The following story is an idea that I had a while ago and finally decided to write and publish. It's based on several characters in Dungeons & Dragons that my friends and I have created and I decided that they would make the perfect characters for this type of development… Warning: Mature content. Not intended for immature readers. I do not own D&D.
Chapter One: Simple Memories…
After several hours of travel and about twenty minutes of self-contemplation, Falchion, the Warforged, was sitting quietly to himself, using one of his crafting relics to create several stone trinkets to pass the time as his allies slept. All of his allies were asleep except for one; Tianna. Tianna was a Changeling; a shape-shifter, and a good one at that. She'd gotten herself into and out of so many calamitous situations in her years with the rest of the group that it was obvious that she had a right to adventure with them. She could break into a vault and steal the contents so quietly, that the shadows sometimes made more noise than her- congratulating her on a job well done. She could execute a job so seamlessly that no one would ever know she was there, or she could escape by the skin of her teeth; she was that good. She'd mastered the art of altering not just how she moved through combat but how she worked outside of it. She slept only about four hours per day and only when it was light. She could move with such grace that even the reclusive, usually uninterested Warforged would be ensnared. But her abilities transcended that of a mere shape-changer… she was one of the greatest Shadow Dancers that the world had ever seen (or had never seen). Falchion was on the other side of the spectrum, but he was in no way a bumbling, flailing idiot- he was not graceful, and he didn't try to be. Grace was Tianna's forte and everyone in the party knew it. Falchion's job was to run in, cause enough of a distraction to get the enemy's attention and give the others the opportunities they each needed to work in the fight.
These two in particular were wonderful in combat. Falchion did his job and Tianna did hers. Elegant and precise. Their tag-team style fighting worked to everyone's advantage; granting Shale the opportunity to land a single, constricting grasp on his opponent and subdue them while the others beat them into submission and offering Jabeddo the chance to stun, incapacitate, or even kill the target. A strange one, Jabeddo is… He's a Gnome who works along the lines of combat, altering the enemies and aiding his allies in interesting ways. Shale worked to quicken an engagement by restricting the enemies options on the battlefield.
The two sat quietly for several moments, catching friendly glances at one another and grinning politely. Falchion was hard at work creating a new stone toy to occupy his time.
"So… This is what you do while we're sleeping?" Tianna asked, her milky eyes sinking down onto the stone in falchion's hands.
"Yeah… Not too impressive for a soldier to spend all his free time making toys, is it?" he asked rhetorically, glancing up at her, nodding to a flat stone that he'd smoothed into a seat across from him. Tianna obliged, sitting only two or three feet from the metal man.
"Well, it's like they say… Boredom is the true weakness of my race…" Falchion said in a low voice, beginning to inspect his craftsmanship. Tianna leaned in and took the simple toy, looking over the details as she turned it over and over in her hands.
"You are actually very good at making things… Although I'm not entirely sure that that's a good thing… Nice work though" She said as she placed the toy down. She locked her eyes into his orange orbs of light, smiling softly.
"…*Sigh*… Would you like me to make you something, Ti?" Falchion asked in a tired voice, cracking the tight links of metal in his neck. Tianna perked up, her once teasing eyes now resembling those of a young girl. " Heh heh… Alright… I'll make you something special…"
Tianna giggled like a child and sat patiently for her present. Several minutes passed as Falchion molded her a single, intricate stone broach with several crudely shaped gems buried in it. He stood up, wiping some stone shavings off of himself. He gently pinned it to her cloak, removing the more intricately decorated one that she'd been wearing previously. When he was finished, he began to stand up, being caught by her hand as he rose. She pulled herself up to his ear, whispering almost inaudibly into the small hole in the side of his metallic head.
"Thank you…" she said, kissing him on the side of the face. He let out a soft chuckle, pulling her up to her feet as he rose to his.
"I'm glad you like this hunk of metal's craftsmanship, I've been working on those gems for a long while now and decided that I should put them to use in something nice…" Falchion said in a heartier chuckle. Tianna again kissed him on the side of the cheek, smiling in an even cuter manner.
"Thank you for this, Lance, I'll never forget this…" She replied, a sly smile gracing her soft, thin lips.
"How many times do I have to… *Sigh*… Yeah… You're welcome, pipsqueak… Just don't break it… Those gems were not easy to find…" Falchion resigned, giving up on his pointless retaliation.
