Rhapsody (Fantasy)

Sare said nothing the rest of the day, not even when they passed the border to Malnarcosus. She kept visualizing the way the Dark Ones had boiled down to nothing at her very will, and she heard the Voice echo in her head: You're no more human than they are.

Along the way they were accosted by rebel soldiers, and Sare thought they were going to attack her, but Adelaide swooped down from the sky and explained things to them, and gave Sare her express permission to fight. Now she and Lucy were charging along with the rebels. Nathaniel was somewhere behind. Addy's orders.

They blew into the city before anyone could give them a thought. Something was up. Sare felt the tension rising within her. Up ahead there was fire, and for an instant Sare believed herself to be back in Greava, back in that first day. But the soldiers around her put up a cry and Adelaide came screaming from the sky as the first phalanx of guards came marching down the road.

The soldiers were good. If it had been a fair fight, they would have won outright. But there were several times more guards than soldiers, and even with angelic help from above things were looking grim. As she stabbed her spear at a guard's upturned face, it occured to her that she should be feeling remorse for the pain she was inflicting. Instead, the only thing running through her mind was the image of the melting Dark Ones. Could she do the same thing to humans?

She slid down from Lucy's back and ran up to the closest of the guards. He raised his sword and glared down at her. She peered back into his eyes. "Stop that, idiot," she said as he tried to lunge for her. To his supreme surprise, he did. Sare smiled to herself again. Something was feeling right.

"Now. Stop your friends." With a look of growing horror, the guard turned and nearly decapitated one of his fellows, then turned on another. The other guards shouted at him and skirted away. The leader of the Rebels looked down at Sare, awed.

"I'm glad you're with us," he said, then returned to the fight.

Sare Turned another guard and settled in for a fight.

 

I moved slowly into the room, my left foot stepping behind my right and then my right in front of my left as he did the opposite in the other direction. He was a mimic, but he was no good in battle, if I remembered correctly.

"I thought you would have been killed a long time ago."

"You knew I was caught three days ago," I snapped, "this isn't news. You know you can't beat me."

"I'm sure," he respited, "if you think about it. I already have beaten you before."

I didn't respond. I swung at him, missing and hitting his bed dress, jumping as he swung at my legs. I landed on his sword, lifting up a boot to kick him back. As I spun, the sword unfortunately rolled to him and he was able to get it back.

"With your wife," he said, already panting. He was afraid for a moment. I was a much faster fighter, and he was older than I was by quite a bit. He tried his hardest to sting me with his words, but I was smarter than that. "And your baby boy."

I swung at his throat, missing barely as he fell backwards and swung upwards to spin my sword further.

"You were so easily tricked. Any fool would have looked at his enemy before killing them."

I swung again, his parries just barely made and his counters nothing short of pitiful.

"But you were afraid to look any of your victims in the eyes. You feared they'd live with you forever."

I stabbed the floor in front of him, his rolling barely enough to save his neck.

"Dragging those carcases out of that burnt building was the most satisfying thing I've done in my reign."

I swung, lopping off his arm that he wasn't using. Blood splattered from the arteries, squarting out frantically with his heart beat. He screamed, running for the door. I swung again, nicking him in the back, but not enough to make him fall. I ran after him. Terror had been his new motivation. He was moving much faster than many men his age could. He ran down the stairs with his sword, screaming. He turned into the room with the boulder and broken wall. Guards started to randomly appear from different locations

Each one, I struck down with my sword, blood covering the wall in rows of sevens.

 

A Dark Plot

I didn't know where to go. I was lost, but I kept running. I suppose I was going north; maybe northwest. It always felt like going uphill to me, and the temperature was becoming colder. Something rare for me to feel. But I kept running at my immortal speed, objects, trees, houses, buildings, even people going by in a colorful blur.

We need it, Sire, we need it, we need it....

I stopped dead. I had reached a city, Quelo, I presume, and what an amazing sight. The city was very nearly deserted. All was dark as if evil lurked and tainted everything, including the heavens reaching above the city. It seemed as though the buildings were charred, but when I looked more closely, I saw that everything was covered in a black veil, so to speak. Not a tangible veil, but a shadow, almost...

The biggest building was not far and it seemed to be the darkest, most corrupt one of the city. The voices grew stronger as I drew nearer.

Sire, the King... The general!... The voice was high pitched, but still carried a minion accent. It was manic and the words were quickly thought and most likely spoken. Sire, the general... I was only catching bits and pieces and it was making me frustrated. I knew that I was creating a higher risk for myself the closer I came, but curiosity was egging me onward.

I finally reached the edge of the steps leading up to the huge wooden doors leading into the building. One was slightly ajar. I crept slowly up to it and listened.

"Sire, the general has unleashed his army in the south. They now have that region under their... well," There was a chuckle. "Our control." Another laugh. They were not in the room beyond the door. That area was vacant. My superb hearing told me they were a couple stories up, in a study of some sort. I remained hidden in the shadows, but continued to listen through the crack.

