Round Robin - Eastern Project

Alex 43 · **Posted:** April 14th, 2007, 2:27 pm

ACCEPTED ROLE PLAYERS:

ALEX 43
KARL 67
MATTHEW
JASONMRC
RUNE BEAST0
MOMSRASCAL93
TOMBWARRIOR9

RULES - READ THEM!

Ok, Karl's pretty much forced me to start another Round Robin, mainly because I wrote the first post (Not stopping him from preceding it). I copied the rules from the first round robin (On page 6 of the Runescape Related Media forums if you wanna read it) with a few minor and major modifications the world should know and learn to love.

Instead of anyone joining at practically any time, they must submit their character to either me or Karl 67 (You're better off asking Karl) and wait for us to accept him in the story. Both times, the round robin died because someone screwed it up by not only not following the rules, but extending what we didn't want. So this way, I feel that no one can mess it up now.

There are a few rules to a Round-robin, so I'll just quickly lay out the basics for you.

1: No killing off other peoples characters.

No one is allowed to permanently effect another person's character unless the character doesn't have a really important role, is an enemy that there are multiples of, or the creator of the character gives permission.

2: No serts.

"Serts" are basically over-powered guys that can handle any conflict without getting more then a scratch. For example, if I gave Alex 43 the ability to cast Spirit of Pureblade (A spell that severely injures anything in a 5 X 5 square radius) as many times as he wants, then the battlefield is going to get pretty empty pretty quickly and effortlessly. A story is boring without conflict, so instead I have it that Alex 43 can only cast it once every day or so, and as a result he loses the ability to continue fighting due to fatigue. That sort of attack is OK. Whereas, if he can only cast the spell once every few hours, then there are times he is vulnerable and must actually engage in some difficult combat. No immortalities either. A character, however, is allowed to become invisible, but not for an unlimited amount of time.

3: No leading off other players characters against their intentional objective.

You are allowed to have other player's characters talk to yours, travel with them, and attack with them. However, you're not allowed to actually lead another person's character so much that the creator would get lost. I mean, you have your character, so you should build IT up more instead of everyone elses. It's like player-owned houses - you're not able to tell another player what his house should be like, but instead you should build your house to whatever you want.

4: Keep to the plot. KEEP TO THE PLOT! KEEEEEP TO THE PLOT!!!

Someone makes a plot, you keep to it. It's not good to have the topic originally being searching for the legendary iron ore, then someone says your character meets up with an elf, and together, you travel to the great waterfall of Chinrela to battle the evil cave troll of Zamorak. It just doesn't make sense and ... let's face it, it kind of kills the round-robin's plot. Let's try to make this into something memorable.

5: Only join when you've been given direct permission by either Karl, me, or Matthew.

Yeah, I changed this one around completely. You can only join at the start, and only after you have PMed one of us and described your character and how you want him to enter the story. In other words, send your first post to us rather then the round robin.

That's basically it. Sounds pretty tough, but in fact, it really isn't. Just have fun and type what you would, and if it's sort of breaking one of the rules ... well, there are many creative minds out there that can either re-manipulate it or ask you to change a few things. Nothing is permanent, it just has to make sense.

We are warned that we only have one shot in making this a successful (and quite possibly endless) story in the Runescape Media section rather then the sandbox, which it used to be in. Thereby, a few new rules have to be known (Typed by Creepypirate).

-No double posting
-No comments on other peoples storys (you write your own part and that is all, no comments are needed.)
-No less than 20 words per post
-No sexual, bad language or adult posts (You'd be surprised.)

Any questions/comments/complaints on someone else's work?

You PM them to me or Karl 67.

Got a question about how this works?

You PM them to me or Karl 67!

Do I have to repeat myself? Again? No? Good.

Send me a question about it, and if I haven't covered it, I'll add it along with an answer to THIS post for everyone to view. Let's make this story work for all of us, you guys. I don't want to lose this one.

And last rule. Please, no spam. If you have a question, PM us. It's not so hard to do. "Alex 43" or "Karl 67" is not as hard to guess-type as "Ch1nc40m13a34".

_________________________________________

Ok, I'm starting things off. We already know Alex 43 and Gia, but in this, I'm introducing 2 ... well, killing one off instantly, so a new character. Just read it and you'll get it.

_________________________________________

TIME FRAME - 20 YEARS AFTER THE FINAL BATTLE AGAINST THE MASTERY AND ZAROS

SOMEWHERE OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN
_________________________________________

It was stormy today. The sun blocked out by miles and miles of black cloud, lighting up the sky with its occasional show of lightning and thunder performances. The rain came down hard, making those that witness it wonder just how the clouds are able to hold so much.

A day being stormy usually meant that someone was bound to head over to our island seeking shelter for the night or until the storm passes. That's why I built the church here in the first place, after all. I reinforced it with a good meter of solid mahogany and added a few large plates of metal in between to give it extra strength. It has been pretty much imbued into the rocks underneath like how one would stake down a tent - large adamantite harpoon-barbed stakes driven by sheer force down into the rock and nature's own ability locked them in place. There was good chance the waves would envelop the church, but very little chance of it giving in. There's no contest here. Clearly the SWC have triumphed over the sea.

My name is Alexandre the 43rd, or Alex 43 being my commonly used nickname, and I am founder and leader of the SWC - Saradomin Warriors Church. It used to be a chapel, but since the incident with Zaros and the Tome of the Seven Worlds, we re-built it to near perfection. Bigger, better, stronger. This was a true sanctuary in the midst of the ocean. It supported a large thin tower with an enchanted light orb inside a large glass Saradomin star, so that if anyone would ever get lost at sea, they simply would seek out this star and they would know that we would be here to shelter them and point them in the right direction.

Surprisingly, none of us here at the SWC are actually human. Myself, I'm a spirit encased in an animated suit of pure dark green adamantite armor with a blue helmet plume and a diamond four-sided Saradomin symbol encrusted to my chest. It glows reflecting my moods and condition, becoming brighter, dimmer, and sometimes changes colors when my thoughts are just right. My weapon of choice is my trusty Saradomin dragon spear, a weapon lost ages ago and recovered myself by pure fluke.

Manya is someone who I found in Yanille bar, jobless and homeless for the way he looked, which he blamed on a drunk witch. I didn't question it, but I brought him here in exchange for his services, which I am very impressed with. He is an amazing cook and housekeeper, and has an interesting sense of humor which we grew accustomed to eventually after his hiring. Of course, we pay him for his services, but as time passed on, he became part of the team, supervising the church while we were out and about, as he disliked fighting and being out in public altogether. I'm yet to fully understand him.

Dex is another odd addition to the team. As he tells me, he used psionic techniques to warp himself here, but the magical essence in the air is much more tenser then his own land, and he thereby lost his ability to warp back along with a number of others. I found him sprawled on the island next to a small rowboat that ceased to contain 100% of its own shape. He attempted to get away from the Gielinor lands and find an area that didn't have this concentration. He looks like a fox, but his real species name is so complex it gives me headaches just thinking about how to spell it, so I just call him Dex. We have just been taking care of him so he could regain his abilities, but the ones he still has available to him are spectacular nevertheless in combat. A word of warning, though. He is extremely stubborn and hates anyone that he doesn't consider a good friend, so if he wants you out of his way, do it without question. He may be small at only 4 foot 3, but he is the most dangerous out of all of us.

Last but definitely not least is my best friend Gia. He is one of the surviving remnants of the White Dragons - a race that was lost for hundreds of thousands of years, and one of the only creatures to survive the Guthix Bang that started the first age. I found him sealed inside a cavern that appeared to have protected the occupants from the effects of time. In this case, a small tribe of White Dragons. Gia was the first I released, and with his help we managed to get the supplies and resources needed to revive the rest of them and officially make them an ancient part of Runescape.

Anyways, Gia, although he stands at just more then 8 feet tall, is the smallest and youngest of the bunch. Unlike the other White Dragons, he lost his wings to Zaros himself in an story we both surprisingly found "funny" once he told it. Even Gia had a good laugh thinking back to it. Physically, he is the strongest out of us all combined, able to lift immense loads and out-muscle the King Black and his strongest champion black dragon at the same time. At expense of his amazing strength, his incredibly hard crystal-white scales, and his golden heart, he is bulky and can't move nearly as quick as any of us in battle, so he has to endure nearly 100% of the hits that come his way.

Gias weapon of choice is a large and heavy 2-handed sword that he sometimes operates with only 1. The sword itself is made of a material called Rithlyte that is a specially prepared alloy of mithril an runite, but the methods of mixing them to form this alloy stronger then onyx and dragonstone have been lost for a time. The material is heavier then granite, but it has never had to have been sharpened after all those years.

Together with my Spell Summoning and leadership, Dex's mid-range psionic ability, and Gia's brute strength, we have created one of the most perfect teams in the whole of Runescape, working together to keep the world in a passive peace in the name of Saradomin Himself.

___________________________________________

"Dangit, Gia, will you stop DOING that annoying hammering? It's annoying the heck out of me! I can't sleep!"

"I'm sorry, Dex, but if I don't get the supports replaced, we're in trouble!"

"You have all DAY to do that! Can't you take a break for just an hour?"

"It's your own fault for staying up late and over-doing your practice resulting in these headaches!"

"GUYS!"

I stood there, hands outstretched and in a gesture calling for full attention. Dex stood there in a bathrobe, even though he didn't need it. One of his hands was on his head and one look at his face made one think he was hungover. His fur was messy and uneven, especially in the darker tuft of hair atop his head and between his ears. Gia was up on a large ladder specially made for him and up at the archways holding up the roof. He was hammering in large planks of mahogany in a triangular pattern to replace the ones he pried away, which were showing signs of strain and seemed ready to collapse. They had been arguing almost the whole morning, and while Gia is one of the most patient creatures I have ever encountered, Dex is the pure opposite.

I didn't know what side to take at that moment. If I took Gia's side, Dex would just get angrier, but if I took Dex's side, we might not get the supports replaced in time. I had but one choice.

I sided with Gia and braced myself.

"Dex, can't you just wear some earmuffs or something? Gia's doing something incredibly important." I asked as calmly and politely as I could.

Dex wasn't amused, "Oh sure, side with Gia. Typical Alex 43. HOW do you put earmuffs on ears THIS big?"

I took a chance, "Well, if your headache isn't serious enough that you can think straight and shout, maybe you should help Gia get this done more quickly so you can get your sleep."

I wished I didn't say that, because knowing Dex, he's have me a part of the wall by now. However, Saradomin's luck was with me, for Dex, without uttering another word, raised his hand and the mahogany planks defied gravity. They shot up to the wall to finish Gia's formation along with the nails, which embedded themselves somewhat clumsily into the planks to hold the final support into place. He then turned and went back to his room without another word.

I looked at Gia. Gia looked back at me. We shrugged.

"It's funny." Gia said, "How personality alone can create individual assortments of species."

"There are some personalities that the world can do without." I replied. Gia and I are honest beings, expressing our points of view and avoiding having to lie as much as we can. First impressions are always false. When someone new looks at us and sees an animated suit of armor with no internal body and a large white dragon standing on 2 legs, there is usually a lot of screaming and running involved. However, if someone would just say hi and start up conversation, they would find out just what we are truly like. I'll bet that if a blind man met us, he would think that we are angels of Saradomin come to Earth to spread good cheer and peace among the citizens in His name. Heck, they'd probably think we're Santa Claus.

"Between the two of us," I said, "I can hardly hear your hammering over all the thunder."

"I know. Me neither." replied Gia, "But you have to be aware that he has really sensitive hearing. I'm trying to hammer them as quietly and quickly as possible."

"Don't feel bad, OK?" I assured him, "Dex is always like that to everyone. It's just who he is, that's all."

"Of course. I just sometimes wish he can improve a little." Gia replied. He took apart the ladder and put it off to the side just as a bright flash of lightning blasted through the windows. I use lightning as a weapon, so it doesn't scare me a bit. Gia and Dex are also quite used to it, but poor Manya is terrified of it. I can imagine he's having a rough week.

The clouds are thick to the extent that it's quite dark outside, even with the morning sun rising in the sky. It had been storming for the last 2 days, leaving the four of us stuck inside without much to do. Thankfully, we haven't encountered anyone yet seeking shelter, so we are automatically assuming that no one is sailing in these conditions.

I sat down in one of the pews overlooking the master altar. It by itself was one of my greatest pieces of work, and just looking at it filled me with a sense of accomplishment. I put in nearly 2 pounds of silver leaf to trim the frame alone. Underneath its white cloth was a large block of delicately carved marble that supported the 4 silver candlesticks and huge diamond Saradomin symbol. A large book depicting the Holy Lord lay open in front of the overlooking symbol and several silver-trimmed porcelain goblets of wine were scattered around the altar. Hanging over the altar was a large golden chandelier with candles aplenty. Like the altar, it was silver-trimmed and depicted the Saradomin synbol in a number of places, the center support being a large 3D diamond Saradomin symbol by itself.

The main room was large and consisted of 4 columns of 10 rows of pews, each one crafted out of mahogany and blue-dyed cloth. The roof was a series of archways, with 2 different thicknesses to save on material. The thinner sections supported large stained-glass windows with a variety of colors and symbols (Gia's finer work) while the thicker pillar-type arches held alternating candles and torches. There were 8 large steel silver-trimmed candlesticks altogether in the room - four in the 4 corners, and four surrounding the altar. At the back, there is a large mahogany table with chairs we use for dining purposes.

At the back of the room is the hallway that leads to the stairs. Corresponding to the large room, we have 3 upper floors that house bed and bathrooms, including our own. The guest bedrooms each contain two large silver-trimmed 4-poster beds, a couple of dressers complete with mirrors and clean equipment, and a set of wardrobes, all made out of mahogany. Each bedroom has access to its own bathroom, which contains an available bath, sink, and commode, also clean at all times (Manya's just amazing).

The main floor contained the kitchen, which took up more then half the first floor section by itself. Some of the equipment and utensils have been made especially big for Gia, who likes making vegetarian dishes for himself. Dex is the only one out of all of us that can't cook to save his life, so we usually take turns between the 3 of us. However, Manya will do it any time and all the time as he enjoys cooking a lot and is very good at it. Next to the kitchen is the recreation room, where we do things whenever we're bored. Inside is a workbench, a few tables and chairs for board games and fine arts, and a number of shelves full of equipment and toys. There is also a small empty room that doesn't house anything save for a weapon rack or two. We've been thinking of making it into a small portal room for a long time, but never actually got down to doing it.

We also have a cellar and basement which also leads to a large hollowed-out underground cavern that connects directly to the underwater sea where we sometimes house sea creatures that require assistance like crabs, mogres, sea trolls, and dagonnoth.
The cellar contains preserved food rations and building supplies that we gather and restock a few times every month, especially when we get entire shiploads of guests.

I looked towards the window, wondering how our strawberry plants were doing. Outside on the island, we have a large fertile patch of soil we use to grow our own crops as well as a couple of magic and yew trees. Because of Guthix's power, we can chop them down and extract their wood and they will be fully grown and untouched again once we turn our backs. There is also 3 large docks we use to hold ships down to the island so they don't float away while we are taking care of its occupants. One of them holds our own - the Yellow Lightning, a medium-sized single-sail piece of work. We painted it bright yellow so it would stand out like lightning in itself does.

The long silence that followed was broken by Gia almost abruptly, but I didn't react to it.

"I'll just be in the cellar, then, taking inventory."

I said nothing. I couldn't even if I wanted to.

I was now no longer in the chapel of the SWC. Instead, I was now standing in a large flaming field where the air itself seemed to burn. Black haunting trees supported flaming leaves stood high above me, reaching higher then I could see. Above me, a large black cloud began to cover what little sky I could see. The sky itself was a deep red, and looked more like a thick liquid rather then atmosphere.

The air was thick with heat waves, making it impossible to see detail within 3 feet in front of me. All I could see were shapes. Shapes that moved around me. Shapes that carried recognizably obvious weapons like swords, spears, and axes. They resembled long-armed zombie creatures without heads or the ability to walk in a straight line. Zombies that were coming towards me banishing these weapons threateningly.

I drew my spear to find that it was dull and rusted, and froze my hand solid upon grabbing it. I tried to swing it never the less, but my arm was also frozen solid. I could feel the cold rushing around me immobilizing my joints and covering me in a silvery ice. It was impossible for me to tell whether or not this ice was good or bad, even though it prevented me from moving. It was uncomfortable, and yet strangely satisfying at the same time.

The monsters came closer. I couldn't move, but I was enjoying this feeling of being frozen. It had to have been an attack of some kind. I had to break free from this bliss! I strained, forced, tried to move something, but nothing responded! Closer and closer the monsters came. The leader, larger and more humanoid then the rest, brought down a large 2-handed axe overtop my head-

"Alex 43! Are you OK?!?"

