Post by TyTy on Nov 24, 2013 15:16:31 GMT
A simple voice booms.
“Have we repented?”
“Sir, it is not so," Slave bows as he speaks, "They will, in time sir, they will. It has only been a few days since they failed you, I have not spoken to them in that time. All is as you have commanded.”
“We have failed," The voice booms, "My hands failed to deliver this week.”
“Sir...," Slave slowly says, "that is so. As you have commanded, the three have been stung by their heels with neither food nor drink as lesson. They have seen neither light nor person since then and I have not heard a heard a sound save for the sound of sleep. We will be strong for this week, we will sir. ”
“We had best be ready." The voice booms, "I have been forced into two matches this week, my hands must battle twice.”
“Yes master, it is so," Slave agrees, "The fools have indeed attempted to spread our forces thin. Worry not lot, I will place my guarantee in our success. Them who have failed us sir, them who have fallen short, sir. Them have learned. Worry not my master, they will succeed next time.
The booming voice asks, “You have something you wish to discuss with me, Slave?”
“Yes sir, yes sir. I have spoken to the Lust who speaks prophesy. He has two visions that must be shared. He has had visions, maybe even dreams. Do you wish to hear what he has to share?”
“Bring him.”
An old man in a simple black cloak enters. His mask expose his eyes and forehead but cover his mouth, nose and ears. It appears to be made of brown leather.
He says to the voice, “We are here my Lord.”
“Speak my hand. What has been shared with us.”
~~~~~
The Vision
We saw a fox. A fox with many wounds, a fox that carries much pain. This fox was small and yet, due it's pain, would lash out at anyone who dared approach. It's red fur is knotted together by blood, some is hers, some not. Her teeth have been somewhat dulled by her many battles but still hold danger.
This fox finds herself in a battlefield. In this battlefield, it truly is survival of the fittest. Many bodies litter the area, much destruction has been wrought to bring the combatants to this place. Mercy and hope are not to be found here. All know that only one can survive and ruin awaits all others.
This fox walks through the wreckage, slowly and cautiously. It is nether fear nor excitement that the fox feels as she walks around another dead body. She glances at the body as she avoids it and notes the feminine features of the corpse. The dead are all women, there is no men rotting in these fields. She looks around and meets eyes with a woman for a brief second and sees the life seep out of her eyes as she falls to the ground, arrow sticking up from her head. The law states hunt or be hunted and this poor soul found herself the prey. The fox watches for a moment longer and continues it's journey.
Far away, screams and blasts can be heard but none seem to affect the fox. She seems to have no destination in mind as she aimlessly wanders through a thicket of trees. The danger around her doesn't seem to cause her fear though she is cautiously watching the area around her and looking over her shoulder. She sees a light in a clearing ahead of her and is intrigued by it. She moves towards the clearing and for a moment, the light blinds her.
As her vision clears, she sees 3 women standing before her, each with murder in their eyes.
She glances from one to the next as they glare into her. Each bare fresh wounds from the battle interrupted by the fox.
The fox speaks to them.
'Why do you fight?'
They seem unable to register what she said. No one knew what the fox said.
~~~~~
“That does not amuse me.”
“It is as I saw it.”
“Continue”
~~~~~
At once, they pounce at her. She turns in shock and flees into the woods behind her as each of their attacks narrowly miss her. She darts behind a tree as a current of water crashes behind her. She darts under a log to narrowly avoid a gust of thorns thrown her way and a women later, has to avoid an attack coming from the ground like a four leaf clover. As she runs through the woods she hears the voices fade, seemingly as though she is gaining distance from them. She doesn't look back until she is sure the voices are no more.
'Go forth'
She looks and cannot see anyone. She is unsure who spoke those words.
'Why do you stand here waiting,' the voice whispers to her, 'why did you not conquer the three?'
The fox looks around again.
'Who are you, why can I not see you?'
The voice replies, 'I am you. I am in you, I cannot be without you. Why did you run from your enemy?'
'There were three of them and one of me,' the fox scoffs, 'what was I to do against them?'
'You are to conquer them.'
She pleads. 'How am I to do that?'
There is no response.
She cautiously walks back to the forest, unsure of what to do. She is slower this time around; she feels a bit of fear. She walks towards where she had first encountered her opponents and soon finds herself where their attacks had hit. The trees are damaged by the shamrocks, the log destroyed by the thorns, and a tree is obliterated by the wave. The fox examines the damage before turning to face to the clearing where she first encountered the three. She walks forward towards it and again, the light blinds her for a moment.
There is nothing there.
There is blood on the ground from the battle she had interrupted earlier and the grass is dead in patches covering most the field. There was a lot of carnage but the ones who caused it were no longer there.
