@Vas Khaleen Looks good to me, accepted!
Good luck! Don't get squished!
rhino is so ready to kick giant demon ass lol
Good luck! Don't get squished!
Footman Member
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So, so, here we are. Gargth has been temporarily defeated, and snatched away from the battle by the "voices in his head".
But in his place, the Alliance now faces a towering giant, an ancient evil. Slow but inevitable, it will crush the army piece by piece unless it is brought down. It has no special defences, no augmented attacks - just pure brute strength. Hit it with everything you have to bring it down.
If victorious, it's onto Sandbrick to do battle with whatever evil threatens this land.
Any characters powerful enough to do so, might have realised Gargth did not simply teleport. He was snatched away, literally, as if some unworldly force reached forth and pulled him to safety.
Again, any questions, and I am here to answer.
@Vas Khaleen I'll give it a look in a moment and let you know!
But in his place, the Alliance now faces a towering giant, an ancient evil. Slow but inevitable, it will crush the army piece by piece unless it is brought down. It has no special defences, no augmented attacks - just pure brute strength. Hit it with everything you have to bring it down.
If victorious, it's onto Sandbrick to do battle with whatever evil threatens this land.
Any characters powerful enough to do so, might have realised Gargth did not simply teleport. He was snatched away, literally, as if some unworldly force reached forth and pulled him to safety.
Again, any questions, and I am here to answer.
@Vas Khaleen I'll give it a look in a moment and let you know!
The Inevitable
Pain racked his body, pulsing from head to toe as if several men were beating on him with hammers of iron. Gargth groaned and muttered obscenities, but he finally reclaimed his feet - in time to see his Shadow Bolt slam into a tower of pure light. At this exact moment, he felt something else, something very wrong. The storm was weakening, and with it, his tenuous grasp of his warriors. Several of them collapsed into the sand inexplicably, but not all.
Depart, mortal. Or be undone.
The Shadow Bolt fizzled and dissipated, stopped by the pillar of light with seemingly little consequence. This interruption followed its way back to Gargth, and his head snapped back as if he'd been punched by an Ogre. Stumbling backwards, disorientated, he had but a moment to figure out his folly.
"How can this be?" he cursed, spitting blood into the sand at his feet. "What avails them?"
Not what, mortal. Who. Flee, and flee now.
Before Gargth could respond to the pounding voice in his mind, the pillar of light transformed, twisting and pulsing, remoulding itself into something unworldly. Finally, the image settled, and though Gargth should have been humbled by what he saw, he merely smiled.
"Clever," he said, spitting another wod of blood. "It seems they have a Theurgist in their ranks."
FLEE. FLEE. FLEE.
The angelic form, a series of spinning circles encasing the form of a babe, gazed at Gargth. At first it nearly blinded him, and he felt his arcane reserves dwindling - his link to the Shadow Realm faltering - but he shrugged, even as it talked directly to him and spoke of sin, and penance, and 'knowing one's self'.
"Do not think to lecture me on penance," Gargth said, his voice suddenly robbed of its magical enhancements. He looked directly back at the seemingly divine being. Challenging it. "You have no power here, beyond your tricks. Be gone!"
The spirit, or angel, or whatever apparition it was supposed to be, regarded him in silence and then vanished - or fled. Gargth felt the pain in his body subside, and he called his energy back to him like waves to a beach. Suddenly he felt younger than he had in years, as his new found strength flooded his body.
And then the ground was shaking beneath his feet, as something great drew near to him. He looked across the battlefield, past his failing warriors, and saw a giant white beast hurtling towards him. It was magic in design, some bastard breed of mammoth and bear. Gargth was impressed, this second lot of fools were clearly beating his estimations when it came to their competency. In a moment the creature would be on him, tearing him to pieces.
Quickly he reached in the Shadow Realm - his mind scanning the dark and twisted landscape - and there he plucked forth a great Spirit. Not quite a Demon, though there were few other words to describe it. In life, this Spirit had been a murderer of thousands, a rapist of Elven maidens and a corrupter of the flesh. An ancient evil, lost to time - though no longer.
