If you're wondering how big Elonis isâ just think buster axe with one handâ you'll know the rest
By the way,
Thanks to Tom Valor for the info, hehe, didn't actually know that . Anyway, I'll fix that little mishap later, you'll see.
And yes, anyone can ride a peco-peco in this fic. I mean, where's the logic if only Knights and Crusaders can do that?
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RAGNAROK ONLINE FANFIC
TRANSGRESSIONS OF FATEBy: RAGNAR (that really is my name)
Chapter 17: DestructionSwords, he always wondered why so many wanted them. He pondered about it as he continued on his work. A client asked him to make a claymore with wind propertiesâ must be a Byallan Treasure Hunter.
The ring from the hammer on white-hot steel rang across the forge as he hammered the metal into shape. His sweat glistened from the scorching fires of the furnace as he used the tongs to put the shapeless blade into the flames to make it hot again.
He kept repeating this until the metal took in the desired shape. He used the tongs again to dip the new blade into the barrel of olive oil to cool it. The Rough-Wind stone he placed in the barrel began to manifest itself into the blade, giving the metal a dull glow before the stone faded away.
Some people told him that the metal glowed green when he cooled it in the barrel, but he didn't know that – the down side of being colorblind.
As it cooled in the barrel, the blade started to harden. The steel began to take in a bright luster as he used an oilstone to polish and sharpen it.
Next, he placed two wooden pieces around the metal below the blade's cross-guard. He then took out a long strip of leather binding and wrapped it around the new hilt to keep it from falling apart. Finally, he hammered a small nail through the end of the wood and covered it with a piece of metal to prevent the leather from unwinding.
There was but one task left to do; he chiseled his signature on one side of the sword and the name of the owner across other side. After the last letter was finished, the sword was complete.
Letting out a deep breath while flopping down on a nearby chair, Elonis, Captain-General of Alberta's little army wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his gloved hand. To tell the truth, he never thought that Alberta had an army before coming here. He was even shocked to know that Alberta's "army" was just a collection of men and women who would fight if needed.
To hell with it, he wasn't even a real General. He was just called that because he was the only one with the most battle experience.
Placing the claymore in an upright position, blade down, hilt up, he took the time to admire his work. Elemental weapons weren't exactly easy to make because there was always the chance of breakage no matter how good you were.
When he finally had his fill of admiring, he took the sword out into the front of his shop along with all the weapons he had displayed. Of course, this one was a reserved piece.
Having placed the claymore on an overhead rack, he found out that Nalayne had already left the shop. There was a note on the counter telling, or rather, scolding, him that he took too long in the forge again.
Smiling to himself, he just took off his leather apron and went to the dressing room to change – the good thing about having just bought what was once a tailor's workshop. If he recalled correctly not many smithies have a dressing room. Elonis laughed inwardly at the thought.
He came out in his casual clothes, jeans and a white shirt. His shirt, though torn at the end of the sleeves was very comfortable to him. This was much to his dismay because Nalayne hated that shirt and she wouldn't stop nagging him about it.
Well, it was late and he had to go home.
After strapping on his axe belt, he closed and locked the door behind him as he exited the shop.
Suddenly, he felt the air whistle next to him as he found an arrow on his doorpost – which was actually half a foot away from his head.
He then heard a smooth, very feminine voice coming from a figure that emerged from the nighttime fog, "Hello Elonis."
Despite the fact that he was just shot at, Elonis couldn't help but grin. "It's been a while, Monique. How was the Archery Tournament in Payon?"
The Hunter that came out from the fog was carrying her bow in one hand and a traveler's bag in another. Her clothes, as is her "standard attire", were skin-tight pants, a tank top covered by a thick jacket, a shoulder guard on her left shoulder, leather bracers on both armsâ and steel-toed military combat boots.
What was odd about her though, was that her eyes were like that of a cat's – literally.
Monique's lips pulled back into a tight smile as she approached him "It went greatâ I missed you, you big lug."
"So did I, Nikki, so did I." Well, he knew that Monique didn't like him calling her that, but he had to see how far he was willing to go.
Before he could blink, before Elonis could even see her move, another arrow was lodged next to the first one. This time, it was halfway towards his head from the first one.
"I thought I told you not to call me that." Monique's voice was laced with a bit of anger. Her bow was resting on her side as if she didn't use it. One of her eyebrows was raised in a questioning manner.
Swallowing – hard – he joked around, "Hey, I always thought your name was cute."
Ok, he was suicidal, so what? She looked pretty when she's pissed.
Another arrow landed three inches away from his skull. He could still feel the vibration as the arrow shook from the contact with the wood.
Taking a quick glance at the twitching arrow, "I'm gonna stop now," he said with a nervous grin.
"Hey, what's with the fog? I thought this just happens in winter." Her combat boots echoed at the cobblestone pavement as she walked towards him. Her eyes took in the foggy environment as she frowned at the strange weather.
