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The Corrupted Blade - The Story of Rad Quetz


Colonel M
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“To put it bluntly, Rad Quetz was simply amazing.”

Though everyone has heard such a sentence before, many people have asked “why”? Rad Quetz came from Dragonia, home of the race of Dragir. Dragonia helped humans for many years; helping to keep the planet stable and free of crime. The city, though, was well hidden to prevent humans from entering the realm and corrupting it. The Dragir despised abusing their power unless it was deemed necessary to balance mankind and nature. Rad was one of the King of Dragonia’s best warriors.

Rad was sent to protect the realm of Ylvia, a newly born country that is quickly threatened by Broah, who is ruled by Emperor Blitz. Broah was known far and wide for its military might, but also for its hospitality towards other countries. Blitz was a king for what seemed like an era itself. He seemed to never age a bit nor feel signs of sickness. Blitz had an elite who was the commander of Broah’s imperial army. Captain Bread, also known as the Light Warrior, commanded the imperial army ever since he was 16. Now currently 20 years old, Captain Bread gotten his name due to his soft heart, but also for inventing the greatest strategy ever since sliced bread itself. His strategies consulted efficient clearing of the battlefield with minimal casualties.

Of course, the continent of Asaki remained silent when Ylvia pleaded for their aid. Asaki was a timid country ruled by a loudmouthed Empress Gen Hui. Gen Hui knew of the threat that Broah possessed if they took over the entire continent of Ylvia, but her countrymen rebelled against taking arms to stop Broah. They feared of Captain Bread and his tactical prowess. Asaki was home to many of the world’s greatest mages, and they feared of using their powers to upset the balance of the world. Their intelligence lead to being advanced in technology and were credited to inventing ways to make transportation easier and yielding maximum crop harvests.

Near the country of Asaki laid two countries that were divided by the Fanged Mountains. Tyranex and Silverex were the names of these countries, and they were not known for a mutual relationship. Silverex was known for its top production of weaponry and mining areas. Being surrounded by the sandy dunes, they use Wyverns as a source of transportation as well as combat. They are ruled by King Goldgrim, who was feared as being the strongest man on earth. Tyranex was surrounded by forests, which made it easy for thieves to pick their fights from stragglers. Tyranex was ruled more by a council than it was by an actual figure head. The council consisted of various top guilds that made the decisions for the people, within their best interests of course.

If the rumors of Broah invading Ylvia were true, Rad Quetz did not have much time to train an unstopable mercinary army. The only question that remained was who was to be Rad’s apprentices? Even so, could he train them in time to defend against the terrorizing Captain Bread and his tactical prowess? Only YOU can help determine the story’s direction.

-xox-

Ylvia was a country that was recently colonized by stragglers from Broah who opposed the emperor’s ruling. Ylvia was big enough to be a continent of its own, but the immigrants barely took a hundredth of the country’s land. Much of the continent was home to nomadic tribes who respected nature and were keen warriors. Ylvia’s environment is a bit cooler than most places around the world, but not bitter enough to keep people from living. Crops were still of mint condition and there were more than enough livestock to provide food for the people. The nomads lived in a slightly warmer environment to the northeast of the nation. Some of the terrain is covered by small plateaus and craggy mountains, but its natural barriers proved to be an asset for defending against invasions.

Unfortunately, the immigrant’s only forms of defense were the stone walls surrounding the cities and the vast seas since their army was still in the process of being built. Since Ylvia was still small, it relied on harbors to obtain supplies from around the world and as a source of food. The Capital, Sagä, was the only city that wasn’t a port city. Sagä was placed inside a plateau that surrounded the city with a river that parted and rejoined around the plateau. Having natural defenses, Sagä did not have to build stone walls to protect the city. The only way to enter the city was access by boat, which was supplied to outsiders by Sagä’s neighboring city, Rella.

Sagä, as well as the remaining Ylvia citizens, were still undecided on who would be their ruler. In fact, they were still confused on what kind of government to base their country on. Most countries around the world still follow the ways of imperialism. Asaki and Tyranex, however, pulled away from the standard mold and made a revised government system with a council that helped make decisions with a leader. The leader could still be considered an emperor (or empress) since they maintained most of their power, but the council was placed to help provide a check to the emperor (or empress) if a law was deemed unhealthy or unjust. Many Ylvia citizens wanted to mold their government around Asaki and Tyranex’s system as they were often seen as “advanced civilizations”. Others still opposed to such a system, criticizing it for giving “stupid people” power. A king knew how to rule its country, and needed nothing more but an advisor at worst. Many people bickered over their government, which prevented them from electing a figure head to rule the kingdom. This caused civil unrest and often fights with militias to determine what system to use.

The people were split between Akihoro, a direct relative of Blitz, and Agamaya, a half-nomadic male. Akihoro’s main advantages were simple; Ylvia could use him to prevent Broah from declaring war against Ylvia. Being a Broah native, Akihoro was well-versed in foreign policy, knew how to rule a country, and build an army. Akihoro also brought distress to the people; often being seen as a person that could become traitor to allow Broah to take over Ylvia. Despite Akihoro’s repeating promise to do no such thing, the threat of war deterred the people from electing him. Agamaya knew how to communicate with the nomadic tribes spread across Ylvia, which could bring Ylvia and the nomad’s Non-Aggression towards a peaceful relationship. Agamaya knew all about the lands of Ylvia and was taught how to rule by his stepfather, Lord Idraki, a mage from Asaki. Agamaya’s lack of experience toward any royalty and leadership made Agamaya a questionable candidate. If anything, Lord Idraki was often seen as the person running to be leader of Ylvia.

Despite the civil unrest within the country, Rad decided that he needed to start training. Preparing against Broah and its prodigy General, The Light Warrior, would be a tall task when most of the Ylvia citizens never participated in a war before. Rad searched around Ylvia to seek some of the best warriors he could find or spare arms that he could patch up to become warriors. Rad was able to find six pupils that would aid Rad’s cause of defending Ylvia. They decided to train near Hrieska, a large village about a half an hour’s horse ride from Sagä. Hrieska was near a forest that provided soft ground to help the warriors prevent major casualties while fighting. The trees were spaced enough to provide a fighting ring of sorts that stretched about half a mile. A camper mistakingly left his fireplace lit which caused a major fire. With the town near a water supply, Hrieska was able to put the fire out. The charred trees were escorted out of the area and brought to the village as a source of fertilizer for crops. The only thing remaining, aside from the ground, was some rocks. With supplies and healers at ready, Rad was set to start another training session. It’s been about two weeks since he started this endeavor, and the warriors have picked up quickly. While still incompetent in some ways, they were able to find ways to hold their own against the master.

