River of Life
by clem
- File Size:
- 6.3 MB
- Type:
- FFA Netmaps
- Solos (Coop)
- Author:
- clem
More by this author →
River of Life is the second segment of the 2-part project named "A Separation of Ages".
I have had players ask for the 2-parts to be made available as individual downloads to make files smaller to download.
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River of Life is a Solos/Coop/8-start Multiplayer FFA map featuring challenging play in each of it's gametypes.
River of Life Solos Story...
Screams and sounds of battle fill the night as we race to our destination, the defiled Shrine of Wyrd at the center of the River of Gold. As we arrive, we are amazed to find that the party of Eleven Sun Fleeing Rabbit, by using Gwyon's ancient and powerful blade, survived the night. They are exhausted and some claim to have seen the ghostly phantom of an old Berserk - surely Gwyon, the rumors report.
I treat the wounded to the best of my abilities and then cautiously approach the temple. It is impossible to convey the overwhelming feeling of awe I feel as I enter. My mind keeps jumping back to that fateful day eight hundred years ago when Gwyon alone held the temple from an onslaught of Myrkridia, striking one down with each mighty stroke until at last he fell. His blade... there!
I see it lying there in the temple - the legendary weapon that men have quested after for centuries, that which cannot be removed from Wyrd's watchful eyes. As I approach, my vision blurs and again I am back on that fateful day, a young heron standing in the middle of the temple. The water fades from gold to deep blue, the land again grows green, the birds again circle the temple. I am disconnected from my body. I am an old man, watching with pride my swordsmanship as I destroy the minions of the Dark. The sky darkens and the Myrkridia arrive. I know in advance what will happen. We will flee in cowardly disgrace and Gwyon will fall. I witness it all - exactly as I had always imagined. Gwyon tearing through the Myrkridia, destroying more and more of them even as he is ripped to shreds. The Myrkridia leave him where he falls and defile the place. I witness it all and cringe.
It is over, but the vision has not ended. I am still staring at the defiled temple, the fires raging around the land, and the corpse of Gwyon lying in the center. Suddenly, I am aware of a sound. It is Gwyon. He is breathing. He is still alive. My mind screams that it is impossible, but I cannot deny the power of my vision. The eyes, the perfect eyes, spring open in the middle of a bloody face. His nose is missing. Half is jaw is gone. One ear has been torn to shreds. His skull is fractured. He is missing at least six of his fingers and one foot. With each breath, more blood is coughed out of the hole where his mouth used to be in the mass of hair and bone that is his head.
He struggles to drag himself to the water's edge with his one good arm, to drink of the life-giving water, but it is hopeless. He collapses a mere three feet from the water's edge and lies still.
For years the events of that day disturbed me, and I knew not why. I believe I always knew the truth, somehow, but refused to think of it until now. So this is what we doomed Gwyon to - an honorless death, a body lying broken and lame for hours, a death Gwyon did not deserve. I understand now why the grass fails to grow and the birds fail to sing over eight centuries later.
The vision ends, but as it fades away, Gwyon seems to rise and step out of it, into this world, into the world of death and darkness. He speaks to me, and I know I am not mad because shouts of wonder rise from my men behind me. "I have waited a long time for you, Seven Wind," he says. "Fashionably late as always I suppose," he says and smiles. "Come - we have work to do."
I nod, for I understand perfectly. The world blurs and the vision starts again, but this time, I am tangible. My men are with me, marveling at the strange magic that turns a place of death into a place of life, not comprehending that they have been brought to a time hundreds of years before the birth of their forefathers, but eager to seek adventure.
This time, I will not fail.
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For the first part in the "A Separation of Ages" series please download "River of Gold".
© 2004 the tain