In desperation, she asks, 'Where am I to go?'
There is no response.
The fox shakes her head in visible frustration but does not utter a sound. She sees a trail of blood leading out of the clearing and decides to start there. It leads her down a rocky slope and she can hear the sound of water in the distance. After a short walk, she sees a river ahead. As she is thirsty, she goes and takes a drink of the river.
'And what you think you are doing?'
The abrupt voice starts the fox. She turns to see and a woman standing in the slow moving river. She is incredibly pale, as white as the fresh snow. From every part of her, grows small spikes. The spikes appear to form a crown over her head.
'I am the White Queen,' she says, 'Obey me!'
As she steps out of the river, she commands a pillar of water to rise up and hurls it towards the fox. The fox tries to dodge but is too slow and gets thrown with the water into the bushes. The White Queen steps towards her, taunting her the whole way.
'How can such a lowly fox stand before me? I am manipulative. I am violent. I am evil.'
The fox struggles to her feet. She rushes towards the White Queen but gets pushed aside by another thrust of water from the river. The fox makes it to her feet but is thrown again by another burst of water. This time, the fox is sent into a dead tree, knocking it into the water. As she attempts to get to her feet, the dead tree floats a little ways and gets caught in the rocks shortly downstream. The White Queen makes a pillar of water downstream from the fox and pulls it towards her. The fox is send flying and lands at the feet of the queen.
The queen picks the fox up and taunts her. 'I am the White Queen. I will be one who survives. I will the best!'
With each statement, her anger grows. As her anger grows, the river increases in it's flow.
The queen's grip tightens on the fox's neck, threatening to strangle the fox.
'Any last words, fox?' asks the White Queen.'
The fox feels a burst of strength come over her. She replies, 'I don't think I die today.'
The fox bites the Queen's forearm and with a whelp, the queen is forced to let go. The fox hits the ground but is quick to her feet. With every ounce of strength the fox leaps, flinging herself into the chest of the White Queen. The White Queen stumbles back, tripping over a rock and falling into the river. She is immediately swept into the current. She screams as the water impales her into the tree stuck in the river. He scream immediately falls silent. The fox turns from the river and listens as the river fades from existence.
'You have survived. Two more to kill.'
The voice has returned.
'What am I to do next,' asks the fox.
The voice replies, 'Conquer the next one.'
'Where am I to find the next one?' the fox asks.
The fox notices a mountain in the distance and is suddenly aware that he must go there.
She begins to wander towards the mountain and the ground beneath her suddenly grows rocky. She stumbles with each unstable step and she climbs the slight incline. There is a chill in the air and each breath comes out as a fog. The bodies here have frost covering their hair and clothing. The fox climbs until she sees a ledge in the distance. She approaches the spot and sees a woman standing there holding a rose. The woman's dress is made of the same roses and she is staring intent-fully into a a full-length standing body mirror made of crystal. As the fox approaches, she sees the foxes refection in the mirror.
'I am the Rose Goddess. My mirror reflects my perfection. You are nothing before me. Bow down to me!'
The rose she carries grows to become a sword. As the fox approaches, she rushes forward and slashes at her. The fox lunges back, barely avoiding being sliced. The Rose Goddess looks into the mirror before launching into another attack. This one isn't even close and the fox tackles her, sending the Rose Goddess stumbling back. The Goddess looks into the mirror and after realizing that she is undamaged by the attack, swings again at the fox. Again, she missed but the she is still able to side-step the fox's next tackle. The Rose Goddess is swinging her sword in more fluid motions as the fox tries unsuccessfully to counteract but is forced to take steps away from the mirror. As she swings, she yells at he fox.
'Die before me! I am the superstar! I am a goddess, you are mortal. Now die!'
The fox has been forced to the mountainside and as the Rose Goddess swings, the sword hits the rock above him. She is momentarily stunned as the fox luncges, sinking her teeth into the goddess' forearm. The Rose Goddess screams out in pain as she pushes the fox off her. She falls to her knees and cries out.
'My beauty! My arm! What has she done to me, what has happened to me! Whoa is me, I am ruined!'
The fox looks at her for a moment before launching into her next attack. She leaps forward and her claws rip through the flesh of the Rose Goddess. The Goddess scream and runs to her mirror, hand covering the scratch. She looks into the mirror, sobbing as the fox cautiously walks towards her. She screams.
'What have you done! You bitch, you will die! DIE!'
