Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stormwynd" data-source="post: 2882559" data-attributes="member: 5913">Character Backstory: Father Daniel Karamalegosby Michael CerankoThe sun cast hues of deep indigo and gold as it set far to the east of the Loma Mountains, making the horizon a beacon of beauty in the high jungle air. The village of Sumbaria was quiet, awaiting the coming bloodbath of the armed slavers. Father Daniel Karamalegos eyes burned in the hot air as he searched the jungle treeline for raiders. The cries weeping women echoed from the cellar of the monastery, speaking in the native speak of the local tribes. His mouth tasted of dust.He charged a round into the bolt- action rifle and rested his shoulder on the edge of the window. He smiled to himself. After all the battles with Berbers in the deserts of Morocco as a Legion Estranger he was going to meet his end in Sierra Leone. He would die a newly ordained Orthodox priest defending orphans in an abandoned monastery. He wondered if the Hierophant would frown upon him losing his life defending Animists. After fighting so many wars, he had wanted an end to the killing, a place to find peace. The end of the world seemed like a good place to find it, the deep mountain jungles of Sierra Leone. It was, until they found diamonds here. Then came the bankers and their mercenaries, and the slavers. Men with money who would rather use slaves than pay men an honest wage. Such was life in Africa. They had shot Father Juno in the face point blank, just two weeks before for feeding runaway slaves. And they had abducted the Swedish nurse Anna, and returned her headless, naked corpse to the village in a wheelbarrow. Daniel was hunting in the valley when they attacked, heard the gunshots and saw the plumes of smoke. Daniel had bought his rifles at the market the day after, breaking his vow never to bear arms again. He had planned to lead them across the mountains to Freetown, to ask French troops for help. But the trails were rife with slavers, and now his village was full of refugee’s fleeing their pursuers. They hid amidst the mud brick huts, armed with only machetes and clubs. The mercenaries would have rifle’s he knew, it was a lost cause, but there was no way out so a last stand was the only option. He wanted to be back in Mykinos, crab fishing with his father and brothers, watching the sunset in the sapphire ocean. That life had bored him. So he had looked for adventure in North Africa with the foreign Legion, like so many others all they found was misery in the sand defending useless outposts in the desert. There was nothing romantic about it. Work as a medic had suited him, he could always find a job healing people and curing ills in the black corners of the world. First, there was the Sudan; where he met Father Juno and Anna. Khartoum was not a safe place for Orthodox Christians, even if they were curing disease. South Africa was much safer, although Father Juno desired to return to Sierra Leone where he had grown up. He had hoped to bring Orthodoxy to the natives and teach French and English. Rebuilding the ruined monastery had been his lifelong dream. The mercenaries had destroyed that dream. And Father Juno, and Anna.And here he was; a dead man on borrowed time. Waiting for death like waiting for a train to arrive.  Ambogo was sitting on the floor loading his second rifle; the boy was twelve and spoke four languages. He had slept under father Daniel’s cot for months.The boy had wandered into the village half dead bleeding from a dozen machete wounds. Ambogo’s left ear had been hacked off and his teeth shattered, but he had survived and looked to Daniel as a father figure. He even helped the younger children learn English. Daniel liked him for his wide-eyed enthusiasm for life and his amazing intelligence. Quick witted and funny, he made the days go by much easier in the harshness of the jungle. “I wish you’d listen to me and get into the cellar. They will be on us any minute.” Daniel muttered. Ambogo frowned.“Who would reload for you father? Besides, I have no wish to die around crying women. I would rather fight.” He smiled his broken tooth grin. The boy patted the black Machete next to him on the ground. “You should have fled into the jungle. You could have escaped. Like I told you.”Ambogo finished reloading and placed the rifle against the wall. “Maybe you should go downstairs with the women Ambogo, all you do is keep whining.” Ambogo looked disturbingly calm.“I couldn’t leave them. Besides the Gunmen would follow us. We don’t really have a choice there is only one way out of this valley.”Daniel saw the gunmen come through the trees moving fast in a line. He aimed his rifle and took the first one in the throat.  The others scattered, running for the cover of the mud brick huts. He heard the screams of fighting and gunshots. Daniel winged another in the chest as the man came around the side of the window. Ambogo handed him his second rifle and began his reload. Bullets shattered the bricks around his window; five men were making a charge for the monastery door. They carried bloody Machetes. Daniel fired through the door and heard a scream and the thud of a body. The women were screaming bloody murder in the cellar. A gunman Climbed through the window and Ambogo sliced his hand in half as the man perched on the windowsill, he dropped his rifle and grabbed his hand screaming. Daniel put a round in his head and stopped his screaming. The door crashed open, men swarmed in swords flailing. Ambogo dropped one with the dead man’s rifle. Daniel aimed backing up trying to avoid their rush. He got one round off before they were on him. One grabbed his arm. He felt a pop in his head and he lost control of his body. Blood flowed into his eyes and the ground came up and hammered him. He smiled as he saw the cross on the wall of the ceiling. It seemed Christ was looking down at him from the cross. How can you let this happen? He wondered. He watched Ambogo run to the back of the room. The boy gave a brave stand off before the blade of a machete caught him across the side of the neck.His eyes dimmed and he found himself in a gray mist. He saw a pinprick of light; it began swirling in front of him. He felt lighter than air and he seemed to shoot up toward the light, moving faster and faster. He was going to heaven he thought, as he woke up.</blockquote>

Verification