Dark Age Legends

[Xorlak]

- Kainengrad Command Center, Captain's Room -

Vincent tumbled out of the beast's grasp and sprawled upon the floor, wide-eyed. "S... sovereign...?"  He scuttled to his feet, grabbing the briefcase and running over piles of rubble.

"C-captain?"  Mikail poked his head from under a pile of rocks.  Vincent grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him along.

"Our ride should be here any minute.  We're leaving.  Now."

(Chapter ends this Saturday.  Will be copying the forums to the new server then.)

[Dude Man]

- Kainengrad Command Center, Captain's Room -

"Ha!" Abodos grunted as Duilin dived at him. With his gauntlet hand he back handed him as he dove at him and sent him flying back to the ground. "Try better."

Duilin made a beastly growl at the demon/lich as he jumped back up on his feet. He clenched his fists as he raised them infront of him, and began to charge his energy, sending a shockwave around the room.

Valos who was on the ground was rolled over and then woken up. "What the..." He weakly got back up and then his jaw dropped as he saw Duilin in his demon form along with Abodos. "Okay, I didn't expect this."

"You see THIS father?!" Duilin roared. "This is what you've been trying to turn me into for the past four decades." His teeth clenched for a few seconds. "But...I can control myself, not even pure evil consuming my entire can make me follow your ways."

Abodos started to step towards him and smirked.

"Go ahead, pat yourself on the back. We don't need you anymore. Now, you're just another piece of mortal scum." He then began to laugh more. "SCUM!!"

[Xorlak]

- Above Kainengrad -

Standing on the airship deck, Vincent watched the command center shrink as he made his retreat.  Originally he planned on striking back as a test of his prototype ship, but after the appearance of that... thing that resembled the sovereign... former sovereign, he thought it best to leave the destruction of the cursed federation scum to him.

He patted the metal briefcase at his side.  He had all he needed anyway... "Mikail, instruct the crew to set course for The Factory of Dark Science."


To be continued...

[Xorlak]

Chapter 19

- Shuba, Factory of Dark Science, Government Conspiracy Cover-Up Room -

"Are you MAD?!?!"  Dr. Smizlworf banged his feeble hands on the table.  "The NGO are NOT things to be trifled with!  They are propulsion devices!  Using them as... as a power source for this monstrosity is mad!  MAD!!!!"  He proceeded to pull his white hair out of his scalp.

"Dr. Smizleworf, please take a seat,"  Vincent replied tersely.  He pointed to the gargantuan technical design scribbled upon the wall with his pointer-stick-thing. "In order to power the BRAIN and the advanced weaponry systems of the new sentient airship design, codenamed SAD, we need at least 100 times more energy output than the Soverign's Hammer primary attack laser.  By spinning the three NGO around each other in a vacuum as shown, we effectively create an energy nexus--"

"MAD!!!"

Vincent sighed.  "Mikail, smack him."

The cerulean robed adept got up from his seat and slapped the old man across the cheek. "OWWW!!!"

"*Ahem*... As I was saying... this I already figured out and installed onto the ship by myself.  Our only obstacle is the BRAIN-unit, or rather, the crystal which with uplifts the automated machine to a slave-like sentience, fully capable of taking and performing orders on its own."

Mikail quietly shut the door behind him as voices raised again.  He wasn't actually part of the meeting, only being an adept rank, and had duties to attend to elsewhere.  Smoothing out his robe, he nodded to a group of initiates as they passed, then proceeded to walk down the hallway.

Everything was coming to an end now.  Time was running out.  Months of preparation lead to this.  He had a mission.  A single objective.

To assassinate Vincent Elridge.

[Trent]

- ?, one week ago -

Two powerful forces clashed. Two men, one wreathed in golden flame, the other in blue flame. Both of their auras had phoenix-like wings. They displayed an incredible mastery of combat, fighting with incredible speed, force, grace, and athleticism. The fight was mostly even. Suddenly, they backed away from each other.