"We also have information that a battle has broken out elsewhere. I don't quite recall exactly where it was, but I can assure you that it will fall shortly under our command as well."

"Good," Another voice spoke. This one was deeper and obviously held a tone of authority. "Find out exactly where that battle is taking place for me, will you Huatta?"

"Yes, m'lord." A third voice spoke. I barely had the time to move into the bushes before the wooden door swung open, not even seconds later, revealing a dark figure rushing out and off into the distance. I sighed and repositioned myself.

"You said the south had fallen under our command, did you not?" The leader spoke again.

"Yes, m'lord. They are powerless against us." The manic minion was overwhelmed with excitement.

"Good, good..." The leader mused. "I believe that will prove very helpful in our quest for world domination."

"M'lord?" The minion had lost its prior excitement and now carried a tone of fear. This was, apparently, the first anyone had heard of such plan.

The leader only chuckled and continued. "Yes, they will prove very useful. The South is full of hardy, young souls. Many young souls..." The leader trailed off again.

"M'lord?" The minion squeaked.

He knows too much... The leader's voice. There was a choking noise and a thud as a body fell to the floor. Now he knows nothing. Yes, world domination. The King will have no idea, no... He thinks he is aiding us, and he is... But he will soon realize that the path of the Dark Ones does not lead to a co-ruling. He will be powerless to our armies as we turn against him and control the world! I gasped. The Dark Ones...! But... But...!

There was a laugh, but it was cut short by a voice I knew well. Too well.

"Sire?" It was Akara. I gasped again and nearly fell out of my bush.

"Yes, Akara?" The leader said, disappointed in the sudden intrusion.

"Sire, we have word that..." but I didn't get to hear what they had word of. At that moment a shadow fell upon me. I looked up. The sun was blinding me from the figure's features, but I knew what it was. It was the Dark One that had left, and he was back.

"What do we have here?" He said, reaching down. I leapt aside and ran; ran as fast as my legs would carry me. The figure didn't attempt to cahse after me, but i heard the rage in the leader's thoughts as the Dark One had told him of me. Akara had been both pleased, shocked, and infuriated. I ran and ran; until I collapsed, exhausted, in the west.
**************************************************

I awoke in a daze. My head was still swimming with the events I had just witnessed. It was night and the stars were shining brilliantly. It was quiet and calm. Crickets chirped in the darkness.

Memories flooded my brain, not that it wasn't already on overdrive. I nearly passed out from the stress.

The Dark Ones had not always been evil. No. I had joined their cause even before I was turned. It wasn't bad then. In fact, their aim was to restore diplomacy to certain parts of the continent. I was recruited at age twelve. I was a strong fighter and a skilled marksman. I was good at everything I did. And when I was turned, that only made my powers stronger. But when the Dark Ones learned of my transformation they began to use me for missions that weren't as good. They made me kill people. They made me drink against my will. I tried to be good. I tried. But they beat me down and made me continue to do these horrific deeds. The cause slowly began to change. They became more dark and demented and even the soldiers seemed to change. Their appearances became darker and more twisted. They got scary. Akara was the one who controlled the Armada at this time. He loved the power, yet he lusted for more. The places we went began to decay, too. The buildings would darken and the sky would fill with ash and blood. I was in my early twenties by this time and I was growing wiser and more rebelious. I was an anarchist at heart then and I am now and I always will be. I did not like authority.

The soldiers conintued to 'mutate', one could say. Their appearances became twisted into what they feared most and mixed with what had changed them. I saw one guy, one of my friends, get bitten by a werewolf when he was just fifteen. He was an avid churchgoer so his biggest fear was demons. The Dark Prescence morphed him into a creature too horrendus for words. But it was not my friend anymore. It was not the man I once knew. That man was gone, replaced by a beast of morbid pwoer and corruption. Even Akara, himself, changed.

But the change also made him blind. Not physically, but mentally. A new leader had stepped in and pushed Akara aside. He had kept him at his right hand, however, and for that Akara was infuriated. It was like an addition to injury; a slap in the face.

I left the Armada soon after the new leader took over. I couldn't stand it anymore. I saw the way everyoen else was changing. I was already a monster. I didn't want to make that any worse.

But the Armada kept killing, kept 'feeding' on the souls they captured. It made them strong. Made them big. They wore black cloaks to look meaner, tougher, bigger. They didn't need it, though. They were menacing enough without all the fancy attire.

I've been running from them over since. I was still their best soldier when I left and they've been tracking me. I never stayed in one place too long and when I did, it always brought pain and suffering to those I loved. Like Ideaya.

We had fallen in love and had gotten reprimanded for it. Relationships like ours were not allowed. It just wasn't heard of. It was a 'sin', 'disgrace'., and the like. I didn't care. I loved her. But the Dark ones had come after me again and I had to leave. I did not dare take her with me. I couldn't risk her getting hurt or worse, dying.

The memories hung lazily like a fog for the next few moments. I was so out of it, that I hadn't noticed that a person had approached me and was shaking me.

