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Stream of Consciousness
Apr. 26th, 2004
10:46 pm - Entry the Third
King Kanar and his men all stood staring at the strange hulking beast of a man that had seemingly come from nowhere. It was obvious that they needed this man's help, regardless of their lack of knowledge about his origins. King Kanar looked to his military advisor, whom only nodded. Kanar walked towards the man, and it became apparent just how much larger "Warrior" was than everyone else in the kingdom. Kanar was, easily, the largest person in Lye at over six and a half feet tall. However, Warrior stood at least one head taller than Kanar, and was almost twice as broad as the uncommonly bulky king.
"Where do you come from?" Kanar asked.
"I hail from the North." Warrior replied.
"What is your name, or are you afraid to tell me because you are hiding something?"
"I do not believe we have time for formalities. By my estimation, you only have about another 2 or 3 minutes before the beasts are upon you. Do you accept my help or not?"
It was obvious that Kanar would accept the man's help, but Kanar could not appear too desperate lest Warrior start demanding money or goods for his services. Kanar gave a quick nod to the large axe and sword weilding fighter and pointed to a location near him.
"Fine then, 'Warrior', you will stand with me in the first line, we will ho-"
"No." Warrior interrupted.
"I do not know the tradition where YOU hail from, but here it is customary to NEVER interrupt a king when he speaks!"
"You are no king of mine. I am here to assist you, nothing more. I am not here to befriend you, nor am I here to take orders."
Kanar sighed, but realized he was at Warrior's mercy. "Fine, do as you will, where will you stand?"
Warrior looked directly at Qwey and raised one of his immense arms, using the large battle-axe to point; "Next to him."
Before anything else could be said, a large piercing cry surged through the air from the tower. "THEY APPROACH!!", one of the tower guards cried as if the people on the ground could not see through the open gates. Qwey's heart beat fast in his chest, he'd never witnessed one of the creatures up close and he could only imagine the nightmares he'd have if he survived this battle. Within seconds, the dark shapes, six of them, were crossing the fields directly in front of the kingdom.
"READY YOUR ARMS!" The military commander yelled.
In a uniform movement that was the result of several long hours of training, all of the guards unsheathed and raised their swords, and the archers readied their arrows. Qwey stood beside Warrior, whom still had the large axe and sword at his side, and he flinched as the large man flashed a sadistic smile.
The first of the creatures crashed through the gates like a flood, and the archers loosed their arrows, each one of the arrows of the opening volley finding its mark. However, the creatures had momentum and weren't even slowed. Qwey saw the creatures up closer than he ever wanted too. They were large, about the size of a bull, and they were covered in dark brown, matted fur. The beasts ran on four large, muscular legs with five-inch curved claws that were obviously meant to grab onto and hold live prey while the beasts ate said prey alive. Even in the daylight, the beast's beady, blood red eyes emitted an eerie glow that proved the only distraction from the large saber-tooth tiger-esque fangs each one bared as it ran. Qwey noticed he was getting mesmerized, and raised his sword despite himself, but realized there was no way he would stand a chance against even one of the creatures.
"Small man," Warrior growled at Qwey, "do you see the long, dark mane running along the back of the creatures?"
"Yes, of course I do."
"At the base of that mane, near the neck is their weakest point. Once you've stopped one of the creatures, you drive your sword directly into that area and you will pierce the one section of their spinal column not covered with impenetrable vertebrae. Do you understand?"
"Wait, how the hell am I supposed to stop one of those thi-"
Qwey didn't get to ask the question as Warrior bolted from the ranks before the creatures got to where Kanar, he, and the rest of the guards stood. Kanar yelled something about falling back, but Warrior was either too far ahead to hear or just did not care.
"The fool, he'll get himself killed. Hold your ground men." Kanar ordered.
But Warrior was no fool, and he would not get himself killed this day. With blinding speed, he ran up to the first creature and swung the large battle axe horizontally across the its face thus knocking the creature off of its feet. Blood surged from a large, gaping would in the creatures face and it struggled to its feet, but Warrior did not let the creature regain its senses. He slammed the large axe into the creatures back and lodged the weapon firmly in place before bringing swinging the large sword high above his head and piercing the exact spot he'd informed Qwey about moments before. The beast fell instanly, and didn't even have the luxury of a few death throes as Warrior viciously removed the axe and sword.
