RuneScape Forum Archive | ^+^ The Age of Nhur ^+^

Azigarath

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Hi, it's me Mr Ancient. Just finished reading ch 14, and although I don't post often, I just wanted to say that I didnt forget or anything.

Honestly, after i first posted long ago i was actually scared to read farther lol.

Anyway, Nhur really changed what i felt about the story, and then I realised a few things and now he looks like a very believable character, completely diferent than what I thought of him at first.

the story is great. I liked where the Rashada or whatever those tiger-men are called was gonig throguh the forest and stumbled upon those Doomhounds or whatever, and how, of course, nhur goes on a little adventure himself.

so yeah, sry if my very first post here made me look like a complete idiot or anything else like that, and in my opinion this is one of the best stories i've ever read and not just in RS, but like ever.
But then again i rarely read novels.

Anyway, I'd argue that alot of stories here are much better than published novels out in the real world by a longshot.

to the point, I love this story but found it a bit confusing sometimes, maybe because I read too fast or think too fast, or something like that.

sometimes I felt that there were some similarities to this and my own stories, but hey, i bet there are ppl that had ideas like my own since before i was born.

Also, the 7th post on p 31 has an error, describing a hound's 'potion' when i think ti should be 'portions' (refering to its skeletal exterior).

oh, and one more thing - i was listening to Rammstein while reading for 5 hours straight from chapter 8, and all that was better than watching a good movie lol

The story is just great everywhere, so i wish you the best as it finishes - you're awsome and definately deserve much more in the future.

anyway i'm gonna crawl back in my cave now...

15-Oct-2010 07:22:43 - Last edited on 15-Oct-2010 07:24:15 by Azigarath

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Tbh, I don't blame you for sounding like an idiot or anything when you last posted...mainly because your initial impression of Nhur was exactly what I was hoping people would see the guy as, because otherwise some of the plot threads involving him wouldn't come off as big of a surprise if he *didn't* come off as the stereotypical cartoon bad guy.

Granted, he's still not exactly the nicest person to be around, but then again what Mahjarrat isn't at this point? >.<

About similarities...I've had this story more or less written out for a few years with some differences in the details before I even found out about your stuff. So it's just a coincidence

As for confusing bits, it may or may not be you not thinking fast enough or anything. Some of the scenes and conversations were intentionally made to be vague (such as the jailbreak fight scene, for example) because I plan to fill in the little holes and tie up the seemingly random stuff later down the road.

^But that's getting ahead of ourselves. Thanks for stopping by to comment

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

18-Oct-2010 03:06:09

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Chapter 14
<><>
Wind howled eerily through the utterly alien realm that night. All around the forsaken world of magik and insanity, vile Inner Demons and cosmic Primordials alike huddled inside their citadels, each a dark testament to the utterly twisted and terrifying logic that defined the Fade Realm and its inhabitants.

It was through one of those citadels that Belial now strode. With a sense of urgency in his step, many of the citadel’s servants scurried out of their master’s way as he made his way through a twisting hall made of a porous, sponge-like material. The lucky ones made it out of the way in time. The unfortunate ones…well, they learned the hard way what a fly sees before it gets squished.

The Inner Demon eventually came to a room curtained off by red velvet drapes. Brushing them to the side, it stormed into the room. Inside, the sponge-like material ended, and floors and walls of granite greeted him, the stone accentuated by the glow of wall candles lit by infernal hellfire. A bed was present, which sported sheets made of the same red velvet as the ‘door’ to his room was, and on that bed laid a female demon. As soon as Belial entered the room, the demon almost immediately shifted her curvy and blasphemous form into a seductive stance, but saw the worry in his eyes and decided against the act for long.

“I take it you handled the invaders?” she asked.

“Aye. But they weren’t really invaders. They were Fallen Scholars instead,” Belial answered.

The she-demon giggled. “I guess that means more fools met their deaths. How fitting that the Fallen still attempt to investigate this world despite their history.”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

19-Oct-2010 02:28:01

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Then you guess wrong,” Belial said. “Though the matter of their deaths may soon be rectified."

The female demon pulled herself upright on the bed as he answered. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it? I know that look in your eyes and that tone of voice. So spill it.”

Belial met his consort’s gaze. “The Fallen were investigating one of He’rkhine’s prisons.”

The demon’s eyes widened at that. “Really? Is that the source of the strange power which streaked across our skies not too long ago?”

“Possibly. Most likely. I need to know…do you still torment your soul host?”

The she-demon nodded. “Yes. In fact, I came close to causing her to have a nervous breakdown after her friends left through a portal to somewhere. Why do you ask?”

A dark look crossed Belial’s eyes. “Then you must listen to my instructions carefully. I have the feeling that yours in particular could very well help us avert this disaster.”

Belial’s consort listened eagerly, nodding her head every now and then when he quizzed her on specific parts of his intricate plan. After he finished, she asked, “Are you sure this will work? I mean, nobody has ever brought their soul host to this realm before. For all we know, her power could very well unbalance the fabric of magik here!”

“It has to work,” Belial said. “Otherwise, we’ll be in for one hell of a fight if he returns to finish their business.”

