The Fall Of A Warrior

[Lykos 276]

Ooc info-

Lykos' equipment:

-Dwarven Steel longsword

-Mithril Aspis w/ sharpened edge (A round shield, outside edge had been honed into a single circular blade)

-Salamander tooth dagger (from a creature similar to a drake)

-Mithril Vembrances

-Leather armor

I havn't been able to rp Lykos for months due to reality-based problems,

and as such, he's most likely died of old age by now... So I thought to

myself, why not give Lykos a dignified death?

http://youtu.be/Lhv_yFMuwxs

---=---

The ground was thin, ashen. The winds pick up, blowing the ashen soil about.

A hand erupts from the ash, digging itself out of the dirt. Once the

ash was moved, a warrior remained. He stayed on the ground and looked

around. The land he was in was dark... So very dark. His thoughts

brought him to think that he had died and this was to be his afterlife.

Intense pain affirmed otherwise when he tried to move. He gritted his

teeth and steeled himself, then tore himself out of the ash. He was not

dead. Not yet at least. This was not the afterlife, this was home...

Forcing himself to his feet, Lykos took up his sword and blade-shield with shaking hands and looked towards his home.

--- _/||\_ ---

The day before

--- \||/ ---

The wind was whipping about in a violent manner, far faster than usual.

Lykos surveyed the area. He had made this place his temporary home. The

soil was enriched by the burned remains of the previous forrest, burned

in the dry season the year before. As such, the trees and other plants

flourished here. And since the plants thrived, there were many beasts

about to hunt. The ash picked up from the wind assaulted his face,

forcing him to look away for a second before resuming his watch.

The land was not only home to beasts of the wild, but veritable beasts of

men. Bandits, led by a fearsome chief named Theritus that fancied

himself a bandit king. Stupidity at its finest. They had threatened him

with death a few times before, but today they had sent scouts. He

watched them as they surveyed the land, looking for him. Lykos stood

tall with his sword at his side, staring daggers at them from a good

distance. They turned back, obviously not wanting to get into a

premature battle.

The sky began to darken as the ash picked up

even more and the sun began to set. Lykos could hear war-drums in the

distance, followed by battle-horns. The brigands were on the move. He

takes up his sword and shield and walks into the middle of a large

field. If the bastards wanted a battle, he'd gladly oblige.

The group of bandits, numbering a couple dozen, marched on, clashing their

swords against their shields in step with their march. They were

attempting to intimidate the man that had taken up residence in their

valley. This man had already killed a few of their men, and as such was a

threat to be dealt with.

Lykos pulled the scarf around his neck

up over his mouth and nose, keeping the dust and ash from his lungs. As

they came into sight, Lykos unsheathed his sword, which sang as it tore

through the air and into the combat stance Lykos held himself in. His

sword held out at his side and his shield up, Lykos yelled.

"Come on you bastards, I havn't all day for you to screw around!"

Hearing the bellowing shout of the old warrior, the bandits looked at each

other, then the chief sounded his horn, signalling them to charge. And

charge they did, still in the staggered formation they had marched in.

Their organization would make them less effective, however, as they kept

ample spacing.

Lykos snorted as he heared the horn and saw the

brigands charging at him with their low-end weapons swinging wildly in

the air. He starts taking relaxed steps forward, then begins hurrying

his step, finnally running himself. The ground between the brigands and

the warrior quickly vanished, and Lykos got to work doing what he does

best.

The first brigand to make contact with him tried to jump

and use his momentum to unleash and overhead vertical slash. Lykos

merely stepped to the side and dragged his blade across the bandit's

midsection, nearly cutting him in two.

After slicing through the first, Lykos spun and held his sword out, decapitating the second bandit.

Lykos tore through the brigands, seeming to dance through their ranks to a

most bloody tune. As more and more brigands fell, the more they tried to

bring him down with numbers. Lykos gave mortal wounds to those who

tried, and sustained some nasty wounds himself, until only he and the

last of the regulars stood toe to toe. The bandit was shaken, but

sallied forth, only to be met by the veritable wall that was Lykos'

shield. The shield was bashed into the brigand's face, then swung

downwards, slashing the bandit's legs. Lykos continued this combo with a

vicious stab upwards, which guided the blade into the bandit's skull

through his neck. The brigand fell to his knees, and Lykos pushed him

off of his blade with his foot.