"You know that I could get you some nice gems to work with…" Tianna teased, tip-toing around the large metallic man. Falchion sat back down again, sighing heavily and shaking his head dismissively.
"No, it's fine… I don't need any expensive gems… Takes the challenge out of making them look better myself! Besides… Didn't you already say you liked my handiwork?" he asked suspiciously. His question caught the colorless beauty off-guard.
"I… Uh …I didn't mean it like that!" she said in a panicked voice.
"And what did you mean?" Falchion teased, leaning forward.
"...I… just meant that it could look better! …No… Damn it!"
"And my work doesn't look good to you? Then why did you complement me just now?" he replied, his eyes growing more and more playful with the stuttering girl.
"…B-better gems would make it look more professionally done…"
"What, my work's not professional quality?" he replied again, his eyes wide with mock hurt and his finger pointing sluggishly to Tianna's new broach.
"I'm just going to stop talking now…" she blurted, her white flesh adopting a very slight pink tint as she shyly covered her face desperately.
"Ha! I'm just messing with you, kid! I knew what you meant…" Tianna looked into his eyes again, removing her hands from her face as anger welled up inside her. "…Easy, I was just having some fun, there's no need to get your feathers ruffled…" he patronized, waving her off dismissively, a satisfied grin on his face. Just then, Tianna's eyes turned an ominous red and started to glow as she faded into the shadows. She reappeared behind Falchion with a glowing, red dagger to his neck.
"And why would you poke fun at an assassin? Don't you know that's one of the easiest ways to get yourself killed?" she whispered in a half menacing-half seductive voice.
"And I'd be worried if I ever needed to sleep… Don't make threats YOU CAN'T KEEP!" Falchion shouted, throwing his hands up over his head and grabbing hold of the woman, pulling her from her feet and into his lap, her hands now restrained.
Tianna blinked several times, beginning to struggle as her confusion gave way to panic in the hands of the metal man. Falchion lifted her up by the waist and heavily plopped her down on his knee again, causing her to stop her thrashing, staring up at him with new-found confusion in her eyes.
"Now sit there and think about what you've done, little one!" he said in a fatherly voice, wagging a finger at the woman in his lap.
"Really?" she asked, giggling to herself, pivoting on his knee to face him again. "…You know… if you wanted… I could do a lot more than think while I'm here…" she replied, her lips now leaving condensation on the metal of his mouth. Falchion's eyes opened wide, the light from his eyes illuminating her pale face in tandem with the fire. Before long, his eyes softened and he rested his cold forehead against hers as he began to speak.
"And why would you do that… I ain't your type, missy… You use me for something like that and it'll be little more that assisted masturbation…" he answered in a smooth voice, releasing her as his eyes began to fade from their playfulness to a slightly more saddened dullness. Tianna looked at him with horrified eyes as she'd found his true weakness- it wasn't his simple intelligence, he was actually pretty sharp; and it wasn't his need for distraction, he was very skilled at what he did. Falchion's true weakness was the fact that he was only half alive… and his choice to protect others with his mechanized form was further diminishing that which was left… he wasn't really a man, only a machine cursed with a mind that could think and feel…
As the entirety of her realization dawned on her, Tianna could only stare apologetically into Falchion's eyes while he lifted her softly to her feet and walked away with his shoulders slumped downward and his eyes almost devoid of light. Several seconds passed as Tianna realized what had happened and shadow-walked to stand in front of him as he stepped slowly along.
"Falchion! Wait! Talk to me, please!" she shouted in a pained voice, concerned for her friend.
"Get out of my way, Tianna… I don't want to talk anymore…" he replied, his eyes glowing with a subtle amount of annoyance as he looked down at her.
"Please, just talk to me! …I don't like seeing you like this…" she said in a low, defeated voice, her eyes falling away from him.
"You want me to talk?! Fine! Come with me!" he shouted, taking her hand and dragging Tianna with him off farther from the camp.
They arrived at a small clearing with very few trees where Tianna placed a hand on an old tree and created an aura that caused the plants to grow in all directions around them and mold into a dome of tight branches.
"Now… tell me what's going on!" Tianna snapped, turning to her companion, noticing the return of his tired and defeated gaze as he looked down at her.
