Good Day Ladies and Gentlemen.
this is it now, the first real chapter of 'Child of twisted Destiny'.
first of all i have to thank XV-Dragon and his story 'The Shunned One'. his story is a real piece of art as well as is the trigger that gave me the idea to write this story. we have similar starting perspectives, i am man enough to say that SOME of our current ideas MIGHT be the same but i really try not to just steal his ideas. if you haven't read his story go check it now. don't question me. DO IT!
now more about this story: in a nutshell i just transported most of the WITCH cast into the world Abeir-Toril, a world withing the DnD multi-verse, more precisely in the lands of Faerûn. if you're no hardcore DnD player you still have nothing to fear, i TRY to explain every term to the best of my ability.
If you couldn't tell from the Prologue already this story will be Will-centric, showing her struggles in life. there will be a couple of OCs Will will meet but most of them are not really of world shattering importance. there are a few big and VERY important OCs. most of them will seem like Gods in their actions compared to most other people but that is because those OCs are actually characters from my own gaming groups, meaning they are of very high Epic levels. Will and her friends WILL reach this power towards the end and most of the OCs will be surpassed in power.
i will not ALWAYS play 100 percent by the rules set in the source books. i will stay within them most of the times but at other times i will bend them close to the point of breaking. for those amongst you who know D&D and have some source books i say that i am going by 3rd/3.5 Edition. some things from 2nd Edition might still be there because they fit my needs.
if you have questions i will answer them as long as it won't spoil any part of the plot or other things to come.
now to answer Darkness-Lightness's question: NO this will NOT be like 'The Shunned One'! while i was and probably will be in contact with XV-Dragon i am no thief. as i said he INSPIRED this story, so some things MIGHT seem very alike. one thing i will use as an example: the Youth Games in XV's current chapters. i will have a similar tournement LATER in the story but the way i have it planned is very different from his (read: no labyrinth, only for Arcane casters, no bronze/silver medals to name just a few).
now just a little note for those who plan to cry 'cheese', 'beard' and 'uber' later: i. don't. care. if you think people grow 'over the top' go scream at the creators of DnD for giving me these tools.
a word about UPDATES: updates will come on the 1st and 15th of every month. not before, not later (unless i am like... lying in hospital with broken arms and legs).
enough of my ramblings now, enjoy the start of 'Child of twisted Destiny'.
----- Destiny commands all-----
It was a busy day in the streets of the small village of Grayfall. It was market day and the market place in the center of the village was humming like a bee hive. People were talking, bartering and simply enjoying the warm late afternoon sun while doing some shopping. But one figure stood out from the crowd to the able observer.
The figure stood barely at 4'7'', wearing an oversized traveling cloak of brown color, the hood pulled deep into its face. Small sandals skidded over the dusty road as the figure slipped from shadow to shadow without being noticed.
After a few minutes of weaving through the mass of people and booths the figure stopped in the shadows between two booths. Slowly the folds of the cloak parted, revealing a small, slender hand. Even in the shadows one could see the ashen gray skin, being a dead give-away of the figures heritage. The hand suddenly lashed out several times and each time disappeared in the folds of the cloak for a second.
No one took notice of the young pickpocket as it went over its deeds and soon the figure weaved back into the crowd unnoticed. Slowly the figure moved away from the city center and headed towards the north of the village. As soon as the crowd of people grew less thick the figure picked up its pace, first at a slight jog only to break into a full out sprint minutes later.
The hood of the cloak slipped back slightly, revealing a few strands of dirty, blood red hair. The figure's breathing became more heavy and anyone who was even only slightly skilled in reading people could see her thoughts, 'Just a bit more.'
A few minutes of outright running the figure reached the tree line and swiftly rushed into the thick forest that surround Grayfall, hiding in the twilight cast by the ancient trees. The figure slowed down and regained its breath as it stalked through the woods with practiced ease.
