Stories & Plays

The Road to Zahnn

Part 1:   The Messidan Fields

Chapter 1               

                Trin Saman sat on his perch, the rock that had kept him company for almost an hour as he, with his keen eyes looked over the battle field. The sight before him still overwhelmed him even though it had been almost a day since the fighting ended.  The dark forces from the outlands had been held at bay until desperately needed reinforces for the Alliance arrived to save the day. General Erikk Froan and Prince Galn Zahnn II had traveled almost a week from their stronghold in the Berrent Mountains to the Messidan Fields, where the armies of the Alliance and the dark Outland out-stretched hand clashed. The war had commenced its second year and the tolls taken on both sides where hideous, the Outland troll, goblin, orc, Wyrntsi and Handolins had savagely swept across the Great Divide by surprise in an action not seen since the First Outland War. Lord Ronw, the exiled Darklord of the Outlands had sat in wait as his strength grew and with his new creations the Wyrntsi and Handolins, saw their opportunity to strike against the mountain fortresses that held them captive from the rest of the Alliance.

                Trin still could not believe the speed of which the Outlanders attacked, before the camp was completed it was virtually raised. He looked at his fallen comrades and of the ones who killed them, as he watched, movement grew in the corner of his eye and as he spun around, terror filled his heart as a Wyrntsi rose to its feet and unleashed the bolt from its bow. Before he could react, the arrow struck into his chest, pearcing the Mithreal shirt and the leather armor he wore. As he fell back he could hear the cries of men and the shrill scream of the Wyrntsi as it was set upon, and as his head met the ground, the swirling colors of reality blended to black and all was silent.

Chapter 2

                The summer sun shone down upon the man in the wide brim hat as he plowed his fields of corn, as he looked up and wiped his forehead he could see a young man practicing with a sword under the shade of an oak tree. Bretton Saman, elder of two brothers now in his 48th year of life was training to become a soldier in the armies of the Alliance. Under its policies, a young Fenwayian was allowed to enter the service of the King at the age of 48. It would be any day now that a court magistrate and an army captain would come and see if he was worthy. He was already an accomplished swords man and even more an archer. Alonsa Saman could already see the potential his son had as he was also a captain and a magistrate in the service of the king, and he knew that when the time came his son would join the ranks and with luck even become an officer. He heard a cry and turned to see his other son Trin who was still young at 26, calling Bretton. Bretton sheaved his blade and ran off at full speed towards the other who was running towards the river that intersected the farm, being almost a foot taller and almost twice as fast, he easily caught up with his younger brother and dragged him into the river. The two fought, each trying to force the other underwater in play. As Alonsa returned to his work he heard his older son cry out. He quickly turned and saw his son fly through the air and land on the river shore, he watched as his younger son stared in horror and slowly came out of the water towards his fallen brother. Alonsa approached his son carefully and when he moved he breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked to Trin who continued to walk slowly towards the two unsure of what he had done. “Is...is he alright?”, his father replied “I don’t know.. what happened?”. Trin told his father that while fighting, he had become angry that his brother was once again beating him, he began to wish he was away from him and while thinking so a strange feeling came over him and with a burst of pain, a force channeled through his body and struck his brother, throwing him onto the river bank.

                “I don’t know what happened..... it was an accident....I didn’t mean to....”, cried Trin, “Its alright son” replied his father, “I should have noticed the signs of the Daritto manifesting themselves in you, its an honor son, do not fight it”.

                Three weeks passed and the signs became even more apparent, Trin was already becoming skilled with the bow,  Bretton was accepted to join the alliance and did get his commission as a captain. As Trins mother was serving dinner, the rains started to fall. Alonsa looked out of a window into the storm and said “strange storm, they were no clouds today, hmmm...”, “you know these summer storms, quick to come and quick to go, it’ll pass soon enough” Leslea said as she served. As lightning flashed, Trin saw the expression on his fathers face go from wonder to shock, “Trin bring my blade NOW”, Trin obeyed and ran to the fire place and retrieved his fathers Falchion and grabbed his Saber. He handed the sword to his father who instantly drew it and with a lantern cautiously opened the front door and walked outside. “Trin stay here with your mother”. Through the opened door, Trin could see three shadows in the distance, as they came closer he could see that they had red glowing eyes and were horribly disfigured. The low growls they made chilled him to his very soul, “what are they” he asked, “I am not sure, I have never seen anything like them before”. As he spoke, there came a crash from behind them and Trin and his mother turned as two more of these creatures rushed them.

