Post by Arcturus on Feb 12, 2007 19:15:20 GMT -5
Okay, so I forgot about this site for a long time. But I was scrolling through my favorites recently, and suddenly, I saw the link to this site. After looking around a bit, I came upon my old story. My love for Xevoz revived, I intend to continue the story i've started. But first, I shall post every chapter written so far, so that no one will have to go searching for other chapter topics. (Please don't hate me for not updating. Note, Chapters 2 and 3 have been fused into one chapter being as how I felt they were too small on their own to be seperate chapters.)
----------------The Saga of Thanatos, Book 1: Dark Storm--------------
Prologue.
Grand NecrossLord..... A title presented only to the most powerful of necromancy practitioners, awarded by the Necromancer's Guild to those who go above and beyond mere mastery over the undead. Thanatos was one of the gifted few that had gone beyond mastery of the undead, even becoming powerful enough to slightly manipulate the living, earning him the prestigeous(sp?) title. And yet, that still wasn't enough for him. He wanted power, to the point where he went insane in his lust. His insane journey for power brought him before the Grand Necromancy Council, to attempt to gain a higher level of power by attempting to elect himself as a high ranking Council Member, and that is where our story begins.....
The Grand NecrossLord Thanatos glared at the elder members of the Necromancers Guild, his eyes full of contempt. "Denied?!?" he sputtered, righteously indignant, or so he believed. "You would deny me? Me who quelled the Skulljack uprising on Northern Tombstone, when you lazy witless fools could not bring upon yourselves the indignity of stepping onto the field of battle? Me, who nearly re-invented Necromancy in itself, with my beginnings of mastery over the living? Me, who discovered why whenever we use our magic in close range of each other, it ever so slightly affects us as well?" By this point, Thanatos visibly glowed with rage, his leaking power beginning to affect the weaker
necromancers in the room.
"You should hold your tongue in the presence of your betters, Thanatos! You are far out of line!"Replied Zhaine, 9th level necromancer, and High Inquisitor of Tombstone Island. "And reign in your power. You know you are more than mighty enough to affect lesser necromancers with your power flowing unchecked." Thanatos glared at Zhaine, his golden eyes like daggers, attempting to mutilate Zhaine's face by will alone. "And what buisness do you have here, inquisitor? I don't remember anyone inviting you to this meeting."
Zhaine sighed, and replied "You know well enough that my role of High Inquisitor requires me to be present at all council meetings, be they planned, or-" and with a pointed glare at Thanatos "- impromtu." The highest ranking council member, Sibu-na, finally chose this moment to speak.
"Whether High Inquisitor Zhaine is here or not is of no consequence. You came requesting a seat on the council, and we have judged that you are not ready. You have talents, and you have many feats under your belt, but you do not have the life experience, or political experience necessary for a council seat. Our answer is a unanimous no. You have been denied, and now you are being dismissed. Do not disgrace yourself further". And with that the meeting ended.
Thanatos stormed up to his chambers, enraged. Enraged at the "lazy, witless" elders whom had denied his rightfully earned spot on the board, Enraged at Zhaine, who made him look like a fool in front of his peers, (The tatters of his sanity tried to explain to his brain that HE was the one acting like a fool, and needed no help from Zhaine, but his insanity stomped on that notion before his common sense could grab that shred of intelligence, and piece a train of thought together) and enraged at...... He wasn't sure anymore, a sinister plan had formed during his rage and smacked the enraged train of thought out the way, the plan becoming top priority. If the council members couldn't listen to reason or logic, perhaps thay would listen to....a show of force......
Zhaine stood in front of the council voicing an opinion in the remainder of the meeting.
"Perhaps, Honored Council members, we have promoted Thanatos to the title of Grand Necrosslord too early. While his magical prowess is boundlessly large, his experience and attitude leave much to be desired." Council member Daehs scratched his chin and replied "You may be right. Ever since he was promoted...It seems as if he has become infatuated,
no, obssessed with power."
Many small murmurs stirred after that statement. Ixab-Bal shook his head, and replied "Do you call all of the breakthroughs he's made 'No Experience'? And what of all of the political AND physical battles he's stopped. His mind is limitless, and against what you said, I believe his title is well deserved."
Zhaine face held a skeptical expression, but soon gave way to begrudging acceptance.
