Dark Age Legends

[Dippy]

"Hello?...Seems empty must be geting ready for a big day tomorrow, lets go see what's going on." Jonny says looking at the big lobby room and Bongo.
Jonny walks over to a servant to ask whats going on.
"Pardon me, man, but do you know what's going on here?" Jonny asks
"...Ohh uhhh...I just clean rugs here, I don't know what is going on." The servant replies "Try going to the dinning hall, Lord Draven is down there eating, you are best geting some food to." He adds.
"Thanks...ohh you missed that rug over there." Jonny points out a rug he just walked on with his dirty boots. He then walks to the dinning hall.
"Jack ass tax collectors." The rug cleaner says under his breath to a fellow servant.
Jonny Albatrash comes to the great dinning hall and sees Lord Draven eating. He aproaches, and stops a few feet in front of his section on the table, and bows down on one knee and salutes, he then stands back up, and removes his hat, and holds it againts his chest.
"Greetings my Lord." Jonny says. "Captain Jonathan H. Albatrash, Tax Collector. I have reterned with great losses in crew and in tax money as my ship was destrioed in an...exploding witch person attack." Jonny says this with great shame in his voice "However, I did find a new ship that contained enough rum, ale and beer to cover all the losses." Jonny quickly adds to not look like a failure.

[Xorlak]

Several servants appeared which would lead the dispersing guests to lavish rooms with silk sheeted beds and those nifty mini bars.

Draven spoke to Valos quietly, but sternly.

"That is none of your concern, Valos.  I will send you south of Redvik tomorrow to oversee the front line at the boarder of Laus.  Get some rest."

He gave the general a sort of pat on the top of the shoulder, which while looking soft, would likely be with enough force to smack the general halfway to the ground.

He turned to Albatrash, sighing loudly.

"So you are requesting additional crew and to keep you job? ... Ugh...  Take it to one of the military tax officials."

He flipped his cape and disappeared through the doorway at the north end of the dining room.  'Military tax officials' was his name for the leaders of the pirate-like organization that plundered gold from small sea side settlements in exchange for an agreement that they would not be assimilated into the Crimson Empire, and that the Empire would offer them sea wise protection in that area.  Draven considered it an outdated practice left over from the Dark Empire days, but it had its uses...

One of those 'military tax officials' happened to be passing into the dining room for a meeting and approached Albatrash, having heard the conversation.

"Yar... ye got some rum...?  Well, that makes it all worth it, then!  We'll fix ye up with a new crew tomarrer.  But... we needs ta take yer rum.  Fair trade, no?  Har har har harr!!"

He gave Jonny a big slap on the back and continued on his way.

(Chapter 6 ends tomorrow! (Friday))

(Yeah, Aura will do her test at the beginning of next chapter.  When I figure out what it is.  Heh...)

[Haraldur]

"OK."

Tesla moved his hands, and a strange weapon, which was mostly a long tube, and a set of tools, and a piece of Crimson Empire armour, repainted, flew and landed near Marshall's feet.

"The Empire had quite a surplus of stock here! There are more sets of armours here than citizens! Presumeably this was because this is a very good place to transport things to other parts of the Empire.

"Now, I must be off, I have to make sure the defenses are properly attended to."

[Trent]

"Nice room." A low whistle given from Xenai. He promptly made himself at home. "The only advantage to being evil... The bad guys have all the cool stuff. Well. Draven's not really being evil right now, so."

--- --- ---

Zion entered his room, took a look around, and approached the bed. WHUMP. He was out.

--- --- ---

Tsu found a room at an inn to utilize...

--- --- ---

And Aura was just sleeping wherever it was that she slept.


//End of chapter for all characters.

[Dude Man]

"Thank you." Marshal said. He then picked up the items and then walked into a near by shop, and then got to work...

-----

"Bah!" Valos said, as he was nearly knocked down by Draven, he then stood up. And muttered under his breath. "I really, really hate Zeros'..." He then walked up to his room, he passed by the others "See ya tomorrow..."

Rink then cracked his knuckles. "Well, I'm gonna hit the hay. See you kids tomorrow!" He then heads up stairs, to the guest rooms.

Duilin then heads upstairs to. Valos heads into his fairly huge and nice room. Being a General of the Crimpson Empire, he gets a room much nicer then the other soilders, but not nearly as good as the High Generals or Lord Draven's.
Rink and Duilin go to seperate rooms. Rink sits down on the bed, it was huge for him.

