RuneScape Forum Archive | +++ A Warrior's Ascension +++

[#CHDFOMJYA]

Posts: 6,820 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

It's not often I make a Runescape story, but here's the makings of one.

Some things I need to explain:

The Doom Bringers are an imaginary unit in the employ of Varrock's guard. Becoming one of these finest warriors is to become a legend - It is the greatest honour a man of Asgarnia can attain.

The first novel could be loosely related to the D-Day landings of WW2, but that's because Pest Control is like that, in that you land on a beach in a lander transport. Not the greatest of links, but you might pick up on that.

You may notice I use a Chaplain as a warrior class, when he is infact a member of the church. The Chaplains of this story are Warrior Priests, who are clad in great armour and fight for their religion with unmatched zeal.

The story DOES have 'mistakes' such as brackets in strange places and (C)'s on practically EVERY POST. The censor is stupid.

Remember, Part 1 is set when Jarvel was a Captain of a group of soldiers, admittedly very good ones.

Contents:

Chapter 1:

The Beginning: Page 1, Post 2
The Belly of the Beast: Page 2, Post 7

Chapter 2:

Home: Page 3, Post 3
Anticipation: Page 3, Post 6

Chapter 3:

The Coming Storm: Page 4, Post 3
Returning Home: Page 5, Post 7

Chapter 4:

Planning: Page 6, Post 1

14-Aug-2007 13:06:32 - Last edited on 02-Sep-2007 12:07:05 by [#CHDFOMJYA]

[#CHDFOMJYA]

Posts: 6,820 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The Beginning

“Go now, in the bosom of faith and with Saradomin’s fury like fire in your hearts! Fear not the evil of Zamorak and his minions, for they are impure of thought, devoid of emotion and thus powerless against your devotion to His holy will!” intoned Chaplain Corzeus, hefting his great hammer of Runite and Dragon against his shoulder, and the iron book of Saradomin, a heavy, metal-bound tome of the teachings of the Light God in his other hand.

Surrounding the chaplain were his priests, fanatical devotees who lived for their religion. They all carried similar books, and each screamed verses from them. Litanies of Hatred, chants of undying service, and passages from the Armageddon Prophecy all merged to form a cacophony of righteous indignation and passion. Around them was a ragged horde of madmen, some clawing at their faces and others smashing their warped skulls against huge rocks which were bound to their necks by vast, rusted chains. Blood dripped from various wounds on their skin, great gouges where the maddened fanatics had engraved Holy Scripture into their own flesh. The fanatics were fearsome sight, many carrying great billhooks and meat cleavers alongside poisoned lances and whipping chains. They repeatedly flayed themselves with whips and sharp stones tied to crude clubs, and each one screamed or muttered darkly to themselves. Each one was quite insane, a result of the years of self-inflicted pain.

Behind the holy band stood forces from Asgarnia, the pure white armour and banners of Falador mingling with the red and black insignia of Varrock. A small force clad in blue armour stood to the right flank of the force, a detachment from Lumbridge and the surrounding townships. Each warrior of the band was charged with holy virtue, and a burning desire to let the blood of Zamorak’s minions flow along their blades.

14-Aug-2007 13:06:40 - Last edited on 02-Sep-2007 12:09:23 by [#CHDFOMJYA]

[#CHDFOMJYA]

Posts: 6,820 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The forces stood near the various lander boats on the Void Knight’s forward outpost. The Knights welcomed the arrival of this force of Saradominists, but clearly disliked the holy fanatics, as they were warriors of Guthix. However, they knew the power of balance, and grudgingly accepted them into their ranks.

A Void Knight walked to the head of the great force, and his squires accompanied him, each one taking position in front of a division of twenty-five troops. There were five groups of twenty five, each one destined for a different island.

The Void Knight spoke.

“Brothers. We have been attacked from the Shadow Realm of the Abyss. Five strategically critically important islands have fallen to our foes, and you have been tasked with retaking them. You will be led by one of my Squires and a Void Knight, who will destroy the portals through an ancient ritual of balance. The ritual will take twenty minutes, and you must protect the Void Knight – at all costs – for that time, until he is able to reseal the portals. We cannot fail here today! Group A will be led by Squire Excerien, Group B by Squire Tsun-Kai. Group C will be led by-”

Random thoughts raced through Captain Jarvel’s head as the Void Knight droned on. He longed for the fight, and desired nothing more than to spill the blood of those who would oppose his faith. He was a stocky man of seven feet, and he held a great blade in one hand, a long shield in the other. He had close-cropped hair, and wore armour that mimicked the greatness of Varrock’s Elite squads. It was exceptional armour, but lacked the technologies of the commorbs and could only repair small damage done to it, unlike the legendary armour of the Doom Bringers. He was an acolyte of Delta Squad, and one day hoped to be initiated into their ranks.