The consort nodded, and jumped from the bed to the floor. “I hope you’re right.”

~^+^~

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

19-Oct-2010 02:28:53

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The fire blazed into existence as Lukil collapsed to the ground panting. The portly shade was obviously exhausted, as was the rest of the small group which was currently working to get a small campsite set up.

Joran walked up to him and poked his bulging stomach. “Hey, you alright, man?”

Lukil looked at him through somewhat glazed eyes. “Yeah. It’s just…pyrokinetics tend to take a lot more mental focus than I’m used to. You have to be precise in willing fire into existence, otherwise you risk burning everything but your target. Main reason why I have a habit of not relying on them, truth be told.”

Joran shrugged. “Alright, but you can't say I didn't ask.” He turned to see how progress was going in setting up shelter. Not long after their somewhat botched escape from Skyvern Keep, the group had managed to find themselves in the middle of a field not far from the Bloodgrove Forest. Of course, their Hippogriffs had died during the descent- one corpse was burnt to a crisp, while another had to be put down because of a pair of broken legs- and that had left them no choice but to pick up their weakened general and walk the distance to the forest for cover since nobody back at HQ was answering Lukil’s psychic messages. After all, who knew when an Ordinator patrol would show up to investigate if they stuck around?

Soon after they had reached the forest, they had found paw prints on the naturally occurring trails which had belonged to a creature that neither of them, even the mysterious man who identified himself to the group as ‘V’, had recognized at all. That had caused them to get off the trail in fear of being caught in the open by an unknown enemy, and because of that they had inadvertently stumbled across the mostly shredded belongings of what must have been an explorer. It was there that the group decided to make camp since it was nearing nightfall, and it was there that Lukil had lit the fire and collapsed to the ground in a bulbous heap.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

19-Oct-2010 02:29:37 - Last edited on 19-Oct-2010 02:30:44 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Joran saw that V and Rajh had set up one tent, and were currently working on setting up the second one. Arial lay on the ground nearby, fleeting in and out of unconsciousness as he had during the day.

Looking at the general, V asked, “So any bright ideas on how the hell we’re going to carry him around if he’s not up by tomorrow?”

Joran shrugged. “No clue, man. I’m hoping Lukil could manifest a cart or something, but I doubt it if he struggled just to light a damn fire.”

Rajh murmured something in his native tongue, staring daggers at V as he did. The Rakshasa had made it all too obvious during their short time together that he didn't like the red garbed man in the slightest, and V seemed to not care at all. Then again, why should he? He obviously had the strength and fighting skills to stand against the tiger-man in a fair fight, and that was assuming he wasn’t also hiding some sort of magical power as well.

After the pair had finished with the tent, they wasted no time in getting Arial into one of the few sleeping bags that was found with the belongings. Lukil recovered from his own stupor, and retired to a tent as well. Rajh only stood near the edge of the small camp afterwards, seemingly searching the trees for signs of…something. That only left Joran to sit near the fire, and V joined him as well since he had nothing better to do.

Joran looked at the man, and studied him for a bit. “You know, I get the feeling I saw you somewhere before,” he said.

V shrugged. “You mean besides our little fight in prison back there?” he squinted at Joran. “Wait…you look familiar too.”

“Have you ever been to Ukrosha before?” Joran asked.

“Actually, yeah. I was there on business a few weeks ago.”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

19-Oct-2010 02:30:29 - Last edited on 20-Oct-2010 03:01:27 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“What sort of business?”

V fell silent for a moment before answering, “I was sent to kill the Emperor.”

“Wait, why?” Joran asked. “No offense or anything, man, but I get the feeling you’re not from around here since I don’t see any shadowstuff crawling around on you, and I doubt you’re charitable enough to want to kill someone just because you’re a nice guy.”

“Let’s just say that someone on the outside is aware of the threat Nhur poses to the rest of the planes,” V said. “Though I must admit, I have my doubts about the validity of such a threat. Mind if I ask you a few questions?”

Joran blinked. “Umm…sure, I guess. Just promise you won’t try choking me or anything if you don’t like the answer.”

“You have my word,” V said as he briefly put his left hand against his chest. “Anyway…what I’m curious about is why Nhur would want to take control of the throne.”

Joran shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine at this point. All I know is that I was with Arial when we discovered he was a Mahjarrat. We tried to do some digging into his past, but before we could get anywhere we were declared outlaws.”

“Did this happen without warning?”

“As far as I know. I just woke up one day, and a bunch of Ordinators were banging on my door shouting stuff about arresting me for treason. If anything happened, Arial or Kaz would know what it was."

"Kaz?” V asked. He knew the name from the pouch he carried with him since that day he ran into the shade woman at the bazaar, but he had to be sure of something.

“Yeah, she’s our resident spellcaster,” Joran said. “Smart girl, but very…well, weird. She seems like she’s always on edge for some reason.”

Rummaging through the pockets of his cloak, V found the pouch with her name embroidered on it. He held it out to Joran and asked, “Is this hers, by any chance?”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

19-Oct-2010 02:31:23 - Last edited on 20-Oct-2010 03:02:27 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Joran took the pouch and studied it carefully. “Yeah, this looks familiar. I wouldn’t know for sure, but I’ve seen her carry these kinds of things around with her before.”