The golden man spoke first. "Why are you so bent on this? It WAS your fault."
The blue man replied. "Because I hate you. You were the favorite. You were exactly what my parents wanted us to be."
"You could have been too!"
"Enough! It's... too late for me."
"...Fine, then."

The golden man raised his sword, and his aura started to flare madly. A yell, and fissures were sent through the ground, glowing with heavenly golden light. He charged forward, golden flame trailing behind him. Upon coming up to the blue-flamed man, he started to unleash a flurry of slashes. "May the divine fury of the Unconquered Sun... rend your body and soul... to absolute nothingness!" After four hits, he leapt up high into the air, his blade erupting with golden flame.

"Scathing Phoenix Tempest!!!"

He slashed down with all of his force, creating an upwards explosion of golden flame. The other man's aura had died down a bit, enough to reveal his features. He was wearing a long black trenchcoat, like some guy out of the Matrix. He had fair skin, and short brown hair. His eyes were a hateful blood red. He glared at the other man, whose aura was still burning strong.

"That was good, brother."
"It's my best attack."
"I can't beat you as you are now."
"No. You can't."
"What will you do? Kill me?"
"... No."
"That's what I thought." The flame died down all the way now. "I can't allow you to be in Creation anymore." He pulled a small black ball out of his pocket. "I cannot bear to be reminded of the weight of my sins, time and again. So be gone." With that, he threw the ball at the golden man. A black hole appeared where it landed, right at his feet.

"What the...?! Silverwater! What the hell is this?"
"I'm sending you away."
"What do you mean, away? Where to?"
"I have no idea where you're going. And I don't care. I just want you gone. Goodbye, William."

"Damnit~~!!!" The hole sucked him in, and he was gone.

- Kainengrad, Streets -

A normal-looking man wandered the streets now, and the expression on his face showed that he had no idea where he was. He had fair skin, blue eyes, and a brown... mullet. He looked around, trying to get a feel for what was currently up here.

[Drannic_Lord01]

~ Ariosis, Province of the Drannic Empire ~

Chaos is but a crude word one would use to define what befell Ariosis as its armies were on leave. The land was struck by a ferocious invasion of a near-by province in its empire, but long-since forgotten about until now... Dranniville. The Drannivolka, after having been conquored by Ariosis and having fought along side that empire, had now turned upon it, seeking revenge.

Lead by a fearless marauder named Captain Lucas Gracchus, the onslaught lasted but a mere seven days; it took the Drannivolka only one week to ravage the countryside of Ariosis. The lands were pilaged and all of the cities sacked and plundered; overthrown by the invasion. The legions of the emporer's finest were all but powerless to stop the Drannivolka, and were either slaughtered on sight or captured, imprisoned, and condemned to death.

The people, however, suffered a fate far worse than death. They were enslaved and put to work, and if they were too old, or too weak, they were killed. The women and children cooked and cleaned for them, and the men labored in the fields. Some select few were put to work in the mines; there, they prospected the crystal caves that were so prevalent on the mainland, mining them to the bare rock. They were then sold for a profit. As the armies of Dranniville prospered, the people of Ariosis suffered.

Some of the slaces were even sold across certain, old and forgotten slave trades. The majority of inhabitants upon the mainlands of Ariosis were changing drastically from human to Drannivolka, and more civilians started to migrate from Dranniville to the mainland; Ariosis. Some spare slaves to the government were sold to the new arrivals and put to work. Unfortunately, most humans who lived in Ariosis weren't much of the proper labor force, and that being the case, many died by overworking themselves.

The rest of Gaian was ignorant of the happenings in the Ario Empire, or rather, the Drannic Empire. Even if the federation decided to act and help the humans fight back, it wouldn't matter; not much could be done to save the humans in this state. Moral was horribly low, and they seemed to accept their fate as a sort of punishment from Gaia. Rebellion for them just wasn't an open option.