14-Aug-2007 13:06:41 - Last edited on 14-Aug-2007 13:27:39 by [#CHDFOMJYA]

[#CHDFOMJYA]

Posts: 6,820 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The Void Knight explained that he was to lead Group D, alongside a Squire named Markus. Also accompanying his group would be the bear-like Chaplain Corzeus. Jarvel brightened at that prospect – he felt much safer around the huge man, who was a boyhood friend of his. They had gone their separate ways, but had never lost their faith.

The Chaplain came over to Jarvel after the Void Knight had finished his speech about their objectives.

“We meet again, brother!” he said, and Jarvel smiled.

“Yes, old friend... Let us bring glory to Saradomin’s name!”

The Chaplain returned the smile, slapping the other huge man on the back of his shoulder-pads.

“They’ll make a Doom Bringer out of you yet, Brother!” the Chaplain laughed, as the force marched towards the lander.

Jarvel was not a man who succumbed to fear or doubts often, but he suddenly had a feeling that he might never get the chance to do much in the future if he stepped on that boat... He shook his head, dispelling the traitorous thoughts. He was a soldier of Saradomin, and nothing would stop him in his path to glory.

20 Minutes Later
Somewhere at Sea...

(C) "Clear of the ramp, thirty seconds!” shouted the Void Knight.

Whirring mechanisms spun and cogs clicked into place as the ramp entered its dropping sequence. Beside Jarvel, a warrior was violently sick onto the boards below.
Jarvel looked away, instead peering through the gaps in the ramp, which was currently up. Ahead, he could see the island they would be fighting for. A desolate wasteland, with patches of green and a small fortress with a strange podium in the centre.

“Ten seconds!”

The Captain readied his weapons, and beside him Corzeus muttered a prayer and strapped his huge book to his belt, lifting the gigantic hammer into both of his hands.

“5 seconds!”

Jarvel slipped into a running stance, his sword held behind his head and his shield protecting his body and face.

14-Aug-2007 13:06:41 - Last edited on 14-Aug-2007 13:28:26 by [#CHDFOMJYA]

[#CHDFOMJYA]

Posts: 6,820 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The whirring stopped. The lander crashed up the beach, finally coming to a halt at a slight angle. The ramp crashed down into the sand, and the warriors surged forwards.

Before the first could step from the lander, he was shot down by a bolt to the neck. He collapsed, gurgling and spitting blood. Another five were racked by bolts, dropping to their knees and dying. Jarvel sprinted forwards, and men fell around him. He couldn’t see his attackers – they were firing over the wall of the fortress. More bolts thudded into the warriors, and Jarvel realized that they were dying from wounds that shouldn’t have harmed them too much. The ‘bolts’ were actually barbed and laced with poison, and Jarvel watched in horror as they mutated to seek out vital arteries to inject their lethal toxins.

As he watched, horrified, a bolt thudded into his leg. He pulled it free with a snarl before the poison could take effect, and the magic of his armour lent him some power to help quicken the healing of the wound.

“Get to cover!” he managed to shout over the noise of the wounded and dying.

The remainder of the forces ran to the podium, putting their backs to it. It was scant cover, but it was working.

The Void Knight ran up the steps to the podium, and bolts streaked towards him.

“Close the gates!” he shouted, and the squire, accompanied by a couple of wary warriors, ran to do so, amidst the hail of mutated shards. The Void Knight took a shard to the face before the gates could be shut, but shrugged the wound off as a mere annoyance, despite the blood pouring from his head.

Jarvel picked himself up, and joined a protective circle around the Knight, who began to chant.

The bombardment lessened with the closing of the gates, but it did not cease completely, and occasionally a man would fall, the cruel barbs piercing his flesh.

14-Aug-2007 13:06:42 - Last edited on 18-Aug-2007 21:53:35 by [#CHDFOMJYA]

[#CHDFOMJYA]

Posts: 6,820 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

For a moment, there was only the slow chanting of the Void Knight, and the heavy breathing of the warriors around him... Until the daemons came.

From tears in reality, they warped into the middle of the ranks of men, tearing and biting, beheading and slaughtering all in their path.

