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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elemental" data-source="post: 463228" data-attributes="member: 7931">(OK, here's the first part. Comments welcome.)Part 1: The Rising Sun:The hobgoblins charged across the forest floor. There were three of them, brutal ugly humanoids who made up the armies of the great fae nobles or who lurked in the wild places of Creation, wielding short swords, and shouting curses. The young girl who they were hunting cowered behind a trunk of one of the giant trees that dotted the outskirts of the great Eastern forest, eyes wide. Evening sunlight sends down shafts between the trees that made it seem as if the sun was shining a spotlight on the battle. Their target waited in one of them, seemingly unconcerned. He didn’t look that extraordinary, just a man in the garb of a traveler.Suddenly, the man burst into action. He drew out his sword and makes a full out rush towards the one hobgoblin between him and the girl, trying to cut it down. Its tough hide absorbed some of the blow, but not enough, and it staggers back, deeply cut, it’s face twisting into an even worse grimace than usual. The other two fae hesitated, and then both attacked the interloper. Their blades darted in, but were deflected by the armor concealed underneath the man’s cloak, leaving only a cut along his side. He winced in pain, and jumped backwards over a root. He stopped dead in his tracks and wheeled about to face the creatures, "Come now you little bastards, stop trying to pick on young ladies, and try someone who can fight back?" he said in a mocking tone. He jumped back, out of reach of the crude swords of his enemies. Their blades flashed into empty air. The man laughed at the creatures flailing about wildly, "Come now, you can do better than that..." He then stood in a defensive position, but ready to slice the first goblin to rush him. The fae charged in to attack. In a blur of motion, the sword of one of them cut into the trunk of a tree, throwing off chips of bark. Then the sword leapt between them, throwing off blinding shafts of light. When the girl could see again, one of the hobgoblins had lost an arm, one was lying in a crumpled heap on the floor and the third was deeply wounded. The two injured fled.The girl came out of her hiding place, and hurried over to the man. "Oh! Thank you, I couldn't get away....they were running after me." she said, the surprise and relief apparent in her voice. "My name's Essily. Are you all right?"" Now she could see her savior more clearly. He was a slightly taller than average person with a wiry build. His sharp features and dark, lanky hair lent an air to menace to his appearance, but those are offset by his green eyes that seemed to say it was all right, the danger had passed.Turning to the girl, Zaokan said, "It's no problem Essily, I've got a nick or two, but I seriously advise we leave as soon as possible. Who knows if they'll attack again?" "I don't know. They were after me." she said, looking at the ground."Alright, but where is the closest village? We should get out of here now." "The closest one is my home. They can probably help with that cut you got." "Thank you, we should get on our way then. Lead the way, and don't slow down on my account..." She nodded, looking somewhat awestruck, and runs through the trees with the ease and familiarity of a born Easterner, beckoning for him to follow. Zaokan followed after her, the pain from the cut beginning to sting, not slowing down until they reach the village. It was a medium-sized village, established in a clearing. It was built out of the same dark brown wood as the local trees. There were about twenty houses, plus a town hall. The town was behind a wooden stockade, but the gates are open. Zaokan frowned. To his keen senses, something was amiss here. As he walked towards the gate, he pinpointed what it was. There was no sign or sound of the wildlife. Until now, it had been ubiquitous.Several people came out to meet them. Two of them were presumably Essily's parents, from the way they rushed over to her. One of them was a heavily built man with thinning hair, the other was a middle-aged woman with long brown hair, brown eyes, and an expression that looked weathered by worry. "Are you all right? Are you hurt? Who's that man?"Zaokan looked around, a tad concerned, "A fine town you have here. I'm dually impressed that you have managed to keep the lesser animals out of here." The woman straightened up. "Yes, we did...this is a quiet town. We don't get many disturbances." Essily said "He got hurt when some of those nasty hobgoblins tried to hurt me. I said he could stay here till he was better." The mother smiled. "Of course he can. We'll take care of him. But he can't stay too long." The father, a large, burly man, spoke up. "He can stay as long as he likes. After all, he saved our little girl." The woman looked about to say something, but nodded mutely. The woman took Zaokan back to the family house. Inside, it was quite comfortable and a welcome change from the cold and mud of his days on the road. The woman pointed to a chair. “If you’ll sit there, I’ll have a look at that wound. My name is Gahlen, by the