RuneScape Forum Archive | Fall From Grace

Jul

2020

Serene End

Posts: 5,834 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

No, this fight wasn't about protecting himself any longer, Balor couldn't, in his good conscience, allow this to continue. Balor had to stop Raphael Divus Barn. His cruel, horrible, unfortunate creation; the very face of all of his sins...

Balor sighed most regrettably, then jolted his right foot forward. His adamas sabaton rammed into Raphael's sternum, blasting him with such ferocity that it propelled him off of his feet. His body became like a ragdoll, becoming helplessly airborne. He ceased moments after, having been sent flying several feet from where he previously stood. His back slammed awkwardly into one of the throne room's brilliant pillars, his grip upon his sword lost in the collision. His head and neck painfully jerked backwards, his lungs ruptured with oxygen in the sheer shock of the impact.

He fell down upon the dazzlingly polished floor, laying frontside down, motionless. His blade Falcon crashing right beside him, a venerable, wounded blade which flawlessly depicted its master; a reflection captured both literally and metaphorically. Balor stood in place, his adamas armour shimmering in the prismatic lights of the nearby windows. As he slowly lowered his leg and cast his gaze upon his struggling brother, he felt the warm breath of life fall down upon him.

The image of a queen enveloped him, being that he was on the left side of the throne room. That image was of his mother Leena Ishvara, a treasured soul among the many who Balor sacrificed upon his altar. These vivid, iridescent lights, a glorious array of colors which laid upon her son's shoulder. A great weight, Balor felt it. A boulder which weighed a thousand tons, a great albatross strapped to his back.
The end

is only

the beginning...

02-Nov-2017 16:26:22

Jul

2020

Serene End

Posts: 5,834 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

As the king watched, Raphael labored just to lift himself off the ground. Blood dripping from his chin, his teeth bare as his lungs strenuously breathed. Balor laid witness to this breathless struggle, his own stamina having almost entirely replenished. Every mind in the room mentally screamed at Balor to capitalize on his opponent's weakness, to sever the head of the rebellion once and for all, yet he yielded.

"Throughout my years, I've contemplated many things. But no topic has eluded my comprehension greater than you, Raphael," commented the king Balor. "...Why was it that Lucia championed your ideals over mine? What was it that your people saw in you? You were just a fool who believed in some frivolous notion of equality. But meeting your gaze this day, trading these blows as we have, I believe I've finally begun to understand. What Lucia and your people saw in you, is what she and my people see in me. You and I...we're the same."

"I am... nothing like you," Raphael weakly, yet spitefully rejected, sluggishly prying himself from the gleaming floor.

"For so long, we've both sought the same picture. From when we were children chasing after childish fantasies, to here and now, as we try to kill one another. Mine is a utopia of prosperity in which my sister and all of my people can live happily and without fret. Yours is a world equal to my own, a bounteous utopia where your people can live blissfully and freely, without the fear of persecution. We've followed in the footsteps of every Barn before us, tolling tirelessly our entire lives in pursuit of our image of Utopia. Even you were a slave to a Barn's fate before you realized the exact truth lying within your veins. We are the answer of a better future in the eyes of our followers, a sigil which they deem worthy of their blood."
The end

is only

the beginning...

02-Nov-2017 16:26:59 - Last edited on 02-Nov-2017 16:30:09 by Serene End

Jul

2020

Serene End

Posts: 5,834 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

As Balor's monologue carried ahead with earnest, Raphael's fingers grappled solidly around his beaten steel blade Falcon. "But one truth has become clear to the both of us, agonizingly so. Indeed, to create Utopia, one must first seek destruction," Balor continued diligently. "We've both come to understand that one can never obtain their goals without sacrifice. Yet somewhere along your quest, it seems your grand image has become muddled by your hatred, just as mine once was. Yes, just as I annihilated your Resistance for threatening my Utopia, you decimate the Imperial Kingdom now for the sake of yours. Just as I burned down Lumbridge and massacred your people for their rebellion, you now set fire to Governanti and slaughter my people for their oppression. Just as I impose the impossible choice upon the humans everyday, you impose the impossible decision upon the gods today. Different as they may be, the tyrannies you so vigorously oppose are the very same that you commit. We've both slaughtered, oppressed, and coerced our enemies and enforced our beliefs upon them, even to the point of despotism. Salvage what little justification for your actions that you can, but it is not a truth that you can hide from. I rule for my Utopia of gods, just as you rebel for your Utopia of humans."

