Ventarr slowly opened his eyes. He groaned with pain as he struggled to rise. He propped himself up on one arm, and looked around. He was in a medical hut. The walls were painted brown and there was a red cross painted on the walls. There was a small table next to him; it held a cup of water.
He reached over (rather painfully) with his other arm - and took the cup of water. He slowly and carefully sipped from it. He put it back down on the table, and began to lie back down... then it all came back to him. A series of images of what had happened to him in the canyon - Ventarr's hand shot up to his neck. There were stitches. He lay down again - and found he was already exhausted. He slowly closed his eyes...
~~~
"He must've woken up earlier - look - the cup's half empty."
Ventarr slowly opened his eyes again and shielded his eyes from the sunlight that was pouring into the room.
"He's awake!!" He looked around. Two Agori were facing him - he recognised the guard he had whispered to and the leader of the city of Vulcanus - Raanu.
"Mmmm..." he mumbled. Raanu lent forward.
"I am Raanu, leader of Vulcanus. Felmar here told me how you nearly crashed into him - and what you told him. I would like to know what compelled you say those words. What have you seen?" Raanu's voice was gentle but firm. Ventarr sighed, and leaned back a bit.
"I was sent on a scouting mission..."
~~~
And so Ventarr told his tale.
When he had finished, Raanu leant away from him. "You should finish off your water." said Raanu and handed Ventarr the cup. Ventarr drank in one gulp. "So now. We have a situation. This would've happened eventually, anyway." Felmar tilted his head to the side.
"What do you mean?" Felmar inquired.
"The Legends. The Dark Ones. The Bane of Agori. Some of their many names. Supposedly they were beings from another universe. It is unknown how they arrived on Spherus Magna. But according to old folk tales, they were supposedly dormat for centuries. Most of their origins are unknown. But then - do you remember Gelar?"
"Gelar?" Felmar raised his eyebrows. "You mean that Agori Prophet?"
"That's the one. You see, Gelar - who has now passed away, bless him - was a prophet - and everything he said was true. And the last words he said were 'beware the Dark Ones'," Raanu began to pace around the room. "Dark Ones being one of the many names of The Legends. And we put two and two together and got four - The Legends are Real. It is unknown what their purpose is - but they kill Agori." Ventarr sat up.
"Sooo... why wasn't I killed - not that I want to be - but why not?"
"That is something we don't know. Forgive me, how impolite I've been! I have not even asked your name!"
"My name is Ventarr, Scout of the Sand Warriors."
"Ahah... you are a Zesk?"
"Indeed."
"We know nothing of The Legends - what they want or what they might be planning," went on Raanu. "But we know that they hate Agori. We will send word to all the cities - tell them of the threat. We must strengthen our defenses and stay prepared. They may strike at any of us, at any time..."
~~~
So the day passed. The message was passed on. Defences were strengthened, Agori were added to patrols, and it was forbidden to go to Creep Canyon.
It was night now. And down in Creep Canyon three beings conversed in the darkness.
"Delak - what is the plan? Would you explain why we let the Agori scum go?"
"That will all be told to you in due time," said the one called Delak. "In the meantime - they must have passed on a message. Defences will have been strengthened. Be patient, Lerak." "Now. Ganarl. You will attack from the North West. Lerak - North East. I will surprise them from the South once you have drawn their attention. Now get ready. We march of Tesara in three hours."
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Legends Are Real - Prologue: The Legend
More than 2000 years BGD (before Great Disaster)
The Valtaka X - V3 motorcycle sped across the barren desert plain. It's rider, and Agori with a scorpion mask, was hunched over the handlebars as he steered it. The wheels of the bike kicked up sand as they spun, and the sun blazed down, threatening to melt the vehicle with intense heat.
The rider's red eyes gleamed, and he urged the bike forward. The wheels spun faster, faster, barely touching the ground. The bike picked up speed, and the ground got rockier; the vehicle was nearing Creep Canyon. The bike shot over the edge of the canyon wall, wheels turning, rider still hunched, and landed with a thud on the gravel.
The motorcycle came to a stop, and the rider climbed off it. He pulled out a sword from his belt, just in case anything hostile showed it's ugly face, and walked further into the canyon.
A white figure watched him from up on the canyon wall.
A black figure watched him from a crack in the canyon wall.
A grey figure watched silently from the shadows.
The deeper the Agori went into Creep Canyon, the more the walls seemed to close in, and the more they blocked the sun. He couldn't help feeling uneasy. Then something brushed his shoulder.
He whirled around, but nothing was there.
He mustered up his courage, and went further in.
~~~
The Agori's name was Ventarr. He was an Agori scout, and though the Agori population had advanced significantly in technology here on Spherus Magna, there were still many ares of it that remained unexplored. And exploring unexplored places was his job, a job that he enjoyed - sometimes.
A pebble fell from the canyon wall. The white figure withdrew from where he was watching. The grey figure looked up at him and nodded.
Ventarr whirled around when he heard the pebble fall. He pointed his sword at it, and drew back. He looked up, and scanned the canyon wall, sharp eyes darting around as he analysed every bit of rock.
The black figure withdrew from its spyhole.
Another pebble fell. Ventarr turned to face it.
The black figure returned to its spyhole, swept a pebble from underneath it, then withdrew again.
