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To Win a War...

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Ascertes

Ascertes

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The Wraith examined the board thoughtfully. “Congratulations, captain. However, you did*’t anticipate this.” Asaldis was confused. There was nothing that could happen that would cost him the game. The Wraith proceeded to pick up a pawn, and moved it across the entire board onto where Asaldis’ king stood, and knocked it over. “Checkmate,” he said, and stood up. Asaldis did*’t understand. “That is blatantly an illegal move. You can** do that.” The Wraith smiled his smirk again. If you only knew, it said. “No, no it is not. In war, there are no rules. If you want to win a war, captain, you need to break the rules.” With that picked up his staff, and descended the hill back towards his own camp leaving the food, table, chairs, chessboard and, most importantly, the tablet behind.

Asaldis contemplated his words as he trudged back to his own camp, with the tablet concealed beneath his cloak. He made his way to the commander’s tent, and as usual Mardith was gorging his eyes upon his maps. When Mardith saw him enter, the disappointment on his face was obvious. “Well?” he asked. The Wraith hadn’t said to what to tell Mardith when he returned. *The battle is won, commander.” He said. “The holy energy of the temple is driving their men mad, and they asked if we could dispel some of the energies so the battle could be fought on even ground.” The lie seemed to fool Mardith. “I trust you turned them down on their offer? If not, I can*t allow that to happen and I may seize you for insubordination.” Asaldis replied “No, sir. The commander attacked me in a fit of deluded rage, and I cut him down. I think they will be retreating upon the morrow.” Mardith’s face went straight, portraying a suppressed rage. It was clear the notion of Asaldis supposedly winning the battle single-handedly made his blood boil. “Very well, Asaldis. Dismissed.* Said Mardith through gritted teeth. Asaldis turned on his heel, and walked out. -Ascertes, King of all the Hallowlands and the Everchosen of Saradomin.

20-Feb-2015 02:46:41 - Last edited on 05-Mar-2015 00:18:22 by Ascertes

Ascertes

Ascertes

Posts: 5,461 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The next morning came, and across the temple nothing but a barren field remained where Zamorak’s army had been. True to his word, the Wraith had pulled back. It was not long after that that Mardith lead a group into the temple. Asaldis and some of the other captains went with him. Asaldis however lagged slightly behind, and on a turn around a corner he slipped the tablet into an ornate vase upon a broken altar, a star of Saradomin wrought in gold laying at its base.

After several more curves, half buried hallways and empty dining halls, Mardith called the party to a halt in a chamber which had clearly been the central chapel. He unrolled a scroll, and spoke the spell to release Nex. From where they had come a white and blue light flashed suddenly, and the party almost ran out of where they had come from in search of the artifact. Nearly getting lost in the massive stone tomb, Mardith said his spell again, and once more the light filled the halls. One of the other captains found the tablet on the altar, and Mardith held it up for all to see, proclaiming their quest was completed. Cheers went up, and after returning to the encampment, the preparations were made to return home.
__________

After returning to the capital with their prize, Mardith naturally took all of the credit for their success. Soon later, however, the “truth” came out, and Mardith was relieved of command to be replaced by none other than Asaldis himself. Shortly thereafter, Asaldis was granted the rank of general and head of the war on the central plains, a war that was eventually won by Saradomin and his allies.
__________

The messenger approached the door hesitantly. His prayer to Zamorak had either been spited or ignored, as he found himself here once again. He knocked lightly and opened it a crack, just enough to see if the commander was in. When he saw he was, he said a silent curse, and stepped through the threshold. -Ascertes, King of all the Hallowlands and the Everchosen of Saradomin.

20-Feb-2015 02:46:45 - Last edited on 05-Mar-2015 00:15:36 by Ascertes

Ascertes

Ascertes

Posts: 5,461 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The same torches as last time were lit, and it did*’t seem as if anything had changed, until he saw the map on the back wall was now on the floor with large wooden pieces all across it in clumps. The commander was pacing around the edges, the plates of his armor making a slight creaking sound as he walked. Once in a while he would use the iron bar he was carrying to move a few pieces here or there, moving some west and others east.

“Is that the latest report, corporal?” the commander asked. *I-I don’t know. They only told me to deliver it.” He walked over and handed the letter to the commander, and began towards the door. “No, no; stay, corporal.* He said, with the same tone he had used in their last encounter. He read the letter, and smiled somewhat. He took his makeshift staff and moved many western pieces east, and retreated several groups. Only then did the messenger see that the pieces were colored slightly differently, and the movements he was making with the pieces were not good. “The northern cities have fallen and the ones that remain are encircled and under siege. Our lines have been smashed and cut off from the eastern most territories.” He moved some more pieces,and took others off the map. *Come, look at the field.” Slowly, the messenger made his way to stand by the commander, trembling all the while, and looked at the map. *What do you see, corporal?* he asked. The pieces meant nothing to him. He was a soldier and messenger; he hadn’t the slightest clue about anything relating to strategy or command. “Pieces. I see pieces, sir.” He said, his voice almost failing him. He wanted nothing more than to get out of here as soon as possible, and was having a hard time focusing on anything else. -Ascertes, King of all the Hallowlands and the Everchosen of Saradomin.