The rebel Raphael then slowly lifted himself up, his elbows shaking and buckling like old scaffolding. "You're wrong," he denied thoroughly, getting onto a knee. "...I'm going to fulfill Father's dream. After all, you said it yourself that I'm the true inheritor of his legacy."
The end

is only

the beginning...

02-Nov-2017 16:32:14

Jul

2020

Serene End

Posts: 5,834 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

"That is the truth. Indeed, you grow more in Father's image everyday. But his aspirations were flawed, irrationally idealistic. The gods and humans are complete, inhospitable opposites. If you require an example of such, then you need look no further than us, Raphael. We are one and the same, yet we ourselves are inhospitably opposite. We are the very reflections of the kind we lead. If we cannot resolve our differences with words, then what is the hope for them to? And if there cannot be true peace between you and I, then there can be no true equality between the humans and gods. I believe even you acknowledge this, yet you delude yourself with this self-righteous banter of achieving Father's dream."

"...No, now I know we're nothing alike. If we were, then you would know that I don't care about anything any of you have to say."

Raphael's response prompted a light laughter from Balor. "I suppose I do have a tendency to flap my gums quite excessively, don't I? Even still, I speak with as much affinity in your acts as I do lament. It's quite a shame that this is what's become of us. Rather than the loving brothers that we should be, we play the part of hated adversaries. But you are my brother still, and you've entitlement to the crown as much as I. ...If the only answer is for us to fight to the death, then I'll not hesitate. My sister and I will have our dream Utopia, and if fate demands another brother as tribute to acquire it...then I must oblige."

Raphael finally managed to his feet, and with a glare, both of conviction and condemnation, he declared, "And I will destroy this corrupt system of bigotry."

Their voices ceased, wasting not the value of their emotions on word. They broke from their stances, running upon this reflective floor. Their charge echoed, the prelude to the next episode of this tale. Their blades collided, the wrathful bastard and the lamenting king engaging once more in this battle to decide everything.
The end

is only

the beginning...

02-Nov-2017 16:35:09

Jul

2020

Serene End

Posts: 5,834 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Beyond this sight, this scene of kismet, another great battle consumed all life within. Through the tall, ornate double doors of the Imperial Palace was the majestic courtyard. Its intricately-detailed adamas walls and pillars reverberated with the clamor of war, a strife carried out between the Loyal Knights of the Royal Family and Raphael Divus Barn's rebellious accomplices.

The glorious statue of the truly deified Hero King Dias Pallas Barn presided over all in this fight, his stern expression surely the sort he'd make if he were alive to witness this resistance. Yet Dias would prove the only capable witness to its violent ferocity, for a thick, near-black veil swallowed the courtyard whole.

Within this blinding fog which blacked out even the sun, every formerly familiar inch looked exactly the same, instilling confusion in everyone on the field. But at least they of the rebellion had firsthand experience traversing this unknown plane... Having been thrust into this foreign land, the Loyal Knights remained as together as they could.

They encircled around each other and their most precious asset: their leader, Orderer Drakon Kórakas. They encamped around the smug nobleman like a ring of stones around a fire, protecting him with their lives. But there came a sudden severance in their solidarity, for the Resistance used the smoke to their advantage and ambushed them.

A stampede of bodies, led by Raphael's teacher Malik Poena, took the knights by surprise, having crept up upon them quietly. But the fearless knights countered most swiftly, but they were forced to do so alone. Both they and the enemies of their lives engaged, their weapons and deadly motions disturbing the wisps of fog nearest to them. The Loyal Knights greeted them with blade in hand, only for these men to disperse like the smoke of an extinguished flame the moment they were slain.
The end

is only

the beginning...

02-Nov-2017 16:37:29

Jul

2020

Serene End

Posts: 5,834 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Aside from these confounding shadow-men, all sorts of spells and fireballs were hurled at them from seemingly all directions, spoiling opportunities and breeding disarray among the Loyal Knights. As General Gallows, the scar-faced general, attempted to find the source of these unusual, but devastating happenings, Calvin and his companions took full advantage of its effects.