As he pulled the blade from the last of the bandits, Lykos was lifted into the air. He could see a

mighty blade erupting from his stomach... The attacker swung his blade

through the air with Lykos still on it, sending him sliding off of it

and rolling to the ground. As he hit the ground, he fell unconscious,

his last sight being the bandit king wiping his claymore of his blood.

---

---

...

Lykos tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't. He couldn't breath. All he

could feel was intense weight upon his chest and tearing winds on his

hand. He clawed at what was covering him with his free hand, uncovering

himself. As his head emerged from his shroud of dust, he took a great

breath in, but groaned in pain. Each breath brought nearly-unbearable

pain. But that was just it. He was still breathing. He tore himself to

his feet. Looking around, he spotted his sword and shield. Picking them

up and gripping them with all his strength, Lykos looked to his home.

Even through the ash storm, he could see his shack burning, and a few

shadows in front of the flames. He took struggling steps toward the

burning shack and the figures it sillhouetted. They turned to him, yet

Lykos kept on moving. He fell to his knee, but tore himself back up to

his feet.

"Another of our boys emerge from the dust, boss!"

One of the brigands shouted to the chief over the screeching winds.

Theritus looked over to the figure coming from the darkness. The figure wore a cape that violently fluttered in the wind.

"No, this is someone different. No... No, he's dead!"

Lykos neared the figures and shouted with all his strength before painfully jogging to them, sword up.

The three remaining brigands looked to each other and stood fast, waiting for the attack.

Lykos ran forward, stumbling with each step. His heavy footsteps were

shadowed by light and quick footfalls behind him. He did not mind them,

as he knew who the steps belonged to.

The brigands looked as the man's shadow in the darkness was flanked by numerous smaller shapes, then two drew bows and fired into Lykos.

Lykos took two arrows to the chest and stumbled, fell to his knee once again and looked on. His companions

ran ahead of him, weapons raised. William Baldwin, Redbain, Will

Chapman, Davien Thole, all of them... All of the hunters from Aegis he

continuously fought alongside... his brothers. Using his sword as a

support, he got back onto his feet and jogged forward, he would not

allow his brothers to fight without him.

The bandits raised their weapons, the winds in their faces. The shapes around the warrior came

forward. A few burst out of shadow as they lunged. A pack of wolves. The

wolves tackled two bandits and dragged them away from the light, away

from the chief. All Theritus could hear was his men getting their

throats torn out. He was panicked now.

Lykos walked past his friends and walked towards the chief, weapon at his side. The chief

swung his sword at his brothers, then looks back to the warrior before

him. Lykos pulled the arrows from his chest and dropped them into the ash below.

Theritus charges at Lykos, wildly swings his blade at him, and Lykos parries it with his

own sword, but the claymore slams his blade out of his hand. Lykos

lunges forward and draws his dagger, a salamander tooth, and sheathes it

in the chief's eye, into the brain. He tears the tooth out of the skull

and lets the chief fall to the groud. The wolves drag the body away,

and Lykos picks his blade up again, walking away.

He walked for a few miles before falling to his knee once more. He lifted his hand from

his wound and looked at it. His hand was covered in blood, and he fell

sideways onto his back. He looked into the sky, surprised to see it

clear, dotted with luminous stars. The wolves had followed him, and

looked at him as he lay there. There was no ash here, just verdant

green.

The wolves growled as someone from a nearby road rushed to

Lykos. The dying man calmed them with a hand gesture, and the traveller

came forth.

"Whoa, I thought these beasts were eating you... You don't look so good."

"Beasts? No, these are my friends... We've just claimed a victory and we're on

our -violently coughs- we're on our way to Throdo's for some ale... Hey,

mind doing a favor for me?"

"I, uh... Yes. Yes I can."

"Take this stuff to the Wizard Zane... He'll be able to use it more than me, I

think I'm done fighting... The sword, shield, vembrances, and dagger...

And my necklace."

The traveler takes the equipment and looks back to Lykos.

"What if I found a healer?"