She rushes towards the fox, wildly swinging her sword. With each swing, she screams in rage. Her strikes are unaimed and the fox is narrowly avoiding get hit by a lot of the swings. The Rose Goddess brings the sword down like an axe and gets it stuck in the ground. The fox jumps at her but she steps out of the way. She pulls it out and swings it blindly. The fox moves out of the way, the Goddess' mirror bore the full force of the swing. It shatters. The frame falls over and slides off the edge of the cliff. The Ross Goddess jumps after it and falls to her death below. Her desperate scream can be heard fading into the abyss. As it fades to nothing, the world falls deathly silent.
'Two down.,' the voice says from nowhere, 'One left to kill.'
'Where are you?' The fox asks but of course, she gets no answers. She runs away from the cliff area back towards where she started. As she runs down the rocky slopes, the bodies are no longer there. There is no evidence that they had ever existed. With time, all things have disappeared. It appears as though nobody is left in this realm, it is as though nothing ever were. All thing seem hopeless and yet, the sun shines.
She races past where the river was and runs through the stream which has started to trickle there. The tree is no longer stuck where it was, it is full of life where it once stood. Even here, there is no signs of a battle. The body of the White Queen is no longer there. For a moment in time, the fox begins to even wonder if this reality is true. She walks through the clearing and again a bright light blinds her for a moment.
'Well luk waaat we 'av 'ere. 'tis de wee fox.'
The leprechaun tipped her hat towards the fox but the fox just stood there dumbfounded.
~~~~~
“A leprechaun? Are you attempting to deceive us?”
“No master, this is how we saw it.”
“Alright. Go on.”
~~~~~
The leprechaun tipped her hat towards the fox but the fox just stood there dumbfounded. Unsure whether or not to trust the being across the field from her, the fox stayed where she was.
Why won't yer cum close, ye shuk? don't worry, oi 'ill in me brown 'urt yer. waaat? yer 'av never seen a leprechaun, 'av yer?
The leprechaun begins to merrily walk towards the fox. As the leprechaun walked under the shadow of a tree, for a brief moment it appeared as though she turned into a devil for just a moment before turning back into the jolly, green form.
'Oi jist want ter gie yer a jammy clover.'
The leprechaun holds out a four leaf clover as if as a present for the fox. The fox doesn't fall for it. The fox begins to circle around the leprechaun, looking for a chance to attack.
''oly cr'ahp, waaat 'as gotten into yer?'
The fox attacks as the leprechaun backsteps into the shade. In a moment, the devil catches the fox and hurls her into a tree. The fox is quite slow to stand back up and barely avoids getting hit again by the devil. The fox rolls into the sunlight but the devil stays in the shade. The devil taunts the fox.
'Cum scrap me nigh, cum on. brin' de scrap coward.'
The fox chooses instead to back up into the shade behind him. With blinding speed, the devil gives chase only stepping where the darkness lied but the fox steps back into the light where she can't be reached. The fox rushes to another spot in the shade and the same happened. The fox did this a third time, seemingly taunting the devil. The fox goes to do this a fourth time but is intercepted by the devil. The fox leaps at the devil, catching her off guard. Stunned, the devil stumbles into the clearing again. In an instant, she is back to her leprechaun form with the fox walking towards her.
'Ah shoite.'
The fox lunges at her throat and rips into her with her teeth. The leprechaun is dead in an instant, flesh flying as it is viciously ranked from her neck. Her body falls limp, her eyes closed. She explodes into a cloud of four leaf clovers. The fox walks away, awaiting the voice to tell her what is next.
'Well done. That was 3 for 3.'
'What comes next,' the fox asks, 'what was the point of this?'
The internal voice laughs.
'The point? You have slayed your opponents. Simple no less, no more. What more do you desire?'
The fox falls silent for a moment.
'I... I think I... no, I know what I desire. More blood.'
The internal voice laughs again.
'Then go, claim the blood owed to us.'
As the laughter continues, the fox turns to see the bodies of the White Queen, the Rose Goddess, and the Dare Devil all rushing at her. She leaps into combat with them, not as a fox, but as a wolf.
~~~~~~
“Was that all?”
The master does not sound too impressed by what he had heard.
“But master,” Slave says, “I believed it to be a wonderful story. Thank you Lust, you have done well. Has he not done quite well, has he not master? Very well? Very well.”
“Shut up Slave,” the master says angrily, “there were two visions we wished to share. Are we correct? Share this next one now.”
The prophet Lust nods.
“Yes master, we will reveal what we seen,”
~~~~~~~
The Second Vision
I see a kingdom.
The king of this kingdom is not a great king. He has made many enemies over the years. He has also made many allies and his people feel great loyalty to him. Outside the kingdom, king has a lot of enemies.
