Lords and Kings|Sparkstrike, Maelstrom
Jul 16, 2007 9:31:48 GMT -5
Post by Northen Light36 on Jul 16, 2007 9:31:48 GMT -5
Sparkstrike was still and quiet in the early morning air, the weather calm but holding promise of a reasonably warm (for winter) day. It was the perfect sort of day for a hike, a picnic or, if one was particularly hardy, a dip in one of the rivers or lakes. There were no such peaceful plans in the minds of the figures who met in a meadow on the edge of the village.
Mathew stood among his four guards, looking over Shadow, Flash and Amaro with contempt. “Well what do we have here? The blood-traitors and the half-breed, all in a nice little group.” Ekaitz’s Leader shook his head in disgust. “You could have been a great man, Shadow. Your grandfather was and your father nearly as great, although he had his moments of weakness. But look at you… A traitor to your own people, no more then a puppet to the bitch you call a wife. And you’ve pulled our race down with you, making them as weak as yourself and my nephew there.”
“You and I have very different views of what makes a man weak, Mathew,” Shadow replied calmly. “And I’ll thank you to keep a civil tongue in your mouth when you speak of Lya.” Mathew raised an eyebrow, then smiled coldly.
“Well I suppose I could consider that a final request,” he replied casually. Shadow and his companions stiffened at that, each letting a hand drift to his sword. Mathew’s guards followed their lead, however Mathew himself didn’t move. “I see that along with your new found weakness, you’ve lost the ability to follow simple directions. Really Shadow, even your pet barbarian could manage to jump when Mizra told him to.” Mathew mockingly sighed, ignoring Shadow’s irritated growl. “Well I was hoping to reward you with your life, but since you can’t behave I see I’ll have to take what I want by force.” Shadow barely had time to draw his blade and defend himself as Mathew lunged forward, revealing the wickedly sharp blade concealed in his cane. Flash and Amaro moved to aid their leader, but each swiftly found themselves fending off the attacks of Mathew’s guard. Out numbered two to one, it was all they could do to keep their own skins intact, leaving the two three-sign Storms to battle unhindered and unaided.
It was an incredible, and terrifying, battle that tore the meadow apart, scorching the earth and destroyed trees, fences and a very unlucky member of Mathew’s guard who got in the way of a stray bolt of his Lord’s. The two Storm Lord’s were evenly matched and it seemed almost impossible that either would gain the upper hand. Shadow was younger then Mathew and his youth gave him greater agility, allowing the King to land more strikes, however Mathew had the benefit of age strengthening his abilities, experience and a ruthless disregard for life. He knew how to look for flaws and weakness in an opponent and how to use those flaws. He bid his time, let himself make apparent mistakes and gave Shadow the impression of the King having finally gotten control of the fight. Seizing his ‘advantage’, Shadow twisted his blade in an impressive move that ripped Mathew’s blade from his hand and threw it aside. A second later Mathew was on his back, his feet having been knocked out from under him by a kick from Shadow
“I should finish you here and now,” the king snarled, looking down at his fallen opponent. Mathew glared up at him.
“Do it then… if you have the strength left in you to kill,” he taunted, one hand slowly edged through a slit in his pants leg. Shadow hissed in anger and raised his sword when a pained cry made him look over to Flash for just a second – and Mathew struck, leaping up with surprising speed for a man of his age and slamming his concealed dagger into Shadow’s ribs, knocking the wind out of the king and sending him toppling over even as Flash fell to a well aimed lightning bolt. Picking up Shadow’s blade, Mathew walked away from Shadow’s fallen form, Mathew gave his panting, bleeding nephew a look of disdain before a casual blast of lightning took Amaro out of the fight. “Bind them and fetch a cart,” he ordered his men. “Maelstrom will bow to me easily, the only ‘power’ remaining there is a crippled boy. He’ll pose no threat to us and in two days the world will learn what happens to blood traitors and half-breeds who refuse to accept their place in the world.”
“What about him?” asked one of the guards, gesturing at Shadow as his comrades bound Amaro and Flash tightly. Mathew glanced at Shadow, eyeing the spreading redness on the other man’s shirt.
“Shadow is kindly taking care of himself,” he laughed. “But he doesn’t add much to the scenery does he? Take him somewhere away from the town and from Talen’sul and leave him for the wolves. It’ll be the first useful thing he’ll have done in a while.”
