Nick
Man at Arms
Nick
You know you?re in love when you can?t fall asleep because reality is finally better than dreams.%\0
Posts: 126
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Post by Nick on Oct 2, 2012 23:07:51 GMT -8
Time Period: Right Before Jackal Reached the Height of His Power
Hello. My name is Jackal. First mate on the Black Sun, Guildmaster of the Organization, boss, and more. I got this journal from that writing shop in Bracknick, where Rat's den and Gamblers way cross. Most of us know it. It has good parchment and inks, especially the Parchment. Anyway, I got it so as to keep track of my thoughts. Everything is going so fast. After that assassination of that sage, my identity has had to change. Being smaller can have it's affects on the mind. I was already small, but this is ridiculous. The disguises just keep on amounting to my debt. I owe a substantial amount to the Organization and Onik, my loyal bodyguard. At least my business is starting to take. Though nearly none is legitimate. Gambling halls, Cleaners, Moneylenders, and trafficking are just a small percentage of my business. I got a new contract, and I don't know quite where it will lead. It's my biggest single piece of "work" I have ever had or even heard of. That's a lot of money, by anyone's calculations. With it, I should be able to cover my back with ease, and pay off my debts. I don't want the rats to get upset. And if it doesn't turn out, well, I know that I tried. If my chips aren't in the right place, then I'll lose. That's what the rules are for any game, but this one especially. It is becoming survival of the fittest. The work is becoming bigger, with bigger apples in sight. All of them that I have talked to are all on the move. Sara. Zero. Leod. Jerimaiah. The list goes on. The people I trust, the people I have betrayed, are all shifting. It is moving faster than before. The puzzle is beginning to piece itself together. I am hoping not to become lost, though that hope is beginning to fade. It is soon going to become a bloodbath. I hope my blood is not going to run through the gutters. My life is not that big in the grand scheme of things, but to me it is most precious. That is what angers me so much, ignites me to the point a single match would set me alight, about those wizards from the West. Roekron. It seems so distant now, a memory from my past, a dream. I was so young when I signed onto that boat. Not in body, but in my understanding. And those wizards! They came here, ignorant of the East's traditions and culture and just pushed right in! They were stamping us out, one haven at a time, like ants in an anthill. New Serpenton? That is just to push their way of life into ours, pushing us to the sidelines! I haven't been left out of it either. I haven't stood docile. A dagger across the neck can solve many a problem. Maybe I've done to much of that. My line of work, my feelings, my morals have changed me. From the sailor I was to a Organization boss, I have had doubts. Though to speak them is suicide. I am to far in to turn around. I guess that is what I have been doing. Stepping on people, snuffing out the candles of their lives in a plan, a thrust of a dagger, a scream. That's all I am. An assasin. I do my job. I have killed more than I have ever before. My work forces me to extremes I would rather not take, but I must. It is survival of the fittest out there. And I am very fit. I am an assassin.
Jackal, a.k.a Sandraes
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Nick
Man at Arms
Nick
You know you?re in love when you can?t fall asleep because reality is finally better than dreams.%\0
Posts: 126
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Post by Nick on Oct 2, 2012 23:08:25 GMT -8
Time Period: Right Before Jackal Reached the Height of His Power
[Written on a scrap of torn paper]
Why won't she understand? She argues and argues, though to what end? There is no hope left for us. If we fail, if the gambit doesn't pay off, there is nothing left! I have thrown my dice and played my hand, but it might be for naught. She is basing her choices on nothing on a dream, that our true captain is back in her head, telling her what to do. Sending her dreams. I got angry today. She is telling everyone that she is the "new" Finwing. She can't be. I saw her die. And the ones that she wants to keep safe, the ones she "needs". They are set to die. Their lives are numbered in days, if not hours. Each second ticks closer to the fall of the axe. And when it falls, all will break lose. I have nothing more to lose. My thoughts, morals, friends, and ideals have all been brought to their knees. I am at the breaking point. I never wanted this life, the life of death, but it has come upon me nonetheless. It is who I am. I live in that moment before the strike. That moment of perfect stillness. And like a well crafted plan, it is the same. My plan is finally set. The traps are laid. The people baited. He is coming.