way.” She got some herbs out and began to brew a poultice. "You can stay here tonight....if you're sure you want to. I mean, you must be going somewhere, right?" Zaokan said "Well I was on my way to Nexus to find a job, but I'm in no real hurry if that's what you're asking." Gahlen nodded at the mention of the infamous city. “What do you do then? Oh, I need to see the wound to treat it.” She took a strip out of the rather smelly mixture it had been soaking in.Zaokan said "I'm a security consultant, forming, training, and operating small militias for villages and the like." Essily said, from the doorway where she had silently appeared, "We don't need one of those things! It's nice and peaceful here and nothing bad ever happens." Gahlen started. “I didn’t hear you come in, dear.” Zaokan removed his clothes, noting that she seemed wary, almost afraid of her daughter. Gahlen dressed the wound expertly, her touch featherlight as she tried to avoid aggravating the pain of the cut.When she was done, she showed Zaokan to an empty bedroom, with just a bed and small table in it. She bade him goodnight in a quiet voice. Zaokan replied "Thank you for everything. I guess I should probably rest now until I can get better." Gahlen hesitated for a moment, then nodded assent and closed the door. As he lay on the bed, waiting for sleep after the exertions of the day, that same quiet descended on the village. It was a bit eerie. In his days of travelling in the East, he’d never heard complete silence. There was at least one forest animal or bug of some description making noise every night before now. But eventually, tiredness won out over wariness. Zaokan drifted off to sleep and confused dreams of his family, now very far away. But they dissolved when he was unexpectedly woken from his sleep by Gahlen, carrying a lantern in one hand and shaking his shoulder with the other. "Please! They're coming! You must go now!" "What? Who's coming, what's going on, and what about Essily?" Zaokan leant out of bed and put on his shirt and coat once again. Gahlen replied, sounding terrified, "Ravagers! And my daughter among them! You were lured here to feed the....thing....that promised to guard us in return for protection. I was hoping you'd go before they struck....oh no!" From outside came the thunder of feet coming up the stairs. ""It's waiting for you in the town hall.""The door was pushed open. The father and daughter stood there. Essily said "Please, mother don't make this too hard. Gor-sarn doesn't ask much, just a little meal every now and then. And this one took so much effort to bring in." Zaokan whipped out his Tiger claws, the metal glinting in the moonlight, and attached them to his wrists. "So I take it you weren't in any danger at all, Essily and this was all a ploy to bring me here?" Essily said  ""That's right. Sorry, but if we didn't do this, people would get eaten, or killed by the bad barbarians." Zaokan’s eyes narrowed. Reading his intent, Gahlen cried out "Don't hurt my little girl! It's that Fair thing that's done this to her." The man hefted a wood axe. “Don’t make this harder than it already is, stranger.”Zaokan said "Well you did a good job in fooling me, not many can. However, I guess you'll have to tell what ever monstrosity you have that he'll have to go on a diet." He turned around, jumping through the window with one arm extended so the tiger claw could latch on to the edge of the window. The claws dug into the edge, sending him flying in a curve to land, crouched on the roof.Outside, the village was still asleep, apart from the town hall, which seemed to be lit from within. Zaokan smirked to himself as he set off running across the roof, jumping on to the next house. From inside, he heard a curse, and the man saying. "You shoudn't have done that, love. Now we'll have to offer it one of our own again." Stoping as he hears the cries, he curses he good nature, and instead jumps off to the next adjacent roof, on a path towards town hall. He landed on the roof with as little sound as a feather. It wasn’t much more than twice the size of a normal house in this place, but more well-decorated, with a pair of double doors at the front, and three large windows down each side. Zaokan leant down to get a closer look at the boards on the roof. Wood, coated with some kind of organic preservative, "This isn't going to be easy..." he muttered quietly and he began to work his Tiger Claws under an edge and pry enough away for him to slip inside. Piece by piece, he silently made a gap big enough to slip through. The wound twinged unpleasantly.Below, he looked down on a luxurious hall, illuminated by the light of five torches. Whatever this hall used to look like, now it had been converted into an impromptu throne room for the thing that sat in the chair at the head of the room, asleep, or meditating. It resembled a handsome man from the waist up, but the bottom half was the tail of a giant, green-scaled serpent. It was surrounded by food, valuable items and it's breathing produced a harsh hissing sound. It was about 20 feet below him.So, this was the member of the Fair Folk that this village had struck a pact with. But he intended to show it, it had picked the wrong individual to sap of