Three short chapters detailing the searing in the eyes of two of my character from the game, as well as one from after the event. Inspired by the song First Light by Jeremy Soule for the Guild Wars Soundtrack. As always, all properties belong to their respective owners.
Johnathan Ruclib, my main Prophecies character and Reyna Ruclib, my Perma-Presearing Character, in the most amazing world I have seen crafted from imagination.
Song: .com/watch?v=9FBuxs6oxZ4
Excerpt from the opening cinematic:
The last day dawns on the Kingdom of Ascalon. It arrives with no fanfare; no tolling of alarms. Those who will remember will speak fondly of the warm morning breeze. People carry on with their daily lives, unaware that in a short while...
Everything they have ever known will come to an end.
POV Johnathan Ruclib, Ranger of the Ascalon Army
I sat on a small hill, under a tree with brilliant orange and red colors. It overlooked the lands to the north; a land covered with flowers in every color of the rainbow. The fall trees gently sway in the wind as a soft breeze blows through the lands, causing the grass and flowers to ripple across the hills of The Northlands. Rays of light seep through the trees to form columns of light.
My sister and I have always had a secret path to this spot. It provides us with a place where we can forget the worries and problems that plague life. We have been coming here since we were children. We came here when our parents died. First the Guild Wars ravaged the human kingdoms, and now new problems arise every day. I'm afraid this may be the last time I will see the beautiful lands of the north.
The lands of Ascalon are the most beautiful and idyllic in all of Tyria, but despite the peaceful appearance, Ascalon now deals with a very real threat from the far north.
The Charr.
Looking out over the lands, it is hard to imagine such savage creatures could exist in such a place like this.
"John, is something wrong? You never looked this worried when you're under the Fall Trees like this."
It was Reyna, my older sister, and the only family I had left. She was a elementalist, but did not often see battle. She wore the robes of a higher ranking elementalist, and had straight, purple hair that hung around her face, and had two buns tied behind her head.
"We've spotted a Charr south of the Wall." I said.
A Charr scout had made it past the Greater Northern Wall which protected a great deal of Ascalon from invasions from the north, and was part of the reason why the Charr could not advance further.
"Prince Rurik will be taking a small group of the more promising recruits with him to deal with the scout. I'll be going with them."
A Bluebird landed on my longbow, which lay on the ground to the side. It's colors were vivid as it sat in the column of light which made it's way through the leaves above. It chirped a calming tune.
Reyna spoke again. "It's not dangerous, is it? Mother would come back as a ghost if you were to get hurt. I promised her you would stay safe."
I chuckled at the promises we had made to our parents. They had died fighting in the Guild Wars against Orr and Kryta. The last promise to them we made was that we would keep each other safe.
"The Charr are planning something. They wouldn't be bold enough to make any pushes into our territory without a plan. They wouldn't send a scout unless that plan was going to happen."
I looked back out over the colorful landscape. I hoped I was wrong in my prediction.
"I fight for Ascalon. I fight for the beauty nature; for it's people. Just because we are behind a wall doesn't mean we are safe. I'm worried about the Charr, Reyna. I'm worried about what they might do. I don't want this to ever be destroyed."
I stood up. It was then that Reyna jumped at me with a hug.
"Just be careful... be careful and the Charr will never hurt you. And they will never hurt Ascalon."
Reyna took a few steps back, and smiled, before turning back towards out secret path and leaving.
I gazed out at the landscape one more time before picking up my bow. The Bluebird took flight and flew far into the distance. It kept flying over the colorful trees and green grass until it could no longer be seen.
oOo
Prince Rurik pulled his flaming sword from the corpse of the Charr scout. I placed my last arrow back within it's quiver and looked out of the cave and into the distance. Something felt wrong. What the scout said just before death did not help matters.
"Your end has already come."
I looked towards the sky as it began to darken and turn a sinister shade of red. The ground began to rumble beneath me. The entire sky seemed to be filled with ominous red clouds, something that was not natural.
Then, the sky opened up, and from it came the end of days. The Searing.
Time seemed to slow down to a near stand-still. I let go of my longbow, and it slowly dropped to the dirt before landing with a deep thunk. The falling sky would touch the lands of Ascalon, and from it's contact, fires broke out. The land was being burned. The beauty was being destroyed. Then John's mind skipped to one single thing among the chaos.
Was Reyna okay?