11/21/2019 – The rangers were dispatched to meet with Keith once more on an urgent matter, soon learning that the Brothers in Arms, who had been searching Jhelom high and low for the secret school of the Library of Scars so that Rolf may take his revenge on Vasuki, had finally found it and were presently involved in wiping out the Library. Keith believed this battle would likewise spell the end for the Brothers in Arms, as the losses they would endure might be too much to recover from, even if they were victorious. Keith led the rangers to where he had learned the Brothers in Arms were fighting.
As they entered the underground halls of the Library of Scars, Keith and the rangers were greeted only by a haunting silence as they passed through corridors piled with the bodies of the dead. When they entered the Library of Scars’ innermost sanctum, they found what remained of the two schools, all of the students standing before a fighting ring where Rolf and Vasuki now faced off.
Rolf cursed Keith and the rangers, vowing to destroy them once he was finished with Vasuki. He accused Keith of merely wanting to be the headmaster, and claimed that he did what he had to do in the face of total defeat in order to keep the Brothers in Arms alive. Rolf went on to say that he had even planned to betray Rufus at what was known as an “honor meeting” a kind of gathering of the schools in which both parties would agree not to fight each other under any circumstances, each by their respective honor. To violate that sacred trust would be the ultimate disgrace for a school. Nevertheless, Rolf explained that his son had convinced him not to commit such treachery before Vasuki had appeared and murdered him. He then turned his rage back to Vasuki who, unconcerned by Rolf’s bluster, proceeded to insult Rolf and the memory of his son while claiming that the harder Rolf fought, the stronger Vasuki would become.
Enraged, Rolf consumed the last of his dream venom contained within a large leather flask, and threw himself at his enemy. The students broke out into a brawl with the rangers caught inbetween. As the madness of the battle began to deepen, Rolf’s reckless consumption of dream venom combined with his tremendous rage began to cause tears in the fabric of reality between Sosaria and the Dream Realm. Reality itself contorted before the rangers’ very eyes until they found themselves in a strange, dream-like fragment of the Library of Scars’ school, fiercely battling with the two schools’ best students as Rolf and Vasuki had it out in the ring. Eventually, however, the fighting came to a halt as the students fell, and Rolf began to wear himself out. The final revelations would follow.
Vasuki, seeming to have lost little breath in his fight against Rolf, provoked the mad warrior who now was breathless and weary after having exerted so much of his energy. Vasuki once again assured his foe that his victory was inevitable, and continued to besmirch the memory of Rolf’s son by challenging Rolf to merely say his son’s name. Rolf seemed reluctantly at first, strangely, but provoked, he cried out to everyone’s surprise the name “Jonathan”. Suddenly, none other than Jonny himself, the mysterious friend of the rangers who had guided them all along in their adventures in Jhelom, climbed into the ring, now wearing the armor and sash of a student of the Brothers in Arms. He then explained the truth.
In truth, Vasuki was not the one that killed Jonny. Rolf, who had been pushed to the edge by growth and encroachment of the Hand of Death during the time of the Necromancers of Yew, had resorted to dream venom to gain an edge against the Hand of Death in the pits and elsewhere. Driven by the drug and his anger, Rolf was determined to betray Rufus at the honor meeting he had called, and could not be dissuaded by Jonny. Knowing no other way to convince his father, Jonny challenged Rolf to a duel – one which would ultimately leave him dead. Rolf had felt the act of killing his son so deeply, that his mind instinctively buried the traumatic memory and invented in its stead Vasuki and the delusion that Jonny had been murdered by the mysterious founder of the Library of Scars. Vasuki, like many other dream manifestations the rangers had encountered in past adventures, was merely another form born from the Realm of Dreams, and was little more than Rolf’s shadow, the evil in him that would haunt him until the day that he died. It was for this reason that Vasuki knew he could not be defeated by Rolf. The only way Rolf could find salvation was to stop trying to fight himself, and accept what he had done.