I blinked. The forest, the cloud, and the monsters were gone. Instead, I was looking up to the chapel ceiling, right into Gia's shining pupil-less white eyes.

My head hurt. I felt it, but there were no dents or signs of destruction. I could move again, so I sat up.

"What just happened?" I asked.

Gia hesitated before responding, "You blacked out. I said I was going to the cellar and you just fell out of the pew, twitching and sparking almost uncontrollably. I thought you were going to explode and fly apart in pieces!"

"I think it happened again." I said, rubbing my helmet, "An invisionment. Pretty realistic one, too."

"Yeah. Sure looks like it." replied Gia, "I know I should be used to it by now, but it gets worse and scarier each time you go through it."

I got up and sat down again in the pew I fell out of. There was a long silence as we checked my armor for damage.

"What did you see?" asked Gia.

"Something new." I said, "Some sort of zombie-like creature in a burning forest. Nothing like those flying spider creatures over the infinite oceans I usually see."

"I think this is quite serious." replied Gia, "We can't let you keep having these invisionments. One of these days you're going to lose yourself in them."

"I know, but what can I do?" I asked.

Gia was about to answer, but suddenly seemed distracted.

"Can you hear that?"

"Hear what?" I asked.

"Wood. Creaking wood." replied Gia.

I listened and heard Dex, "GIA, WiLL YOU STOP WOODWORKING ALREADY?"

"I'm not! It must be Manya!" Gia called back.

"What is me?" asked Manya. He was peeking out from the kitchen.

"But if it's neither of you ..." I began.

We realized it all too soon. Gia and I raced outside with some ropes and were just in time to lasso the boat and use Gia's brute strength to keep it from hitting the rocks.

It wasn't an ordinary boat propelled by wind. This was a lander, one which I recognize from the Void Knight outpost. They are usually man-powered and open-roofed, but this one had a large tarp tied over it. 2 partically-boarded up holes allowed large oars out to propel it in whatever direction it needed to go. In this case, the wavy ocean and the heavy rain had it at its mercy and was willing to take it wherever it wanted. Whatever the Void Knights were thinking when they launched this lander is beyond me.

They send these landers filled with adventurers and warriors along with a single Void Knight and squire to islands that have become infested with monsters of the nether-world. While the adventurers destroy every last monster and defend their Void Knight escorts, the Void Knights seal up the portal and re-secure the island. However, these seals can only be temporary, and before long the portals are re-opened and the whole process has to be repeated.

This one, however, only contained 1 person, a Void Knight who seemed quite familiar to me. Gia heaved the boat onto the island, we both strapped it down in record time, and I pulled off the tapestry to find him still clinging on for dear life. I then jumped in and offered to bring him safely in the church and out of this heavy rain, to which he gratefully accepted.

Once the doors we closed behind us and towels were handed out, we were able to get a good look at our new guest. I recognized him almost immediately.

"Long time no see, Karl 67." said Gia.

______________________________________________

Ok, Karl, you're up!

Adbot · **Posted:** April 14th, 2007, 2:27 pm

Karl 67 · **Posted:** April 14th, 2007, 2:42 pm

“Valence…” A voice echoed through his mind.

“Wha?” He rose up from his cot. He was still in the Void Knight dormitory. Second floor, Room 222. No bunkmates since Karl 67 was there. He was there because his house collapsed after a strike of destruction touched the roof. The whole thing came crashing down, burying all known Legacy from the organization that found the Mastery of the White Dragon. Karl 67, being made of crystal at that time, managed to get whatever belongings out. But Karl 67 was sent on a mission to the Far East as his official Swan Song of being a Void Knight. It’s been two months since he was supposed to return.

“Valence, is that you?” There was the voice again. Valence got onto his feet and put on his shirt. He also slipped on an eye patch over his right eye. His hair consisted first of hat hair, which covered over the band that made up his eye patch. Other than that, he had a thick mullet. It was early in the morning. The strip of sunlight shone on his hair, revealing the brilliant brown that it was. His five-o-clock shadow was thin and also brown. The shirt and pants were both those of a veteran sailor and an expert brewer. Black all around and white and gray trimmed around the ends of the sleeves.

“Who’s in my dorm? Where are you?” He called out.

“I’m at the window you nimrod.”

Valence spun around and leaped back in shock. Karl 67 was clinging onto the window. His skin was completely normal, which freaked Valence out even more.

“Karl 67?! How are you… You’re…”

“Normal. I know. I don’t even know how it happened either. I blacked out for some reason… woke up like this…”

Karl 67 had been gone for nearly two years altogether. His location was uncertain, but it was certain that Pests needed to be controlled there. Karl 67 was one of the most respected members of the entire Void Knight community. Hid outfit was his old Void Knight armor, except it was torn to the point where it would be not appropriate for the public, as there was nearly nothing left for an attire.

“That’s really strange… so you’re not a spirit?”

“That’s all I know about myself, I’m not a spirit.”

Valence accepted Karl 67’s existence and helped him into the window. He looked completely normal, save for the condition he was in. His hair was longer though as it covered his ears. His cavalier was torn and nearly un-wearable. His Void Knight plate top was slashed and nearly destroyed. His leggings were also devastated enough to be considered shorts. Valence quickly got him an extra set of the navy uniform. After he changed, Karl 67 fixed up his cavalier hat and asked Valence. “I need a Lander. I am being chased, and I need a safe haven.”

“What? What for?”

“I remember now, I’m being chased. I escaped somewhere and I am what they say an Outlaw. I need to get to a safe place.”

“The only one I know would be-”

“The Saradomin Warrior Church,” Karl 67 finished, “I will need to take a Lander too.”

“They’re not willing to lend anyone Landers behind their shifts.” Valence reminded.

“Then we’ll have to steal one. Because I think they know where I am.”

“Who is they that you’re talking abou-”

“There’s no time, Hurry!” At that, Karl 67 leaped out of the window, landing almost completely silently due to his incredible agility. Valence, who was not as daring or agile as the other, climbed down. He trusted Karl 67 and definitely believed it was he, as no one else could leap two floors onto uneven ground and not lose stability. They silently ran across the grass, which glistened from mildew. Pretty soon, they made it to the beach where all of the landers were. Karl 67 picked the closest one and started undoing the rope.

“They’ll get suspicious if I go with you. I’ll help you and then go back to my room.” Valence whispered.

“Understood. It was great to see you again though.” Karl 67 whispered back.

“Likewise.” Valence pushed the lander onto the water when Karl 67 got on. After watching the lander go onto the horizon. He turned and started walking back. Then something caught his eye. Sails were visible on the horizon opposite of Karl 67. The sails themselves looked too exotic to be from Gielinor. He looked back at Karl 67 and then to the strange ships. The ships suddenly picked up speed towards the island. Valence broke out in a mad sprint back to the dormitory to raise the alarm, but the ships themselves just sped around the island. “How the… How do they go so fast?” he gaped and stood still in shock as the ships almost as quickly as they sailed towards the island, left the island. “Shoot, I hope Karl 67’ll be alright…”

-----

“… Long time no see, Karl 67,” said Gia.

“I could say the same thing. If you never moved here, I’d be dead either way.” Karl 67 replied. Gia and Alex 43 then noticed that their guest looked much different from last time. Instead of his skin, hair, eyes, and everything organic all crystal, he looked normal. Both were confused at both his new look and what he said and didn’t know what to ask first.

“Are they still after me?” Karl 67 asked.

“What’s still after you?” Gia asked, reaching for his sword instinctively.

“That’s the thing, I don’t know who or what they are, but they’ve been after me since I escaped. I don’t even know anything about what they did.” Karl 67 explained.

“What did they do?” Alex 43 asked, trying to get the whole situation simplified.

“All I remember is blacking out and waking up all normal and such. After I was sent in some cage for storage, I broke out and ran off. They’ve been after me since.”

“What kind of cage was it?” said Alex 43.

“Pretty tough cage, steel bars. Pretty thick lock too.”

“How could you break through steel with your bare hands?” Gia asked.

“I picked the lock.” Karl 67 replied. Gia and Alex 43 slapped their heads, not expecting that.

“Just one question, how did you have enough energy to get through a storm like that? Even with good agility, I doubt you’d be well enough to get out of the boat with just Alex 43’s help.” Gia asked while the trio walked towards the kitchen; noticing that Karl 67 walked, looking perfectly fine.

“To be honest, I have no idea.” Karl 67 replied.

MattVortex · **Posted:** April 14th, 2007, 4:42 pm

Whispers through the night....

Fire... Wanderer... Master....

Kas'haran woke up with a start. His lecturer was looking at him.

'Kas'haran, I have told you more than enough times to get some sleep at night. I will not have you sleeping in my lectures again.'

The professor turned around again, and went back to explaining the history of the Mind Rune on a large blackboard. History of Magic was part of the Elven training course, as well as other magics, ranged combat, and many other things besides. History of Magic was not the worst thing on the course (beaten only by History of ranged combat), although it was pretty close. Other students, while not asleep, looked like they were about to fall asleep.

Kas'haran was an intelligent young man, in his early twenties. An elf, nearing the end of his compulsory elven education, which finished at the age of 22. After that, you would either join the army, go on into a profession, or do some further studying, specialising in a certain field.

Kas'haran was relatively tall, and had long, brown hair, apparently just like his parents, although he could vaguely remember them. The two of them died when Kas'haran was only five years old, murdered, leaving him with only a few heirlooms, including two strange crystal seeds. They were quite different to normal crystal seeds - one of them was perpetually warm, and the other seemed to accumulate static at a rate that wasnt normal. Touching the second one always gave him a bit of a shock. One of the only other things he had from them was a powerful staff, crafted of magic wood, dragonstone and diamond, which helped him all the time during magic.

'Kas'haran, who invented the mind rune?'

Kas'haran paused for a second, surprised at the question.

'Err... Saruel?'

The professor seemed surprised. 'Yes... it was. So you have been listening.'

The lesson continued in the usual boring way. Random scraps of knowledge seemed to seep into Kas'haran's mind, just as they always did in these boring lessons, despite the fact he was half-asleep.

The class finished, and they all left the lecture hall. All the elves went back to their quarters. After doing a few hours of study for his magic professor, going down to the bar for a quick drink, and coming back to hsi quarters, he went to sleep.

'Aovo Terrodis! Aovo Terrodis!'

Surges of sand blasted towards the demons all around the battlefield. One rushed towards him.

Two pincers appeared in front of his face. A claw stabbed down on his robes.

'Maeteru!' yelled a man to one side. The man threw a rune towards him. It had a diamond symbol upon it.

'BLAZUI!'

Kas'haran awoke again, a cold sweat shivering down his face. He walked over to the table where the two crystal seeds were sitting, and touched them, flinching slightly with the spark of the second, but feeling the warmth of the first on his hand.

Kas'haran went back to sleep. He had his Magic practical exam tomorrow, and did not want to be tired for it.

That one word whispered through his head for the rest of the night...

Blazui...

OOC: This next bit was edited in afterwards.

Kas'haran awoke the next morning, after the loud 7:30 chime that echoed over the entire town. He got out of bed, quickly showered, threw on his robes, grabbed his staff, and went down to breakfast. Banana juice and pineapple today - rarities the elves sometimes managed to get from distant lands - Karamja especially. He headed off to his Magic class.

'Ok, everyone. End of unit exam today. I've made this one especially tricky.'

The class groaned. Most of them were pretty good at magic, but when the professor said 'tricky', it normally meant 'you're all going to fail'.

'Who will go first?'

No-one volunteered.

'Ok, then, alphabetical order it is. Aenuel, you're up.'

The girl walked forward, her staff ready in a combat stance. The professor put a whistle to his lips, and let out a long, shrill note. Something was released high above, and a green dragon flew down from a cage in the trees above them.

The girl quivered slightly, grabbing four blood runes from her pouch.

'Terranis Occio!' she yelled, an Earth Wave shooting out the end of her staff. It hit the dragon in the chest, clearly doing a large amount of damage, but the dragon seemed strong enough to go on. It reared its hind legs, breathing in.

'Flamii Occio!' Aenuel yelled, shooting a fire wave out of her staff at the same moment the dragonfire was released. The two collided head-on, erupting in a fiery explosion. A tree nearby caught fire, but was quickly extinguished by the professor.

Aenuel went to her rune pouch again, considering what spells to use... maybe if she could use some quick-fire Earth blasts she would be able to kill it. She grabbed some death runes, and started casting.

'Terranis Oblitero! Terranis Oblitero!' she cried, spell after spell shooting out of the end of her staff. The dragon was hit once, twice, three, and more times, but eventually fell.

'Well done. But that it just one part of the test.' said the professor, grabbing his whistle again. He pressed it to his lips again, and the same shrill sound was released again.

A cage from above was opened once more.

A Dagannoth.

Aenuel released more and more earth blasts, trying to do many quick hits like she did on the dragon, but it only suffered minimal damage. The dagannoth charged, and Aenuel froze on the spot. Three feet away from killing her, it was struck dead with four well-aimed lightning bolts. The professor had a Saradomin staff raised.

'A good effort on the dragon, Aenuel; I like the quick-fire tactics. 65 out of 100. Next!'

The other exams went normally. Most killed the dragon no problem, but were stumped by the Dagannoth, although one or two managed to kill it. The next beast, though, was a TzHaar-Ket, which no-one seemed to stand a chance against.

'Kas'haran, you're next!'

The whistle was blown, and the green dragon appeared. It instantly reared up on its hind legs, breathing in, but frankly didnt stand a chance. A flurry of Earth Waves hit it square in the chest before it had a chance to breathe out. There was an applause from the professor.

'Excellent, Kas'haran; you take after your parents. Dagannoth next.' said the professor, blowing his whistle.

The Dagannoth was released, and almost as quickly as the dragon, it was hit over and over by earth and fire spells. It roared, getting ready to charge, but was hit again by a Fire Wave, and fell.

'Very good, Kas'haran.' said the professor, clapping his hands once more. 'Time for the TzHaar-Ket now.'

It was released from its cage, and charged at Kas'haran. He shot at it with spell after spell, damaging it, but it seemed to be too fast.

Something drew his eye to the tip of his staff. There, within the sphere of dragonstone, was a diamond symbol. Just like the rune he had seen in his dream...

The single word wafted into the front of his head.

'BLAZUI!'

No-one expected what was coming next.

The orb at the tip exploded with brilliant light, like a magnesium flare. The whole of his body erupted in bright white flame, filling him with energy. Kas'haran smashed the face in of the TzHaar-Ket, blasting it with spells until it fell.

The fire died down, and the tip of his staff stopped glowing.

Everyone stared. The professor seemed astounded. He was mumbling something under his breath.

'The Wanderer's Blaze...' he muttered. 'Class, we'll have a break now. Be back after lunch, and we'll finish the exam. Kas'haran, if you could wait behind.'

The others left. Kas'haran turned to the professor.

'Kas'haran, the spell you just used was one that was invented by your father. It is called Blaze, and I have no idea how you came to know it.'

'A dream... i heard the words in a dream... there was a strange diamond symbol on a rune, and I saw it in the tip of my staff, too.'

'I always wondered if your staff was given any Wanderer's powers when your parents created it. Clearly your father had a few Wanderer's runes left after the collapse of the Mastery.'

'Wanderer's Runes? Mastery?'

'Yes, the Wanderer's runes were special runes your father invented, and the Mastery was an organisation both your parents helped lead. They entrusted me with the information so that I could tell you if anything happened to them before they could tell you.'

The professor paused for a minute.

'I think, Kas'haran, it is time for you to learn who your parents really were.'

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** April 15th, 2007, 5:48 pm

Here are my bios, since noone really knows who my characters are.

And Alex, you mght want to add a timeline from the first age until now.

Name: Jason
Homeland Rank: Elven Prince
Kailenian Millitary Rank: Captain
Race: Elven
Class: Ranger (Ranger being scout type that uses melee and range)
Weapons: Jason has inheirted his father's crystalite sword which is sharper then glass and stronger then dragonite. The sword is always hanging by his side in its red velvet scabard. In a gem spot on his scabard is a glowing crystal seed, he can take it out and sing it into its shield form when he draws his sword. He also carrys a magical long bow that he made out of Tiscilla branches. Its much lighter and more accurate then a normal long bow.
Armor: A runeite chain mail covered with a black leather shirt and leather chaps. A dark green cloak that he can cover himself with to be unseen. He can only do this for 2 hours a day or twice a day though.
Age: 125, he looks about 30
Description: Around 6'5" with a strong build, brown eyes and brown hair.
Weakness: His lack of magic makes it harder for him to fight mages. Also since he doesn't have full plate on his arms and his legs are left open except for his leather.

