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| The time of legends had come and gone. Nothing remained of the magical
empires that had claimed the lands. Humans had taken over the world. They had defeated the demon armies that had plagued the world for over a thousand years with technology and science. It was the era of technology and humans ruled this world. There were several countries and small states scattered around the world but they were all ruled by one ruler. A royal family that claimed they were the descendants of the original rulers of the lands before the demons had taken over the world. Now on this night a viscious storm raged and howled. Lightning crackled down and struck several places but mainly in the old ruins hidden by the overgrowth of a forest. With the loud clap of thunder lightning ripped thru an old tree down through the earth and the sound of exploding stone was oddly echoed. Through the smoke and debris a thin hand grabbed at the earth and pulled the body behind it. On the Anniversary of the fall of the alliance, Bane had clawed himself free of the tomb that had kept him from the world for over a thousand years. Heaving from the effort and strain Bane oddly found himself at peace. He lay back on the wet ground and let the rain hit him. It tasted different. He spit it out. The rain was tainted. He knew not how or why but it was a foul black rain. Struggling to get to his feet Bane fell backwards and stumbled. He had been eating nothing but rats and insects for a thousand years. He needed a more substantial meal. He needed to find a place where he could find food and drink and heal. Stumbling in the dark Bane made his way towards the bright lights. Odd things they were. He thought they were great fires but instead he found the light contained in a glass of some kind on a metal pole. He sniffed the pole and found the human scent all over it. He sneezed and moved on. His clothes were rags and torn in several places. His once famed boots of speed had disentegrated from the lack of care and magic so his bare feet tred on this new kind of stone that he would later find out was a roadway. The world seemed oddly empty of magic. Lycans, all Lycans, had a sense of magic and sensed the magic of nature the same as Elves. Bane sensed no magic. How strange he thought. The storm waged on around him and it seemed to be following him and guiding him. Bane found himself at the door step of a hugh building. The tallest he had ever seen. He banged on the door and collapsed in a heap. A man in a hooded robe opened the door and shouted excitedly for help. Bane slowly awoke in a warm room in a warm and clean bed. The grime had been washed off his body and he had fresh smelling bed clothes of some type on. He looked around the room and seen two more robed figures. Both were monks of some type Bane knew that much. Their speech is what through him off. They spoke common but with accents the type he had never heard before. They noticed he was awake and slowly made their way over to him. “I am Father Tiberious and this is Father Fletcher. He was the one who found you on our door step. May I ask what your name would be?” The older monk, Tiberious, rang a bell for food and drink to be brought in. “I am called Bane. What strange manner of place is this and where am I?” “You are in NewCity Abbey. I believe after you eat we will have much to discuss.” Bane nodded his agreement as he tore into a chicken leg and bit off a chunk of bread. The drink they gave him was wine. He had longed for wine or ale or anything except for the water that condensed on the walls of his tomb. As he ate Father Tiberious gave him the information about NewCity. Bane knew he had been in the tomb for a long time and feared nothing remained of his people or the ones he had held close and dear to him. “What of the Elves, Dwarves, and Lycans?” Bane asked. Tiberious looked aghast at what Bane had asked. But leaned closer and told the tale of how the Elves had taken those who would go with them to another realm or place to escape the demons. The demons had destroyed the dwarves and all traces of those who had not gone. The lands of Lycans was no more. The demons still lived on the world but they kept mostly to the Eastern Continent. Their leaders having been destroyed and their way back to the demon realm had been closed they decided to make peace with the humans and try to live on the world. The thousand years of slavery and rule had put a bad taste in the mouth of humans and the demons kept to themselves for this reason. “What of the vampire races?” Bane asked. Tiberious shook his head in the I do not know way. Tiberious patted Banes arm and said they would talk more in the morning. Bane was tired and fell to sleep quickly. His snoring kept half the wing of the building up. Groans came from many of the rooms after a pause Bane would start snoring again. Awakened by the gong of a bell Bane jumped from his bed. Chuckling he sat down on his bed. This was a new time and a new era. He would have to get used to the way things are done here. As promised Father Tiberious arrived and brought with him history books and video tapes. He would have much to go over with his charge who he and the other monks believed had lost his memory somehow in the storm. For weeks Bane devoured all knowledge of the world around him. He marveled at the combustion engine but was disgusted at the way it polluted the air. New vehicles of transportation had been developed and were known as air cars. He was amazed to see them fly through the air at speeds much greater then any horse he had ridden. Bane found out that the monks who kept their hoods up were some sort of human and elf hybrid. He was glad to see their kind but he sensed no magic in their blood. They had lost their forests and lost their magic he thought. How sad he thought as he pulled his shirt on. He had been given clothes to wear so he could venture out. At first Father Tiberious went with him but then he was encouraged to go alone. Bane walked the streets with his senses overwhelmed from the noise and smells. Bane turned to walk thru a darker alley, his eyes adjusting to the loss of light he detected 3 bodies hiding behind a dumpster. “Ok, come out. I know you are there. What do you want?” The three shapes came out of the darkness and were joined by four more behind Bane. “Funny ducky, we were about to ask you to dance.” The one who Bane thought was the leader of the group was first to speak as leaders always do. “I do not think you will like the way I dance boy. Now you have two choices. One you get out of my way or two I show you how to die a quick and painful death.” The gang was taken back by Banes words but they brandished guns. “Yo I don't think he gets it Rat. Lets show him.” The gang all pointed their guns at Bane who knew what they