The kingdom sits on prosperous land. The people in the kingdom know that they may not become rich under the king's rule but they know that as long as they live in the kingdom, they will have all their needs met. There is a lot of corruption in the kingdom that people are willingly overlooking for fear of not being fed elsewhere. Those who don't feel loyalty to the king feel loyalty to his riches.
Outside the kingdom, there is nothing but desert. It is poor outside the kingdom and the people outside like in constant hunger and thirst. They are miserable and feel greatly envious of the riches of the kingdom. They are unwilling to swear loyalty to such a corrupt king as the one ruling the kingdom. As the walls of the kingdom are very high, it is nearly impossible to conquer it. But, alas, the men try and many of them die. They learned quickly that attacking the kingdom by yourself would be suicide and so they form alliances. At first, they become posses and then they form gangs. The gangs grow to the point where they can call themselves an empire. When a gang attacks, they are quickly eliminated. When an empire attacks, it begins a war. The enemies realize that they don't have to take over the kingdom, they only need to get past the wall. Once that happens, they will have the food and drink they needs and desire and can commit a much bloodier war from the inside.
Our story begins during one such war.
Now you see, this kingdom has 3 entrances. The first was the main gate in which everyone entered and exits while the other two were main gates designed for farmers to bring their goods in and out of. Each gate had a sentry watching it at all hours, they were the main defenders of the realm. Today we will focus on one such defender. His job consisted of two things, watching the gate and opening the gate when needed. He had been doing his job a long time and wasn't particularly good at it but still good enough for the kingdom to have kept him at such an important job.
The enemy attacked one day suddenly. It wasn't the largest attack but still enough for the military to send troops to combat it. The defenders left through the side gate and were battling in front of the large entrance gate to the city. The defender sentry had the perfect view to watch the entire war. The defenders on the ground fought a perfect battle and it quickly became apparent that this battle would be over before evening set. The defender sentry watched out on the battlefield and began to fantasize about what it would be like to step into battle. He looked out unto the battlefield and saw a sight he never expected. The leader of the rebellion was there, behind the defenders. He was hard to notice and was moving from away from where the battle was being fought. As the side gates were open from letting the guards out, he had a perfect opportunity to sneak into the city. The sentry watched to see if the other sentries noticed him creeping towards the gate but it soon became apparent that he was the only one who saw the rebellion leader.
He debated what he should do before he realized that he had his chance to became a celebrity. If he killed the empire leader, he would become an overnight sensation in his kingdom. He would be able to leave his job as a sentry and become one of the guards or soldiers. He rushed out of his position and grabbed a crossbow. He ran onto the battlefield over to open gate and right as the rebellion leader was set to walk through the gate, he shot him in chest. The rebellion leader died instantly.
The sentries guarding the gate heard the commotion and looked away from the battle so they were able to see their gate. When they noticed the dead rebellion leader, they shut their gate making it secure so that nobody else could enter. The sentry ran back to his post, super proud of himself. The rebels, seeing their leader dead, retreated back defeated. The sight of their lead leader was a morale defeat for them.
A while later, the sentry received a summon to the palace. He thought to himself, 'oh great, the King even wants to congratulate me on my bravery. I have done a great thing, maybe I could even meet the princess!'. Two guards stopped by to escort him to the palace and he was excited to go.
Once he got to the palace, instead of being lead to the throne room, he was lead to an office in the basement. At the desk sat an old, nearly retired captain from the army. He reached across the table and handed the sentry a pile of papers.
'What's this,' asked the sentry.
'These are your walking papers.' replied the captain, you've been fired.'
'But why,' moaned the sentry, 'I did a great act of bravery that prevented a very dangerous man from entering the city and single-handedly ended a battle early saving lives.'
'You left your post,' the captain said sternly, 'you had two jobs and you failed at both. Goodbye.'
That is the fate of the Guardians of the Realm. They are being used as no more than pawns by their kingdom. They are disposable pieces being used to protect a corrupt kingdom. The king is so busy battling other forces that he doesn't see the threat in front of him.
What will the defenders get if they beat us? Not even a thank you.
We are not summoned to this realm to conquer and raid the resources and yet they battle us the same as they would combat those with petty ambition. We are here to destroy. If we lose, we lose. If we win, we destroy a little more of the IWF. When we conquer IWF, it will slowly die.
Can they not realize that we are not the same as every enemy they have ever faced? We are special, we are different. For this sin, for every sin committed by this kingdom, they will shed blood.
~~~~~
“Thank you for sharing, my loyal hand.”
The prophet Lust bows his head.
“Command me and I shall, master.”
The prophet Lust leaves.
“But what does this mean Master?” Slave asks, “How do we use these words?”
“Summon my hands Slave, you shall see what these all mean at Survival of the Fittest.”