“It’s time for training everyone,” Rad announced. He picked up his Great Sword and pointed it at the students. “The training will be rigorous since we need to prepare against an assault from Broah as quickly as possible. Thus, I’m going to attempt to crunch the basics as much as possible. You should be well acquainted with your weaponry, so let’s start combating against me.” Rad looked at his students with an intimidating glare. “Who’s first?”

“I’ll step up,” the young man said. Seamus, a Green Knight, wore short hair. He was named Captain of the small platoon, second in command from Master Rad. He got on his horse and proceeded to charge at his opponent. Seamus was known for his signature weapon; the Paperblade. It was a weapon that was finely crafted with white finish and silver trimming. It carried immense power despite the misleading name. Thinking ahead, he decided to fool his opponent and switched to his Iron Lance instead to strike, since Lances have the upper hand on Swords.

“Nice try Seamus,” Rad noted as he attempted to deflect the impact, “but you forgot a very important detail.” Rad took his free arm and picked up the Lance and, with his other hand, swung the Great Sword directly at Paperblade’s horse. The horse suddenly went onto its hind legs and threw Seamus off. The horse then ran off towards a healer. “My Great Sword has effective might on your mount. Don’t forget important details such as this.” Seamus got up right after Rad’s speech and decided to go for a second blow, this time with his signature weapon. Rad flinched a bit since Seamus aimed towards his Sword arm and Rad didn’t block the blow perfectly. Rad then proceeded to reverse the thrust of Seamus’s sword back towards him, thus forcing Paperblade on the ground. Seamus quickly got up and picked up his Iron Lance. Using both weapons, Seamus swung and thrusted, hoping that Rad couldn’t take constant blows from two different weapon types. Rad had to think quickly or he would be mauled by his first apprentice, which would look bad to his students and the higher ups in Dragonia. Rad proceeded to turn his sword blade so the sharp edge was facing toward him. Then, Rad started to swing the blade in a circular motion which created something similar like a shield. Seamus attempted to thrust toward Rad, but Rad nimbly stepped to the right and proceeded to swing through the Iron Lance with the Great Sword. The Iron Lance, broken in half, was thrown aside and Seamus charged once more with his sword at hand. Rad charged forward, rose his sword up into the air, jumped, then kicked Seamus mid-air which forced Seamus to lose balance. Rad pointed his sword towards Seamus’s chest; inches away from death.

Seamus slowly got off from the ground, placed his sword into the ground, and yelled “I am beaten”. Rad picked up Seamus from the ground, both the pupil and the master shook hands, and Seamus sat on the bench.

Tracer then stood up from the bench. The Mage wore blue robes with short blue hair. Tracer proceeded to formulate a plan to beat master Rad. “He doesn’t look too resilient to Magic, but he’d probably slice me to pieces in an instant. I need to find a way to distract him while I blast away with my fireworks!” He then turned to face Rody and whispered into his ear. “Since you’re able to take a couple of blows against Rad, help me out and we can beat him together.” Rody then stood up and took upon his Wyvern. Rody was a man with average height for an 18 year old and sported an athletic build. His brown hair and green armor was as bold as his sense of being lawful. A serious man, he rode a black Wyvern that had its eye gouged out by a Sniper in a previous war. Irreparable, the wyvern wore an eye patch to cover up the battle wound.

“Interesting,” Rad noted. “Tag teaming against an opponent is a wise strategy.”

“Unfortunately," Tracer said, “I tagged team your mom last night!" Rody grunted. The crowd on the benched “Oooooooooohed!" and laughed. Even Rad had to chuckle a bit.

During the joke Rody took flight, and proceeded to use his Gradivus to prevent taking fatal damage from the Great Sword. Gradivus was a gold-coated spear with a dark black ribbon attached near the head of the spear. With fine red trimming across the pole of the lance, the Gradivus was made specifically to combat from up close or from afar. Swooping back and forth, Rad was distracted by the black and yellow barrage of attacks. Meanwhile, Tracer prepared his magical assault on master Rad; chanted the spell with nimble precision and unleashing hell upon master Rad. Master Rad felt a great surge of pain from the constant lance assaults and the mage’s scorching flames. Rad then ducked from one of Rody’s strikes and started to charge toward Tracer. Rody, in mid flight, caught Rad charging toward Tracer and gave chase, but to no avail. Tracer quickly noticed master Rad preparing to swing his sword and nimbly dodged the attack, but proceeded to fall on the ground. “Come on, get up!” Rad yelled aloud. “In a real fight, you have to be moving constantly. The enemy will rarely give you time to breath, but the real reason why you should always be moving is to improvise your fighting style on the fly to prepare for the worst case scenario.” Rody then emerged from the skies, his Wyvern roaring ferociously, and his Gradivus at ready. Rad then proceed to jump upon a nearby rock, leap into the air and knock Rody off his Wyvern mount with Gradivus tossed at a far distance. Tracer got up during the madness and attempted to cast another spell. “Better be quicker...” Rad said while charging at IOS and punching him square in the stomach, thus forcing Tracer down to the ground. Rad then pointed his Great Sword at both Tracer and Rody and proclaimed, “...or else you’ll die out there on the battlefield.”

“We are beaten...,” Tracer and Rody grudgingly stated, and took their seat on the bench.

“Wait...” Rad paused for a moment to concentrate, “where are the others?” Then, from out of sight Rad saw a green object cross him, then starting to wrap around him with a chain containing spikes around it.