Duilin, sits down on his bed, and rubbs his face. "Geez. What a hell of a day. Never thought I'd be in here without trashing the entire place killing soilders..."
He then hears a knock on the door. He turns his head and looks at the door. "That better not be Valos, I swear to god..." He then gets up and opens the door. It was the servent girl from before.

"Hey..." Duilin says to her. "What's up?"

"Hi...Can I come in?" She asks him, smiling.

(I won't get into further detail. Don't wanna get myself banned!  Smile )

//End Chapter for my characters, maybe not Marshal just yet.\\

[Xorlak]

Draven entered his large, torch-lit chamber.  Two servants promptly shut the door behind him and left.  The Emperor removed his leather gloves and threw them onto one of the smaller gold trimmed tables.

The armored figure standing in the darkness, almost behind the red curtain next to the bed saluted.  He was the only other in the room.

"My lord.  The preparations are nearly complete."

Draven sat down on one of the red padded chairs, facing away from the figure.

"How long?"

"Tomorrow.  Mid day, at the latest..."

"Excellent..."

"Then... shall I prepare for... the opening?"

Draven leaned back.

"It is a trump card.  A big one at that.  True, I promised them, but I never said when.  I'd rather not use it until necessary, if necessary...  Besides, our little allies have bought us this much time, let's see what else they can do for us..."

From his inner cape pocket, Draven removed a small black stone and a worn, tattered slip of paper, upon which was written strange demonic-like symbols, along with his own signature...

----

The weighed down ship was now fully docked, seemingly on an island in the middle of nowhere, and the crew began the exhausting task of removing the giant black stone from the deck.  They had to disassemble part of the railing and built a grand ramp.  Some fifty men grappled the black diamond with a combination of pulleys and raw man power, carefully carrying it ashore...


To be continued...

[Xorlak]

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Chapter 7</span>

Draven folded his arms behind his back as the morning sun's rays broke the horizon.  Standing atop one of the higher towers of the Crimson Palace, the cool morning air waving his hair, the view was even more spectacular now that the city was floating nearly one mile above the ground.  Streaks of clouds obscured the rows of rocky foothills and valleys below.

Draven nodded to the man in black armor standing behind him, who returned the nod and promptly left via the stairway.  Draven rolled the small black stone in his fingertips behind his back...

----

A very loud knock resonated on the doors of the two separate guest rooms where Rink and Xenai stayed, two messengers delivering the same message to each one:

"The high speed airship Falcon V is departing south to Redvik in thirty minutes.  Details about your mission to Laus will be given on board. Report to the docking bay on the 30th floor."

----

"Lieutenant Hikari!"

The tall bald eye-patched Colonel Skul banged loudly on Aura's sleeping quarter's door holding a sheet of paper in the other hand.

"We've your test..."

----

Ven had trouble sleeping after the incident he witnessed the previous day, but now in the early morning hours, he found himself more troubled by the handwritten note that he found near the door to his room.  Someone must have slipped it under the door during the night.  He read it a few times, not sure what to make of it:

Traveler,

You must leave immediately!  The soldiers have become suspicious of all outsiders, especially you!


He paused in thought.  The was some noise resonating through the wooden hallways of the old inn.  Like footsteps, only metallic.  They became louder and more evident that there was more than one...

Suddenly, there was a loud knocking on the wooden door.

"Open up."

Crap.

Ven took a look around and his eyes landed on the window, the one he saw the incident with the mayor from yesterday.  He was on the second floor.

More knocking (obviously metal on wood).

"I said open up!"

He had jumped from higher before, right?

Ven opened the window and scooted out the window feet first.  He landed with a loud clang on the cobblestones below, his black cloak rising around him revealing the bright silver armor underneath.  He stood up as the cloak fell back around him, realizing there were some six or seven people staring at this guy who just jumped out of a window.  He did a sort of embarrassed smile and wave, and then started walking quickly but casually.

Time to leave.

----

The glow of the red pendant wasn't as noticeable in the sunlight...

The dirt path in the forest was wide.  A group of soldiers began to pass the man in lieutenant's armor, stopping in their tracks and saluting him.

Mavas wasn't expecting this reaction and grinned...

"Where might you be off to?"

On of the soldiers wearing a silver medal took a step forward.

"South of Redvik, sir!  To reinforce the line at the boarder of Laus, sir!"

"Oh, really..."

[Zeros']

Zeros' shimmered into view, right next to Draven. He also stared at the view.

