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Clash of the Incarnations

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[#5AGSIZET9]

[#5AGSIZET9]

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Serena got up softly, stretching as she stood. The house had been silent for hours, and she was dying to relieve the tension. Her father had appeared earlier from the basement, disheveled and stressed, saying that he needed to leave for a while. He left the house abruptly after that.

Serena lowered her gaze to the floor. Her actions were leading her father into this, even though the main problem was one of knowledge. Her father Micah, one of the most gifted Seers of his generation, had never been unable to see what lay ahead. This new shroud, one that obstructed even his view, was a torture to him unlike any other. It was almost as bad as the veil that made his wife’s death a complete surprise. Serena shuddered. She still remembered how long that plagued her father.

As the silence slowly became too much to bear, suddenly, Serena heard a rustling in the next room. She dashed over to the door and opened it quickly, just in time to see Karzit* sitting up in the bed. “Karzith!” she exclaimed, running over to his side.

The man’s eyes were hazy, but they soon came into focus, and he saw the blonde-haired Seer standing beside him. There was something about her golden hair and white robes that danced in the light, and even Karzith had to notice it. “Serena,” he replied, his voice low. “How long was I unconscious?”

“Six or seven hours,” Serena replied. “Do you feel any better?”

Karzit* nodded. “I feel much better. My body aches, but I feel like I can move again.”

“That would be the medicine wearing off,” Serena replied. “Speaking of that, I need to change out your bandages.”

The wounded man nodded, pulling down the robe on his left shoulder. Then, she started unwrapping the wound. Karzit* was silent, and his expression was still unreadable. Serena marveled at how mysterious he seemed, so detached from the world around him. She also marveled at his face, and how handsome it looked. She was especially drawn to that aspect.

29-Sep-2010 21:54:19

[#5AGSIZET9]

[#5AGSIZET9]

Posts: 3,564 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Finally, she finished unwrapping his chest, and she grudgingly looked away to get a new bandage. As she did so, however, she snagged his robe with her hand, nudging it slightly. For the second time, it began to fall off his right shoulder. This time, however, he was not quick enough to catch it. Karzit*’s right shoulder was exposed, and Serena got a good look at what was on it.

“What…what is that?” Serena asked, frightened. Karzit*’s shoulder was red and bulging, its surface blistered and burned. The blood vessels under his skin there showed black against the red burns, and then, in the middle of it all, there stood a vibrant scarlet symbol, the crest of Zamorak.

“Serena,” Karzit* said, his mind racing to catch up with the events.

*What is that?” Serena demanded, more urgently this time, as she began slowly backing away toward the door.

“I did not want you to see this,” Karzit* replied. “This is the reason I have been traveling all this time, and it is my burden alone to bear.”

“Burden?” Serena asked, interested enough to stop her slow exit.

“A long time ago, my family was a prominent family in Varrock,* Karzit* lied. “However, we, as Guthixians, attracted the ire of a group of Zamorakans. They killed my family, but they decided to let me live. Instead, they branded me with this curse, forcing me to bear the mark of Zamorak until the day I die.”

Serena frowned. “That is horrible! Does it hurt you?”

“Every day,” Karzit* replied. “That is the purpose of my journey. I know that if I can find a Guthixian altar of significant enough power, I can reverse this curse, or at least weaken it. However, my trip so far has been unsuccessful. I fear I may have to live with this humiliation forever.”

Serena’s eyes widened, the thought of the powerful altar she had just seen jumping to the forefront of her mind. Here was her chance; she could help him with his quest! All she had to do was take him to the altar.

29-Sep-2010 21:54:44

[#5AGSIZET9]

[#5AGSIZET9]

Posts: 3,564 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
But then, Serena began to feel a strange sense of foreboding about this. She should never have seen the altar, and there must be a good reason her father had kept it a secret. Taking a stranger to the altar seemed to be a very bad idea.

However, Karzit* was not really a stranger. He was her mysterious protector from her vision. He had to be healed of this evil if he was ever to fulfill her vision.

"Karzit*," Serena said, her face looking down to the floor. "I think I know of such a place."

Karzit* looked at her, stunned. "You do? Please, tell me," he said, urgency laced deeply into his words.

Serena rose. "Can you walk?" she asked.

Karzit* swung his legs over the side of the bed, and he got to his feet. "I am fine now, thank you. Will you take me to this place?"

Serena nodded. "Follow me." She led Karzit* out of the bedroom, and down the staircase into the basement. All the way, with the dark figure behind her, Serena could only think of one thing: how Karzit* would feel about her after this favor.

The Seer led Karzit* into her father's private chambers, where he usually did his meditation. She was glad that her father was not around; it allowed her to do this for Karzit* without her father's input.

There was a flash of green light as they entered the loose panel of the wall, still left open only slightly, a product of her father's rush in leaving before. They appeared in the chamber, and Karzit* fell to his knees. A burning sensation coursed through his blood, like fire was burning away on every nerve.

"Karzith!" Serena screamed, falling to her knees beside him. "Are you alright?"