“Surprised, boss?” eclipse remarked with a wink. He appeared to be of late teens with light brown hair that reached to his shoulders. An eyepatch on her left eye to complete the getup, she also carried a light green double headed axe called “Bruiser”. He held the chain tightly while Spoon approached from the shadows and thwacked Rad’s back with a mace. A tall man, the priest’s short blond hair disguised his upbringing of priesthood. His bangs covered enough of his eyes just to add to his shadiness. Surprised by the ambush, Rad quickly tugged away from eclipse hoping to force her to let go of her axe. eclipse pulled against Rad and hit a button on the pole of his axe. The chain spun violently against Rad as it proceeded to unwind itself and back toward eclipse’s hand. Then, she charged straight for master Rad. Rad took the opportunity to brush off some dirt, readied his sword, and charged toward eclipse. Colliding head on, eclipse smirked again while Spoon proceeded to thwack Rad in the back once again. Rad was starting to become displeased of the dirty fighting tactics Spoon had used. eclipse decided to unfold his ace-in-the-hole and randomly threw down his weapon in surrender.

“Never throw your weapon away,” Rad stopped and told her. “Pick it up.“

Quickly, eclipse obeyed and retrieved her axe.

“And never do a shameful thing in battle such as surrender. Only cowards do that, the brave fight on until the end, no matter what that end turns out to be.”

eclipse lowered his head down. Rad turned his attention back to the others, who were still on the bench, yet paying him good attention. eclipse decided to take this opportunity and once again unleashed the chain to wrap around Rad. Spoon decided that the final blow against Rad had to count. Charging, Spoon aimed at Rad’s head; ready to swing its beauty off its neck.

“And you should never turn your back at an opponent.”, Rad noted. Midway through his sentence, he leaned toward the left with great might while using the Great Sword to make a gap between his arm and his right side. This forced eclipse to lose grip of her weapon and fall to the ground. Spoon pulled the mace back and prepared for the grand slam.

“Very smart Spoon,” Rad smiled at him, freeing himself from the chains. Spoon swung the mace and Rad caught it mid-swing with his left hand. Rad took the weapon from Spoon’s grip, threw it aside, and used the Great Sword’s hinge to bluntly hit Spoon in the chest. “Attacking like cowards do. You have much to learn, Spoon, if you want to become a true warrior.”

“Alright,” Rad stated aloud after Spoon and eclipse miserably sat down, “I think this ends today’s practice. Much was covered with regards to the basics of training, and it seems like most of you have your own strategies on how to take on the enemy. Some are noble and somewhat creative.” Rad then turned to Spoon and eclipse. “Some, though, are more dirty and are mostly seen from cowards. Remember that the enemy may do whatever it takes to win a situation. Never surrender, and always believe that you can win.” He then paused for a second. “I’m going to go collect firewood. Discuss amongst yourselves and decide on a platoon name while I’m gone.” Rad then walked deep into the forest, carrying a torch with him.

“Well Spoon,” Tracer chuckled, “it looks like you won the master’s heart yet again today!”

“You can can it, Tracer.” Spoon scowled. “It’s not my fault the master was making us look like fools within the battles. I just wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.”

“Well young ‘un,” Rody grumbled, “You ‘ave much to learn. Else you’ll be framed as a common thief.”

“Even so,” Seamus noted, “even I wanted to beat Master Rad pretty badly. Perhaps not with dirty tactics like eclipse and Spoon presented today, but no one can tell me with a straight face that we wanted to lose to him.”

“We were so close,” eclipse proclaimed, “but we were always a little short from victory. It’s a shame that a war veteran can make us look so badly.”

A young nomad approached the bench. Ilyana was a young woman who attempted to leave her nomadic tribe. Her pale purple hair was matched with her droopy eyes. She wore a bandana with the inscription of the tribe’s name. Though she wore the bandana she wore no clothing. That is, of the nomadic clothing. Or did she?

“I’m hungry,” Ilyana moaned. “I want something to eat already.”

“Calm down Ilyana,” eclipse stated while patting Ilyana on the back. “Master Rad will return soon with firewood. We’ll have much good eatins’ tonight.”

“So I never thought to ask this,” Spoon said, “but where IS Master Rad from?”

“Who knows?” Rody said. “Not like it really matters much.”

“I dare you to ask him Spoon,” Trace shouted.

“Shut up Tracer!” Spoon yelled in frustration.

“On that note,” Seamus frowned, “we’re supposed to come up with a name for our group.”

“We need something epic.” Tracer noted. “Something like... ‘The Mercurial Clan’.”

“Why would we call ourselves ‘The Mercurial Clan’?” Spoon asked.

“We have shady people like you and eclipse to cover us honest people up!” Tracer chuckled while nudging at Spoon.

“I just want food,” Ilyana mentioned once again.

“I have an idea,” Seamus proclaimed. “How about we take a couple minutes to think by ourselves and try to think of a legitimate name. We’ll come back, state the nominations, then take a vote. By the time we’re finished Master Rad should return.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Rody said. The group split apart from each other attempting to come up with a clan’s name. The small group took a few minutes and came back to the middle.

“So,” Spoon broke the silence, “I suggest that our name include at least one of "pink," "fuzzy," or "bunnies."

“I thought we should name the clan ‘Spoon feeds Ilyana pink fuzzy bunnies!’” Tracer chuckled.

“Your humor is not helping, Tracer.” Seamus curtly said.

“Spoon is going to feed me?” Ilyana stated, looking hopeful.

“I’m thinking ‘The Lawful Mercenaries’ was a good ‘un,” Rody added.

“Sorry Rody,” Tracer objected, “nothing lawful about us with Spoon in our group.”

“I was thinking ‘Wrap Tracer Around My Axe’s Chain Clan’,” eclipse said with an evil smirk.

“Yeah this is getting nowhere fast,” Seamus said. “What the hell are we going to do?”

===

Rad, walking through the emerald forest, gathered some firewood for the group. After gathering a bit, Rad left the cart full of firewood to go deeper into the forest which was a home to a small pond. The pond reflected the dazzling night sky with the moon smiling at it. The soft glow of fireflies completed the atmosphere. Rad gazed at the scenery for a minute, embracing every last detail that the forest offered him to look at.

In his daze, two bandits hid in the bushes. The female bandit had long black hair that went behind her cape that she wore. The man wore a mask over his face and a slick hat that covered his hair. His blue uniform looked almost like a tuxedo to make him appear like a noble of sorts. A cravat covered his neck in order to reveal the least amount of skin as possible.