[/b]“Have we repented?”
“Sir, it is not so," Slave bows as he speaks, "They will, in time sir, they will. It has only been a few days since they failed you, I have not spoken to them in that time. All is as you have commanded.”
“We have failed," The voice booms, "My hands failed to deliver this week.”
“Sir...," Slave slowly says, "that is so. As you have commanded, the three have been stung by their heels with neither food nor drink as lesson. They have seen neither light nor person since then and I have not heard a heard a sound save for the sound of sleep. We will be strong for this week, we will sir. ”
“We had best be ready." The voice booms, "I have been forced into two matches this week, my hands must battle twice.”
“Yes master, it is so," Slave agrees, "The fools have indeed attempted to spread our forces thin. Worry not lot, I will place my guarantee in our success. Them who have failed us sir, them who have fallen short, sir. Them have learned. Worry not my master, they will succeed next time.
The booming voice asks, “You have something you wish to discuss with me, Slave?”
“Yes sir, yes sir. I have spoken to the Lust who speaks prophesy. He has two visions that must be shared. He has had visions, maybe even dreams. Do you wish to hear what he has to share?”
“Bring him.”
An old man in a simple black cloak enters. His mask expose his eyes and forehead but cover his mouth, nose and ears. It appears to be made of brown leather.
He says to the voice, “We are here my Lord.”
“Speak my hand. What has been shared with us.”
~~~~~
The Vision
We saw a fox. A fox with many wounds, a fox that carries much pain. This fox was small and yet, due it's pain, would lash out at anyone who dared approach. It's red fur is knotted together by blood, some is hers, some not. Her teeth have been somewhat dulled by her many battles but still hold danger.
This fox finds herself in a battlefield. In this battlefield, it truly is survival of the fittest. Many bodies litter the area, much destruction has been wrought to bring the combatants to this place. Mercy and hope are not to be found here. All know that only one can survive and ruin awaits all others.
This fox walks through the wreckage, slowly and cautiously. It is nether fear nor excitement that the fox feels as she walks around another dead body. She glances at the body as she avoids it and notes the feminine features of the corpse. The dead are all women, there is no men rotting in these fields. She looks around and meets eyes with a woman for a brief second and sees the life seep out of her eyes as she falls to the ground, arrow sticking up from her head. The law states hunt or be hunted and this poor soul found herself the prey. The fox watches for a moment longer and continues it's journey.
Far away, screams and blasts can be heard but none seem to affect the fox. She seems to have no destination in mind as she aimlessly wanders through a thicket of trees. The danger around her doesn't seem to cause her fear though she is cautiously watching the area around her and looking over her shoulder. She sees a light in a clearing ahead of her and is intrigued by it. She moves towards the clearing and for a moment, the light blinds her.
As her vision clears, she sees 3 women standing before her, each with murder in their eyes.
She glances from one to the next as they glare into her. Each bare fresh wounds from the battle interrupted by the fox.
The fox speaks to them.
'Why do you fight?'
They seem unable to register what she said. No one knew what the fox said.
~~~~~
“That does not amuse me.”
“It is as I saw it.”
“Continue”
~~~~~
At once, they pounce at her. She turns in shock and flees into the woods behind her as each of their attacks narrowly miss her. She darts behind a tree as a current of water crashes behind her. She darts under a log to narrowly avoid a gust of thorns thrown her way and a women later, has to avoid an attack coming from the ground like a four leaf clover. As she runs through the woods she hears the voices fade, seemingly as though she is gaining distance from them. She doesn't look back until she is sure the voices are no more.
'Go forth'
She looks and cannot see anyone. She is unsure who spoke those words.
'Why do you stand here waiting,' the voice whispers to her, 'why did you not conquer the three?'
The fox looks around again.
'Who are you, why can I not see you?'
The voice replies, 'I am you. I am in you, I cannot be without you. Why did you run from your enemy?'
'There were three of them and one of me,' the fox scoffs, 'what was I to do against them?'
'You are to conquer them.'
She pleads. 'How am I to do that?'
There is no response.
She cautiously walks back to the forest, unsure of what to do. She is slower this time around; she feels a bit of fear. She walks towards where she had first encountered her opponents and soon finds herself where their attacks had hit. The trees are damaged by the shamrocks, the log destroyed by the thorns, and a tree is obliterated by the wave. The fox examines the damage before turning to face to the clearing where she first encountered the three. She walks forward towards it and again, the light blinds her for a moment.
There is nothing there.
There is blood on the ground from the battle she had interrupted earlier and the grass is dead in patches covering most the field. There was a lot of carnage but the ones who caused it were no longer there.