Soon the figure reached large tree, its trunk easily 12 feet in diameter. Casting looks left and right the figure knelt down and felt on the forest floor for something under the thick layer of fallen leafs. Seconds later and part of the tree bark swung open like a door, revealing that it was hollowed out. Swiftly the figure moved inside and the tree bark closed again, leaving no trace at all of what just transpired.
The figure let out a deep sigh and threw back the hood of the cloak, revealing its features to the half-light. The person was distinctly female, the slim face, big eyes and small nose being dead give-aways. Long, pointed ears peeked out of dirty red hair, revealing the elven heritage of the girl. The ashen gray skin stood in strong contrast to her hair and her brown eyes that held just a tint of golden shade. Anyone in the realms could decipher what race she was just from looking at her skin: she was a Drow, a dark Elf.
That fact alone made her life that much harder. Her race was shunned and hated by the people living on the surface, for them it was cause enough that they would do things to her no child should experience. The only cause why she hadn't been raped and then killed was the fact that she had yet to grow into a woman physically as well as the fact that she was always sure to hide herself from the villagers.
The girl threw off her cloak and on anyone but her it would have been to cause of utter pity: a short sleeved, torn brown shirt and faded black shorts was all she could call to her name. The girl carefully reached for the cloak and rummaged through its many inner pockets, searching for her loot of the day. She laid the loot on her 'bed', a collection of dried leafs and moss: a small bread that was still a bit warm, 5 apples of rich red color and four strips of smoked meat, the last being a real treat to her. The girl sighed, "Three days." Her voice was surprisingly soft, holding a small.... ring to it that made you want to help her if it weren't for her birth. Tears formed in the girls eyes but she quickly brushed them away, "No more tears Will; you promised yourself never to cry again over it." The newly identified Will reached out for one of the apples and quickly bit down, savoring the rich and full taste of the fruit.
Will sat down on her bed, recalling the late times while she slowly ate the apple. 'Nearly ten years; ten years I have been living in this forest, stealing what I needed to survive and each day praying that my suffering finally comes to an end and that I won't be found out. The villagers know that they have a thief amid them but the small damage I do doesn't really concern them and they have no desire to search the woods. I.... I wonder.... how long will it be before they catch me and use me as they please?'
Will had finished her apple down to the stock and cast it away, laying down on her bed, looking at the ceiling of her home, the folded cloak serving as a pillow. The night had came among the lands and her home was scarcely enlightened but still she could see perfectly, better than to day times. Her ability to see in near darkness was the only good thing she could call to her heritage. While the daylight stung her eyes the darkness was like a soothing blanket to them. Will felt sleep creep into her mind and quickly sat up, "Not yet." She quickly rose to her feet and threw on her cloak before leaving the sanctuary of her home.
-----Destiny commands All-----
Will had stealthily been making her way through the dark woods, heading for the small stream to go about her weekly ritual: washing herself and her clothes. The river running through the woods and through the village was warm enough so she could use it even in the dead of winter that was fairly mild in this parts of the land. As long as she didn't stray too close to the village she should be safe. Will looked around, satisfied that she could neither see nor hear anyone and quickly made swift work to strip out of her clothes while keeping on the cloak. Getting to work quickly Will washed the worse stains from her clothes not even bothering with the smalled ones.
Only a few minutes later she hung her clothes on a nearby tree to let them dry and carefully took of her cloak and hung it onto the same tree, revealing a skinny body in the pale rays of the moon. True, no Elf was of sturdy build but she took the cake by a long shot though.... considering her situation she could look worse. Her rips were visible under her skin if you looked for them while the rest of her body was basically as slim as elven possible.
She shivered in the cool night air and quickly made her way to the stream, stepping into the slowly flowing water. Will sighed happily as she sat down in the shallow parts, feeling the sweat and dirt was off her body. She leaned back, weaving her hands through her hair, feeling the small knots become undone.