Kanar and every one of his guards stood unable to so much as blink at the spectacle. One man had just done the job that twelve would have barely been able to get done, and he'd done it in a matter of seconds. This turn of events served to give Kanar and his company confidence as the king turned to his men and gave the order to attack.
Qwey ran up beside Warrior, who stood beside the felled beast and eyed a second creature that was circling the dead body. Without warning, the creature lept through the air, obviously hoping to bring Warrior down and thus make the kill that much easier. Warrior, however, seemed to anticipate the creature's strategy and dropped his sword on the ground to grab his axe with both hands. He took a big step forward and swung the axe upward as hard as he could into the creatures exposed underbelly. The beast howled as the axe pierced its flesh, and in an incredible act of strength, Warrior hurled the creature from the end of the axe into a passing beast. The monster with the stomach wound attemped to stagger onto its feet, but Warrior brought the axe down onto the creature's front leg and the sickening snap of bone reverberated through the courtyard. The creature fell onto its stomach and started to pant heavily, but Warrior turned his attention to Qwey.
"This one is pretty much done for, but that one," Warrior indicated the creature he'd knocked down when he threw the dying beast "is still ripe. If you would be so kind as to finish this one off."
Warrior back-pedaled to pick up his sword without taking his eyes off of the beast, and Qwey grasped the handle to his sword harder than was necessary. The creature Warrior had attacked was all but dead, it was unable to move and was lying in a large pool of its own dark reddish-black blood. Qwey considered sparing the beast's life, but knew better. He raised his sword high and drove it into the base of the creature's neck where the mane ended. It died as quickly as had the one previously, and when he turned to accept praise from Warrior, he noticed the large man had felled yet another beast, the axe still in the beast's throat.
Kanar and his men had fared almost as well, killed the remaining beasts. All of the guards stood watching Warrior remove his large axe from the throat of the final beast he'd felled. No man had ever confronted the monsters alone and surivived for more than about a minute, and this man had taken on a few and defeated them without so much as a scratch.
Kanar approached the man and sheathed his sword; "My friend, we owe you a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid. Please tell me what we can do to at least try to repay you."
Warrior finally replaced the giant sword in a large sheath on his back, and placed the axe in a similar sheath on his side. "Is a feast not customary for such a victory amongst your people?"
"Yes, yes it is." Kanar answered.
"Then let us have one. Other than that, I have but one more request."
"You name it and it shall be yours."
Warior walked over to Qwey and looked him directly in the eyes. "This man, must accompany me on a mission."
Apr. 15th, 2004
10:36 pm - Entry the Second
It had been almost a week since the brutal massacre in Lye. Qwey had returned to his duties as the king's jester, but there was no true levity in the throne room at any point. Kanar was drowning in guilt, and nothing could bring him out of it, least of all a jester that had no true relationship with the king. The people of Lye, those that decided to stay in the kingdom, were starting to return to their daily activities reluctantly and without any motivation.
One afternoon, Qwey was returning from the royal throne room when he noticed a guard in the watchtower was sound asleep. It was early and there was no doubt in Qwey's mind that the guard had fallen asleep due to extreme boredom since nothing ever happened during the daylight hours. Still, Qwey felt that Kanar would more than likely relieve the guard of his position indefinitely if noticed, so he climbed the tower and nudged the guard awake.
"How long have I been out?" The guard asked groggily.
"I'm not sure, I just walked by and saw you up here. I figured I'd wake you up before Kanar did."
"Thanks Qwey, I appreci-", the guard stopped mid-sentence as he noticed several small black figures moving at incredible speed over the horizon. He stared hard and focused his eyes as best he could, and then he turned to Qwey and said "Are you seeing what I'm seeing!?"
Qwey looked in the direction the guard was still gazing in. Sure enough, a large band of fast moving black shapes was approaching. There was no doubt about it, the creatures were returning, in broad daylight no less. From their last assault on Lye, it was obvious that the creatures were becoming a lot more confident with their abilities. However, to attack without the cover of night proved that the creatures were comfortable enough with their chances that it didn't really matter when they attacked anymore. The guard noticed Qwey's distant, detached look and realized that he too was thinking the same thing.