                As they came, Trin drew his Saber and swung, catching the first one mid stride, it howled and the other three outside charged the porch. As the beast fell, Trin set upon the second, but before he swung at it, it branded its claws and caught him full force across the chest, he screamed as he fell, knocked his head and as he was passing out, he could hear the screams of his parents as they died. He awoke sometime later to the face of his brother. “Trin....Trin.... can you hear me?....Trin”. As he awoke, he tried to remember the past events then stood up and shouted “Bretton where’s mom and dad?...Bretton?”, his brothers calm eyes now showed hesitation and he said quietly, “Trin, they’re gone”, “what?”, “the things that attacked you are called Handolins, they are a new creation of the dark lord, he has begun to stir and these beasts are roaming the lands between the Great Divide and Zahnn”. After burying their slain parents, Trin and Bretton returned to the Magali Pass where new recruits for the Alliance were being inducted into service. “Trin, we are at war, all the lands of the alliance are under siege by the dark lord, the Handolins that killed mother and are a mixture of the dead and werebeings, not like the werebeings as they are vulnerable to normal blades and there is only one type of them” his brother explained as the rode through the gates of the fortress that was carved from the very side of the mountain. “Stay here and in three fortnights I will return for you”, “here you will go through a series of tests to see what use you can be for the Alliance”, “we shall see if you really did spend all your time swimming when you should have been practicing” his brother laughed, Trin also laughed for the first in many days, the memory of his parents still fresh in his mind.

Chapter 3

                As the two parted and his brother rode off, he stabled his horse and walked off, bow and quiver on his back, sword on his side, in search of the Master at Arms. His search was short as he was met by Pallen Demostan who walked towards him with three other men. “You must be Trin”, he roared, “Bretton has told me much about you, he says you can hit a house two times out of five with that tooth pick thrower you wear”. As Pallen smiled, Trin unsure of how to answer, dumbly nodded his head and he joined the others as they walked to a barracks.  “ Ok gentlemen, this is your barracks, go in, get a bunk, then go to that building over there for your standard issues”, “I’ll leave you now in the hands of Capt. Roberto Trahon, he will teach you the finer arts of killing without getting killed”. Pallen pointed to a large building over his shoulder and walked off towards it, leaving the four alone. “Ok men, inside, pick a bunk and store your stuff”, said Roberto as he walked in, the barrack was small and only held bunks for 8, compared to the usual 40 - 50 bunk barracks. “This is where youu will sleep from now on, you are not exactly regular soldiers, you will be trained in sword fighting and the basics of soldiering, but here you will fine tune your archery abilities”. As Trin picked his bunk, he saw that all the bunks had a small chest on them, as he opened it, he became aware of the feeling that he was being watched, he turned around to see no one, but two stone golems that sat on floor by the door, he felt as if they were alive and aware of him as a hand grabbed his shoulder. Trin jumped and spun around as the hand retreated, “hey.. hey, its ok, names Willem Herlston, I’m from the Silver River area, where bouts you from?”, he said as he stretched out his hand.

                Willem was of average height for an elf, which at 7ft 3inches, was still almost 2 feet taller than Trin, his long black hair hid the pointed ears that distinguished him as an elf, but his facial features told Trin that this man was not what he seemed. Willem was 167 year old, which by Elf years was comparatively young, his father and brothers were also an archers in the Alliance although he had not heard from them in many weeks. He had traveled far to be here in the Pass, as the fortress was called to those who lived and worked there, and although not quite a soldier, he had been in combat, the scar across his face told of dark events. Trin introduced himself and as he shook his hand, a feeling of trust came over him, like some inner voice or intuition. The other was Rayon Wolron, also from the Silver River. Rayon was not as tall as Willem but was almost twice the size, the muscles that rippled under his clothing was quite apparent. The three introduced themselves, and when were down unpacking they followed Capt. Trahon to the supply store where they were issued light chain and leather armor, a back pack, string oil and strings for their bows, an extra quiver with arrows, a knife, a cloak, three uniforms and other goods that would be needed on the road. As they walked out, they were met by Pallen who led them to a target range.

Chapter 4

                The darkness swirled and became light, Trin felt the cold of the poison slowly retreating and voices slowly became audible to him. Familiar faces faded in and out for what seemed to be an eternity then the darkness of sleep took him. “Tri.... Trin?, Trin can you hear me?”, Trin slowly opened his eyes which became to focus on the bearded face before. Bretton’s dusty face took shape and Trin in disbelief smiled, “Bretton?, what happened?, where am I?”, “safe my brother and lucky to be alive, that Wyrntsi arrow almost finished you off. Your lucky that Tonija was able to counter the poison of the arrowhead”. Trin looked around and saw Willem and Rayon sitting by the fire in the middle of the tent, they rose as he sat up. “Trin, your ok, we thought you were finished when that Wyrntsi attacked you, the bastard killed one of our men before we got it”. “Rayon, Willem, how long have you been here?”, Rayon smiled at him and said “I would say about three days or so”. Trin noticed an unfamiliar shape looking through the tents opening, “who’s that?, he’s not in uniform, is he a merc?”, “yes Trin, I’m a mercenary, but I’m no he” came a familiar voice as Ereka turned to face him. “You.. what are you doing here?”, “I’ve joined the Alliance as a cleric, they need people like me to save the sorry skins of people like you”. She smiled as she hugged him “its been too long Ereka, I’ve missed you”. Trin felt a weight lift from his body as she held him. He then laid back and fell asleep as Bretton, Rayon, Willem and Ereka talked into the night. Trin’s dreams took him back to the river by the farm, as he walked towards it, the water parted and retreated to expose a statue of a stone warrior holding a glowing sword. As he walked towards it, the eyes of the warrior glowed red and began to walk towards him, he could feel the aura of ancient magic engulfing him. He stood before the statue unsure of what to do, unsure of its intentions. “Young Trin, the power of the Daritto flows through you, I have been sent by Mage Christoban of the Northward Hills to assist you. You must travel Northwest to the Bajan’or Mountains, to the Temple of Drek-nor. There you will find me.. time is short young Trin, the evil that approaches even now grows stronger everyday, you must hurry.......”.

