Evander cannot shake the feeling of dread as he marches at the rear of the file, his head moving constantly like a crazed imitation of a bird. His hands sweat around the grip of his spear and shield, the wood chaffing against his already raw palm.
The still rational part of his mind despairs as it is weighed down by the madness that dwells within. The nerve beneath his right eye twitches almost constantly, in time with the throbbing ache within his mind.
Almost absently Evander notices the file…
Continue
Added by Archangel on October 25, 2009 at 2:52am —
3 Comments
It falls to Leander to scout further into the citadel, passing from the hall where they have made their camp as the sun crests the horizon outside and making his way swiftly but cautiously down broad corridors and passageways.
He feels the warmth of the sun permeating through the place, warming the air and giving the atmosphere a thick, stuffy, quality.
Even as he scouts those corridors his eyes rove the walls, taking in the extravagant details. Some walls are festooned with banners and sculptur…
Continue
Added by Archangel on August 7, 2009 at 11:00am —
10 Comments
Xander is the first to reach the citadel, the rain pouring down around his oiled leather cloak causing him not the slightest bit of discomfort. He eyes the towering wall sceptically, the stones soaring away into the sky some twenty feet.
With a small glance over his shoulder he receives the most subtle nod from Wraith and doffs his pack immediately, pulling his climbing tools from inside the dry embrace of his cloak.
Looping a length of rope about his shoulder he gazes up one final time, mutteri…
Continue
Added by Archangel on August 6, 2009 at 5:06pm —
2 Comments
Wraith leads them clear of the forest in the early hours of the morning, the sun breaching the trees behind them and casting light across the fields and river before them.
Yet strangely no light seems to shine brightly upon the fortress in the distance, the dark stone sticking out across the distance.
“Another few days,” he says as much to himself as those around him.
He sets off down the well worn path, no further than a few feet along it when a scuffle breaks out behind him and he turns at the…
Continue
Added by Archangel on August 6, 2009 at 9:49am —
1 Comment
Slowly and carefully Aeneas stalks his way through the forest, keeping his distance behind the other members of the small band and acting as trailbreaker.
His encounter with Leander the swordsman has left him unnerved, a sensation that Aeneas is totally unaccustomed to.
It is his eyes, he thinks.
They burn brightly with madness.
Suddenly Aeneas crouches, making himself as small as possible as he draws an arrow free from his quiver. Tentatively he lifts his head slightly and inhales…
Continue
Added by Archangel on August 5, 2009 at 7:37am —
5 Comments
For Evander every moment where his thoughts are unoccupied is just another waking nightmare, his mind forcing him to relive memories best left buried.
It is with a sense of terror that he doffs his shield and lays it against the log he then sits against, resting his weary bones and allowing a weary mind to that much closer to breaking. His eyes don’t even close, merely gazing off into the distance and losing any sense of focus as he succumbs once more to his own demons.
He cradles the body of…
Continue
Added by Archangel on August 4, 2009 at 9:56am —
5 Comments
Tiberius Nero feels chafed by his surroundings, as unused to the rough life of the outdoors as any of these peasants would be to the finery and trappings of life in a noble House of Athens.
The humidity of the forest surprised him at first, thinking such lush woodland would be as that far across the ocean, cool and temperate. Yet it took only a few days of travel to discover that a metal breastplate, even one finely wrought and bearing his House Arms, can be an encumbrance.
Nero had welcomed the…
Continue
Added by Archangel on August 3, 2009 at 8:49am —
4 Comments
Dante sits upon a log at the edge of the strangers’ camp, old eyes taking in every detail and seeing things beyond the ken of normal men.
He concentrates on the small boy, tucked up away from the others and yet within reach of the albino and the faint green glow that emanates from him tells a tale to the eyes of Dante. The shivering and twitching gives away the dream state of the boy, locked away in his nightmares.
Dante turns his eyes to the Macedonian, who sits with his back against a tree and…
Continue
Added by Archangel on August 3, 2009 at 7:27am —
4 Comments
Leander can hear every sound as he stalks through the forest, the flapping of wings and the chatter of birds sound in his ears slightly louder than the sounds of untrained men stumbling and tripping their way through a forest.
A grimace crosses his face as he listens to the cursing of the little thief ahead of him, the poor boy out of his depth surround by terrain he cannot understand and men whose own morals and conscience are all but non-existent.
His mind is drawn back to more pressing matter…
Continue
Added by Archangel on August 1, 2009 at 8:17am —
3 Comments
Hector roundly offers curses to Poseidon, his patron deity, as he stumbles through the forest in the wake of the noble, Nero, and the Macedonian spearman.
“I was not made for this,” he growls beneath his breath. “I am a man of the open ocean, seaman and sailor damn you eyes!”
Adjusting the straps of his heavy pack, he takes his eyes from the trail and misses a raised tree root that catches his foot and sends him stumbling. More curses sound out softly as he hits the ground, mere feet from where…
Continue
Added by Archangel on August 1, 2009 at 7:42am —
1 Comment
Khiron Deimos stands at the rail, leaning out over the clam blue waters over the secluded bay. He is immune to the hustle and bustle of the sailors around him, his mind drifting idly as his plans begin to come to fruition.
