Arronic's Story

[Arronic]

(( Feel free to ask questions or leave comments, however, expect them to be removed once they have been answered. Thank you for your support. ))

Chapter One: The Rising Sun

There was once a time when being a hero meant something. There was once a time when Arthas was considered a Prince, and even a Hero. There was once a time when the Blood Elves, the Sin'Dorei, lived in peace. All that was stripped away during the Third War. During that conflict many lives were lost, and not all those lives have been recovered. This is the story of one life, one Blood Elf, one Sin'Dorei, who is struggling to find what has been lost since the days of the Scourge invasion. This, this is the story of Arronic...

His eyes opened wide, the sweat pouring down his face. He waited for the visions, still dancing before his eyes, to begin to dissipate before he reached calmly to his bed-side table. There lay a towel, which he grasped overly firm, as though willing it crushed, like he willed those demonic vision that swam back and forth in his mind. These motions were too well rehearsed, too many times practiced, to have any note of error within the nearly ritualistic midnight dance that played out night after night. It was always the same dream, it was always the same horror, it was always the same sense of overwhelming loss. However, it always new tears, but it was always the same sense of pride that quickly dammed them back before they had chance to flow. He sat up slowly and looked out to the moon, remembering back to the day he had lost everything. The day the Scourge had invaded his home, Silver Moon. The day he had sworn to take Arthas Menethil to his grave.

Those memories were torn and twisted now, corrupted by time, sorrow, and hatred. It seemed to him that the day before the invasion, the day before Hell had been unleashed, was the best day that had ever been. Arronic, his brother Coheed, his sister Cambria, and their friend Claudio had all been playing together. His brother and sister were far more adept in the arcane arts than he, and Arronic had always sensed that because of this fact his mother and father had far favored his siblings over him. He preferred the more rough-and-tumble life style that his best friend, Claudio, had always opted for. It had been a strange day, he remembers very distinctly, because his father and mother were not around to chide him about not studying, so he was enjoying a day of freedom. If he had known what was to become of the rest of that day, perhaps things would have been different.

As the day began to draw to a close Arronic returned home to a strangely quiet home. It's not that his home was usually noisy, but there was often the sound of cooking, cleaning, and fastidious reading. If you have ever been in the presence of four mages, you know the sound of fastidious reading. "Hello?" called out Arronic.

"In here," it was his mothers voice. He remembered her voice as being the sweetest sound he had ever heard, but reasoned that it was probably only due to bias. Arronic came quickly to his mother's side, to find her tending over Coheed and Cambria. "They are ill, Arronic, and I don't know what has come over them. It seems that the further the moon rises, the worse they become, and I fear that they will not see this night through..." her normally bright eyes were dull and sullen. There was a footstep in the doorway, and they both looked up to see who it was. Arronic's father. He beckoned his wife. Arronic remembered looking at his father in awe, he had never seen such a worried look of determination on his father's face before, and it had been even longer since he had seen his father dressed in the way he was, if he had ever seen him dressed that way. His father whispered to his mother, presumably not to be overheard, but Arronic had always had keen hearing.

"There is a foul stench in the air, and the elders are summoning the able bodied. I have a bad feeling about this... I fear there is a fight on the horizon." His father said to his mother.

"I want to go, I want to help!" cried Arronic, jumping up quickly. His father and his mother both looked to him.

"No." His fathers words were firm and left no room for interpretation, as young people tend to try. "You must stay here and see after your brother and your sister. They are ill, they need you to care for them."

But Arronic was defiant, and strong willed, a trait his father would frequently deny, to his mother, came from him. "I WANT TO GO! I can be of help! I'm not a child!"

"You may not be a child, but you are still a boy, Arronic..." he remembered that sentence well, it was the last words that he ever heard his father speak. With that he dashed from the room, and Arronic heard the door close behind him.

"Take care of your brother and sister, Arronic. Behave..." his mother shot him a quick glance and was out the door as hurriedly as his father had rushed out the door. Arronic spent the rest of that evening tending to his brother and sister the best he could, passing out in a chair between the both of their beds. When next he awoke it was with a start. His friend Claudio has burst in through the door, looking as pale as the moon itself, clearly startled out of his wits.

