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Post by knownasstation on Nov 27, 2009 16:54:46 GMT -5
"A bit less then that." Cedric tried to joke everything away. "Don't worry... about that, I'll send a servant to clean it up...later. For now, I need your h... no, not me. But your... help is still needed."
Cedric's body refused to listen again and he collapsed on the ground.
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Post by Elyon on Nov 27, 2009 17:02:02 GMT -5
"Cedric!!" Elyon called. She couldn't get her body to move but managed to convince it otherwise after a second. She quickly tried to help Cedric up and support his body. "What happened Cedric!?"
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Post by knownasstation on Nov 27, 2009 17:06:43 GMT -5
"Oh, just a gift from Vathek's... new best friend." With Elyon's help, Cedric stood up again and backed away a bit. "I don't want to stain... your clothes."
He found a chair and sat on it. "Anyway... Compared to your brother... I'm doing quite fine. Quickly, he... needs... your... help!.."
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Post by Elyon on Nov 27, 2009 17:11:09 GMT -5
"Stop beating around the bush!" Elyon spat, slightly irritated. Vathek's friends and her clothes were the last things she was worrying about now... "What happened!? Where's Phobos!?"
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Post by knownasstation on Nov 27, 2009 17:13:50 GMT -5
"In the land of the dead. The rebels... killed him." Cedric answered. "But we can... I mean, you... can bring him back... If, of course, you feel up for the task."
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Post by Elyon on Nov 27, 2009 17:39:31 GMT -5
For a moment, Elyon remained silent. She did nothing. She just stood there, like a statue... Phobos...? Dead...?
Elyon was having a hard time believing this news and an even harder time to decide what to do... The darker, more sadistic aspect of her personality tried to convince her: let it be! Let the prince die and keep him dead. He's a burden. Dead weight, so to speak. With him gone, no one would hold her back. As established, she's the heir to the throne. Meridian could quite literally be all hers... A shred of light left in her heart attempted to be heard as well... Phobos was her brother! An annoying spoiled-brat kind of brother but her brother all the same. A petty grudge wasn't enough to justify standing around and doing nothing! If she left her brother like this, no doubt would her parents be disgusted with her, whereverr they were...
Elyon was at a loss. She had two options she could follow and no idea which one to take... Then a third thought came to her mind. It wasn't clear what it was... Maybe the evil and good inside her tried to compromise or something... But if she let Phobos die now, the guardians and rebels would win. The prince's death would mark their victory...She could just hear Vathek laughing and see Will taking delight in her victory... Not to mention: if she would save him, Phobos would have no choice but to acknowledge her, Elyon Brown, as a powerful and responsible person. She could remind him every day of who was responsible for his continued existance...
Good and evil came to terms and Elyon opened her mouth to ask: "Tell me how!"
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Post by knownasstation on Nov 27, 2009 17:52:11 GMT -5
Cedric felt really stupid when saying this "I'm afraid... I don't know. You see, I wouldn't even dream of... having such power... and Phobos... Well, he could only resurrect inferior beings... And even so, he had to make great... preparations..."
Suddenly, everything became black and white - except for his own blood, still flowing down like a waterfall. While there still was time, he tried to give some useful advice. "I read a book... once... It mentioned such rituals... It was said that only... a pure heart can bring back a human being... In my opinion, it's... a load of crap, but... Anyway. You already know about the two worlds... the Earth and Meridian... Well, the land of the dead can also be imagined as a separate world... And since Phobos... is there and you are here, all... you... have to do is... open a portal for him... Sounds simple. But it's not... It was also mentioned that visions.. and maybe even... something worse can... visit you from the other side... while doing it. It might drive you... mad... You will start living an alternate life... in which you'll have to find... Phobos... show him the way... and get him out of there... while constantly being besieged by nightmares..."
That was enough. Cedric couldn't speak anymore, just whisper something even he couldn't hear. But he said everything he knew - well, except the fact that such a ritual can also result in death. Or even something worse.