Ventarr whirled around to face the latest disturbance. His mind was working furiously. Three pebbles - what for? I can tell they did not fall normally. What is going on?
He spun around in a circle, facing every direction, but spotted no danger. I'll progress through the rest of the canyon on the Valtaka.
He turned and headed back, looking behind him every now and then. He eventually reached the start of the canyon and climbed onto his motorcycle. It took him a bit of time to restart the engine, for it was clogged with sand.
He wheeled it around, and rode off.
~~~
He had been riding for quite a while now - he was just about at the end of Creep Canyon, and he had not experienced anything strange - least of all be in danger.
Then a grey figure slammed down right in front of his bike. Ventarr put his foot down on the brakes and skidded to a halt. Two other figures - a black one and a white one - landed on either side of the middle grey one.
Ventarr was lifted off the Valtaka by a metal grey tentacle - like thing with spikes protruding from it - luckily none of the spikes were stuck in Ventarr. Ventarr struggled trying to break free.
He was slowly lifted into the air...
~~~
Felmar - and Agori sentry, who guarded the city of Vulcanus - saw a cloud of dust being whipped up not too far away. His eyes narrowed, and he shielded them with his hand as he tried to see what was approaching. Then it shot over the nearest sand dune, and he saw what it was. A Valtaka X - V3 model motorcycle - modified - and on it was a tan Agori - sporting a scorpion mask - slumped over the handle bars. The Agori had scratches on his neck.
The bike skidded to a halt in front of Felmar, who quickly moved towards it to tend to it's rider, who he saw was obviously wounded, but the only traces of any kind of wound were the neck marks. The Agori looked up at Felmar, and whispered; "The Legends... they're real..." his eyes widened, and he slumped over the bike controls, unconsious.
~~~
The Valtaka X - V3 motorcycle sped across the barren desert plain. It's rider, and Agori with a scorpion mask, was hunched over the handlebars as he steered it. The wheels of the bike kicked up sand as they spun, and the sun blazed down, threatening to melt the vehicle with intense heat.
The rider's red eyes gleamed, and he urged the bike forward. The wheels spun faster, faster, barely touching the ground. The bike picked up speed, and the ground got rockier; the vehicle was nearing Creep Canyon. The bike shot over the edge of the canyon wall, wheels turning, rider still hunched, and landed with a thud on the gravel.
The motorcycle came to a stop, and the rider climbed off it. He pulled out a sword from his belt, just in case anything hostile showed it's ugly face, and walked further into the canyon.
A white figure watched him from up on the canyon wall.
A black figure watched him from a crack in the canyon wall.
A grey figure watched silently from the shadows.
The deeper the Agori went into Creep Canyon, the more the walls seemed to close in, and the more they blocked the sun. He couldn't help feeling uneasy. Then something brushed his shoulder.
He whirled around, but nothing was there.
He mustered up his courage, and went further in.
~~~
The Agori's name was Ventarr. He was an Agori scout, and though the Agori population had advanced significantly in technology here on Spherus Magna, there were still many ares of it that remained unexplored. And exploring unexplored places was his job, a job that he enjoyed - sometimes.
A pebble fell from the canyon wall. The white figure withdrew from where he was watching. The grey figure looked up at him and nodded.
Ventarr whirled around when he heard the pebble fall. He pointed his sword at it, and drew back. He looked up, and scanned the canyon wall, sharp eyes darting around as he analysed every bit of rock.
The black figure withdrew from its spyhole.
Another pebble fell. Ventarr turned to face it.
The black figure returned to its spyhole, swept a pebble from underneath it, then withdrew again.
Ventarr whirled around to face the latest disturbance. His mind was working furiously. Three pebbles - what for? I can tell they did not fall normally. What is going on?
He spun around in a circle, facing every direction, but spotted no danger. I'll progress through the rest of the canyon on the Valtaka.
He turned and headed back, looking behind him every now and then. He eventually reached the start of the canyon and climbed onto his motorcycle. It took him a bit of time to restart the engine, for it was clogged with sand.
He wheeled it around, and rode off.
~~~
He had been riding for quite a while now - he was just about at the end of Creep Canyon, and he had not experienced anything strange - least of all be in danger.
Then a grey figure slammed down right in front of his bike. Ventarr put his foot down on the brakes and skidded to a halt. Two other figures - a black one and a white one - landed on either side of the middle grey one.
Ventarr was lifted off the Valtaka by a metal grey tentacle - like thing with spikes protruding from it - luckily none of the spikes were stuck in Ventarr. Ventarr struggled trying to break free.
He was slowly lifted into the air...
~~~
Felmar - and Agori sentry, who guarded the city of Vulcanus - saw a cloud of dust being whipped up not too far away. His eyes narrowed, and he shielded them with his hand as he tried to see what was approaching. Then it shot over the nearest sand dune, and he saw what it was. A Valtaka X - V3 model motorcycle - modified - and on it was a tan Agori - sporting a scorpion mask - slumped over the handle bars. The Agori had scratches on his neck.
The bike skidded to a halt in front of Felmar, who quickly moved towards it to tend to it's rider, who he saw was obviously wounded, but the only traces of any kind of wound were the neck marks. The Agori looked up at Felmar, and whispered; "The Legends... they're real..." his eyes widened, and he slumped over the bike controls, unconsious.
~~~
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