Realizing now the truth of all that had transpired, Rolf understood that he could no longer run from it, and decided to give up fighting. Even when Vasuki challenged him once again, Rolf refused to fight and allowed himself to be stabbed in the heart by Vasuki’s sword.
As Rolf lay dying, he begged Jonny forgiveness, who then explained that while Rolf, under the effect of the dream venom, had created Vasuki, he had also given form to Jonny. Jonny, who was also a manifestation of the Dream Realm, was a part of Rolf that sought redemption. As Rolf passed away, Jonny forgave him, and assured him that the Brothers who had died would be waiting for him in the next life.
Now that Rolf was dead, Vasuki began to undergo a transformation, laying claim to all of Rolf’s strength. Despite his new power, Jonny told him, without Rolf he would be vulnerable. Vasuki retorted that Jonny was little more than a memory, and that he would soon fade away. However, Jonny assured him that even if he would disappear, his memory would live on. As Jonny began to fade away, he turned to the rangers one last time, thanking them for their courage and calling them true friends of the Brothers in Arms. With that, their friend Jonny disappeared into the Realm of Dreams.
All that remained was Vasuki, who had taken the form of a great serpent, revealing what he truly was. Yet despite his great strength, Vasuki acknowledged his foes’ accomplishments and abilities, warning them that the ones that emerge victorious would only have to fight more battles for the remainder of their lives. The Dream Realm shuddered as the rangers took on the fearsome serpent. Though the rangers were pushed to their absolute limit, in the end the serpent finally fell.
After all that had transpired, the rangers were left to reflect amidst the sparkling stars of the Dream Realm all of the blood that had been spilled and those that had been sacrificed. What kind of story would this be? A tale of tragedy? A story of bravery? A fable of folly? A legend of heroism? Would the story even be remembered? Or would it fade away, not unlike the way the memory of a dream dissipates after awaking from it? Was Britannia merely another dream, contained within the realm they now observed? And if so, did they share a nature with Jonny, being memories held in each other’s hearts, given form and made real by the bonds between them? Even if their world was little more than a transient illusion, the adventure was real.
Even if the dream would end, there would be more to come.
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As they entered the underground halls of the Library of Scars, Keith and the rangers were greeted only by a haunting silence as they passed through corridors piled with the bodies of the dead. When they entered the Library of Scars’ innermost sanctum, they found what remained of the two schools, all of the students standing before a fighting ring where Rolf and Vasuki now faced off.
Rolf cursed Keith and the rangers, vowing to destroy them once he was finished with Vasuki. He accused Keith of merely wanting to be the headmaster, and claimed that he did what he had to do in the face of total defeat in order to keep the Brothers in Arms alive. Rolf went on to say that he had even planned to betray Rufus at what was known as an “honor meeting” a kind of gathering of the schools in which both parties would agree not to fight each other under any circumstances, each by their respective honor. To violate that sacred trust would be the ultimate disgrace for a school. Nevertheless, Rolf explained that his son had convinced him not to commit such treachery before Vasuki had appeared and murdered him. He then turned his rage back to Vasuki who, unconcerned by Rolf’s bluster, proceeded to insult Rolf and the memory of his son while claiming that the harder Rolf fought, the stronger Vasuki would become.
Enraged, Rolf consumed the last of his dream venom contained within a large leather flask, and threw himself at his enemy. The students broke out into a brawl with the rangers caught inbetween. As the madness of the battle began to deepen, Rolf’s reckless consumption of dream venom combined with his tremendous rage began to cause tears in the fabric of reality between Sosaria and the Dream Realm. Reality itself contorted before the rangers’ very eyes until they found themselves in a strange, dream-like fragment of the Library of Scars’ school, fiercely battling with the two schools’ best students as Rolf and Vasuki had it out in the ring. Eventually, however, the fighting came to a halt as the students fell, and Rolf began to wear himself out. The final revelations would follow.
