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Crash and Burn

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Godlike Posts: 1600 Joined: 03 Sep 2007 33518 gold

Punishment - Chapters 5 and 6

Posted on Fri Sep 18, 2009 4:56 pm

Chapter 1:

The two sisters had been fighting the whole day. Their quarrel was evident from their disheveled clothing, hair, and the fact that neither of them was talking to the other. The younger one, Alleria, was usually mild in her ways, but when it came to fights with her elder sister, she showed no signs of her gentle disposition. Traxex, the elder of the two, always treated her younger sibling with disdain; right from the moment she set her eyes on her.

The two were as unlike as one could imagine – Alleria was tall, swift, lively, and usually mild; Traxex was shorter, colder, secretive and brusque. Alleria had always trained to be a skilled archer – she had read tales of fabled marksmen from the past firing arrows so swiftly, enemies were pinned to the ground and killed by the volley of arrows before they knew what hit them. Traxex, too, wanted to become an archer. However, her forte was accuracy, the ability to fire debilitating arrows with preciseness and ease.

The quarrel did not die down even a little during the day. The two had been at it for over half the day, when a courier arrived, bringing a letter. Both sisters rushed at the courier, frightening it. They snatched the letter away from the terrified animal and read it in unison.

“The Sentinel needs your help, Traxex and Alleria. We are faced with mortal danger – it is rumored that the Scourge has found new heroes willing to do the Lich King’s bidding. As leader of the Sentinel’s defense, I, Furion, call upon you two to serve us. You may have what it takes to help up vanquish the Scourge’s siege against the World Tree.”

“Furion wants to recruit both of us! I shall oblige him, and fight alongside the forces of the Sentinel,” said Traxex. Alleria, not wanting to be bested by her sister, immediately said, “So shall I. I shall prove my worth as an archer of unmatched capacity as I assist Furion and his army”.
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Chapter 2:
I
The clouds had already started to accumulate, even though it was only 6 o’clock in the evening. It was going to be a starless night, inauspicious for Elune’s warriors. There had been a sharp shower earlier on in the evening, and the smell of damp vegetation hung over the Sentinel base camp. It was humid, and there was not even a small breeze blowing.

After Furion had beckoned them, Traxex and Alleria began training hard. They knew that they had to give nothing short of their best if the Sentinel was to hold off the massive Scourge push. It was now confirmed that the Scourge had, indeed, found new heroes who were willing to serve the Lich King. The two sisters sought out the help of the Sentinel’s foremost tactician, Mirana Nightshade. Mirana, like Traxex and Alleria, was an archer. She rode a ferocious white tiger into combat, and led almost every charge. She was a veteran, and had enormous amounts of experience to serve her. Through her reading, Alleria had learned that Mirana was one of the legendary warriors of Elune – the Goddess had personally blessed her. With these divine blessings, Mirana could summon a damaging barrage of star fragments to obliterate her enemies. She could also fire a precise arrow, which was said to be able to knock down any enemy. Elune had also given Mirana the tremendous ability to make all allied heroes invisible.

Although Mirana was such an experienced warrior, and held an important
position in the Sentinel’s ranks, she was not condescending to the new warriors. She was glad to help them. With a steady, determined effort, Mirana taught Alleria and Traxex skills that they would not have learned anywhere else. The two sisters did not waste any time – they would practice as much as they could.

II

Twenty-seven days after Furion had summoned the two sisters, he gave them their first task. A small Scourge scouting party had been discovered near the Sentinel Camp. Traxex and Alleria were to kill the scouts and report back to Furion.

Eager to prove themselves, the siblings set out. They did not speak much, owing to Traxex’s nature to keep to herself most of the time. Along the course of the journey, Alleria wondered what was going on inside her sister’s head. Traxex rarely revealed her thoughts to anyone, and this time was no exception. After a while though, Alleria gave up, and diverted her attention back to the mission at hand.

Soon the sisters approached the location of the scouting party. It was dense, murky, still, and worst of all, quiet. They could hardly see a few feet ahead because of the vegetation. Alleria was visibly nervous, but Traxex kept her cold composition. She showed no fear.

A twig snapped.

Traxex quickly turned around and got into a fighting stance. Alleria, too, found some confidence and looked alert. She took a deep breath, drew an arrow and fired it deep into the undergrowth. The arrow cut cleanly through the dense vegetation, revealing the ambush.

The sisters had a fight on their hands.
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Chapter 3:

I

Startled but steadfast, Traxex drew her first arrow from her quiver. She whispered an incantation, imbuing the arrow with cold magic. She drew the arrow and fired, hitting the Necromancer in the rib cage. The Necromancer mortally wounded, but did not – could not – move. He was frozen solid. In a few seconds, the frozen body exploded into a shower of glittering particles.

Alleria found herself facing 2 skeletal creatures. They were small, yet terrifying. Both the ghouls advanced menacingly towards Alleria, growling and snarling. The younger of the siblings drew her arrow and fired quickly, and it hit the first ghoul square in the face. But the ghoul showed no pain, and it continued towards her. Alleria then remembered a skill Mirana had taught her. She drew another arrow and fired it with such speed that the energy produced mystically linked the two ghouls physically, stunning each one in its place. She used this opportunity to dispatch the first ghoul, and mortally wound the next.

Their battle finished, the two sisters took a minute to rest. They had just fought their first skirmish in the name of the Sentinel, and had won.

II

Meanwhile, at the Sentinel base camp, Furion assessed his armies and his position. The Sentinel clearly had the upper hand, and this pleased him. Mirana, however, looked slightly worried. “What’s the matter Mirana?” asked Furion. “I’m a little worried about the two sisters. Hopefully they haven’t fallen victim to an ambush. That dark jungle is the perfect place for one.” Furion fell quiet, pondering over what Mirana just said.