“So,” the woman asked, “why does our client want to steal something from this nobody?”

“Hmph, you have much to learn if you want to be a master thief.” The male bluntly said. “Just watch and you’ll see why.”

Rad, unbeknownst to the background, took his right hand and made it into a fist. Looking at his fist carefully, he pointed it toward the pond. Rad muttered a chant. As soon as he was finished, the ring began to glow with the surrounding area. After a couple of seconds, the ring made a beam of light that pierced the pond’s clear waters and began creating a figure made of light within the pond. A robed man took place of the moon and star’s reflection.

“Rad,” the figure spoke, “what is it that you wish to speak of?”

“Milord,” Rad began to tell as he was kneeling, “I’m afraid I have some bad news about our situation in this world.”

“I have heard that there are rumors of war,” the figure continued. “It seems peace is about to withdraw from the realm and shower it with blood and tears.”

“You see,” Rad interrupted, “there is something that is... peculiar about this war. It’s starting to bother me.”

“Oh?” the figure questioned.

“The country of Broah has declared war not even a week ago.” Rad noted. “Yet, there has not been a single attack launched anywhere in the realm. Not even in the outskirts of Ylvia. With Ylvia being as weak as it is, why is it that Broah has not unleashed an attack yet? Don’t you too find this a bit peculiar?”

“Mmm.” the figure nodded in agreement. “I can understand how something like that seems suspicious. Then again, would you not see this as a small beam of hope, seeing as you’ve had time to begin training your arm? Then again, that could also be a sign of bad news. I know not how to interpret this as of yet.”

“Milord, if I may ask,” Rad began, “why is it that we did not send Dragonia troops along with me? Couldn’t we quell the war easily with Dragonia’s assistance?”

“Rad,” the figure seemed to scold and raise his voice, “you know the rules of Dragonia. We are not supposed to interfere with the humans! They may be a young species, but they are not supposed to be dependant on Dragonia.” The figure paused and seemed to calm down within the process. “Dragonia is supposed to serve as a faction that helps keep the peace. To be used as a last resort. We are not to interfere with the human’s lives because it prevents them from learning anything, Radd. Sending you alone is Dragonia being too generous to the human race.”

“You know, milord,” Radd interrupted once again, “I must confess there’s something peculiar. Almost contradictory, so to speak. You wish to seek the world to have peace, if I’m not mistaken, yet you won’t do so much as lift a finger in order to see it through. Why is it that such a utopia as Dragonia refuses to intervene until the last resort, when innocent lives could be spared by simply having Dragonia step in and help negotiate?”

“Everything I do has a purpose Rad.” The figure sighed in sadness. “While I wish for this world to be forever at peace, that is simply speaking the impossible. For every tree lies a bad apple. I sent you merely as an observant. To study the humans and merely make sure that they would not send themselves to self-destruction.” He paused yet again for a moment, then took in another sigh. “I believe it is time for me to go. Rad, make sure the humans don’t end up destroying themselves and continue observing humans in general. Good day to you, my knight.”

The beam of light retracted from the waters back into Rad’s ring. Rad, furious at the meeting with the king, kept his hand in a fist and stared at the ring. Why did the king not care about the human race? Wasn’t the goal of Dragonia to make sure the humans lived in peace and harmony? Rad decided that he would intake the meeting when he got back to camp. Rad picked up the cart with firewood and started to move back.

“Do you see my dear?” the man said in an excited tone, “this ring holds the key to communicating with the other realm; the utopia of Dragonia!”

“Hmph,” the woman shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms, “I see little point to this ring to begin with. What’s so great about communicating with the utopia?”

The masked man continued his explanation. “You see my dear, there are fairy tales that there was an island that man kind could see. This island was home to mythical creatures that aided the humans in building our world. Our employer wishes to obtain this item. As for the reasons why, I’m not quite sure. I bet it has something to do with communicating with the King of Dragonia.”

“We should hurry,” the woman tugged at the man, “our target is moving back to the campground. We can possibly handle him, but we can’t handle him and six trained people on top of it. We must strike while he’s alone.”

The man smirked and made a menacing laugh. “That, my dear lady, is the reason why I have a plan. Just stick with it and, assuming everything goes to plan, we have a 99% success rate of stealing the ring.”

Rad got about halfway to camp before he saw a figure in the darkness. A man about six foot stood in front of him leaning on a tree. Unfortunately, Rad couldn’t identify the man aside from the garments he was wearing.

“Hello, Rad is it?” The gentleman said with a questionable-yet-knowing tone.

“And if I am?” Rad asked curiously.

“I’m afraid that we have some business with you,” the man replied. “Don’t take it personally of course. I’m going to give you a fair warning. No harm will be induced to you so long as you willingly give us the ring.”

“The ring? Why do you want the ring?” Rad asked.

“I’m afraid our employer has requested us to obtain your ring,” the masked men stated, slowly gesturing Rad to put the ring in the palm of his hand. “We can do this either the easy way,” he continued while slowly raising his voice and speaking more menacing, “or the hard way!”

Rad pulled out his sword and aimed it at the masked man. The masked man merely laughed and continued his speech. “Oh no Rad, I know how you fight. You won’t strike first. You’re a knight. You wait for your opponent to make the first strike unless you’re given orders or your life is in danger.” Rad took his right foot and edged it forward. The masked man pulled out his rapier and pointed it toward Rad. Its hilt seemed to be made of pure gold and was studded with various gems. All Rad could think was for an ordinary thief, he sure knew how to deck himself out! “So then, will you strike me first knight? Or will I have to cut your hand off just to get the damned ring from you?”

Rad then thought calmly about the situation. Wait, he thought, I could’ve sworn I heard sound coming from two directions. Rad knew the masked man was the one voice, but the other was unable to be picked up from any direction. Rad decided to make a strike for the thief. He charged and swung his sword across the masked man’s body, but it went right through him! “Shit,” Rad swore aloud, “I should’ve known this was a hologram!” Rad spun around and attempted to eye out the masked man. Not being able to see him, Rad steadied his sword in front of his body. Rad decided to re-face the hologram and see if he could attempt to spot out his hunter by listening to him again.