Her hands moved over her body, rubbing away the more persistent dirt. She shuddered as her hands brushed over the more sensitive parts of her body, letting out a soft and low moan. Despite her young age she was no stranger to physical pleasure. She had been a forced audience to more than one sexual act in her life and later had tried to recreate the obvious pleasurable feelings on her own body. To say that she was addicted would be going too far though she didn't deny that she liked those feelings and that they were part of her weekly ritual. She NEVER did it at her home out of fear that the unique scent would be track-able.
Her small hands brushed over her teenage body, her thumbs giving her dark gray nipples a short flick and a groan escaped her lips. Her left hand was softly brushing down her body and over her stomach as her sensitive ears picked up the crunching sound of boots on the forest floor. She quickly sat up and turned around, frantically searching for the source of the sound. Her eyes quickly fell on three men that emerged the woods and saw that all three held malicious grins.
"Look what we got ourselves here boys," said the fat man in the middle. "A filthy dark Elf slut." "I say we kill her," snarled the one on the left, murder burning in his eyes. "I say we have fun with her and then sell her; she must be worth some coin," said the last, grinning and revealing dirty and rotten teeth. The fat man barked out a few laughs, "I say we go with yours Port." With speed betraying his weight the fat man was in front of Will and seized her throat with his right hand, lifting the girl out of the water.
Will's lungs fought for air as she clawed at the man's wrist. "BUAHAHAHAHA! You got a nice body for filth; I will enjoy breaking you!" the air that was left in her lungs was forced out as the man slammed her back onto the ground, bruising her back and hitting her head on the hard forest floor. "Hurry up man; I want to make the bitch scream when I fuck her dry." "Shut it Port, I take as damn long as I want," barked the fat man as he literally drooled all over Will who fought with all her strength against the grip the man had on her.
"Ahh, you're a feisty one; I will enjoy this very much." the man fumbled with his free hand at his belt and Will closed her eyes, knowing what was about to come. 'Leave me alone! What have I ever done to you?! What have I done to deserve this?!?!' she felt how the man forced her thighs apart when a sudden burst of power and defiance burst form her chest, flooding her body. That power was about to lash out at the man when something.... soft and liquid hit her left cheek and her eyes flew open, 'That's no drool!'
She looked up into the man's face and saw blood seeping out of his mouth as his eyes rolled back into his head. Her eyes traveled south and she saw the tip of a sword, covered in a thin layer of fire sticking out of the man's throat. Her eyes traced the sword behind the man, up an arm, over a shoulder to the face of the holder of the sword. The only thing that registered in her mind where the eyes of the man: orbs of coal black, red iris and black slit pupils that burned with hatred.
The edge of her vision picked up how the sword was ripped from the man's throat and a heavy kick sent him off Will and crashing into one of his comrades. The same man suddenly had a dagger lodged into his forehead, killing the man in a split second.
The newcomer turned towards the last man, a second sword appearing in his left hand, slight bows of light sparkling from a gem in the hilt. "Die, scum." The man's voice was a dark tenor as he rushed at the man with remarkable speed. With two fluid motions the man impaled the offender's chest with both swords before ripping them out sideways and severing the man's torso on two.
Will's mind was slowly catching up with reality and she took a closer look at the last living man in sight: he stood tall, well above 6 feet, pure white hair running a bit past his shoulder blades. He wore a black trench-like coat that touched the forest floor. Red leather gloves gave the impression his hands were bathed in fresh blood. She barely caught the movement of the man as he flicked the blood off the blades and sheathed them on his side while he turned around, looking into Will's eyes with his own eyes, devoid of any emotion. Will noticed a black leather armor and red pants and that he was of a lean build.
Will was so entranced by the man that she didn't notice that he moved before he kneed down in front of her and brushed the blood off her left cheek with a gloved hand. She quickly crawled away from him, trying to shield her body from his eyes as she brought a good 12 feet between them. The man held his hands up in a surrendering manner, "Easy there girly, I mean you no harm.""You are lying," hissed Will, a strange flame of defiance and courage burning in her chest.