V took the pouch and pocketed it, continuing his questioning as he did so. “I’ve heard the name ‘Ix’ thrown around in the city. What’s the deal with him anyway?”

“Ix was the guy on the throne before Nhur took over. An eccentric old guy, but at least he knew how to deal with his responsibilities.”

“I figured as much, but what happened to him?”

“Well,” Joran began. “I’m not sure. I was out with Arial and his old unit scouting a tract of land not far from here actually. We were looking for a roaming Rakshasa tribe that had supposedly attacked innocent farmsteads, and when we got back from the mission, Nhur was on the throne.”

“And everyone accepted that? I find it hard to believe,” V said in shock.

“Oh, believe me, there was a hellstorm surrounding the entire incident. I mean, the old ruler disappears overnight and all of a sudden some random stranger that asked for help is the new ruler? People might be stupid, but they’re not as stupid as Nhur would like to think,” Joran said. “Besides, he hasn’t proven himself capable of doing…well, anything, yet. All he’s done is hide himself in the palace, only coming out every now and then to proclaim some new edicts that seem to undo what Ix put in place.”

“The palace is that big marble building in the center of Ukrosha isn’t it?” V asked.

“Yeah…now that I think about it,” Joran said. His brow furrowed. “You’re that guy I ran into when Nhur sentenced Arial to death! I knew I saw you somewhere before!”

“And you’re the shade who knocked my hat off that day? Small world,” V said.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

19-Oct-2010 02:32:12

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Tell me about it,” Joran replied. “So why do you wanna know all this stuff anyway? It’s not like you’ll need it to kill Nhur or anything.”

“I have my reasons,” V said. “Foremost among them is the simple fact that I wonder if he really poses a threat to the rest of the multiverse, or if there’s something going on that we’re missing.”

“Like what?” Joran asked.

“Well, have you ever wondered why a Mahjarrat that nobody has ever heard of before would all of a sudden take over the throne of an entire empire when the old ruler was apparently competent enough to keep his subjects pleased?”

“Actually, I have. What I don’t get is where the guy came from. He just showed up one day in the palace, and the rest is history!”

“Interesting,” V replied.

“What is?”

“Oh, this entire situation,” V answered. “A sudden takeover by an outside power and the ensuing rebellion against it seems almost clichéd to the point where I’d like to think we were in one of those theatric tragedies.”

“I suppose the same could be said of the mysterious stranger who shows up to render aid after a misunderstanding,” Joran replied thoughtfully. “Why did you attack us anyway?”

“I believe I already told you after we started walking and the tiger guy started interrogating me. I was…not in complete control of myself.”

“How does that even happen?”

V turned to stare into the fire. “I…have no idea. It was as if someone-or something- just locked me in my own mind before getting bored and letting me go.”

~^+^~

The group rose early the next morning. They had begun to slowly emerge from their tents and gather their equipment together when Arial had shambled out of his tent, groggy, but apparently fit enough to walk around and talk.

“Ah hell,” he said as he looked around. “Feels like I just got my ass kicked by a wyvern dame protecting her nest. What the hell happened?”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

19-Oct-2010 02:32:54 - Last edited on 20-Oct-2010 03:04:26 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Joran looked to the assembled members of the group, which had consisted of only himself, V, and Rajh just then. Lukil was still sleeping, and when none of the others had stepped forward to explain themselves, he jumped in. “We…uh…broke you out of Skyvern Keep.”

Surprise crossed the general’s face. “Wha… How?”

“Well,” Joran began. “We sorta had Lukil use some weird crystal thing that Kaz got from somewhere to make a portal and take us to the Keep. Who woulda thought that the idiots who put the antimagic field around that thing did*’t take psionics into account? But yeah, we went from there, and found this guy,” he motioned to V, “waiting for us. Apparently he’s got the same goal we do, and has the power to back it up.”

Arial looked at V, who did nothing. “What the hell were you doing in the Keep?”

“I was there because I thought I was following the most logical path of action at the time,” he answered. “I met a shade who said he’d be able to get me in touch with you guys, and we formulated a plan that involved me getting smuggled into the Keep and killing some Ordinators in order to gain your trust. He told me he was an undercover agent of your rebellion, but when I saw him fighting against you guys on the roof of that prison, well…I had a feeling he was lying.”

“That would be Erevin,” Joran interjected. “It makes sense though. He’s been known to pit potential allies against each other in the past just to save himself the trouble of doing any work.”

“Alright, I suppose that makes sense,” Arial agreed. “But why the hell are we here and not back at HQ?”

“Welll,” Joran began. “I think it has to do with that slug thing we ran into on our way to the Keep. Think Lukil called it an ‘Aboleth’. He said we can't use another portal since more of the things might be in the portal tabernacle thingy we used to get there in the first place.”

“Ok, but why are we in this damned forest?! Do you have any idea where we are?!” he shouted.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

19-Oct-2010 02:33:59 - Last edited on 20-Oct-2010 03:05:48 by A Mad Hatter

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^+^ The Age of Nhur ^+^