Daehs was not so compliant. "No, He was too young. I am now certain of it. He should not have been made a Grand Necrosslord so soon."
Sibu-na's voice thundered across the council hall "Do you doubt my judgement?!? For what reason was I made Head of the Council if not for my ability to properly make descisions?!?".
A resounding ringing laughter cut off any would-be reply to the question as Thanatos sauntered back into the Council hall. "Because no one else had the guts to stand up to your power!!! At least, up until now. You see, I thought about your judgement on my way to my chambers, and realized that It was an ill-made decision. One that required......some changing......Therefore, i've found another way to prove myself. I'd like to challenge a member of the council for a seat ON the council.....Or better yet...... I'd like to challenge you......for your position as head of the council."
Sibu-na began seething with rage."You insolent whelp!!!! First you bring yourself into our presence, thinking yourself WORTHY of becoming part of the council, then you disgrace yourself with your impudent shouting, and then, you have the audacity to come before us, believing that by invoking the challenge laws, you could prove yourself fit to LEAD the council?!?"
Thanatos smirked and said "That's one way to put it."
"SO BE IT!!!" Sibu-na roared, and dissapeared in a flash of purple light.
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The council, many of the lower ranking necromancers, and a few high ranking ones, including Zhaine were gathered in the arena, a place where necromancers are usually tested and trained, but occasionally, a challenge like this one would occur. Thanatos stood on the left side of the half mile long arena, His arms crossed over his chest, black flowing robes seeming like darkness itself, and a confident smirk on his face, an evil glint in his eye. A few moments later, Sibu-na and his brother and fellow councilmember Sirosi
arrived in another flash of purple light, power rolling off of Sibu-na like waves, his necromancers armor shining brilliantly with power. Most of the necromancers in the arena flinched. Thanatos did not. Sirosi was the acting referee of the challenge, so he explained the rules, then teleported off of the battlefield, content to referee from the stands. Finally, the second highest ranked council member, Ixab-bal motioned to the trumpeteers. They trumpeted a loud, deep note, signifying the beginning of the challenge.
Sibu-na launched multiple skull shaped blasts of energy at Thanatos, intent on ending the match, and showing the impudent whelp his place. His royally confident expression cracked slightly as, with a flick of his wrist, Thanatos disspelled every energy blast sent his way.
Thanatos then summoned a horde of Skulljacks made of pure energy to his side and, smiling evilly, sent them rushing like a river of death towards Sibu-na. Sibu-na countered with a blast of purple energy, causing an explosion. Through the resulting smog, Sibu-na fired off multiple energy blasts but after the smoke cleared, Thanatos was nowhere to be found. Bone hands exploded from the ground, grabbing onto Sibu-na's legs, and pulling him into the ground. Sibu-na frowned and muttered "Using such a beginners spell Thanatos? I would have thought you could do better than this."
A voice in his ear whispered suddenly "I can." Sibu-na's head whipped around, as Thanatos' hands began glowing with deep green energy. Sibu-na looked on in horror as the skulljacks below him lit on fire and a portal to the underworld opened, dragging him in. He began clawing on the floor, screaming but it was far too late. The audience in the stands stared at Sibu-na with confusion in their expressions, wondering why Thanatos was just standing still, smirking, while Sibu-na rolled around on the floor, screaming in pain from a threat no one could see. In Sibu-na's mind, his body was being dragged through the underworld, it's flames consuming his body. Thanatos chuckled before releasing his hold on Sibu-na's mind.
Sibu-na, suddenly released from the prison of his own mind, back into the real world, gasped for air, the remainders of the illusion still fresh in his mind. Thanatos walked slowly over to Sibu-na, and said "Did you like my 'Underworld Vision'? I created it knowing you would appreciate it......Let me show you something else."
A pair of giant bone hands materialized in mid air, followed by arms, then legs, feet, and finally the body and head. The giant Skulljack reached down and pick up Sibu-na, it's giant jaws clacking loudly as it hoarsly cackled. Thanatos grinned sinisterly at Sibu-na, "Do you see?!? Do you see now?!? You were no match for me!!! I could have killed you in so many ways at the very beginning!!! Well. That doesn't matter now. You have lost the challenge. But personally, I believe you've oulived your usefulness. Your life end's here."