were and knew their limitations. Faster then the gang thought possible Bane attacked. The leader was the first one to go down. His arm had been shattered and his neck was twisted. The next two fell where they stood with crushed windpipes. The closest one behind Bane had his gun arm broken and the gun was shoved into his mouth and stuck out the back of his neck where it fired killing the gang banger behind him. The rest of the gang turned and ran. Bane stepped over the bodies and whistled as he headed back to his temporary home. A quick and dirty fight was all he needed to test his reflexes. He had picked up his weight almost to the point to where it was before. He excercised and stretched and worked for the monks around their building. He had developed into a leaner body type and his speed had returned. He had lost the beastial look he had gained before being trapped in the treasure vault which had been his tomb. Probably due to the loss of magic in the world he guessed lots of things had lost their magic. Bane found himself walking to the tomb where he had escaped. He had hidden the entrance with rubble. Flicking on his flashlight Bane jumped down into the hole. Looking about him Bane found the armor and weapons that had once held great magic were nothing but rusted pieces of history. He opened the hidden chest in the floor tile and the gold and gems and jewels glittered up at him. At least that was not affected. There was a glint of something else in the far corner of the room. Bane walked to it and found the the blade. The blade was made from a mithril stained with blood and charcoal. The silverish runes were not elvish. Oddly they were ancient human. Bane did not remember where the sword had come from and did not know it had been in the vault. It must have been put there by Jadell, his wife. Oh how he longed to see her. The soft rustle of leather and the scent of elven sweat snapped Bane back to reality. Outside the hole he heard whoever it was sit down. Bane made his way to the exit. Seeing the elf cloaked in the camouflaged cloak Bane stepped out of the hole holding the sword he had found. “Ah I see you have found what I have come for. Please, give it to me.”The elf said. It was speaking in Court Elvish. Bane knew it knew who he was and sat down in front of the elf. “And tell me why should I give this to you?” “It belongs to me. I had placed the blade there for safe keeping when I had come to spy on your crumbled empire.” “My empire is not the only thing that crumbled elf. So you are a spy. Well, spy tell me your name.”Bane thumbed the edge of the sword. The elf sat perfectly upright and seemed to twitch as Bane drew blood on his thumb. The act was something he had learned that upset the elves. They could not stand the tortue or pain of any creature including enemies. It is why they trained to kill their enemies as quick as possible Banes old weapon trainer had told him. “Stop. I am Hornthalus Ellowen.” The elf used the proper last name first to Bane. A gesture that only those of the high court did to others of equal standing. “I think I will call you Horn. Yes it suits you.” The elf twitched again. He did not seem to like the nickname. “I could call you Horny.” Bane said to the elf in a under tone. The elf twitched more. “But I think Horn suits you better.” The elf seemed to slump a little. Accepting the name. “So tell me Horn, what happened to my people? And yours?” Bane accepted a clay pipe full of some kind of tobacco. He puffed on it and handed it back to the Horn. “When the alarm went up that the Castle was under attack they could not find you. By the time the attack ended your castle lay in ruins and the rubble had been piled on top of the hidden vault door, entombing you while you were in the vault.” Bane nodded. “The demons attacked the elven cities with such ferocity and numbers that the elves were forced to use all the magic of their forests against the demons. Thousands of demons fell but for every demon killed a hundred took its place. It was never ending. The elves retreated into the mountains and were taken in by the dwarves. The dwarves held their ground with the elves but several clans fell. The dwarves in a blood lust rushed out to battle the demon hordes but they fell.. No dwarves remained after the Battle of Underkin as the elves called it.” Bane stared at the ground with images of the great battle in his head. It would have been a glorius battle to see. “How did the demons kill the dwarves so easy with the elves there?” Horn looked at Bane with sadness. “They retreated back to the forests after seeing the dwarves go into a bloodlust. They were leaving the dwarves to fight for their lives. They opened a portal into another realm using all the magical energy they had left and escaped taken all creatures that had magic in them. Your wife and her lycan guards were also taken into the new realm against their will.” Bane slammed his fist into the ground. “The lycans fell to treasonous actions during the last battle. The vampire races who had been fighting along side the lycans joined with the demons during the mid battle to turn the war against the lycans. Emperor Erix, who had been named Emperor after the death of Tamra and the loss of Jadell and yourself was hard pressed at the last great battle. Lycan traitors had undermined his strategies and when the signal was given to retreat the lycan clans of Jackals and Panthers turned on the other lycan clans. This was the crushing blow that ended the lycans forever. Erix retreated to the mountains with what was left of the lycans. A small group of twenty was all that survived that followed Erix. For years they were hunted by the Panther clan and demons and vampires." Banes knuckles grew white as he clenched his fists. Blood dripped from his hands as his nails dug into the flesh of his palms." "What about the humans?" Horn sighed. "The humans put up no resistance and were enslaved for over a thousand years. Secretly they began research into science and developed technology like gun powder and explosives. Less then two hundred years ago they fought against the demon hordes and won. The vampire race had been destroyed by the humans and the panther and jackal races helped the humans and are now integrated into the society.” Bane took all of this in. The events before him being locked in the vault made sense now. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He had handed the sword to Horn. Horn disappeared and Bane sat alone. The puzzle pieces finaly fit he thought. The sudden sounds of rushing wind and the feeling of a heavy net and the sharp stinging pain of something hitting him in the neck were the last moments Bane had before he fell unconscious. Part 3 will be next week. It will tie in the past and present and possibly the future. Stay tuned. By LLBane |
| Darkness by LLBane |