"No... No. I'll be just fine... Been through worse."

The traveler jogs back to the road, leaving Lykos behind.

There was no pain, just the beauty of the stars above him. One of the wolves

came forward and laid next to Lykos, who ran his fingers through its

fur, comforted by the familiar texture. The tough guard hairs, the soft

undercoat...

Here Lykos realized these weren't his friends... His friends were long

dead. This was his family. A pack of wolves that had followed him for

years...

Lykos passed, still clutching the wolf's soft fur.

He had fought the undead, the endermen, drakes, and innumerable people in

his life... He had lived his life with few friends, but those friends

were of the best quality. And now he lies in a field, staring at the

stars, without seeing his friends for years. The wolves stand a quiet defense of the body, the blood-red Hunter's moon rises in the sky...

I've enjoyed every minute with Lykos, and it is going to be extremely tough for me to detach him from me... REST WELL AND KICK SOME ASS IN THE SPIRIT WORLD.

http://youtu.be/B0ZTyCxbdok

[Dromui 755]

Fantastic~

[Silevon 497]

:-( Very good read.

[Lvke 1000]

Dear god! I almost cried!

[Lykos 276]

I find it ironic that all the real-life sh*t happening to my family and I hadn't set me into sadness, but this is making me really friggin' depressed.

[Bircalin 332]

((Screw vids, click the link for music when reading ^^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHy7MMII6f8 ))

Bircalin's thin boots scraped the ash as they aimlessly sulked across the now-barren wasteland of calmed embers and whispering breezes. He had religiously taken to walking alone with the wind, allowing it to guide him as it pleased. Aegis had left him scarred, worn, beaten and tired. But the experiences, the memories and the unlikeliest of men spurred him onwards, serving as a constant reminder to continue to do what you believe in, until your final moments of warmth and true solace.

Fighters, mages, men... There were countless of each upon the lands, but few could have even hoped to rise to the standing that Lykos had in Bircalin's conscience. Lykos, was a man. Lykos was the man that Bircalin knew, no matter what torrential downpour of rain, blood or snow, would always be willing to end in a flurry of blood for his faith and honour. He was the man that few knew, but all feared. He was the man willing to do what was required of him, what was needed of him. He was the man that will fold under the sands of time to meet his brothers in their fossilized states, for they will always remain eternal in the hearts of those that they inspired to believe in something better and worth fighting for. Bircalin would never forget Lykos Daekon. He could only hope that in his own dying moments, his old friend would be looking upon him with pride and a fresh tankard of the strongest ale, ready to deliver their antics unto the realm of the deceased.

Bircalin's boots catch onto something odd protruding from the ashen soil, a small bone no larger than the neck of a guitar. Carefully, he scooped some of the ash over onto the bone, bringing it back into it's earthed state alongside it's body. He knew not what 'nor whom the bone belonged to, and thusly, he carried on with his stroll with the enigmatic moonlight shimmering upon his back and the ground in which his companion now rested.

A final thought invades Bircalin's mind as the faint, warm glow of the sun scaled the horizon as it had done and will do for all time, regardless of the actions and events occurring below it.
The thought, a memory of words he once spoke. Words spoken about the champions of Aegis and the men like them.

"There will always be those willing to burn in the most blazing and hellish of places. But no matter what we do, the land will never remember us, and names fade with time as new generations pass. Sometimes, life is about being what you aspire to be, being the person others look to in awe. Being remembered by all for eternity is a worthless ambition. Making yourself loved by the few you touch until their own dying days is worth dying for, and that is why men march upon the gates to ungodly realms. They fight so those they love will be safe in the times to come, no matter the cost."

[Lykos 276]

^Thanks, Bircalin... You owe me for invading your home and leaving dogs sitting everywhere and building you a hot tub... Or not, because I'm just a ghost.

[Bircalin 332]

(( That hot tub was worth every minas I didn't pay you for, and for that, I am grateful.
But yeah, he -is- such a great character. It's a shame we won't be seeing much of him anymore, truly.

Good luck on whatever characters you have planned ^^ ))

[-The Doctor- 65]

That... that was a great read. brought tears to my eyes...

I was amused that the song ended exactly as I read the last sentence, as well.