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View Full Version : A Cold Embrace: A gritty tale of the last seconds before death...



Dakrath Ahn
21-07-2005, 16:27
This is a tale about a Necromancer, my character Dakrath Ahn (N/W, and still kickin'. This is FICTION after all :p )

A Cold Embrace

The Northern Wall was already lost. Everyone knew it, yet nobody would accept it. The outcome of the battle was known before it was over. Yet, none of the soldiers seemed discouraged by the fact that they were about to perish. For their family. For their friends. For Ascalon. For home.
I was there. I was fighting alongside all those soldiers. All those soldiers who were about to perish. And I would perish with them. I knew it, yet I wasn't discouraged. Was it pride? Honor? Idiocy? Maybe it wasn't any of those. Maybe it was all of those, and more. I do not recall...

The battle ensued. The Charr had breached the Wall. Ascalon made it's final stand. I thought of myself as a brave man, fighting for my home. For a while, I even thought that I, as a powerful and mighty Necromancer, would be able to defend Ascalon. I would be able to be at least of some significance in the saviour of my home, my Ascalon. How wrong I was..

The second that that Charr grunt embedded that sword into me, I knew I was nothing. I was foolish to run headlong into the fray. I already imagined myself destroying the first wave of Charr singlehandedly. I would step out in front of Ascalon's army, focus all my strength and destroy all those Charr with ease. How wrong I was. I did as I imagined, stepping out in front, bathing in my own vanity and self-proclaimed superiority. I focussed all my strength, and felt the blinding pain of a half-blunt blade, embedding itself in the flesh between my neck and my shoulder, crushing every bone and tearing every muscle in it's way. I opened my eyes, awakening myself from my blissful state of megalomania, only to see a Charr grunt with an enormous scar around his left eye holding a hilt, attatched to a blade, embedded in me. I fell to my knees. Everything went quiet. My vision blurred and my entire body was going numb. How humiliating, to be the first to die. How honorable, to be the first to die.

I thought it was over. Slowly but steadily my vision went from a blur to a complete blackout. My mind was racing. Memories, surging through me...the sight of my father being incinerated by a Charr Flamecaller, Kasha Blackblood teaching me the arts of Necromancy, seeing my first minion tear it's way out of a fresh corpse. The sight of my eyelids enclosing my eyes, the feeling of my would-be corpse being trampled by the army of Charr, about to destroy everything. Destroy my family. Destroy my friends. Destroy my Ascalon. Destroy my home.

Yet, lying there, feeling death's cold embrace gain a stronger grip on me every second, I just couldn't accept it. This couldn't be it. But I couldn't do anything about it. I gathered all my strength. All my willpower. I focussed. And as if Grenth's hand slapped me in the face, I awakened, breaking death's cold embrace. I rolled to my stomach, and set my hands to the ground, trying to push myself to my feet. I was back. I would destroy these Charr. I was invincible. I looked up, still on my hands and knees, to my first victim. I tried to get to my feet to rush at him, but something was holding me down. I didn't even feel any pain, only the disability to get up. I looked around me, and saw a Charr grunt, with an enormous scar around his left eye, standing next to me. He held a hilt in his hand, attached to a blade, embedded in my. Like a tapestry pinned to a wall, the sword was pinning me to the ground. I couldn't breathe, as the blade had punctured a lung. I couldn't move, as the blade has punctured my torso.

I fell back down. Slowly but steadily my vision went from a blur to a complete blackout. Death's embrace had turned in a bearhug, squeezing my soul from my body. I had no choice but to accept it...I closed my eyes and waited untill I had shed my mortal shell...


The battle ensued. The Charr had breached the Wall. Ascalon made it's final stand. I thought of myself as a brave man, fighting for my home. For a while, I even thought that I, as a powerful and mighty Necromancer, would be able to defend Ascalon. I would walk out in front of Ascalon's army and singlehandedly destroy those Charr. And so I did...

I stepped out in front of the legion of soldiers, bathing in my own superiority. I was Ascalon's only hope. I was Ascalon's--no, Tyria's greatest. These Charr were nothing. The Charr rushed in, mindlessly. I closed my eyes, focussed. I gathered all my strength.

"Lord of Darkness. Lord of Death. Lend me your power, to keep my home safe!"

The power of the dark deity flowed through me. Nothing could defeat me. Nothing could defy my power. With the flick of my hand, the entire first wave of Charr dropped dead in front of me. With another gesture, I raised an army of undead from they're fresh corpses. And with a final gesture, I sent them to kill all the other Charr.

I was a hero. I was life and death in perfect harmony. I was the living, breathing embodiment of Grenth himself. And those who would stand in my way would all perish. I turned around to face my fellow soldiers. My fellow fighers. My fellow fighers who hadn't done anything. I looked upon them, yet I did not see them. I saw only Charr. Everywhere around me, there were Charr. One of them walked up to me. A Charr grunt with an enormous scar around his left eye. He lifted his sword. I wanted to move, but couldn't. He struck me with his blade, embedding the sword in the flesh between my neck and my left shoulder, crushing every bone and tearing every muslce in the way. But there was no pain. My vision blurred and my entire body was going numb.

I closed my eyes...I had failed. I had failed my family. I had failed my friends. I had failed Ascalon. I had failed my home...

SilentMoon
21-07-2005, 18:21
Very intriguing... I like it. :happy34:

An exercise of style, for sure, but one you handled pretty well. Maybe a little too dramatic at times, but hey, as a necromancer where's the fun if you can't let the emo side out a bit, right? ;)

Michal
22-07-2005, 09:43
very well written, i like it :happy34:

Andrew Nightchaser
22-07-2005, 10:42
I have to admit for a second I was a little confused. The whole repeating story was a nice creative touch! Very good! You captured the typical feeling of a new soldier recuit thinking he can take the world on. But then is humbly beaten down. Ahh, well normally the recuit doesn't die... but still nice story.

Dakrath Ahn
22-07-2005, 10:55
Thank you guys for the comments. You all certainly did a good job in boosting my ego :D

Andrew Nightchaser
22-07-2005, 11:18
Oh yes, in addition to my comment I have a suggestion for you. First off, a more detailed prologe would be nice. I cannot tell if this is pre-sear or a time when the Charr break's through the NW sometime in post sear. Second, an emotional plot telling the reason why the necromancer feels so powerful. Is it pride? Is it the will to protect? Note I said powerful not discouraged. Did the necro have speical training? Was he favored by the gods?

(call me an a**hole for acting too much of a movie critic)

Dakrath Ahn
22-07-2005, 11:29
I guess I wasn't clear enough on the time. The story takes place after the Searing, when the Charr break through the Northern Wall (Bonfaaz Burntfur's troops).

And I've tried not to make him sound powerful, as much as I've tried to make him arrogant. In the dream, he actually dreams that he is a great hero and a, in lack of a better word, god. He's actually just an aggorant bastard who thinks he's a supreme being or something. And the only way for him to realise otherwise is to get himself killed.

Andrew Nightchaser
22-07-2005, 11:31
Well thanks for clarifying that! I rate your story a 9/10 just due to some detail problems. Very nice story, again.

jacob abbett of guild war
24-07-2005, 03:23
good story but kinda hard to falow :happy53:

oney
25-07-2005, 07:53
Poor diluted fool
rushing into battle like that
was the end for him.
I like it keep on typing