And with that, the necromancers watched in horror as the Skulljacks ribs split apart, and, pointing forward at an improper angle, impaled Sibu-na, before the Skulljack detonated in an explosion of eerily beautiful energy.
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That night, almost every member of the council died as well as most of the necromancers, as the entirety of the guild attacked Thanatos. By the time Thanatos was finally weakened, the guild was in ruins and only a select few necromancers had remained alive to finish him.
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Thanatos laughed maniacally, standing over the fallen body of his most recent victim. Turning to the remaining five necromancers, he wasted no time in summoning an arc of lightning, lancing through one, bouncing off of another, and settling in the chest of a third, leaving two necromancers, Zhaine and Ixab-bal. "I do hope you can do better than that." Thanatos chuckled. Ixab rushed forward, summoning three Grimskulls and drawing
his rapier. Thanatos thrusted his arms before him, destroying two of the Grimskulls, but one weaved to the side, and grabbed Thanatos in a bear hug, allowing Ixab time to run behind Thanatos, and impale him with the sword. Thanatos blinked a few times before summoning a blast of black and purple energy, and disintegrated the Grimskull, before turning and, wrapping another energy bolt around his hand, stabbing Ixab through the
stomach.
Zhaine rushed forward while Thanatos' back was turned, and smacked him on the back of the head with his staff, knocking him down, and freeing Ixab. Thanatos turned over, and, smiling his evil grin said "You have me at your mercy, Zhaine. Do away with me, and never see my face again, for it may be your only chance." He then smirked "Unless, of course, you don't have the guts. I'd understand." He then laughed maniacally. His eyes widened as Zhaine created an energy binding spell around Thanatos, then created a spearhead at the tip of his staff and said "I knew you were trouble from the very beginning." He then stabbed the spear into Thanatos' chest, and released the energy throughout Thanatos' body, killing him. "And so it ends." Zhaine said wearily.
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5 years passed before the new Necromancers Guild was fully rebuilt.......
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Two fledgling necromancers were scouring the ruins of the Old Guild, searching for artifacts that may have survived the ordeal that had occured years ago. "I still don't see why we had to wear these wards." one complained bitterly. "Master Zhaine told us that the energies floating here are impure, and as such may require warding. I've told you this many times already." the other replied. "Either way, you should stop complaining, and continue looking." The first grumbled in response, but continued searching.
"Hey, I think I found something." The first said, the second coming to look over his shoulder. The object was wrapped in black cloth, but seemed to be destroyed. "It's nothing." The second said, before returning to his search. The first shrugged before continuing.
The cloth rustled, before beginning to unfurl. "Did you hear something?" The second asked, looking up. "No." the first replied. As the first went back to his search, a black shadow encompassed his form. Not long after, the seconds name was screamed. The second rushed over to where the first was. "Brother?!?" All that remained of the first was his body, a soulless husk. "BROTHER!!!"..... As the second shook off the shock of his brothers fate, he whipped around, runes glowing on his hands."Whomever you are, come out!!!! I will skin you alive for what you've done!!!!" A sickeningly evil, yet strangely soothing voice replied "So be it." As the cloth rose up revealing an undead figure glowing with power, the second could only croak "Oh my god." "There is no god where you're headed, child." The form replied, a laugh in his voice, before a gnarled hand shot out of the robe, ripping the fledglings soul from his
body. He never had a chance to scream.
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Zhaine's writing was rudely interrupted by a massive surge of a power unfelt for 5 years.
"This cannot be." he gasped, before rushing downstairs to the main hall, and seeing large groups of necromancers being flung around magically. A hooded figure cackled like one possesed, before his soulless white eyes settled on Zhaine. Zhaine gasped and said "You cannot live. You were killed. completely and utterly destroyed. I KILLED YOU!!!" Thanatos grinned in reply. "You are right Inquisitor. Or is it Council Leader now? Feh. It doesn't matter. I told you then, none of you were a mach for me, and even in death, I was right. And now, I shall have my vengeance."
Sending a lightning fast bolt of energy into Zhaine's head, he easily took control of the necromancers mind. with this same speed, he let bolts of energy lance into the skulls of every Necromancer on the island, and grinned madly when he felt all of their minds connect to his, fully under his control. A dark cloud had begun to rise over the horizon.
And this time, there was no one to stop it.........
