"I... can't... remember" he said as he hit the side of his head with his closed fist.
Seated in his dark inn room, lit by only a single candle, floor littered with empty wine bottles, he smacked his head one more time. He had been here for little more than a week or it could have been a lifetime. He wasn't sure anymore. Flashes of nightmares haunted his aching head and yet he understood none of them. Scars on his body, received from hades knows where, appeared aged and long since healed.
"What the hell is this madness?"
"What witchcraft has cursed me so?"
Either question remained without an answer. Screams reverberated off the inside of his skull and none of them were his. Stains of blood dotted well worn boots yet he doubted they belonged to him. His hands were calloused yet he didn't remember ever earning them.
"I can't... remember" he whispered one more time.
sighing heavily he realized he had run out of alcohol once again. Pulling the loose cloth down over his empty eye-socket he wandered out into the noise of the inn. Ignoring all stares he simply purchased another bottle and headed back upstairs. The booze wasn't enough to calm his approaching madness but that didn't stop him from trying.
Delusions get to a man after a time...
Shamus Inodine
-
*Darkrob
- Posts: 1097
- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am
Shamus sat alone in his room. Papers, books and maps spread all around him. Most were of the planes and known settlements. None showed him what he sought most... the means to return home... not that he would want to return for the time being. He knew, even if he could return to the City of Khaldaera, it would be in his best interest to prepare first. The way that he last saw it haunted him. The jewel of Anitonica was probably no more than a ruin now. With all of his memories returned he would have to relive his failures over and over again... and haunt him they did...
It seemed the last few years, passed before his arrival in Sigil, were the most difficult. His was the Dominion of Khaldaera. A vast Empire situated on the southern shores of Anitonica. Bastion of Order and protector of Anitonica itself. The other city states had ignored repeated attempts at his drive for unification. Shamus had tried repeatedly to get them to join the Dominion, to bring them under one protective umbrella... to solidify peace... but they had no interest. All they were concerned with was their own petty, greedy... corrupt cities. After years at trying to reason with them the Dominion had finally had enough.
Florence was the first to fall to the Dominion. Her ivory towers and basalt walls did little once the armies of order invaded from the sea. Tucked far in the north their merchant government thought they were safe from any southern threat. Unfortunately for them they had overestimated their navy and fell quickly to the armoured warships of the Dominion. Their government fell fast. Once Florence was occupied the Dominion held both the northern tip, and southern tip, of Anitonica. They amassed armies on both ends and began to squeeze.
Cadron, the deep city of the Dwarves, immediately closed in their caverns when the Dominion came near. They had completely blocked themselves off from the surface. The Dominion, knowing the threat from these creatures was minimal, continued to spread across the continent. Every village, town and outpost soon fell under the Dominions flag. Finally Rakasha herself fell to the armies in blue. Osric Joxter, once the terrible and feared king of Rakasha, was publicly executed the first day the occupiers arrived. Within a month the entire continent was under the control of the Dominion. Lord Shamus Inodine had brought peace to the continent. For a short time there was silence... until the Kaarkosans jealousy brought them to Lord Inodines shores...
The undead empire of Kaarkosa, situated far across the sea, finally decided that Khaldaera would not be permitted to control so much territory. Their hated enemies would not be allowed to control so much power. It wasn't long before the ghost ships landed on the eastern shores of Anitonica. Undead legions, controlled by their necromancer handlers, poured into the quieted streets of Rakasha. The battle for that city raged for months before the Dominion was forced to retreat and abandon it. Acre by acre the Dominion was pushed back.
The war raged for a few short years. Territories that were once the Dominions were now covered in undeath. The battalions of hardened Khaldaeran soldiers were slowly exhausted by the tireless legions of undead. Nothing sane could be done... the key word there... is "sane".
For years Lord Inodine had the most brilliant minds of the Empire working on a project of great significance. Tucked deep in the southern mountains was an almost impenetrable fortress that housed a dark weapon. It was designed to eliminate chaos... all chaos. Now most sane men knew that there was inherent chaos in everything but none of these men could convince Inodine of such lies. His end goal was pure order and this was a means to get it... now it had to be used. Untested and unknown it was readied. Just as the gates of his eternal city fell, and the last of his indestructible armies destroyed, the enchantments on the device were fired. Within seconds it fired a single pulse. The entire weave of the world contracted. The inherent chaos in the very threads of the planet were rended. Everything... ended. The entire realm... the entire world... simply ceased to exist as it once was.
What became of his world? Well... Shamus couldn't answer that. All he knew is shortly after that fateful day he awoke in Sigil. He has recognized other faces from his home in this new city so he knows others survived as well. Now he constantly focuses on finding a portal home. Finding enough strength to retake his ancestral home and regaining his golden empire.
He slowly closes another book and reaches for the decanter next to it. Pours himself another drink and reaches for another book. This isn't going to be easy... but then again... has it ever?
It seemed the last few years, passed before his arrival in Sigil, were the most difficult. His was the Dominion of Khaldaera. A vast Empire situated on the southern shores of Anitonica. Bastion of Order and protector of Anitonica itself. The other city states had ignored repeated attempts at his drive for unification. Shamus had tried repeatedly to get them to join the Dominion, to bring them under one protective umbrella... to solidify peace... but they had no interest. All they were concerned with was their own petty, greedy... corrupt cities. After years at trying to reason with them the Dominion had finally had enough.