"Arronic! The town is under attack! We're under siege!" Claudio grabbed at his friends arm and tugged at him. "You have to come! We must hurry and help!" Arronic looked to his brother and sister. They were asleep, and clearly still ill. If he had known it would be the last time he would see them, he would have looked upon them a moment longer. The two of them hurried as quickly and quietly as they could to survey the battle that was taking place. It seemed as though the entire city was a mixture of fire, blood, and ghastly looking creatures who were running amok. Arronic and Claudio had stood looking down at the damage from the high walls of the city, watching the carnage unfold in horror. They saw their High Elven brothers fighting defiantly, until the bitter end, against the forces of the scourge. They were so focused that by the time they had heard something behind them on the wall, it was almost too late.

A ghastly fiend had crept up behind Arronic, but Claudio was quick to react and a well placed arrow to the skull of the ghoul had knocked it from the wall. It fell to the ground with a sickening thud, and splattered against the cobble stone walkway far below. Arronic looked around to ensure no more of the ghouls were attempting the same feat, and that is when he saw a large group look up directly at the two of them. It was almost as though they had all seen the ghoul, where he had fell from, but the ghoul had fell on the other side of the wall, away from all the Scourge. "We have to get out of here, Arronic!" Claudio shook the dazed Arronic fiercly "Arronic, lets go!" With that the two of them set off.

"Wait! My brother, my sister!" Arronic pleaded with Claudio to go back and bring his siblings with them. It was a request that could not go denied. On the way to Arronic's house Claudio whistled loudly. When they had returned to Arronics house the door had been left agape. He hurried inside, only to find the beds of his brother and sister unoccupied. He stood there, frozen in his feelings of sorrow. He heard something behind him from the doorway. "Just give me a moment, Claudio." There was no response from his friend, and upon turning around all he saw was a fiend. Arronic quickly grabbed at a staff and engaged the ghoul, but it overpowered him, knocking him to the ground. "CLAUDIO!" He yelled to his friend, desperate for help. Suddenly, as though from the shadows, a cat sprung up and struck the ghoul, knocking it back against the wall. Arronic scrambled to his feet and saw his friend Claudio at the door. The two of them fled the house quickly, and did not stop fleeing until the sun had begun to show on the horizon.

Have you ever wondered why it is that you have never heard of the house of Apollo? It is because it no longer exists. There is but one left from that house, Arronic the Paladin. The tale of Arronic the Paladin is one best saved for another day.

[Arronic]

(( I am very excited that my thread has stirred up such contoversy, or at least conversation. I will attempt to answer questions, without giving away too much about the remainder of the stories that are yet to unfold.

Baranthore: Arronic and Claudio roleplay will be confined to the forums for now. I am still building their stories and charecters up, so I have no clue yet how to respond with them in a role-play situation.

Meton: I have intentionally left Arronic's age an unkown with little hints here and there. I will however say this, Arronic was the oldest of his siblings, and his siblings we're fastidiously studying the arcane arts.

Solivar: You hit the nail on the head. One being a child in the eyes of their parents does not mean that they are literally a child. I won't go into this further OOCly. ))

[Ankhera]

Very good! I enjoyed the powerful emotion and empathy that comes through in the post. I'd like to think that you got your mad skillz from me but it's all you! :D Love you and good work!

[Arronic]

Chapter Two: An Oath of Blood

There is a sickening feeling one gets when they realize that they are a survivor. They are one of the few, the chosen, who did not perish in the ordeal they just faced. Some yield to this sickness, others break through the barriers it constructs. For those who break through the barriers they will find open arms on the other side of the darkness...