"Are you okay?" It was a woman's voice. Familiar, yet distant. I gazed at the woman, not seeing her face clearly. "Are you..?" And then a gasp.

I focused my eyes, forced them to see. My vision cleared and I was staring into the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen in my entire life. They were familiar. I would never forget those eyes. Those gorgeous icy blue eyes. A smile took over my face, I could feel it.

"I... Ideaya?!"

 

He was fallen, stumbling backwards away from me with his one arm. He was screaming lies at me. Things he would do if I let him live. His face made me sick just looking at it.

"Evan," he finally pleaded, "please, come to reason! I've been like a father to you. I took you in when your parents were killed. I've been there for you your whole life."

I spat at him, grabbing my sword and hitting his, knocking it across the room. I lifted my blade and stabbed him in his last arm, between his radius and ulna.

"I know what happened, very clearly," I yelled. "I was the last Vermillion of my kind! My parents were peasantry to you, and easily disposable. I was trainable, they were not! You killed them for me! You took me away from my home! You killed my people! You made me a killer!"

His anger only revved with mine. "And you're going to prove me wrong by killing me!?"

I pulled the blade out and slapped him with the flat side, the blade still cutting his cheek open.

"You don't deserve to live! You're the reason this is all going on! The Dark Ones! They're because of you!"

He laughed. "You idiot boy! The Dark Ones are not beings, per se, they are the souls of those who have fallen in vain. They are the demonic version of everything bad in our souls! They take the form of whatever demon corrupted him!"

My eyes staid wide. Would I have a dark one in me if I died? Or was that the reason I hadn't been killed yet. Could I die?

"You're lying." I couldn't help but step back.

"Boy, open your eyes! You create your own destiny. If I was so bad to you, why didn't you leave! I can't stop you!"

He was lying again. I did try to leave.

"You have free will! You are not a dark one at all!"

I lifted the blade, trying to find the strength to plummet into his chest.

"Kill me then! Take my life, force me to bleed my blood! Let me die! I have done my deed and will be rewarded for them. You're just the murderer you say I created."

His words were all lies. I knew it, but they were effecting me terribly. I looked at him in pain and in fury. His smile was jet black, his movements faster than I had expected. He darted for his sword, swinging it instantly at my once he had it. I flipped my wrist and blocked the movements, parrying and countering each move he made.

 

The night grew brighter as the fires spread, across the capital of Malnarcosus and across my heart.

I reached the famous gardens, which now blazed a brilliant beacon against the seamless sky. There were soldiers all around: rebel, loyalists, I could hardly tell. One of them lunged at me and I spun around, driving my knife into his chest with a furor that surprised even me. I felt the voices rejoice. I drew more and more on their strengths, without even touching the individual jewels now: the power was there, literally at my fingertips, eager to be used. It seeped out of me, forming me into its weapon. I slit the throat of another man, sending blood spattering across my face and blouse; and I smiled, the sanguine warmth on my cheek a mark of my descent deeper into war. I stole his sword, and unlike when I had attempted to hold Evan's sword before and struggled with the weight, now the weapon felt light, natural in my small and delicate hands.

Evan. I had left him without even a goodbye, distracted and awed by the speed at which events were transpiring. Was he okay? I should have stayed with him, should have fought at his side. Not alone. What if he needed me? What if he was hurt?

But I wasn't alone. I was mistress of dozens of powers. I threw ice in the face of a man who came at me holding a torch. I pulled a wall down on top of an armored man and walked on top of the rubble without so much of a pause, my feet carrying me upwards, towards a high tower above the gardens. I was never alone.

I ran in the direction of the tower, slashing down any who came at me with the sword that felt now like an extension of my being, with fire and with ice, with anything I possessed.

An arrow flew towards me. I smiled, calling on amethyst to summon wind and brush it aside. There was a man up there, a man who awaited me, who waited for his death at my hands, though he knew not yet what fate had ordained for him. I would kill him. I would accept my destiny, a destiny I had run from for so long. I was made to use these powers, to live as a mistress of destruction, eliminating anything which stood in my way.

The voices were no longer distinguishable from my own. Yet still echoes whispered in the dark crevasses of my mind: embrace your power, Kiva...

 

My body was getting tired. The poison was stronger than I thought it had been. My moves were becoming slower. For a man that was bleeding out, he was stronger than I would have expected, though I've worked bigger successes myself. I blocked one move and swung at his knees, cutting into his thigh. He screamed, jumping back.

"God," he was in more pain, and in tears, but enraged, "you're persistent."

"Stop your talking!" I yelled, running at him, stabbing my blade through his shoulder into the wall. He yelled in pain, dropping his sword. He looked at it and winced. "You won't be needing that, king."

He looked up at me and winced once again. "You'll burn in hell."

I smiled. "If that's the cost to bring peace, then I'd gladly go twice."

I moved the sword closer to his lung. He screamed, kicking both of his boots up into my chest. I didn't see it coming unfortunately. Blindness and poison. Bad mixture.