                Trin awoke the next morning. rose to his feet and dressed, he oiled his bow strings and refreshed his quivers and then proceeded to sharpen his sword, Bretton approached and sat next to him “here”, Trin smiled as he took the food offered to him and ate. “How goes the battle in the West, you were up by Dragons Gate were you not?”, Bretton’s face turned hard and said “Dragons Gate fell two weeks ago, the armies of the Darklord were held, but no reinforcement came. General Vladmin held the fortress as long as he could with a volunteer force of about 160 warriors and archers, they bought the others time to get the wounded and civilians away to safety..”, Brettons face reddened with rage as he spoke, “the bastards brought his head to the Prince with a warning to surrender or else face the inevitable”. Bretton drew his sword and looked at the runes that were inscribed along its blade. “Vladmin was my best friend and mentor, I swear by this sword that 100 Handolins will die for that outrage.. I’m already up to 32”. Trin continued to sharpen his sword as he realized that his brother had indeed changed, his warm personality turned to one of cold, his hard eyes telling of unspeakable battle and carnage, Trin then thought of how much he had changed, what they’d both lost and what the future may take from them and shook his head. “Bretton?”, “yes littler brother”, “you and I both know that the last battle was with a smaller force than expected, when do you think the main force will arrive?”, “from what I’ve heard its supposed to be any day now”. Trin looked away as he thought of the forthcoming battle but his thoughts were cut short when a tent adjacent erupted into flames, Bretton and Trin looked in horror as a soldier came from the tent engulfed in flames then fell. Trin and Bretton grabbed their weapons and ran from the tent, as the Tonija and Ereka joined them, the gate leading to the Messidan Fields exploded and amidst the smoke and fire, the Handolin, the Wyrntsi and the dark forces of the Outlanders flowed into the camp, the main force of the Darklords army had amassed quietly over the last 3 nights in different positions and had attacked with a ferocity and cunning that left many Alliance soldiers surprised, even as they fell. The soldiers of the Alliance quickly mustered themselves and began establish a skirmish against their now outnumbering foe. Ereka gripped her staff releasing its blade mechanism and as an Orc was about to dispatch her with his battle axe, the blade of her staff penetrated his chest plating and he died screaming in pain. She then looked around quickly and began to run towards Bretton and Trin who were battling a group of Handolins.

                Trin yelled as he arced his sword downward, cleaving the arm of his attacker, the Handolins shrieked and staggered back only to charge Trin. Trin being more dexterous, deftly parried the Handolin’s warhammer and drove his saber down into its back as it moved past him, unable to stop. Bretton stepped back as he brought up his sword as the attacking Handolin brought down its mace, as metal collided with metal, Bretton pushed the Handolin back and swung his sword, but the Handolin was ready and blocked his blade. As Bretton recoiled to strike again the third Handolin attacked, Bretton caught glimpse of this and shifted position and swung of the beast striking it first, it doubled over and fell to the ground entangling Brettons sword. He struggled to free it but was struck from behind. Bretton cried out and fell as he felt the mace hit his back, Trin turned and as the beast was about to strike again he struck it in its side, bringing it down. Trin helped his brother up as Ereka appeared, she placed his arm over her shoulders and helped Trin take him to he well, “where are we going Ereka”, “to the well”. Trin stopped and asked “why the well, we have to get out of here”, “I know” Ereka said, “the well has a secret escape tunnel.. just in case”. Trin looked around and saw Tonija fighting a pair Wyrntsi. Trin looked at the others and said “Ereka, get him out of here I have to get Tonija”, Bretton stopped him and gave him his sword, “remember, only magic kills them”. Trin drew the sword and felt the power of the Daritto growing as he realized he was drawing magical energy from the sword, he then set off towards Tonija.

                The Wyrntsis were fast and lethal, Tonija being not very skilled with a sword was slowly being pushed back by the two. Trin yelled, attracting the attention of one of the Wyrntsi, who’s skeletal face showed no emotion as it shrieked and charged him. The sword in his hand suddenly flared to life, rippling with magic as he heard a faint voice say “master”. He stopped and looked at his sword which was suddenly engulfed with fire, his attention was quickly brought back to the Wyrntsi and as if controlled by some unknown force he brought up the sword to parry the Wyrntsi’s attack and arced his blade at the creature. As his blade struck the mystical beast was suddenly engulfed with fire and within seconds, burned away to nothing. The second Wyrntsi suddenly turned giving Tonija the time she needed to prepare her spell, she brought her hands together as in prayer then pointed them towards the Wyrntsi, as she finished her incantation a ball of blue flame was cast forth striking the Wyrntsi causing it to suffer the same demise as its partner.