Florence was the first to fall to the Dominion. Her ivory towers and basalt walls did little once the armies of order invaded from the sea. Tucked far in the north their merchant government thought they were safe from any southern threat. Unfortunately for them they had overestimated their navy and fell quickly to the armoured warships of the Dominion. Their government fell fast. Once Florence was occupied the Dominion held both the northern tip, and southern tip, of Anitonica. They amassed armies on both ends and began to squeeze.
Cadron, the deep city of the Dwarves, immediately closed in their caverns when the Dominion came near. They had completely blocked themselves off from the surface. The Dominion, knowing the threat from these creatures was minimal, continued to spread across the continent. Every village, town and outpost soon fell under the Dominions flag. Finally Rakasha herself fell to the armies in blue. Osric Joxter, once the terrible and feared king of Rakasha, was publicly executed the first day the occupiers arrived. Within a month the entire continent was under the control of the Dominion. Lord Shamus Inodine had brought peace to the continent. For a short time there was silence... until the Kaarkosans jealousy brought them to Lord Inodines shores...
The undead empire of Kaarkosa, situated far across the sea, finally decided that Khaldaera would not be permitted to control so much territory. Their hated enemies would not be allowed to control so much power. It wasn't long before the ghost ships landed on the eastern shores of Anitonica. Undead legions, controlled by their necromancer handlers, poured into the quieted streets of Rakasha. The battle for that city raged for months before the Dominion was forced to retreat and abandon it. Acre by acre the Dominion was pushed back.
The war raged for a few short years. Territories that were once the Dominions were now covered in undeath. The battalions of hardened Khaldaeran soldiers were slowly exhausted by the tireless legions of undead. Nothing sane could be done... the key word there... is "sane".
For years Lord Inodine had the most brilliant minds of the Empire working on a project of great significance. Tucked deep in the southern mountains was an almost impenetrable fortress that housed a dark weapon. It was designed to eliminate chaos... all chaos. Now most sane men knew that there was inherent chaos in everything but none of these men could convince Inodine of such lies. His end goal was pure order and this was a means to get it... now it had to be used. Untested and unknown it was readied. Just as the gates of his eternal city fell, and the last of his indestructible armies destroyed, the enchantments on the device were fired. Within seconds it fired a single pulse. The entire weave of the world contracted. The inherent chaos in the very threads of the planet were rended. Everything... ended. The entire realm... the entire world... simply ceased to exist as it once was.
What became of his world? Well... Shamus couldn't answer that. All he knew is shortly after that fateful day he awoke in Sigil. He has recognized other faces from his home in this new city so he knows others survived as well. Now he constantly focuses on finding a portal home. Finding enough strength to retake his ancestral home and regaining his golden empire.
He slowly closes another book and reaches for the decanter next to it. Pours himself another drink and reaches for another book. This isn't going to be easy... but then again... has it ever?
-
*Darkrob
- Posts: 1097
- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am
Shamus jolted to consciousness. He was lying on the floor in the center of the Makeshift lab he had set up in his small flat. He slowly sat up and looked about. The pain of age had finally vanished. It was the first thing he noticed. He slowly stood and looked about. The fruit on the table nearest him had begun to darken so he had been out for several days, maybe a week. He turned and moved towards the mirror next to his bed and looked at himself closely. His skin had greyed a bit and his eyes carried a slight red glow. His fingers had thinned slightly but felt no weaker than before. He then turned and looked at the container sitting in the center of his lab table.
“Where to put you…” he idly said as he gently picked the object up. It was, of course, his new phylactery… the very anchor of his existence. He gently put it in a bag and begun to pack the rest of his belongings.
“It’s no longer safe here” he whispered to himself. “It’s time to move”.
A few moments later he left the small flat he had called home since his arrival in the Cage and made for the Hive. While a creature of Order and a former Measure of the Harmonium, he knew the Hive well. It was a second home to him. It didnÂ’t take long for him to reach his new home. An old building long since fortified and secured. He didnÂ’t fear locals bothering him. Those here that knew him understood he was a brutal enforcer of Order who would as soon kill someone for resisting arrest instead of wasting time struggling with them. The rest? WellÂ… no one smart would disturb the lair of a Lich. It would never end well.
He had finally taken the step he always feared. Becoming a creature he hated mostÂ… but there was no other way. For him to be able to return home, to destroy that accursed machine and to attempt to reclaim a lost empire, he needed to be without life. He would return and raise the bodies of his fallen armies. He would drive the Karkosans into the sea and annihilate them directly at the source. Only then would he deactivate the artifact the prevented life from existing and allow the planet to live once again.
It was the only way.
“Where to put you…” he idly said as he gently picked the object up. It was, of course, his new phylactery… the very anchor of his existence. He gently put it in a bag and begun to pack the rest of his belongings.
“It’s no longer safe here” he whispered to himself. “It’s time to move”.
A few moments later he left the small flat he had called home since his arrival in the Cage and made for the Hive. While a creature of Order and a former Measure of the Harmonium, he knew the Hive well. It was a second home to him. It didnÂ’t take long for him to reach his new home. An old building long since fortified and secured. He didnÂ’t fear locals bothering him. Those here that knew him understood he was a brutal enforcer of Order who would as soon kill someone for resisting arrest instead of wasting time struggling with them. The rest? WellÂ… no one smart would disturb the lair of a Lich. It would never end well.
He had finally taken the step he always feared. Becoming a creature he hated mostÂ… but there was no other way. For him to be able to return home, to destroy that accursed machine and to attempt to reclaim a lost empire, he needed to be without life. He would return and raise the bodies of his fallen armies. He would drive the Karkosans into the sea and annihilate them directly at the source. Only then would he deactivate the artifact the prevented life from existing and allow the planet to live once again.
It was the only way.