20-Feb-2015 02:46:50 - Last edited on 05-Mar-2015 00:14:49 by Ascertes

Ascertes

Ascertes

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“The river Lum has fallen, and now our enemy controls that major trade route and can move troops across it and along it freely. Within a week they defeated our own fortresses on the eastern side. Everything between those and Sennisten is open plains; they have a straight shot. Afterwards only Morytania will remain, and those inbetween Sennisten and the Lum will be cut off and starved out.”

He turned and looked at the messenger, his sad, wistful smile remaining. “We’ve won the war, corporal; we’ve won.” The messenger did*’t respond for a minute. “I don’t understand…” the commander cut him off before he could finish. “Of course not.” He waved his iron staff, and the pieces were swept off the board and map was lifted magically and hung back up onto the back wall. The commander walked to his desk and leaned the bar against it, and faced the map with his hands spread far apart on his desk. “Wars are not won on the battlefield alone, corporal. What is the vision that Zamorak sought for his followers?” he asked. Unsure of what he was wanting exactly, the messenger only stated what he had been told when he was recruited. “He wants a world of advancement and chaos. A world were the old is destroyed so something better can take its place.” He waited for the commander’s response. “Yes. A world of change and a world of progress; that is his dream.” He continued to stare up at the map, not facing the messenger. If he wanted to escape, now would be his time. Before he could muster the courage however, the commander spoke again. “Zamorak gives shape to that dream, and embodies it whole heartedly. However, that dream will persist without him; without us.” -Ascertes, King of all the Hallowlands and the Everchosen of Saradomin.

20-Feb-2015 02:46:55 - Last edited on 05-Mar-2015 00:14:07 by Ascertes

Ascertes

Ascertes

Posts: 5,461 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
He pushed himself up off his desk, and walked back to the messenger. “His dream says that the old must give way to the new, and that progress must destroy complacency. Only through it is our true potential reached.” His smile had faded, and now a look of how a father might speak to a child when teaching them a life lesson had taken its place. “Who is to say that he, too, is exempt from that rule? He has proven himself time and time again as an inept and unproductive ruler. He has lead us to the brink of defeat.” His glacier eyes were fixed upon his, and the messenger had never known such fear. “Chaos is eternal and cannot be destroyed, even with us and Zamorak dead or gone. Ever since the day Zamorak usurped the Emperor, we were doomed to fail. Chaos will persist, and the teachings of Zamorak will continue even after our defeat.” His smile returned. “We brought chaos upon our enemies, and created advancement and progress. Their strategies adapted; their people changed. They became stronger through the hardship of war. We gave them a taste of advancement, and they took to it well.” The messenger wasn’t sure where he was going with this. “We have sown the seeds of our own ideology amongst their own.”

He took the messenger by the shoulder and led him to his desk. “Through defeat we are victorious.” He reached down onto his desk, and picked up a wooden carving which looked like a pawn for a game of chess, its color black. “Sometimes to climb, you must go down. To go forward, you must go back. To do what you need, you must do what you do not want. To do the impossible, you must do what has never been done. You must do what has never been tried.” He handed it to the messenger. “If you want to win a war, you must break the rules.”

========================


You have reached the end of the story :D I hope you enjoyed! Please leave your feedback and thoughts on this thread. -Ascertes, King of all the Hallowlands and the Everchosen of Saradomin.

20-Feb-2015 02:47:01 - Last edited on 05-Mar-2015 00:13:27 by Ascertes

Crondis

Crondis

Posts: 4,770 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Wow!

That was very well written, all the way to the very end. The ending was very deep, and much more than the "Praise Saradomin" ending I was expecting.

Very well done, Ascykins ;) Crondis, mightiest God of the Kharidian Desert!

20-Feb-2015 04:48:30

Crondis

Crondis

Posts: 4,770 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Dennorak said :
It was good, gave a horribly biased view of Zamorak, but good.

It's from the view of a Saradominist, ofcourse its going to be biased sounding. They were all bred to be believe the absolute worst about their enemies. Crondis, mightiest God of the Kharidian Desert!

20-Feb-2015 04:50:03

Ascertes

Ascertes

Posts: 5,461 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Crondis said :
Wow!

That was very well written, all the way to the very end. The ending was very deep, and much more than the "Praise Saradomin" ending I was expecting.

Very well done, Ascykins ;)

Thanks Crondis! I wouldn't do something like a Praise Saradomin ending with something I take so seriously, which is my writing ;)

Dennorak said :
It was good, gave a horribly biased view of Zamorak, but good.

I tried to keep bias out of it as much as possible from a narration standpoint, but some things can't be avoided when telling how a character feels. I appreciate your feedback none the less :) -Ascertes, King of all the Hallowlands and the Everchosen of Saradomin.

20-Feb-2015 04:59:19

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