As dawn broke the two men stood at the edge of the forest, surveying the damage that had struck their lands. There were the telltale signs of fire in every direction they looked, steady columns of thick smoke rose into the air. How many villages had been decimated by this senseless rampage? Arronic turned his attention to the city, where they had just run from. There were still
explosions going on, and still the sound of battle being waged. He turned to look at Claudio, only to find his friend had retreated into the forest a little ways and was busy building a fire. He moved to the fledgling fire, picking up twigs along the way to help feed the flame. He sat down across from his friend, and stared into the fire, and for a long while neither of the men spoke to one another. Arronic remembered that the only sound he could hear, aside from the crackling fire, was the distant sounds of battle. Reflecting back on the moment he would often wonder if this was due to a trick of the mind, or if Arthas had slaughtered all the animals that were in his path as well.

The next thing Arronic remembered was opening his eyes, and staring up at the moon. Apparently the ordeal had been more draining than he realized. The next thing he realized is that his arm felt weird, and upon inspection he realized that it had been bandaged. He sat up slowly, wondering when he had suffered an injury, and his eyes met with Claudio's across the fire. Had he been up all this time? "Hey," he felt like it had been forever since he had last said anything, "how long was I out, Claudio?" The amount of time he was asleep wouldn't quell the feeling of shame that was rising up in him for even being able to sleep at a time like this.

"Not long, you only closed your eyes for an hour or so." His friends voice was softer than he had remembered every hearing it. It seemed to carry weight, and sorry. His eyes were darker than he had remembered seeing any time before, and when their eyes met Claudio drew his to the ground. It also brought with it a new question; How long had they been sitting there staring at that fire? "You got hurt, so I bandaged your wound. I'm guessing it was one of the ghouls that we encountered, but you were bleeding pretty bad. I'm surprised you didn't notice." With that Claudio stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants. He moved slowly, as though in a daze, past Arronic to the clearing, and stood staring into the distance in the direction of the homes they had just fled. Arronic inspected the bandaging on his arm, and reached out to touch the wound. That touch sent a shock of pain up through his arm, and his body gave him no other choice but to wince and grimace to himself. How could he not have noticed such a wound? It must have just been all of the business of the moment.

After inspecting his wound Arronic stood up and brushed himself off as well. He returned his gaze to Claudio. The cat, who's name he still didn't know, tried nuzzling it's master's hand for affection, but Claudio was too lost in thought. "Claudio, you okay?" He drew closer to his friend, concern coming to the fore-front of his thoughts. This was the man who had saved him twice in the same day, he owed it to him to at least look after him. Claudio did not turn around to answer, but instead continued to look at the rising smoke columns in the distance. He let out a long and heavy sigh before retrieving his bow from his back and feeling at the wood with his thumb. Claudio hung his head before he began speaking.

"I have a confession to make. I am a coward. I was supposed to be holding the line, helping to fight back the invasion, but... when I saw our enemies, when I saw what they were..." Claudio sank to his knees, "I couldn't do it Arronic. I couldn't stand there and fight. I was too scared. I couldn't even hold my bow up to line up a shot, my hands were shaking so badly. So I ran... and I found you... and I fled." There was a moment of silence, and then something changed. It wasn't the kind of thing that you could see or hear, it was the kind of thing you could only feel. Arronic watched and listened intently as Claudio stood up slowly, almost looking as though he had shed his sorrow and regret. Claudio stood there looking fiercely into the distance, and the next words he spoke will forever be engrained in the mind of Arronic.

"I promise... I promise to never turn my back on my people again. I promise to never turn-tail and run when there are those I can help. I promise to grow stronger, grow faster, and more skilled, so that I can help those who need my bow. I promise to never be a coward again." Claudio drew his dagger from his belt and sliced the palm of his hand. Blood began to pool slow, and he clenched his fist letting a few droplets spatter against the ground. He took the palm of his hand and smeared the blood against the wood of his bow. "That is my Oath, that I make with my blood and the blood those lives who have been lost due to my cowardice! I promise you!" Claudio stared intently towards the smoldering city, and it was as though his promise was being made to the world as a whole.

It is said that violence begets violence, vengeance begets vengeance, and blood begets blood. In times like these where there is sadness and suffering at every single turn it is hard to remember the lessons that are shown to us to teach us the truth of the matter. Sometimes a Phoenix must burn so that it can rise up from the ashes, and sometimes it takes sorrow, suffering, and death, to forge a Hero.