He frowned, "I really don't know." Elonis thumbed his belt as he also frowned at the fog, he then shrugged. "It just started last week. I guess the whole town just got used to it."
He took the traveler's bag from Monique's shoulder. "Hey, it's starting to get cold here. I've got a warm cup of tea back at the house if you've got nowhere to go. It's at the harbor, so it's just close by."
Actually, all buildings are close by the harbor.
Monique took the arrows from the doorpost and after checking them and saw that they were still good and sharp, slid them back into their quiver. "Well, since all the inns are full, I guess I'll be glad to stay at your place, for now."
Side by side, they walked in the fog towards his house.
To Elonis's surprise, there was only one ship. Also, the ship's sails was torn and tattered. In fact, ship looked old enough to sink at the next wave.
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion behind them. Before Elonis and Monique could turn around to look, there was another explosion that was more violent than the last coming from another direction, followed by another.
There were more explosions coming from seemingly random locations as Elonis tried to figure out what was going on.
The air was filled with the screams as Alberta's citizens ran for cover.
Dust and debris showered from the air as Elonis and Monique covered their heads while dashing behind the nearest wall, which was that of the lighthouse.
Monique was shouting from all the noise and carnage, "What the hell's going on?!"
Elonis took out his axe, if Alberta is under attack, best be prepared, "If I've known, I would have already told you!"
He heard a whistle that kept on growing louder each second. His face grew pale when he realized what it was.
Monique frowned, "What's that sound?"
Grabbing Monique with his free hand, he let the both of them drop to the floor, "CANNONBALL!!!" he screamed.
The ball hit the wall over them, making part of the lighthouse wall tilt before crumbling down – on top of them. Before Elonis could move, Monique was already up with her bow up and loaded with one of her "special arrows" – made by him actually.
She released the arrow, quickly followed by her famed, or rather, highly boasted "Super-Speed Machine Bow" technique, simply put, very rapid firing.
The arrowheads exploded the very moment they made contact with the falling wall. Large cracks formed at the monolith's walls making it break apart into large boulders.
The falling boulders were but a few yards away when, one by one, they broke apart into a thousand pieces. He tried to figure out what was taking those rocks apart, but he was sure as hell glad that they were.
When Monique held out her hand, a falcon swooped down and perched on her arm. "Good girl, Aeda!"
Elonis let out a whistle, "Nice bird."
Aeda looked at him sideways in a threatening manner.
His eyebrows rose up a few inches, "I guess you handpicked this one because it reminds you of you?"
Her arrow zipped pas his face. He then heard a loud splotch behind him, followed by a sticky wetness behind his head.
His axe flew from his grip as he threw it Monique's direction. There was a thud telling him he got his target.
The "dead" zombies behind them flopped down to the floor as Monique retrieved her arrow from one, while Elonis took out his axe out from the other.
He wiped his axe clean with the zombie's rags before returning it to its hoop. "You could have at least told me to duck, you know." Touching the back of his head, he grimaced when he found zombie blood on his fingers. "This is very messy."
Monique just nocked another arrow and aimed towards the fog while Aedis disappeared into the sky above. Elonis went back to back with her while keeping a hand on his axe.
His ears caught the sound of pitch battle as Alberta's ragtag army fought with an invading army of undead. The sound of steel against steel, shouts, and screams filled the air around them. Elonis couldn't see it all, however, because of the fog.
A skeleton wearing a torn sailor's uniform materialized from the fog, charging towards him, its rusty sword drawn and readied to kill. Elonis drew his axe, his muscles bulged and his veins throbbed as he brought it up. The skeleton's bones snapped loudly as he cleaved it from the skull down.
He then blocked an arrow with the blade of his axe. "Monique, over there!"
Monique sent a silver arrow at the skeleton archer in front of him. Its skull exploded into a thousand pieces as the arrow went through the undead archer's head.
That was when the fog simply vanished, showing a battle between humans and an overwhelming army of undead pirates.
Alberta's "soldiers" weren't the only ones fighting the invading undead. The town was lucky for having a surge in the Treasure Hunter population for the past few days. At least there were more able-bodied men and women to defend the place.
Swordsmen slashed desperately with their swords even when there where two undead for every one of them. Archers fired arrows of every make and craft in all directions in a futile attempt to whittle down the attacker's numbers.
Elonis even saw the occasional magic spell being cast by a small number of Wizards and Mages. Priests ran towards injured humans and gave whatever help they can offer; some of them just jumped into the fray and fought alongside the other men with maces, clubs, and chains.
Monique fired an arrow at a zombie that was behind a swordsman who was fighting a pirate skeleton. The undead flew a few feet away before burning to a crisp. "Elonis, this battle is hopeless! We have to get out of here!"