Then a violent, anguished scream filled the air.
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Chapter 4:

Both Traxex and Alleria smothered their ears with their hands. The scream had pierced the air suddenly, as if it had no source. The scream was shrill, full of agony and torment – like someone was being tortured mercilessly. As the sisters stood rooted to their place, trying to block out the sound, they began to see pillars of black smoke materialize in front of them. Confused, Alleria looked around.

Even before Alleria could turn back, she heard a noise as if something had landed in front of them. She looked.

Standing before them was a woman-like creature. She had wings and horns and claws. She wore a menacing smile on her lips. The creature let loose another horrific scream, this one stronger than the last. Trees swayed, and smaller vegetation was cut clean from the ground in the sheer power of the sound waves. Both sisters fell to the ground, not knowing who this monstrosity was, trying to shield their ear drums from shattering.

The creature took two steps toward Alleria. As though inspecting her, she began to walk in circles around her. Traxex, seizing an opportunity, got up swiftly and fired an iced arrow at the being. The creature dodged it with ease.

“A feisty one, eh? Quite nimble, too, I must say.” said the creature, almost teasing Traxex. Traxex, hotheaded as always, pulled out another arrow from her quiver. Just as she drew it, the creature leapt towards her and fired a barb at her. The barb struck Traxex in the neck, and she fell down, crippled. Traxex could feel some kind of venom entering her body, eating her from the inside out quickly. “Like it? My favorite poison.”

Traxex looked to Alleria for help. She tried to make eye contact with her sister, trying to get her attention. But Alleria just watched, not knowing what to do. She did not know how to respond to her sister’s silent plea for help. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’re not going to get help from anywhere.” The creature watched sadistically as the poison consumed her victim, draining the life out of her. She smiled.

“The Lich King will be happy with my gift!”

As she said this, she shrouded Traxex with her wings and disappeared, just as suddenly as she had appeared.

A final violent scream rent the air, and all was still again.
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Chapter 5:

I

Alleria ran. She ran as hard as she could, and did not stop. She charged blindly through the thicket, following the path her sister and she had taken earlier. Gusts of wind spiraled around her, throwing leaves up in flurries, but she took no notice. She put her head down, trying to control the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

Soon, Alleria reached the Sentinel base camp. She headed straight to Mirana, her mentor. When she reached the Priestesses abode, she tried speaking, but she found no words forming in her mouth. Instead, she felt a block in her throat, obstructing her speech. She looked into Mirana’s eyes and broke down. “They have her! They took Traxex! I don’t know what that foul creature was, but it descended upon us and attacked us both… We were stupefied. She poisoned my sister and carried her away, saying something about the Lich King.” Alleria paused. Then the full impact of the kidnap hit her like a wall of bricks.

II

Furion sat down, contemplating why the Lich King would want to capture Traxex rather than kill her outright. Even more puzzling, according to Alleria’s story, the creature hadn’t done much to the younger one – it had focused all it’s attention on Traxex. He had come up with several possibilities, and he pondered over them. While he was thinking about it, he came up with a troubling thought, but he tried to push it out of his head. It was too horrible to imagine. Despite his best efforts, the thought found its way back into his head each time. He dreaded its implications.

III

Mirana put one hand on Alleria’s shoulder. “We know. We are able to see what happens in the forests in our vicinity. We witnessed the whole event. We heard the scream.”

Alleria flinched. The scream. It had ripped her eardrums. The sonic waves were so powerful that they had disoriented her for a while. She wanted to forget those screams of pain – fast. She fell quiet for a while. Then she asked Mirana a question, and Mirana frowned. “Yes.” said the Priestess gravely. Alleria looked up to the sky, wondering if there was any justice in heaven.

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Chapter 6:

I

Alleria woke up with a headache. She had had a bad dream, but it had felt all too real. As she sat up, she rubbed her eyes and tried to recollect her thoughts. “Traxex!” she exclaimed, and ran out of her tent.

She made her way to where Furion was. He was sitting quietly in at his table, staring blankly into the open. She stared at him. He seemed to radiate peace, but at the same time, she felt power. Furion was special.

“Did you acquire any news?” asked Alleria. “No.” came the reply from the leader. Alleria fell silent. The Scourge had taken her sister hostage, and the Sentinel were practically clueless. She sank into a corner, head in her hands.

“Alleria. Come here.” beckoned Furion. He sounded serious. Alleria lifted her head slowly, and got up. She walked up to Furion. “I have something to tell you. I think it is time I tell you why we are so worried over Traxex’s capture.”

“I’ll tell you why!” said Alleria in a sudden bout of anger. “She’s my sister! You HAVE to be worried!” Alleria spat in disgust at Furion’s statement. She began muttering to herself.

“Quiet, elf” commanded Furion. Alleria realized who she was talking to and dropped her head in shame. She had been disrespectful unintentionally, but it was bad enough. “Sorry” she said quietly. “Now that you’ve calmed down, I will proceed to tell you why the whole camp is agitated by Traxex’s capture. It all started a long time ago, before you were born….”

II

Traxex awoke to a flurry of movement. She did not know how long she had been out. 10 minutes? An hour? A few days? As she tried to get her bearings, she began to recollect memories. They were vague and hazy, but she knew they weren’t pleasant. She could not see clearly yet, but the fuzzy figures moving in front of her looked large and odd. She tried to move, but found herself unable to do so. As her vision cleared, she began to make out ‘who’ the figures were. They were treetops. She was flying.
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Last edited by Crash and Burn on Sat Oct 03, 2009 5:39 pm; edited 6 times in total