Hello Catskills,
We just got some news from EM Kasaven:
For the original, and a picture, look at the Catskills EM Website.
And a friendly reminder - just because you aren't a Stratics reporter doesn't mean you can't send us news of your own! All you folks who are lucky enough to have the time to attend these EM events are encouraged to send us your reports so that those who cannot can stay informed.
More...
We just got some news from EM Kasaven:
Ix Tab sat restless, accompanied only by her thoughts. The dim red glow of the crystal adjacent to her was the only thing illuminating the small, barren room. The cold, dank walls that surrounded her seemed to be the only things containing the seething anger that ran through her mind. She pushed herself up from the iron ore chair and walked over toward the pulsating crystal which consumed her thoughts. She raised the tip of her sword to the crystal, as if challenging it.
The crystal had not reacted to her previous incantations as it should. The power of the Conversion Crystal was great, and should have been made greater by the lives lost by obtaining it from Aegis. It was not for lack of power that the crystal would not respond. There was something else that had eluded Ix Tab’s understanding, something about the crystal was not as it should be.
She pressed the sword closer to the crystal, probing it, coercing it to reveal its true reality. Inside the crystal the visage of a trapped soul glared outward at Ix Tab, its grotesque, eyeless sockets peered through her to the blank wall at her back, as if refusing to recognize her existence. Splotches of gray, decomposing skin clung hopelessly to its glowing blue skull as bright orbs of light emerged where eyes once rested. The orbs seemed to pace back and forth frantically before resting themselves on the black-armor clad figure before them. The skull’s loose-hanging jaw tightened as its shattered, long-dead teeth gnashed and its face contorted wickedly as if to express its abhorrence and revulsion with Ix. She threw back her head and laughed, grabbing the Crystal between her claws. The figure inside seemed to convulse violently, its mouth forming a noiseless wail.
“You are only a pawn, a lost soul. In defending the glade, you have empowered me.” Ix said, staring into the lifeless eyes of the writhing blue skull. “Your death brings the conversion crystal closer to its ultimate goal. You will damn all that you once loved.”
And for a moment, as if decrying her statement, as if refusing to obey her whims, the crystal faded from sight. The room become pitch black, and Ix’s sword fell to the ground with a metallic clang that echoed throughout the room, affirming its emptiness. As quick as it had faded from sight, the crystal reappeared, the vengeful soul still staring into Ix, as if enjoying her shock.
----------
Rotep looked on as James lifted Aedon from the grass-covered ground with the help of the black-clad Clive. As Rotep uttered words of power, the sleeves of his blue robe undulated as he waved his arms, directing his healing incantations toward Aedon. Aedon’s eyes opened and took in his surroundings. He blinked, unbelievingly.
“Have I, where is,” Aedon shook his head, trying to compose himself. “What has occurred??”
Clive turned to him with a worried look on his face, “You were outside, chanting to this pond of yours, when we arrived. You looked fatigued, to say the least, and you collapsed without warning.”
“That cannot be!” “I was upholding the wards, to prevent Ix from discovering the truth about the false crystal she has obtained!” Aedon’s face turned pale.
“Perhaps you require my assistance?” James said, his staff bursting into flames as he turned to Aedon, nearly causing his robe to catch fire. Rotep let out a laugh, yet the look of horror remained on Aedon’s face.
Rotep turned back toward Aedon, “What’s the bi—” a hand tightly grasped around the back of his neck prevented him from finishing his thought, as James’ eyes widened. A tall woman clad in dark armor bearing a large daemon insignia stood behind him where only moments ago stood naught. She unleashed a fierce kick to Rotep’s spinal-cord that sent him airborne. The blow caused him to crash into James at a blinding speed, both flying forward until a nearby tree halted their progress, splitting in half.
Aedon immediately drew his sword from its scabbard and rushed toward Ix. Clive raised his shadow-smithed ornate axe far above his head and thrust it, spinning, at the daemon he knew all too well. The axe whirled acutely toward its target as Ix merely stared in its direction as if she meant to coerce it to turn from its path. A moment before it struck her, she touched her clawed hand to her chest and flicked her hand outward as if rolling a pair of die to cast her fate. In an instant, the axe split into a dozen sharp-edged pieces and flew back toward her assailants. Aedon rolled out of the way as he advanced, and Clive jumped backward, barely avoiding a shard of the axe as it ripped vehemently through his black robe.
“I am no fool, Durreah, do you think your damn knight’s tricks can stop me??” Ix screamed, “I live for your deaths, hellfire will consume you!”