In desperation, she asks, 'Where am I to go?'
There is no response.
The fox shakes her head in visible frustration but does not utter a sound. She sees a trail of blood leading out of the clearing and decides to start there. It leads her down a rocky slope and she can hear the sound of water in the distance. After a short walk, she sees a river ahead. As she is thirsty, she goes and takes a drink of the river.
'And what you think you are doing?'
The abrupt voice starts the fox. She turns to see and a woman standing in the slow moving river. She is incredibly pale, as white as the fresh snow. From every part of her, grows small spikes. The spikes appear to form a crown over her head.
'I am the White Queen,' she says, 'Obey me!'
As she steps out of the river, she commands a pillar of water to rise up and hurls it towards the fox. The fox tries to dodge but is too slow and gets thrown with the water into the bushes. The White Queen steps towards her, taunting her the whole way.
'How can such a lowly fox stand before me? I am manipulative. I am violent. I am evil.'
The fox struggles to her feet. She rushes towards the White Queen but gets pushed aside by another thrust of water from the river. The fox makes it to her feet but is thrown again by another burst of water. This time, the fox is sent into a dead tree, knocking it into the water. As she attempts to get to her feet, the dead tree floats a little ways and gets caught in the rocks shortly downstream. The White Queen makes a pillar of water downstream from the fox and pulls it towards her. The fox is send flying and lands at the feet of the queen.
The queen picks the fox up and taunts her. 'I am the White Queen. I will be one who survives. I will the best!'
With each statement, her anger grows. As her anger grows, the river increases in it's flow.
The queen's grip tightens on the fox's neck, threatening to strangle the fox.
'Any last words, fox?' asks the White Queen.'
The fox feels a burst of strength come over her. She replies, 'I don't think I die today.'
The fox bites the Queen's forearm and with a whelp, the queen is forced to let go. The fox hits the ground but is quick to her feet. With every ounce of strength the fox leaps, flinging herself into the chest of the White Queen. The White Queen stumbles back, tripping over a rock and falling into the river. She is immediately swept into the current. She screams as the water impales her into the tree stuck in the river. He scream immediately falls silent. The fox turns from the river and listens as the river fades from existence.
'You have survived. Two more to kill.'
The voice has returned.
'What am I to do next,' asks the fox.
The voice replies, 'Conquer the next one.'
'Where am I to find the next one?' the fox asks.
The fox notices a mountain in the distance and is suddenly aware that he must go there.
She begins to wander towards the mountain and the ground beneath her suddenly grows rocky. She stumbles with each unstable step and she climbs the slight incline. There is a chill in the air and each breath comes out as a fog. The bodies here have frost covering their hair and clothing. The fox climbs until she sees a ledge in the distance. She approaches the spot and sees a woman standing there holding a rose. The woman's dress is made of the same roses and she is staring intent-fully into a a full-length standing body mirror made of crystal. As the fox approaches, she sees the foxes refection in the mirror.
'I am the Rose Goddess. My mirror reflects my perfection. You are nothing before me. Bow down to me!'
The rose she carries grows to become a sword. As the fox approaches, she rushes forward and slashes at her. The fox lunges back, barely avoiding being sliced. The Rose Goddess looks into the mirror before launching into another attack. This one isn't even close and the fox tackles her, sending the Rose Goddess stumbling back. The Goddess looks into the mirror and after realizing that she is undamaged by the attack, swings again at the fox. Again, she missed but the she is still able to side-step the fox's next tackle. The Rose Goddess is swinging her sword in more fluid motions as the fox tries unsuccessfully to counteract but is forced to take steps away from the mirror. As she swings, she yells at he fox.
'Die before me! I am the superstar! I am a goddess, you are mortal. Now die!'
The fox has been forced to the mountainside and as the Rose Goddess swings, the sword hits the rock above him. She is momentarily stunned as the fox luncges, sinking her teeth into the goddess' forearm. The Rose Goddess screams out in pain as she pushes the fox off her. She falls to her knees and cries out.
'My beauty! My arm! What has she done to me, what has happened to me! Whoa is me, I am ruined!'
The fox looks at her for a moment before launching into her next attack. She leaps forward and her claws rip through the flesh of the Rose Goddess. The Goddess scream and runs to her mirror, hand covering the scratch. She looks into the mirror, sobbing as the fox cautiously walks towards her. She screams.
'What have you done! You bitch, you will die! DIE!'