passion today.Zaokan slid down onto the rafter,  silently, but dislodged a tile. It falls to the the ground in what seems like slow motion and shatters. The faerie immediately snapped out of his trance and looks round. Zaokan hugged against the beam, not moving at all, trying to escape his notice. Gor-Sarn seized an axe, and looked round suspiciously. He noticed the hole in the ceiling and began looking over the ceiling. However, his back was turned. Zaokan slowly took off his tiger claws and gripped the hilt of the sword. As the faerie thing turned away, he moved to be almost right on top of him and dropped down from the ceiling, sword out to impale.The blow was true, but the sword was deflected by his scaly skin. He spun to face the assassin, his mouth opening unnaturally wide to reveal fangs. "Impudent mortal!" he bellowed as he lunges to bite. "Yes, but at least I'm not a gutless weakling that intimidates others to do my dirty work." Zaokan’s taunt was cut off as the fangs bit, leaving a ragged wound along his chest. "I am no weakling! Prepare to find that out the hard way!" bellowed the fae, and held out a hand, exercising his control over the element of Wood. A cast-over chair exploded into splinters of wood that flew towards Zaokan like a swarm of hornets. He tried to parry them, but was pelted all the same, leaving several superficial cuts. He lunged forward, slashing at waist height, penetrating the fae’s defence and leaving a cut along it’s arm. Gor-Sarn said ""You can at least fight worth a damn. I offer you the chance to leave this place and avoid your death. The villagers here are poor fodder, but they are at least less trouble to subdue!"" Zaokan seemed to relax a bit, "Then why have you come to subjigate this village?!" “I provide protection, they provide my food. One way or another. Leave now if you want to live. I am sure the fear of the woman Gahlen will be more than satisfying. And after her....there will always be more villagers for my thralls to lure close." It hissed obscenely at the thought, sounding like it savoured it a great deal. Zaokan glanced to check the position of the door. If he turned and ran now, he could escape. He tapped his fingers along the hilt of his sword, and thought for a moment. "Well, my self-preservation instinct is still working," With that he lunged forward, slashing at the beast, "Of course I don't trust you enough to turn my back on." The wood fae laughed, and then dived forward to meet him. For a moment, it seemed that it was day again, as a shaft of sunlight flowed through the hole in the roof, surrounding Zaokan. He saw the creature hesitate, and the hall was lit up as if it were day for just a moment. And suddenly, he was moving and fighting faster than he ever had before. The faerie lunged forward, slashing with it's axe. The two of them met and seperated, neither landing a blow. Zaokan saw nothing but the beast and it's weapon, and he did his best to dodge the thing and hit home with his sword. = It hit, and in trying to dodge, he slipped on the spilt fruit and loses his weapon. The sword bit deep into the scaled chest of the faerie. He looked up with something approximating shock, and did his shattering trick again. Zaokan dodged the blow with a minimum of effort, and then struck back. With Gor-Sarn’s attention wholy focused on shattering the wood, he couldn’t react in time. He scored another deep wound. The snakeman recoiled, shedding greenish, fragrant blood, and looked back in shock. "This is impossible! No mortal can defeat me!" He attempted to bite, but his jaw closed on thin air.From the corner of his eye, Zaokan noticed a figure standing in the doorway, but was too focused on the battle to care. He leapt into the air, and brought his sword sweeping around in a furious storm of blows. The snakeman leaft his guard open. He raised his arm to try and stop the first stroke, but it took his hand off. The second one severed his head. The body fell to the floor and thrashed terribly, wrecking most of the impromptu throne room before lying still. There was silence. Zaokan stood over his defeated foe and slowly looked up at the person standing in the doorway. She was a tall woman who looked elderly, though her precise age was impossible to guess, anywhere from 50 to 80. She had wrinkled, weathered, skin, but looked in very good shape, not seeming frail at all. She wore a formal, ornate dress that looks expensive, and some jewellery, including an collar made from some kind of metallic grey substance. She also had a patch over her right eye. She stepped forward and spoke."So I was right. I was told you would be here...what name do you use now?" Zaokan slightly raised his katana in her general direction but makes no other move, "I am Zaokan Valner, and who are you? You're not with some Guild Mercenary unit sore of an independant contractor?" "The latter, though not in the way you think. My name is Gloriana. If you want proof of my intentions, does this calm your fears?" She made a sign with her hand, and a brilliant scarlet shape glowed briefly on her forehead. Zaokan recognised that as the mark of Mars, one of the five Maidens of fate. But he didn’t know how he know that. Also, there seemed to be something naggingly