He reached for his sword again and dove. The blade went into my side, my arm reaching out to grab him. My hand went behind his head and forced him down towards his blade. The blade connected with his forehead. He flipped backwards, his blade being pulled out. He hit the floor, twitching and screaming.

I hunched over, panting heavily. "It'll take more than that," - walking over to him - " to kill me."

 

By the time she reached the battlefront, the archers had spotted her. She dove in and out, dodging them as best she could. She flew at them angrily, shooting some of them down with her own arrows, as an array of them came at her. She dove down, a few of them piercing her wing painfully. She ignored it and jumped on them pulling her sword out. They were unprepared as she swung around violently, slicing few of them, and causing others to fall. She quickly took her arrows from the dead bodies of the archers and put them in her carrier. She then took the arrows from her wings, the stinging pain was quickly ignored.

She took flight again, pulling her bow from her shoulder and loading it. She sent an arrow of arrows down on a group of guards that ran towards the rebellion side. She dove down, attacking them with the rest of her arrows. Most of her targets hit as she landed down with the sword in her hand. Her blade met with one of the guards and she thrust him back with all her might slicing at his stomach as he recoiled. He ran at her angrily as she dodged an attacker from behind. She fell to the ground, her wings folding themselves behind her. She rolled to her side as both blades came down on her. She flung herself up, dodging one of her attackers only to have the other attacker slice her side. She jumped at him angrily, her sword slicing into his neck. She grabbed his sword, rolling on her side as the other man thrust his sword down on her. His blade sunk into the ground and she quickly kicked him and lunged herself upwards. Both swords came upon him in a bloody mess.

She ran towards the fight, noticing a struggling rebel. On his back was an arrow carrier. She quickly flew up, grabbing him by his collar and pulling him into the air.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.” She yelled at him, holding on tight to his clothing. She hoped it wouldn’t tear.

“Shoot the guards!” she yelled. She tried to keep a steady pace, but his armor weighed her down badly.

He quickly brought out his bow, and began shooting with great skill at the guards. She watching as they went down like flies as he shot all of his arrows down at the group.

“You’ve got some skill there friend.” She said as she dove towards the ground, letting him drop. He looked at her, and she realized he was the soldier that had given her the sword. He still had her dagger. She quickly threw him her extra sword and nodded at him.

“I’ve got your back if you’ve got mine.” He grinned and they ran back towards the fight.

 

He was pushing himself backwards, towards the opening in the wall. It took him longer to force himself up onto the ledge then it took me to walk to him.

"Jumping?" I asked with muse, "I can push you if you want."

"I could save your soul," he pleaded, "I could make it all better. I could bring them back."

"I doubt it," I whispered, looking up at him with my ice blue eyes. "You will end and I will go on."

His scorn was nothing less than pitiful.

He pushed up with his sword and regained another defensive stance. I sighed. My body hurt, my mind was clouded, and my temper with him had ran out years ago. I lifted my blade and swung again, blocking his shot and running into him, kneeing him in the stomach. The impact of my tackle lifted him off the ledge and over the edge of the remaining four stories. He grabbed my long white hair and tugged, pulling me with him.

I hated falling. The experience with Kiva was different. Safer. I knew I would be fine. This one was the exact opposite. If I didn't move quick, I would be a dead or crippled man. I moved my arm onto his chest and pushed him down as we fell. I lifted my feet up to his chest and kicked down, pushing him hard towards the quickly coming cement. I threw my sword down after him as he flung through the air.

As he crashed into the cement surrounding the Gardens, I forced myself into a tuck and role position, landing on my feet and then quickly rolling into a defensive stance twenty feet from him. My sword that had been following him crashing into the cement, the blade tearing through his throat and imprinting itself into the broken cement.

I fell slightly into a hunch, panting. I hated falling, just as much as flying. I always lost air.

I pushed myself up off my knees and walked to my sword and the ex-King's sword that was next to him. I grabbed my sword and tore it from his throat. His lifeless body merely shook.

I reached down for the sword next to him and grabbed it. I looked behind me into the Garden's that were set ablaze in every spot but one. The center Gardenia. I limped my way for the Gardenia. I had one fight left and I knew he would meet me there.

 

The game is coming to an end very soon. Within the next 50 hours. If you have anything left to say about your person and this massive battle, I would say it now.

I will send out one final alert, giving you the opportunity to give your character your own end. If you don't respond within the time alloted, I will create it.

 

A Light at the End of it All--Adrastus Aleksandr

The moon hung high in the air over those famous gardens where Adrastus had once met a beautiful girl named Shika. She was dead now, and the majority of the gardens had been reduced to ash covered rubble, scarcely a living flower was left. What few bare columns there were jutted skywards like the bones of some long dead beast. The pools there once glistened with water that seemed more like a mirror, reflecting back at any who looked upon them the one peaceful place left in the world. It seemed fitting that those waters should now be muddy with ash and rubble.

