Oh oh oh. Mustn't forget the Disclaimer. Okay. Firstly I do not own MapleStory. No part of it do I own. On a side disclaimer I don't even like MapleStory. I ma not a fan of it. Mostly because of the in-game community. And also a third disclaimer. Not all these writings are by me. Kinda obvious from the titles but it must be said, of course. Each of us has different writing styles and don't worry if you get confused. So do we.
So… end of disclaimer and all.
My Chapter – The Story Begins
It was in an era long after Maple. The land was once thriving, a vast, beautiful country; but it had never been the same since the Night of the Crimson Tide.
They lived like fugitives; never daring to leave the sanctity of the Sanctuary for long; not even to forage for food. In the night, they felt the presence of the Balrog from every shadow; they longed for the light of day.
But it never came.
He looked around at this, his home for the rest of eternity. He had been here for well over three hundred years already, yet he still looked the same as he always had. He was, after all, in the Sanctuary. He remembered the past, unlike the younger children he had carried off with him that Night. He might not have ever aged, but he could not forget; and that weariness left him feeling older than he would ever be.
It had been a cold night. A dark night.
He remembered thinking about that even while the Festival had been going on outside. He remembered the indignance he had felt when he realized that he was to be babysitter to all the children while his peers went off to have a good time. He remembered his treetop home in Ellinia now, and remembering made him hurt. He remembered watching the celebrations at the Forest North of Ellinia from his home in the trees, wishing he could be down there to join in the fun.
But most of all, he remembered how dark and cold it had been.
All over Maple and Victoria Islands, and Ossyria as well, they had been celebrating the defeat of the Crimson Unity. His father, one of the major fighters in the decisive battle, was there to open the ceremony.
It was dark. He watched as
they played their games, and sang their songs. He didn't know how long he slept, but he was awake
before his head left the pillow. "Whaa--?" The
scene that greeted him outside froze him to the bone. It was a
Crimson Balrog. Nearly five times his size, it exuded an aura
of evil; its ragged breath asphyxiating him completely with its smell
of rot and decay. Before he could react, the Balrog had swept him
into the air with a wave of a massive paw. "What have we
got here...?" Afraid, but unwilling to give in, he
concentrated; calming his mind. Cleansing Fire Immediately,
his body erupted into a mass of flame. Howling in fury, the Balrog
released its grip on him. "What manner of white sorcery
was that!" He fell to the floor, exhausted. Casting that
single spell had taken it out of him. He had nothing left. The Balrog
smiled. "So... you're just a weakling mage after
all..." He stepped forward to deal the killing blow...
and erupted into a mass of flame. His death scream was terrible to
hear, but the boy lying on the ground hardly noticed it. Behind where
the Balrog had been stood an old wizened man dressed in a white robe.
He looked down at the boy lying on the ground, his face calm, but his
voice urgent. "My son... you have got to get up!" The
boy moaned; he tried, but could not move. Heal The old
man focused all his energy into releasing a wave of pure light.
Slowly, his son's wounds disappeared. But now it was he who was
completely exhausted. "You have to leave... my son. The
Crimson Unity... It was... destroyed... but... we never anticipated
that another; more powerful force might... rise to take its place...
The Crimson Tide... He helped his father into the house, and,
setting him down, hurriedly woke all the children at once. When they
were all awake, he turned to see his father ready with a
teleportation gate. "This will take you somewhere safe.
When I have dealt with the trouble here, I will come and find
you." He turned as he heard a loud noise issuing from the
oak door. "They're coming! Quick; into the portal!" He
pushed the children into the portal, in ones and threes, and as fast
as he could. The door shook again. A splintering of the wood
this time. One more hit, and they would be through. His son
stood, frozen with indecision. "Dammit, get in!" The
old man turned the other way and cast a Magic Guard on the door. It
glowed blue as he channeled his magic power into it. "Leave
now! I will get you myself when I'm done with them! Just
leave!" Another slam, but the door held. The boy rose to
help his father as the old man staggered. "Father..." "You
will not disobey me, son. I've raised you too long for you to die
today. Now leave!" The portal shimmered. Without his
support, it would close in another minute or two. He stepped into the
portal. "Now
we've got you, Hines!"
He knew, of course,
that someone had to take care of the children.
But why did that
someone have to be him?
He softly cursed, and stepped away from
the window.
Someone had screamed.
The
night air froze him almost to the bone. He threw on his plerobe, and
rushed out of the door, wand in hand.
"Get the children here at once. You have
to leave."
The boy looked
into his father's eyes once more.
The door burst open.
And the last thing he heard was
something that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
He remembered, now. He had left his father to die. All the knowledge he had learnt as a boy; and he couldn't even save his own father.
Balrog's Sanctuary.
It was once a terrible place, feared by all, but now it was their only chance of survival. The seal that had once kept Balrog in now kept him out.
He touched the Runic writings on the edge of the wall. He had never known what they meant, but they were his last connection with the world outside. That, and the six children that were with him. The eldest was barely 10 years old. He wondered what happened to the world outside; if it was all gone. It seemed just yesterday he had been secretly reading the books of spells his father kept in his library; his powers seemed so useless now.
The world he knew was gone.
Three hundred years had passed, and monsters ruled the land.
This was all he had left.
He watched as the murky darkness of the underground lake reflected the void that he felt in his soul.
And he couldn't help but wonder.