“I see you’ve picked up on my trick Rad,” the masked man chuckled. “Most impressive, though I’m not too surprised. Askian technology is a wonder to most people, but it seems that you’ve encountered this before. I had to scramble my voice a little to give a challenge.” Rad couldn’t hear a second voice this time. He knew the person in front of him was real. “Come now Rad, let’s see what you got!”

The masked man didn’t charge forward, but started to run around to the left of Rad. Rad picked up his Great Sword and swung it to attempt to catch the masked man. The masked man dodged nimbly and continued his tactic. The masked man lunged with his sword toward Rad, who quickly blocked it with his sword. At that moment, the female thief closed on Rad and whacked him with the broad side of her axe. Rad opened his eyes wide for a second and dropped his sword away from him, then fell on his back. The masked man and the woman put away their weapons and closed onto the collapsed warrior. They first checked the pulse to make sure he wouldn’t immediately wake up, then the masked man searched in Rad’s right hand. The man pulled off the ring and stowed it in his pocket, then chuckled once again.

“What shall we do with the body?” the woman asked quietly.

“Watch and learn,” the man stated. He reached into his coat and pulled out a circular device. He pressed a button and it started to tick. After a few ticks, the man slammed as much might onto Rad’s forehead as he could with the device exploding as soon as it made contact with the bald forehead. The masked man turned to the woman and chastised her on what he did. “This should erase the memory of us taking the ring from him. Any further back and it might cause too much of a catastrophe.” The couple picked their gear up and ran off, leaving Rad unconscious on the forest floor.

“Where... am I?” Rad groaned, slowly getting up. Looking around, he realized he was in the forest. Rad attempted to recollect as much of his memory as possible. He remembered that he was training his pupils, then went to go collect firewood. After he was done, he went to contact Dragonia and remembered the conversation with the king. But how did I do it? Rad thought to himself carefully. Sadly, he couldn’t remember how he did it. Giving up on figuring it out, he picked up the cart and returned to camp with the firewood.

“What took you so long Master Rad?” Seamus asked.

“I had to fight off a couple of bears,” Rad lied. He couldn’t tell his students he woke up unconscious without having some recollection of the recent events!

“We figured out a name while you were gone,” Seamus said. “I think you’ll enjoy being called ‘Hail To The Diety’, right?”

“Hm...,” Rad thought aloud, “it has a nice ring to it. Though I try not to think of myself as a Diety. Alright, ‘Hail To The Diety’ it is!”

“I’m hungry,” Ilyana moaned.

“Woman don’t make me shove Spoon down your throat!” Tracer yelled.

“Well then,” Rad interrupted, “I think it’s time we settle down and get some good eatins’. Shall we?”

The group started the campfire and roasted some of the meat that they brought along with them on the trip. The group discussed about recent events that went on and how they were determined to protect Ylvia from Broah’s harm. The group settled in for bed, hoping for a bright tomorrow. Unfortunately, the night still grew long, and another person was preparing to lay waste in the world of Phydoria.

The darkness settled in, and Rad and his friends slumbered under the moonlight sky. We zoom to the kingdom of Broah. Blitz, the king behind Broah, was discussing the last of the future’s details with his trusted companion, Captain Bread. It seemed that despite the pleasant sky presented that night, there was a bitter taste in the air.

“Hmph,” Blitz grumbled, “I can’t believe that Ylvia hasn’t pleaded to surrender against me yet. For what I’ve done for their country, the least they could do is let me run their government for them!”

“Your highness,” Captain Bread interrupted, “may I remind you that Ylvia is still a young country. They have decided to try to live their lives without you in their way. Forgive me for asking, but why do you continue to pester these poor innocent lives?”

“You know exactly why, Captain Bread,” Blitz yelled, “my entire kingdom depends on crossing the Deathpeak Mountains and Ylvia will not allow me to send troops over there!”

“Your highness, we’ve been over this plenty of times,” Captain Bread sighed. “You didn’t ask for permission. You demanded it. Now thinking from a logical stand point, no one wants to help someone that yells demands into their ears. You screwed up your opportunity.”

“I know,” Blitz whimpered, “I was only thinking for my country though. This plague is sickening. Every day people are dying left and right, and the only known cure is beyond those mountains! I can’t get across those mountains without crossing Ylvia. I’m only thankful we haven’t been inflicted with the plague.”

“Of course,” Captain Bread said, “though I think we should take another attempt at a more “pleasant” way of asking permission to cross their lands. If they refuse again, then I guess there is no choice left.”

“Until then we work on collecting more allies in case we must go to war,” Blitz stated. “Are the letters ready to be sent?”

“By your ready, my liege.” Captain Bread kneeled. “I shall personally visit Silverex in the morning. Tyranex is a dead end I think, and I have a messenger that will be in Asaki by tomorrow morning.”

“Excellent. You are dismissed, Captain Bread,” Blitz proclaimed. Captain Bread rose, saluted his king, and walked out the doors of the room. As soon as the doors slammed shut, a chilling wind blew throughout the throne room. The wind seemed to separate the bright atmosphere from their wicks and left it with pitch darkness. The king waved his hand, and the royal guard left the throne room quietly. After the last door shut, a figure appeared from the darkness. Of medium height, a cloaked individual stood in front of the king. The figure seemed to have the figure of a woman, though a glaring feature seemed to stand out from her. A third eye was placed right on her forehead, and it certainly wasn’t some silly body art as it blinked with her eyes. The woman extended her arm. In her hand a parchment was held. She slowly opened her hand and dropped the parchment on the king’s lap. Then, just as she came, she went into the depths of darkness. Just as if everything was done in reverse, the lights came back on with her being nowhere in sight.

The king opened the parchment to read its contents. After scrolling his eyes back and forth, he slowly smiled with an evil look on his face. The king hollered for his men to return to the throne room. After what seemed to be everyone present, a small beam of light entered the room. Within the beam was a carving on the floor that looked like a warp pattern. After a few second, a human instantly appeared from the beam of light. The man had a miter had and was dressed in mage garments. With him was a well-decorated staff and a book in his other hand. The man seemed to see many things through his eyes over the years, but unfortunately he held a rather gloom look on his face.

“How the hell did you get past the castle guards?” Blitz demanded.