On the low bridge overlooking those relics of a time that was now lost stood Adrastus. He was silent. He was still. Blood and grime, indistinguishable from each other, seemed to have etched itself into his skin from the explosion he had caused. His one good eye seemed like a cave that had no end. There was resolution in it, for what he knew he must do, and something that may have been sadness, because he knew there was no turning back now. For a time, Adrastus stared up at the moon as if he were pleading with it. He searched inside himself, thought back over the last few years and how truly empty his life had been. That was no fault of Del Blaine's, the blame for that emptiness lay within himself. He thought back further still, to his life as a child in Zoran, back to his mother and brother and father. In his heart, he felt as though he had lost all of them, even if his brother still lived.

“I thought I might find you here,” came a familiar voice that was cheerful as ever, despite what was about to happen.

Adrastus stared out at the city beyond the gardens as Del Blaine came to stand beside him on the bridge. Fires burned all over the city. In the distance, the sound of swords clashing could still be heard.

“Its almost serene, isn't it?” remarked Evan to no one in particular.

He was right. The flames seemed to dance back and forth, the clink of steel was their tune. The shadows moved to dance with the flame. It was like a ballet. Adrastus was almost amazed that this man...the monster he had been chasing since the end of the Great War, could find beauty in even the worst of things.

A faint but beautiful sound touched Adrastus' ears and he glanced over at Del Blaine. On the railing of the bridge rested a music box. He was staring at a pair of pictures inside a couple of pendants, a young boy and a beautiful woman.

“Is that your family?” asked Adrastus.

Del Blaine furrowed his brow as if he was holding something back, some strong emotion. His eye seemed sad too.

“Yeah, yeah they were.”

Were. He must have lost them. Adrastus laughed a little and Del Blaine shot him a wry look.

“What's so funny?”

“We are the same person, you and I. After all things are done...we are the same, Del Blaine,” said Adrastus.

Evan nodded silently and stared at the pendants once more before setting them on the railing next to the music box. He reached his hand to his side and grasped the hilt of his sword tightly.

“I...I am ready.”

Adrastus nodded and grasped the hilt of his own sword over his shoulder.

“Then let this be the end of it all, Del Blaine.”

The pause that followed only lasted seconds, but it seemed to be an eternity of the two men staring each other in the eye. When finally their weapons had been drawn and the first clash rang out into the night air, it was all business. There was no talking. There was scarcely a breath. Each warrior moved with skill of the sort that could only be brought out by one's greatest adversary. The moonlight glinted off each of their weapons, making it seem light liquid steel. They were like the fire, dancing back and forth across the garden to the rhythmic sound of the two blades. Through the shadows they went, sparks from the weapons causing them to leap about. It wasn't a duel at all, art was the only word there was to describe what transpired there.

Each matched the other form for form, parry for parry, and dodge for dodge. At times it seemed as if Adrastus was surely gaining ground against his foe, but Del Blaine would always manage to push Adrastus back just enough to keep the playing field even. Clash, dodge, parry, dodge clash. The cycle repeated and seemed as if it would go on forever. Neither gave any ground. Del Blaine was sweating profusely. He looked as though he were ill. Then it happened. Del Blaine stumbled. Seeing is opponent off balance, Adrastus charged him. Everything seemed to freeze. For a moment, Adrastus and Del Blaine merely stared at each other, just two men who had become lost in a mad world they had helped forge. Del Blaine...smirked? The moment was brief though, and when time came back to the two, Adrastus found himself against Del Blaine He could feel the man's halting breath on his ear. It was...cold.

“I guess...you g-...got me,” whispered Evan with a laugh in his voice.

Adrastus didn't know what to say. Silently, he withdrew the length of his blade from Del Blaine's ribs and back up to the column behind him. Evan did the same. Together, on opposite sides of those murky pools, they slid down the columns until they each sat on the dirty ground. They shared silence. It was all that either of them could do anymore. Everything had been said. There was only the sound of Evan's hoarse breathing, only getting worse as blood started to fill his lungs.

Adrastus looked down to his sword in horror. He drew his hand back from its hilt as though he had been gripped the head of a poisonous snake. Del Blaine laughed a little, but then started coughing. Once the episode had subsided, Del Blaine spoke.

“Hey Adrastus...you remember back in the cells...when we were talking...about what waits for us after we die?”

“Yeah,” said Adrastus quietly, refusing to look up at Del Blaine. “Yeah I remember. Do you see it Del Blaine? Do you see Light?”

Evan was quiet for a long time. Were his breathing not so audible, Adrastus would have thought him dead.

“I see it. I see light. Look...”

Del Blaine pointed off past the bridge and out towards the horizon. The sun was rising at last.

 

I embraced the power and stumbled blindly into the room at the top of the tower.

The man who I had come for stared at me, his surprise betraying him for a moment as we both froze. I saw now that he had been the one to rain arrows down on me; the crossbow in his hands and the larger traditional bow at his side spoke volumes about his area of expertise. I smiled. His weapons would be of little use here.

I could use the peridot, but it would be over so quickly. It would be a painless death, an instant death. There would be no grand battle, no delicate dance of magic and steel and bone.