Chapter 2
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It is at the same time as the takeover of Tombstone Isle, that, in a strange coincidence, the hyperfuries drove themselves into full seclusion, the Reptosaurs forged a temporary alliance with the Human Neo-Sapiens, and the Neo-Sapiens re-instated a monarchial system of rulership. The army of Genok was also defeated not too long afterwards, although many found it strange that half of the expected army of Demon Warlocks were mysteriously absent, and unfindable across Xevodia.
Mysterious dissappearances later occured, such as the dissappearance of the strongest Razorclaw warrior, and tomes of Reptosaur magic dissappearing from Reptosaurian libraries. Hyperfuries dragged themselves out of hiding a few years afterwards, accusing the Neo-Sapiens of stealing and experimenting on members of their clans, just as things had started to quiet down. A botched mission headed by the Shadow Blade: Stormblade sect in order to find out about tombstone island's recent inactivity nearly caused the genocide of the entire sect, causing the Crimson Blade sect to rise to power.
When the hero of Neo Arcadia, Helios was announced dead, the people of Xevodia, and Neo Arcadia in particular, began to fear for the future of their planet. Trading between races and cities ceased, due to fear, and tension rose. Still, after the mysterious circumstances behind Helios's death were forgotten, and a new hero in the form of Helios's best friend, and closest ally, Ezekiel, rose, peace began to settle over Neo Arcadia, and the worries were forgotten. Trade roads slowly but surely were no longer feared to travel by, and soon, all was well across Xevodia. It si upon these trade roads, that we come upon our new focus, a trader whose real name has been forgotten in his travels, and so goes by the simple name of Joe.
It is with him that our story continues to unfold......
The traveling merchant, Joseph, called "Joe" by repeat customers had a reputation for being one of the only merchants willing to travel and deliver in any weather, and somehow managing to make his deliveries on-time. Traveling through to the other side of the Meta Beast dominated forests in the freezing rain while sick with a fever, with no horse, few carts, even less fellow merchants, and muddy roads was another story however. Unfortunately for the traveling merchant, this was the condition he was forced to endure, as an emergency call for medical supplies from a large group of Arcadian-allied villages, on the other side of the Nagrai Forests made the king of Neo-Arcadia send out a city-wide merchant call, enlisting all available Arcadian-allied merchants to form a supply convoy.
The problem was, that most of the merchants, who, while allied with Arcadia, are still conidered free agents, and therefore can choose to take these delivery missions, were not very willing to go, considering weather conditions, and the location of said villages. The only way to gain access to the village grouping in time to save the villages, was to take an uncharted path through the east section of the Nagrai forests, known as the Hideazisha Forest, the section which is over-run by rebel Razorclaws, who the allied villages are currently defending themselves against. This presented an obvious problem, as there was no way that the enemy Razorclaws would simply allow a medical supply convoy to reach their enemies. This caused a great many of the 100 original intended convoy members to back down, leaving 37 members, guided by Joseph. Along the way, a squabble between two merchants, and misused magic learned in the wrong way, caused two overturned medical carts, and one destroyed, leaving 12 out of 15 carts, and 5 severely injured bystander merchants. This caused a great many problems, and tension rose with the group, as if they were headed off to war.
Later, as they reached the massive canyon leading to the beginning of the Hideazisha Forest, the horses had to be abandoned as they had become too skittish. this left the 32 merchants to bring the carts by hand and rope. It was on the way down that it began to rain. As the rain began to beat down on the canyon harder and harder, the resulting mud sloshed down the canyon slope in a mudslide, causing half of the convoy to be presumed dead. The remaining half pressed on, but upon entering the forest, another quarter of the convoy turned around in fear, choosing to wait at the canyon for the convoy to return.
As the 9 men with their 6 carts traveled into the dark forest, 3 men were picked off by unseen forces. The remaining 6 men chose to put the supplies in packs and carry them, but during their preparation, two more died in a Razorclaw pack's raid. the last four ran as far into the forest as possible, where one fell, and was left, his fate unknown. The other 6 who had stayed at the entrance chose to journey into the forest at this point, but their fate is uncertain. The other three who run through the forest continue to run, hopefully escaping the chasing Razorclaws. Due to the rain, two of the three fall sick. One chooses to be left behind, and the second, Joseph, gets up, and carries the other sick one on his back, refusing the first's choice to stay, leaving his own pack of supplies, leaving them with one carts worth of supplies, carried by the one merchant who managed to remain healthy. It is here that we join Joseph and his colleagues in their rush to escape death........
