a select few but is feared by all. The Alteans hunt down those who wish to harm those who cannot protect their selves.
Grall bowed his head feeling remorse and odd. He should have been able to make it here before the knife came down but when he peered through the planes, it was as if both planes times had become the same. His head felt fuzzy and his body felt weak.
Sakurako sat on the ground refusing to leave Cassandra's body. The human looked to Sakurako and said nothing, she remained silent before returning to the tree she had climbed out of.
Moments go by, Grall stood guard over Sakurako as she mourned. As he stood there, he observed the surroundings and saw a strange archway not to far from where he stood. Grall thought hard on what it was until a memory floated to the surface. Grodaks search for a way into the past.
"Sakurako," Grall said turning to face the archway, "I think I know how to fix this, but I need you to come with me."
Sakurako looked up to Grall, confusion mixed in with the grief, then stood up, pulling her note pad out, a gift from Cassandra, and wrote in it. "Fix what?"
Grall sighed, she probably won't believe him if he told her what he was planning to do and it'll be easier to just show her. "Just, follow me." Grall said, he could feel the humans eyes following him as he walked to the archway.
As they stepped foot in front of the archway, Grall spoke the key phrase to open the passage way. A red liquid like substance, looking almost like blood, began to fill the archway. Grall looked down at Sakurako and smiled.
"I hope you're ready to enter the past." Grall said before shoving Sakurako through the portal and jumping in after her.
On the other side of the portal, Grall found Sakurako laying on the ground in lush green grass with little trees around. This was the past, of that, Grall was certain. Grall helped Sakurako to her feet apologizing to her.
"I would normally never do such a thing but," Grall said as he helped clean the dirt off Sakurakos clothes, "that human back there wouldn't have just let you go through so I had to force the situation."
Sakurako stared at Grall in confusion to which Grall sighed and made a dismissive gesture. "We need to find out where we are, and when." Grall said as he began moving forward, Sakurako following closely behind.
As Grall and Sakurako moved forward, they noticed a village and decided to stop there. In the village, to Gralls surprise and amusement, was a young boy he recognized. Grall had only met the man after his death, but even for a human, his features stood out more then the rest.
Grall quickly made a beeline to the boy, a plan forming in his head, Sakurako following after.
"Hello." Grall said to the young boy, his voice gentle as to not scare him.
The boy, who was busy playing a game of some kind, looked up at Grall, his amber eyes looked to be piercing through Gralls very soul.
"H-hello?" The boy said, cautiously, he looked to as though he was about to run away or cry.
"My name is Grall, whats yours?" Grall asked, he knew the answer but did not want to frighten the boy anymore then he already had.
"M-Malik." The young Malik eyes began to dart around, as if searching for something. Sakurakos eyes widened at the name just as Gralls smile did the same.
"What a nice name." Grall said, his voice softened more to try and put the boy at ease.
"T-thank you." The young Malik said as he brought his attention back to Grall. "What are you?"
"I am an orc. My kind lives in the scar, a place that is far away in a desert." Grall spoke kindly, his words sweet, as he tried to get this young boy to trust him.
"Really?" The boy asked excitedly, it seemed that the young Malik loved adventure and wanted to explore.
"Oh yes," Grall said as he looked to Sakurako, "we came here in search of you, actually. We wanted to give you something that you have to give to someone else, a girl by the name of Cassandra."
"I don't know anyone by that name." Malik said, a hint of fear entered his voice.
"Not yet," Grall said, "but soon, you will, and its important that you give this to her."
"Ok..." Malik looked confused, but willing to do as asked.
Grall turned to Sakurako and lowered his voice. "Give me something that is important to both you and Cassandra."
Sakurako stared at Grall for a moment in confusion, then realization dawned on her. She dug through her pouch and produced a single rock that felt warm to the touch. When Sakurako handed the rock over she also wrote in her note book. "Its a gift from Cassandra, she said if I'm ever in trouble it would let her know."
Grall smiled, it was the perfect thing to use. "Here," he said to Malik, "give this to her and tell her 'love is ever fleeting, but never dyeing'."
Malik nodded his head, taking the stone in hand. Before Grall and Sakurako could do anything else, however, the scene before them began to distort and a forest formed around them.
Grall sighed and looked to Sakurako, her eyes showed disappointment. "Don't worry," Grall said to comfort Sakurako, "she's alive. Just remember those words I spoke, because time travel is more unpredictable then anything this or the next world, has to offer."
Sakurako nodded her head in understanding and the two of them began to leave. As they walked, a dark shadow fell over them. Grall turned to look and saw a dark figure hovering in the sky. Her deep amber eyes stared back.