I wanted slow agony and I wanted suffering.

Another man emerged from the shadows to my left. “General Preax, hide, sir!” He yelled at the archer, and the man did as told, but I threw my hand out in his direction and diamond sent thousands of little shards of ice into his defendant’s skin. He screamed, a lovely scream, a death scream. Now the true battle could begin.

I smiled. “Shall we?” I asked the general.

“Who are you?” He asked as he approached, drawing a sword from his side.

I met his strike easily, the weapon still feeling strangely natural in my hands. “No one of consequence,” I said quietly. “But I am the one who will kill you.” We fell into a rhythm, neither of us expert swordsmen, but each holding our own. We were both exhausted, I could tell, though my weariness was tempered by a feeling of detachment which I knew was fueled by the power of the jewels coursing through me. I scalded his hand with heat, but he switched hands easily, without giving me an advantage. I tripped, my concentration faltering as I threw every enchantment I could think of at him.

His sword came up and nicked the side of my arm, a small wound, but one which stung enough to make me cry out. He forced me back, his soiled body pressing me against the windowsill and his grin widening to become more lecherous. “You’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you?”

In desperation I grasped for the peridot, and this time I saw lucidly as a glowing green unicorn materialized behind my opponent; it charged at him, poking his back with its horn. I threw the general off me, taking advantage of his agonized scream to find my sword again. The unicorn looked on placidly and I watched as his flesh began to decay, acid spreading quickly from the wound on his back.

He reached for me, clawing, his quickly-dissolving flesh a hissing mass of flesh and blood and acid. He grabbed hold of my arm and I struggled to shake him off, stabbing my sword into his belly; but still he came at me, with an endurance that was almost more than human. I screamed; finally the unicorn, awakened from its reverie, ran at him, and I could only look on as it forced him out the window, whinnied as his body made a sickeningly pleasant crack on the ground below, and vanished into the air.

I fell dazedly through the door and back outside. It was almost sunrise. The sky would be red, red like blood, red like the blood which covered me now. Where should I go? I killed a man. I killed many men.

But there was power yet to be discovered. Deeper powers. Complete chaos. Total destruction. Why had I allowed some to live? Why should I tolerate any of this? They didn’t understand me, didn’t want me; most would probably just as soon have me executed for my strangeness.

A sudden sound tore at the borders of my consciousness. A man in pain. Coughing. My feet carried me to the edge of the staircase, and as if pointing me to my fate, the sun’s fragile rays guided my eyes to a dying man bleeding near the center of the garden.

I knew that voice. That face. That single eye.

Evan.

My power and my apathy shattered. I half ran, half stumbled down the staircase, oblivious to anything but the man who lay slumped against one of the garden’s massive columns. The reawakening sane portion of my mind was nauseated by the blood streaking my clothes, by the sword in my hand.

I let the blade fall as I walked into the gardens. My eyes saw only him. In the tangible world the first rosy fingers of dawn touched the sky; but my heart was setting, disintegrating, turning to ashes. The metal clattered loudly against the path, a far away sound, overpowered by his heavy breathing, by the image of his wound and the pain in his face.

“Evan,” I whispered, almost as an invocation, kneeling next to him. “Oh, Evan.”

He blinked. "I thought I wouldn't get to say goodbye." He said distantly.

I touched his face, trying not to look at the terrible wound, tears finding their way onto my cheeks. “Don’t say goodbye. You don’t have to. We can… I can…” I fumbled with my jewels, vainly searching for something, anything to help him. They felt cold to me now; they were instruments of hate and destruction, but what tore my heart now was love. “Don’t leave me,” I managed to say, through sobs and through the chaotic sorrow of my mind. “Please don’t leave me.”

"Kiva..." he moaned. He grabbed his stab wound and looked up at me, the agony in his eye making me tremble. "I..." he trailed off, obviously in pain. "Want you to have my pendants... and book."

“Of course I’ll take care of them, but I… Evan…” There had to be something I could do – but no. No. I had used up everything in my vain quest for – what? revenge? power? “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

He reached upwards to caress my cheek and I could feel blood on his hand. "Don't,” he said. “I'll see you again."

Shaking, I leaned in closer to him, hugging him as best as I could, feeling his labored breath against my skin. I kissed his cheek and was shocked by the coldness. “I love you, Evan.”

He smiled weakly. “I love you too, sweetheart.” He took my hand and held it gently, so gently. “It’s time for me to go now, okay?”

No, please, please don’t leave me alone again. “Okay,” I said.

“Kiva.” His voice somehow managed to be reproachful, though his eye found mine and his gaze was soft. “Everything will be alright. I promise.”

I was still crying – but I struggled to take a deep breath. He was ready for this. Far more ready than I was. I didn’t want to let go, didn’t want to lose him; but he looked at me with such love masking the pain in his face and I knew, though he had not spoken, that I would never lose him. “Okay,” I said again, honestly this time, my words quiet.