----------------The Saga of Thanatos, Book 1: Dark Storm--------------
Prologue.
Grand NecrossLord..... A title presented only to the most powerful of necromancy practitioners, awarded by the Necromancer's Guild to those who go above and beyond mere mastery over the undead. Thanatos was one of the gifted few that had gone beyond mastery of the undead, even becoming powerful enough to slightly manipulate the living, earning him the prestigeous(sp?) title. And yet, that still wasn't enough for him. He wanted power, to the point where he went insane in his lust. His insane journey for power brought him before the Grand Necromancy Council, to attempt to gain a higher level of power by attempting to elect himself as a high ranking Council Member, and that is where our story begins.....
The Grand NecrossLord Thanatos glared at the elder members of the Necromancers Guild, his eyes full of contempt. "Denied?!?" he sputtered, righteously indignant, or so he believed. "You would deny me? Me who quelled the Skulljack uprising on Northern Tombstone, when you lazy witless fools could not bring upon yourselves the indignity of stepping onto the field of battle? Me, who nearly re-invented Necromancy in itself, with my beginnings of mastery over the living? Me, who discovered why whenever we use our magic in close range of each other, it ever so slightly affects us as well?" By this point, Thanatos visibly glowed with rage, his leaking power beginning to affect the weaker
necromancers in the room.
"You should hold your tongue in the presence of your betters, Thanatos! You are far out of line!"Replied Zhaine, 9th level necromancer, and High Inquisitor of Tombstone Island. "And reign in your power. You know you are more than mighty enough to affect lesser necromancers with your power flowing unchecked." Thanatos glared at Zhaine, his golden eyes like daggers, attempting to mutilate Zhaine's face by will alone. "And what buisness do you have here, inquisitor? I don't remember anyone inviting you to this meeting."
Zhaine sighed, and replied "You know well enough that my role of High Inquisitor requires me to be present at all council meetings, be they planned, or-" and with a pointed glare at Thanatos "- impromtu." The highest ranking council member, Sibu-na, finally chose this moment to speak.
"Whether High Inquisitor Zhaine is here or not is of no consequence. You came requesting a seat on the council, and we have judged that you are not ready. You have talents, and you have many feats under your belt, but you do not have the life experience, or political experience necessary for a council seat. Our answer is a unanimous no. You have been denied, and now you are being dismissed. Do not disgrace yourself further". And with that the meeting ended.
Thanatos stormed up to his chambers, enraged. Enraged at the "lazy, witless" elders whom had denied his rightfully earned spot on the board, Enraged at Zhaine, who made him look like a fool in front of his peers, (The tatters of his sanity tried to explain to his brain that HE was the one acting like a fool, and needed no help from Zhaine, but his insanity stomped on that notion before his common sense could grab that shred of intelligence, and piece a train of thought together) and enraged at...... He wasn't sure anymore, a sinister plan had formed during his rage and smacked the enraged train of thought out the way, the plan becoming top priority. If the council members couldn't listen to reason or logic, perhaps thay would listen to....a show of force......
Zhaine stood in front of the council voicing an opinion in the remainder of the meeting.
"Perhaps, Honored Council members, we have promoted Thanatos to the title of Grand Necrosslord too early. While his magical prowess is boundlessly large, his experience and attitude leave much to be desired." Council member Daehs scratched his chin and replied "You may be right. Ever since he was promoted...It seems as if he has become infatuated,
no, obssessed with power."
Many small murmurs stirred after that statement. Ixab-Bal shook his head, and replied "Do you call all of the breakthroughs he's made 'No Experience'? And what of all of the political AND physical battles he's stopped. His mind is limitless, and against what you said, I believe his title is well deserved."
Zhaine face held a skeptical expression, but soon gave way to begrudging acceptance.
Daehs was not so compliant. "No, He was too young. I am now certain of it. He should not have been made a Grand Necrosslord so soon."
Sibu-na's voice thundered across the council hall "Do you doubt my judgement?!? For what reason was I made Head of the Council if not for my ability to properly make descisions?!?".