"…You should be able to guess as much after what was said…" he began with a sigh. "…Warforged are created, not born… so for us, there is nothing but life, war, and death… we cannot have children or even raise them! We're soldiers! …Every one of us…" He continued, slamming a heavy hand into his chest as he spoke, glaring at the changeling girl before him.
"If that were true, then why are you here? Why are you with us right now?! Why aren't you still in the military?! …Why would you care for me?" she asked, her voice fading off into a soft mumble.
"What was that? Speak up!" Falchion replied, taking hold of her cheeks firmly to pull her eyes to stay with his.
"I asked; why do you care about any of us if all your race does is carry out orders and fight?" she answered with a stern voice, lying to him as he grew impatient.
"Because when we fight alongside someone, we bond with them. What we feel on the battlefields is the closest thing to love most of us ever gets to experience!" Falchion shouted, his eyes glowing brightly, causing Tianna to stare at him with startled eyes and a slight blush.
"Then… where does the friendly bonding end and love begin?..." Tianna asked softly, looking up into his eyes.
"You'd have to tell me, 'cause I don't know…" he replied simply, looking away in a raspy voice.
Just like that, Tianna felt something inside snap and she began to cry, turning from her friend. Falchion noticed this and took hold of her arm pulling her into a hug, allowing her to cry into his chest.
"Th-then… what… am I… to you? …Just a fighting companion?" she shuttered, looking up at him.
"No… Not just a companion… there is something more that I feel… but I don't know what it is… I'm sorry, Ti…" Falchion said softly, releasing his grip on her. However, she tightened herself to his chest and continued to cry for several more moments, her eyes now a soft pink when she looked back up into his eyes again.
"I may not know exactly what it means to love, but I do know that I don't want to see you crying like that again, am I clear?" he asked, his eyes softening and his voice smooth and low. Tianna nodded at his words and smiled slightly, softening her expression to one of joyous reminiscence as she remembered how strange her friend often was. She giggled quietly to herself, gaining the constructed man's notice.
"What's so funny?" he asked forwardly, his eyes gleaming with unspoken scorn as he actually knew what she'd laughed about.
"Oh, nothing…" Tianna said, her eyes mischievous and shining.
"Yeah… sure… like I believe that…" Falchion said, walking with her to the edge of the enclosure of plants. She rubbed one of the trees and all of the foliage bent and slithered back into their natural shape, allowing them passage. Within a minute, they were back at camp, only taking enough of distance them and their allies to not disturb them as they spoke.
"You think they noticed?" Tianna asked slightly nervously, eying the camp. No one was awake or even stirred, their bedrolls almost motionless aside from slight movement from breathing.
"Guess not… Oblivious bastards… I swear, if I wasn't here to keep watch, they would have been killed off in their sleep a long time ago…" Falchion muttered. Tianna heard what he'd said and began giggling softly, just loud enough for him to hear but not loud enough to wake the others. The two soon returned to their seats and started a more formal conversation.
"So… What 'cha makin' now?" Tianna asked with wide eyes, leaning over to rest her hand in her lap as she smiled up at Falchion.
"Stone music box. Please be quiet so I can tune it…" he replied, putting in the small piece of finely crafted crystal to be used as the musical device. "…There! …That wasn't as hard as I thought…" he continued triumphantly, pulling his hand delicately out of the small device.
"Wow… you really are good at this! I didn't think you could be so calm and precise!" Tianna remarked, eliciting a glare from Falchion as he set the proper torque on the spring and closed the device, winding the now completed music box. Several repeating clicks followed by one loud one signified that the tension was set properly and when he released the key that wound the contraption, it created a soft, relaxing chime that continued on into a single, soothing melody that echoed hauntingly in the dark air of night. Tianna could not hold back tears at the song that was being played; it wasn't just beautifully simple and elegant, but it held an emotional significance for the young, sultry changeling girl. It was the very same song that she'd heard being played in a house that she and her allies during the Last War had cleared out after dealing with the residents. Her allies consisted of several other changelings and an old friend of hers; the same friend that had now constructed the music box and was now holding it in his colossal hands as gingerly as a new-born bird. Falchion placed a hand on Tianna's shoulder and rubbed lightly with his thumb, calling her eyes to lock with his and her tears to slow momentarily, her expression hardening just enough for to keep the burning water in her eyes from spilling out before she could speak.
"I can't… ho-how… did… y-you…" she stammered, losing control of her sobs as her vision was slowly distorted by the smoldering tears behind her eyes.