Before Aedon could regain his footing, Ix’s eyes began to glow a crimson red. The ground beneath her began to pulsate, and the grass underfoot burst into flames. Her armor began to crack as a horrid transformation overtook her figure. As she let out a scream of pain and fury, a pair of horns grew from her skull, and her body flashed between its flesh color and a wave of crimson. Her black chain mail tunic exploded from her chest as her muscles grew into those of a giant. A flash of demonic pleasure ripped through her visage like orgasm as a pair of wings burst forth from her back, splattering the ground in fresh daemon blood that dripped from her wing tips like the tears of a hopeless mortal.
“Do you see what you have done? Now everyone will suffer!” Ix rose her fists into the air and entwined her fingers around a pair of gem fragments she produced as if from no where. Aedon and Clive stood up to oppose her. Before they could react, a bolt of lightning struck her raised fists as she thrust it downward into the heart of the pond. Earth shattered like thin glass beneath her as fragments of the pedestal once holding the great crystal flew in every direction. Aedon and Clive were sent crashing in opposite directions, and Ix thrust her fists downward again, with a great crash of lightning. Repeatedly her fists crushed the ground with the rancor of a mad daemon queen, unrelenting and unforgiving. Rubble and earth flew in every direction as she destroyed her surroundings, the impact began to excoriate the flesh from her hands as daemon blood splattered about the glade, yet it only caused her to increase her maddening pace.
Then she saw it, gleaming in the reflection of the dirt-covered, blood-splattered pond. The crystal she so sought after began to form, the wards began to fade. As she reached to retrieve it, Aedon began uttering words of warding between gasped breaths, spitting blood from his mouth that leaked from a gash on his forehead. The crystal disappeared from Ix’s sight as Aedon continued his incantation. Ix turned around, her red eyes glaring at him with an intense malice. He sought to keep her from what she desired most, he would destroy everything he loved rather than see her succeed. Ix snarled and slammed the ground, sending a wave of earth toward both Aedon and Clive. The wall of stone struck Aedon in the chest, sending him backward to hit his head against a nearby stone, falling unconscious. Clive rolled backward, to no avail, as the wall struck him in the side, sending him writhing to the ground.
Ix looked back to the pedestal as the crystal finally began to form a complete entity. She let out a shrieking, maniacal laugh as she looked at her prize lustily, grabbing it between bloodied hands. She took flight and looked back, proud of the flames and chaos she had left behind.
I will test the potential of this Conversion Crystal against those who refuse to join the uprising. Join or Die! They were warned!
Ix Tab grinned as she thought of the first town that should fall to her newfound might.
Come to the Counselor’s Hall, Saturday 6/5/10 at 9 p.m. EST. This menace must be countered as soon as she strikes!
(Thanks for reading this extended fiction, I got carried away, hope you enjoy it.)
The crystal had not reacted to her previous incantations as it should. The power of the Conversion Crystal was great, and should have been made greater by the lives lost by obtaining it from Aegis. It was not for lack of power that the crystal would not respond. There was something else that had eluded Ix Tab’s understanding, something about the crystal was not as it should be.
She pressed the sword closer to the crystal, probing it, coercing it to reveal its true reality. Inside the crystal the visage of a trapped soul glared outward at Ix Tab, its grotesque, eyeless sockets peered through her to the blank wall at her back, as if refusing to recognize her existence. Splotches of gray, decomposing skin clung hopelessly to its glowing blue skull as bright orbs of light emerged where eyes once rested. The orbs seemed to pace back and forth frantically before resting themselves on the black-armor clad figure before them. The skull’s loose-hanging jaw tightened as its shattered, long-dead teeth gnashed and its face contorted wickedly as if to express its abhorrence and revulsion with Ix. She threw back her head and laughed, grabbing the Crystal between her claws. The figure inside seemed to convulse violently, its mouth forming a noiseless wail.
“You are only a pawn, a lost soul. In defending the glade, you have empowered me.” Ix said, staring into the lifeless eyes of the writhing blue skull. “Your death brings the conversion crystal closer to its ultimate goal. You will damn all that you once loved.”
And for a moment, as if decrying her statement, as if refusing to obey her whims, the crystal faded from sight. The room become pitch black, and Ix’s sword fell to the ground with a metallic clang that echoed throughout the room, affirming its emptiness. As quick as it had faded from sight, the crystal reappeared, the vengeful soul still staring into Ix, as if enjoying her shock.
----------
Rotep looked on as James lifted Aedon from the grass-covered ground with the help of the black-clad Clive. As Rotep uttered words of power, the sleeves of his blue robe undulated as he waved his arms, directing his healing incantations toward Aedon. Aedon’s eyes opened and took in his surroundings. He blinked, unbelievingly.
“Have I, where is,” Aedon shook his head, trying to compose himself. “What has occurred??”
Clive turned to him with a worried look on his face, “You were outside, chanting to this pond of yours, when we arrived. You looked fatigued, to say the least, and you collapsed without warning.”