Calvin followed after one such shadow-man, a clone of its creator, the dark-robed young man named Daevarro. The assassin knew well of Daevarro's nature, having been in enough battles with him to know that he would not approach his enemy so foolhardily. The Daevarro clone sought a Loyal Knight, who seemed prepared and eager to welcome his arrival with their battleaxe.

Once closely enough, the Daevarro clone attacked, swiping his dagger downwards. The knight stepped backwards to avoid the attack, replying to Daevarro's mindless aggression with an attack of their own. But when the sharpened edge of their battleaxe so much as touched the clone of Daevarro, it dissipated into nothingness. A sight which brought a confident smirk to Calvin's face, gazing up upon the Loyal Knight with a gleam in his eye.

He carried ahead with an offensive lunge, aiming for the knight's life. But the speed and reflexes of a god were not to be underestimate, allowing the knight to rapidly put up his wall of defense. Calvin's attack was quickly snuffed out, the tip of his stiff-bladed dagger digging into the Loyal Knight's tower shield. Calvin chuckled to himself, impressed.

"Nice one," the assassin complimented, his state of mind uncontested by his plan's failure.

"You're not too shabby yourself," oddly enough, the Loyal Knight returned the compliment, speaking in a deep, yet hushed voice as to not be heard. But the superior hearing of the god captured a storm of footsteps, a happening that his vision could not realize in this clouded environment.
The end

is only

the beginning...

02-Nov-2017 16:38:56

Jul

2020

Serene End

Posts: 5,834 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Blasting out from the smoke came the Lamian Shakir, dagger in hand. The Loyal Knight calmly, yet swiftly turned to his left with his shield raised, and the impact clapped throughout the courtyard. Just like Calvin, Shakir found not the breastplate of the knight, but his almighty shield instead.

"Another one, eh?" The Loyal Knight acknowledged Shakir's sudden presence, the ears of those around getting a full sample of his deep, husky voice. "It doesn't matter if there's two, two-hundred, or two-thousand of you! I'll crush all of you!"

Convinced that Shakir had completely captured his attention, Calvin stepped in towards the knight as quickly as he could. The bashful knight, realizing the assassin's plot, moved even more swiftly than him. With great power, the knight propelled his right foot forward. A hard, forceful kick crashed straight into Shakir's torso, casting him off of his feet. Then the knight spun his body to his right, facing Calvin even before he began his offensive motion.

The table turning on him, Calvin now had to react to this rapid change of the situation. But the knight's own attack had already begun to seek him, coming down with fearsome velocity. In his defense and desperation, the overly-eager assassin raised his sword up, having recognized this situation as now a matter of damage control.

The hefty head of the battleaxe slammed straight into Calvin's sword, sending a violent, vigorous vibration up and down along his blade. The assassin's sword snapped as a result of the powerful quake, and the axe entered his body. Yet due to the collision, the axe's head now burrowed awkwardly into Calvin's left clavicle.

It came inside at an unusual angle, one impossible to consider direct. A most fortunate outcome for the assassin, yet even still, the sting was very acute. The vocal Loyal Knight's right foot then jolted up, its black-steel sabaton drilling straight into the middle of Calvin's trunk.
The end

is only

the beginning...

02-Nov-2017 16:40:02

Jul

2020

Serene End

Posts: 5,834 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Calvin was knocked back, stumbling haplessly on his feet. He felt the battleaxe's head tear out of his flesh, sending his own blood trickling down his body. Yet the act did a great deal on the knight's battleaxe, having broken off a part of its edge. Nevertheless, Calvin's pale blue eyes became a helpless witness to the knight's next act, stepping forward and raising his broken battleaxe up into the air. He intended to bring thunder down upon the assassin, to strike him down fatally.

As the Loyal Knight stepped forward, he felt then something pierce through his armour and painfully drill into his flesh. The right side of his torso was sent flying past his left side, and all manner of offense was ceased. He quickly reached over his shoulder, his armoured fingers touching then the shaft of a bolt.

