(This story is based off characters from the game Gauntlet: Dark Legacy. The events of this story take place before the game.)
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The Sky Dominion
had to be one of the most beautiful realms in my world. While most of my
realm was in the sky, myself, and the other knights resided in the spire.
The spire was a watchtower, and the only link with the sky structures and
ships. As I kept watch around the spire, I noticed a dark cloud on the
horizon. Something was not right. It looked as if a storm was coming, but
it was not a rainstorm. The sky around the cloud was a sickly green color.
There was a foul aura eminating from that cloud. It was poison, and it
would ruin our realm. I ran to the alarm bell, and started to ring it.
Soon, I heard the rest of the knights heading to the top of the spire.
When they had all arrived, as well as our leader, I said, "It looks like
something foul is coming."
The leader of
our group looked at the sky and said, "You are right. That cloud
is too thick to be natural. I fear a plague is coming, like it did many
years ago, when we lost Marker to the evil plague."
I then heard
one of the other knights say, "My liege, we must go up there and destroy
it before it destroies all the realms."
I had to agree,
"He's right. We should destroy it, but first we need to know what we are
going up against."
I watched as
our leader nodded and said, "Your suggestion is wise. You two will
fly up to that cloud. Investigate it, and report back here. Only
engage if it is absolutely needed."
I nodded and
said, "Our orders are understood, we shall depart right away." I then lead
the way to one of the flyers moored on the spire. As I approached it, I
heard my comrade-in-arms say, "Why did you suggest that? We need to stop
it right away. A good knight would not allow this risk to remain."
I looked at
him and said, "A good knight would not go in to battle if he doesn't know
what to expect. A good knight would discover what he is up against first."
I noticed that he was not to thrilled with what I said, but it was the
truth. He would get over it.
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It had taken
us a while for our flyer to reach the odd cloud. I was almost surprised
when I saw that the cloud was actually a cover for a huge airship. As we
began our initial pass, I heard my commrade say, "This device is huge,
but it looks unmanned."
Even I knew
that looking unmanned and being unmanned was two different things. Eventually,
I noticed a place where we could dock our flyer and said, "Appearences
can be deceiving. If it is empty, we must stop it; but if it is not empty,
we must get reinforcements."
When the flyer
was docked, my commrade just said, "Understood. We should meet in an hour,
and if one of us doesn't return, we fetch the others." I nodded and watched
as he ran off. I wanted to stop him from running, but this area was clear.
When he was
out of sight, I just shook my head and said, "Be careful, my friend." I
then headed out onto the strange airship. I decided to be cautious, just
in case I ran into any creatures aboard this strange craft.
As I made my
way up the decks, I heard a whispy voice say, "Hero." I quickly turned
and looked around for the voice, but I could not see the source. When I
started to search the deck I was on, I heard the voice again say, "Follow
my voice, knight, for I need your help."
This time, I
listened to the voice and said, "Alright. Lead me to you." I didn't know
what made me trust the voice, but something in me told me to trust it.
Soon, the voice was leading me to the upper decks of the ship.
Soon enough,
I was face to face with a skeleton in a cage. It was then that the voice
spoke again. "You have arrived. You are aboard the ship of the plague.
Long ago, I battled the hideous Plague Fiend. It was a long battle, but
after I blinded him, I thought I had destroied him. But the foul
creature sent his body into the vats. His minions inprisoned me in here
after I set this vessel to fly to the end of the sky, but they managed
to adjust the course. That was years ago, and his minions died. Not
to long ago, a figure appeared and reactivate the toxins. The Plague Fiend
will return. Take my Javalin, blind the fiend, destroy him."
I looked at
the Javalin and finally understood who I was speaking with. "You are Marker.
But who did you see."
The voice then
spoke again. "The figure is here, near the top of one of the vats. You
must stop him, or the fiend will reawaken." Then it hit me. My commrade
who was so insistant on coming up here wasn't hear to stop the ship. He
wanted to bring back the toxic plague.
I grabbed the
Javalin and started to run, searching for that knight. I had to stop
him. Soon enough I saw him, at the top of one of vats. He was fiddling
with some controls. As I neared him, he turned to face me and said, "So
you figured it out. You failed. Once I throw this switch, I shall have
control over the whole world."
I looked at
him and said, "Not while I'm on watch." I threw my mace and it hit the
controls. Soon the whole structure lurched, and I watched as my former
commrade fell into the vats. I walked over to the consoles, only to see
that I had jammed them, but they were heading away from the spire. I then
said to myself, "At least that's over."
It was at that
time, two things happened. The first was a pain rip through my body. I
felt like I was changing, and when the pain subsided, I could see by my
reflection that I was a unicorn like creature. The second was a huge green
monster oozed out of the vat and said, "You cannot defeat me. I shall succeed."
I quickly spun
around and said, "Not while I have Marker's Javalin." I hurled it
at the one eyed fiend, and it struck its mark. The Plague Field appeared
to be flailing around. I also knew I would need help. I saw the Javelin
on the ground and picked it up. I ran as fast as I could.
As I neared
the glider, I heard the voice of the Plague Fiend say, "I will destroy
you. You have not defeated me, just postponed the inevitable. I will
claim your world." The words went through me as I departed on the flyer.
As I few farther and farther away from the ship, I felt myself change back.
I had a bad feeling about what was to come.
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After I had arrived
back at the spire and told my leader what had happened, I watched as he
paced. He then said, "It appears that Marker was right. The Plague Field
would return, and he intents to take over the Sky Dominion. I believe you
are the only one who can stop it, but you need guidence."
I looked at
my leader and said, "Where should I go, my leige?"
I watched as
my leader pointed to a boat docked at the base of the spire. "That craft
will take you to the mysterious tower of Sumner. He will be able to instruct
you better. You may want to leave the Javalin here, in case we need to
fend off the fiend." I nodded. The leader then said, "You will be able
to destory the fiend. I have faith in you. Now hurry, and do not be slow."
I saluted my
leader and said, "I will not fail you." I then ran down to the boat. Other
knights had prepared it for the journey, and I boarded it. Now all I need
was time to be on my side. If it wasn't, I would fail, and the world could
very well fall victim to the evil of the Plague Fiend.
End