“That cannot be!” “I was upholding the wards, to prevent Ix from discovering the truth about the false crystal she has obtained!” Aedon’s face turned pale.
“Perhaps you require my assistance?” James said, his staff bursting into flames as he turned to Aedon, nearly causing his robe to catch fire. Rotep let out a laugh, yet the look of horror remained on Aedon’s face.
Rotep turned back toward Aedon, “What’s the bi—” a hand tightly grasped around the back of his neck prevented him from finishing his thought, as James’ eyes widened. A tall woman clad in dark armor bearing a large daemon insignia stood behind him where only moments ago stood naught. She unleashed a fierce kick to Rotep’s spinal-cord that sent him airborne. The blow caused him to crash into James at a blinding speed, both flying forward until a nearby tree halted their progress, splitting in half.
Aedon immediately drew his sword from its scabbard and rushed toward Ix. Clive raised his shadow-smithed ornate axe far above his head and thrust it, spinning, at the daemon he knew all too well. The axe whirled acutely toward its target as Ix merely stared in its direction as if she meant to coerce it to turn from its path. A moment before it struck her, she touched her clawed hand to her chest and flicked her hand outward as if rolling a pair of die to cast her fate. In an instant, the axe split into a dozen sharp-edged pieces and flew back toward her assailants. Aedon rolled out of the way as he advanced, and Clive jumped backward, barely avoiding a shard of the axe as it ripped vehemently through his black robe.
“I am no fool, Durreah, do you think your damn knight’s tricks can stop me??” Ix screamed, “I live for your deaths, hellfire will consume you!”
Before Aedon could regain his footing, Ix’s eyes began to glow a crimson red. The ground beneath her began to pulsate, and the grass underfoot burst into flames. Her armor began to crack as a horrid transformation overtook her figure. As she let out a scream of pain and fury, a pair of horns grew from her skull, and her body flashed between its flesh color and a wave of crimson. Her black chain mail tunic exploded from her chest as her muscles grew into those of a giant. A flash of demonic pleasure ripped through her visage like orgasm as a pair of wings burst forth from her back, splattering the ground in fresh daemon blood that dripped from her wing tips like the tears of a hopeless mortal.
“Do you see what you have done? Now everyone will suffer!” Ix rose her fists into the air and entwined her fingers around a pair of gem fragments she produced as if from no where. Aedon and Clive stood up to oppose her. Before they could react, a bolt of lightning struck her raised fists as she thrust it downward into the heart of the pond. Earth shattered like thin glass beneath her as fragments of the pedestal once holding the great crystal flew in every direction. Aedon and Clive were sent crashing in opposite directions, and Ix thrust her fists downward again, with a great crash of lightning. Repeatedly her fists crushed the ground with the rancor of a mad daemon queen, unrelenting and unforgiving. Rubble and earth flew in every direction as she destroyed her surroundings, the impact began to excoriate the flesh from her hands as daemon blood splattered about the glade, yet it only caused her to increase her maddening pace.
Then she saw it, gleaming in the reflection of the dirt-covered, blood-splattered pond. The crystal she so sought after began to form, the wards began to fade. As she reached to retrieve it, Aedon began uttering words of warding between gasped breaths, spitting blood from his mouth that leaked from a gash on his forehead. The crystal disappeared from Ix’s sight as Aedon continued his incantation. Ix turned around, her red eyes glaring at him with an intense malice. He sought to keep her from what she desired most, he would destroy everything he loved rather than see her succeed. Ix snarled and slammed the ground, sending a wave of earth toward both Aedon and Clive. The wall of stone struck Aedon in the chest, sending him backward to hit his head against a nearby stone, falling unconscious. Clive rolled backward, to no avail, as the wall struck him in the side, sending him writhing to the ground.
Ix looked back to the pedestal as the crystal finally began to form a complete entity. She let out a shrieking, maniacal laugh as she looked at her prize lustily, grabbing it between bloodied hands. She took flight and looked back, proud of the flames and chaos she had left behind.
I will test the potential of this Conversion Crystal against those who refuse to join the uprising. Join or Die! They were warned!
Ix Tab grinned as she thought of the first town that should fall to her newfound might.
Come to the Counselor’s Hall, Saturday 6/5/10 at 9 p.m. EST. This menace must be countered as soon as she strikes!
(Thanks for reading this extended fiction, I got carried away, hope you enjoy it.)
For the original, and a picture, look at the Catskills EM Website.
And a friendly reminder - just because you aren't a Stratics reporter doesn't mean you can't send us news of your own! All you folks who are lucky enough to have the time to attend these EM events are encouraged to send us your reports so that those who cannot can stay informed.
More...