She rushes towards the fox, wildly swinging her sword. With each swing, she screams in rage. Her strikes are unaimed and the fox is narrowly avoiding get hit by a lot of the swings. The Rose Goddess brings the sword down like an axe and gets it stuck in the ground. The fox jumps at her but she steps out of the way. She pulls it out and swings it blindly. The fox moves out of the way, the Goddess' mirror bore the full force of the swing. It shatters. The frame falls over and slides off the edge of the cliff. The Ross Goddess jumps after it and falls to her death below. Her desperate scream can be heard fading into the abyss. As it fades to nothing, the world falls deathly silent.
'Two down.,' the voice says from nowhere, 'One left to kill.'
'Where are you?' The fox asks but of course, she gets no answers. She runs away from the cliff area back towards where she started. As she runs down the rocky slopes, the bodies are no longer there. There is no evidence that they had ever existed. With time, all things have disappeared. It appears as though nobody is left in this realm, it is as though nothing ever were. All thing seem hopeless and yet, the sun shines.
She races past where the river was and runs through the stream which has started to trickle there. The tree is no longer stuck where it was, it is full of life where it once stood. Even here, there is no signs of a battle. The body of the White Queen is no longer there. For a moment in time, the fox begins to even wonder if this reality is true. She walks through the clearing and again a bright light blinds her for a moment.
'Well luk waaat we 'av 'ere. 'tis de wee fox.'
The leprechaun tipped her hat towards the fox but the fox just stood there dumbfounded.
~~~~~
“A leprechaun? Are you attempting to deceive us?”
“No master, this is how we saw it.”
“Alright. Go on.”
~~~~~
The leprechaun tipped her hat towards the fox but the fox just stood there dumbfounded. Unsure whether or not to trust the being across the field from her, the fox stayed where she was.
Why won't yer cum close, ye shuk? don't worry, oi 'ill in me brown 'urt yer. waaat? yer 'av never seen a leprechaun, 'av yer?
The leprechaun begins to merrily walk towards the fox. As the leprechaun walked under the shadow of a tree, for a brief moment it appeared as though she turned into a devil for just a moment before turning back into the jolly, green form.
'Oi jist want ter gie yer a jammy clover.'
The leprechaun holds out a four leaf clover as if as a present for the fox. The fox doesn't fall for it. The fox begins to circle around the leprechaun, looking for a chance to attack.
''oly cr'ahp, waaat 'as gotten into yer?'
The fox attacks as the leprechaun backsteps into the shade. In a moment, the devil catches the fox and hurls her into a tree. The fox is quite slow to stand back up and barely avoids getting hit again by the devil. The fox rolls into the sunlight but the devil stays in the shade. The devil taunts the fox.
'Cum scrap me nigh, cum on. brin' de scrap coward.'
The fox chooses instead to back up into the shade behind him. With blinding speed, the devil gives chase only stepping where the darkness lied but the fox steps back into the light where she can't be reached. The fox rushes to another spot in the shade and the same happened. The fox did this a third time, seemingly taunting the devil. The fox goes to do this a fourth time but is intercepted by the devil. The fox leaps at the devil, catching her off guard. Stunned, the devil stumbles into the clearing again. In an instant, she is back to her leprechaun form with the fox walking towards her.
'Ah shoite.'
The fox lunges at her throat and rips into her with her teeth. The leprechaun is dead in an instant, flesh flying as it is viciously ranked from her neck. Her body falls limp, her eyes closed. She explodes into a cloud of four leaf clovers. The fox walks away, awaiting the voice to tell her what is next.
'Well done. That was 3 for 3.'
'What comes next,' the fox asks, 'what was the point of this?'
The internal voice laughs.
'The point? You have slayed your opponents. Simple no less, no more. What more do you desire?'
The fox falls silent for a moment.
'I... I think I... no, I know what I desire. More blood.'
The internal voice laughs again.
'Then go, claim the blood owed to us.'
As the laughter continues, the fox turns to see the bodies of the White Queen, the Rose Goddess, and the Dare Devil all rushing at her. She leaps into combat with them, not as a fox, but as a wolf.
~~~~~~
“Was that all?”
The master does not sound too impressed by what he had heard.
“But master,” Slave says, “I believed it to be a wonderful story. Thank you Lust, you have done well. Has he not done quite well, has he not master? Very well? Very well.”
“Shut up Slave,” the master says angrily, “there were two visions we wished to share. Are we correct? Share this next one now.”
The prophet Lust nods.
“Yes master, we will reveal what we seen,”
~~~~~~~
The Second Vision
I see a kingdom.
The king of this kingdom is not a great king. He has made many enemies over the years. He has also made many allies and his people feel great loyalty to him. Outside the kingdom, king has a lot of enemies.