Cedric barely stood up, approached Elyon and grabbed her hand. "Elyon... Please... Do this for... me..." He didn't say that. He thought that, hoping that Elyon will hear it. After that, Cedric finally gave in and fell into nowhere.
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Post by Elyon on Nov 28, 2009 7:41:06 GMT -5
Elyon remained motionless, even as Cedric passed out. Resurrecting inferior beings? Excellent! If Phobos' power couldn't do any more than that, it means he'll have to be twice as grateful for her efforts. She could go down in history as the girl who made death bend to her will on a whim! Well, not on a whim but at least with hardly any preperation...
Pure hearts, lands of the dead, nightmares... Elyon laughed those concerns aside, believing them to be nothing more than a way to spice up the book a little. She didn't gave any of that any real thought. Her dark half focussed her thoughts on the aftermath and everything she could ask Phobos in return...
"I'll have someone take care of you..." Elyon told Cedric's unconscience body. She then slowly left for the courtyard...
[Exit: Elyon to the Courtyard]
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Post by knownasstation on Nov 28, 2009 17:58:45 GMT -5
When you're battling death, your whole life flashes by and brings you the memories you thought you'd forgotten a long time ago. That happened to Cedric as he lay there, in a pool of his own blood. A part of him was still intact and made him happy about the fact that Elyon didn't do anything to help him. But his other side, the vile one, screamed with anger. If Elyon cared for him... But the flow of his thoughts was once again overwhelmed by memories. This one, in particular would have been really useful to Elyon... but it was too late. Cedric's mind took him a few years back... Meridian. Phobos's castle. The library. Cedric was there, walking among bookshelves and looking for something particularly interesting. He didn't learn magic from books, so not many of them were interesting to him. Alchemy... the Origin of Conjuration... the Art of Destruction... the Dark Moon... These names were either boring or too fancy to actually hold enough meaning in them. Cedric knew that nature alone can teach more than all of these books together. But since he was rarely allowed into the library, he still tried to make use of this chance. Some of the books weren't about magic. The Spark of War, for example, had nothing to do with it. And because of that, it was Cedric's favorite. He learned about weapons, moves and maneuvers he couldn't even imagine before. He read about some great battles. Of course, the book was filled with teachings about the True Path and Honor - but Cedric skipped these parts. Cedric kept looking. Outside, a terrible winter storm was ravaging and you could see nothing but white clouds, sometimes even touching the windows. It was a bright day in Meridian - but not in a way the peasants could enjoy. The people barricaded themselves inside, but soldiers were ordered to make sure that no one will skip their duties. So these fine men sacrificed their well being just to drag the peasants out and force them to work. Honestly, the people of Meridian were dumb. Cedric stopped reading the covers. It wasn't interesting anymore. All the books had the same title anyway. And it didn't make any sense. Instead, Cedric started to think about other things - like future. And the choices. He started wondering if by serving Phobos he made the right choice. The prince never cared about anything else but himself and Cedric was always on the edge, thinking about... No, nevermind. The last shelf. Cedric stopped and concentrated, because he never had the chance to examine this one before. To his surprise, all books here were written in ancient languages. He still could read them. The Last Essence, Codes of Necromancy... The same thing. Just in a different language. How very disappointing. Cedric sighed and was about to turn away, but one thing attracted his attention. An old, black book with no cover. He grabbed it and opened it. It was written in an even older language than the other books. Cedric frowned. He din't know this one. He knew that there was a dictionary - or something close to that - in the library, containing information about many ancient languages. But what if this book will be just like the others? Still, he had plenty of time and nothing to do. So Cedric gave it a try. He went back, found the book he needed, found a table and started translating. The title wasn't very enlightening. "Magic of Mind." But it was more interesting. Magic of mind, eh? That was just the kind of magic Cedric loved - the one you had master yourself, with no magic words and rites showing the way. No candles, no pentagrams - none of that was necessary for the magic of mind. But Cedric