“Shifters!” screamed the Squire, diving for cover. He didn’t make it, and where his head had been was now just a gory stump, spurting blood. A Shifter stood over him, feeding on his flesh.

Jarvel retched, and Corzeus leapt into the fray.

“For Saradomin!” he shouted, swinging his great hammer above his head. He struck a daemon down, smashing its skull, and another warped onto his back. He fell backwards, crushing it beneath his weight. He rolled with the fall, lashing out at another beast, and as he spun to his feet he knocked another from the podium with a hammer stroke. Black blood sprayed wildly, and the circle around the Void Knight tightened as the desperate warriors held off the foul beasts.

Jarvel steeled himself, and joined Chaplain Corzeus.

“For Saradomin!” he shouted as he lopped off the limbs of one of the Shifters.

The warriors echoed his cry, pushing forwards.

One fell in an arc of blood, and another was torn to shreds by the beasts, but the warriors would not falter, their resolve and determination serving them well. Disciplined skill fought against the strength of numbers, and slowly the tide was pushed back. The Shifters claimed five more lives before disappearing back into the Abyss, dragging another man kicking and screaming with them.

This was no respite, however. Strangely shaped monsters came forward, armed with vicious claws the length of a man’s arm. These terrifying beasts loped forward on short legs, dragging their oversized claws behind them, until they reached a weak point in the defence. Then, they would begin tearing it down with great strength, and already Jarvel could see huge gashes appearing in the walls and gates.

14-Aug-2007 13:06:42 - Last edited on 14-Aug-2007 13:17:17 by [#CHDFOMJYA]

[#CHDFOMJYA]

Posts: 6,820 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

He watched in horror as another Thing, a pulsing, bag-like membrane, bounced along the ground towards the defences and then exploded in a shower of viscous fluids that melted the walls and the ground alike.

“What’s wrong with these creatures? Why don’t they just attack and be done with it, instead of sending in one group at a time?” Jarvel cried angrily.

Chaplain Corzeus replied.

“It looks like they’re testing our defences... It seems that the portal is creating new monsters, ones that will be greater than the last...”

Jarvel swore as he saw this was the truth.

“Men, to me! Hold these gates!”

He turned to two strong-looking men who had accompanied the Chaplain onto his lander.

“You two, stay with the Void Knight.”

The men nodded, and Jarvel raised his voice so everyone could hear.

“You’ve made a blood oath, now keep it! Do not let the Void Knight die while blood is still within you! Charge!”

The warriors kicked up dirt and great clouds of dust as they charged, and their fearsome momentum carried them to the walls and gates in a moment. With well-drilled precision, they split into three groups, each one holding a gate from the monstrous invaders.

One of the gelatinous monsters bounced towards Jarvel, and Corzeus cried out a warning. Jarvel turned from surveying the scene just in time to knock it away. He went in for the kill, but beside him a warrior stabbed one of the monsters and it exploded, showering the poor man in deathly fluids. He screamed as his skin was sloughed from his bones and his muscles dropped away, leaving only a charred skeleton and molten metal which was once his armour.

“Don’t kill the bouncing things!” Jarvel cried, unable to find a suitable name for them. They defied description, and how such a monstrosity, such a crime against nature, could live was beyond the Captain.

14-Aug-2007 13:06:42 - Last edited on 14-Aug-2007 13:17:48 by [#CHDFOMJYA]

[#CHDFOMJYA]

Posts: 6,820 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Chaplain Corzeus hammered one of the creatures back, and it luckily *id*’t explode. Instead, it sailed up above the wall and landed in between two of its fellows. As it landed, it detonated, causing the other two to do the same, and killing some of the long clawed creatures. However, the tide of slashing fiends was too great, and some broke through the center gate.

Wood splinters flew wildly, and Jarvel charged to meet his new enemies despite the numerous shards embedded in his face. He deftly stabbed one of the creatures through the face, and it shuddered as it died. He spun beneath the claws of another and emerged inside its guard. It swung its clawed arms wildly, but to no avail, and Jarvel hammered a blow into its stomach. Alien guts spilled forth, organs no doubt used in the vile process of eating human bones or some other blasphemy. The sight of the oozing insides angered Jarvel further, and he spun towards a new enemy, beheading it wildly. Red mist descended on his vision as he slashed and decapitated with no thought of his own defence. His anger deepened as he saw the beasts push past him, and he knew that they no longer had time for the Void Knight’(s ritual.