He pulled me closer, his arms enveloping me for a final time. “I love you, Kiva,” he murmured. I clung to him, to the love that made me human, to the only bright spot in my battered world.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and then he was gone.

 

To the East--Adrastus Aleksandr

Adrastus stared on silently from the edge of the broken gardens as the girl, Kiva, wept over Evan's dead body. It seemed strange to think that he had wasted the past few years of his life chasing an almost unattainable revenge only to have it leave him so empty. Adrastus didn't quite know what to do anymore, where to go from there. Quietly, he left the gardens, left the lady to her baleful cries.

That was the last anyone ever saw of Adrastus. No one really knew what happened to him, but many stories came back to Malnarcosus, where Adrastus younger brother Veli had taken the throne. Some stories told that he had gone of to pass quietly away, his broken heart at last giving out on him. Others said that he had taken to a life of piracy on the great easter seas. Still more told of a warrior who had traveled across the oceans, to the desert land of the eastern world where he lived out the rest of his days in solitude. Veli suspected that each story had a little truth to it, but none of them had it all.

In truth, Adrastus had indeed boarded a pirate ship, after which time he did go to the great deserts across the ocean. Anything beyond that is speculation. In the end, perhaps he did die of a broken heart, or maybe he had died of that long before he killed Del Blaine. So passed Adrastus Aleksandr.

 

As for the future?

So...

Sare stood barefoot in the street. It wasn’t cold this time. In fact, it was summer now and a gentle breeze was playing with her long red hair. Grass was growing up between the cobblestones. Up ahead was the pub, or what was left of it. Sare closed her eyes and visualized the throng of people that had been in it, and the man with the whitest hair she’d ever seen. Evan. She wondered briefly how he was doing. She hadn't seen him in Malnarcosus, but he could probably take care of himself.

“Poppet,” Darren said from behind her. “There will be survivors.”

Sare nodded. “Search the city. Bring anyone you find to camp. Cook will see to them, and I’ll get to them soon. Any fuss, you send for me.” She turned to disciplined line of soldiers behind her. “That goes for you, too,” she said, and they all bustled off, wearing looks of mottled disdain and contempt. Sare sighed. They had a long way to go before they were independently loyal. She was going to have to keep them captive for a few weeks.

She’d caught up with them barely two days after they had raided Greava. Darren and Karell were overjoyed to see her again, and after a little explanation and demonstration of her new abilities, they had vowed themselves to her. They were free, which made them dangerous. She would keep an eye on them. But the rest… well, they needed some coercion.

Sare’s nation—for that’s what it was, or was going to be—was steadily growing. The survivors she picked up were going to join her army, and if need be she would “rescue” some of the loyalists from rebel prisons. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do with them yet, but she had an idea.

You’re not human. You don’t have to act like it, the voice whispered in her ear. The rebellion was just the beginning. Once you discover your true powers...
Sare smiled. The country was in chaos, anarchy reigned, and the rebel’s fledgling government was already beginning to choke. The country could use a new ruler. One with talent.

All hail your future ruler!

 

An hour and a lifetime later, I finally stood, disentangling myself from Evan's lifeless arms.

And as I rose, still exhausted from grief and from the trials of the past day, the voices again came to me. I had almost forgotten their existence. They had lurked in my mind for a time; as I had fallen into their trap of hatred I had ceased to see them as indistinguishable from my own thoughts. Now they were distinct again, dark whispers tugging at my soul. You have failed us, mistress. You were weak. You let your emotions take control of you.

I smiled. "You're wrong," I said out loud. "I don't need you."

The spirits within me hissed. How dare you! We made you, took care of you when no one else would.

I strode towards the exit of the gardens. "No," I whispered. "You almost destroyed me." The sun shone brighter now. "I don't need you anymore."

Of course you do. You've always needed us. We've always protected you, Kiva. Let us stay with you. Don't you want to be safe? Don't you want to protect yourself and your child?

"My... child?" I faltered, oblivious to the people wandering about around me. "What child?"

You didn't know? They snickered. You are even more helpless than we thought. You carry a child within you.

A child? I looked down, putting a hand to my belly. I was pregnant. I was pregnant. I was... "I'm pregnant?!" I said loudly, shaking my head in disbelief and a degree of excitement. A woman standing nearby stared at me for a moment, then smiled.

"Congratulations," she said, walking over to pat me on the shoulder.

I looked at her blankly. "I... Thank you." I smiled weakly. Were those wings on her back? There was a young boy with her, and a man who had obviously also been involved in the fighting who looked at her with tenderness in his eyes. They looked so happy. "The father is dead," I said. "He died in the battle."

"I'm sorry. You look pretty beat up yourself. Can I help you?" She stepped towards me.

Let us help you, Kiva.

"No!" I exclaimed - suddenly, or so it must have appeared. I nearly fell over, a strange sensation coming over me, my body succumbing to the weariness it had fought for so long. "No - I mean - of course. Please." I struggled to my feet and extended a hand. "My name is Kiva Caerygin."