“At ease, your majesty,” the old man spoke softly. “It is only I, Windell of Asaki.”

“Ah, Windell,” Blitz adjusted his voice to a more happy tone, “it’s good to finally meet you! How is Gen Hui these days?”

“I’m afraid she is no longer with us,” Windell sighed. “She has been pronounced dead.”

“Dead?” Blitz looked distraught. “I am sorry to hear that. Is everything all right over there?

“Yes, the situation is being handled well,” Windell said, “despite the circumstances behind her death.”

“What circumstances are these, Windell?” The king asked.

“She was found with a stab wound to the chest.” Windell gloomily spoke. “It appears she was assassinated in her slumber. Asaki does not know of this as I have silenced everyone in the palace. With what is going on around the world, I do not need to cause an uproar. I have come to tell you about this circumstance. Another reason is to decline your offer once again on joining your war against Ylvia.”

“I understand,” Blitz kindly stated, “you have turmoil to attend to. I’m glad despite that, everything is okay and being handled well.”

“Investigations are being done, but I guess that’s irrelevant to the main reason I came here.” Windell coughed, then spoke again. “While I do not wish to join your war, I would like to at least help your people in their dire need.” Windell reaches from his robes and pulls out a rather large box. “Enclosed is a Rewarp Staff. The staff only has two charges, and it will only work around Deathpeak Mountains. This should help you obtain the medicine needed to cure your plague situation.”

“Thank you Windell,” the king bowed. “There is one last thing I’d like to ask before you leave. Who is running Asaki at this current time?”

“As the Queen’s closest advisor, and because she never wedded another man, I am currently overlooking the kingdom,” Windell said. “I would entrust my grandson to the throne, but he is not ready yet. Even if he was, he has gone missing. Until he returns and shows that he is ready to be a good king, I have been put in place to watch Asaki.”

“Very well then,” Blitz said, “you may take your leave now.”

“Thank you your majesty,” Windell bowed, then rose again. He coughed slightly, then pointed his staff toward the air. With it, a beam of light and a rune carving appeared once again and within a few seconds Windell disappeared with the light and rune.

“This situation could not get any better!” Blitz laughed. “First, the staff to help save my people. Then, the letter that seals my victory in case we go to war. Ah, it’s good to be king!” The king rose his glass, put it to his mouth, and drank. A smile formed from his lips, showing that everything was going according to plan.

Meanwhile, outside of the streets in Broah, Captain Bread stood near the castle gates. A random figure appeared from the shadows with another following it. Another man stood near Captain Bread, though the darkness of the night prevented the two figures from identifying him.

“So what did you hear in the throne room?” Captain Bread asked the two figures.

“It’s more or less what we ‘saw’ than what we heard,” a male voice said. “Gen Hui is dead, and Windell is currently the authority of Asaki. It appears she’s been assassinated in her sleep.”

“Go on,” Captain Bread gestured.

“The king was entrusted with a Rewarp Staff that would only work in the Deathpeak Mountains. Before that, a strange figure came and gave the King a parchment. I couldn’t get the details around it, but it seemed like the king was very happy with what he read.”

“It appears,” the man that stood next to Captain Bread spoke, “that his plan is put into full motion. I’m glad though, he still thinks highly of his people. It’s a pity we don’t know much about that parchment.”

“I have suspicion on what it’s about,” Captain Bread said. “You are free to leave you two. Thank you for your assistance once again.”

“Our pleasure.” A woman voice spoke. The two figures left the scene, leaving the man and Captain Bread in the dark night. The moon glowed upon the castle, giving it an eerie aura. The gentleman finally spoke to Captain Bread after the figures were not seen in sight.

“So Bread,” the man spoke.

“What have I told you about calling me that stupid name in private?” Captain Rread muttered.

“My apologies,” the gentleman sighed. “What do you think was in that parchment?”

“Something that will definitely spark a great war,” Captain Bread sighed. “and I have a feeling you and I will be pulled in it.”

“It seems so, M,” the gentleman nodded in agreement. “If it is who I think delivered that parchment, Ylvia doesn’t stand a chance at winning the war. Not even by a single percent.”

“Let’s hope Ylvia can figure something out quick,” M noted, “or their newly-found kingdom will be no more.”

==========

The story is a bit different. It's kind of like a "choose your own path" sort of story, but mainly it involves:

- Being interactive with the story as part of the main cast

- Determining Rad Quetz's interaction with the entire story itself; making his decisions instead of Jarly making him seem like a total God

For now I'm only seeking Rad's unstopable mercinary group. Refer to This story for some of the characters. We need 3 males and two females. They must have certain ties to:

- Being shady and attempting to find a sense of justice (GeneralSpoon)

- Nomadic Girl who tries to strive away from the norm

- Lawful and Serious (Rody)

- 2nd in command, close follower to the leader and helps makes level-headed decisions (Paperblade)

- Token Transvestite (eclipse)

- A master thief who aims for the most valuable items. He and his assistant leave cards to forewarn the victim as a warning. (Nightmare)

- A male who attempts to find the world's extensive knowledge (IOS)

So we need the following classes:

- A Mage. (assigned to IOS)

- A Nomad.

- A Pirate. (assigned to eclipse)

- A Healer. (assigned to GeneralSpoon)

- A Social Knight (assigned to Paperblade)

- A Wyvern Knight (assigned to Rody)

- A Female Bandit (assigned to Hikarusa)

- A Thief (assigned to Nightmare)

So... who wants to sign up?

Edited by _M_
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And I want the mage. Can I attempt to find the world's extensive knowledge? How many mages that you know of have THAT backstory?

I had to think something up, and it was generic enough.

If you have one better, feel free to submit it. I don't mind breaking a bit from the mold.

Also the Nomadic Girl does NOT have to be a Nomad.

Edited by Colonel M
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One more female and one more anybody and I should be good. If you did not obtain an actual small description of yourself, please amend it in your post.

This includes:

- Name

- Hair (color and style)

- Physical appearances (tall, average, etc)

- Any other notable features (ponytail, eyepatch, etc)

Rody's description, for example:

Brown hair, average height for an 18 year old, athletic build, the dragon he rides has had his eye gouged out by a Sniper's arrow in previous battle, the damaged irreparable eye covered with a human eyepatch. Basically... Rody riding a Haar-fied Dragon.