"Qwey, I will sound the alarm. You need to tell go tell the king to prepare the royal guard again. I have a feeling we will need their assistance once more."
With that, Qwey quickly descended the tower, the alarm bell blaring loudly behind him and sending the people of Lye into a blind panic. Everyone knew what the alarm meant, but no one had ever heard it being sounded so early in the day.
It only took Qwey a matter of seconds to reach the king's chambers, and he was not suprised to see Kanar already removing his royal garments and putting on his battle armor.
"King Kanar, the tower guard believes that you should send the palace guards to assist the sentries"
"It is already done. Have you seen where the creatures are? How much time do we have until they are upon us?"
Qwey was a little taken aback by the questions. The tower guards always reported these facts to the king shortly after the alarm sounded, and they were the most trusted people outside of the king's advisors in the kingdom. The fact that Kanar was asking Lye such important questions showed a level of trust that Qwey had never experienced before.
"Majesty, I believe we have no more than 70 minutes to prepare ourselves for the invasion."
One of the king's military advisors entered the room. His eyes were wide and he was already fully dressed in his battle gear.
"Sir," he began between gasps "Although you have deployed the royal guard, I regret to inform you that we are still dramatically low on capable fighters. The majority of our sentries were seriously wounded in the last invasion and all of the swordsmen you hired have returned to their own kingdoms."
Kanar's eyes flashed scarlet anger, and he looked his advisor in the face. "My good man, then this may be our last hour. You have a little over an hour to move as many of the women and children that are unable to fight to the catacombs. Once they are there, you need to station about five good men at the entrance and do not let them leave under ANY circumstances. Now, return to the front lines, I will join you shortly there."
King Kanar turned to Qwey and stared at him, but said nothing. Then, he pointed to a large wooden wardrobe in the corner of the room. "I have been informed that you are better with a sword, or at least appear to be, than some of my best fighting men. In that wardrobe you will find some battle gear. It is hardened leather and incredibly light, but not as tough as the armor worn by myself or the guards. Put on the gear, get a sword from the armory, and meet me on the front lines. You have 10 minutes."
Kanar then turned and left, leaving Qwey in the chambers alone. He rushed over to the wardrobe and pulled out the dusty old armor. Although Kanar was larger in stature than Qwey, the armor proved a decent fit, which lead Qwey to believe Kanar had used it in his adolescence. Still, it was better than nothing. Qwey quickly donned the chestplate, leg and arm guards and helmet and sprinted over to the armory. A large, ghastly woman was there handing out arms to anyone that reached for one. Qwey took a long, semi-rusty sword, similar to the one he practiced with, although a little heavier, and ran as fast as his legs would allow to what passed for the front line of defense.
There were only about twenty men and six women on the front line, including king Kanar and Qwey. A small, panic-stricken sentry was crying, his armor bloody and broken. Another sentry stood looking up at the sky. He had a large shield on his back and a broad sword in his left hand, however, his entire right arm was completely missing, no doubt taken during the skirmish a week ago.
Everyone looked at the front gates as if Death itself were approaching, then, there was a sharp rap on the wooden gate itself. The entire company gasped, but King Kanar did not.
"WHAT IS AT THE GATE AND WHY DID YOU ALLOW IT TO GET THAT FAR!" Kanar bellowed.
One of the archers replied "It is a man, he asked for you specifically."
Traditionally, no one was allowed to see the king without an invitation, but this situation was an exception. Kanar motioned to the gatekeepers to allow entry, and they simultaneously turned the enormous levers that slowly opened the gate.
A man stood at the entryway. He was well past six feet tall and had cold, evil dark eyes that seemed to absorb animosity and hatred. His hair was as dark as pitch, and he was larger than anyone else in the kingdom, including the smiths and mine workers. He carried an impossibly large and bloody axe in one hand. In his other hand, was a sword that could not have been less than four feet long. The man looked directly at Qwey and Kanar and approached them with a slow gait.
