Tarnished

[ChainedDragons 1374]

Nickolai Weiss... now known as Bronadron, Bron... Callaghan.. could only sit and stare at the two papers beneath his grasp. One a missive of Victor.. another a letter he had not expected to receive. He had no idea why Numendil were rallied in the beginning. Not till they went knocking on the emperors door as he hid fearfully in the back, thanking whatever hid him from searching eyes that day.

All this bloodshed.. over a shield. Why.. the lord had told him he was going to Norland for a death duel just days prior. Why did it not catch his attention then?

Now his relatives were slaughtered.. All for this? His heart ached but there were no tears left to shed. He had lost so many people in the past 3 years. It was another corpse on the burning pile of memories.. and there was surely more to come. 

Nickolai pressed his face into his hand, dropping the letters to the ground. He may not have swung the sword directly but him being there made him just as guilty. He had aided in the deaths of his kin and he felt his own soul screaming to swallow itself. "What have ea done?"

[PrimnyaQuorum 3999]

A Pale-Elf skims across the parchment; his heart aches as a slow understanding of what massacre took place becomes clear, and over what.

 

It has long remained his charge to observe, to record and keep history. Sometimes, it is a bitter task; not tales of adventure and victory, but obituaries and vigils.

Far too many obituaries.

[Apotolofo 2204]

A shaman reads the missive, tears streaming down her face. She exhales softly, closing her eyes- words echo through her mind.

 

"It had to be done. We tried everything."

 

Lies. A desperate attempt at consoling your own cowardly heart.

 

"What would you have done, Hera? It was a necessary evil. It spiraled out of our control." 

 

"Tell it to the weeping."

[Monty Cobra 921]

Njáll could not bring his eyes to the table where the charred remains of the deceased lay. The boy, once so full of brilliant joy and laughter, quick to share even when he had had nothing of his own, seemed a hollow shell of what he once was. A fear crept in, clawing, threatening to envelop him, as he replayed in his mind a seemingly odd memory—the face of the kind Imperial soldier who had guided him back to safety on the night that the Mountain had attacked Vjardengrad. 

 

It felt like a rug pulled from beneath his feet. That child's trust, placed in the hands of the Empire that night, was violently ripped away and left him floundering. Now in hiding, Njáll flitted anxiously from person to person—his mother, his father, his uncles—never leaving their sides. His eyes red, still apt to burst into tears at the drop of a pin. With a hysteria lingering in the back of his mind did the boy watch each person in turn, wondering an unending question. Who would he lose next?

[confusedjester 811]

The Keen Royal read the missive once, gaze falling elsewhere as she gardened. She had been apart of the siege and the bloodshed, and not a stranger to gore was she, but there was something in her this time- something ruminating behind that creased brow.

 

Was the world truly Empire or Nothing?

 

Heilwig could only wonder, which nation was next. Only seven to go.

[Turbo_Dog 3567]

2 hours ago, KidKrinkles said:

If you seek potent materials, I suggest flaying your next victims where they stand, so as to fashion armor of hide stronger than steel. It would suit both your pragmatism, and your barbarism

“Hmmm. I actually like this idea. Next time im invited I know what I’ll do and the crowd will praise it.” Spuds read the golden points a few times over. He had spoken before, he was no monk, no saint, he was a mercenary and the price of life is what he felt like even if he didn’t see a mina for the six or so Norn slaughter that was had which he wasn’t scratched nor scratched anyone

[spaazmatism 1018]

The Lord of Imp-kind laughed until his foul black lungs began to give out.

What literacy he had a command over had served him well. This was the funniest thing he had ever heard;

The metal of the hells had found a way to spread more chaos than most actual demons would have.

But he didn't like the empire, and to see it win was annoying.

'Whatever,' he thought, 'more dead mortals.'