Your weapons, mounts, and armor can also be detailed. Anything works. Your mounts also should have a name, if possible.

Edited by Colonel M
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Sounds simple enough. Don't forget to add any other notable features.

Also, you are allowed to "make a weapon" of your choice that corresponds with your class. You can detail it in any way. Just remember to update your post with detailed descriptions!

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eclipse, shoulder-length light brown hair, impossible to tell if I'm male or female, looks to be late teens, effin' eyepatch, dammit.

Weapon: A light green, two-headed axe, capable of doing retarded things.

Edited by eclipse
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I think it's okay that I just update the OP right? I should've reserved some free spots, but alas...

I updated this with another input with the story. More background peeling, but we're starting to head into the training session. Just don't forget to update your profiles everyone who has signed up, and if no one claims the Nomad girl spot by today I'll just make something up on the fly.

There is also a feedback thread right here! Click on me! It's greatly appreciated.

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Okay, I'll ask Hikarusa if he has a profile set up. If not, I will assign your own profile's to an extent. Just don't whine about it please. ;/

Next part should be up by tomorrow, mehopes.

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Updated. No sign of the Nomad nor our thieving friends. Wonder when they'll show up! Also:

Any other notable features: Is better than CM

UNACCEPTABLE!

=====

“I’ll step up,” the young man said. Seamus, a Green Knight, wore short hair. He was named Captain of the small platoon, second in command from Master Rad. He got on his horse and proceeded to charge at his opponent. Seamus was known for his signature weapon; the Paperblade. It was a weapon that was finely crafted with white finish and silver trimming. It carried immense power despite the misleading name. Thinking ahead, he decided to fool his opponent and switched to his Iron Lance instead to strike, since Lances have the upper hand on Swords.

“Nice try Seamus,” Rad noted as he attempted to deflect the impact, “but you forgot a very important detail.” Rad took his free arm and picked up the Lance and, with his other hand, swung the Great Sword directly at Paperblade’s horse. The horse suddenly went onto its hind legs and threw Seamus off. The horse then ran off towards a healer. “My Great Sword has effective might on your mount. Don’t forget important details such as this.” Seamus got up right after Rad’s speech and decided to go for a second blow, this time with his signature weapon. Rad flinched a bit since Seamus aimed towards his Sword arm and Rad didn’t block the blow perfectly. Rad then proceeded to reverse the thrust of Seamus’s sword back towards him, thus forcing Paperblade on the ground. Seamus quickly got up and picked up his Iron Lance. Using both weapons, Seamus swung and thrusted, hoping that Rad couldn’t take constant blows from two different weapon types. Rad had to think quickly or he would be mauled by his first apprentice, which would look bad to his students and the higher ups in Dragonia. Rad proceeded to turn his sword blade so the sharp edge was facing toward him. Then, Rad started to swing the blade in a circular motion which created something similar like a shield. Seamus attempted to thrust toward Rad, but Rad nimbly stepped to the right and proceeded to swing through the Iron Lance with the Great Sword. The Iron Lance, broken in half, was thrown aside and Seamus charged once more with his sword at hand. Rad charged forward, rose his sword up into the air, jumped, then kicked Seamus mid-air which forced Seamus to lose balance. Rad pointed his sword towards Seamus’s chest; inches away from death.

Seamus slowly got off from the ground, placed his sword into the ground, and yelled “I am beaten”. Rad picked up Seamus from the ground, both the pupil and the master shook hands, and Seamus sat on the bench.

Tracer then stood up from the bench. The Mage wore blue robes with short blue hair. Tracer proceeded to formulate a plan to beat master Rad. “He doesn’t look too resilient to Magic, but he’d probably slice me to pieces in an instant. I need to find a way to distract him while I blast away with my fireworks!” He then turned to face Rody and whispered into his ear. “Since you’re able to take a couple of blows against Rad, help me out and we can beat him together.” Rody then stood up and took upon his Wyvern. Rody was a man with average height for an 18 year old and sported an athletic build. His brown hair and green armor was as bold as his sense of being lawful. A serious man, he rode a black Wyvern that had its eye gouged out by a Sniper in a previous war. Irreparable, the wyvern wore an eye patch to cover up the battle wound.

“Interesting,” Rad noted. “Tag teaming against an opponent is a wise strategy.”

“Unfortunately," Tracer said, “I tagged team your mom last night!" Rody grunted. The crowd on the benched “Oooooooooohed!" and laughed. Even Rad had to chuckle a bit.

During the joke Rody took flight, and proceeded to use his Gradivus to prevent taking fatal damage from the Great Sword. Gradivus was a gold-coated spear with a dark black ribbon attached near the head of the spear. With fine red trimming across the pole of the lance, the Gradivus was made specifically to combat from up close or from afar. Swooping back and forth, Rad was distracted by the black and yellow barrage of attacks. Meanwhile, Tracer prepared his magical assault on master Rad; chanted the spell with nimble precision and unleashing hell upon master Rad. Master Rad felt a great surge of pain from the constant lance assaults and the mage’s scorching flames. Rad then ducked from one of Rody’s strikes and started to charge toward Tracer. Rody, in mid flight, caught Rad charging toward Tracer and gave chase, but to no avail. Tracer quickly noticed master Rad preparing to swing his sword and nimbly dodged the attack, but proceeded to fall on the ground. “Come on, get up!” Rad yelled aloud. “In a real fight, you have to be moving constantly. The enemy will rarely give you time to breath, but the real reason why you should always be moving is to improvise your fighting style on the fly to prepare for the worst case scenario.” Rody then emerged from the skies, his Wyvern roaring ferociously, and his Gradivus at ready. Rad then proceed to jump upon a nearby rock, leap into the air and knock Rody off his Wyvern mount with Gradivus tossed at a far distance. Tracer got up during the madness and attempted to cast another spell. “Better be quicker...” Rad said while charging at IOS and punching him square in the stomach, thus forcing Tracer down to the ground. Rad then pointed his Great Sword at both Tracer and Rody and proclaimed, “...or else you’ll die out there on the battlefield.”

“We are beaten...,” Tracer and Rody grudgingly stated, and took their seat on the bench.