29-Sep-2010 21:55:16

[#5AGSIZET9]

[#5AGSIZET9]

Posts: 3,564 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Karzit* clenched his shoulder with his hand. "It is the power of Zamorak," he lied. "It fears the power of this altar to remove it." However, in reality, the flames that consumed his body and soul from the mark of Zamorak on his shoulder were all screaming one thing only. They bellowed cries of triumph. "I found it!" Karzith heard the powerful voice of Zamorak resonate through his mind. "I knew I could count on you, my General!"

"Let's go," Serena said, helping Karzit* back to his feet. "If you touch this altar, you should be fine!"

Karzit* obliged, and when Serena swung her view forward to look at the altar, a glob of black ooze poured from the mark on his shoulder, moving steadily along the floor like a wandering shadow. It reached the cavern wall and climbed to a height of about fifteen feet up on the wall. There, it burned red for just a moment, leaving another mark of Zamorak, this one engraved black in the dark cavern wall.

"It's done," Zamorak said, watching his handiwork with pride. "My plan shall proceed just as I hoped. You may return to me now, General Karzith."

"Understood," Karzit* replied in his mind, and then he returned his focus to reality, where he and Serena were inching closer to the altar. The Seer helped him stay on his feet and make his way there. Karzit* couldn't help but feel some gratitude for her; it had been quite a while since anyone had treated him like this.

Karzit* pressed his hand to the altar, and suddenly he felt something else inside him. It was a strange feeling, one that rarely materialized for any man, the feeling that one is truly in his correct place for the moment. The balance and peace the altar offered was an oddity, one that Karzith had not felt since Kraethi was still alive.

29-Sep-2010 21:55:40

[#5AGSIZET9]

[#5AGSIZET9]

Posts: 3,564 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Karzit* pulled his hand back from the altar, and the sensation vanished. He looked to Serena, her dazzling blue eyes looking back at him filled with expectation. His cold black eyes looked back to her, and then he shook his head. "It is still there," he said, showing her his shoulder, which still bore the red scar of Zamorak's mark.

Serena lowered her gaze. She turned and walked slowly to the niche in the wall, Karzit* close behind her. They teleported back to her home, and then they ascended the stairs, distancing themselves from the forbidden, sacred ground that Serena's father kept hidden. The slow walk up the stairs and back to the mundane world was silent, both of them lost in their own thoughts. The entire way, Serena could only think of the dark truth, that she had failed. She could not help Karzith at all. However, Karzit* was filled with the triumph of a victor, one that had succeeded and proven his worth to Zamorak. He rejoiced even as he felt the world burn around him. Finally, Serena turned around, her eyes still trained on the floor. "I am sorry, Karzit*," she said, sobbing slightly. "I really thought that this would help."

Karzit* patted her shoulder, causing her to bring her gaze back to his face. "There is no reason to apologize," Karzit* said, a faint smile showing on his face. "You tried to help me, so now I know that I can be thankful to you."

Serena's eyes opened wide. "Thankful... to me?"

"You truly cared for me. You brought a complete stranger into your home and helped him back to health. I owe you greatly."

Serena beamed. "Thank you, Karzit*."

Karzit* nodded. "I'm sorry, Serena, but my time here is complete."

That surprised Serena, for she swung her eyes to meet his quickly. "You are leaving?"

Karzit* nodded. "My cure was not here, so I must travel further. I know the answer lies somewhere." Karzit* felt the lie flow so smoothly from his tongue. He was certainly a Zamorakan.

29-Sep-2010 22:00:55

[#5AGSIZET9]

[#5AGSIZET9]

Posts: 3,564 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
He went back to the room where he had laid all day, and retrieved his sword and pouch with his belongings. Then, he returned to Serena in the sitting room. "Are you sure that you are in proper condition to travel?" asked Serena, almost desperately.

Karzit* nodded with a small chuckle. "I am fine, thanks to you."

"And stillyou will not stay, for only a little while longer?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Serena. I must find my cure; my soul longs for it endlessly. Fear not, though, I will return when I find it."

"You mean that?" Serena replied, excited.

"I promise you, I will return when I am whole again."

Serena nodded. "I will wait for that day to come."

The pair eventually found their way outside, and Karzit* said his final goodbye. Karzith, his sword at his belt and a happiness in his step, walked along the path that led away to the east. Serena watched her dark benefactor disappear along the path into the deep forest toward Catherby, wondering how long it would be until their paths would again cross.

As Karzit* walked along his path, he knew that it did not lead back to Serena. He was bound for the side of the Dark Lord Zamorak, ready to begin his plan. "Such a foolish girl," Karzit* mumbled under his breath as he glanced back in Serena's direction. Still, he marveled at how a girl would care for someone she barely knew as she had for him. It was a curious thing, and ironic that all that she knew of him were lies. He broke his eye contact with that place and turned his head forward, leaving Seers' Village in his wake. His unreadable dark eyes looked up to the horizon, one that only seemed to become darker with each passing moment.

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29-Sep-2010 22:03:30

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