EZ_RKRazor
09-15-01, 11:37 AM
This is a tale one of the Shadowknights in my guild wrote. He incorperated the Attacks into something he could share in an IC tales area of my guild board and i'd Like to share it all with you. I wasn't sure which catogory it should be posted so i posted it here Mods forgive me if you think it should be someplace else.
-Tenlar
"Excerpt from "Friends and Travels: The Private Journals of Incursus Nocturna"
.... it is sometimes difficult to for me to tell my memories from my dreams .... such is the case with the following tale.
I had been walking for days; I recall niether the place from which I had started my trek, nor the place I was seeking. The jouney was pleasant if not a bit lonely, as I had no traveling companions and had seen no one along the road which I walked .... until, after several days.... I met a Lady, her Uncle and her children.
That morning I had sighted a thin column of smoke on the horizon and, because it lay in my general direction of travel, decided to investigate. It was almost mid-day when I arrived at the sight and discovered a woman at the mercy of a band of common brigands.
What had once been her home was now a smoking ruin .... she knelt on the ground in front of it weeping. At her back stood an armed band of youngish-looking warriors dressed for battle, they appeared to be led by one who was very much older than they. He too was dressed for battle and had his weapon drawn.
I am a Soldier .... I am a Soldier because I carry it in my heart, NOT because I carry a weapon. Soldiers do battle with other Soldiers, it is our lot in life .... we do not victimize those who are unable to properly defend themselves .... like this band seemed to be doing.
My anger swelled and I stepped from the woodline letting my pack slip from my shoulder to the ground .... the Brigands leader was the first to notice me.
He turned and swiveled his body into my advance, "Begone with you Knight of the Shadows .... You have no business here.".
I continued to close the distance between him and myself and replied, "You are mistaken old man .... I DO have business here .... it is MY business to show you and your collection of vermin what it takes to be a Soldier.".
He cast a nervous glance to his side where the woman sat weeping and began, "This is not what it appears to be, you are mistaken if you believe .... ".
I spoke through teeth clenched in the absolute rage that exibitions of cowardice elicit in any true Soldier, "Once again old man .... it is YOU who is mistaken .... I intend to educate you and your lot with steel and see to it personally that none of you survive the day to repeat this mistake.".
Steel sang against leather and the thick mid-day air as I drew and began to swing in one motion, the old man side stepped between me and the woman and crouched to defend as we locked eyes ....
I exploded into him, feigned high and then swung low .... every muscle in my body uncoiling like a tensioned spring. The old man was much faster than his apparent age would seem to indicate and he neatly stepped over my weapon, shoving me off balance to my non-weapon side. I dove into the fall and rolled, came up facing him and began to swing again ....
"Stay your blade Soldier of the Night .... ", said the woman on the ground still looking at her ruined home.
Her voice was magic my body obeyed it instantly .... my mind raged ....
I could not move, I was helpless ....
"What manner of trickery is this?!?", I demanded.
"This is no trick Dark-One .... my Uncle was correct when he said you didn't see what you thought you saw.", she hadn't moved .... neither had the old man, he still crouched defensively between the woman and myself .... he made no move to attack me, nor did any of his band.
"Gather your wits about you Shadow Warrior .... I am weak and cannot hold you for long .... my Uncle and my Children are angry beyond words .... I will not be able to hold them either should you let your lust for battle overcome you again.", she said.
I swallowed back the rage and relaxed the grip on my weapon .... my arms began to slowly drop to my side and I was able to stand up under my own power again.
"It would seem that I have made a greivous error of judgement," I addressed the entire crowd, "and I appologise .... you must think me quite foolish.".
"Not at all Knight of the Shadows,", the old man replied as he too began to assume a more relaxed posture, "you act as a Soldier should, you are to be commended.", he bowed slightly.
It was then that I noticed the staggering diversity present in the group before me .... they were all young, true .... but surely one woman could not be mother to this many children who were this different from one another ....
"m'Lady .... I don't mean to be obtuse or rude, but i am to understand that you are Mother to ALL of these young ones ?", I asked.
"These and many more, they gather here to answer my Uncle's call and to mourn ....", she said.
" .... Mourn ?", I wondered aloud.
"Yes Dark-One .... they mourn their brothers and sisters who lay in our ruined house.", she indicated the pile of debris infront of her and began to weep softly again.
"I .... I am truely sorry for your loss m'Lady .... battle is a thing for Soldiers .... not a thing to be visited upon children .... not upon the innocent .... I .... I am sorry .... this is not a time for words from strangers .... I will leave you to your grieving .... if there is anything I can do m'Lady, please consider me at the service of you and your family.", I stammered.
"Nay Soldier of the Night, my Sons and Daughters are here and more arrive every minute .... they will care for me as I and their Uncle have cared for them. We will mourn, and then we will set about righting the wrongs committed here today .... their Uncle will teach them the things they need to know for that, he has much experience with it. Thank you though, for the offer and your concern.", she said with a voice just above a whisper.
"Very well then, I am called Incursus .... Curse or Inc by those who know me well and if you every require my services, they are yours .... you need only call upon me.", I said with a bow.
"My name is Liberty and this is my Uncle Samuel .... ", she started.
"Sam" the old man said and offered his hand.
I took it and we shook them as Soldiers do.
"and we thank you again Incursus, safe journey to you.", she finished.
I bowed again and noticed that the number of 'children' had roughly doubled since I had arrived .... I looked into their eyes .... Pain .... Shock .... Anger .... and a terrible resolve is what I saw there .... I would not care to face these 'children' when the time came for todays accounts to be settled. They were not Soldiers .... not yet .... I had no doubts that Samuel could remedy that.