continued translating. The book was huge - and very old, with very small letters. Translating it all would have been an enormous task. However, there were many pictures in the book and Cedric started looking for more interesting ones. Here was one, with one man impaled on other's hand. Cedric translated the chapter with great interest. Anyway. After that, he kept looking for more pictures. And there it was - an image of a man in total blackness, climbing a ladder. There was a hand at the top, a shining hand, guiding the man. It was interesting. "Resurrection." Cedric threw the book away. He hated even the thought about resurrection. What's dead is dead, no need to bring it back from... wherever a dead one goes. It was wrong. Raising someone as a zombie or a skeleton - that wasn't too bad, because no one expects a zombie to continue living his life from where he left, eating, sleeping and joking with others. But completely resurrecting someone... No, no way. Cedric stood up and left. Left to... Come back the next day. Nothing changed in Meridian, except the storm was even worse than before. So there was no need to patrol or train. And Phobos desired to be alone. So slowly, Cedric's curiosity led him back here, to find the same book, pick it up from the ground and continue translating. Even if it wasn't something he wanted to do, he still wanted to know. "You've got to know your enemy if you are to fight it." He said with a smile. So, resurrection. The first phrase alone was enough to make Cedric sick with disappointment. "You must have a pure heart and a pure cause to complete the ritual with no risk of something going wrong." Bleh, pure hearts. He ate one once - just to find out if it was different from others. So, let's see what can a pure heart do... "You must have a strong will." Well, of course you do. Magic was something one couldn't expect to control without willpower. "You must trust yourself." What is this, a romance? "You must not be afraid of the darkness." Who would be? Only a fool. "You must not lose your way." Okay, enough about the "must not." "There is no way to bring back someone from the dead without a strong chance of failure - and the death of the caster. You will have to venture into the realm of death - it looks like a dark plain of nothingness, both hot and cold, huge and tiny, fearsome and welcoming. All of the nightmares that were once in your soul, will emerge from it and walk the plains of death with you. They'll like it there and they'll encourage you to stay there - forever. Also, they'll draw the nightmares that will be there, lurking in the shadows. Pretty soon, they'll surround you like moths surround the light. They'll whisper to you. They'll scream. They'll amass in front of you and you will lose the path. There are many abysses in the realm of death - and they'll try to make you fall into one. There's no way back from there. Even if your faith and pure heart will manage to show you the right way and you'll manage to find the one you're looking for..." To Cedric's disappointment, a part of the text was indecipherable. The parchment was just too old. But he did his best to translate the rest of the text. "When it will be over and both you and the one you seek will be back, seemingly safe in your own world, that's when the biggest peril of all might appear. All the nightmares of the realm beyond cannot survive in the open, in the light of the sun. They'll start looking for shelter. They won't be able to target you - but they might crawl into the soul of the one who came back - especially if that soul is dark. Then you'll regret doing what you did - because instead of bringing back a human, you'll have brought back something worse than darkness itself. Also, other souls nearby might be targeted too. So you have to fully understand the risk and possible consequences..." The rest of the text was merely a warning to be pure and kind. So the rest of the text was pointless. Cedric put the book aside. Whoah. If resurrecting is this dangerous - and if it's bringing someone back from another realm, not just raising up a corpse - then it's probably not as bad as Cedric thought. At least it holds too many dangers and risks to be... well, wrong. All this talk about pure hearts and bright souls was obviously a nonsense - and Cedric quickly forgot about that part. He decided to try resurrection himself. Next day, he killed one soldier and dragged him into the forest. It was cold and the snow reached Cedric's waist. But he didn't care. He found a cave, crawled in and concentrated on the soldier's body. He tried many times, closing his eyes and concentrating, calling the soldier's soul, imagining it in a somewhat dark place, far, far away. No use. Cedric was starting to freeze out there - the weather was just too cold to bear. Cedric's body was shaking and he couldn't