Kurushimi's Chronicles (Scott Shafer)
Jan 7, 2013 21:14:07 GMT -8
Post by Scott on Jan 7, 2013 21:14:07 GMT -8
Hopefully people think this turned out better than I thought it did, any feedback on the writing itself (style, grammar, etc) would be much appreciated. Enjoy!
6th of Firstmoon, 15968
Today was…interesting, to say the least. I was one of the people to answer the call for fighters and adventurers to help deal with the various problems Sorikonia and pretty much all the rest of Roekron have been having, and considering I didn’t exactly have anything else to do I decided that it would be a good change of pace. Anyways the day started with something pretty basic, just dealing with some goblins that had been raiding farms and whatnot. They didn’t last that long, but oh how I love the art of battle! The sight of pale white bone as it splits under the blade of an axe or shatters from the blow of a mace, muscles and fat and tendons exposed the air like a flower revealing it’s shining petals to the morning sun. The feel of sliding a blade through an enemy’s stomach, the perfect thrust of a spear as it slips between the ribs and into the heart, a skull yielding to a mighty blow from a hammer. And most of all the knowledge that you are engaged in the perfect dance, walking the paper-thin line between life and death, a single misplaced step or tiny distraction resulting in your crimson blood staining the ground, spraying from your torn flesh and the flesh of your enemies in a glorious fountain. I loved it, but alas it ended to quickly, and after no more than ten minutes or so we were on our way back to Sashi Iten.
I must say, as much as I enjoy a good fight I only do so when it is actually necessary; anything is just a waste of life. As such I was rather annoyed when they attacked the peasants that warned of us the goblins. There was absolutely no reason to do so and if there are to many repeats of such incidents I may very well just up and leave. Actually, no I won’t, this group is the best chance I have of getting strong enough to have my revenge, and I swear that eventually, no matter how long it takes, I will stain my blade with the tainted blood that has caused me so much pain. Anyways when we got back a Master of the K’an clan, Sensei Shu Hui Stormwing, met us. She was pretty interesting, a bit withered but she seemed to like us. When she mentioned another group of adventurers from twenty some odd years ago though someone stood up and attacked her! Kind of stupid if you ask me, but to each his own I guess. The groups decision was to go and deal with some militia that were attacking orks and urukai despite the unknown factor of how aggressive towards them they were in the first place. Diplomacy is not really my thing, though people never seem to believe me when I say I’m not some berserk idiot. Sure, my enjoyment of fighting is on about the same level as an angry, drunk-of-his-ass barbarian who just got knocked unconscious and dragged around town wearing a bright pink dress and bunny slippers but at least I’m controlled about it. Wildly slashing is not going to get you anywhere. Either way I decided not to go and decided to just wandered around town for a little until they came back. They arrived earlier than I expected though, and it seemed as though they had decided to poke around the city a bit anyways. After about ten extremely boring minutes I got hit in the back by something (a hammer I think) and the pain knocked me unconscious. When I woke up there were a bunch of bodies lying around and blood everywhere. It’s interest how reflective blood is, almost like a rose tinted mirror. Of course, after it’s dry it doesn’t reflect that well but fresh blood makes a wonderful mirror. Turns out that the people who attacked us were some sort of gang or something and were placed under arrest after we took them to a peacekeeper to make sure they were actually criminals.
When I got back there was a man wandering around asking for help from a doctor, and I must say his ailment was fascinating. In addition to frequent bouts of coughing his leg seemed to be rotting! Not the withering kind of rotting that result from black rot, but true decay like you would find on a corpse that was left in the sun to long. It looked as though the flesh had necrotized well still on his body! I helped him get back to town and should probably go to an herbalist to get a sundrop mushroom…whatever that was I do not want to get it. Immediately afterwards there was a commotion at the Eastern Gate and I rushed outside to see what it was. When I arrived I saw a group of undead attacking, so I snuck around behind them and tried to take the one closest to me down. When my weapons had no effect I realized two things. The first was that my target looked like a very attractive man (I mean come on, why do the evil people always get all the good stuff? No one should look that handsome) with extremely pale skin and the second was that I was trucked. And, as if on cue, two wraiths dropped out of the ethereal plane right next to me! To repeat my previously asserted assessment of the situation I had been in: truck. Being at least somewhat sensible I ran as fast as my legs could carry me but due to the fact that most if not all the undead there could fly they caught me anyways. Actually they didn’t seem that interested in killing me, but they harassed me instead, getting really close and then dropping out of the Ethereal Plane, mock attacks, etc. I eventually made it back to town only to find that while I had been running for my life the others had been getting food. At least they could have tried to help, but no, they decided to go and get comfortable. Idiots.