The kingdom sits on prosperous land. The people in the kingdom know that they may not become rich under the king's rule but they know that as long as they live in the kingdom, they will have all their needs met. There is a lot of corruption in the kingdom that people are willingly overlooking for fear of not being fed elsewhere. Those who don't feel loyalty to the king feel loyalty to his riches.
Outside the kingdom, there is nothing but desert. It is poor outside the kingdom and the people outside like in constant hunger and thirst. They are miserable and feel greatly envious of the riches of the kingdom. They are unwilling to swear loyalty to such a corrupt king as the one ruling the kingdom. As the walls of the kingdom are very high, it is nearly impossible to conquer it. But, alas, the men try and many of them die. They learned quickly that attacking the kingdom by yourself would be suicide and so they form alliances. At first, they become posses and then they form gangs. The gangs grow to the point where they can call themselves an empire. When a gang attacks, they are quickly eliminated. When an empire attacks, it begins a war. The enemies realize that they don't have to take over the kingdom, they only need to get past the wall. Once that happens, they will have the food and drink they needs and desire and can commit a much bloodier war from the inside.
Our story begins during one such war.
Now you see, this kingdom has 3 entrances. The first was the main gate in which everyone entered and exits while the other two were main gates designed for farmers to bring their goods in and out of. Each gate had a sentry watching it at all hours, they were the main defenders of the realm. Today we will focus on one such defender. His job consisted of two things, watching the gate and opening the gate when needed. He had been doing his job a long time and wasn't particularly good at it but still good enough for the kingdom to have kept him at such an important job.
The enemy attacked one day suddenly. It wasn't the largest attack but still enough for the military to send troops to combat it. The defenders left through the side gate and were battling in front of the large entrance gate to the city. The defender sentry had the perfect view to watch the entire war. The defenders on the ground fought a perfect battle and it quickly became apparent that this battle would be over before evening set. The defender sentry watched out on the battlefield and began to fantasize about what it would be like to step into battle. He looked out unto the battlefield and saw a sight he never expected. The leader of the rebellion was there, behind the defenders. He was hard to notice and was moving from away from where the battle was being fought. As the side gates were open from letting the guards out, he had a perfect opportunity to sneak into the city. The sentry watched to see if the other sentries noticed him creeping towards the gate but it soon became apparent that he was the only one who saw the rebellion leader.
He debated what he should do before he realized that he had his chance to became a celebrity. If he killed the empire leader, he would become an overnight sensation in his kingdom. He would be able to leave his job as a sentry and become one of the guards or soldiers. He rushed out of his position and grabbed a crossbow. He ran onto the battlefield over to open gate and right as the rebellion leader was set to walk through the gate, he shot him in chest. The rebellion leader died instantly.
The sentries guarding the gate heard the commotion and looked away from the battle so they were able to see their gate. When they noticed the dead rebellion leader, they shut their gate making it secure so that nobody else could enter. The sentry ran back to his post, super proud of himself. The rebels, seeing their leader dead, retreated back defeated. The sight of their lead leader was a morale defeat for them.
A while later, the sentry received a summon to the palace. He thought to himself, 'oh great, the King even wants to congratulate me on my bravery. I have done a great thing, maybe I could even meet the princess!'. Two guards stopped by to escort him to the palace and he was excited to go.
Once he got to the palace, instead of being lead to the throne room, he was lead to an office in the basement. At the desk sat an old, nearly retired captain from the army. He reached across the table and handed the sentry a pile of papers.
'What's this,' asked the sentry.
'These are your walking papers.' replied the captain, you've been fired.'
'But why,' moaned the sentry, 'I did a great act of bravery that prevented a very dangerous man from entering the city and single-handedly ended a battle early saving lives.'
'You left your post,' the captain said sternly, 'you had two jobs and you failed at both. Goodbye.'
That is the fate of the Guardians of the Realm. They are being used as no more than pawns by their kingdom. They are disposable pieces being used to protect a corrupt kingdom. The king is so busy battling other forces that he doesn't see the threat in front of him.
What will the defenders get if they beat us? Not even a thank you.
We are not summoned to this realm to conquer and raid the resources and yet they battle us the same as they would combat those with petty ambition. We are here to destroy. If we lose, we lose. If we win, we destroy a little more of the IWF. When we conquer IWF, it will slowly die.
Can they not realize that we are not the same as every enemy they have ever faced? We are special, we are different. For this sin, for every sin committed by this kingdom, they will shed blood.
~~~~~
“Thank you for sharing, my loyal hand.”
The prophet Lust bows his head.
“Command me and I shall, master.”
The prophet Lust leaves.
“But what does this mean Master?” Slave asks, “How do we use these words?”
“Summon my hands Slave, you shall see what these all mean at Survival of the Fittest.”
Well howdy there pardner.