Death was now common in the once-peaceful empire, and more humans died from torture and overworking than from battle. Ariosis was in a sad status, and the old prejudices and racism that had been nearly lost forever returned in bloom. Hatred between the two races was common, and it would be weird if there wasn't any between them. Unfortunately for the humans, because of this, things took a turn for the worse...

An official Dictum/amendment was made to the Drannic Empire's constitution. It was the Edict of Purification, called by "Emporer Gracchus," and by humans, the Edict of Genocide. It was anounced earlier this day, infact...

EDICT OF PURIFICATION:
All humans that did not have a Drannivolka master were to be captured immediately and given a master, with which he could either sell to another master, the government, or put it to work. If there is any resistance what-so-ever, it is to be given to the government for a reasonable price or put down straight-away by its master. Any human that exceeded the age of fifyt years was to be put down. Those humans that are unable to work because of weakness and/or disability are to be put down straight-away.

"Rebellion... is not an option..."

[Dude Man]

- Kainengrad Command Center, Captain's Room -

Abodos continued to step toward Duilin with a sinister grin.

"Go ahead." Duilin roared back. "Do your worst. Nothing you can do can hurt me."

Abodos lifted his gantleted fist and arched in back. "We'll see."

The demon lord jumped at the even more monstrous creature before him, yet before he could make his attack, he was struck in the chest with the gantlet and forced into the wall of the building, cracking it around him and making an imprint. Before the demon lord could even retaliate he was blasted by several lightning blasts from the uncovered hand and forced through the wall. Duilin fell through and began to fall toward the ground below the tower.

Nex laughed. "Excellent, very excellent masters. The merge seems to be a complete success, am I correct?"

Abodos looked at Nex and glared, actually making Nex flinch, but the demon/lich's glare faded and he simply nodded at him.

"Yes, indeed it is."

"So...Master Abodos, is it?"

"I shall grant you worthy of speaking my name, slave. Yet very few others shall I grant the permission too."

"Very good Master Abodos." Nex bowed. "So, shall I see to it that the scum Duilin is finished?" He stepped towards the hole in the wall and summoned his scythe.

"No." Abodos lifted up his hand in front of Nex. "Wait."

[Drannic_Lord01]

~ Kainengrad Command Center, Captain's Room ~

Everyone in the room seemed to forget that Doriana was still there. She was hiding, however... in fear. The fear of seeing Abodos was enough to make her disappear into hiding, which she did an excellent job at. Except, even as now wasn't the time to hide, she neither cared nor complained; only hid in fear. Her mind wasn't... "on right, at the moment," for want of a better phrase.

However, something that did set her off was how Duilin was pushed through a wall. Something about it made a certain something inside her click... and she was indeed set off. Her cloak vanished and she extended her claws to her sides. A sort of heavenly aura surrounded her; it wasn't quite a visible aura... but it just seemed so majesterial...

"Hey, you'd better get THE HELL away from him right now..." She stood there, tall and proud, and confident for once. Her hands tightened upon the grips of her assassin claws, ready to evade an attack at any given time and trust the claws into her opponent's flesh.

"Or else..."

[Dude Man]

~ Kainengrad Command Center, Captain's Room ~

Nex laughed manically as he saw Doriana jump out

"Don't worry I don't think I'll have an easy time touching him while he falling to his death. But if you really want to save your friend Duilin why don't you fly down and catch him before he smashes on the ground like a rancid melon."

Nex stroked the lower part of his mask.

"Master Abodos, perhaps you'd like me to dispose of this fool?" Nex scanned the room quickly and then pointed at Valos. "And perhaps that one too?"

//Gonna wait for Ein\

[Trent]

- Kainengrad, Streets -

He looked around a little more... and then up. He could see a tower, burning. He could hear a lot of commotion. "What the hell?" Then mumbling as he started to approach it. "Figures the first town I'd find in this world..." And then all of a sudden, he saw some dude bursting through the wall of the tower... and then falling! "What the hell?!?!"