By the time I got back from eating the party was just returning from a mission involving ogres eating some citizens. I wonder what human taste like, not that I would ever try it of course but I’m still curious. For all I know it could taste like beef, or chicken, or a perfectly cooked rib eye steak seasoned with rosemary, garlic, and a perfectly made mushroom wine sauce. Makes me hungry just thinking about that actually. You could have that, a nice salad with apples, goat cheese, and a bit of crushed pecans, and a good class of red wine. To finish it off you can have a meringue with sliced cherries and peaches, covered in a lemon based syrup. Mmmmm, peaches…anyways after we got back the group set out to help various villagers and whatnot that were hurt or trapped by the hurricane that hit. I decided not to since fighting (which I assumed would happen at one point or another) on a full stomach will almost never end well. Their report was rather uninteresting; the only thing that really caught my interest was the odd lizard-beast things that attacked them. From what they said their bite anchored your spirit in place, particularly nasty since one of the few people bitten by them was immediately killed. Seems that there was some nasty weather to, and I think I overheard someone muttering something about a monkey…
The next choice terrified me. I will not go near that volcano, or any other flame. It reminds me too much of what I lost, what the so-called Executioner did to my family and me. My earliest memory is my mother singing something to me, but now I can’t remember all the words. I can remember some of them though, and I have warped the verses into a sort of shrine to my family. It is my remembrance, that and the amulet, and it shall keep me strong even when all my other lights are extinguished. I don’t want to forget some of it like I forgot my mother’s song, so I’ll write it down here. And who knows, maybe someone years from now will read this and know who I was. If one thing terrifies me more than fire or dying before I have killed The Executioner it is being forgotten, lost in the flow of time like a leaf in a river, slowly sinking to the riverbed before being buried under the mud.
I saw the fire burning bright
As it roared all through the night
And I could not turn my eyes away
Until the bright new light of day
I felt the flames against my skin
As to ashes it turned my kin
And so I walk a path of pain
So much to lose yet more to gain
I stand alone before a dark road
I begin to walk, to carry my load
I must reach the light at the final end
Before my wounds can begin to mend
After they got back I decided that I needed to do something to keep myself from getting lost in my memories, so I went with them to a dig site were peasants had been unearthing old Sorikonian artifacts from the 1st or 2nd age. As soon as they started fiddling with them though I decided to leave, as messing with unknown objects seems kinda stupid to me. I was only proven right when they returned and one of them (never bothered to learn his name) mentioned something about a curse. If any of them could see my face under the mask I wore they would have seen the smirk on my face. As I said, it was a stupid idea. Oh well, at least I wasn’t there.
After going on my usual walk around the city at night I was heading back to the inn when I noticed a child be the side of the street. She had a small bowl in front of them containing some silver but I knew from my own experiences growing up how fast that would go. She looked painfully thin judging from her arms and the way her ragged shirt hung of her bony frame. When I stopped she looked up hopefully and I saw her eyes, so much like my own. A stunningly bright shade of green, like the moss that grows in the deepest reaches of a forest. I love the color green. It reminds me of grass and trees and plants. It reminds me of mother, with her green eyes and my father with his ring. It has so many shades, from the vibrant emerald of grass to the rich earthiness of leaves. Walking over I pulled out a gold coin and placed it in the bowl. I knew how much a single gold piece, though a pittance to some, could mean to a beggar. Quick as a flash she had pocketed the coin and muttered a quite “Thank you.” I had smiled (though she couldn’t see it) and began walking away. After a few more steps I had looked back and said, in the kindest voice I could muster, “If you’re here again tomorrow I’ll make sure to stop by again. You remind me of myself.” Then I had returned to my room, sincerely hoping to see her again. It may be to late for me, but if I can help even one more person and save them from lonliness or starvation, than I will.