Corzeus stabbed down on another creature with the barbed handle of his great hammer, and saw his friend slaying furiously. He watched in horror as claws pierced his ally’s flesh, and glanced to where his friend was staring. He saw the beasts loping towards the barely defended Void Knight, and saw one of the two defenders go down screaming.

More claws pierced Jarvel’s skin and drew blood, and a blow to his stomach focused him again. The anger of before was nothing to what he now felt. He smashed his fist into a clawed beast’s head, and leapt into the air, wrestling one of the disgusting bags of acid to the ground. He pushed it with all of his strength into a mob of beasts, then drew his crossbow and skillfully fired.

14-Aug-2007 13:06:49 - Last edited on 14-Aug-2007 13:30:49 by [#CHDFOMJYA]

[#CHDFOMJYA]

Posts: 6,820 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The resulting explosion knocked Jarvel off his feet. Acids sprayed him, but his armour dealt with most of the damage. A scything claw spun through the air and embedded deep within his cheek. He tasted the sickly tang of blood, and knew he had lost teeth. Blood seeped from old wounds, which had re-opened in the explosion of acid, and Jarvel took one last look at the carnage he had wreaked before slipping into unconciousness.

Corzeus was torn. He couldn’t abandon his friend, but if left the Void Knight at the mercy of the monsters they were all as good as dead.

He made up his mind.

“Forgive me, brother.” he said softly to himself.

Then, he threw his hammer into the air and drew a sword. The hammer arced downwards and struck the ground near Jarvel, sending a shockwave of Saradomin’s light out. It destroyed the nearby creatures, but Corzeus had no time to look. He launched himself into the fray once more, joining his wounded comrade at the Void Knight’s side. Around him, he could see that the humans were losing, but he had no time to help them. He drove his sword into the belly of a beast, then pulled it out and nimbly beheaded another. The Chaplain fought back to back with the bloodied man, and they protected each other until the man began to tire. The Chaplain stood, still defending the Void Knight even as his ally slumped to the ground and was shredded by slashing claws, and he killed a great many foes before he, too, collapsed. In the distance, he could make out the four portals. Two were gone, and two remained. The third was flickering, and it spewed out more beasts in an attempt to keep itself alive.

Claws cut through the Chaplain. He knew he would die if he just stood there, and he’d be d(c)a(C)mned if he’d die lying prostrate and powerless at the feet of his foes.

14-Aug-2007 13:06:49 - Last edited on 18-Aug-2007 21:54:29 by [#CHDFOMJYA]

[#CHDFOMJYA]

Posts: 6,820 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

With a great effort of will and muscle, the Chaplain heaved his eighteen stone, muscular form, and his half-ton suit of armour, until he was standing again. Claws still tore at him, but the pain disappeared.

As if sensing the Chaplain’s resolve, Jarvel’s eyes flickered open. He still held his crossbow and sword. There was only about ten defenders left now, and Jarvel picked himself up. He sensed a great pain in his cheek, and holstered his firearm, patting his face. He felt a cruel barb about six inches long protruding from his handsome features. Blood poured from the wound, and Jarvel pulled it out in one neat sweep. The barbs tore at his flesh as it was removed, and they took most of his cheek with him, leaving what would turn into a disfiguring scar. Jarvel sensed other injuries – A broken collarbone, possible a broken thigh and hip-bone. As he moved he felt at least three ribs crack. He saw the towering structure of another portal fade. Only one remained, and Jarvel looked up to the podium. There was the Void Knight, various bolts stuck in him, and there was Corzeus... Standing in front of the Knight, holding the monsters off. Jarvel saw that he held a sword, and not his huge, powerful hammer. He looked around, seeing it lying on the ground. The monsters left him alone at the moment, seemingly afraid of the hammer next to him.

Corzeus glanced his way.

‘Take it.’

The thought appeared in Jarvel’s mind unbidden. Corzeus was a psyker?

‘Take it.’

Yes, it was definitely Corzeus’s voice inside his head...

‘It’s the only thing that can destroy the portals... I have seen the near future, Captain Jarvel... Take it... Destroy the portals yourself... I cannot defend the Knight much longer... Do it!’

Jarvel could see his allies dying. He put his sword in the scabbard, and picked up the hammer.

‘Jarvel... It will come to you in your hour of need... I have seen this... Do your duty, Jarvel...’

14-Aug-2007 13:06:49 - Last edited on 21-Aug-2007 08:16:45 by [#CHDFOMJYA]

Forums

+++ A Warrior's Ascension +++