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Nick
Man at Arms
Nick
You know you?re in love when you can?t fall asleep because reality is finally better than dreams.%\0
Posts: 126
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Post by Nick on Oct 2, 2012 23:08:49 GMT -8
Time Period: Height of his Power
{Written on a full page}
Today was a mix, both good and bad. There was blood flowing freely in the gutters of Bracnick, and I was one of the main causes. I had three assassinations in one day! A record high. But that isn't the only part. The difficulty of them was the problem. Jeremiah, Kcubrats, and Kronos. All high up or somehow important. I got payed a pretty penny though. It started all with Dagnith, our thief, who made a deal. I'm not quite sure about the specifics, but I know that he made a deal with Leod about the map pieces. And when he didn't pay, Leod tried to kill him. Morganti. It was not a pretty sight, and he was only lucky enough to hack of the arm that held the black dagger. It was a close thing. But he had previously caused Leods security to be compromised, and so he was already set to die. Soon after this, I had a little "appointment". Kcubrats just happened to be in town, and so I invited him too the Devils Crown for a meeting. I imagine it did not go as planned for him. The fishes have a new companion for a while, until the flesh rots. Before the deed was done though, I got some information out of him, about Reglis and some other stuff. And he wanted to talk to Zero, my wife. I don't know why, but he just said that it was urgent. And I am still having doubts about performing the mission, though it was not a request. It was an order, and when someone as high up as that tells you to do something, you do it. It worked too well. At least that was one behind me. My second one was a different story. Jeremiah was a feisty one, and both the easiest and the hardest. Jeremiah, the leader of the Greens, was marked for death. On order of Dlog, I went with Sara to do the deed. Shadow Ember has save my life on more than one occasion! One swift stroke, and 100 stars for Sara and 50 for me. A nice pay, given the circumstances. And with his death, the golds have taken over pretty much the entire city. The only resistance to our rule is from the reds, and that will crumble soon, given their leader lies dead. And that was my last, Kronos. He was the easiest. And my reward for that one was the best of all. Dlog let me live. Funny how many times that one line come up. And after I completed the hits for him, he gave me a choice. To become as my wife, an elf and marry her in full, or to take my shares in the Organization and rule over an entire city! My answer would shape myself, setting my path into a road of stone, not changed easily. I chose the one at my heart. The change will be coming, I chose for love rather than profit. But that was not all that happened that day. My friends, Sara and Dagnith went down into the catacombs under the city. It was a dangerous place. Really dangerous. In between Morganti, cursed items, and multiple greater undead, yes anyone would classify that as bad! And the ring turned out to be the one everyone was looking for. It allowed the amulet to be taken. It seems as if everyone wanted it. But Dlog was the winner in that regard, as he is in many ways. And I am setting sail, a winner in my own right. My love is beside me, my life is on the verge of an enlightenment, and the world is in my palm. I have money, contacts, and a good life. I want to put my past behind me, little more than a memory on the wind. I want to forge a new life, one that frees me from my bloody past. I see now how I have changed, as each of my thoughts and friends fell to them. The Organization corrupted my thinking, made me do things I wish I had never done. And it will always. But I will leave. I want at least one soul to come out, and still recognize the face in the mirror. I am with my love, I have my now infinite life ahead of me, and I am putting my past behind me. I move on, and I hope it is to a better place.
Jackal
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Nick
Man at Arms
Nick
You know you?re in love when you can?t fall asleep because reality is finally better than dreams.%\0
Posts: 126
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Post by Nick on Oct 2, 2012 23:09:29 GMT -8
Time Period: Written 6 years into the timejump of two years ago (2010)
[Written on a scrap of paper]
He played me. My life was at a verge, a turning point. I took it, and I took the right way, but he obviously did not. 6 happy years was all I had, until my enslavement became clear. He forgot to mention certain side affects of my change; every six years, I must drink a potion, or else I rot away, years catching up with me in an instant. I wanted to leave this past behind me, but that now seems impossible. I am one of the only ones of a threat to Dlog, and he has maneuvered me to exactly where he wants me: his pawn. That is all I am now; without that potion, I die. And he is the only one who can supply me. And that is not the only thing; he threatened my wife as well, and if I step out of line, refuse to conform to his views, he will put her down, like a dog. He can do that still, and feel no remorse, no sadness for what he has done. I used to be him, but no longer. But he is forcing me to stay, to degenerate back to the low-life. I do not want to do this, but I must; for my family, my life, and me conscience. I do not want this to be a repeat of that bloodbath. That had more consequences that I ever could have foreseen! But, this time, I have more allies and resources at my disposal! This time, I have contacted the UMG, and am waiting for a response. They have good numbers, and would be a boon, given their certain abilities. And on top of that, I have love and conscience, and those Dlog will never take from me. I have my assassins, trained and ready, loyal and true to me. I have my friends, Sara, Dagnith, Naranin, all of them. They will stand by me when I make my move. I will act as Dlog's puppet, and be on a short string, but when the time is right, that string will be cut, and I will turn on him, like a rabid hound. I will muster in secret, in the coming year, and when we are ready and willing, blood will flow again in the cities gutters. I never wanted this; for my love, my children, or my friends, but it has come. When I move, I move regardless; I have already marked him as a dead man. I hate him more than any I have before! I hate being a puppet, a mere toy! When I can, I will do unto him as I have done to so many, innocent others; I will remove him, and no body will be found. It can go to anarchy then, I don't care. I just need my vengeance. For me, and my family, I do this, not out of longing, but of necessity. Conscience screams out to be heard, but vengeance overrides all.