[Arronic]

(( Updated. Different title ( i should really wait to name them. Telling certain aspects of the story is taking up more time than I realize, . ) Feel free to leave feedback and questions! ))

[Meton08]

Very nice Arronic, keep them coming!

[Ankhera]

Am enjoying your posts immensly, keep up the good work!

[Arronic]

(( My apologies for any grammatical or spelling errors found herein. I've just worked a 13 hour day, and my computer was recently (and unwillingly) formatted so I've lost my word-processor and thusly my ability to spell-check. However, I felt inspired, so here you go! I hope you enjoy. ))

Chapter Three: In Shadows and Sunlight

Some say that only you know yourself completely, but the truth of the matter is that you do not even know yourself. When faced with the reality that those who seemed are not as such, there are two paths to take.

Arronic stared at Claudio for a moment, unable to gather his thoughts. It seemed strange, like a dream, and it was already slipping through the holes of his mind like sand sifts through the hand. He stood up and drew close to Claudio. Then he grinned...

"I have never known you to run from a fight, Claudio. You're one of the bravest elves I know! Quit joking around at a time like this! Isn't their an invasion going on?! We should g..." Claudio turned and gripped Arronic by the collar. He had never seen such a feirceness in his friends eye before, and he had never felt intimidated by him the way he was now. It was as if the child-like care-free qualities he possesed just yesterday had vanished into thin air.

"Arronic, I have never, ever, run from a fair fight!" Claudio released his friend and turned back to stare at the city and the smoke that was raising up from the wounds being inflicted upon it. "But this is not a fair fight! They are overrunning us... you take their heads and their bodies rise from the ground to continue the fight! There are these... these,..." his mind scrambled to find the right words, "these abominations! Giant white beasts peiced together by blood and flesh, fiendish ghouls by the hundreds! No... by the thousands! No matter how many you take down, no matter how well placed my arrow was, or how ferocious Shadow's bite, they rose up and continued on. Our greatest mages... it's all they can do just to stem the flow of the creatures." Arronic took a moment to process what Claudio had just said, and without a word he shot forth past Claudio running back towards the city he had just left. Not a moment had passed and Arronic felt something at his back taking him down. Arronic looked over his shoulder to see Claudio getting up from tackling him to the ground.

"Why? Why did you stop me? If it's as you say, Claudio, then they need every man they can muster! I can help! I can fight!" He stood up and dusted himself off, looking eagerly towards the city. Claudio looked down to the ground.

"I'm sorry Arronic, I can't let you go back. I made a promise..."

"To who?!" Demanded Arronic. For a long moment Claudio was silent. He knew that Arronic wouldn't believe his next words. Claudio's gaze rose to meet Arronic's eyes.

"Your father, Arronic. Your father made me promise to take you to safty, and to keep you safe." Arronic stared back at his friend, in disbeleif, and then turned and started walking back to the city. It was a moment before Claudio was blocking his path. How was he so fast?

"You're lying!" Arronic words were barely a growl.

"I'm not lying, Arronic. He made me swear."

"Why would he do that? Why would he care? He has never cared! Out of my way, Claudio, I'm going back to fight!" Arronic shoved Claudio to one side and moved defiantly past him.

"You idiot! Don't you understand?!" Arronic turned slowly to face Claudio, stopping in his tracks. Claudio drew a long, slow breath, and let it out. "Arronic,..." How could he do this? How could he tell his friend why his father had made him promise to keep him safe? How could he find the words? How hard they came... "Arronic... you're the bloodline to the house Apollo..."

It seemed like time stood still in that moment. The air stopped moved, the world stopped turning, and in the distance, the sound of battle, the sound of a city under seige, seemed to vanish. Things moved slower as Arronic struggled to grasp the full meaning of what his friend has just said, or perhaps more accuratly struggled, in vein, not to understand the words that had just been spoken.

"But...my mother... my father... my brother and sister, they continue to live... why would I be the bloodline...?" Arronic's words were soft and came slowly. Claudio stepped foreward and placed his hand upon Arronic's shoulder.