Aedis swooped down from the air and punched a hole through a zombie's stomach. The falcon then turned around in midair, with her talons latched at the zombie's shoulder, Aedis used her powerful wings to beat the head to a pulp. After dispatching of the undead, the falcon flew through a skeleton's skull; bones trailed behind the falcon's wake as Aedis just flew back up into the sky.
"We can't leave these men alone!" he shouted while carving off another zombie's head.
An Archer screamed as a sword jutted out of his gut when a skeleton stabbed him from the back. A second skeleton slit his throat before breaking his neck; a zombie then came in and ate the man's flesh.
Monique shouted back, "This is no time to be patriotic!"
Elonis just ignored her. "I'm not leaving without my men!" Elonis then charged into the battle with his axe over his head as he screamed at the top of his lungs.
The Hunter had no choice but to follow him.
She fired a fire arrow as they ran. The projectile punched through five of the undead leaving only charred bones behind them.
"I really think we should leave Elonis!"
Elonis hewed a path through ten approaching zombies with his axe, "You don't understand, Monique! Alberta is the only port in this continent aside from Izlude that supplies Midgard with everything it needs. If the town falls, the whole country will feel it – hard!"
They reached a small group of men who just defeated some of the undead close to the Town Square. Elonis was panting when he stopped running in front of them "We have to regroup! Get the men to fall back here or we're all going to die!"
A Knight on his peco-peco clapped his fist to his heart before screaming, "ALL OF YOU! RALLY TO THE TOWN SQUARE!!! WE NEED TO REGROUP!!!"
Then, amidst the noise of the carnage, Elonis could hear men shouting. He couldn't see where the voices came from because a wall of the undead was being held back by his men.
"THE TOWN SQUARE!"
"RALLY TO THE SQUARE!!!"
A reasonably large number of men and women burst through the undead around them as they ran towards his position. A Blacksmith, one with a burn scar across his right cheek saluted him with fist to heart. "General Elonis! We can't hold the city much longer! We have to retreat!"
Elonis looked around them, the undead were so close to topple down their defenses. His axe was covered in blood and gore as he hefted it above his shoulder "Geffen must hold, Dula, we can't risk the undead taking over the city."
Suddenly, an Archer shouted from on top of a peco-peco, "General! You should take a look at this!" the Archer handed over his looking glass while helping him up the bird.
What Elonis saw was very troubling, there were five glowing points all across the city. There was a constant space between each five points. He tried to visualize a map of Alberta in his head. He then used the landmarks he saw to place those points into the map.
After establishing the map in his head, he started to have trouble figuring out what those points were for.
Until he traced them.
Fear gripped him when he realized that all of them were in the very center of an enormous pentagram drawn across the ground. He didn't know what the Star of Darkness was for, but he didn't think he would like it.
The glowing points started flare up. Harsh bright light from those points pierced the sky as the pentagram slowly connected itself on the ground.
Elonis knew that if that pentagram was completed, they were doomed.
He started to shout orders, "All right! Mages and Wizards! We need a firewall NOW!"
The men in front fell back when a raging wall of fire surrounded them all. The heat didn't bother the approaching undead, but at least they all crumbled to dust in the liquid fire.
"Archers! Front lines! Take down any undead who goes through!"
Elonis next shouted orders to the Priests, "Priests! We need a fast way out of here! Get us to that hill over there!" he pointed at the Warrior Merchant's training ground. Everyone going into Alberta would have to go through that hill, the Priests would also have no trouble recalling the location because it was just a brown plot of raised dirt.
Numerous portals appeared at the center of their formation. The first to go through were the civilians and their escorting soldiers and some Priests. Next to go through were the Archers and Hunters, Monique just staid behind with him.
The Priests were starting to have trouble maintaining the portals. Elonis threw a skinny Mage into one of the glowing pillars "All of you! Get out of here, now!"
The remaining people dashed for the portals only to find themselves with a smoldering hole in their chests. Numerous bodies collapsed to the floor before they could even let out a sound.
A Wizard walked through the firewall as some of the remaining spell-casters brought up a Safety Wall around them.
Elonis frowned as the "man" that was approaching them began to clap. The creature's skull was suspended in midair by a raging inferno coming from his Wizard's uniform.
The creature's voice was hollow, and it echoed in the air as it spoke, "Well done, mortal! I never thought that humans still had it in them to fight so valiantly! Ah! How I miss the old days!"
The skeletal Wizard flourished a bow, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Leish Jairen, High Wizard for the Guardian Mivere. I appreciate your little show of courage, Blacksmith, but I have to kill you all now"
Elonis drew his axe back, "Appreciate this!" he then threw the axe toward Leish. The large blade lodged itself into the Wizard's arm; however, it didn't seem to affect him.
The axe's steel bent and shattered at Leish's grip as he wrenched it loose from his body. The Wizard then cast his arms forward.