Bio: Jason was born in his Father's Castle, Elduvian. His Fathers Kingdom, Kailenian (Kai-Len-E-An), is located on 5 islands south-east of Karamja. There are four smaller islands each one pointing in each of the compass point directions. The bigger and main island which is in the middle is where the castle Elduvian is. He's rarely at Elduvian because he's usually out adventuring with his best friends, Skyrate and Michael.

Name: Skyrate Shadowstorm
Homeland Rank: Lord
Kailenian Millitary Rank: Captain
Race: Imlandrian
Class: Fighter / Night rider (Night rider is a special type of class that can do certain things in darkness)
Weapons: Two Runeite Katannas that are criss-crossed on his back
Armor: Black Leather with a black cloak
Age: 12,193 (His race is a long living one)
Description: Skyrate is 7'1" and of a strong build. He wears a dark grey cloak that makes him a look like a shadowy blur except in good light.
Weakness: His lack of spell magic and armor are his weakness, but he can usually block melee attacks with his katannas.

Bio: Skyrate's father was a commander in his lands army so Skyrate followed his father's footsteps. Eventually the land was taken over by trolls and Skyrate went off to fend for himself, he was 200 then. He wandered around the world finding thieves, he either killed them or handed them over to the proper authorities. That's where he learned most of his fighting skill, by learning how an enemy attacks and then learning how to counter it. When he was 12,725 (when Jason was 60) he met Jason and they've been like brothers since. He gets his secondary name because you usually only see a shadow where he is or was. And because he is deadly when cloaked. Skyrate met Michael accouple years before he met Jason. Skyrate and Michael usually travel together.

Name: Michael
Kailenian Millitary Rank: Lieutenant
Race: Nature elemental
Class: Mage / Fghter
Weapons: A 8' long staff made out of a magic tree branch. It has a 2' long runeite blade section at the top of it and where the blade turns into the magic tree shaft there's a green maple leaf.
Armor: Dark green robes, not the type that would slow you down though. He also has a runeite chain sleeve on his left arm for defense.
Age: 420, he looks about 40
Description: 7'5" Black eyes, with short Black hair, Very strong build. When he turns to elemental form he grows to be 15' tall and weighs over a ton.
Weakness: The fact that he wears nothing much in the way of armor makes it easier for him to be hit. Unless in Elemental form, inwich his weakness would be his lack of mobility.

Bio: Before Michael met Jason and Skyrate he lived alone as a hermit in a special hidden cave on the Red Dragon isle in the wilderness, killing the occassional tresspassing Player killer. He never could understand why people would come out into the wilderness to purposely kill other people. Michael has been traveling with Skyrate ever since Skyrate helped him defeat a clan of 50 high level player killers. When Michael turns into Nature elemental form he can be either a: Tree spirit, earth elemental, water elemental, or stone golem.

---------------------
Tale of the Trio
---------------------

This is the tale of the Trio of Jason, Skyrate and Michael, told by Skyrate.

65 Years ago I traveled RuneScape alone in the night. I would stop street thieves and kill or turn in, trade lurers, that was my task; to clear the world of all thieves and dishonest people. One night when I was following a thief in The Wilderness that was headed towards the rogues' castle, the thief walked past a boulder that rose up and hit him, it sent him flying into a nearby tree, instantly killing him. I went and talked to the elemental, a few minutes later, who transformed into a humanoid in the conversation, his name was Michael. We could each sense that neither would hurt the other and we soon became friends. I left the next day and came back in a few weeks and found to my surprise him fighting for his life against a clan that I new as 'The Destroyers*', I had met some of there scouts on occassion in unfriendly terms, Michael was in his Rock golem form and killing many of the members in a few hits. There was atleast 50 people there, what they were hoping to gain from his defeat I don't know. But once I saw them I immediatel put on my cloak and drew my katannas, using the act of surprise I was able to kill many. I saw the problem though, they had food runners running food from the ardougne bank to the battle. The runners were obviously hired because once I killed them all off they didn't come back like the clan members were. Soon after the food runners stopped coming the leader told the clan to retreat, he must've known there was someone else and that his clan wouldn't last long without food coming again and again. Once they all ran away, (half atleast died by Michael and I before they could escape.), we went back to his cave where it was safe. I asked him if he would like to join me on my travels as it would be safer for us both then, for two are not easily cornered, he agreed and from that day on we traveled alone, doing what I had done before. 5 years later we met Prince Jason when we were in the Troll stronghold getting ready to take revenge on the Trolls for taking over my homeland. Prince Jason was doing The Troll Stronghold quest, he needed the Law talisman for part of his Elven training, I won't go into detail as to why its needed in the Elven training here. He had never liked Trolls anyways so he helped us, together all three of us killed 495 Trolls including 5 Troll Generals, I think the Trolls understood why we were attacking them. After we were done with our revenge on the Trolls we helped Jason finish the quest and then he asked us to come to his homeland, we accepted and went with him. We stayed in his homeland for a few months and waited for him to finish his training, during that time we trained as Kailenian knights. Once his elven training was done all three of us, the Trio, left the islands and returned to doing what Skyrate had been doing. That was 60 years ago, today we usually stay at Elduvian and train the younger Elven knights, Michael has found his Nature spirit ability to be most useful during harvest and spring time, with his help most farmers can reap 2-3 harvests a year.

---------------------

Name: Celestina
Homeland Rank: Her birth home was destroyed, she now lives in Elduvian as an adopted Princess.
Race: Looks like an Elf but you can feel that she isn't a full elf. She was given half ice elemental abilitys by Guthix for a special purpose still unknown to her.
Class: Sorceress
Weapons: A Sky blue Crystal staff that gives her unlimited air and Water Runes.
Armor: None, she doesn't like wearing metal armor as it restricts her ability to cast spells.
Age: Unknown, but is thought to be around 30
Description: Slender (Not extremely thin), with Sky blue eyes and brown hair to just below her shoulders, often in a braid or ponytail. She wears blue robes and a blue headband. She also always has a white glove on her left hand, but not one on her right.
Weakness: She has a very odd weakness to fire and heat, it hurts her worse and easier then it would a normal Elf. Also her lack of armor lets her be hit easier with melee attacks.

Bio: When Celestina was born her parents new their was something strange about her. Because she was colder then most children her parents thought she wouldn't live, but she did. When she was 5 she had a dream of Guthix talking to her and telling her she had a special purpose and that's why she received a special gift. Only she and her adopted family know what the gift is. Her real perants were killed in the Zarosian wars when she was only about 10. She was found by one of the commanders of the Elduvian army.

Name: Falkor
Homeland Rank: His homeland doesn't have any special ranks, he's a commander in the Elduvian army though.
Race: Flynndrow
Class: Warrior, Illusionist
Weapons: A Flynndrow two-handed sword made out of crystal like elven crystal but different.
Armor: None, its hard to find an armorsmith that would make custom armor for him, also it weighs him down.
Age: 93 (The average lifespan of a Flynndrow is around 250 years)
Description: Looks like a lion with wings and a man's head, his hind feet are padded like a lions and his fore feet are human hands, both fore and hind feet have claws that can retract. He stands on his hind legs making him 7 feet tall. He has golden brown hair and golden fur, his wings which have a 10 foot wingspan are golden feathered.
Weakness: He doesn't wear any armor so archers can get him easily and mages, especially fire, are a nuisence to him.

Bio: Falkor lives in the Flynndrow city Flynndil, which lies north of Tirannwn. Its not a big settlement and doesn't have any army, though all Flynndronian men are trained to fight at the age of 15, because any enemy would have to go through the elves to get to them, else tunnel or fly. Falkor met Jason when Jason was going through elven training that had to be done in Tirannwn. They've been good friends ever since and Jason trained Falkor to be a commander in the Elduvian army, when needed. Falkor also met Skyrate years before he met Jason.

Word Meanings and info: Tiscilla is a light colored tree found only on the Kailenian islands. Kailenian means "Protected Land". Elduvian means "Strong Citadel". Flynndrow is a race, it means "Winged lion warrior". Flynndil means "City of the winged".

------------------------------------------------------------
\
/ The clan name 'The Destroyers' was not purposly taken
\ from any clan, if your clan has this name I did not
/ use it to be offensive towards your clan at all. I just
\ randomly thought up a good name for the clan in my story.
/
------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------
At Elduvian
---------------------------------------------------------------

Jason looked through some books in the library until he found one that sparked his interest. He sat down at one of the tables and starting reading it.

The librarian walked over to him and said "Ahh, the story of The Scaarz-Got Blade."

"It says the blade was destroyed in the first age though." Said Jason.

"It lists the alloys made to create this awesome weapon though. Do you think we could make another?" He finshed.

"It would most likely be possible, I don't see what would stop you from doing it. What materials are needed?"

Said the Librarian who was a close friend of Jason's father, actually the Librarian was his Father's teacher many, many years ago. He was very fond of Jason and liked urging him on anything he was thinking of doing.

"5 runeite ores, 4 Mithril ores, 2 gold ores, 1 Millitharnin ore, 1 of each of the main gems (Saphire, emerald, ruby, and diamond), 1 rope, and 1 black dragon leather."

Jason stopped and pondered for a moment, he was thinking about the Millitharnin ore, what was that?

"What do you think a Millitharnin ore is?" He said.

"I've heard of it talked about in the legends about this sword, but never known much about it. Let me find a book..."

The Librarian walked over to the "O" section and looked for a minute, then he came back to the table with a rather big and old looking book.

"Ores, every known ore in the world since the first age. By Tharduk Smardiggle. This ought to have it." He said as he opened the book, it was written in old dwarven, for ofcourse Tharduk was a dwarf, he fingered through the pages.

"J...K...L...Ahh-hah, M. Millitharnin; 'This ore is very rare and not much is known about it. One thing we do know is that its extremely strong and does not dull easily when turned into a blade, this is exactly why it was chosen for The Scaarz-Got Blade. There has never been a vein for this ore and it cannot be made by compositry. The Location where the little that was found was in the Krydendil mines.' Sounds like the best place to to start."

"Hmm, yes. We would also need a smith, but I think the Kailenian smiths would be good enough. I'll talk to Skyrate about this later." Said Jason.

MattVortex · **Posted:** April 16th, 2007, 4:23 am

The professor sat down at a nearby bench with Kas'haran. There was still three hours left til lunch, and that was an hour long, so there was plenty of time until the rest of the class came back.

'Kas'haran, how much do you know about your parents?'

'Not much. I know they died when I was only five years old - they didnt tell me much, although they were away from home a lot, I remember that much. I have been told that they were some of the most powerful mages of their time, and I know their names - Maeteru and Arasa - although hardly anything apart from that.'

'You are right, Kas'haran, they were some of the most powerful mages of their time, in fact, your father was the most powerful mage of his time, as far as everyone knows. Arasa was very close behind him, and quite frankly I dont think anyone could have stood up to them in a duel, not magically anyway.

'At the age of seven, your father was ostracised from the elven village where he lived. He was always brilliant at magic, although he took it too far once, and ended up vaporising an elder. He was left at the gates of his village with a bow, a few runes, his staff and some food, and was told to leave. He left the bow and arrows at the gate, taking only the runes, and over the next few years grew and grew into an incredibly powerful mage. He was known as The Wanderer, and created a new type of rune, which we now know as the Wanderer's Rune. It has that diamond shape upon it, which you said you saw in your dream, and at the tip of your staff. The Wanderer's rune was very unstable, and could be used for basically anything they liked, rather than the very restrictive normal runes we use now. As far as I know, the only remaining Wanderer's rune power in the world resides in the tip of your staff. The secret to making Wanderer's runes died with your parents.

'As well as being some of the most powerful people in the world magically, your mother and father were two of the most powerful people in the world politically. They were two out of the seven leaders of a great organisation known as The Mastery of the White Dragon. They were a group first created around 35 years ago, set on protecting the entire world from Zaros, and, well, other worlds. You may not know this, Kas'haran, but there are other worlds than our own, and some of them contain vile beasts, mostly of Zarosian nature. There are seven main worlds, as well as The Abyss, an intermediary world that was closed up by the Mastery, as well as a multitude of other micro-worlds.

'The Mastery itself originally had its HQ deep underground, although with the help of some of your fathers magic, they created their own little pocket of space-time in which to house it. I had the honour of visiting it once, before its destruction, and it was incredible. A huge city, formed outside of this world, made mostly of marble, with huge training arenas, buildings dedicated to sciences and manufacturing and everything. The Mastery was an organisation of elites, not just in combat, but in advancing their intelligence as well. They had some of the most advanced weapons and magics there.

'Unfortunately, a little more than 20 years ago, Zaros, a great dark god, who wished to do nothing but destroy, managed to get onto this world. There was a huge battle, which was eventually taken to the Mastery HQ itself. The battle, however, destroyed the HQ - it was broken off from this world, where is simply dissolved within the Void. There were very few remaining survivors - Alex 43, Gia, Karl 67, Valence and your parents were the only known survivors, the only Mastery members who were outside of the Mastery HQ when it collapsed. The mastery was dissolved, as the once great 1200-strong organisation was down to six members in the space of five minutes. A great shame, although the Mastery's ultimate goal was realised - to kill Zaros once and for all. Only a few more than the six know about the Mastery - it was a very secretive organsation.

'The leaders of the Mastery were, if I can remember, Alex the 43rd, a spirit encased in Adamant armour; Karl the 67th, an elf who is, as far as I know, made of crystal; Gia, a white dragon from the second age; Da Devil and Tom, who were unfortunately killed twenty years ago with the collapse of the Mastery; and your parents, Maeteru and Arasa.

'As you know, your parents were murdered sixteen years ago, by some rogue Zarosians and Zamorakians who managed to survive the great war. They were sleeping at the time. While they may have been very powerful mages, their defences were down, as they did not expect that any Zarosians or Zamorakians would remember them, or, indeed, had survived the war. Obviously killing mages of so much power did require a lot of power, and your parents murderers were obliterated along with your parents.'

Kas'haran took a little while to take in everything he had been told.

'Alex 43, Karl 67, the others, where can I find them?'

'Alex 43 and Gia live on a small island, in the middle of the ocean, which is basically inaccessible to all. No-one knows the whereabouts of Karl 67 - he was a void knight, and left on his final mission 2 years ago. Valence is a Void Knight, and resides in the Void Knight HQ. If you want to meet any of your parents' old friends, he should be the one you go to first, as he is the only one of whom we know the exact location.'

Kas'haran stood up, picking up his staff.

'Kas'haran.' said the professor, pausing. 'Good luck.'

Kas'haran took his staff and went back to his quarters. He picked up his pack, and a rune pouch, filled them with necessities, and walked outside. Aenuel was just walking past as he went outside.

'Going somewhere, Kas'haran?'

'The professor knows. If anyone asks, just tell them I've gone to seek out my family.'

Kas'haran just reached the gates of the town when he heard the professor running up the path.

'Kas'haran, I forgot to ask you. Did your parents leave you two crystal seeds?'

'Yes... they did... They're strange, though, like they're slightly elementalised.'

'Take them with you. If you meet Karl 67, he will know exactly what to do with them. It is possible Valence may know Karl's whereabouts.'

'O...k...' replied Kas'haran, slightly confused. He quickly ran back to his quarters and grabbed the seeds, putting them in his pack.

'Good luck, Kas'haran. I do hope you find out more about your parents.'

Kas'haran took a few runes out of his pack, and teleported to Falador.

Falador was in its usual busy state. He walked through it relatively quickly, trying to avoid the various people who would try to sell him something. He reached Port Sarim in five minutes, and got to the dock quite quickly. The Void Knights' boat looked like it was about to leave to their outpost. He ran over to it, getting on the boat.

'Cast off!' yelled someone at the top of the boat.

The boat was cast off and went on its southerly journey. The trip was relatively uneventful. Kas'haran pulled out the two seeds, wandering why the professor had told him to take them. Maybe this Karl 67 would be able to reveal their secret...

The boat arrived at the outpost, and Kas'haran put the seeds back into his bag. He wrapped his cloak around him - the sea wind made the place quite chilly. He stepped off the boat, and after being greeted by a Void Knight, walked out onto the Island.

He walked up to a Void Knight who looked like he had some importance on the Island.

'Hello. What do you want? I'm busy here.'

'Sorry, I dont mean to disturb, but I'm looking for Valence.'

'Valence? Hm. About 100 yards to the east. He should be in his quarters, room 222. Wears an eyepatch. Cant miss him.'

Kas'haran headed off to where the Void Knight had pointed. He reached a building which had a sign on - 'Void Knight quarters, Rooms 220-230' - and after reading the sign a little more determined that Valence was up on the second floor. He knocked.

A man came out, wearing an eyepatch.