“Wait...” Rad paused for a moment to concentrate, “where are the others?” Then, from out of sight Rad saw a green object cross him, then starting to wrap around him with a chain containing spikes around it.

“Surprised, boss?” eclipse remarked with a wink. He appeared to be of late teens with light brown hair that reached to his shoulders. An eyepatch on her left eye to complete the getup, she also carried a light green double headed axe called “Bruiser”. He held the chain tightly while Spoon approached from the shadows and thwacked Rad’s back with a mace. A tall man, the priest’s short blond hair disguised his upbringing of priesthood. His bangs covered enough of his eyes just to add to his shadiness. Surprised by the ambush, Rad quickly tugged away from eclipse hoping to force her to let go of her axe. eclipse pulled against Rad and hit a button on the pole of his axe. The chain spun violently against Rad as it proceeded to unwind itself and back toward eclipse’s hand. Then, she charged straight for master Rad. Rad took the opportunity to brush off some dirt, readied his sword, and charged toward eclipse. Colliding head on, eclipse smirked again while Spoon proceeded to thwack Rad in the back once again. Rad was starting to become displeased of the dirty fighting tactics Spoon had used. eclipse decided to unfold his ace-in-the-hole and randomly threw down his weapon in surrender.

“Never throw your weapon away,” Rad stopped and told her. “Pick it up.“

Quickly, eclipse obeyed and retrieved her axe.

“And never do a shameful thing in battle such as surrender. Only cowards do that, the brave fight on until the end, no matter what that end turns out to be.”

eclipse lowered his head down. Rad turned his attention back to the others, who were still on the bench, yet paying him good attention. eclipse decided to take this opportunity and once again unleashed the chain to wrap around Rad. Spoon decided that the final blow against Rad had to count. Charging, Spoon aimed at Rad’s head; ready to swing its beauty off its neck.

“And you should never turn your back at an opponent.”, Rad noted. Midway through his sentence, he leaned toward the left with great might while using the Great Sword to make a gap between his arm and his right side. This forced eclipse to lose grip of her weapon and fall to the ground. Spoon pulled the mace back and prepared for the grand slam.

“Very smart Spoon,” Rad smiled at him, freeing himself from the chains. Spoon swung the mace and Rad caught it mid-swing with his left hand. Rad took the weapon from Spoon’s grip, threw it aside, and used the Great Sword’s hinge to bluntly hit Spoon in the chest. “Attacking like cowards do. You have much to learn, Spoon, if you want to become a true warrior.”

“Alright,” Rad stated aloud after Spoon and eclipse miserably sat down, “I think this ends today’s practice. Much was covered with regards to the basics of training, and it seems like most of you have your own strategies on how to take on the enemy. Some are noble and somewhat creative.” Rad then turned to Spoon and eclipse. “Some, though, are more dirty and are mostly seen from cowards. Remember that the enemy may do whatever it takes to win a situation. Never surrender, and always believe that you can win.” He then paused for a second. “I’m going to go collect firewood. Discuss amongst yourselves and decide on a platoon name while I’m gone.” Rad then walked deep into the forest, carrying a torch with him.

Edited by Colonel M
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  • 2 weeks later...

“Well Spoon,” Tracer chuckled, “it looks like you won the master’s heart yet again today!”

“You can can it, Tracer.” Spoon scowled. “It’s not my fault the master was making us look like fools within the battles. I just wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.”

“Well young ‘un,” Rody grumbled, “You ‘ave much to learn. Else you’ll be framed as a common thief.”

“Even so,” Seamus noted, “even I wanted to beat Master Rad pretty badly. Perhaps not with dirty tactics like eclipse and Spoon presented today, but no one can tell me with a straight face that we wanted to lose to him.”

“We were so close,” eclipse proclaimed, “but we were always a little short from victory. It’s a shame that a war veteran can make us look so badly.”

A young nomad approached the bench. Ilyana was a young woman who attempted to leave her nomadic tribe. Her pale purple hair was matched with her droopy eyes. She wore a bandana with the inscription of the tribe’s name. Though she wore the bandana she wore no clothing. That is, of the nomadic clothing. Or did she?

“I’m hungry,” Ilyana moaned. “I want something to eat already.”

“Calm down Ilyana,” eclipse stated while patting Ilyana on the back. “Master Rad will return soon with firewood. We’ll have much good eatins’ tonight.”

“So I never thought to ask this,” Spoon said, “but where IS Master Rad from?”

“Who knows?” Rody said. “Not like it really matters much.”

“I dare you to ask him Spoon,” Trace shouted.

“Shut up Tracer!” Spoon yelled in frustration.

“On that note,” Seamus frowned, “we’re supposed to come up with a name for our group.”

“We need something epic.” Tracer noted. “Something like... ‘The Mercurial Clan’.”

“Why would we call ourselves ‘The Mercurial Clan’?” Spoon asked.

“We have shady people like you and eclipse to cover us honest people up!” Tracer chuckled while nudging at Spoon.

“I just want food,” Ilyana mentioned once again.

“I have an idea,” Seamus proclaimed. “How about we take a couple minutes to think by ourselves and try to think of a legitimate name. We’ll come back, state the nominations, then take a vote. By the time we’re finished Master Rad should return.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Rody said. The group split apart from each other attempting to come up with a clan’s name. The small group took a few minutes and came back to the middle.

“So,” Spoon broke the silence, “I suggest that our name include at least one of "pink," "fuzzy," or "bunnies."

“I thought we should name the clan ‘Spoon feeds Ilyana pink fuzzy bunnies!’” Tracer chuckled.

“Your humor is not helping, Tracer.” Seamus curtly said.

“Spoon is going to feed me?” Ilyana stated, looking hopeful.

“I’m thinking ‘The Lawful Mercenaries’ was a good ‘un,” Rody added.

“Sorry Rody,” Tracer objected, “nothing lawful about us with Spoon in our group.”

“I was thinking ‘Wrap Tracer Around My Axe’s Chain Clan’,” eclipse said with an evil smirk.

“Yeah this is getting nowhere fast,” Seamus said. “What the hell are we going to do?”

=====

The very first "Choose it!" game. What should the clan's name be? Obviously the audience should make one up.

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