"Arronic... it's a slaughter in there. Your father realized that before it was too late and made me promise to take you, his son, to saftey." Arronic grabbed his friends hand and removed it from his shoulder.

"Claudio," There was a feirceness in Arronic's eyes that he had never seen before, and a strength in his hand that he had never known Arronic to posses. "If you wish to continue your promise, then go back with me. I am going back, to protect my family. If I have to, I will kill you to achieve that goal."

"And how, exactly, do you plan to protect your family? You don't even have a weapon and your about as adept as a brick in magic." Claudio was trying to fight Arronic's conviction and emotions with logic, but he knew, in the end, he would have to go with Arronic.

"We will find me a weapon. If the number of foes is as great as you say, surely there is one with a weapon! All we have to do is slay him and take it." Arronic turned from his friend and began running towards the city, and this time he was not stopped. He glanced behind him to see Claudio right behind him, and slightly further behind Claudio was his ever-faithful cat. Arronic looked foreward. For the first time, in a long time, Arronic felt he had a purpose.

Conviction is more than just a firm or fixed belief, it is the will to take on the actions that a particular belief leads you to take. When you take an action due to your convictions you must wear it as an armor, so ensure that your convictions are firm, lest your armor be made of cloth, instead of plate.

[Meton08]

Chaaaaaaarge!

[Arronic]

Chapter Four: The Blood Moon: Part One

If your armor of Conviction holds true take care not to die. For if you fall, if you fail, your convictions will hold no more weight than a wisp in the wind. Who, then, will carry on your legacy?

The pair continued moving towards the city until the walls were in view in the distance. It was there, standing in the middle of a moon-lit field, just beyond the walls of the city they had just fled, that Claudio struck his arm out suddenly forcing Arronic to stop in his tracks.

"What is it?" Arronic looked to Claudio with curiosity, but Claudio only held a finger to his lips, urging Arronic to silence. Claudio looked around them slowly, peering into a distance that Arronic could not see. "What are you doing, Claudio?" He asked in a hushed whisper.

"We're surrounded, theres a large amount of enemies in the area. A few in every direction..." His voice trailed off for a moment "...somethings off..." Off? What was he talking about? How did he know they were surrounded? Were they going to be attacked? Arronic's mind raced with questions that his lips tried to sum up into a quick phrase that would express them all in one neat little package.

"What?" Arronic looked dumbfounded, and it read all over his face. Claudio sighed, and made a quick motion, bringing his hand to his chest and moving it outward causing his sleeve to make a quick snap noise.

"Shadow, go scout, find a sword, and come back, quickly." No sooner than Claudio had finished his sentence and the feline was gone from veiw. Claudio turned to Arronic, confident that the enemies were far enough away that they could talk safely. "Look down at the ground Arronic, footsteps. Too light to have been made by a human. They are shallow, like they have no weight. I've only seen footprints like this made by undead."

"But... you looked out into the distance as though you could see them..."

"I can. I can see them. There's three north of us, one east, and 15 or more to our west."

"How?" Arronic furrowed his brows. How could Claudio see so far? His eyes were as good as any others, how could Claudio... his friend sighed interrupting his thoughts.

"As a Hunter, I am trained to see further than what a normal person can see beyond. I am trained to track a various beasts, humanoids, and other things, Arronic. I am trained for this, it's what I've spent my time learning." Was this what Claudio was doing when he'd spend weeks a time gone from the city? "Keep you're head on straight and follow me, if you want a weapon." Claudio started running towards the east, and Arronic followed close on his heels. They stopped just shy of a ridge where Claudio knelt down to pat the head of Shadow gently. "Good boy," he whispered. Claudio stood up slowly to look over the ridge, and motioned Arronic to look with him. "Look, that one has a sword. I couldn't see very well what type of weapon it was. So I sent Shadow out to scout. Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Arronic blinked. Claudio sighed again and pulled his bow from his back, drawing an arrow and sighting the bow.

"To get your weapon." Claudio let the arrow fly, and it's path sung true, cleaving the undead's head clear from his body, which quickly fell backward.