'Kas'haran?'

'How do you know me? Are you Valence?'

'Wow, is is Kas'haran; and yes, I'm Valence. Come in, come in. I havent seen you for, oh... 17 years now. You were only 3 and a half feet tall when I last saw you.'

'I have been told you knew my parents.'

'Yes, I did. I spose you come seeking their history?'

'Yes, and I have been told Karl 67 will know what to do with these...' said Kas'haran, pulling the two seeds out of his pack.

'I knew it.'

'Sorry?'

'Oh, It's an old elven trick. Few people know it anymore. May I touch them?'

Kas'haran handed the seeds to Valence. Valence flinched as he touched the second one.

'What's special about these seeds?' asked Kas'haran.

'Karl 67 knows more about it, but basically speaking, these seeds hold your parents souls.'

Kas'haran looked like he had just been smacked round the face.

'You... what?!'

'It's an ancient elven trick, as I said. When faced with danger, it is possible to send your soul into a seed to protect yourself. It can then be released by a highly skilled crystal singer and placed back into the person's body.'

'But my parents' bodies were destroyed...'

'They'll have no problem, your parents were semi-elementals. I guess without a body they'd just be pure elementals. The warm one is your father, and the other is your mother - Maeteru was a fire semi-elemental, and Arasa was a lightning semi-elemental.'

Kas'haran sat down. It took a while for him to take this in.

'I am no crystal singer, though. I dont know how good you are with crystal singing.'

'I can make a shield, a stick; not much else.'

'We'll need Karl, then. He passed through here yesterday. I think he was heading out to Alex's island and the SWC.'

'SWC?'

'Saradomin Warriors Church.'

An alarm bell sounded. Valence stood up from where he was sitting on the table.

'Trouble.' Valence said, grabbing a thick Dragon-metal sword, and a small pouch of runes. 'Can you fight?'

'I have a staff.'

'Let's go.'

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** April 16th, 2007, 7:35 pm

Jason researches about the sword for another hour and then finds Skyrate and Michael training a batallion of soldiers.

"String your bows, aim, fire" Said Skyrate.

They all strung the bows, aimed at the targets and fired, all moving at the same moment. There was 200 there and most of them hit a bullseye. And then 5 arrows were shot from behind Skyrate and went right down the shaft of the five nearest arrows-in-bullseyes. Everyone turned towards Skyrate.

"You are all getting to be pretty good archers, keep it up, that skill will be greatly needed when an enemy arises." Said Jason as he lowered his bow, for it was he ofcourse who shot the five arrows, all at once.

"Hey Jason, what are you doing down at the training grounds?" Said Skyrate.

"I need to talk to you and Michael."

"Alright, training recess for the day."

Jason, Skyrate, and Michael walk to the teachers only area and sit down. Jason opens the book.

"I've been researching about the Scaarz-Got blade." He said. "And the materials needed to make another, since the first was destroyed. The main ore, Millitharnin, was found in the Krydendil mines. This was the first and last finding so far, and it was just enough to create the blade." He finished.

"And you want to go searching for this ore and the other means to create a new sword?" Said Michael.

Michael had a grin on his face, he knew that was exactly what Jason was getting at.

"Why not?" Said Skyrate. "I've been to Krydendil before, its got mostly dwarves in it, most of which are friendly. We aren't really needed here, they can manage without us."

"Well then, i'll go tell my dad and we can get things ready. Another captain can take on your batallion."

They get there packs ready and then board the next ship to Port Sarim.

"Krydendil can be reached from Keldagrim, let's go to the dwarven mines and use a mine cart to Keldgrim." Said Skyrate. "I'll race you."

The Trio starts running to the ice mountain, they run on Draynor Manor's side of Falador, evoiding the hustle and bussle of the town. They go by the Barbarian village, not stopping though, and continue to the ice mountain. When they reach the Dwarven mines' Surface they're greeted by Nulodion.

"What brings Kailenian royalty to our mines?" He said.

The Kailenian islands often imported iron, coal, and mithril from the dwarven mines.

"We're headed to Krydendil. We figured we could get there from Keldagrim." Said Jason.

"Yes, we have some trade with them, but since I usually stay here I don't know all that much about the trades. The best of luck to you."

He went back to perfecting the dwarf-Multi Cannon. And the Trio went down the tunnels and got a cart to Keldagrim.

Adbot · **Posted:** April 16th, 2007, 7:35 pm

Karl 67 · **Posted:** April 19th, 2007, 3:12 pm

Valence and Kas'haran left the dormitory to see that the Void Knights were rushing across the huge array of docks that were built since the end of the Mastery War. The majority of the Void Knights were more of an authority than Valence himself and is sometimes ordered out of the way. When things like that happen, Valence pulls Kas'haran with him.

The situation turns out to be a missing lander. Valence, though knowing how it's missing, didn't say a word. When asked, he shrugged. Kas'haran was wondering if combat skills would be necessary. He also wondered what the significance of the lander was. Valence beckoned he young elf to follow and then attempted to talk with the Leader.

"Who is that?" Kas'haran asked a nearby Void Knight, regarding the leader.

"That's Zircon, the leader of the Void Knights as a result of the weekly elections." The Void Knight replied.

Valence got Zircon's attention. "What happened?"

"One of the landers went missing," His voice was cold and intimidating, but Valence didn't falter.

"Was there something important about the lander?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. That lander contained a very important delivery that was to be sent to the Eastern Lands."

Valence shuddered slightly, he recognized the banner on the ships immediately.

"What was that delivery?" He asked.

"It was some sort of mask made completely of an incredibly tough alloy almost as tough as the stuff used to make that armor from the Third Age. It was ordered from the RPDT, but they needed a fast ship since the order was coded as "urgent". That was about two months ago and was needed by the next two days. We were about to send it off this morning. A witness claimed that someone got onto the island and took a lander at random. That lander most likely being the one that went missing."

"What was the mask for?" Valence asked.

"That's what makes it more urgent; we don't know. But they did say that it would make one of the greatest creations since the Dwarven Multicannon."

Valence pondered, then saluted and walked off. Kas'haran saw that Valence was in deep thought as he walked back to his dormitory and followed.

In the dormitory room, Valence took his sword and smashed a crystalline lock latched securely on a chest in the corner. The plaque labeled "Karl 67"

Kas'haran was shocked at Valence's incredible strength. The actual lock was literally more solid than dragon and would take more hit to even scratch. Valence just shattered it. He also accidentally broke the lid of the chest.

Valence threw the lid off and reached into the chest. There was a pouch filled to the brim with normal-looking crystal seeds, a Void Knight mace all rusted and splintered, and a large dusty journal. Valence lifted the book and shook the dust off. Kas'haran took interest in th actual book.

Valence flipped through the pages, through what Kas'haran figured was called "The Last Campaign". He also flipped through "The Lesser-known Elven Civil War of the Fourth Age". At the end, Valence hit an unfinished page past "The Mastery War and the Tome of the Seven Worlds. Valence apparently didn't find what he as looking for.

"May I read that?" Kas'haran asked.

Valence looked at the journal of Karl 67's experiences and then at the young one.

"Go ahead, you might learn more about your parents here, as well as Karl 67 and the others."

Kas'haran was surprised at the lack of weight for an elf's journal. He opened the book and began with the Lesser-known Elven Civil War.

-----Journal of Karl 67 - Lesser-Known Elven Civil War-----

-----Priffdinnas - Elven Octagon City - Outside the South Gate-----

I was unable to figure out why I was ordered to kill people. Those people being my own brethren, my own race... Heck, my own blood even. Yet, orders were orders and I was just raised as a frontline soldier. I would most likely die unknown to the world outside Isafdar and Arandar. Those were the only two regions of the whole world I ever knew. I'm now 31 years old and am still a disgrace to my family. My family, my mother, my father, my two brothers and three sisters... All of them were expert archers. I couldn't even hold the bow right, let alone shoot one. It's most likely no surprise that they enlisted me into the front lines while the others stood guard in the city. I never felt so ashamed of myself... ever...

I got to know my comrades in my cohort. All of them were also disgraces to their Elven Family, except Dracious. He was just in this insult of a cohort to ive us a bi of a morale boost. That more insulted me even more. He couldn't even sing up a bow and yet he's "perfect" in every little thing. No one in my cohort liked him, but they hid that fact.

We left off. Jayion, the best archer of us, somehow became my fastest fighting pal. We trusted each other like one would trust lava to burn ground. When one thought of something, the other picked it up immediately. The rest soon caught onto that bond, except Dracious.

The war was like ay other war. Calm, then a storm, then calm again, and then another storm. Repeat until you either die and end the repetitive daily life or you win the war and get nothing more but a more pointless life. Isafdar was beautiful though. The trees were towering over us by three times out height. Dracious ruined every moment like that when he reminded us that enemies could be hiding in the trees.

It pained me when I had to chop one of the trees to light a fire, not only because it was a grand tree that deserved to continue living, but it also reveal out position with the smoke or the light during nighttime.

Ultimately, we holed ourselves up in some makeshift bunker. The bunker was dug into a hill, barricaded with wood which still had leaves on it. Once inside, there was even more barricades which we could shove piked or arrows through. The entrance itself was small enough for one person, making combat easier when we have only one target at a time. There were eight of us left in the cohort by then. Jayion told me that he had a brother named Kayion, who was apparently even better of an archer than he was. Kayion made Jayion look bad, which is why he ended up in the insulting cohort in the first place.

The remaining eight of us literally held off for over a month.

Disaster struck.

Half of me was unsurprised when Dracious betrayed us in our sleep in the dormitories deeper in th bunker. He killed two of us before we woke up from the noise. Dracious, being "perfect", killed us all off, except me. He believed that I was dead when he stabbed through Jayion and got me a bit. He fled and collapsed the entrance.

When I woke up, I saw my wound. It wasn't serious, but I bandaged it anyways. It was too late to save any of the others though. I broke through the cave-in before my oxygen supply ran out. I was sick of war, sick of fighting. I was sick of Dracious and his traitorous slime that he calls "skill". I blindly navigated through the woods until I found the brown-gray wasteland of Arandar. I decided to get out of the whole war. It sickened me even more when I had to get through the dangers of Arandar to make it to what I figured as "total freedom".

I never cared about my family anymore... They never cared anyways. They were archers, I was a warrior. By the ways of the triangle, we were never to be anyways.

I killed the guards around the gate in rage after they refused to let me through. I got two arrows in me though. I lacked care and pulled the arrows out and then used my padding to bandage the wounds. As I walked through the gates to the outside world, my hair grew. It was impossible to tell if I was an elf now. I even grew a five-o-clock shadow, an incredibly rare trait in elves.

I soon made it to the human city of Ardounge. I spent my life there as a citizen. I got healed quickly after my wounds were healed and I discarded my elven padding. I claimed that they were my own design and claimed I grew out of it and used them as bandages. The humans bought it too. They tend to be pretty stupid, those humans...

-----The Alex 43 Army-----

The Alex 43 Army was the only army I have ever seen that had a gigantic spirit encased in pure armor plating as a leader. "King", they called him. This army was literally magnificent. I could imagine Saradomin's face every time the Alex 43 Army completed a task in His name. Sometimes I couldn't as they were that incredible.

They fought, they worked, they did everything. Each and every one of them had a special ability and part to play in their every day lives. One was more burly than the rest and had the strength to send the Tz-Tok Jad back-flipping from the force of a single punch. Another had incredible cooking ability. I have tried some of those recipes. They were literally enough to fully heal someone who would most likely be dead. I always wondered why he over-used the spices though...

There was one that could fly with specially-made adamantite plate-like wings, there was one that could snipe something with his crossbow from Ice Mountain through the Black Knight Fortress and hit the loitering guard on the other side of the wall while trying to put out his mouth from the over-used spices by the cook.

They were all specially-made into their own abilities. They were the personification of skill. Their leader wielded a lightning sword capable of crushing Falador in a few swipes. Their incredible morale, apart from their King, was also from the young mage that could have been greater that Maeteru himself. He had the power of six elements. Each of which absorbed by the Elemental Giants and upgraded by the Serpents. This mage had the power to flatten King should he want to anyways.

That mage, however, left to some far distant land even farther than the East. The army was sad to see him go though.

Zamorak, however, took this as a chance to take them down once and for all.

Nearby Draynor, something serious was happening like normal and the whole army was there. While they fought strange creatures, Zamorak opened a portal and almost sucked the entire army into oblivion. The other 99 Alex 43s managed to get out, but King was brought into the portal and was never seen again.

The army spent the next year waiting for their King's triumph from this strange magic. He didn't return.

One by one, the army just seemed to vanish into nothingness, as though Saradomin himself recalled them, deeming them as no longer with a purpose. Only one of them remained - the Alex 43 whom I have become good friends with. By what he tells me, his leader King used his own sword to end his life and became part of it, casting it onto the heavens as a spirit of itself and teaching him the mystical ways of spell-summoning so that he may have the help of his leader and brothers of war once more should he require it.

-----Life as the Void Knight-----

Ardounge found me out, but before rumors were spread, I was out of there and forgotten. Those Mourners that moved in must be happy.

I wanted to find a life for myself. A life without racial discrimination, a life with people that didn't care if I was an elf or if I was a brawler.

In the Void Knight's case, a very sane brawler. I found this career as my life. It was even key to victory during the Last Campaign.

-----The Last Campaign-----

Eight Void Knights and I were the keys to victory in one of the worst wars ever since the God Wars. Why no one knew of this was because they were buried in the Sands of Time. These sands were brought upon Gielinor by one stroke of the Empty Lord's hand. We, along with my greatest friend Alex 43, as well as many soldiers that were saved by our magic, began a counter-attack against Zaros' attempt of conquering Gielinor. The battles were bloody, the worst being the claiming of the ThunderBird's home.

The eight others lived on as Void Knights after the war was over. The sands were removed and Zaros was brought back into his dimension where he belonged. We lived normally for the next two years.

-----The Mastery War and the Tome of the Seven Worlds-----

It all began when Alex 43 was apparently living normal life with Gia in their chapel stationed in Entrana. Maeteru entered through the unusual storm that was going on. They soon met the other Founders of what was to be the Mastery of the White Dragon. We were introduced to the Wanderer's Rune and Maeteru used a special altar to make them. He made one in Alex 43's chapel. An attack by enemies destroyed the chapel, but everyone managed to beat down the attack and created the underground base. At first, it was the Seven and a few others. I joined the war late, only to be brought in by Alex 43 and Gia's invitation.

I stationed the Message System deep in the basement of my house. It was impossible to find unless you were one of the Seven Founders. The Message System was a literal network of pipelines that each led to the Command Room of the first Mastery HQ.

We grew in numbers and found that Zaros began using weapons Alex 43 and I were too familiar of: Nexuses.

Nexuses were also used in the Last Campaign, except these were not on sand and could grow anywhere, even if the ground was purified. One of the most fortified nexuses was deep in the Underground Pass. I infiltrated that place to meet noe other than Dracious.

I killed him. Normally, I would shudder the thought of killing my own species, but I never hesitated in destroying him. I killed him so bad that the crystal pike I used splintered and morphed back into the crystal seed tat I sang it into. I destroyed the nexus after killing him. I had an advantage since the Abyssal Creatures were on the lower level and had a hard time getting to me. I was not expecting the nexus to explode at the last moment. Obsidian shards showered everywhere. There was literally no cover for me or the Abyssal creatures.

We all got torn apart. I put my spirit in the crystal seed and I was soon found

-----

"Hold up, How can Karl 67 be back to his normal self? He can't sing if he's a spirit" Kas'haran exclaimed.

"You will find out soon enough." Valence said coldly, he was apparently reading as well.

-----

I awoke from my coma whist in purgatory. I was revived by the Crystal Bowl deep in Brimstail's underground hut. He apparently found me after seeing the explosion from the Underground Pass blowa hole through the ceiling of the cavern.

I thanked him for his impeccable timing and decided to move the bowl to the Mastery HQ. I could teach the Mastery Members how to make weapons more easily using the bowl.

I was successful, but its only use was to repair me if my voice box was damaged. It was very useful during some battles. Suc as when Zaros sent an all-out offense against the HQ. We took him down and continued living there. A second attack came and he destroyed half the Mastery and the HQ. We defeated Zaros and his minions a second time. Many supplies were saved and we moved the HeadQuarters to Burgh De Rott. A year later,
we had a large, decent organisation that eeded a bigger space. Maeteru and Arasa created the void in space-time and used that as the new HQ. Four years of no delay in construction and we literally buil one of the most majestic cities ever built. I created over half of it using elven crystal, expecially the new Message System. Pipelines littered the sky all around the entire city in a grid-like formation. On the crystal pipes were also light crystals, serving a double-purpose. I powered the city, in a sense...