The man stood up and looked down at her before he shook his head and walked over to the tree that held Will's clothes, "Now, what would I get out of lying to you? And why should I?" Will watched him as he took her cloak from the tree and examining it, "You're a rivin; all rivin are liars." The man let out a barking laugh as he turned back to Will, "Are we? People say Drow are backstabbing bastards but you have yet to do anything like that." with a simple flick of his wrist he threw the cloak at Will who quickly slipped it over her body
The two stared each other down for what seemed like hours before their heads snapped to the woods at the same time. Will could hear voices drawing closer and a new flood of fear washed into her mind. 'THE VILLAGE!! They must have sent for the other three! What am I to do no-!' Her musing was cut short as something wet hit her face and her hands quickly came up to inspect what it was only to find her clothes in her hands. She looked up at the stranger and saw him standing between her and the parts of the woods that would soon spit out villagers.
"Leave!" Will stared at the man in bewilderment and confusion. 'Why is he doing this?!' the man seemed to be.... protecting her! 'But why wold he?' "Dammit girl! Leave or they will blame this on you!"
His words snapped her out of her thoughts back into the present. She jumped to her feet, clutching her wet clothes to her chest and bolted into the opposite direction, throwing one last look over her shoulder, seeing the man slowly draw his swords. 'First he saves me from being raped and now he lets me escape. Why? Why is he doing this?!' deciding that such thoughts could wait for later she weaved into the woods, taking the long way home.
After a few minutes Will had reached her home, not caring to be stealthy as she opened the hidden door, and slumped down on her bed, trying to regain her breath. She slowly laid out her clothes on the floor when something poked her side painfully. 'What? I had nothing in my pockets.' She carefully reached into the numerous pockets until her hand closed around something cold and hard. Slowly she pulled the item out and stared at what she held in her hands.
In her hands she held a small dagger in a black leather sheath. Sheath and dagger were probably 8'' long combined. The sheath was smooth, the letters, S D and R, were branded into it. The hilt was plain and wrapped it in black cotton to probably improve the grip. Will carefully drew the sharp blade, revealing stainless, shining silver steel. She turned the weapon a few times in her hands, surprised that something so plain could hold such beauty. 'Where did that come from?'
She thought about it for a few minutes and came to a conclusion, 'Only that stranger had the time and option to slip it in.... but why would he? It looks rather valuable.' she traced the sharp blade with her left index finger before she sheathed the weapon and laid it down on her bed. She stared at it for a few moments before deciding that it was time to sleep. Using her cloak as a blanket she lay down, her eyes still fixed on the weapon. "What a day," whispered Will as her eyes began to close and sleep claimed her.
-----Destiny commands All-----
A few days later found Will again walking through the streets of Grayfall, searching for new supplies. The sky was dark with clouds and hardly anyone was out on the street; not the best set up for a pickpocket. 'Damn it. I don't think I will have any luck today,' thought Will as she made her way through the streets. She sighed and set back on getting out of the village hoping that tomorrow would be a better day. She was deep in thought that she didn't notice the group of men coming from the opposite direction until she crashed into the leader and was knocked down on her rear while her hood was thrown back.
"Hey, you ok- DROW!!" 'SHIT,' was all that registered in Will's mind as she looked up and saw seven men dressed in navy blue. They were part of the militia and all drew different kind of weapons. Not wanting to stay around and have a 'friendly' chat Will shot to her feet before she took off into the direction she came from."Don't let the filthy Drow escape!!" "Come back here you beast!!"
The shouts of the Militia rang through the village as they gave chase to Will. Soon the people looked outside to see what the commotion was about and as soon as they saw that their trusty Militia was chasing a Drow,not few gave chase and joined the mob.
Will was running as fast as her legs would carry her and was surprisingly able to keep her distance from the mob. In her mind she berated herself for being so careless; now sneaking into the village would be so much harder. 'But for now I should focus on getting OUT of the village first,' thought Will as she rounded a corner and finally could make out the forest line in the distance. In there she would have no problem of loosing her pursuers.