She smiled again. "Adelaide Bequem."

I never heard from the voices again. I had lost my power with the jewels - but it was a time to rebuild, a time of new life, and I had no use for that power anymore.

And as it turned out, the jewel-spirits had been wrong. I didn't carry just one child inside of me, but two: twins who became the joy of my life, a boy and a girl. And as I watch them gleefully play among the flowers and the rivers, I know that Evan was right.

I will see him again. And I see him every day, in the eyes and in the smiles of my children, in the memories of those few days on the road to Malnarcosus, and in the rhapsody of love that sings in my heart.

 

The game will be ending tonight.​

 

Sugar N. Spice

In the southern land of the world, a young werewolf was traveling. A cure, a brethren, a pain. The young werewolf was searching for the answers of its existence. Nothing would be answered however. Once entering a sea house, the young wolf was confronted with the spirits of the Dark Ones.

After a valiant fight, the wolf was stricken down, and destroyed.

The wolf never received its answers.

 

Ferret

A failed priest from Malnarcosus helped in the battle to overthrow the government. With the rebellion, the priest was able to make a solid foundation to help build his own character and solve many of the problems, mentally and spiritually, for any member of the rebellion.

During the fight, he was shot with a poisonous arrow from one of the archers. Luckily, he was able to contain the poison for a while. He died in his sleep four months later.

 

Neha

[FONT=&quot]This elf girl found peace in the Northern territories. After finding a small town, she was instantly loved by the locals. She tried hard to lead them and train them to be happy with themselves. It took her several years, but she became one of the most prominent leading elfs in history. She died very old, due to a heart attack. Her subjects had her cremated and buried with the forest.[/FONT]

 

Kratos

A young warrior that had great luck in battle, but the youthfulness of the rest. After besting a match with a pack of Dark Ones, he was off for Malnarcosus. On his way, he was confronted by another pack of Dark Ones. He fought with all of his strength, but was changed over to the side he had fought against. He now fights with the Dark Ones for centuries to come, always one step away from a real soul, but never to have one.

 

thelastblueberry

[FONT=&quot]A dragon that lived for peace. After the long battle that overthrew the government, the dragon returned south to start a new life. The Dark Ones had no effect on the species, and in turn, lead for a long century of peace in the land. After having several offspring, the dragon was slain by a pirating ship that was heading for Greava.[/FONT]

 

Leaka

[FONT=&quot]Once retuned to his village, and defending it from the troops from Malnarcosus, the elf prince reclaimed a new thrown for the higher forests, helping his other elf royals control the outbreak of Dark Ones. Since there were no records ever taken, no one knows what happened after the invasion of his forests.[/FONT]

 

chad.sims2

Drake grew to be a mage child for the new government of Malnarcosus. With his abilities to bring inanimate objects to life, he was shown as the highest mage of the land. After serving a alongside the king for several decades, the man retired to the South, where he lived with the dragons of the lands in peace. He died old.

 

Adelaide Bequem - Ending

Adelaide flew from battle a fuller person. From the battle she not only gained new strengths, but a family. She lived close to Kiva for most of their lives. She was there when Kiva gave birth and was there to help raise the twins. A few months after the battle Addy officially adopted Nathaniel, who eventually became a great soldier. She married the rebel soldier she met in battle, and by her thirties she had many children, all with her same trait of the glistening white angelic wings. She died as an old woman whom lived a full and happy life.

 

There once was a time I feared falling. It was the only sensation that could put me in such fear that death, to me, was safer. Having fought in wars, I knew death very personally. He was my partner, a comrade, a lost sibling that connected with me on an emotional level like no other.

However…

Falling was something I could never handle.

The morning sun lighted the sky; the dew falling from the tips of grass blades in a slight breeze that left silhouettes of clouds high above the world, and the clashing of metal had subsided with the cheers of folk that had won their independence.

And I could only hear a bell.

A gospel of harmonizing bells that played only soft enough to echo into my ears. For the first time in weeks, I could open both eyes and see the softness of sky. I could feel the rays of the sun touching my skin. I could feel the radiance. I was with the light.

It was there.

 

Credits

An Oasis Production Original Role-Playing Game
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Rhapsody | Discussion​

Game Master :

Oasis Writer
​

Production Crew:

Oasis Writer
Darkthought
​

Developmental Storyline Crew:

Oasis Writer
Terra Valentine
Darkthought
Titania
​

Map Creator:

Icarus
Oasis Writer
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Original Story:

Oasis Writer
​

Writers:

Oasis Writer

Evan Del Blaine
​

Terra Valentine

Naomi Valentine
​

Darkthought

Adrastus Aleksandr
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Titania

Kiva Caerygin
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Bick

Adelaide Bequem
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Milady

Sare
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chad.sims2

Drake
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Leaka

Lucida
​

thelastblueberry

Talaris Echain
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Kratos

Ambriel
​

Neha

Ramela Freelae
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Ferret

Laramy Swift
​

Sugar N. Spice

Corin Garou
​