Another five years past as we grew our organization to twelve hundred. If Zaros was ever to come back, he would lose big time.

Disaster struck as we grew though. Zaros, though being held in his dmension, gave his powers to his top surviving general: Azzandra. The general conquered Kandarin with his Abyssal minions. However, we had a terrain advntage that stopped Azzandra's movement. The Fremmenik Province used the river as a defensive border. The White Wolf Mountain weather got colder, and Glough's Fleet being built at the shipyard deep in Kramja had been finished and has been used as a Naval Blockade. Isafdar's Elves and the Tyras Army held the Zarosians away from the beautiful country I once called home. Another year passed and we decided it was time to counter the invasion.

We, the seven founders, found knowledge about a book of unimaginable power: The Tome of the Seven Worlds. The Tome was kept secret and away by the Guthix Ediction: an organization that keeps the balance in the name of Guthix himself. I respected this group. One member of each and every race was given immortality as long as they served Him for eternity.

Each World had one page. It soon occurred to us that Azzandra had the page in Gielinor. The other six pages were still out there.

Following clues and being helped by some Guthix Edicts who knew of the threat of the balance, we managed to collect the other six pages. I held he book, felling the already-immense power and wondering what would happen if all seven pages were brought together.

Valence took the helm of the counter-attack. It bean at the Barbarian Outpost, when an Abyssal Attack released the most disgusting creatures in the universe. Those creatures are the Penance. Valence and nine other Mastery Members made their way to the Outpost and was greeted by one of the most awesome war machines ever built. They called that one The Pride of Keldagrim.

More machines were built and a plan was made: While the Founders went after the pages, the rest of the Mastery concentrated on the counter-attack. The war machine had four additions to its group. Five machines, aided by an army of soldiers, wiped out and re-contained the Penance. They moved on to take over Catherby. The victory there was shortlived, as Azzandra used the counter-attack as a perfect chance to steal the blueprints for the war machines, so he could make his own.

I had to take them back, as I'm the most agile and can run the fastes once I got it. Either I get out with it or I destroy it, as well as all Abyssal Creatures with knowledge of it.

That mission was successful, but once I left, there were no more Abyssal creatures. They were all gone.

I established a communiction orb with the Mastery. I picked up Valence, who ordered me to get back here immediately.

The Mastrery HQ was being littered with every single minion, as well as Azzandra. What I never expected was that Zaros was also in the HQ.

I, along with Gia, took on Zaros. We were a good team.

Maeteru and I finished the Tome and I threw it to him. Zaros, knowing what power Maeteru had and even feared what he could do with the book, went after Maeteru. I knew what Maeteru was going to do though. so I ordered all members to secretly get out.

Only Valence, Alex 43, Arasa, and Gia managed to get the message though. Maeteru activated a spell and threw the book at Zaros. He then teleported out.

The entire void the Mastery HQ was in... was sent into oblivion, taking the Mastery and all traces of Zaros with it. The Tome itself was destroyed.

We all stood in the center of Burgh De Rott, looking at eachother. We were the only ones that got out of there before it was sent plummeting into destruction. We mourned the deaths of all of the Mastery Members that were still inside. Two of the Founders were also in there. The sacrifice was eve worse than the Last Campaign...

-----

The rest of the pages were blank for future writings. Kas'haran was not the only was awe-inspired for the further details of the Mastery War.

Valence returned the book and re-locked the chest with another lock he had.

"Where was Karl's house?" Kas'haran asked Valence.

"It's on this island, but the entire basement faced structural failure last year. If you're looking for the old Message system, it's not there. I looked into it myself." Valence sat on his cot and looked out the window, the same one he saw Karl 67 hang from last night.

"What should we do?"

"I don't know, but I do know that Karl is at Alex 43's new church out there. That adamantite spirit is capable of keeping him safe, I know it."

"One question, why did you want to read the journal in the first place?"

"I thought it would have details of the Swan Song he was sent on. There weren't any."

Alex 43 · **Posted:** April 20th, 2007, 5:53 pm

OOC: Sorry I took so long to reply. I finally got the time to finish my post. It's difficult when you're going through 2 part time jobs, a sports club, and university courses while trying to write Informer articles, create RSF10, and appease Karl all at once.

And my apologies, Matthew, but I posted this just after I found out you made Alex 43 just teleport there. Sure, it would've saved them quite a bit of time, but there's just no fun in having an immediate plot, is there?

_______________________________________________

SWC HEADQUARTERS - MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN
_______________________________________________

"Interesting story, Karl." I replied.

We were sitting around the large mahogany table eating what Manya liked to call his "Greensplash Supreme". We didn't know what was in it and what combination of herbs and spices he added, but he assured Gia that it was purely vegetarian and that was good enough for him as well as the rest of us. The nice thing about vegetarianism, Gia said, is that he doesn't have to eat twice his own weight in meat each day like regular dragons do. 3 large bowls of salad, soup, or anything of the sort was perfect for a White Dragon of his size.

It was night-time now. The sky hardly changed, except for the fact that it had become completely black rather then just a dark grey. The rain continued falling, making me wonder whether our strawberry plants were getting a good watering or were drowning now. Sometimes we had to stop talking because of the loud whipping of the thunder over us, its brilliant lightning flashed overlapping our chandelier light and casting a number of spooky shadows all over the chapel.

Karl made a quick recovery. Even though he still has scratches and bruises galore from the ship-ride and the 'things', he was looking much better now. His appetite certainly grew since the last I saw him; he just finished thirds and was calling for a fourth serving. Fortunately for him, Manya was just too used to making too much food and we had leftovers more then new things.

Dex was finally up and apparently feeling better. His fur was brushed, his robe was off, and he smelled of soap when he came down here. He didn't say anything to us yet all day, though, which is pretty normal for him. At least he liked Manya's cooking quite a bit, otherwise he probably still wouldn't be with us anymore.

"This is why I need to be protected from 'them'." said Karl 67, "And I'm sure you guys can help me."

All eyes were on me. I'm the leader of the SWC, so it was usually my decision if everyone else didn't want to have a say.

"Of course we can." I said without hesitation, "You're always welcome here."

"Yes, indeed." said Gia, "If any of 'them' come, I'll show them Saradomin's justice."

"It's a pleasure to cook for you." said Manya, "Stay as long as you want."

"Mmmph." confirmed Dex, his mouth still full of veggies.

That was that. We already had a room for Karl prepared, as we did with any other guest.

"By the way," said Gia, "Who exactly are 'they'?"

"Easterners." replied Karl, "Warriors who come from the eastern lands."

"Morytanians?" I asked, concerned.

"Those and a number of others." said Karl.

"Why are they after you?" I asked.

"I have no ide-" Karl started, but paused.

I heard it too. Amidst the almost musical chorus of rhythmic lightning, thunder, and waves, the sound of creaking wood interrupted the harmony. This wood, though, sounded vaguely familiar. Like the creak one would usually hear when they are sailing on a-

*BAM!*

THAT was no thunder. Something small, heavy, and hard struck the side of the church wall, knocking a number of candles down. I was immediately thankful I went overboard on the frame supports or we would've never survived that night.

We were all suddenly up and ready. My spear somehow found its way to my hand, which happens so much now that I can no longer tell how it does it. Gia made a quick lunge and retrieved his half-ton sword with one hand and held it in front as if the intruders were already inside the building. Dex didn't have a weapon, but he didn't need one. Neither did Manya, who ran upstairs in fear.

"Status!" I shouted,

"Battleships." said Gia, listening carefully, "I'd wager more then one. They're using 5 decimeter cannons and have boarding parties."

Another cannonball hit the wall, but it still didn't show signs of giving away. I can imagine what our attackers were thinking.

I immediately issued orders, "Gia, secure the main eastern doors, Dex, take Karl 67 down to the cellar."

"I can fight!" protested Karl.

"Karl, you're our guest." I said, "We must protect you. That is what you wanted after all, isn't it? Besides, you're in no condition to fight just yet."

"Aw, you're no fun." he complained as Dex almost forced him downstairs.

Another cannonball bounced off the wall, followed almost instantly by a barrage of nearly 5 more. It sounded like they were confused as to why the church wasn't falling, so they drastically increased their power and rate of fire. I ran over to the western doors and slid the yew plank in the hatches to secure it and make sure nothing gets in that way. Gia did the same with the eastern door just when something heavy and hard struck it. That was too heavy to be a cannonball. They had a door ram!

Gia forced his whole body on the door to take in the hits, and I ran over to help. A stained glass window exploded to the left of us, showering the pews in a sea of broken glass. Poor Gia, it took him days to make those windows.

We took another hit, then a third, and then a fourth. We couldn't hold them off like this; we had to fight back.

"Ok, Gia." I said, "On my count, I'm going to remove the yew support. Once they throw the doors open, grab that ram and push them back outside again. They may have the numbers, but we still have an element of surprise."

Gia nodded. Even if they were stronger then him, I knew Gia was able to take much harder force. He backed from the door and crouched, ready to receive.

"One ..." I said. A smash on the door followed.

"Two ..." Another smash. The yew plank wasn't going to give up, and neither were we.

"Three!" I shouted, while at the same time kicking the yew plank out of its supports. The doors flew open revealing a large steel-tipped log manned by at least a dozen easterners. Gia took the ram in the chest and was pushed back a few feet before he regained his footing and the upper hand.

There is one thing I appreciated Gia for, and that was that he always took everything you asked of him to a whole new level. Instead of just pushing them back outside, Gia dug one of his tri-claws into the ram, dashed outside with it, and swung the log as though it was a twig sword, sending all 12 manners flying into the divine beyond.

He swung it 4 more times at the large crowd of invaders, covering a huge radius and sending them in multiple directions, and finally hurled the ram like a javelin into the nearest ship and struck it right in the hull. The force of impact made the ship break nearly in half and sink, taking its whole crew with it.

However, I had seriously underestimated the enemy. Instead of the expected 2 or 3 ships full of pirates and mercenaries, they had an entire armada at our doorstep. Nearly 2 dozen fully-prepped battleships surrounded the island, cannons blazing and cannonballs striking the island everywhere.

Our attackers were no weakling mercenaries, either. They were large, fully trained warriors with a thirst for blood and will gladly give up their life for their leaders intentions. Battling them reminded me of the tougher battles from the past that I could barely endure. Most of them weren't even human; I fought something that resembled a mix between a minotaur and a demon, but I couldn't tell what it really was because of all the rain.

One thing I could tell, though, was that whoever ordered all these ships to sail in a storm like this must've been a psycho-maniac. Not only did a number of them miss us and strike each other by mistake, but they were also crashing into one another because of the hard waves. However, for each ship that went down, that allowed a few others to come in for a closer attack.

"Gia, fall back!" I ordered.

He obeyed, but I didn't just yet. I still had one trick up my sleeve that might scare them a bit more. I shoved away what appeared to be a 3-tailed werewolf and brought my spear in front of me, pointing it straight up like a lightning rod. The light from my chest symbol appeared to enter my spear through my hands, giving the spear an eerie yellow electric glow. This was most of my gathered special energy, as I called it, and this energy was used in such a way that it created a magical anchor - a magnet, for the power of a being or source of my choice.

There was no need to choose, though. I already knew whose power I was summoning.

"My holy father, cast thy light. Spirit of Pureblade, judgement strike!" I shouted, flinging my spear into the air towards the battleships. I heard my voice echo by the energy, which was seemingly canceling out the other noise. Cannons fired soundlessly, screams of battle had died out, and I no longer even heard the rain hit my armor.

Then IT came. A great sword, covered and consisting of lightning bolts. It shot down like a crossbow bolt into the heart of a ship somewhere in the midst of the fleet, vaporizing it almost instantly by its amazing power. This was the Pureblade, a sword said to have been used by Lord Saradomin himself during the God wars.

From there, mayhem ensued. Pureblade blasted a half-circle chorus of lightning around it, setting surrounding ships on fire and destroying anything that hadn't taken cover. Gunpowder barrels exploded and took ships with it and burning ships fell over by the storm and crashed into others.

As the finale, the sword itself exploded in a vast orb of lightning, finishing off any of the ships in its range. The environment's sounds came back and the spell was over. Altogether, Pureblade destroyed about a dozen of the battleships in that one moment of fury. This was the power of a spell-summoner.

Unfortunately, that attack took up nearly all my energy and I staggered. I count on that spell as a finisher, for I usually need to rest a bit after performing it. It seemed that this time I wouldn't get the chance.

Summoning up whatever energy I had remaining, I almost scrambled over the slippery stone back into our sanctuary and Gia closed the doors behind me, sticking the yew plank back in, figuring that it would take them a while to get another door ram on the island.

"No matter how many times I see that," complimented Gia, "It never fails to fill me with hope that Saradomin's power will always and forever triumph over evil."

"No matter how many times I do that," I answered, "It doesn't feel any better after."

He caught me before I hit the ground in exhaustion and slung me over his back. A banging on the door behind me told us they brought another ram and that we had better get to the cellar.

Gia threw the door open and almost slid down the steps. We passed the cellar, which held our provisions of food and supplies that usually lasted us a few months, and went down the extra 4 flights of stairs to the basement.

The basement was an underground cavern that had been hollowed out to form a large rocky dome. At the far end was a lake that took up about a third of the floor, and it was directly connected to the open ocean so that aquatic creatures bearing the ability to reason had a sanctuary as well in case they were in trouble. We have cured a number of poisoned dagonnoth over the years because of this cavern, giving us closer ties with the aquatic world. Now might be the time where it would all pay off.

The lake itself was still and motionless, unaffected by the storm raging above our heads. Aside from the occasional thunder-crack above us, everything was quite silent down here. In fact, if we stayed down here long enough, we could possibly forget that we were under attack because of the sudden peace and quiet.

Karl 67 and Dex were already down there. Dex had grabbed Karl a full set of leather armor to help protect him from the freezing water. However, Manya was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Manya?" I asked.

"Don't ask me. He ran upstairs!" said Dex.

"WHAT?" I shouted.

"Chill out, man. I'll go find him." he said, running for the stairs.

"No, Dex. I'm the host. I should go." I said.

"Alex, your guest is right there." said Dex, gesturing towards Karl 67, "Get him to safely, and I'll find Manya. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself! I'm a host as much as you are."

With that, Dex dashed upstairs. I didn't say anything. If there was anything I ever learned about him, it was that there was no arguing with Dex no matter what the topic was. He turned the turning point in the dark stone stairs and went out of sight.

This was wrong. They were my guests. Maybe for nearly a year, but they were still my guests nevertheless. A host does not stand around and let the guests save themselves. But what could I do now? I could hardly move.

"Alex 43, let's go." said Gia.

I snapped out of it. Above us, we heard sounds of battle and shouts of war start to destroy the blissful silence. Dex helped me host for a long time, so there was no reason he couldn't do it again. Karl and I jumped onto Gia's back, grabbing onto a leather harness on his armor that he sewed on for riders to grab onto, and we dove right into the lake.

If it was winter, neither of us would've survived the cold shock that we experienced in that moment. We were fortunate that it was the beginning of fall, and the water was only bearably cold. That didn't mean we could stay in the ocean all night, however.

There are a number of stories I have read regarding underwater travel. Usually it is described as clear and spectacular, as though the writer was actually flying above an alien world, able to dive and touch the wonders that lied below. Experiencing it for real like this told me that those books were all but real.

There was no possible way to tell what was 2 feet ahead of you. The water was dark, murky, and dead, and I had no idea how anything could survive in conditions like this. I could feel the force of the waves above us constantly pushing us in one direction, giving us at least a way of telling where we were going. If I ever fell down and sunk to the bottom of this black abyss, I would probably be lost for an eternity until the constant movement of the water washed my empty rusted armor onto the shore of some distant land.

Gia is a strong swimmer; the only dragon I knew that actually enjoyed a cool dip. Any other dragon anyone asked would laugh at the mere mention of a swim, and would do whatever it takes to stay away from water unless they were thirsty. Gia told me that the White Dragons all had to learn the stronger fundamentals of swimming because of a booby trap they set in their final fortress that wiped out the entire army of Zaros in one instant.

However, that didn't mean we could stay underwater forever. Although Gia could hold his breath for almost half an hour and I didn't have to breathe period, it wasn't long before I felt Karl tugging upwards, desperate for air. Gia swam upwards towards the random flashes of lightning and broke the surface of the water in record time.

I was quite impressed by the distance we covered. Our beloved chapel stood in the distance, its 6-pointed star now advertising a disaster. Apparently, they couldn't burn down the fireproof frame because of the rain and the chemical mixture Gia brought us from a hundred thousand years ago that I used to cover it all, so they instead settled for burning furniture and cloth from the interior.