"You got him!" Arronic lept up and raced towards the creature to grab the sword, but slid to a halt as the body got up and raised the sword to strike. In the same moment an arrow flew past Arronic, so close that he could feel the disturbance in the wind, and sunk into the creatures hand, forcing him to drop the blade.

"He's not dead yet, Arronic! Get the damn blade and hit him! DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" Arronic snapped out of his dazed state and followed the instructions true to the word, grabbing the blade with both hands and quickly finding it a new home in the putrid flesh of his enemy, repeatedly. It was a strange experiance, and upon reflection Arronic would feel as though something, or someone else, had taken over. He only stopped when he felt Claudio's hand on his shoulder. "Arronic, you got him, he's gone. You can stop now." Arronic let out a sigh of relief, much to his own surprise. He hadn't been aware that he was worried. He took a moment to examine the blade and tried to lift it with one hand, but found he was unable.

"It's heavy." Claudio sighed again.

"Arronic, it's a two handed sword. You're going to need to use both hands to weild it." Arronic frowned.

"How come he can he weild it with one hand, but I can't?" Arronic motioned to the undead... pieces...scattered on the field.

"Arronic, undead are imbued with incredible strength. He probably could have weilded two of those, one in each hand, and not even broken a sweat. You're going to need to try and keep up if you've got any chance of getting to your father." Arronic looked around slowly, and spotted an undead a little further east of there current position.

"There, his sword is smaller, it must be one-handed! I got this one Claudio!" Arronic charged forth before Claudio could get a word in edge wise. Arronic raised the sword up as the undead turned slowly to face his attacked, and looked rather surprised to see his attacker was no longer... attacking. Surprise, on the face of an undead is an interesting thing to see, but when he saw the fear in Arronic's eyes, he turned back around to come face to face with an Abomination looking down at him. "What...is...that?!" Arronic asked, his sword striking the ground weakly, his hands barely able to continue their grip as fear seemed to try and wrest the sword away from him. Before Arronic was a grisly beast with pale skin that looked like it was stitched together. The creatures skin looked sickly and pearl white in the moonlight. Between the patches of skin, bulging out from the loose-knit stitching, he could see organs and blood bulging, daring to burst forth from their confinement. The giant slowly reached down and plucked the shambling corpse from the ground. He flailed in defiance, but his efforts were useless against the hulking beast. The abomination inspected the living corpse for a moment, sniffed it, and then promptly put the undead into, what presumably, was its mouth. The other half, which would not fit, continued to flail and tried to strike the abomination with the sword in it's hand, until the was a sickening crunching noise. The abomination chewed the corpse a few more times, perhaps for good measure, and then looked confused for a moment. He spat the now lifeless corpse out, a cross between disgust and disappointed crossing his face. Then the Abomination looked down at Arronic, with the same curious look that was on his face before he snatched up the undead corpse that was now in peices, twitching on the ground. Arronic quickly raised his sword over his head and mustered as much strength as he possibly could. He moved the blade downward, carving it a new home deep in the stomach of the abomination, but the abomination seemed unphased. He scooped Arronic up and studied him for a moment.. "C-c-Claudio! H-help!" He cried out in desperation for his friend, trying, in vein, to wrest himself free of the Abomination's grip.

When faced with death we all have a decision to make. Some people cling to their lives, hoping to survive another day. Some people embrace death, and welcome the end. Others look for ways to cheat it. When faced with death, what is the decision you will make?

[Meton08]

Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuun....

[Arronic]

Chapter Four: The Blood Moon: Part Two

It is said then when you face death, when you truly face death, you are confronted with entirety of your life, flashing before your eyes. What if, in that very moment, you realize that you have not lived your life? What if, because of that moment, it is in that moment that your life truly begins?