"It seems even the all-powerful Draven can't resist the view from up here," he said. He turned towards Draven.

"So, Draven, before I can even think to help you, more then what I've done already, I need to know what your plan is, for dealing with Haraldur," he asked.

[Trent]

Xenai got out of bed. "Yaaaaawn! Right-o!" He had left all his stuff on, save for the armor. How dare he change his appearance for sleeping! Wink He puts his armor on, and steps out of the room. Now it was time to figure out where the crap this 30th floor was.

--- -- ---

Zion and Tsu had spent the night at the inn, and were now awake and talking. "So you think she's joined the Crimson Empire, huh?"

"I'm sure of it."

"Doesn't matter, really. We're allies with them right now."

"I see..."

"Draven's been really well behaved lately. Hope he stays that way. He's got a nice city here."

"Heck yeah, he does."

--- --- ---

Aura got out of bed. She had the armor off, it was just the undersuit underneath the armor that she kept on for sleeping. Comfy, but how dare she change her appearance to sleep! She opened the door, performing the salute. "Good morning, Colonel." She looked at the paper. "My test, huh? Oh my. I can't wait..."

[Haraldur]

As the sun rose for a new day, Haraldur turned to the ghostly visage of the Prophet, and said, "Why did you betray me?"

"I do not believe in your foolish idealism! It would be chaos! Why not just let the weak be ruled by the strong as they always have. You know how that works, you, after all, have been instrumental in the design of the Empire system on the Dark Continent, for millenia."

"I am a changed person now, as you can see, and I will not let the status quo rest."

"Status quo?"

"It is Latin, a language from another universe."

"Anyway, are you going to let me out of this hellish place you sent me? If not, why else have you come to visit me?"

"You are released. Do as you will, I do not care. You will not find me so merciful next time."

"Merciful?"

"Indeed, I will be having lawyers fighting over your case?"

"What is a lawyer?"

"Do not trouble yourself with that, it would terrify you. I am merciful enough not to give you an answer."

The Prophet started to fly North, thinking to himself that he must ally himself with the Crimson Empire, or else find Zeros'. This foolish idealism must stop! Freedom for the masses? He must be stopped!

Haraldur watched him go, and smiled to himself as it became evident the Prophet did as he expected.

___________________________________________________________

Tesla was waiting close to a tower in the city walls, watching for any sign of attack. He moved his hands up and down, dragging the ground connecting the peninsula to the mainland up and down as well, making it rough, wet and with many sharp rocks. Any land army would need a lot of surgeon for the foot and leg injuries, he thought.

Behind him, the automated city went like clockwork. In the square were troops of men doing training with spears and swords, on the other side similar weapons were being forged in preparation for war.

[D. Ein]

Cold.
Bitter cold.

Ein got up. He felt his body, finding his cloak somewhat intact. He looked around, observed the area around him. He seemed to have been washed up on a beach, but a beach he did not recognize.
"Damn", he thought. "That was one hell of a storm... Wonder where i ended up?"

He proceeded towards the trees that were just up by where the beach ended. Trees were tall, covering a large part of sky. However, by darkness around him, he realized that night was nearing. He had to seek shelter.

As he proceeded through the small path in between the trees, he heard a twig snap somewhere behind him, to the left.
-Who's there?
No answer followed. Ein resumed his course. Then, he heard another twig snap, this time to the right of him. He spun around, but seeing nothing. "Stupid squirrels..." As he turned around, someone painfully punched him in the forehead, knocking him down to the ground. Ein gathered up his thoughts and looked at the attacker. The man was tall, wearing a cape, and had an interesting-looking crossbow in one of his hands. The other one was empty, and Ein noted that the empty hand was his right hand, therefore the man was left-handed.
-"Gimme all your money!" The man's voice was very loud.
-"I have none. I just... err... arrived here."
-"I don't take that as an answer! If you have no cash, then prepare to die!"
The robber pointed the crossbow at Ein's head. His finger touched the trigger... and the crossbow was out of his hands, and in Ein's legs. He quickly flipped it around, put it in his hands and hastily fired it, aiming at the highwayman's head. Arrow hit him in the neck. The only sound coming from him was a faint gurgle, then somewhat of a sigh. The giant was dead.