There was a long silence, disregarding the cannons and thunder. Two of my closest friends were in that building, overwhelmed by a dozen battleships and raiding parties. If Dex was still holding them off, then he was doing one heck of a job doing it. Karl here wasn't doing too good even with the leather clothing, and if we didn't get him to shore soon, he could suffer hypothermia. What kind of a host am I? I should've gone instead of Dex to find Manya and to fight off every last one of them.

Gia knew what I was thinking, "Don't stress yourself over it. Dex is right, he's as much of a host as you are. Plus, you just summoned Pureblade and you can't swim. You wouldn't have been able to do anything."

"I know." I said, "You're right. Dex is right. What was I thinking."

"You wanted to help everyone." replied Gia, "That's a good trait to have. I admire that about you."

"Thanks. Let's get to land quickly before-aaack!"

Something underwater had grabbed my leg and pulled itself up, and if he didn't reveal himself as a friend almost immediately after, I would've impaled him with my spear due to pure instinct.

"Nothing like a good swim right after dinner, eh?" he sarcastically said, coughing out water.

Dex grabbed onto the harness and pulled himself up. Gia, thankful that it wasn't a sea troll, continued swimming.

"Dex? How did you find us?" I asked.

"Luck, I suppose." replied Dex, "Or instinct. Or luck, I couldn't really tell. I just kept on swimming and I found you."

I was glad to see one of my 2 friends escaped OK, but I wasn't satisfied yet.

"Where's Manya?" I asked.

"Gone." said Dex, "I don't know if he's been captured, thrown out to sea, or just a really good hider. I couldn't find him anywhere. And if I can't find him, they can't find him, so I wouldn't be too worried."

"Yeah." I said, "He's hiding. He's alright."

To keep our spirits up when we believe someone is lost, we all force ourselves to believe that he or she is just fine until we ourselves see otherwise.

"Looks like we're not out of this yet."

Gia was gesturing towards the island. I saw that the boarding parties had all finished boarding and the ships were moving against the storm in our direction due to strong oars that sprouted out from either side. That must've been how they caught up to Karl so fast.

"Hang on, everyone!" I shouted, grabbing the harness with both hands.

Gia swam like mad, almost rocketing through the water. Gia could race any trading ship and even tow one if he had to from Port Sarim all the way to Port Phasmatys. As a result of Gia's sudden speed burst, however, the ships and their paddling oars also increased their speed. They had seen us and were determined not to let us get away.

Karl was all but unconscious; his hand began slipping and I sacrificed one of my grips to catch him in my arm to prevent him from falling off. Dex, being very light, was almost skipping the water and I saw him bounce on the surface tension like a pebble beside me. Looking behind me, I saw the barnacle encrusted battleships closing in regardless of our speed, the one in the front beginning to turn so it could start firing its cannons on us.

"Gia, we're not going to make it!" Dex shouted.

"Yes we will!" Gia shouted back, and he dove back down into the rough water.

At first, I thought that Gia was diving to avoid a barrage of cannonballs, but that couldn't have been the case because we still had at least 5 minutes before they were properly aligned. Then suddenly, when he was about 20 feet below the surface of the water, he let out a long high-pitched cry I have never heard him emit before and then swam back up to the surface so Karl could breathe.

By now, the ships were in range. One of them turned to fire its cannons on us and 2 others took the lead and attempted to squeeze us in. Our last resort would be to climb onboard one of those ships and take it by force, but we had no idea what we were up against. Gia swam to the right, attempting to prevent us from getting trapped in between them.

He was successful; the boat passed us, forcing us away with its wake. Gia swam hard and grabbed the hull of the boat with his claws. Then, with his strong climbing skills, he began to scale the boat, pulling us out of the water with him.

"Watch out for falling objects." I advised.

He flung himself to the left to avoid an on-coming cannonball, and veered to the right to dodge another. I saw 'them' above us pointing and shouting, and a number of stronger ones lobbing cannonballs down at us by hand. Just like with our church, they started getting annoyed and quickly took things to the next level. They gathered above us with an entire array of cannonballs and dropped them simultaneously. We knew that Gia couldn't dodge that and braced ourselves, but Dex's eyes began to glow and we saw that the barrage of cannonballs they dropped on us just stopped in midair, surrounded by a pale purple psionic light. They then shot back upwards and nailed their throwers in the heads, sending them flying backwards and leaving the side of the boat clear for boarding.

Fortunately, in the time that Gia was swimming, I was able to regain some of my energy and leap off his back and onto the battleship early, clearing away the stragglers so Gia could finish climbing aboard. Dex also jumped off and started launching easterners all over the place, but Karl, who was no longer conscious, was carried by Gia, who used one hand to wield his sword. Thus the ship battle for the battleship began.

Once again, I underestimated their strength in numbers. They came at us wielding a large variety of weapons, some of them even with old but deadly crossbows. Gia once again dominated the groups, sweeping his sword back and forth to keep them at a distance while Dex and I covered from the sides.

But it wasn't to last. I knew that we were in trouble even before I heard the upper deck battleship cannons get spun around by strong hands and pointed directly at us. After only 5 minutes of fighting, we were suddenly at a ceasefire, surrounded and out-muscled. The easterners held their swords in front of them, ready to slice at any sudden moves we tried to pull off.

A few of them in front of me parted to reveal what appeared to be their captain, a large muscular werewolf that carried a large metal flail and wore a wide-brimmed captain's cap and leather cloak covering most of his body. Its fur was unkempt and messy, but then, so was Dex's because of this horrible weather. A lightning bolt revealed his more detailed facial features: an eye in desperate need of an eye-patch, a long crocked snout, and several missing teeth.

For a moment, he and Dex made eye contact and seemed to growl menacingly at each other, but then he decided that Dex wasn't worth it and spoke directly to me.

"Give up the weapon and we just might let ye live." it snarled.

"Weapon?" growled Dex, but Gia silenced him with a hand gesture.

"He's not talking about you." he said.

"Just 'might', huh?" I asked sarcastically, "A 50% chance we'll live and perhaps be forced to slave for you and your ship, and 50% chance to die on our knees cowering for mercy OR a 100% chance to die fighting for what and who you believe in. Tough choice."

"Pah." spat the captain, "I was actually hoping ye'd say somethin' like that. Yer helmet would make a fine trophy."

"Come and get it, then." I said, raising my spear in challenge.

His men 'ooh'ed, started laughing, and backed away, forcing Gia and Dex back as well, and left a large circular space around us. The captain gripped the handle on his flail even harder.

"Fine. I accept yer challenge." he said with a sinister smile. He tossed his cloak off to reveal a full body armor suit and came right at me, swinging the flail in circles in front of him.

Immediately I dove to the left, narrowly dodging the flail, and went into a mindstorm to analyze the situation and enemy weaknesses. This guy valued strength over speed, similar to Gia, and his weapon, though flexible, fast, and heavy, is very predictable. My only option was to disarm him somehow and hope that his claws were in the same condition as his teeth. If that wasn't the case, I still would have range advantage against him, but at the moment, all I have is agility on my side.

I jumped to the right again to dodge a downward smash, using my spear as a pole vault to catapult to the other side of the arena. The flail actually went through the floorboards and seemed to be stuck for a second, but without much effort, the captain yanked it back out, widening out the hole.

I dashed towards him, spear in front like a lance. He swung the flail towards me and I stabbed, not at him, but at the ground a few feet from him. I was once again pole vaulted into the air, not only evading the horizontal swing, but getting over the captain's head and grabbing onto his back. I knew he could probably claw me off in no time, but I had to see what condition his claws actually were like.

Instead of clawing at me, however, he decided for some reason that it was better to just swing the flail around in an upward arc and smash me into the back of his armor. Gravity wouldn't have been quick enough, so I pulled myself upwards onto his shoulders and let the flail hit inches below me ... and actually bounce right off his armor.

"Tough stuff." I thought, backflipping off and regaining my spear through a magnetic recall ability. Perhaps this was how I always had my spear in hand when I needed.

My next strategy involved annoying him. He swung the flail at me again and again, but I just continued dodging it and keeping my distance. Sure, his men were laughing and he was saying "That's right. Dance, weakling." over and over, but soon enough, they began to get bored and, in the captain's case, very annoyed. He swung harder and faster, and I had to pull off some extreme stunts just to avoid it. This wasn't working out too well, either. Sooner or later, that tireless captain would land a hit, or Karl would begin to suffer permanent damage because of the cold wet weather.

Enough was enough. I had to make my move. He came at me running and swinging the flail at waist level, so I rolled, got stepped on, and stabbed at his hand carrying the flail. The karambwan octopus poisoning I keep my spear infused with immediately took effect; in pain, his hand slipped and the flail was sent flying towards the crowd, who parted quickly and let the flail harmlessly fly off the edge into the crashing waters below.

I rose up quickly and held my spear to his neck. His crew were immediately in a silent shock. Apparently they haven't yet seen their captain get beaten before, and I should know why.

Suddenly, he backed and swiped his claws at me. I got a good look, and noticed that they were in fact in no condition for tearing apart adamantite armor. Unfortunately, my instinct got the better of me and I unwillingly jumped back anyways, leaving him to get some distance between me.

Things got worse when he gestured towards his crew and they parted, revealing two crew-members (a humanoid bear creature and perhaps an ordinary human) carrying a blazing crystalline sword for the captain to use now. I was utterly shocked, not just at the fact that he got another weapon, but also the fact that I actually recognized this sword! It was Karl 67's sword, a gift from the blaze elves in an alternate world we visited to recover the pages of the tome of the seven worlds to seal Zaros away into an alternate dimension. How he got his hands on it, I have no idea.

One thing's for certain, though, he was reverting his attack style to speed and I had to get this sword from him somehow.

The sword came at me and my spear got in the way. Right, left, right again, above; thrashing away like a madman. He was trying to force me back to the edge of the ship, so he was going all out, relying purely on his armor for defense.

I suddenly hit upon an idea. If the captain was allowed outside assistance, then I was too.

"Gia!" I shouted, "Hit the deck with your breath!"

Gia heard me from wherever he was, because the ship suddenly sparked to life as thousands of volts of electricity traveled around the conductive wet salty deck and into whatever was in contact with it. Myself, I simply absorbed the electrical energy into my spear, but it was a whole different story for the captain. His body violently shook from the energy of the surge and he was screaming. Screaming loud. So were his crew-mates from all around. I grabbed the sword, thrust it down my helmet visor and into my armor as though I was sword-swallowing, and pushed the captain off the edge of the deck and he was lost to sea. The ship was ours now.

Gia and Dex, who had jumped on Gia's back to avoid the shock, cleaved away the paralyzed easterners, fighting back whoever wasn't stunned and tossing off whoever was. It'll take the other ships around us a while to get their cannons ready to attack us because they weren't expecting to actually attack their own ship, but we still couldn't waste a second. I tossed a few cutlasses to break the ropes holding the sails up and the boat jerked forward, catching the hard wind quickly. A thump to the side of me told me Dex slipped and fell because of it, and he'll probably decide to take it out on something that is hopefully not me once he gets back up.

Gia grabbed the wheel, which was manufactured several times bigger then a usual ship wheel mainly because the captain was a 9 foot tall monstrosity. He put his full weight on it and turned the ship to a sharp left, aiming it to what he believed was north. I have another simple magnetic ability that lets my turn my spear into a compass, and doing it quickly told me he was close enough.

We started taking a few hits as we sailed northbound. We knew already that this boat was definitely not going to make the whole trip for us, and as soon as Gia stuck a board through the wheel to lock it in place, we ducked down in the front of the ship, ready to jump off and swim the rest of the way while the remainder of the ships were distracted with boarding and clean sweeping ours.

Suddenly, the ship rocked and nearly fell over, and I heard the sound of crunching wood from below. They attacked with a full barrage of cannon-fire. Clearly they had no intention of boarding and wanted us dead at any cost. I HAD to stop underestimating their intentions!

Dex and I grabbed onto Gia and he leaped just as the ship took another barrage to the side and fell right over, immediately being consumed by the waves. The water actually felt quite warm when we plunged in, and I automatically presumed that was because of the blowing rain on us lowering our outer body temperatures.

Darn those ships. Ever so persistent. They crashed by our ship, now a barely flating wreck, and went directly forward, passing us on either side. Then they suddenly turned and anchored down in a large circle, surrounding the area to prevent our escape from any direction!

"Shoot, now what?" shouted Dex.

"Just be patient." said Gia.

I stared; not at the ships, but at Gia. Gia was actually sounding quite calm for a situation like this. Being in freezing cold water with a suffering guest and surrounded by a half dozen fully prepared battleships would have at least made him concerned. It seems Gia was thinking something I wasn't. He always had a keen eye for details and noticed things I haven't before.

The cannons aimed at us once more to unleash a final volley of cannon-fire and drill us down below the surface of the water. Things were looking pretty bad.

Then we all heard it. A high-pitched cry echoed throughout the sea and drowned away even the sound of the thunder claps raging above. I remember hearing that sound sometime in the past ... oh yeah, it was that cry Gia made before we boarded that ship. Did he just get a response?

Something large and monstrous rose behind the ship behind us, covered in shining oily skin. A blind eye-less head rose from the shadowy blob of black water, opening its alligator-like mouth to reveal a great many layers of teeth, each one larger then myself. Large pointy spines protruded off its back and the top of its head like a mohawk porcupine.

I watched with awe as it grabbed both sides of the ship it rose behind and tore it in half. It grabbed one half and dumped the contents of the hull into its mouth; crewman, supplies, cannonballs, gunpowder, and did the same with the other half. The remaining ships fired their cannons at it, but they harmlessly bounced off its soft rubbery hide. It let out another cry and slammed one of its powerful arms into the hull of another ship, sending it straight down into the disastrous depths of the ocean, and then slammed its other arm into a third with the same effect.

The remaining ships, I felt, did not need a description involving their submersion. All that was left to confront us was the large dagannoth, towering over the water and looking straight at us.

We looked at each other almost senselessly. The waters were clear of enemies now and at the mercy of this monstrosity. Yet, it didn't seem to have any intention of attacking us. Instead, it swiftly submerged back underwater, possibly to finish off its other 6 victories, leaving us alone in the middle of the ocean to plot our next move.

Gia didn't start swimming. Instead, he tensed up if anything.

"Hang on tight, everyone." he advised.

"Hang on tight?" I asked, "Are you actually going to be swimming at your full capacity in a condition like th-aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAH!"

The next thing I knew was sudden unexplainable speed. Gia grabbed hold of one of the great spines as the giant dagannoth passed by underneath us, revealing only its hunched back and spines as it tore through the water at speeds greater then any sea creature I knew could achieve.

_________________________________________

VOID KNIGHT OUTPOST
_________________________________________

Shouts were heard amongst the void knights, arousing Valence and Kas'haran from their tents. Something large was heading towards the island at high speeds, with hardly any sign of slowing. The void knights gathered on the beach, ready for action against it in the storm.

"What is that?" they heard a Void Knight ask.

"I dunno, but it looks like there's something on it." replied Kas'haran.

Maeteru and Arasa joining the forming group.

"Get a barrier ready." said Maeteru.

The void knights gathered for a large shield spell and prepared to intercept the large spined shape. A wave formed in front of it and they scrambled away, unable to cast the spell in time.

"WAHOO!"

An 8-foot large dragonoid creature landed on the island, flung off by the sudden decent of the large aquatic creature. It carried what looked like 3 bundles of wrinkled baggage, but a flash of lightning revealed them as people. Most of them, anyways.

The one in the middle, a figure in full adamantite armor, jumped off and walked towards them.

"That was fun." said Gia.

"Define 'fun'!" demanded Dex, looking at Gia as though he was mental.

"Sorry for the scare, guys." said Alex 43, walking to the group, who were showing sigs of great relief, "Not the way I expected to get here. We gotta get Karl 67 to a medical tent."

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** April 20th, 2007, 8:53 pm

Alex, your a long winded story-teller

You make mine look like a grain of sand, lol.

The Trio appeared at the Keldagrim mine cart area. They were shocked to see 20 Dwarven Black Guards were guarding the tracks. One came up and said.

"We're very sorry for this inconveinence but we've been order to search all guests."

"But we're from Kailenian, you have trade with our kingdom." Said Jason

"Well, since you say your from Kailenian and we do have many good trades with them i'll show you to the commander." Said the Guard

The guard leads the three to Commander Veldaban's command post.

"I'm sorry for this inconveinence Prince Jason, but we've had some strange people coming through here lately. Just last friday we had a 7 foot tall cloaked traveler come through, we didn't have as high of security then as we do now. That was because we had only heard rumors from Krydendil-"

"Krydendil? That's where we're headed." said Jason

"Even higher security down there, I must give you a pass but even with that you'll be stopped atleast 10 minutes."