Jackal
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Nick
Man at Arms
Nick
You know you?re in love when you can?t fall asleep because reality is finally better than dreams.%\0
Posts: 126
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Post by Nick on Oct 2, 2012 23:09:56 GMT -8
Time Period: The Rebellion against the Old Ways
Written on a scrap of paper:
Gods, why? I tried to change, I really did. But evidently, not enough. They came and deceived me, my love, and my friends. I stabbed them. I hated them. But I was blind, I was blinded by revenge, by love, and by hate. I don't know what to do... I have my mission, but I don't want it to end. This game is going to be worse; there is so much more at stake, so much I am risking here. I am going rouge; this time, I won't be bogged down by the tomfoolery and idiocy that my peers exhibit, and I will hunt. I will hunt him down, gut him, and take down each board of this house, one at a time. Every nail, every floorboard, it will be uprooted. I know that it will. But to come to that, I need everything I can gather to me; my "friends", resources, my mind, me weapons, my people. Over the last two decades, I have become more of Teriock than Roekron. This is my home now.
But I am alone. I have sparse supplies, sparse weapons, and a fragment of a plan. I put on the face of confidence to them, but... honestly, I am rolling with he waves. As I have always done, and will continue to do. I am still not used to my new body... it feels strange, as if I am someone else watching me move. And this is the body that has power. Not Jackal the minor crime boss, not Sandraes the sailor and wanted Assassin. Eclipse, Head of the House. But I need help. I need weapons, armies, people, time, information. I need to muster my forces and secret, and once it is all in place... it will be destroyed. Both hands, the markets... I will create a new world for which my children to live in, for all to live in.
I will create it; I will lead its advancement, and destroy the old. The Roekron must go, the East must come. There are many more forces at work. I am only advancing that time.
Chaos is my element, and it is coming.
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Nick
Man at Arms
Nick
You know you?re in love when you can?t fall asleep because reality is finally better than dreams.%\0
Posts: 126
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Post by Nick on Oct 2, 2012 23:13:40 GMT -8
Time Period: The Time of Vampirism
Written in Frantic Script on a Piece of paper, with words scattered all over the page:
Dreams, is it a nightmare? What is left? Darkness, shadows, confusion? What is happening to me, what can I seek that is not taken? I don't know, what path do I follow? Questions, overwhelming, a grinning skull. An hourglass, sand trickles. When? How? Confusion overwhelms, why? The grinning face speaks, my mind is not my own. An illusion, is it a fragment? What is real, what is a lie? The lady in black, when can I? She leads, I follow, who else? How many come? Darkness is surrounding, a light? A candle to find, a end? A torture, endless. What can happen, what is? The body of torments past comes back, why can I see? Smiling faces, moving, torturing. Why? Blood and flesh. Steel and wood. A lying voice, what then? Desperation, a dying soul. Flesh ripped out, now more? Water and light, sent to my demise? When? How? Why? She says, I follow. Teeth, white and terrible. Vision fades, when? Darkness creeps, when does the light shine through? Bad thoughts, good ones? Sides take, dice rolled. Right side, the grinning faces? A pain, eternal pain. No salvation, when does it end? Bring a mouse, play the game? Why? Purpose? Sharp pain, I am lost. Pathways laid out, which one? I am lost.
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Nick
Man at Arms
Nick
You know you?re in love when you can?t fall asleep because reality is finally better than dreams.%\0
Posts: 126
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Post by Nick on Oct 2, 2012 23:15:01 GMT -8
Time Period: Right after Zero and Eclipse's Duel, about a month before I died
What's happened? The Hawk came, with vengance. Horse lady, Griffin woman. Too many, magic? Flashing blades, broken hearts. My children, where are you? How many more, now gone to me? Love, vengance, which? I know that, but what? When I fail to be, what am I? Skinclad knows the one, why won't it be? He's always right, the glowing eyes speaks the wisest. It sunk below the waves long ago, it found me. I corrupt, I save? Which, what side plays? A game with a jesters hat, a head. Love of the ocean, why? A dreams, a nightmare forever. What path takes me in, what do I follow? Fangs speak too me, I left her. I control myself, but how? So hard, a broken dream. Falling, falling, falling, a collapse. A tear of love, broken forever... why? Hearts yearn for more than this, possibly an embrace, a touch, a kiss? Does she understand? No, birds peck my eyes. Its here fault, a birds folly. Birds die, they are frail. My hands are strong, will it be me? Why, Ezra, Cri-Kiri? Dagnith, no heart? Franky, a shadow of thine greed? Naranin, what have you become? Sara, horselady? No longer, bird-lover. Nests fell, and I leave. No friends, who? Falling, falling, falling, a spike. A flash of red, birds fall. Sun rises, moon overshadows. No friends, why? No understand. Master wants, Big-Toe tires. I did once, again? Falling, cutlass of heart. No more, when? Dagger of my foes, a hunger? A feed, a relief. Pain, relieved in blood. Falling, falling, bottom's end...
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