It took much effort for Gargth to haul this spirit into the world of the living, but it required mere moments, and as the great mammoth-beast came upon him, Gargth exploded. Purple flame erupted from where the Fallen Wizard had stood, sending chunks of rocks and sand screaming through the air - and an aftershock so powerful, that the mammoth-beast more or less smacked into an invisible wall and bounced back several feet.
The Shadow Warriors collapsed, blown away by the wind or else became piles of sand. The battle ended instantly.
And then, from the smouldering crater that stood in place of Gargth, a mighty hand sprung forth - the size of a small house. The ground shook, sending cracks through the landscape, and a terrible, booming laughter echoed across the ever-clearing skies. With a teeth-gritting grind, the hand slid upwards, giving birth to a wrist, and then a shoulder, and then a horned head. In seconds, a hulking giant of sand stood in the middle of the Alliance army.
"I have come," it said, its voice raspy.
It looked down at the pitiful mortals and their army, towering a hundred feet over them with his massive and muscled bulk, and hefted a great maul. Though his entire being seem constructed of sand, there was no doubt as to what that maul would do to a man - nay - a group of men.
And with the force of an entire nation, the sand giant brought its weapon down indiscriminately into the nearest group of soldiers.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Gargth collapsed onto the black marble of his tower's Great Hall. He breathed heavily, fighting the pain that threatened once more to stop his heart and drag him screaming to the Shadow Realm for time eternal.
You were a fool. Any more such foolishness, and we will deal with you personally.
"Why couldn't I defeat them?" Gargth hissed in pain, "why did you abandon me? Why did you drag me away?"
Because you would not listen, and thus threatened to undo everything. May this be a lesson, mortal. You will rule this world with our blessing, or not at all. And to gain that blessing, you must learn obedience.
"Fine," Gargth said bitterly, clambering to his feet on weakened limbs. "Then in all your infinite bastard wisdom, how do you propose to stop the invaders, if you wont allow me to do it personally?"
You will remain here. In your tower. We will see to the Battle for Everstrine, but you must give us form. This will be your purpose. Victory will require everything you have, and more. Take an hour to prepare yourself, for I doubt that abomination you summoned will delay the Alliance much. Sandbrick shall still fall, and we shall herald its destruction in due course.
@Footman Feeling a bit of focus there XD No matter, should have figured that a mana shield would draw attention. Guess my guys are the first to get screwed over already.
Gargth's attack isn't unstoppable. Ya might have to drop that shield though to focus on dispelling, diverting it ---- or even returning it.
Shadow Magic, whilst volatile and exceptionally powerful, can be manipulated like all the rest. It just requires a lot more strength do so, considering it's so powerful.
Meanwhile, maybe someone will rush Gargth, and see how that works out for 'em! :D
Something Wicked This Way Comes
The storm swirled and raged, lightning bolts falling in ever greater numbers. They exploded with the roar akin to cannon fire, sending chunks of burning debris in all directions. More Shadow Warriors sprung up from the sand, clawing their way to freedom and leaping at the nearest Alliance warrior.
Initially the battle had gone the way of a chaotic melee, with Gargth's minions sprouting from all directions and driving wedges between comrades-in-arms, but the Alliance seemed to be quick to react. The Fallen Wizard was amused by their trivial efforts to prevent the inevitable. Did they truly think they could win? He had slain many more than they had, many who were greater than even their best.
What hope did this rag-tag folly possibly think they could cling to?
A few arrows whizzed into him, though they broke apart before they touched his flesh as if an ivisible barrier barred their passage. A few random magical attacks followed, as the various spell-casters of the Alliance's army took pot-shots at him inbetween fighting the Shadow Warriors.
Not much apparently.
"FIGHT AND DIE," his magically augmented voice carried across the din of a desperate melee. "YOUR SOULS WILL BE FRESH HARVEST FOR THE SHADOW REALM!"
As if to underline his point, Gargth lifted his left arm - a corrupted limb, seemingly made from several hundred twigs and branches - and gesticulated until a purple rolling sphere appeared in his hand. He'd directly contacted the Shadow Realm once more, harnessing its well of power. He marvelled at himself and his accomplishments, as the raw energy surged through him, threatening to once again obliterate his physical form with its sheer primal strength.
