Monday, November 11, 2013

The tainting of Darian the BareHearted

An excerpt from the chronicles of John Angeldust :

From the tongue of Onema, the thought - "...the battle raged on and in the midst of the falling sunder, the ranger brought the message to Darian, that his beloved, Koria's village had been blackened out from the chain of supply. It wasn't because of any personal reason, it was moreso a simple report of economic strain and how it would affect the war at large. But Darian, the third of the Noric Host, the warrior driven by heart's devotion, broke rank and broke ground to move from his designated field. It was a move that was not noted too decisively by the light, due to the fact that Darian had already kept the field twice as long as he was supposed to. Only the Blackedeyes kept watch from the side of the blessed.

What was not noticed though, by either Light Blackedeye or Dark Shinegazer was the curve on the lips of the Chaos windriders as the sky grew gray closing in on approaching Shiver.

Ainslide, the village at the bank of the river Elume, was always a lively place. It stank of blood and doom as Darian rode in on his steed. There, awaiting him at the head of the hill that overlooked the village, was a figure that appeared unerringly clothed in Black Velvet. It held the bracelet that was the heirloom of the Ain Womanshead, the generations of Koria's lineage. Darian wondered what creature could have done this, not in what it actually did, for he knew, as all Warriors of Light do, what Scions of the Dark were capable of. But what made him wonder this was that with the ongoing war, how could any servant of the black be spared the frontlines, that was powerful enough to break through the wards that protected the village. And when he saw the bracelet of AinLeura, he braced himself because he knew that to obtain that heirloom from his beloved Koria, the hooded figure was atleast as powerful as a Brakken ForceLord, and he steeled himself from lingering thoughts as he realised it did not have the Belt of AinLeura, which meant that Koria was still of breath, and was probably in a hidden place.

And without words, they fought. As a Blessed Light warrior and a Cursed Dark knight do when they meet each other, when an enlightened one meets a darkened soul, as it had always been, and how it was always believed to be, without words, they fought. Darian, as any Blessed warrior, especially one of the Noric Host, knew full well what he fought for, the right and the just, the absolute and the enlightening. He knew what he was fighting against. As he had always been taught to believe. The battle was even, and Darian now wondered how Koria was able to escape given the unrelenting nature and prowess of the Scion he was facing. So engrossed was he, that he failed to notice that a Blackedeye had followed him, armed with a Tome of AllGood, the spellbook from which the mages gather their knowledge, handed down to them from the Source of Light.

They fought to a standstill, and then it appeared. The grey shadow at the entrance to the village. Darian prepared to be taken on both sides. But the grey shadow just lifted up a belt and Darian felt a shiver down his spine, it was the Belt of AinLeura, the belt that granted her Protection from the undoing of Breath. The Belt that empowered Koria with the power she wielded as a force of the light. Without it, she was mortal, and it almost guaranteed she was not of breath.
Darian awakened.
His power which had for some reason always been unable to have been unleashed, even by the spells of the LightMages, spewed forth like a wave of warmth engulfing the village entire.
This was unprecedented.
Darian now possessed the power enow to grant him the status of Heavenly Fire.
And as it engulfed him, he realised he could use it, not as a newborn holding a toy for the first time, but as an experienced worker wielding his tool.
The Blackedeye teleported to him and held his arm, helping Darian to control his aura and focus it into himself.

As he prepared to direct it against the grey shadow, a spell was then cast by the dark scion and with it, a mist appeared that revealed the women of the village all held around them, with a mask of black on their faces.

Darian hesitated.
He knew that if he didn't focus this awakened power soon, he would lose it forever.
Darian doubted and fell to his knee.
Letting it go would mean he loses his power forever but it would mean that Koria may be saved.
Would she be really there? Would she be fine? How could the others be saved? How.......
As he thought this, a light flashed.
Darian was blinded.

His eyes blinked, The bodies of the women lay before him. Only one was left standing.

The Blackedeye knew what it had to do.
It knew that the women would be binded by a spell that meant that if one was saved, the others would perish.
It could see through the masks, but couldn't afford to tell Dorian.
Too less time.
And it made the decision that any lightborn would do.
It chose the most amazing, lightfilled face within the group and saved it with its power.
It had to do it quick.
Darian's power was too valuable to be lost.
It made the BEST decision possible for the Light.

Not for Darian.

As the blackedeye watched, Darian stumbled. Darian moved towards the pile of dead bodies slowly.
Darian picked up the body of a woman with her face as plain as sand. Her vacant eyes, breathless body were unremarkable at worst, standard at best.

Darian looked at the Blackedeye, searching for an explanation.

The Blackedeye pointed at the woman that was Of Breath,
Darian knew it was the best for the light.
That the judgement was of the light.
Darian knew what he had to do now.

He turned back to the blank face of his beloved Koria, lay her down on the ground, stood up and released his power.
AT THE VILLAGE.

Nothing was left, it took just a few moments for the Divine Fire that had been awakened in Darian to wipe out the village, and everything in it, including the Blackedeye, its last recorded memory being it had done right by the light.

Darian knew now, the world is not Black and White. And those who had deceived him, would all die.
Dark AND Light.