//i'm gonna watch you guys for a few posts before actually talking to other characters. don't want to sound like an idiot in front of everyone by talking off-topic Razz

[Dude Man]

Duilin, stood in the middle of a dusty wasteland, standing at the edge of a canyon. He sky was firey, like the depths of hell was surrounding him. The wind was hot, it blue threw his hair. He looked down, and saw tons of dead bodies in the canyon. Somebody put his hand on his shoulder, he startled him. Duilin turned around, and saw a fimular face, somebody who he hasn't seen in many, many years...But he looked different. He looked deep into the mans eyes, and saw himself in them. He saw himself being burnt alive, being torn apart, but still screaming in pain, and being left to rot, alive....

-----

Rink, was sitting on an open window sill, looking at the sunrise. He then looked at the messenger, and listened to him, the Imp nodded. "All ready, eh?" He smirked. He then stood up and cracked his knuckles, and the little guy went off, into the hallway off to find the 30th floor. He saw that Xenia was up, he looked lost. "Good morning." Rink said, waveing. "We better get to docking bay, Xenia."

------

Marshal walked threw the town, wearing the recolored Empire armor. He was holding the new bullet weapon. He had an amulet around his neck, with the saphire of summoning. He watched Tesla reform the ground. "I thought I had a werid tallent." He chuckled to himself. He then walked up to him. "I wonder how the Crimson Empire is going to plan this attack. There last attempt was lacking, do you expect anything better?"

------
Duilin's eyes shot open, and he gasped for air.

"Duilin?" said a beautiful calming voice.

He looked up, and saw the servent girl's face looking at him.

"Duilin? Are you okay?" She asked again

"I'm allright..." Duilin said, getting out of bed. "Just a bad dream..." He looked at her. "You should go...I don't think the Empire's Officers would like to find you here."

"Well...okay." The servent replied. She gave him a quick kiss. "Bye..." She then opened the door and left...

Duilin sat down on his bead, and rubbed his forehead. He was fealing flushed.

He then heard a knock on the door.

"Come in..." Duilin called.

Valos opened the door. "Have a nice sleep, Duilin?" He said with a smirk.

"Sorta..." Duilin replied. "What do you want?" He asked him without turning his head

"Oh, nothing. Just wanted to check in and see how you were doing." Valos replied. "Today might be a big day, we are attempting another strike on Haraldur. I've been called to the front lines."

"What did you do to deserve that?" Duilin asked, sitting up, with his hands on his knees, and looked at him.

"Oh, I questioned Lord Draven on why he offered High Generalship to...Zeros'." Valos replied, sounding annoyed.

"Seems that all you soilder-boys are into turning men into demons." Duilin said sternly, and then got up and walked pass Valos, and headed to the main hall.

[Dippy]

Jonny wakes up in his room. He can't remember last night very well so he looks around and sees his keys are left in the door, there is barf on the wall to his left and Bongo, his monkey is passed out in a buket of oats.
"Shit...I must have had one hell of a party last night!" Jonny exclaims.
"Nope, it was just you." A servant says to him through the door."and it was the most disgusting this I have ever seen." He adds and shudders.
Bongo wakes up and staggers over to Jonny. "I don't think that you should have drank a whole bottle of that." Jonny says after noticing the dirty little monkey. "Well you get back to your oats, I'm gonna look around."
He walks around the halls untill he sees a solder and asks him whats going on.
"Ohh its you! You got so wasted, it was diisgusting. So yeah, we are gonna attack the Aspyes." He replied. "But first we are sending spies to get info on them."
"So we are spying on the Aspyes? Get  it? As-SPY-es?" Jonny jokes.
"That was terrible..." He replied.
"Sorry, I have a bad hang over."
"I see." The soilder says and heads off.
Jonny than goes off to get breakfast.

[Haraldur]

Haraldur started to fly back towards Laus. As he flew, his thoughts turned to his good friend Tesla. "I am the universe, and I favour those who work to understand me," he murmered to himself. "Where I go, they try to follow. What I do, they study. Those I love, they revere.

"I have too long been apathetic. Suffering of the masses is the fault of my indifference. Zeros' is right, I am a monster, but not in any way he can imagine, and misinterprets, whether deliberately or not, my attempts at improvement. He does not work to understand me, he does the opposite."

[Kahn]

"I can feel it getting closer."

Hyperion had nothing to go by but this feeling. His master told him only to go fight under the command of Draven for the Crimson Empire. He was not told why he was going or where the Crimson Empire was.

He chose to fly as a full dragon as he could fly high enough to avoid being noticed.
Something caught his eye in the distance though, and he started to fly lower. He noticed what appeared to be two figures upon a high tower in the direction he was heading.

"Could it be.....Draven?"

Whatever was coming, he was ready.