A blue shield had formed around a band of Alliance soldiers, and they used it to great effect against the droves of Shadow Warriors surging towards them. Gargth sensed the shield's energy, and immediately understood its design. Its existence offended him greatly.
They are of Grandmaster Yrios's Guild. Powerful in magic, all. Withdraw from this folly, mortal. You overestimate your odds, here. The Guild of Tal’Zaroth is formidable, and you have yet to recover your full strength.
Lowering his hand so that the sphere - the size of a man's head - pointed at the blue shield, he cackled madly. "They shall die all the same," he muttered with a sneer.
Then you are a fool.
With a simple word of the arcane, Gargth sent the purple sphere hurtling towards the Mage Guild of Tal’Zaroth's position, urging his destructive attack to blast them straight off the face of the earth. The moment the sphere left his hand, Gargth felt a jolt echo throughout his body, as the after-affects of tapping the Shadow Realm momentarily weakened him. He fell to one knee, and the invisible barrier protecting his physical form flickered with an obvious intermittent glow of orange.
If the Alliance were to destroy Gargth, the time was nigh. If the Mage Guild of Tal’Zaroth wanted to avoid being reduced to ash, and their souls harvested to the darkest corners of arcane lore, then they'd best stop the formidable Shadow Bolt coming their way.
We have a Vampire Lord and a cave dweller that do not fare well in dry places with lots of sun. But, we should be fine.
Go re-read my post and see what Gargth did. Go look at what happened to the sun! I'm trying to help you!
Wait, I'll go grab it myself.
He raised his hands skywards, and immediately thick grey clouds stormed across the sky, bringing with them rain and lightning. The sun lost itself behind this unnatural weather formation, and darkness fell across The Great Dunes.
You've got some lovely temporary darkness right there. Go nuts!
Sorry for the massive size of the post. You'll want to read all of it though, as it covers both the Emperor's movements, and Gargth's. I do not intend to make my posts that size often, so those of you that hate long ass posts, do not fear!
I'll be here to answer any questions. I've tried to be clear as possible, but I know I'm not the greatest writer.
A few simple ones though.
1) Yes. Gargth is attacking US.
2) Yes, the Emperor is still at Sandbrick, but will be returning to the battlefield in my next post.
3) The Shadow Warriors made of sand are fragile, yet strong. They can tear through steel with their claws, if given enough time, but can be felled by a single sword blow or arcane shot. Their strength is in their numbers and disregard for their own well being.
4) No you can't one-hit Gargth, but you can attack him. To save me from replying to fifty posts, anyone that attacks Gargth will gain his attention, and they will suffer an automatic arcane attack. He is powerful, but will not be using energy drawn from the Shadow Realm until I say so.
I'll be here to answer any questions. I've tried to be clear as possible, but I know I'm not the greatest writer.
A few simple ones though.
1) Yes. Gargth is attacking US.
2) Yes, the Emperor is still at Sandbrick, but will be returning to the battlefield in my next post.
3) The Shadow Warriors made of sand are fragile, yet strong. They can tear through steel with their claws, if given enough time, but can be felled by a single sword blow or arcane shot. Their strength is in their numbers and disregard for their own well being.
4) No you can't one-hit Gargth, but you can attack him. To save me from replying to fifty posts, anyone that attacks Gargth will gain his attention, and they will suffer an automatic arcane attack. He is powerful, but will not be using energy drawn from the Shadow Realm until I say so.
Chapter One
A Storm of Sand and Steel
The second Moonsong expedition has landed upon the south-western shores of Everstrine unhindered, apparently ignored by Gargth's agents, or missed by his spells of wide-reaching observation. Though the seas carried them mercifully - unlike those that came before - the expedition will have a rough time of it from here on in.
Everstrine is not a gigantic island. It has a human population of half a million, which is less than most of the Alliance's major cities. However, what it lacks in size, it makes up for in geographical diversity. Thick and ancient woodland cover its western and northern faces, though these are divided by humid bogs. To the east, a cracked and broken grey scale landscape assails the observer with its jagged teeth, fissures and numerous pits. In the centre of the landmass itself, you'd find the great and treacherous Spirandor Mountains, where snow blasts their peaks from winter to winter, and from summer to summer.