even think straight. Everything lost its shape. Everything became painful. But then, when he was about to give up, when he was close to death himself, something happened. Something he din't want to happen. Out of nowhere, the usually calm darkness of his mind suddenly gained shapes - shapes that were too horrible, too strange to describe, even if he would have used all the ancient languages. Strange images, replacing one another, black blood, flowing on his brain, strange, otherworldly howls filled his mind. That day, in that cave, Cedric lost his mind. He tried to open his eyes and escape the nightmare, but somehow he couldn't. But he could scream. So Cedric screamed, until something inside his throat was torn apart and blood started flowing. For about a minute, the shapes kept shifting, attacking his mind and body at the same time. Then, they started to look more and more familiar - like old friends he forgot all about. They were inviting him - and a part of Cedric's ravaged mind wanted to go with them. The shapes smiled - it seemed impossible, but Cedric smiled too. Strange was the sight - Cedric, white as paper, with blood flowing out of his eyes and mouth. Despite that, he was smiling happily. The call was strong. All he had to do was to reach out - and a new world would greet him. Cedric would have died there, if not for the soldier. All of a sudden, the corpse jumped up and grabbed his throat with an intention to kill. The urge to live finally helped Cedric. He opened his eyes and saw the grotesque face of the one who was supposed to be dead. The soldier glared at him with dead eyes and Cedric screamed again. A stream of blood spurted out from his mouth and splashed on the soldier's face. Cedric desperately grabbed his sword and cut off the soldier's hands. Then the corpse fell back down and calmed down. Cedric barely got up and fled the cave. He didn't return to the castle. Instead, he went to the streets and found shelter in one of the abandoned houses. He remained there, hidden and trembling for at least two days - he couldn't tell. Day and night were both dark to him and he couldn't see anything but the shapes of his mind and the soldier's face - and somehow, his face and the shapes looked the same. In fact, they were the same. Cedric closed his eyes. He wasn't sure how did he finally gather the courage to stand up and go back to the castle, to face Phobos' wrath - so unimportant at the moment. How to look into all those faces and fear that one of them will remind him of the horror... How to speak about things like food and drink as if they meant something. How to act like nothing happened. How to go back to the library and put the book back where it belongs. How to sleep. How to smile. How to laugh. How to breathe, if he could still feel the soldiers cold, dead hands on his throat. How to speak. How to live. It was a bad dream. It had to be... If not, then... What was it? Bad dream... Bad... Dream... No, it wasn't a bad dream. It was real. Maybe more real than everything else. But Cedric had to forget, if he was to remain sane.
Slowly, the memory backed away. But still, it remained there, watching him. Always... watching him.
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Post by knownasstation on Nov 30, 2009 15:37:12 GMT -5
[Enter: Vathek from the Courtyard]
"Here you go, sir." One of the soldiers said with compassion. "I bet he feels even worse than you do." "No need to joke about it."Vathek replied. "But thanks for the assistance. You better get back, or you'll miss... the miracle. Whatever that is." "Are you sure, sir? What about you?" "I'll be fine." Vathek tried to smile. "Go. Now."
The soldiers quickly disappeared, feeling the seriousness in Vathek's voice. Vathek turned away from the door and looked at Cedric's motionless body. Two nurses were attending to him and already managed to stop the bleeding and it was about time to do that - the whole floor around him was covered in blood. Also, while being brought here, Vathek saw a trail of blood in the hallway. It seemed hard to believe that one person could bleed that much and still be alive. But Cedric was alive.
"How is he?" Vathek asked, slowly approaching the nurses. "We're not sure..." One nurse replied. "We're doing our best, but... it might not be enough." "Okay." Vathek nodded. "Well, just carry on. I won't bother you." The nurses didn't say anything else and resumed to... Vathek couldn't tell what exactly they were doing. He wanted to ask why is Cedric being treated here, in Elyon's room and not where everyone else was, but he could guess the answer. So instead he looked at his former friend's face. Cedric was smiling. Vathek didn't like that. He knew that some people, especially the ones who don't fear death, smile when facing it. So it was a really dangerous omen. But it wasn't for certain.