Instinctively, he took off running toward the tower. It wasn't very fast at first, but he picked up speed. He was trying to hold back, as he wasn't sure how powerful people here were, and what their attitude was toward the super-powered. He was running as fast as a normal human would. I'm not gonna make it...!

[D. Ein]

-=Kainengrad Command Center, Captain's Room=-

It was clear that while successful, the merge was still having a detrimental effect on Abodos' mind. After a severe jolt of pain, he instinctively smashed yet another wall down with his right hand, while grasping his head with his left. The pain appeared so intense that Abodos partly keeled over, the claws on his hand dredging into his skin. Shortly afterward, however, he straightened back out.

-"Nay," he growled. "Abodahon has had his turn. You will finish that one."

The clawed hand dripped blood in Duilin's direction, while Abodos himself turned his empty eyes toward Doriana.

-"This one made a hole in my old robe. I have a score to settle... personally."

Abodos, now fully turned facing Doriana, lumbered toward her with the gauntlet clenched into a fist.

-"Looks like the kitten found its claws," he jeered. "Let's see if you live long enough to provide sport."

[Drannic_Lord01]

~ Kainengrad Command Center, Captain's Room ~

"Damn you..." At that instant, Doriana cast haste upon herself and leapt out of the building, flying down at a faster rate than Duilin. She then used a small bit of manipulative telekinesis and got under him. She then grabbed on to him and held him tightly as they both hit the ground. She took the impact of the blow, and was nearly killed upon it, coughing up blood.

"Ugh... you... alive...?" She barely managed to spit out those last words before she plopped back down in a lifeless state. Her life was at an edge; the spark that it was merely flickered as she slipped out of consciousness.

*Please don't let my sacrifice be in vain.* She sent this message into his head before she slipped out of consciouness; she was very close to death. It seemed at hand for her, and this time, she willingly embraced it.

[D. Ein]

==Kainengrad Command Center==

Stopping midway, Abodos looked down at the crashed people beneath.

-"I've had enough." His growl seemed uncharacteristically level this time. "There are more important places for me to be, likewise, more important things for me to do."

The demon lobbed his heavy frame off the Command Center's ruined building, and opened his wings midway to the ground. Like a bird of doom, Abodos' silhouette cut the sky as he flew wherever his chaotic thoughts guided him.

[Dude Man]

~ Kainengrad Command Center, Captain's Room ~

"Nyahaha!" Nex jumped off the building and flew down after the two. He watched as Doriana sacrificed herself for Duilin and continued laughing, as he watched her die, from afar...

---

~ Kainengrad Command Center, Courtyard ~

He landed on the ground with great force, making a loud thud and creating a cracked dent in the ground.

"My, my how noble, even when you're on a temper tantrum your friends are there to save you." Nex mocked.

Duilin slowly got up and saw Doriana's life starting to slip away from her. He could save her, just not in this form...but he can't change on will...There's nothing he can do! He just kept getting angrier and angrier about this. He stood there, bruised up, with his fist and teeth clenched as he growled at Nex.

"Well, what are you waiting for, boyo?" Nex twirled his scythe.

Duilin made a ferocious roar as he dived at Nex, managing to tackle him onto the ground and pin him down. He dug his hands into the ghostly demon and began ripping away at his endless amounts of robes covering him as he roared in his face...

---

~ Kainengrad Command Center, Captain's Room ~

Valos dug through the rubble while Abodos flew off, luckily not noticing him. Pushing over a chuck of the wall, he found his sword, it was pretty beaten up, but the blades were still sharp enough to kill.

"Damn it all to hell, now I gotta get my ass back down into the city..." Valos groaned.

[Trent]

= Kainengrad, Streets =

He continued running, even as he saw someone come out at great speed, moving underneath the falling man to save him. He then saw some huge demon fly out of the tower. This brought him to a stop for a bit. He then continued running toward the tower, and eventually arrived close enough to see what's going on. He hid behind a building and watched.