Our journey starts with neither of these however; indeed, it starts with what is arguably the most treacherous stretch of the Everstrine landscape. It is a desert all to itself, and they call it The Great Dunes. Many speculate that it once belonged to the sea, but over the progression of years, the water has retreated to leave behind a barren and empty plain of sand. Nothing grows here, and the land would hold little value were it not for the salt-reserves found in the region.
It was for the salt that colonists established Sandbrick over three hundred years ago. An old town, but by no means ancient, it is a sturdy and blunt fixture built by the hands of mortal men who had little access to building materials beyond sand and water. Its buildings are robust and strong, crafted from sandstone and cement. Its wall, a mighty construction that circles the entire settlement, is likewise made, and thus the town appears to almost to be rising out of the desert itself.
And it is here that the expedition, on their third day, are drawing close to. Having moved in from the west, departing their ships in favour of a tiresome march under the blazing sun, they have come within scouting range and have thus begun to explore Sandbrick's situation. This is where our story begins.
Sandbrick burned.
Pillars of black smoke rose from the town to blot the sky, and the vibrant glow of raging fires glittered in the afternoon sun. Even from the back of his swan, and half a league above, Emperor Rainald XII could hear the din of a desperate battle waged far below.
His men, three hundred of them, cluttered the air above the city. They circled in force, but none descended - though Captain Gregnar pined frequently to do just that. The Emperor spotted his little spirit-pet easily; the swan he rode flapped its wings as if in a frenzy, and its long neck danced about like a length of loose string in the wind. This stood in stark contrast to those flown by the Moon Guard, who used measured movements and paced flaps of their wings.
The Swan Riders had flown ahead of the host, to scout Sandbrick and to see if it still stood. There were certainly other alternatives available beyond being physically present; no doubt some of the expidition's leaders had access to the power of far-sight. However, the aging Emperor didn't trust much in magic; in fact, he didn't trust in much.
Captain Gregnar passed him close, causing the Emperor's swan to rear and hiss in annoyance.
"We going down there or not, ya Lordship?" Gregnar called cheerfully.
"We are, my good Captain," the Emperor's voice was heavy, like rusted iron, and sounded just as worn. "Let us see what this game has in store for us."
The Captain beat the air with a mailed first, "that's more like it. I was getting bored!"
"Well I wouldn't want that," the Emperor replied with a hoarse shout. His words carried more truth than all the clairvoyance in the world.
It is time. This city falls. Today. This minute.
"Yes," Gargth agreed, his words sounding wet. "This has gone on for longer than planned. Time is scarce, is it not?"
You have no idea, mortal. Your insubordination threatens everything. There will be no more of that.
Gargth's head rocked back, and he let out a blood curdling laugh, gritty and sodden with corruption. "You did not enjoy the gift of fifty thousand souls?"
You almost killed yourself with our power. You are not as smart as you think, mortal. You would do well to remember this.
The Fallen wizard waved a hand, "I've not time to hear your prattle. Leave me. I've a city to fell."
Raising his arms skywards, Gargth opened his mental channel to the Shadow Realm instantly, and by thought alone. He reached deep into its dark bowels, and drunk deeply of its power. Within in an instant an intense energy surged through him, burning, threatening to rip the skin from his bones. At the same time, a cold feeling, colder than ice, racked his chest.
"By the Pact created, I shall see my will be done!" he yelled, bringing his arms down so that his open palms faced the city. He quickly rattled out some long forgotten bastard tongue, and the energy poured out of him, forming into a vibrant purple ball between his outstretched hands.
In a moment, he would release that ball, hurl it towards the town, and the Count's brave yet foolish defenders would fall beneath an explosion. Sandbrick and its people would be reduced to one giant crater. Such power had not been wielded since before the beginning of time, when Gods still walked the mortal realms.
You are not alone. Someone watches.
Gargth's eyes widened suddenly, and he looked skywards. Just then, dozens of great white birds came into view from across the horizon, and the fallen wizard watched them curiously. As they came closer and closer, he soon saw that they bore men in armour.