6th of Firstmoon, 15968
Today was…interesting, to say the least. I was one of the people to answer the call for fighters and adventurers to help deal with the various problems Sorikonia and pretty much all the rest of Roekron have been having, and considering I didn’t exactly have anything else to do I decided that it would be a good change of pace. Anyways the day started with something pretty basic, just dealing with some goblins that had been raiding farms and whatnot. They didn’t last that long, but oh how I love the art of battle! The sight of pale white bone as it splits under the blade of an axe or shatters from the blow of a mace, muscles and fat and tendons exposed the air like a flower revealing it’s shining petals to the morning sun. The feel of sliding a blade through an enemy’s stomach, the perfect thrust of a spear as it slips between the ribs and into the heart, a skull yielding to a mighty blow from a hammer. And most of all the knowledge that you are engaged in the perfect dance, walking the paper-thin line between life and death, a single misplaced step or tiny distraction resulting in your crimson blood staining the ground, spraying from your torn flesh and the flesh of your enemies in a glorious fountain. I loved it, but alas it ended to quickly, and after no more than ten minutes or so we were on our way back to Sashi Iten.
I must say, as much as I enjoy a good fight I only do so when it is actually necessary; anything is just a waste of life. As such I was rather annoyed when they attacked the peasants that warned of us the goblins. There was absolutely no reason to do so and if there are to many repeats of such incidents I may very well just up and leave. Actually, no I won’t, this group is the best chance I have of getting strong enough to have my revenge, and I swear that eventually, no matter how long it takes, I will stain my blade with the tainted blood that has caused me so much pain. Anyways when we got back a Master of the K’an clan, Sensei Shu Hui Stormwing, met us. She was pretty interesting, a bit withered but she seemed to like us. When she mentioned another group of adventurers from twenty some odd years ago though someone stood up and attacked her! Kind of stupid if you ask me, but to each his own I guess. The groups decision was to go and deal with some militia that were attacking orks and urukai despite the unknown factor of how aggressive towards them they were in the first place. Diplomacy is not really my thing, though people never seem to believe me when I say I’m not some berserk idiot. Sure, my enjoyment of fighting is on about the same level as an angry, drunk-of-his-ass barbarian who just got knocked unconscious and dragged around town wearing a bright pink dress and bunny slippers but at least I’m controlled about it. Wildly slashing is not going to get you anywhere. Either way I decided not to go and decided to just wandered around town for a little until they came back. They arrived earlier than I expected though, and it seemed as though they had decided to poke around the city a bit anyways. After about ten extremely boring minutes I got hit in the back by something (a hammer I think) and the pain knocked me unconscious. When I woke up there were a bunch of bodies lying around and blood everywhere. It’s interest how reflective blood is, almost like a rose tinted mirror. Of course, after it’s dry it doesn’t reflect that well but fresh blood makes a wonderful mirror. Turns out that the people who attacked us were some sort of gang or something and were placed under arrest after we took them to a peacekeeper to make sure they were actually criminals.
When I got back there was a man wandering around asking for help from a doctor, and I must say his ailment was fascinating. In addition to frequent bouts of coughing his leg seemed to be rotting! Not the withering kind of rotting that result from black rot, but true decay like you would find on a corpse that was left in the sun to long. It looked as though the flesh had necrotized well still on his body! I helped him get back to town and should probably go to an herbalist to get a sundrop mushroom…whatever that was I do not want to get it. Immediately afterwards there was a commotion at the Eastern Gate and I rushed outside to see what it was. When I arrived I saw a group of undead attacking, so I snuck around behind them and tried to take the one closest to me down. When my weapons had no effect I realized two things. The first was that my target looked like a very attractive man (I mean come on, why do the evil people always get all the good stuff? No one should look that handsome) with extremely pale skin and the second was that I was trucked. And, as if on cue, two wraiths dropped out of the ethereal plane right next to me! To repeat my previously asserted assessment of the situation I had been in: truck. Being at least somewhat sensible I ran as fast as my legs could carry me but due to the fact that most if not all the undead there could fly they caught me anyways. Actually they didn’t seem that interested in killing me, but they harassed me instead, getting really close and then dropping out of the Ethereal Plane, mock attacks, etc. I eventually made it back to town only to find that while I had been running for my life the others had been getting food. At least they could have tried to help, but no, they decided to go and get comfortable. Idiots.