Time held it's breath for Arronic, or at least it seemed too. All he could do is watch as the Abomination slowly lifted him towards the gaping hole that grew ever larger in anticipation. Time slowed, Arronic could feel his heart beat slowing down, his breath slowing down. He could feel all of the thoughts in his mind vying for his attention, all pleading for the same thing, escape. But how could he entertain those thoughts when the only thing he could see before him was a gaping hole of death? He was about to be eaten! In all his day-dreams he could never have imagined such a death, for anyone! Suddenly, from the shadows, came Claudio's cat leaping foreward and clawing vigorously at the Abomination's face. In the same moment Claudio rushed the Abomination, swords drawn, and lept into the air. Arronic thought he would strike down the Abomination, but instead he brought both blades down on the arm that was holding him, severing it from the rest of the Abomination. Arronic, and the arm, fell to the ground as the Abomination screamed in pain. Arronic watched in amazement as Claudio proceeded to roll between the legs of the Abomination and strike at it's heels with both blades. The Abomination turned, swining at Claudio with his unsevered arm, but Claudio lept backward in a brilliant move of evasion. Arronic couldn't even comprehend what he was seeing. What was all this? Suddenly more shouting broke through his daze...

"Arronic! RUN! To the flare!" Claudio pointed and Arronic looked up to see the Abomination was staring down at him again. Claudio was using every single trick he had, but he simply could not keep the Abomination from being interested in Arronic. Arronic complied with the order and ran towards a flare that had been placed on the ground, presumably by Claudio. He turned his head to look back at the Abomination and realized that it was struggling to keep up. That's when he saw the snakes in the grass. They were attacking the Abomination! Amazing! We're they pets of Claudio's as well? "Don't stop running damnit! You're not at the flare yet!" Arronic realized he had, indeed, stopped running and picked up his pace. He looked back again when he heard the Abomination cry out in agony, only to see the beast being engulfed in flame, turning it's pale white skin into charred blackened flesh. When Arronic reached the flare, he doubled over panting. Surviving, apparently, was quite the exhausting excersize. He turned around to see that the Abomination had been frozen in place, fist raised as though he was going to strike Arrronic. "We need to move, he's not going to stay like that long, Arronic." Arronic turned to see his friend.

"Huh?" He said, rather numbly. Claudio grabbed him by the collar and drew him close.

"This is no time to go numb, Arronic! Get your head on!" Arronic looked backed to the giant.

"Claudio, what was all that? It was amazing."

"Raptor Strike, Wing Clip, Snake Trap, Immolation Trap, Freezing Trap, and there was a few distracting shots in the as well, but they weren't helping much." Claudio drew an arrow to his bow and fired one last shot, shattering the trap, and the Abomination with it. "Oh, and one more thing..." Claudio turned to Arronic and reared back, punching him in the chest hard enough to knock him from his feet. "Arronic, you're infuriating! These enemies are REAL enemies! These arn't just some Mana Wyrms you can poke with a stick, get bit by, and run home for a bandage! These people, these things, they will KILL you given the first opportunity! I can't always save you, and you're going to get yourself killed! THIS ISN'T A GAME!" Arronic looked up at Claudio and sighed. Claudio offered Arronic his hand, and Arronic stood up weakly, rubbing his chest where Claudio had struck.

"You're right, Claudio, I've been reckless..." Arronic hung his head in shame.

"Arronic, you need to decide weither or not you're going continue to be saved all the time, or if you're going to be a savior..." Claudio handed him the one-handed sword he had been after and turned to face the way to the city.

"What's our next move Claudio?" Arronic turned to face his friend.

"We continue moving towards the city, we need to hurry though. I want to get there by dawn so we can have a better view of the city, and really see what we're going to be getting into." He reached down and patted Shadow on the head. "Are you ready?"

"Lead on, Claudio." Arronic had been humbled by the experiences he had just had. It was time to let someone else lead.

"That's another thing, Arronic," He turned to face his friend, a smile on his face. Perhaps he had been too harsh on Arronic, and he realized it, "if you ever want to lead anyone, at any time, you need to know what they can do. If you want to be a leader, know what you're allies are capable of." With that the pair set off towards the great walls of the city.

It is important to know the limitations of those around you, and for those around you to know your limitations. Once those boundaries are understood, it is only then that you can start to find ways to cheat, bend, or break those boundaries and improve yourself and those around you.

[- Zentao -]

Interesting read... we are looking forward to reading more of their origin.

Zentao and Ankhera