"What have we here?" Gargth asked, amused. With an intricate gesture, he dissipated the ball of energy and dismissed it back to the Shadow Realm. "Giant birds and knights?"
Throwing his own arcane reserves into use, Gargth used his power of far-sight, and brought the image of the aerial warriors close. Their shields and emblems left little secret as to who they were, or why they were here.
Survivors. You incompetent mortal. None were supposed to live!
"Not survivors. These men look fresh. The Alliance hasn't taken long to send another wave of their foolishness," Gargth said bitterly. "Open your gates, for I shall bring more souls shortly."
The Fallen Wizard was surrounded by ten thousand of his Shadow Warriors. Each of them made from the sand beneath his feet, and they stood in rigid square formations before Sandbrick, looking on without emotion or idle movement. They were finely detailed, as if crafted by the delicate hands of artists, and bore an uncanny resemblance to mortal man. However, they were far from it. Gargth had moulded their forms to be as such, using the resources of the locale, and had thrown the corrupted inhabitants of the Shadow Realm into their grainy bosoms. To say they were alive was not accurate; to say they were dead did them an injustice.
The swan riders made a sudden dive, driving through the air and towards Gargth and his army. The wizard merely smiled. He threw out some more of his arcane words, and his eyes saw beyond Sandbrick, past the swans, and to the west. There he saw an entire army; thousands strong. How it had evaded his senses, or his own agents, baffled him. Then again, he hadn't been expecting the Alliance to respond so quickly. He cursed his own complacency.
As the swans drew into arrow range, Gargth and the ten thousand heads of his minions looked up at once, and in a flash, they collapsed to the sands from whence they had come, leaving nothing but a vast cloud of dust in their wake.
And then Gargth was in the middle of them. This army. This pitiful army. He looked around him, seeing columns of troops marching this way and that, navigating the dunes. Some had stopped after spotting him, giving him a bemused look. A man had suddenly appeared in the very centre of the entire formation, divided though it was into the various regiments composing it, and only those with a sense for the arcane would have realised exactly who it was.
Gargth the Fallen, as he appears currently.
Using his arcane might to carry his voice for a league in all directions, he laughed - nay - he cackled. The sound shot across the desert, causing those closest to him to cover their ears.
"Tremble, warriors of the Alliance. Doom has come, and it has come swiftly." His terrible voice echoed across the dunes, causing parts the landscape to crack open. Some dunes even collapsed, threatening to bury those nearby.
He raised his hands skywards, and immediately thick grey clouds stormed across the sky, bringing with them rain and lightning. The sun lost itself behind this unnatural weather formation, and darkness fell across The Great Dunes.
Several bolts of lightning smashed into the ground, striking randomly into the army. In an instant, hundreds were diving for cover or protecting themselves from the bolts of energy that steadily melted sand into glass.
"You want a war?" his continued. "Then it is yours to have!"
Where the bolts had struck, beings began to emerge from the sand. First there were dozens of them, and then there were hundreds. They looked like men - almost life like - but they were made entirely of sand, and bore grim expressions of evil intent. They surged towards their nearest foe with elongated claws for fingers, and wailed like banshees as they did so.
The warriors of the second expedition rallied themselves, as Gargth's deranged cackle filled their ears.
<Snipped quote by Footman>
I honestly like the B scenario more because the action immediately starts. Though, small question: will this be a player-driven RP (aka the players can make up what happens and such) with supervision? Or will there be a plotline everyone has to follow?
Half and half, really.
I intend to involve narratives from Gargth's perspective, and the players will get to see what he's thinking, and some of what he's doing. By way of this, I intend to influence the direction our characters take. However I wont even try - nor would I even want to - dictate things step by step.
Through my Emperor, I will also attempt to keep things moving early-on. The Alliance has landed to relieve three sieges, and to put an end to Gargth. All three towns are on their way, as they traverse the magic barrier that encircles the lands around Gargth's tower. So things should hopefully just plod along in that direction.
However, like I say, I wont be dictating things. Just providing nudges and ideas for people to grasp and act on. People are equally okay to tell me to go f**k myself and embark upon their own little shindig.
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