In a low, almost inaudible voice, the man said "I bid you greetings. I am called Warrior, and I have been sent to keep you from being killed.
Apr. 8th, 2004
10:01 pm - Entry the First
The small village of Lye gathered around the funeral pyre for what seemed like the hundreth time that month. Several of their bravest fighting men and women lay on cold, uncaring slabs, their bodies engulfed in the insatiable conflagration. The king of Lye , Kanar, stood on a platform above the villagers, his face mostly hidden by his graying hair, and tried his best to display no emotion. He failed. He'd done all he could to prevent the massacre: stationed the best archers at the vital chokepoints that Lye's architects had constructed, comissioned the best swordsmen from neighboring towns, he'd even instructed his royal guard to patrol the outer walls. It had not been enough. The beasts had come in the middle of the night, and throughout the night one could hear their savage howls and roars as they felled each new victim. A man wearing a dingy, black cloak approached king Kanar and placed a boney hand on his shoulder.
"Kanar, you did everything any one man could do to prevent this, you should not feel at all guilty."
"No, Fei, I could have done more, I could have comissioned more swordsmen, I could have joined the soldiers in battle, I could have...I could have hired one of the mystics."
Fei removed his hand from the king's shoulder and glared at him. "You know, as well as I do, that they are not to be trusted. Their black magic would have destroyed Lye and possibly all of its inhabitants. Any land they walk on is cursed."
"Yes, but we would have stood a better chance against the beasts, and I am sure we'd have fewer dead, despite any collateral damage incurred from the mystic's magic."
The villagers began to slowly file away, nearly each one would return to an empty home. One man stayed behind, staring at the dying flames, his mind was distant yet his thoughts were rampant. His name was Qwey, and he was the king's jester. He had witnessed most of the gruesome battle that had transpired a few nights earlier. Qwey was one of a select few people in employ of the king whom was allowed to live in the royal palace, and he'd been violently awaken by the sound of the guards preparing to defend the palace. The chamber guards had been deployed, and only a handful remained to protect the king and his court, but this seemed more than enough since the beasts had never been brazen enough to go near the palace. That night was different. Qwey emerged from his chambers in time to hear one of the guards ordering every able man and woman in the palace to take up a sword to help defend the king. The same guard took a large broadsword from a sheath on his belt and handed it to Qwey. "Your mission," the guard began "is to prevent any of the creatures from getting into the Royal Hall should one of them get past us. I have seen you practicing in the fields, and you should be able to stall the creature long enough for reinforcements to arrive."
Qwey nodded and took the large, heavy weapon. His lips parted in a slight smile, practicing in the fields, he thought, was a GROSS understatement. During every free second of his life for the past 20 years, Qwey was conducting his own personal training session. Nothing formal, just him and the cold steel in the cool night or evening air. He was a jester, and would never be promoted to royal guard, but that could all change that night if the creature broke through the palace's defenses. It didn't. The largest of the creatures began it's entry into the palace, but was felled by several dozen of the king's archers, whom had fired their arrows from a staggering distance with uncanny accuracy. The small cadre of palace guards filed back into the palace, one of them noticed Qwey with the sword.
"JESTER!!" he'd bellowed "give me the sword, before you accidently castrate yourself or someone else."
Qwey knew the man, he was one of the lesser of the royal guards, a man Qwey was conviced he could easily best in battle. That was neither the time, nor the place, so Qwey handed over the broadsword without a word.
"That's a good dog." The guard cackled. He sheathed the sword and walked away, still cackling like a hyena and it'd taken all of Qwey's strength to not throw a large blunt object at the man. Qwey was relegted to the role of spectator, and he watched the beasts rip through soldiers and townspeople with savage disdain for human existence. As was usually the case, the beasts seemed to eventually become sated with the damage they'd inflicted, and with a series of blood-curdling howls, retreated.
The reverie ended and Qwey started back home. Tomorrow, the king would more than likely be consoling the people of Lye, and that meant that Qwey would not be needed. He made a detour to the fields he'd spent so much time practicing in, overturned the large planks of wood that hid his rusty old sword, and lost himself in swordplay.