"I'm really sorry, Cedric." Vathek whispered. "Although some would say that you deserve this - and maybe even more."
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Post by knownasstation on Dec 7, 2009 5:39:51 GMT -5
Vathek was sitting on a chair and thinking about old times. For many, the past was better than the present. He heard people, especially soldiers, saying "good times" so many times. For him, things were a bit different. Vathek couldn't say that the present moment was very good or bright - quite the contrary, but the past wasn't something he wanted to remember either. All those people dead, either in the streets or the castle dungeons. Some of it seemed like a dream, but some other memories were very fresh. In fact, he could remember them better than he could remember some of the things he did yesterday. Vathek looked at Cedric. He was still in quite a dangerous condition. The nurses seemed more worried with every passing moment. If someone close to you dies, you tend to remember the good things you experienced together. And so Vathek closed his eyes and relived the moments of them training, relaxing or patrolling the streets together. Cedric was a bit too arrogant to be completely open with Vathek, but still they were good friends. As much as two murderers can be. In fact, Cedric even risked his well being to share some of Phobos' secrets with Vathek. Maybe it was because the princess drained Vathek like a leech, but it was hard for him to focus on reality and the memories were actually brighter than ever before, but also covered in a red mist. Everything - smiles, clashing swords, moments of truth gained an alternate color and everything gained a new meaning. Yes, his past was actually like it - stained with the blood of his victims. Many innocent people.
"No one is innocent, Vathek." Cedric's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. Vathek opened his eyes and looked at his fallen friend, but he was still and seemingly unconscious. The nurses acted like they didn't hear a thing. So it must have been just an illusion... But it sounded so real... Yes, he remembered them talking. That's when Cedric said it...
"No one is innocent, Vathek." Cedric smiled. "But... I don't understand." Vathek said. "In what way are the peasants guilty?" "They are weak." Cedric answered with a metal gaze. "And weakness is a sin."
Yes, despite Vathek's enlightenment, he still believed that it was true. Weakness is a sin, one of the greatest sins of all. In a community that wants to move forward, become stronger and mightier, weak people are just bringing others down. How many nations faced defeat just because they allowed things like democracy to take place? A system that defends weaklings and force the strong ones to work both to live themselves and support all the weaklings. Nature is a perfect world, in which only the strong survive. Left on its own, nature can live on through millions of years without any danger of getting destroyed, because only the strong survive in nature. People, on the other hand, can't be the same. And that's why nations always meet an end. Just like the world will. An endless circle. "Oh, yes..." Cedric's voice echoed through Vathek's mind again. "People should stop believing in things like love and friendship, for they don't have a meaning - and never did."
"Cedric?" Vathek whispered. "Can you hear me?" There was no answer, but Cedric slightly smiled. "How is he?" Vathek asked the nurses. "I-I'm afraid, his condition's getting worse." One nurse said. "We can do nothing but hope." "Hope?" Vathek stood up. "Like that ever helped us before."
He decided to check on Elyon's progress with raising Phobos. If the princess is done, then maybe she'll still have some strength to help Cedric too. Vathek opened the door and stopped. The princess was coming, there was no need to get her anymore. I wonder what happened. Vathek thought. She couldn't have completed such a great task in a matter of minutes.
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Post by Elyon on Dec 7, 2009 15:13:58 GMT -5
[enter: Elyon from the castle's Courtyard]
Elyon hurried on, still a bit bewildered from her brother's sudden appearance. But her mind was focussed on Cedric now. When she left him, he bleeded so much... For a moment, she stopped her pace... That big blue figure standing in her doorway... No doubt it was Vathek. Elyon wasn't really surprised to see him. No. She was actually wondering how she should interact with him... She hated him and he hated her. But Cedric was also in the room, as are those two nurses she sent thre to look after him. It was... Probably best if she just ignored Vathek. Just pretend he's not even there.