Oh how they had mocked him, his ‘friends’ in the Cabal. That shadowy organisation where each is out only for his own and whatever he can take from those who are weaker.
Through coercion and threats they had tried to dissuade him, even going so far as to reveal his plan to the…
Continue
Added by Archangel on August 1, 2009 at 7:23am —
1 Comment
Wraith is the first of them ashore, vaulting easily over the side of the landing boat and dropping into the knee high water.
His greatsword is strapped to his back and his warhammer rests comfortably in his hands as his heavy boots propel him clear of the water and onto the beach proper.
Feet spread, Wraith stands sentinel as the landing boat nears the beach, his eyes sharp and yet his mind is distant.
“
You know what you must do?” Deimos asked, in the honey sweet yet sickly voice he likes to…
Continue
Added by Archangel on July 30, 2009 at 8:13am —
5 Comments
Xander flexes his arm, feeling the slight twinge as his muscles overstretch and he winces as he rubs at the muscles, stalking amongst the cargo crates in the aft hold.
He pulls his self up a set of towering crates, enjoying the way the aching in his shoulder fades away. As he reaches the top he perches on the edge, slipping his hands into the small gloves that hang along his legs.
Suddenly the gloves extend a set of four-pronged claws and Xander grins before bunching his legs underneath him, pro…
Continue
Added by Archangel on July 27, 2009 at 8:10am —
3 Comments
Aeneas sits deep within the hold, hidden away from the crew and the others with only a lantern and his bows for company.
Across his knees lays a hardwood case, sheathed in treated leather to keep it water resistant. It shapes gives away its contents, holding a bow more than fifty years old and the quiver that matches.
With a sense of trepidation Aeneas undoes the latches, throwing open the lid to reveal a work of art, a bow so beautiful in design it would be a shame to touch it. His eyes run up…
Continue
Added by Archangel on July 25, 2009 at 11:23am —
4 Comments
Dante stands upon the sand, his feet seemingly gliding over the soft grains beneath him as a light wind rustles the trees at his back. A smile creases his face as he feels the forest behind him teeming with life, creatures great and small, vile and majestic, living their lives as God intended.
Out across the water he feels the ship approach, as if the beating hearts of its crew sound out across the leagues. One spark of life is greater than the rest, pulsing like a rampant volcano that even dist…
Continue
Added by Archangel on July 25, 2009 at 11:21am —
4 Comments
The ship is three months closer to its destination as Evander strides onto the deck, his bones healed and his bruises subsided. Some wounds and scars never heal though, the spread like a shadow on a cloudy day through the heart and soul.
Evander clutches the staff in his healed hands, feeling an old strength return as he grips it tightly. It is a replacement shaft for his spears, should any of them break of warp, yet even without its sharp and deadly point it is a weapon in his hands.
He stands…
Continue
Added by Archangel on July 24, 2009 at 11:57am —
4 Comments
Wraith watches the herbs infuse into the water, dropping a few more leaves into another pot as the water there boils.
His eyes drift to the prone form of the thief Xander, little more than a boy playing at a man’s game, eyeing the bandage that stems the bleeding of the angry cut to his shoulder and the poultice that covers and fills the shallow wound to his chest.
Without conscious thought a dagger appears in his hand as the door behind him opens slowly and a man, Khiron Deimos, steps through.
W…
Continue
Added by Archangel on July 12, 2009 at 4:00pm —
7 Comments
A furious anger settles on Tiberius Nero as he moves to confront the knot of sailors who corner the arrogant sword-peasant and would have gladly watched him die but for the order of the equally arrogant Deimos.
“How dare he order a noble son of House Nero,” he hisses to himself as he draws the slender sword at his hip with a quick and artful flourish, blade flashing through the air.
Without preamble he plunges his sword into the back of one unaware warrior, just as he begins to circle and takes…
Continue
Added by Archangel on July 10, 2009 at 4:02pm —
10 Comments
The pressure eases around Leander as he senses his allies surge to the attack, the press of bodies lessening as men are cut down around him.
A match pair of shortswords is settled loosely in his hands, their leaf-shaped blades dripping blood to the floor as more foes approach him warily having seen him demolish five of their comrades already.
He watches them come with a blank face, their long curving blades swinging almost in unison low and high. It is a sign of men who have fought as a pair, wh…
Continue
Added by Archangel on July 9, 2009 at 6:40pm —
7 Comments
Khiron Deimos knows no fear as he watches four men drop to the deck from ropes above, calmly drawing the longsword at his side and commending his soul to Ares and Poseidon, sounding out the name of his bodyguard to prevent what seems inevitable.
“Wraith!” he calls, in the hope that death can be staved off once more.
He does not wait, charging in with a powerful thrust and taking one man in the chest before he can recover, the life bleeding from him even as Deimos dodges back from a cut from his…
Continue
Added by Archangel on July 8, 2009 at 8:26pm —
14 Comments