"Remembering is a pain that we all face… I'm sorry…" Falchion said solemnly, his eyes softer than she'd ever seen them before. She went stiff with confusion and surprise, staring almost emotionlessly into Falchion's eyes. Hard, confusing moments passed as they stared at one another, trying to completely comprehend the other's feelings and the events unfolding before them.
"That was a time that I didn't remember until you brought it back up…" Tianna replied, her hands tightened into fists. Her voice was soft and sharp, cutting at Falchion's ears with every syllable, causing his already softened eyes to grow slightly kinder as he recognized the level of pain in her eyes when their eyes met.
"Tianna… I'm so sorry for doing this… It's just… Life is all we have ideally, so we should spend it free of our pain… But we should never forget what sparked that pain; merely embrace its existence…" He said in a near whisper, taking his eyes from hers as the soft melody of the music box ended on a single, well-timed note that left a lingering sorrow in its wake.
"No… You're right… The past must never be forgotten… It happened for a reason, and I intend to find out that reason…" Tianna muttered to herself, gaining Falchion's attention yet again.
Tianna noticed the warforged's attention and locked eyes with him as well, granting a response to his silent reply. "I merely wish to know why we had to kill everyone in an entire village, is all…" she said coldly, her muscles hardening into rigid structure for her to stand upon.
"Tianna… Don't be that way… Such an angered expression doesn't suit you… Here… I'll change the song and we'll have a time all to ourselves. How does that sound?" After his words, Tianna's features softened and she looked back up into his eyes, her face now relaxed and free of rage. Several seconds pass as her eyes adopt a hint of confusion and she opens her mouth to speak but no words come out. "It's the least that you deserve after everything that's happened tonight…" Falchion said, removing the piece of metal that created the music and put in a new one. "…Now… What was that song that you told me about?...You said that your father used to play it for you…" he asked, placing in a new piece of studded metal. He wound up the key and placed it in Tianna's hands, holding her fingers to the key as to prevent the song from playing.
"Th-there's… no way… H-how did you remember that?" she asked, looking down into the music box, her eyes glazing over with tears.
"Ahh… That's right… You called it… Mad World… Correct?" As Falchion looked down to her face, he noticed that she was crying again, and placed a hand on hers, further holding the music box's song at bay. A few of Tianna's tears dripped free of her swimming, milky eyes and onto the archaic music box.
Tianna released the key to the device and held it weakly in her hands, her entire upper body racked by emotional convulsions. Falchion's hands took to her shoulders and she mechanically raised her face to meet his gaze. The melody started up in a slow tune of rhythmic notes as the twisting dial pulled the piece of punched metal over the fingered piece that resonated with sweet songs. As the fingers vibrated and released their beautiful notes, Tianna felt a series of heavy, insurmountable thumps in her chest and involuntarily lurched forward into another hug with the metallic man, her tears flowing freely now.
"Oh, Fal, I just miss him so much!" Tianna mumbled in a defeated voice into his chest.
"I know, Ti… I know…" Falchion replied, rubbing her lower back smoothly and resting his chin on top of her head reassuringly. Tianna snuggled tighter into the embrace, letting out the last of her pain and warming at the feeling of Falchion's energies flowing throughout his body.
"…*Sniffle* *Sniffle*… Thanks… I-I needed that…" Tianna said softly, rubbing her eyes as she stepped back from the massive constructed man.
"Yeah… well… Just stop crying… Gonna make me rust…" Falchion replied in a quiet voice that was purposefully loud enough for her to hear, causing Tianna to giggle lightly, rubbing her eyes again. "…And don't let me catch you crying like that again or I you won't get to ride on my shoulder anymore…" he continued, wagging a finger at the young girl playfully. Tianna giggled even louder, soon falling to the ground in uncontrollable laughter, holding her sides. When her laughter subsided, she got up onto her feet, still giggling and faced her friend.
"Woo… I needed that… Thanks, Lance…" she said snidely, stepping forward and kissing her friend's cheek again and skipping away with a smile on her face. Falchion simply shook his head and went back to his stone working.
End Chapter One: Simple Memories
So how was it, guys? Did you enjoy this chapter? I think it turned out nice, and I am going to start out on the next chapter soon… I may even kick it out quickly if enough people read it… And don't worry, I'm working on the next chapter for A New Life too, I just felt like I needed a break from that story for a while… See you guys later!