 

[_Elrith_ 4525]

 

[Perkins 167]

An Uruk adorned in Bronze Arms reads the missive, nodding his head slowly. "Me axe is lats, Victor. If lat seeks aid to summon, then lat may only set a location an' me shall ride there." Brutaz then reaches for his Aurum-Axe, eager for further news.

[ArgentEra 459]

A musin stumbled upon the missive during a visit to Numenost, wishing to see how much had changed in recent years. Taking it with him as he left, a raised hood did little to hide the tremble of his whiskers, the rage upon his brow at the words as he made the journey home. "More violence, over trivial matters at that," he muttered, hand clasping at the bag on his hip for some semblance of familiarity. "There are far greater foes to face these days - and they fight each other. At this rate - none but stone and ash will remain to remember any of us."

[Sonybut7 530]

3 hours ago, Metamancy said:

A certain commoner read over the missive, her brow crinkling. 

She read it over and over again. She had not heard of the attack on Norland; surely she was missing something.

And yet, the more she read, the more concerned she grew.

 

"What...?"

 

She read from the safety of her home in Alba, nestled cozily upon her mattress.

And yet, she no longer felt safe. 

 

Spoiler

What happened to 'Tosses missive in the fire.' ?

 

[Spellblades 749]

Eloir Drakon read Victor's missive from the walls of Caurost, and a sorrowful look was found on the young Fenn's face as he burned the missive in a nearby fire. "May Wyrvun guide my spear if they dare to touch Caurost, I'm done running."

[Reckless Banzai Screamer 15456]

3 hours ago, Sonybut7 said:

 

snip

 

 

Spoiler

Pepin*

 

[__Hergh 785]

Isilmelire had heard a tale of the divine slaughter only hours after the city fell. A young survivor came to her doorstep, panicked. He had barely escaped being hanged from the pagan's tree. An innocent life. Now, with the missive in hand, did she realize the full extent of the tragedy. Of the men and women, even children, who were lost, extinguished, and excused by the proclamation of holy right. A realization dawned, and she began to pen her letters to those she desperately hoped had survived the massacre. 

[Sr_Dimentio 586]

Allen was now living with his adoptive father, trying to heal himself, heal himself from wounds far worse than physical, the loss of what he considered his siblings, feeling like he had no purpose in this life, that he was guilty of things that were far beyond his grip. But now, he was starting to feel happyness, Calmness, he felt he found family and care yet again. Until he got that missive... His eyes glared at it with fury "No..." he thought of what he once considered his home... He thought about how other people must feel like he felt, and about how much it hurts... "The world is rotten... But... I think it still has hope... I think it can be better..." he muttered to himself "Victor, my rapier shall aid you if it's needed..." he declared, pinning the missive with a dagger on the table he was sitting on.

 

---

 

Dementio also read the missive, the most important person to the self-proclaimed ''tyrant of the stars'' showed it to him, and he saw how much it hurt her, how much it dissapointed her... And he also felt dissapointed on what he thought was heroes... If not heroes... People trying to what considered best, he felt dissapointed at himself; for he thought he, as a 'villain', had a good eye on what was a hero "Disgusting..." he growled "Not even villains... For that's what I am... And I don't... Do this..." he sighed, as he really had to think about this... "At this point... It will not be the mountain what causes the end of the world..."

 

---

 

In another hidden part of Aevos, the elf fomerly known as 'Enric Von Illwill Lamort', now known as Phanto, was laughing "Pffff-" he covered his mouth, chuckling softly at first, until he bursted into maniacal laughter "HAHAHAHAHAHA! No way! No way! For a shield!?" more laughter filled the empty corridors where he was hiding, until he managed to calm himself, he shrugged and shook his head, grinning like this was the funniest news he heard in some time "Oh... They even had to call 'Daddy Empire' for help!" he grinned more, then narrowed his eyes at the missive "There's nothing I'm more excited for than to see those idiots and that rotten 'Empire of Fools' fall... And maybe they cause it themselves..." he snorted, storing the missive on his coat