One by one, the Priests and Wizards screamed as hundreds of tiny Fire bolts repeatedly smashed through the Safety Wall and slammed into their bodies. The men's bodies slowly burned as they fell the ground, writhing in agony.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Monique screamed as she drew her last arrow and fired at the Wizard.
Leish just sidestepped and caught the arrow by the shaft. His charred skull let out unworldly laughter as he split the wood in two with one hand. A Fireball spell flew towards the Hunter as Leish waved his hand in a dismissive manner.
He had to act fast. Elonis grabbed Monique before the spell could make contact.
He thought he would feel pain. He thought he would scream when he felt flesh, bone, and muscle torn off from his body.
In fact, Elonis just felt numb when he saw his severed left arm flop right on top of him as he lay there next to Monique.
The Wizard started to walk closer to them. Monique struggled to help him up and into the last portal.
Bright white light surrounded them as they exited towards the Training Grounds. The portal closed behind them as Elonis and Monique struggled out.
Far off, all of them could see Alberta disappear in a violent display of heat and light. The buildings vanished right before their eyes as a pillar of fire pierced the night sky and turned it red.
All that was left of the port city was a large crater quickly filling with seawater.
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Leish's hollow skull surveyed the Port City's destruction from his personal undead Navy's flagship, The Red Dagger. The fleet was anchored a few miles from shore, tattered sails never moving from the wind. But then, his ships never needed the wind to move.
The ship's captain stood beside him with looking glass in hand. The skeleton's voice sounded like dry leaves, "It would seem Alberta has been completely destroyed milord. The only port left is Izlude, and I don't think they would pose much of a threat."
Leish's flames flared up as he spoke, "I didn't create you to think, Captain, just to follow my orders. We attack Izlude as soon as we find more graves to use for reinforcements. Izlude may be small, but neighboring Prontera and its Priests are more than a match for just the Undead."
The one legged skeleton snapped closed the looking glass and placed it in his jacket. "You mean to sayâ?" the Captain's question just trailed off as Leish continued watching the smoldering crater.
The Captain disappeared from Leish's attention as he formed a plan in his head. His Lord Mivere wanted all of Midgard's ports destroyed and he will do as commanded. When his Master arrives from the Heaven's to deliver his wrath, Leish will be there to see Midgard stand alone against the Great One's awesome power.
The Captain shook in unease as Leish's guffaw turned to mad laughter.
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Jarade, member of clan Noras of Morroc's Assassin's Guild, woke up from the most troubling dream.
But when he found the bodies littered in the Assassin's Sanctuary, he knew that it was all too true. Struggling to stand up, he retracted his katars into his forearms and found the blades were shattered. So, he unstrapped the weapons and left them on the floor.
He used the wall for support as he groggily walked through the fortress corridors.
Yesterday was supposed to be a celebration for the Guild's Starfall Festival. It all ended with tragedy.
Bodies lay everywhere. More than once, he stumbled on one of his comrades' corpse. More than once, he saw his friends' eyes stare into nothingness as they lie still in the stone floor.
Dry blood splattered across the floors and walls as he tried to find his way to the stables. He tried to ignore the gruesome sight before him but he cannot.
His training taught him that he should look at everything all the time. Jarade was not one of the best, but he mastered every lesson taught to him by his trainers. At the moment he wished he didn't.
He was an Assassin, with the shadows for his blood and stone for a heart, he cannot let this tragedy crush him.
But it did.
His pace quickened as he tried to run. His injuries prevented him from moving any faster, as if to make him look at his dead friends.
He tried to close his eyes, but they stayed open anyway.
To his left, he found old man Logrem with a sword through his heart. The man was sixty years old but was able to wield the katar like the master that he used to be. The old goat used to say that he refused to die in bed – that he wanted to die in a battle like all the other Assassins of his time. It would seem he got his wish.
As he moved on, he found Sai's body. Her limp form was spread eagle as a pair of knives stuck her wrists to the roof. One of her hands was balled to a fist as if in an attempt to protect her engagement ring. Her cold guts spilled from her stomach and into the floor.
Sai's fiancé lay a few feet away. The man's head had been crushed. Faras had been a good man, a good fighter. Jarade was supposed to be his best man in the wedding.
He fought tears as he saw Lillian and Doras pinned to a wall by a spear. Lillian was holding a shield for her brother while a sword and katar lay close to Doras's body. The ten-year-old twins never stood a chance.
It would seem that the whole Guild had been obliterated.
Jarade wanted to throw up at the moment.
Reaching the stables, his body gave up on him as he lay on the peco-peco's saddle. Using his last ounce of strength he slapped the bird on the neck signaling it to head to Morroc.
As the peco-peco bounded for the desert city, his injuries grew worse. Darkness started to envelop his vision, as he no longer had the strength to stay awake.
Behind him, the Assassin's Sanctuary crumbled to dust.