“And the last,” laughs the guard, walking off to acquire a couple of carts as Mathew makes his way into the village properly. Half an hour later two carts are driven out of Sparkstrike as the Storm villagers bow to their new Lord and their Wind neighbors kneel before their new masters.
Mathew stood among his four guards, looking over Shadow, Flash and Amaro with contempt. “Well what do we have here? The blood-traitors and the half-breed, all in a nice little group.” Ekaitz’s Leader shook his head in disgust. “You could have been a great man, Shadow. Your grandfather was and your father nearly as great, although he had his moments of weakness. But look at you… A traitor to your own people, no more then a puppet to the bitch you call a wife. And you’ve pulled our race down with you, making them as weak as yourself and my nephew there.”
“You and I have very different views of what makes a man weak, Mathew,” Shadow replied calmly. “And I’ll thank you to keep a civil tongue in your mouth when you speak of Lya.” Mathew raised an eyebrow, then smiled coldly.
“Well I suppose I could consider that a final request,” he replied casually. Shadow and his companions stiffened at that, each letting a hand drift to his sword. Mathew’s guards followed their lead, however Mathew himself didn’t move. “I see that along with your new found weakness, you’ve lost the ability to follow simple directions. Really Shadow, even your pet barbarian could manage to jump when Mizra told him to.” Mathew mockingly sighed, ignoring Shadow’s irritated growl. “Well I was hoping to reward you with your life, but since you can’t behave I see I’ll have to take what I want by force.” Shadow barely had time to draw his blade and defend himself as Mathew lunged forward, revealing the wickedly sharp blade concealed in his cane. Flash and Amaro moved to aid their leader, but each swiftly found themselves fending off the attacks of Mathew’s guard. Out numbered two to one, it was all they could do to keep their own skins intact, leaving the two three-sign Storms to battle unhindered and unaided.
It was an incredible, and terrifying, battle that tore the meadow apart, scorching the earth and destroyed trees, fences and a very unlucky member of Mathew’s guard who got in the way of a stray bolt of his Lord’s. The two Storm Lord’s were evenly matched and it seemed almost impossible that either would gain the upper hand. Shadow was younger then Mathew and his youth gave him greater agility, allowing the King to land more strikes, however Mathew had the benefit of age strengthening his abilities, experience and a ruthless disregard for life. He knew how to look for flaws and weakness in an opponent and how to use those flaws. He bid his time, let himself make apparent mistakes and gave Shadow the impression of the King having finally gotten control of the fight. Seizing his ‘advantage’, Shadow twisted his blade in an impressive move that ripped Mathew’s blade from his hand and threw it aside. A second later Mathew was on his back, his feet having been knocked out from under him by a kick from Shadow
“I should finish you here and now,” the king snarled, looking down at his fallen opponent. Mathew glared up at him.
“Do it then… if you have the strength left in you to kill,” he taunted, one hand slowly edged through a slit in his pants leg. Shadow hissed in anger and raised his sword when a pained cry made him look over to Flash for just a second – and Mathew struck, leaping up with surprising speed for a man of his age and slamming his concealed dagger into Shadow’s ribs, knocking the wind out of the king and sending him toppling over even as Flash fell to a well aimed lightning bolt. Picking up Shadow’s blade, Mathew walked away from Shadow’s fallen form, Mathew gave his panting, bleeding nephew a look of disdain before a casual blast of lightning took Amaro out of the fight. “Bind them and fetch a cart,” he ordered his men. “Maelstrom will bow to me easily, the only ‘power’ remaining there is a crippled boy. He’ll pose no threat to us and in two days the world will learn what happens to blood traitors and half-breeds who refuse to accept their place in the world.”
“What about him?” asked one of the guards, gesturing at Shadow as his comrades bound Amaro and Flash tightly. Mathew glanced at Shadow, eyeing the spreading redness on the other man’s shirt.
“Shadow is kindly taking care of himself,” he laughed. “But he doesn’t add much to the scenery does he? Take him somewhere away from the town and from Talen’sul and leave him for the wolves. It’ll be the first useful thing he’ll have done in a while.”
“And the last,” laughs the guard, walking off to acquire a couple of carts as Mathew makes his way into the village properly. Half an hour later two carts are driven out of Sparkstrike as the Storm villagers bow to their new Lord and their Wind neighbors kneel before their new masters.