A resounding ringing laughter cut off any would-be reply to the question as Thanatos sauntered back into the Council hall. "Because no one else had the guts to stand up to your power!!! At least, up until now. You see, I thought about your judgement on my way to my chambers, and realized that It was an ill-made decision. One that required......some changing......Therefore, i've found another way to prove myself. I'd like to challenge a member of the council for a seat ON the council.....Or better yet...... I'd like to challenge you......for your position as head of the council."
Sibu-na began seething with rage."You insolent whelp!!!! First you bring yourself into our presence, thinking yourself WORTHY of becoming part of the council, then you disgrace yourself with your impudent shouting, and then, you have the audacity to come before us, believing that by invoking the challenge laws, you could prove yourself fit to LEAD the council?!?"
Thanatos smirked and said "That's one way to put it."
"SO BE IT!!!" Sibu-na roared, and dissapeared in a flash of purple light.
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The council, many of the lower ranking necromancers, and a few high ranking ones, including Zhaine were gathered in the arena, a place where necromancers are usually tested and trained, but occasionally, a challenge like this one would occur. Thanatos stood on the left side of the half mile long arena, His arms crossed over his chest, black flowing robes seeming like darkness itself, and a confident smirk on his face, an evil glint in his eye. A few moments later, Sibu-na and his brother and fellow councilmember Sirosi
arrived in another flash of purple light, power rolling off of Sibu-na like waves, his necromancers armor shining brilliantly with power. Most of the necromancers in the arena flinched. Thanatos did not. Sirosi was the acting referee of the challenge, so he explained the rules, then teleported off of the battlefield, content to referee from the stands. Finally, the second highest ranked council member, Ixab-bal motioned to the trumpeteers. They trumpeted a loud, deep note, signifying the beginning of the challenge.
Sibu-na launched multiple skull shaped blasts of energy at Thanatos, intent on ending the match, and showing the impudent whelp his place. His royally confident expression cracked slightly as, with a flick of his wrist, Thanatos disspelled every energy blast sent his way.
Thanatos then summoned a horde of Skulljacks made of pure energy to his side and, smiling evilly, sent them rushing like a river of death towards Sibu-na. Sibu-na countered with a blast of purple energy, causing an explosion. Through the resulting smog, Sibu-na fired off multiple energy blasts but after the smoke cleared, Thanatos was nowhere to be found. Bone hands exploded from the ground, grabbing onto Sibu-na's legs, and pulling him into the ground. Sibu-na frowned and muttered "Using such a beginners spell Thanatos? I would have thought you could do better than this."
A voice in his ear whispered suddenly "I can." Sibu-na's head whipped around, as Thanatos' hands began glowing with deep green energy. Sibu-na looked on in horror as the skulljacks below him lit on fire and a portal to the underworld opened, dragging him in. He began clawing on the floor, screaming but it was far too late. The audience in the stands stared at Sibu-na with confusion in their expressions, wondering why Thanatos was just standing still, smirking, while Sibu-na rolled around on the floor, screaming in pain from a threat no one could see. In Sibu-na's mind, his body was being dragged through the underworld, it's flames consuming his body. Thanatos chuckled before releasing his hold on Sibu-na's mind.
Sibu-na, suddenly released from the prison of his own mind, back into the real world, gasped for air, the remainders of the illusion still fresh in his mind. Thanatos walked slowly over to Sibu-na, and said "Did you like my 'Underworld Vision'? I created it knowing you would appreciate it......Let me show you something else."
A pair of giant bone hands materialized in mid air, followed by arms, then legs, feet, and finally the body and head. The giant Skulljack reached down and pick up Sibu-na, it's giant jaws clacking loudly as it hoarsly cackled. Thanatos grinned sinisterly at Sibu-na, "Do you see?!? Do you see now?!? You were no match for me!!! I could have killed you in so many ways at the very beginning!!! Well. That doesn't matter now. You have lost the challenge. But personally, I believe you've oulived your usefulness. Your life end's here."
And with that, the necromancers watched in horror as the Skulljacks ribs split apart, and, pointing forward at an improper angle, impaled Sibu-na, before the Skulljack detonated in an explosion of eerily beautiful energy.