Commander Veldaban writes up three passes, stating that Jason, Skyrate, and Michael are free to pass within the realm of Keldagrim and are trusted to be allowed to any other dwarven kingdom.

"The Krydendil guards are much more serious then us and much stronger also. And as I was saying about the cloaked figure; He came up asking to get a ticket to Krydendil, that was what started our suspision about him. We also noticed he carried a big empty scabard."

"That's odd, you don't usually wear a scabard unless..." Said Skyrate

"Your going to have a sword!" Said Michael and Jason at the same time.

"He must be looking for the same thing we're searching for." Said Jason

"And what would that be?" Said Veldaban

"A bit of Millitharnin ore, to make the ancient Scaarz-Got Blade." Said Jason.

"Alright, well i've asked enough questions I know your not doing anything suspiscious. Goodluck with your quest."

The Trio said goodbye and got a ticket to Krydendil, the cart guards didn't ask any questions since the Trio left the Guard HQ without the Commander.

Here's a short description of Krydendil: Its a heavily guarded (well now anyways, it used to be quite peaceful) dwarven city about the size of Karamja. Its located very deep under the Wilderness. Its mainly a huge mining operation, almost every metal has been found there.

When the Trio got to the Krydendil cart yard they were stopped by many more guards then those at Keldagrim and these had spears.

"We must search you and the cart you came in." Said what seemed to be the leader of that battalion.

"We have a security pass issued to us by Commander Veldaban of Keldagrim." Said Jason

The Lieutenant read it and said "Its Authentic, but we still must bring you to our captain. Security is very strict nowadays." And he led them to the captain who was sitting in a tent.

"I've read your pass and believe it from your looks and who you are, Prince Jason. Though i'm usually a trusting dwarf the recent occurences around here have made many doubt." Said the Captain

"May I ask what they were?" Said Jason

"Well since you have a security pass and are of royalty I suppose I can trust you. Last friday a cloaked figure came here asking what the mines had recently dug up. He didn't seem very interrested in our tremendous find of a runeite vein, though he did buy some runeite. He was more interrested in Vilganxentryvil (Vil- Gaan-Zen-Try-Vill)."

The Trio was shocked, Jason and Michael had never heard of this ore.

"We were as shocked as you are," He continued "Even our master smiths couldn't identify it, so the travler left again but he said he'd be back, and we best have some information about the ore. We didn't heed his threat but we did step up security, not knowing what you over-landers were like."

"I've heard that name mentioned before but don't know what it means or what it is." Said Skyrate

"Well Captain, we're searching for Millitharnin, we don't want to start any fights here." Said Jason

"We did find a very little, only enough for a dwarven dagger, but a spirit or phantom appeared and killed the miners that had found it and then it left, taking the ore with it. We haven't found any since and this was 6 months ago. I don't think you'll get much information about where to search here." Said the Captain

"Hmm, sounds like we'll need to find this spirit then. Would you mind if we looked around at the mining area?" Said Jason

"No, you may, heres you signed security pass, you may travel freely through all public and mining areas."

The Captain signs the security pass and let's them go. They go to the Mining area where the Millitharnin was found. When they get there Michael sense something.

Michael Said "I can feel another earth elemental was here, it must have been what took the ore."

"How can you feel that after 6 months?" Said Jason

Michael Shrugged and said "The same way animals can sense humans' fears I suppose."

Skyrate checked the ground and surrounding area, nothing could be found because hundreds of mining dwarves had walked over the area.

"I can sense the presence of magic." Said Skyrate

"Michael, could you dig through the earth and follow the sense?" Said Jason

"Yea probably, why? Are you thinking of following it?"

Jason grinned and said "You two stay here and keep looking around i'm going to go back to the captain for a few minutes."

Jason went back to the captain and asked him to send a letter to Elduvian as soon as the cloaked figure came back, he also asked if he wouldn't mind if they dug a bit. The captain agreed and sent a few guards with Jason.

"What are the guards for?" Asked Skyrate

"The Captain sent them with me just incase we dig up into something that would invade Krydendil. Ready Michael?" Said Jason

Michael nodded and to the astonishment of the Dwarven guards he grew to 10 ft tall and started mauling right through the soft dirt, Jason and Skyrate followed through the 7ft hole.

Hours later they come up in the Ruins in the wilderness.

"That doesn't make sense" Said Michael "This is where I felt it, and I still do. But why would the spirit pop up here?"

"Can you feel it in any other direction?" Said Jason

"No, I can mainly only feel in the earth."

All three walked around a little but couldn't feel anything either, what happend?

Rune Beast0 · **Posted:** April 21st, 2007, 12:58 pm

Name: Cratous
Age: 311 years old
Race: The ancient Rune Beasts
Appearance: A silver dragon-like being. He has the symbols associated with nearly every simple (not composite) magical rune of Gielinor over his body, and a razor sharp blade at the end of his tail. If he walked on two legs, he would be approximately 16 feet tall. However, he doesn't. When he shapeshifts into human form he stands about 7 feet tall.
Abilities: Since he is one of the few surviving members of a race that needs to take power from rune stones in order to survive, he has powers that follow that. The air rune on his wings allow him to fly, the fire rune on his leg allows him to breathe fire, the blood rune on his shoulder allows him to heal others (however, this is at the cost of a good amount of health from himself, hence he rarely uses the power unless he needs to), the nature rune on his stomach allows him to speed the growth of plants, the cosmic rune on his tail base allows him to enchant pretty much anything, the water rune on his front left foot allows him to swim proficiently, and the soul rune on his chest allows him to resurrect anything, but at the cost of nearly all of his power. If he uses this power when he is already weakened, it will kill him. The body rune near his rib cage gives him the ability to shapeshift into a human, the earth rune on his right horn allows him to raise earth within a few feet of him. The astral rune on his right back leg also lets him track magical beings. He is still young for a member of his race, and he has not unlocked the power of the other runes yet.
Strengths: Attack power and speed. Also, since he can travel over all sorts of terrain, he can be a weapon from land, air, or sea.
Weaknesses: His laziness, poison, and rune essence. Poison hurts him three times as much as it would hurt any other creature, and rune essence absorbs some of his power, as he takes it from the altars scattered around the world.

Cratous yawned as dawn broke, shining some light onto the his mountain. He slowly got up and shuffled north a little bit, where there was a pile of all the rune stones known to the world. Cratous stuck his head into the pile and absorbed some of the power from them. After he ate his breakfast, Cratous walked over to the side of the ledge where he had been sleeping, shook his wings out, and jumped off the edge. The air rune symbol immediately channeled power to him, letting him soar through the sky. Although the mountains of the East were nothing like the home he had been used to, inside the Abyss, the Mastery Wars had shut it down. Because of this, he was one of a very small amount of Rune Beasts still alive. As Cratous sailed over the sea beyond his mountain home, he decided he was going to fly a little farther today. Despite the fact that he was naturally lazy, Cratous liked to explore, and dive below the waters to see what lay beneath. He was going through unexplored sky when his acute vision picked up something out in the distance. Cratous flew a little faster, since he was curious to see what it was. As he approached the thing, he saw it was a small island with a building on it. Focusing harder, he also spotted a boat, with some beings out there. Cratous was surprised to see a white dragon there. His parents had told him about them, but he had usually dismissed them as legends, as he had never seen one in all his adventures. While thinking about his parents, Cratous felt a stab of sadness. They had been trapped in the Abyss, and he had never seen them since. The island approached, and Cratous noticed an animated set of adamantite armor, a white dragon as he had seen before, and a seemingly-normal human. Fearing they would spot him, Cratous dove into the waters and swam until he saw the island right in front of him. Then he swam up and took a breath. The beings seemed to be old friends conversing, and Cratous took the chance to climb up onto the shore of the island.

After the use of his power to get there, Cratous felt hungry and power-deprived. Yet he was wary of the beings and was especially worried about the white dragon. As he was thinking about whether to approach, the beings finished their conversation and went indoors. Cratous hadn't even noticed, but night had fallen. Rain fell on his head as he began to wonder if he should return to this place later. He remembered his old friend, Laz'kan, exploring. Laz'kan returned from his 2 day exploration with one of his wings ruined and a huge gash in his side. It apparently had come from a White Dragon, but Laz'kan had been known to make up stories to appear the hero. However, if it was true, Cratous didn't want to approach the white dragon. If he ended up in the church and had to fight, he might end up stranded there until he could find some runes. Cratous decided tomorrow would be the day. At that moment, he spotted some ships. They were well equipped. Then, he heard a boom. Some of the crew must have gotten ashore, and began to attack the door! A window broke. The door flew open, and the ram was grabbed by something. Cratous found out it was the white dragon, sending the dozen or so warriors flying. Afterwards, the white dragon used the ram like a sword, swinging at the invaders until finally throwing it at one of the ships. More ships arrived. The spirit in green armor appeared, and he attacked, shouting something out. Suddenly, Cratous saw a great sword appear. It vaporized a ship, then went on to destroy many more. At this point, Cratous decided it would be dangerous to investigate further. He silently crept behind the church, and took off toward his home. Soon, he would return. Or so he thought. The beings suddenly appeared on one of the ships. The armor spirit was fighting who appeared to be the captain. While they fought, Cratous landed back on the island, and ran inside the church. The invaders were burning some of the items in the church. Before the spirit stopped fighting, Cratous tapped into the astral rune's power and began to track him. Cratous then released power from the earth and fire runes, blasting the invaders within the church. The floor rose up, sending the warriors into the air, where he quickly incinerated them. Then Cratous began to track the spirit. Some of the warriors were carrying rune stones, and he gratefully took their power before running out of the church and following the beings.

Karl 67 · **Posted:** April 21st, 2007, 1:12 pm

-----Karl 67's mind - a form of dream state-----

Karl 67 got up quickly after the building behind him exploded in powerful Zarosian magic. Dorm 12 was lost, and so were fifteen others.

The Mastery HQ was all but peaceful. The entire Zarosian army was bent on the destruction of their natural enemy. It would be impossible for anything not Zarosian to not be here, witnessing the inevitable downfall of one of the greatest organizations in all of the five ages. Karl 67 slammed the hilt of his crystalline sword through the head of an Abyssal demon and kicked a leech away from his feet. Due to the explosion, enemy presence was more limited. He had to find Valence, or Alex 43. Heck, he needed to find someone.

He looked back at the dormitory he was holding off in. fifteen Mastery members were still in there when the enemy set off the explosion in the weapons locker. Even an idiot would know that the members were most likely dead.

Fifteen out of the twelve hundred the organization had before this bloodbath were gone like short-lived sound. If their flesh were as hardened and durable as Karl 67's, they would all still be alive.

Karl 67 snapped out of the internal lament and set off towards the message system, dodging pipeline shards that consisted the Message System. The entire grid of pipes were shattered, burning, or just dandling on the cables which let up to the Main Command Room at the top of the Fortress. Karl 67 noticed that the Main Command was not burning like the rest of the city below it. The warrior thought that whoever was left was held up there.

Karl 67 ran towards the Message System Building in the Far West end of the HQ, taking down anything abyssal that got in his way.

He knocked a secret knock only Valence knew, hoping that he was still there when he left the building to try to find more people to save. He was greeted by Valence and four other members.

"We can't hold this building off for long." Valence said.

"We'll need to get to Main Command, We'll be able to find more Mastery Members with the Map Room there." Karl 67 barked. Everyone else was about to leave when they were pushed back in by Karl 67. They re-barricaded the door afterward.

"What was that for?" A mage asked.

"The Main Command is too dangerous to get to by foot. We'll need to navigate across whatever pipelines are left. I saw that the pipe going up to Main Command is still completely intact. We'll grapple onto the cables and make our way up from there."

"Understood, Karl. We'll follow you." Valence dashed with the others up the stairs. They were taking point while Karl 67 broke the stairs with a foot. The crystal warrior leapt onto the bowl where Commorbs were usually dumped in and leaped after the others into the main pipe, built right into the ceiling. Karl 67 got a good foothold, moved his mouth a bit and watched as their enterance sealed up in newly-grown crystal. He then climbed with the others until they came to a huge fork in the vertical tunnel. Karl 67 examined the pipelines and pointed at the one to the far right.

"That one goes more east than the others. We'll take it."

The other five pulled themselves onto the horizontal pipe like a human-sized vent. Karl 67 climbed up as well and sealed off the entrance, as well as the other ones to hide their trail.

It was a long sprint until they found that the pipeline they were running through got smashed, leaving a two-meter long hole all around. The burning city continued getting a pummeling by hordes of Abyssal Creatures below.

Two of the Mastery members charged spells to take them out.

"No, save your energy for the jump." Valence barked. He hesitated a little while saying it. He was never fond of extreme heights. Apparently, neither were the others. Karl 67 seemed to be the only one there that was more than used to this kind of thing. He was considerate for the others and wondered how they would get across the gap. He was the only one there that had the agility to leap across.

He moved his mouth, attempting to seal up the pipeline a bit, making more of a bridge for the others. The two magi continued charging spells.

"They'll be onto us if you do that," Valence muttered. The mages separated the Wanderers Runes quickly. Karl 67 by then finished the bridge and they ran across. The sprint continued until they were directly under the Main Command Building, which was still a hundred meters higher than them.

Valence smashed the top of the pipeline section and climbed out. He looked for the pipeline that led right up to the Main Command Building. There were two; one for delivery to the MCB, and one to the System Building. The one to the MCB was shattered fifty meters off the ground. The other one was strangely still intact.

Mayhem was more easily seen from their position. They could see enough of the city that they wouldn't need the map room.

"Um, Sir?" A warrior asked to Karl 67.

"What is it?" Karl 67 asked.

"We have the amulets that teleport us anywhere in the Mastery, right? Why don't we use them to teleport to the-" He was cut short when an Abyssal Sword swooped and clipped him into shreds. The pipeline was incredibly damaged from that one swipe. Karl 67, Valence, and the remaining three panicked and broke out towards the pipeline that led up to the MCB.

The Abyssal Sword was a huge animated blade with an eye in both sides of the hilt. There were very few of them and were extremely deadly and near-impossible to kill, especially when in their few numbers. Their only weak point was the eye, making rangers be more effective. Since Karl 67, Valence, and the two magi were not rangers and the other member was also a warrior, they were not going to fight the thing. The sword, however, took this to advantage and swung towards them. Karl 67's Blaze Crystal sword was strong enough to deflect the attack and he pushed the sword away from the group. The crystal sword was sharp and harder than any Elven Crystal he could ever sing up, but it took almost his whole strength to push the sword to fall down towards the enemy, crushing some of its own comrades. Karl 67 soon realized his error and archers started pelting the pipelines with arrows. Some of them ricocheted off of the bottom of the pipe, but barely any made it over. Those that die missed their feet and slid down again. It seemed that the falling arrows were making more kills for the Mastery.

The group soon made it to the pipeline that went up to the MCB. Valence smashed through and started climbing after the others got in. They were sitting ducks to anything that could fly, but they were also on the last run to their only 'keepable' fortress. Those thought pushed them into an adrenaline spike, allowing them to go faster than before.

The Abyssal Sword came back and started trying to smash through to kill them. One of the warriors narrowly dodged the sword as it broke through below. The vertical pipe seemed to be the only thing holding it up, as the rest of the pipeline they were on a minute ago plummeted to crush a few hundred Abyssal Creatures or Mastery Members below.

Karl 67 got to the top quickly and grabbed the hand of Valence. With a grunt, the elf hurled Valence into the Fortress. He reached for the others, but the Abyssal Sword dug right into the pipeline. Karl 67 looked right into the eye of the sword, utterly shocked. If the sword stabbed that deep, then the rest were most obviously going to die.

Karl 67 stabbed his sword into the eye of the sword, which got itself stuck. Karl 67 continued stabbing until the thing disintegrated. As he thought, the pipe was far below. He cursed at the loss and sealed up the entrance with whatever crystal was still attached. He pulled himself up and saw the adamtite face of Alex 43. He managed to gather up an additional forty members, including the Seven Founders. But something was odd. Tom and Da Devil were not there.

"Where are the other two?" I asked Alex 43, he shook his head. Everyone else knew it as well. They were still down there and most likely gone, as well as almost the entire Mastery.

There was knocking on the door. Maeteru looked through with an x-ray vision spell of some kind and saw that there were another hundred Mastery Members that managed to regroup and march to the MCB. They were quickly let in and Gia barricaded the door, ready to keep the door closed if it would be rammed. The other Mastery Members prepared their weapons, spells, and arrows-

-----Void Knight Outpost - Medical Building - Emergency Wing-----

Karl 67 felt ill, cold, and dry. He felt warmth all around him though. He recognized the warmth as a healing spell, possibly to stop this sudden hypothermia. These healing spells were applied to soldiers who accidentally fell out of the Lander when sent on a mission. If he recognized the spell, he recognized the user. He sat up quickly, but was soon shoved down again.