familiar about her face. Zaokan shook his head and said "What the hell are you talking about? I honestly don't care if you’ve got some glow in the dark paint smeared on your forehead, what do you want?" Gloriana replied "You don't know what you are? Has it been so long? Look in the mirror of your blade, O Tiger. This weapon has saved your life so many times tonight, do you think it would lie to you now?" Zaokan narrowed his eyes a bit, and lifted his sword up into his field of vision. On his forehead was a glowing circle with eight small lines radiating from it. A stylised sunburst. And it didn’t seem to come off when rubbed. He knew that this was the mark of one of the Solar Anathema, the demonic overlords who had ruled the Realm in ages past. The Dragon-Blooded taught that this was the mark of the Forsaken, the insane, psychotic warriors of that breed who according to the scriptures of the Immaculate Philosophy, were left to perish on their own against the righteous armies of the Dragon-Blooded, while their allies fled for shelter.Zaokan said "Pht, you want me to believe I'm an Anathema? Please, they are just demons created by the Dragon-Blooded to make themselves feel important and scare little children." "You are right, but not in the way you think! The Anathema are lies, a glossing over of the past." "What do you mean, 'not in the way I think'?" "Once, you were a glorious hero, who fought for the people, who defeated the fae, the demons, even the ancient gods themselves! But you were slain by treachery and your soul imprisoned. For millenia....but now you have returned." "...I think I was buying the Anathema story more...." As for what I am....perhaps more direct and benovolent proof of my power will be needed." She jabbed her forehead, throat and breastbone in rapid succession, and then touched Zaokan lightly. He felt his wounds healing as if by magic. She seemed to take the wounds briefly onto her own body before healing them just as rapidly. Zaokan frowned. His knowledge of martial arts was sufficient to recognise that as a Wood Dragon technique, supposedly restricted to the famous monks of the Immaculate Order.Zaokan said "So you're a rouge priest trying to bring new members into your 'crusade' with this whole Anathema bit?" "I am nothing of the kind. I know that style because I invented it. I am a Sidereal, chosen of Mars. Long ago, I trained you in your fighting skills and watched over you as you battled, foresaw assassins who would try to slay you in your sleep, talked with you to plan the movements of armies." Zaokan looked at Gloriana as if she just sprouted wings, a couple of tails, and several pairs of eyes. "Your disbelief is understandable. I was hoping you would recognise me on sight, but alas, it is not so. But will you give me a chance to show you what I mean?" “Well, you did heal me, so I should at least hear you out. Simply out of gratitude, mind you." "You asked me if I was raising an army. I am. An army of people like you. My pupil already seeks out a Resplendent Sun and a Setting Sun as I speak. Come to my home and meet them." Gloriana produced a needle dangling from a length of what looks like woven, golden hair. "This will always point to my sanctum. Be careful what you do with it, though, for it will burn to fine ash in any hands but yours." "So you're just gathering an army of capable mercenaries not already grabbed by the Guild or those Dragon-Blooded bastards. Should have known..." “My army will consist of five men and women, if that. But they could overturn any force of mortals you could name." "I honestly find that rather hard to believe..." "You shall see what I mean. You were a legend in the First Age....Zaokan. But though I long to tell you of your deeds, I must be patient, and let you adapt to the memories at your own pace. I wish I could stay with you, but I must leave. They say a Hidden Sun and Crowned Sun have been sighted in Nexus. Follow the needle, and be wary of showing your powers. The Dragon-Blooded will try to slay you while you are still young and weak if they discover you exist again." Zaokan hesitated, then went over and took the compass from her gently and says, "That won't be too hard since I have no powers than my usual cunning." Gloriana sighed and said ""As for the folk of this town....I have laid a simple spell on them to keep them occupied. Now the faerie has been slain, it's hold over the unfortunates of this town will have been shattered too. I look forward to....working....with you once more. I thought this day would never come.” She seemed to hesitate, considering saying something more, but decided against it. “But farewell for now."  She stepped back outside and was seemingly swallowed by the dark. Zaokan blinked at her disappearance. He shrugged, and took the axe, and a few jade coins for the trouble of freeing the town from fae influence, and started out. Some people watched him anxiously from behind doors or windows as he walked. As he went out the gates, he glanced Gahlen holding a crying Essily. The woman looked over her shoulder with something halfway between awe and fear. Zaokan pressed on into the darkness, and whatever it might hold.</blockquote>

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