Vasuki, seeming to have lost little breath in his fight against Rolf, provoked the mad warrior who now was breathless and weary after having exerted so much of his energy. Vasuki once again assured his foe that his victory was inevitable, and continued to besmirch the memory of Rolf’s son by challenging Rolf to merely say his son’s name. Rolf seemed reluctantly at first, strangely, but provoked, he cried out to everyone’s surprise the name “Jonathan”. Suddenly, none other than Jonny himself, the mysterious friend of the rangers who had guided them all along in their adventures in Jhelom, climbed into the ring, now wearing the armor and sash of a student of the Brothers in Arms. He then explained the truth.
In truth, Vasuki was not the one that killed Jonny. Rolf, who had been pushed to the edge by growth and encroachment of the Hand of Death during the time of the Necromancers of Yew, had resorted to dream venom to gain an edge against the Hand of Death in the pits and elsewhere. Driven by the drug and his anger, Rolf was determined to betray Rufus at the honor meeting he had called, and could not be dissuaded by Jonny. Knowing no other way to convince his father, Jonny challenged Rolf to a duel – one which would ultimately leave him dead. Rolf had felt the act of killing his son so deeply, that his mind instinctively buried the traumatic memory and invented in its stead Vasuki and the delusion that Jonny had been murdered by the mysterious founder of the Library of Scars. Vasuki, like many other dream manifestations the rangers had encountered in past adventures, was merely another form born from the Realm of Dreams, and was little more than Rolf’s shadow, the evil in him that would haunt him until the day that he died. It was for this reason that Vasuki knew he could not be defeated by Rolf. The only way Rolf could find salvation was to stop trying to fight himself, and accept what he had done.
Realizing now the truth of all that had transpired, Rolf understood that he could no longer run from it, and decided to give up fighting. Even when Vasuki challenged him once again, Rolf refused to fight and allowed himself to be stabbed in the heart by Vasuki’s sword.
As Rolf lay dying, he begged Jonny forgiveness, who then explained that while Rolf, under the effect of the dream venom, had created Vasuki, he had also given form to Jonny. Jonny, who was also a manifestation of the Dream Realm, was a part of Rolf that sought redemption. As Rolf passed away, Jonny forgave him, and assured him that the Brothers who had died would be waiting for him in the next life.
Now that Rolf was dead, Vasuki began to undergo a transformation, laying claim to all of Rolf’s strength. Despite his new power, Jonny told him, without Rolf he would be vulnerable. Vasuki retorted that Jonny was little more than a memory, and that he would soon fade away. However, Jonny assured him that even if he would disappear, his memory would live on. As Jonny began to fade away, he turned to the rangers one last time, thanking them for their courage and calling them true friends of the Brothers in Arms. With that, their friend Jonny disappeared into the Realm of Dreams.
All that remained was Vasuki, who had taken the form of a great serpent, revealing what he truly was. Yet despite his great strength, Vasuki acknowledged his foes’ accomplishments and abilities, warning them that the ones that emerge victorious would only have to fight more battles for the remainder of their lives. The Dream Realm shuddered as the rangers took on the fearsome serpent. Though the rangers were pushed to their absolute limit, in the end the serpent finally fell.
After all that had transpired, the rangers were left to reflect amidst the sparkling stars of the Dream Realm all of the blood that had been spilled and those that had been sacrificed. What kind of story would this be? A tale of tragedy? A story of bravery? A fable of folly? A legend of heroism? Would the story even be remembered? Or would it fade away, not unlike the way the memory of a dream dissipates after awaking from it? Was Britannia merely another dream, contained within the realm they now observed? And if so, did they share a nature with Jonny, being memories held in each other’s hearts, given form and made real by the bonds between them? Even if their world was little more than a transient illusion, the adventure was real.
Even if the dream would end, there would be more to come.
Continue reading...