"You shouldn't move." said the voice of a Void Knight.

"Where's Alex?" Karl 67 wheezed.

"He's waiting outside with the others. You're safe on the Void Knight Camp. Alex 43 is ready to tell you what happened once you're fully recovered.

Alex 43 · **Posted:** April 21st, 2007, 3:45 pm

OOC: Ok, Rune Beast0, you've messed up a few things.

First off, it's storming. Raining. Pouring. Great thunderclouds and lightning blasting everything. The way you type it, it seems like he's flying around a nice sunny day.

Secondly, I think you're rushing through the time and distance factor. At one moment, Alex 43 rushes out and casts Pureblade, then they're suddenly on the ship without any mention of the fact they swam for a little while before finally boarding. I expect logic to take over when people read my posts and understand just what is happening.

And thirdly, and I'm saying this while holding him back from finding out where you type: Dex is NOT a human. Manya is ... sort of, but not Dex.

... yeah. That's it. Read our posts thoroughly before typing yours.

______________________________________________

SOUTHWESTERN ISLAND IN THE STORMY OCEAN - VOID KNIGHT OUTPOST
______________________________________________

"We're losing him!"

"He's not breathing! Check his pulse!"

"It's speeding up!"

The emergency room was filled with action. Karl 67 was on an operating table, going through what appeared to be a cardiac seizure. Void knights and heroes alike were running around, trying different recovery methods and spells galore. The only one who was sitting still was Dex, who was slowly wiping himself off with a towel.

It was rather amusing. He walked into the tent all covered in water, and the void knights braced themselves, thinking he was going to shake the water off. Instead, Dex said "If you really want me to do what you're thinking instead of just letting me use a towel, I will."

He would just look over at Karl 67 and sigh in annoyance. I walked up to him.

"If you don't like it or think they're doing it all wrong, why don't you help out?" I asked.

"Do I have to do EVERYTHING?" he asked.

His must've caught a bit of a cold himself. Usually when he had a headache, he got in really bad moods. Actually, unless it's something positive towards him, practically anything makes him mad. And when he's mad, he gets uncontrollable.

"I guess so." I said, shrugging. The panic had increased, and I ran in to examine Karl for infections.

Dex muttered to himself and got up. He then slowly walked over to Karl, pushing away anyone in front of him and hopped up onto the operating table like a cat. Then, he pressed both his hands over Karl's gut and pushed hard a few times, resulting in forcing out water from Karl's lungs and his sudden awakening.

We all stared. Dex just jumped off the table, went to a bench, and took a nap without another word.

I simply smiled and went outside to look for Gia. He hadn't come in yet for some reason. Perhaps he was afraid there was no room in the tent.

After a quick glance outside, I found out that 'some reason' was standing over him on the bank, towering over the camp. The sky had brightened a bit and I was able to see it in more detail, although it looked just like any ordinary elite dagannoth.

They were both looking at each other. Occasionally I heard something high-pitched come out from both of them, giving me the idea that they were communicating with each other. During the 20 years of us living alone at the SWC headquarters, Gia and I learned a number of new languages, mostly from each other. He even taught me some of the sacred language of the elder dragonkin, plus his own White Dragon tongue and a few others I could only assume were for communicating with the life around his fortress back then.

We also learned a bit from others and practiced it on ourselves. However, Dagannoth was a difficult language to master, not just because I had difficulty actually making the sounds, but hearing them properly as well was a great challenge. Gia, however, picked it up rather nicely and became our official dagannoth whisperer.

He was outside for a good 15 minutes before the dagannoth finally submerged once more and he walked back to the tent.

"What exactly was that?" I asked.

"Her name is Thera. When you brought Dex to that anger management course-"

"Which didn't go very well ..." I said, rubbing the back of my helmet from the reaction to that memory.

"... Manya and I were cooking in the kitchen when I heard this loud thumping on the roof. Curious to the matter, I went outside and I found her sprawled on our building, twitching and clawing at her leg, which appeared to be in great pain. I noticed it was badly cut, perhaps from a shipwreck, and was getting infected.

Immediately I told her to stay calm and stop clawing it and got Manya to help me gather material and medicines. It drained our entire supply, but we had enough. I cut most of the infection away, applied some medicine for open wounds, and bandaged it with the material. She actually held out pretty good; didn't flinch or swat at us or anything.

Right after that, Manya brought out the chicken beef soup he was making for you guys (I thought it was nasty) and gave it to her. She liked it a lot; which would sort of explain why she attacked their supplies instead of crew. She wanted to find and eat more.

After that, she was able to get back in the water, and left me nothing but her name so that I may call her if we needed her help. She's glad now that she was able to repay the favor. Judging by her impressive swimming speed back then, she appeared to make a good recovery."

"What were you saying to her just then?" I asked.

"I asked her about current events and some information about the eastern lands, where she was exploring a while ago." Gia replied, "Apparently, those ships that all attacked us were merely scouts compared to what they are building now. They've got a massive fleet; boats covered in 2 to 3 layers of cannons, great masts and sails for extreme speed, and naval armies training."

"Are you saying they are planning an invasion?" I asked.

"It sure seemed like it. Since she had no reason to, she didn't interfere with anything, but I left her off with the warning that they were the enemy to us, and anything she could do against them without arousing conflict upon the dagannoth would be much appreciated."

I sat down, pondering this. Indeed, those from the eastern lands could simply sail around the salve river and board along the coast line in the desert. We had to stay alert.

"Get some rest, Gia." I said, "We'll need it."

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** April 21st, 2007, 8:31 pm

"Well this is strange, what are we going to do now?" Said Michael as he sat down on a stump and changed back to a humanoid.

"I suppose we should go to Varrock and check to see if they've had anything strange going on." Said Jason as he started walking south.

The Trio was at Varrock in half an hour. Once there they went to the King and inquired.

"Well come to think of it Rovak the captain of the guard did say his guards had a problem at the northern gate then." Said the King "And the Gypsy said something was going to happen. Many strange things have been happening."

The King would talk to Kailenian royalty about almost anything, since Kailenian was a much better fortified kingdom and the two cities had many trade routes.

"Were the guards able to get a description of the being?" Said Jason

"Tall, atleast a head higher then the average human, with a grey cloak on. A darkness seemed to glow from within the cloak. Whenever he walked by an animal the animal cowered and ran away, all Varrockians were afraid of him. After when he left the Varrock sewers errupted with undead." Said the King

And I mean errupted as in undead started coming out of the sewers.

"The cloaked figure went east over to canafis, we don't know anything more about him except that he bought out Aubury's runeshop. Over 10,000 runes." He finished

"Hmm, seems like our wandering friend is a mage. Thank you for all your help." Said Jason.

The Trio left the castle and went to the east exit.

"Well, it seems as though our quest for Millitharnin has changed to following this stranger. Shall we go to canafis?"

"It hasn't exactly changed, after all we're still hunting for the ore. We best go after the wanderer." Said Michael.

The three walked over to Canafis, they inquired to some of the people but noone had any answers or didn't want to talk. They did get some information from the bartender though.

"Yes, a tall fella' he was about the size of your friend there." He meant Michael ofcourse. "He asked if a 'Xilgon Von Eripmav' had come through and left a message. I said no because noone had come through. I ended the conversation as soon as I could, for I didn't feel good about this man he seemed to have a black glow coming out of him. He went farther east when he left."

Jason thanked him for the information and the Trio left.

"Well we have a name, possibly the guy who wanted the Millitharnin, possibly a smith who was going to make the sword, we don't really know."

"Not much point of following his trail, he went this way 6 months ago." Said Michael

"Where should we go then?"

"Well its obvious he didn't go back to Varrock otherwise we'd of known. He had to have taken a charter somewhere..." Said Michael

"Most likely" Said Skyrate sitting on a barrel thinking "he went to Khazard, to go to Yanile and get more runes there.

"Good point, we can go back to Elduvian and get a ship to Ardougne." Said Jason

They go to Port Sarim and take a ship to Elduvian.

momsrascal93 · **Posted:** April 21st, 2007, 10:00 pm

Ok! i'm joining using my old character from the previous round about. I might also add a new character.

Character:Momsrascal92
Weapons:two rune long swords.
Bio: A skilled half cat warrior girl. Became half cat as a result of an accident at the make over mage's house. She is intelligant, independant,
strong willed and always optimistic.

Momsrascal was in the fight cave killing one enemy after another.She ate the last of her food in the last round. she was now also very tired. Even though exhausted and panting she managed to finish off yet another enemy. She couldn't take much more of this however and before she knew it, her strength gave out. She woke up outside of the fight cave and claimed her reward. She then got enough runes for one falador teleport spell and went deep in the jungle to isolate herself. She had been constantly training ever since the Zaros incident. When she reached the heart of the jungle she found she was not alone. She saw at least 10 jogres running after a little girl. The girl was running desperately as fast as she could. "What is a little girl doing in the heart of the jungle!?", Momsrascal thought to herself. The jogres had her cornered and to Momsrascal's disbelief the earth dug itself up and washed over the jogres. This distracted the jogres but when she turned to run a jogre grabbed her. The little girl screamed more high pitched than nails on a chalkboard.
Momsrascal Ran up and slashed at the jogre's legs and stabbed it in the chest after it let go of the little girl. There were nine jogres left but all but one stayed to fight and lost its life. Momsrascal examined the little girl. Her dirt brown hair was tangled up in knots. Her spring green dress was torn in three spots and her hazel eyes were full of fear. Momsrascal also noticed her arm was bleeding a little bit. Momsrascal reached for some bandages but the little girl ran off before she could reached into her bag. "Wait!" Momrascal yelled but she was already gone.

That's it for this week!(I only have internet connection on the weekends)

MattVortex · **Posted:** April 25th, 2007, 3:40 pm

Valence ran into the tent, followed closely by Kas'haran. Karl was on a table, apparently recovering.

Alex looked up as the two of them walked into the room. He recognised Valence's eyepatch straight away, and although Valence had a small amount of stubble now, he was quite recognisable.

'Valence. Greetings.'

'Alex, it has been a few years.'

'Who is this?' Alex said, pausing as he examined Kas'haran. He seemed fixated on his eyes more than anything. 'Wait... Kas'haran?'

'Sorry, I'm afraid we've never met.'

'Oh, we have. You were about 6 months old at the time, as I recall. Your one purple and one yellow eye is a very distinctive trait. Hello, Kas'haran. My name is Alex. That is Dex.' said Alex, gesturing to Dex, who was currently feigning sleep in a chair. 'And that is Karl, Karl the sixty-seventh.' said Alex, gesturing to Karl, who was currently still on the table.

Kas'haran looked at the elf. He seemed to be quite alive, although looked like he was currently unconcious.

'It would probably be best to get some rest, Kas'haran. We have reason to believe this world will be invaded by people from the far East.'

Kas'haran sat down in a nearby chair. He took out the seeds. He always did when he was feeling lost, alone or unsure of things. Alex saw the seeds as he took them out.

'Do you know about the seeds, Kas'haran?'

'Yes, Valence explained to me earlier.'

'Karl will know what to do when he wakes up. It may be slightly more difficult that usual, though... that glow suggests something else is at work - some great magic.' Alex said.

'Binding.'

The croaky voice of Karl seemed to speak above the rest, even though it was quite quiet.

Alex moved over to Karl, giving him some water from a waterskin. Karl slowly sat up, holding his head.

'Are you ok, Karl?'

'I could be better. It is nice to see you after so long, Kas'haran.'

Karl stood up from the table slowly, and sat down in one of the chairs in the tent.

'The technique is called Binding. It is a magical technique as old as the technique of sending your soul into a seed, and that was the first use found for crystal seeds thousands of years ago. How to do it was mostly lost in time. I always wondered whether your parents would be able to do it.

'The glow is from their elements, as well as some magic. Elementalism is part of your soul, but that glow is being caused by some Binding your parents must have done. Binding is where you join, or bind, a physical item, usually of some magical power, to your soul, such that if you did find yourself in mortal peril and did use a seed, then when you came out again, you would have any items you had all there, without necessarily needing them in your corporeal form.

'I would guess that your parents both bound their staffs to their souls. Maeteru may have also bound his special amulet to it, as well.'

They all paused for a few minutes.

After a while, they went to sleep.

-

A siren rang above the outpost. Valence, Kas'haran, Gia, Alex and Karl woke up instantly, although Dex didnt seem to be moving. Kas'haran insinctively grabbed at his staff.

Cannon fire was heard. The sound of splintering wood was heard nearby.

'The invasion cant be here already!'

The five of them ran outside. There were two or three ships visible in the distance. They seemed to be smaller ships, although were clearly powerful to have fired cannonballs this far.

'Karl, can you fight?'

'I should be able to.' he said, pulling a crystal seed from a pack and forming a long sword with it.

'Valence. Your staff is infused with the power of the Wanderer's runes, as I am sure you now know. Just use these spells...' Valence said, quickly reciting the Wanderer's spells to Kas'haran, who repeated the words back, embedding them in his mind.

A Void knight leader seemed to be taking charge, ordering Void Knights around into defensive places.

'Unit 22, to the south-west corner. Claws!'

20 Void Knights, apparently of the same unit, ran down to the southwest corner, spreading out along the edge of the island. They raised their maces to the air, charging the Claws of Guthix, and fired.

Twenty sets of claws erupted out the of the ocean, literally ripping through the first ship. It sank within 30 seconds, but this ship was smaller. Four more much larger ones appeared on the Horizon.

More and more units of void knights moved down to the south of the island, jumping onto landers and pushing them out to face the enemy head-on.

Alex, Karl, Valence, Kas'haran and Gia moved down to the south of the Island, jumping on their own lander and pushing it off, much to the anger of the commander.

'Remember the spells, Kas'haran!'

Kas'haran raised his staff. The diamond symbol appeared in the top, anticipating action.

'AOVO AURORO!'

The staff glowed a brighter white than he had ever seen before. He shielded his eyes, pointing the staff towards the ships.

A huge torrent of energy, brilliant white energy, shot towards them. The first ship seemed to erupt instantly into flames - the whole thing. The second didnt stand much of a chance either, charred in an instant, the sails vaporising and the mast collapsing in a pile of steaming embers as it fell into the water.

But more ships came. Too many more. Ten, fifty, a hundred, maybe 250 or more.

Alex shot a few Saradomin strikes towards the ships, and turned to Kas'haran and Karl.

'Kas'haran, the seeds! Karl, SING!'

'No... something...' Kas'haran said, apparently straining to remember something. 'When I was about three, my parents made me learn a little rhyme... it meant nothing to me then, but does now...

'When into crystal seeds we fall,
Awaiting skilled singers call,
Release us not until the time
That empty one is on the earth to fight.'

Karl seemed to understand.

'More than 25 years ago, your father formed ten runes of incredible power when fighting in the Abyss. When combined with Wanderer's runes, they could create power greater than the gods. Around two years before the destruction of the mastery, both your parents charged some amulets with this power, allowing it to be released at any time. I suppose they bound these amulets to their souls, and the magic along with them, which is what makes these seeds different. When they are released, though, the magic will be unleashed, and two Abyssal runes active at once would tear apart space and time. He doesnt want to be released unless it is absolutely necessary.'

A cannonball shot past them, hitting another lander a few metres away. It started sinking.

Alex directed their lander over to the sinking one, grabbing the Void knights and pulling them onto his lander. The knights seemed to recognise Karl instantly.

'Sir! We have not seen you for two years.'

'No time for greetings, I'm afraid. Start charging Claws!'

The void knights from the other lander raised their maces and started charging Claws of Guthix.

'Nearest ship! Fire!'

There was a quick flash of light, and twenty sets of claws erupted out of the ocean, tearing through the nearest ship.

Kas'haran raised his staff again, spinning it round his head.

'TEMPESTI TERRODIS!'

A huge sandstorm erupted around them, and flew over to the invading ships, snapping ropes and damaging masts. A few men fell.

Karl went over to one of the Void Knights. He mumbled something to them, and they pulled out their bow. He took out a small piece of paper, and wrote on it:

CODE WHITE
-Karl 67

'Code white, sir?!'

'Yes.' he said, wrapping the message around an arrow with a piece of string and handing it to the knight. The knight shot it with perfect accuracy, and it landed next to the Void Knight general. He looked over to the lander with Karl on, and nodded.

A siren was heard above the commotion. It gave a seemingly irregular pattern, but every void knight knew what it was. The call for Code White, the code to charge the most powerful Void Knight spell there was, Yuthicio Lumiero, the Light of Guthix.

The Void Knights raised their maces.