It stuck out there, embedded in his right shoulder blade. Although his face contorted with pain, he seethed most furiously. To shoot someone in the back like this was the ultimate form of cowardice. He was afforded no chance to counter, no chance to react. No, whoever perpetrated this most heinous act...bore no honor.

The enraged knight whipped his head back, his glowing teal blue eyes glaring off behind him. As the shadowy distance churned and swirled restlessly like a cauldron of mist, the faint silhouette of a man could be seen within, armed with what appeared to be a crossbow. But this was not the only one to be seen...

The one with the crossbow was none other than the merchant-turned-assassin Kereske, wielding an old wooden crossbow, one of the few old-world crossbows still functioning. It was the one benefit of being a merchant of weapons heading into battle: Kereske had all the tools for the job. But with all of his attention placed upon making that shot to preserve the life of the Kéz of his clan, something approached. A stomach-sinking sight at the corner of his eye, of a sword slicing effortlessly through the darkness.
The end

is only

the beginning...

02-Nov-2017 16:41:38

Jul

2020

Serene End

Posts: 5,834 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The razor-sharp edge of the blade came down upon Kereske's right arm as he held up the crossbow, and in an instant, it passed. This millisecond of damage saw the blade tear through Kereske's leather padding with ease, digging into his bronze skin. And at its own discretion, it began to carve a destructive path through all of his internal infrastructure. It ruthlessly severed blood vessels, muscles and bone, before finally it grew bored and left. The crossbow fell from Kereske's grasp, and he too collapsed right beside it.

Kereske laid there, gasping and writhing severely in a pain capable only of being described as indescribable. His consciousness began to forsake him, blackening with each ounce of blood he lost. The tormented merchant then opened his eyes, going against the advice of his better judgment. And before his dilated brown irises laid an unimaginably horrific sight, finding the severed half of his arm there in front of him.

Completely justified would he be to panic, but Kereske mustered every morsel in his being to retain his calm. The heart of the injured Calvin nearby skipped a beat as he listened to the grim wailing of his comrade, the gravely wounded merchant. He couldn't see Kereske, but he recognized that voice, its terribly stressed tone one he never wanted to know.

"Tycoon!" Calvin shouted loudly out into the nowhere, wholeheartedly concerned for he who he named. Having already forgotten about his own bleeding wounds, Calvin began to move towards the nightmarish sound as fast as his wobbling legs could carry him. But he was forced to scale a black-steel wall, for the knight with the bolt in his back challenged Calvin's movement. Made to fight, Calvin was ready to take whatever step necessary in order to save his comrade, his life-long friend and mentor Kereske.
The end

is only

the beginning...

02-Nov-2017 16:42:31

Jul

2020

Serene End

Posts: 5,834 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

From the embellished courtyard, to the opulent throne room, the Imperial Palace was devoured wholly in the sheer mania of war. But such insanity could be located all throughout the city of which it presided. The Alverrian savages spread through the vessels of this city like a disease, killing, raping, and plundering to their heart's desire, just as the nobleman Elliott Cayrel declared. Yet there were signs of opposition against this sweeping, barbaric change, but they that resisted had one massive obstacle to tackle...

In the market district, the great Adamas Road -- the only path which led into the Imperial Palace -- throbbed as if an erratic heartbeat. It shook under the footsteps of countless Solasúians of all different backgrounds, be them low-class, nobility, or former Loyal Knights. They stomped down upon the road as it seeped with blood, trampling over the carcasses of their fallen brethren.

A stampede, a tsunami of glowing eyes, all aiming for the same shore. And Telvern Thaddeus, appointed strategist of the Resistance, was the surge barrier, the last barricade against this impending disaster. Telvern stood there before the incoming flood, the lens of his glasses housing the image of the mad tide like the frame of a picture in motion.

Telvern's brown eyes callous and frigid as he beheld it, this sight which should surely make even the most intrepid soul flee for their life. A most reasonable response, yet Telvern remained steadfast. The act of a valorous hero, one might believe, standing up against the impossible. But this was not the act of a hero, nor was it an act of courage, valiance, or selflessness.

No, Telvern Thaddeus was none of those things. To him, this was an act far beyond simple gallantry. It was an act for something greater, something...more.
The end

is only

the beginning...

02-Nov-2017 16:44:49

Forums

Fall From Grace