I collected my gear and set off to find the road once again, and as I walked I couldn't help but wonder what would become of the good Lady Liberty, her Sons, her Daughters, and her Uncle Samuel.
Curse"
-Tenlar
"Excerpt from "Friends and Travels: The Private Journals of Incursus Nocturna"
.... it is sometimes difficult to for me to tell my memories from my dreams .... such is the case with the following tale.
I had been walking for days; I recall niether the place from which I had started my trek, nor the place I was seeking. The jouney was pleasant if not a bit lonely, as I had no traveling companions and had seen no one along the road which I walked .... until, after several days.... I met a Lady, her Uncle and her children.
That morning I had sighted a thin column of smoke on the horizon and, because it lay in my general direction of travel, decided to investigate. It was almost mid-day when I arrived at the sight and discovered a woman at the mercy of a band of common brigands.
What had once been her home was now a smoking ruin .... she knelt on the ground in front of it weeping. At her back stood an armed band of youngish-looking warriors dressed for battle, they appeared to be led by one who was very much older than they. He too was dressed for battle and had his weapon drawn.
I am a Soldier .... I am a Soldier because I carry it in my heart, NOT because I carry a weapon. Soldiers do battle with other Soldiers, it is our lot in life .... we do not victimize those who are unable to properly defend themselves .... like this band seemed to be doing.
My anger swelled and I stepped from the woodline letting my pack slip from my shoulder to the ground .... the Brigands leader was the first to notice me.
He turned and swiveled his body into my advance, "Begone with you Knight of the Shadows .... You have no business here.".
I continued to close the distance between him and myself and replied, "You are mistaken old man .... I DO have business here .... it is MY business to show you and your collection of vermin what it takes to be a Soldier.".
He cast a nervous glance to his side where the woman sat weeping and began, "This is not what it appears to be, you are mistaken if you believe .... ".
I spoke through teeth clenched in the absolute rage that exibitions of cowardice elicit in any true Soldier, "Once again old man .... it is YOU who is mistaken .... I intend to educate you and your lot with steel and see to it personally that none of you survive the day to repeat this mistake.".
Steel sang against leather and the thick mid-day air as I drew and began to swing in one motion, the old man side stepped between me and the woman and crouched to defend as we locked eyes ....
I exploded into him, feigned high and then swung low .... every muscle in my body uncoiling like a tensioned spring. The old man was much faster than his apparent age would seem to indicate and he neatly stepped over my weapon, shoving me off balance to my non-weapon side. I dove into the fall and rolled, came up facing him and began to swing again ....
"Stay your blade Soldier of the Night .... ", said the woman on the ground still looking at her ruined home.
Her voice was magic my body obeyed it instantly .... my mind raged ....
I could not move, I was helpless ....
"What manner of trickery is this?!?", I demanded.
"This is no trick Dark-One .... my Uncle was correct when he said you didn't see what you thought you saw.", she hadn't moved .... neither had the old man, he still crouched defensively between the woman and myself .... he made no move to attack me, nor did any of his band.
"Gather your wits about you Shadow Warrior .... I am weak and cannot hold you for long .... my Uncle and my Children are angry beyond words .... I will not be able to hold them either should you let your lust for battle overcome you again.", she said.
I swallowed back the rage and relaxed the grip on my weapon .... my arms began to slowly drop to my side and I was able to stand up under my own power again.
"It would seem that I have made a greivous error of judgement," I addressed the entire crowd, "and I appologise .... you must think me quite foolish.".
"Not at all Knight of the Shadows,", the old man replied as he too began to assume a more relaxed posture, "you act as a Soldier should, you are to be commended.", he bowed slightly.
It was then that I noticed the staggering diversity present in the group before me .... they were all young, true .... but surely one woman could not be mother to this many children who were this different from one another ....
"m'Lady .... I don't mean to be obtuse or rude, but i am to understand that you are Mother to ALL of these young ones ?", I asked.
"These and many more, they gather here to answer my Uncle's call and to mourn ....", she said.
" .... Mourn ?", I wondered aloud.
"Yes Dark-One .... they mourn their brothers and sisters who lay in our ruined house.", she indicated the pile of debris infront of her and began to weep softly again.
"I .... I am truely sorry for your loss m'Lady .... battle is a thing for Soldiers .... not a thing to be visited upon children .... not upon the innocent .... I .... I am sorry .... this is not a time for words from strangers .... I will leave you to your grieving .... if there is anything I can do m'Lady, please consider me at the service of you and your family.", I stammered.
"Nay Soldier of the Night, my Sons and Daughters are here and more arrive every minute .... they will care for me as I and their Uncle have cared for them. We will mourn, and then we will set about righting the wrongs committed here today .... their Uncle will teach them the things they need to know for that, he has much experience with it. Thank you though, for the offer and your concern.", she said with a voice just above a whisper.
"Very well then, I am called Incursus .... Curse or Inc by those who know me well and if you every require my services, they are yours .... you need only call upon me.", I said with a bow.
"My name is Liberty and this is my Uncle Samuel .... ", she started.
"Sam" the old man said and offered his hand.
I took it and we shook them as Soldiers do.
"and we thank you again Incursus, safe journey to you.", she finished.
I bowed again and noticed that the number of 'children' had roughly doubled since I had arrived .... I looked into their eyes .... Pain .... Shock .... Anger .... and a terrible resolve is what I saw there .... I would not care to face these 'children' when the time came for todays accounts to be settled. They were not Soldiers .... not yet .... I had no doubts that Samuel could remedy that.
I collected my gear and set off to find the road once again, and as I walked I couldn't help but wonder what would become of the good Lady Liberty, her Sons, her Daughters, and her Uncle Samuel.
Curse"