By the time I got back from eating the party was just returning from a mission involving ogres eating some citizens. I wonder what human taste like, not that I would ever try it of course but I’m still curious. For all I know it could taste like beef, or chicken, or a perfectly cooked rib eye steak seasoned with rosemary, garlic, and a perfectly made mushroom wine sauce. Makes me hungry just thinking about that actually. You could have that, a nice salad with apples, goat cheese, and a bit of crushed pecans, and a good class of red wine. To finish it off you can have a meringue with sliced cherries and peaches, covered in a lemon based syrup. Mmmmm, peaches…anyways after we got back the group set out to help various villagers and whatnot that were hurt or trapped by the hurricane that hit. I decided not to since fighting (which I assumed would happen at one point or another) on a full stomach will almost never end well. Their report was rather uninteresting; the only thing that really caught my interest was the odd lizard-beast things that attacked them. From what they said their bite anchored your spirit in place, particularly nasty since one of the few people bitten by them was immediately killed. Seems that there was some nasty weather to, and I think I overheard someone muttering something about a monkey…
The next choice terrified me. I will not go near that volcano, or any other flame. It reminds me too much of what I lost, what the so-called Executioner did to my family and me. My earliest memory is my mother singing something to me, but now I can’t remember all the words. I can remember some of them though, and I have warped the verses into a sort of shrine to my family. It is my remembrance, that and the amulet, and it shall keep me strong even when all my other lights are extinguished. I don’t want to forget some of it like I forgot my mother’s song, so I’ll write it down here. And who knows, maybe someone years from now will read this and know who I was. If one thing terrifies me more than fire or dying before I have killed The Executioner it is being forgotten, lost in the flow of time like a leaf in a river, slowly sinking to the riverbed before being buried under the mud.
I saw the fire burning bright
As it roared all through the night
And I could not turn my eyes away
Until the bright new light of day
I felt the flames against my skin
As to ashes it turned my kin
And so I walk a path of pain
So much to lose yet more to gain
I stand alone before a dark road
I begin to walk, to carry my load
I must reach the light at the final end
Before my wounds can begin to mend
After they got back I decided that I needed to do something to keep myself from getting lost in my memories, so I went with them to a dig site were peasants had been unearthing old Sorikonian artifacts from the 1st or 2nd age. As soon as they started fiddling with them though I decided to leave, as messing with unknown objects seems kinda stupid to me. I was only proven right when they returned and one of them (never bothered to learn his name) mentioned something about a curse. If any of them could see my face under the mask I wore they would have seen the smirk on my face. As I said, it was a stupid idea. Oh well, at least I wasn’t there.
After going on my usual walk around the city at night I was heading back to the inn when I noticed a child be the side of the street. She had a small bowl in front of them containing some silver but I knew from my own experiences growing up how fast that would go. She looked painfully thin judging from her arms and the way her ragged shirt hung of her bony frame. When I stopped she looked up hopefully and I saw her eyes, so much like my own. A stunningly bright shade of green, like the moss that grows in the deepest reaches of a forest. I love the color green. It reminds me of grass and trees and plants. It reminds me of mother, with her green eyes and my father with his ring. It has so many shades, from the vibrant emerald of grass to the rich earthiness of leaves. Walking over I pulled out a gold coin and placed it in the bowl. I knew how much a single gold piece, though a pittance to some, could mean to a beggar. Quick as a flash she had pocketed the coin and muttered a quite “Thank you.” I had smiled (though she couldn’t see it) and began walking away. After a few more steps I had looked back and said, in the kindest voice I could muster, “If you’re here again tomorrow I’ll make sure to stop by again. You remind me of myself.” Then I had returned to my room, sincerely hoping to see her again. It may be to late for me, but if I can help even one more person and save them from lonliness or starvation, than I will.