She inhaled for a moment as she continued walking. Just don't react to anything he does or says... she thought to herself...
And so she did. She entered her dormitory as if the big blue rebel wasn't standing in her doorway. Instead, she immediatly went over to Cedric's side. "Is he gonna be okay?" Elyon asked. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
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Post by knownasstation on Dec 7, 2009 15:28:20 GMT -5
"Well, my princess." Vathek bowed slightly, ignoring the fact that he was ignored. "It seems you'll have to make another miracle - lord Cedric is dying."
Vathek was a bit troubled that Elyon was so calm - as if nothing would have happened. The nurses simply nodded and turned away with troubled expressions.
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Post by Elyon on Dec 7, 2009 15:49:52 GMT -5
Elyon pretended not to hear, if only to keep herself from burying the insolent galhot under a big pile of rubble. "It's gonna be okay..." she whispered. "I'm here now..."
Another man dying... Had prince Phobos not thrown such a huge surprise, Elyon would almost start thinking she had to fix everything in this world. The big difference here was, of course, that Cedric was not yet gone. It should make it that much easier to get him back on his feet... Tail... Whatever... "You're gonna be okay." She repeated. Really... It was probably miracle enough that the man was still alive at all. The floor of the room was so red, one could easily asume Cedric emptied his entire body on it. First things first then. It was probably best to restore the damaged tissue before attempting anything else.
Elyon almost thanked the stars that she failed Math. Not biology...
She closed her eyes, placing one hand on Cedric's wound and filling it up with energy... Vathek's drained energy... It didn't take too long for the wounds to vanish. The cut healed itself in no time at all, not even leaving a scar to remember it by...
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Post by knownasstation on Dec 7, 2009 16:04:12 GMT -5
Something was trying to drag Cedric out of the water. He kind of liked it there - so calm and quiet. Everything was far away and the newfound joy helped Cedric understand that he wished to die one too many times. That's why it wasn't the end - it was more like homecoming. But some faces up there, in the sky, above the surface of the lake kept disrupting him, annoying him. He could hear weak, frightened voices from somewhere far away. Cedric was sinking fast and he knew that it was only a matter of time before the faces disappear forever. Some hands appeared out of nowhere and started grabbing around, trying to find his body. But he was too deep. And he didn't want any filthy peasants to touch him anyway. Not in life, not in death. Then, suddenly, Vathek's face appeared out of nowhere. That old, familiar face. So many memories... Water started rippling. Cedric moved his hands and tried to reach out, to get to the surface. But Vathek turned away and disappeared, without even trying to save Cedric. He seemed... misshaped somehow. Weaker than usual. Strange... His face forced Cedric to wish to return to life, to find even the hardest path to get back to all the troubles that life brings. But now he was away, and even the peasants kept fading, going somewhere farther and farther. Cedric tried to scream and call them back, but instead, he only got his mouth filled with water. It wasn't pleasant, as if death itself would have crept in. The light almost disappeared. And then, when all seemed to be lost, a face brighter than sun appeared above him. Elyon. And even if Cedric could see a trace of darkness in her eyes, tainting all that wonder, it still was a very beautiful sight. But he hated it. Elyon grabbed his hand and pulled Cedric up. Somehow, that touch made him change his mind again. Now, he wanted to sink back into the lake. He didn't want the Light of Meridian casting the darkness away. No way in hell. Cedric looked into her eyes... And he hated them. Strange... Wasn't he fond of her company? Weren't they friends? At least in a way. Didn't he enjoy her company? Not at all? No. He hated her. He wanted her dead. No, it was the demons. Cedric couldn't have possibly wished to ruin something as beautiful as Elyon. Once again, in a way. He wanted her dead. But still, Cedric gave in and...
And opened his eyes, to face reality.
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