Giving it her all Will ran for the tree line and quickly reached it and started to set a random course through the thick woods. Her ears picked up new shouts and curses as they grew less frequent and silent. Despite that she never slowed down until she was totally out of breath.
After a few minutes she stopped next to a tree, using her left hand to steady herself while she held her left side with her free arm. ".....Made..... it.....," huffed Will as she tried to regain her breath. She turned her back to the tree and leaned against it, closing her eyes before sliding down to sit at the roots. She tried to suppress the images of what might have happened had she been caught. She rested her forehead on her knees after the drew them to her chest, "How long......? How long do I still have to suffer like this? What have I ever done to deserve this life?"
The tips of her ears twitched as she suddenly heard something, 'No.......' she slowly lifted her head from her knees and looked around. She was surrounded by a group of nearly 20 men, all dressed in black and red leather armor, standing too close for her to bolt. Opposite of her stood one giant of a man, well past 7'6'' tall and carrying a giant ax on his back. He stepped closer to Will, towering over her.
"Well well boys; look what we found here: a young Drow."
Will slowly looked the man over until her sharp eyes spotted a metal medal on his armor on chest high. It was of an octagonal shape, the silhouette of a person in the center. Six lines connected the silhouette to the edges of the medal and realization sank into Will. All hope left her eyes as she looked into the cold brown eyes of the man before her as she muttered two words, "Slave traders."
The man started to grin while he spoke in a rough and weathered voice, "I like to see us as 'Providers of Servants'." His men burst into laughter at his joke while Will looked down on the forest floor. "Hey Boss, can we have some fun with her before selling her off?"
The man called Boss turned to the speaker, leveling a glare at the man that made him shrink. "Don't even think about it Bones; they are worth more when untouched. Besides, I doubt she would last long." Will heard the words with a mix of resignation and relief. 'So I am to be sold but not raped.....' She looked up at Boss, catching his eyes and getting a curious look from the man, "If... I cooperate... will you still hurt me?" "Oh yes girl we wi-" "I SAID SHUT IT BONES! No, the less you resist the better you get treated." Will nodded at the man, slowly getting to her feet. "There is a dagger in my left inner pocket."
Boss looked at her calculating before he searched the pockets. Finding the dagger he drew the weapon forth and looked it over. He had been around the realms for long enough to recognize a master-crafted weapon when he saw one. That alone set several alerts off in his mind but then his eyes fell on the letters on the sheath. Will could see a small hint of recognition in his eyes but decided against asking any questions. His eyes turned to Will, "Where did you get that dagger?" "A... a stranger slipped it into my pocket a few days ago," answered Will meekly.
"What did that stranger look like?" "He... he was maybe a foot shorter than you.... lean build.... dressed in mostly black and red...... he carried two swords..... and..... his eyes...." "What about his eyes?!" Will looked up at the man, seeing the memory of those eyes float in her mind, "Where... a normal eye would be white his were black.... the iris was blood red... and the pupils were black slits...."
Boss took a step back and stared at the dagger in his hand in bewilderment. Will fought against the urge to ask questions, knowing it would make her... 'sale' take longer than needed. Suddenly Boss looked at her and with speed belying his massive build he moved behind Will and she felt a sharp pain in her neck.
Her world began to fade into darkness as she heard the last words Boss spoke to his men, "Get moving, FAST! If the owner of this dagger is who I think it is then he is one of the few mortals you don't want to mess with......."
-----Destiny commands All----
OH NO!!! what has Will gotten into?! - if you're asking yourself this then i have obviously succeeded in making you worried/curious.
if you have questions use a PM, a email or a review to ask and i WILL answer. maybe not exactly in the way you want me to but i will.
now have a good day and until the 15th February.
Review or you will be eaten in your sleep by the Bhaalspawn!
- Nelo Akuma -