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That night, almost every member of the council died as well as most of the necromancers, as the entirety of the guild attacked Thanatos. By the time Thanatos was finally weakened, the guild was in ruins and only a select few necromancers had remained alive to finish him.
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Thanatos laughed maniacally, standing over the fallen body of his most recent victim. Turning to the remaining five necromancers, he wasted no time in summoning an arc of lightning, lancing through one, bouncing off of another, and settling in the chest of a third, leaving two necromancers, Zhaine and Ixab-bal. "I do hope you can do better than that." Thanatos chuckled. Ixab rushed forward, summoning three Grimskulls and drawing
his rapier. Thanatos thrusted his arms before him, destroying two of the Grimskulls, but one weaved to the side, and grabbed Thanatos in a bear hug, allowing Ixab time to run behind Thanatos, and impale him with the sword. Thanatos blinked a few times before summoning a blast of black and purple energy, and disintegrated the Grimskull, before turning and, wrapping another energy bolt around his hand, stabbing Ixab through the
stomach.
Zhaine rushed forward while Thanatos' back was turned, and smacked him on the back of the head with his staff, knocking him down, and freeing Ixab. Thanatos turned over, and, smiling his evil grin said "You have me at your mercy, Zhaine. Do away with me, and never see my face again, for it may be your only chance." He then smirked "Unless, of course, you don't have the guts. I'd understand." He then laughed maniacally. His eyes widened as Zhaine created an energy binding spell around Thanatos, then created a spearhead at the tip of his staff and said "I knew you were trouble from the very beginning." He then stabbed the spear into Thanatos' chest, and released the energy throughout Thanatos' body, killing him. "And so it ends." Zhaine said wearily.
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5 years passed before the new Necromancers Guild was fully rebuilt.......
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Two fledgling necromancers were scouring the ruins of the Old Guild, searching for artifacts that may have survived the ordeal that had occured years ago. "I still don't see why we had to wear these wards." one complained bitterly. "Master Zhaine told us that the energies floating here are impure, and as such may require warding. I've told you this many times already." the other replied. "Either way, you should stop complaining, and continue looking." The first grumbled in response, but continued searching.
"Hey, I think I found something." The first said, the second coming to look over his shoulder. The object was wrapped in black cloth, but seemed to be destroyed. "It's nothing." The second said, before returning to his search. The first shrugged before continuing.
The cloth rustled, before beginning to unfurl. "Did you hear something?" The second asked, looking up. "No." the first replied. As the first went back to his search, a black shadow encompassed his form. Not long after, the seconds name was screamed. The second rushed over to where the first was. "Brother?!?" All that remained of the first was his body, a soulless husk. "BROTHER!!!"..... As the second shook off the shock of his brothers fate, he whipped around, runes glowing on his hands."Whomever you are, come out!!!! I will skin you alive for what you've done!!!!" A sickeningly evil, yet strangely soothing voice replied "So be it." As the cloth rose up revealing an undead figure glowing with power, the second could only croak "Oh my god." "There is no god where you're headed, child." The form replied, a laugh in his voice, before a gnarled hand shot out of the robe, ripping the fledglings soul from his
body. He never had a chance to scream.
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Zhaine's writing was rudely interrupted by a massive surge of a power unfelt for 5 years.
"This cannot be." he gasped, before rushing downstairs to the main hall, and seeing large groups of necromancers being flung around magically. A hooded figure cackled like one possesed, before his soulless white eyes settled on Zhaine. Zhaine gasped and said "You cannot live. You were killed. completely and utterly destroyed. I KILLED YOU!!!" Thanatos grinned in reply. "You are right Inquisitor. Or is it Council Leader now? Feh. It doesn't matter. I told you then, none of you were a mach for me, and even in death, I was right. And now, I shall have my vengeance."
Sending a lightning fast bolt of energy into Zhaine's head, he easily took control of the necromancers mind. with this same speed, he let bolts of energy lance into the skulls of every Necromancer on the island, and grinned madly when he felt all of their minds connect to his, fully under his control. A dark cloud had begun to rise over the horizon.
And this time, there was no one to stop it.........
Chapter 2
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It is at the same time as the takeover of Tombstone Isle, that, in a strange coincidence, the hyperfuries drove themselves into full seclusion, the Reptosaurs forged a temporary alliance with the Human Neo-Sapiens, and the Neo-Sapiens re-instated a monarchial system of rulership. The army of Genok was also defeated not too long afterwards, although many found it strange that half of the expected army of Demon Warlocks were mysteriously absent, and unfindable across Xevodia.
Mysterious dissappearances later occured, such as the dissappearance of the strongest Razorclaw warrior, and tomes of Reptosaur magic dissappearing from Reptosaurian libraries. Hyperfuries dragged themselves out of hiding a few years afterwards, accusing the Neo-Sapiens of stealing and experimenting on members of their clans, just as things had started to quiet down. A botched mission headed by the Shadow Blade: Stormblade sect in order to find out about tombstone island's recent inactivity nearly caused the genocide of the entire sect, causing the Crimson Blade sect to rise to power.
When the hero of Neo Arcadia, Helios was announced dead, the people of Xevodia, and Neo Arcadia in particular, began to fear for the future of their planet. Trading between races and cities ceased, due to fear, and tension rose. Still, after the mysterious circumstances behind Helios's death were forgotten, and a new hero in the form of Helios's best friend, and closest ally, Ezekiel, rose, peace began to settle over Neo Arcadia, and the worries were forgotten. Trade roads slowly but surely were no longer feared to travel by, and soon, all was well across Xevodia. It si upon these trade roads, that we come upon our new focus, a trader whose real name has been forgotten in his travels, and so goes by the simple name of Joe.
It is with him that our story continues to unfold......
The traveling merchant, Joseph, called "Joe" by repeat customers had a reputation for being one of the only merchants willing to travel and deliver in any weather, and somehow managing to make his deliveries on-time. Traveling through to the other side of the Meta Beast dominated forests in the freezing rain while sick with a fever, with no horse, few carts, even less fellow merchants, and muddy roads was another story however. Unfortunately for the traveling merchant, this was the condition he was forced to endure, as an emergency call for medical supplies from a large group of Arcadian-allied villages, on the other side of the Nagrai Forests made the king of Neo-Arcadia send out a city-wide merchant call, enlisting all available Arcadian-allied merchants to form a supply convoy.
The problem was, that most of the merchants, who, while allied with Arcadia, are still conidered free agents, and therefore can choose to take these delivery missions, were not very willing to go, considering weather conditions, and the location of said villages. The only way to gain access to the village grouping in time to save the villages, was to take an uncharted path through the east section of the Nagrai forests, known as the Hideazisha Forest, the section which is over-run by rebel Razorclaws, who the allied villages are currently defending themselves against. This presented an obvious problem, as there was no way that the enemy Razorclaws would simply allow a medical supply convoy to reach their enemies. This caused a great many of the 100 original intended convoy members to back down, leaving 37 members, guided by Joseph. Along the way, a squabble between two merchants, and misused magic learned in the wrong way, caused two overturned medical carts, and one destroyed, leaving 12 out of 15 carts, and 5 severely injured bystander merchants. This caused a great many problems, and tension rose with the group, as if they were headed off to war.
Later, as they reached the massive canyon leading to the beginning of the Hideazisha Forest, the horses had to be abandoned as they had become too skittish. this left the 32 merchants to bring the carts by hand and rope. It was on the way down that it began to rain. As the rain began to beat down on the canyon harder and harder, the resulting mud sloshed down the canyon slope in a mudslide, causing half of the convoy to be presumed dead. The remaining half pressed on, but upon entering the forest, another quarter of the convoy turned around in fear, choosing to wait at the canyon for the convoy to return.
As the 9 men with their 6 carts traveled into the dark forest, 3 men were picked off by unseen forces. The remaining 6 men chose to put the supplies in packs and carry them, but during their preparation, two more died in a Razorclaw pack's raid. the last four ran as far into the forest as possible, where one fell, and was left, his fate unknown. The other 6 who had stayed at the entrance chose to journey into the forest at this point, but their fate is uncertain. The other three who run through the forest continue to run, hopefully escaping the chasing Razorclaws. Due to the rain, two of the three fall sick. One chooses to be left behind, and the second, Joseph, gets up, and carries the other sick one on his back, refusing the first's choice to stay, leaving his own pack of supplies, leaving them with one carts worth of supplies, carried by the one merchant who managed to remain healthy. It is here that we join Joseph and his colleagues in their rush to escape death........
