Orlimmin must fall!

[Haer Dalis 83]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]So, it all started as you imagined it would have started. Fear.[/SIZE][/FONT]



[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]But once we stopped shivering and cowering, our journey could begin.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT="Meddon"][SIZE="8"]Chapter 1
Man[/SIZE][/FONT]

[/I]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]And so, the story of our heroes can begin.

Welcome to Orlimmin ...[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]The time to choose the next Honored Volunteer nears, and under a blackened, cloudless sky, the heroes gather in the town square.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]Meanwhile in the distance stands a lone signpost, forlorn memento of the price of survival.[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]The words of of the town elder, heinous and yet inevitable, pierce a deadly silence.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]But the seed of doubt begins to creep through the villagers.[/SIZE][/FONT]





[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]And while the most righteous villagers raise their voice against the brutal custom, the town elder points his dirty, greasy finger. A scapegoat has been found, a target for the anger, grudge and fear that only the ignorance of the mass can fuel.[/SIZE][/FONT]








[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]And indeed, at the edge of the village, cringe the last remains of a shredded humanity.[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]There is darkness in their future, since she, the dear and poor Lauren, is doomed. Her destiny is "the odious chair".[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]It is here, under a sullen sky, that cold blows the wind. And it is here, at the edge of the world and at the edge of humanity, that heroes fall prey to their instincts.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]But nothing can stop the brutes, their heart filled with fear. Nor the voice of children, nor the voice of reason.

And Lauren is dragged to the town square.[/SIZE][/FONT]







[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]It is too late. Too late to cling to the virtues that make us human.[/SIZE][/FONT]








[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]Let the horn be sounded![/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]But then, the unexpected happens. Two heroes raise in defense of the weak, and stands for Lauren. Their plan as simple as effective.[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]Cries pierce the silence of the night, and the sound of steel against steel rings throughout the village.

When quiet returns, Lauren is free, but two heroes stand in her place, bloodied and battered, left outside the gate like offerings to an unutterable, blasphemous god.

Eventually, a mysterious, nameless messenger comes.[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]The heroes will not let themselves be captured so easily. With the last shred of courage they muster, they raise their blades against the archaic evil.[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]But their efforts are pointless, and before the incredulous eyes of the terrified villagers, they are imprisoned.

And the rage of the Dread turns towards the village, a palpable anger that coalesces in the night like a thunderous presence.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]The villagers know that only one chance remains. To find another volunteer to sacrifice for the survival of the village. And so, their eyes fall upon yet another of the wretched outcasts of Orlimmin.[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]Discussion rages, fiercely, until it is too late ...[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]The gate is broken, enthralled slaves with glassy eyes pour into the village.

All is lost.[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]The fighting ceases only when the puppeteered messenger arrives. And demands the blood price: not one sacrifice, but two![/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]The villagers suck in their breath, desperation fills their bulging, tired eyes. But it is in the darkest moments that light shines the brightest. Two men walk to proudly stand before the enthralled Lord, with serrated jaws and clenched fists. The villagers hold their breath, and the dark messenger's gaze dances on the two unknown men.

There are two volunteers.[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]They are aware their fate is an eternity of vacuous servitude. But they nod to each other and cast the villagers one last glance, filled with hope and only thinly veiled with terror for what awaits.

Together they walk towards their dark fate.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Haer Dalis 83]

[FONT="Meddon"][SIZE="8"]Chapter 2
Slave[/SIZE][/FONT]

[/I]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]They stand, statuesquely frozen, under an heavy rain. Water meanders down their bodies, dampening their tattered clothes, but they are oblivious to their surroundings, their vacant stare lost in the distance. The cold wind of the winter can't make them shiver. The thick darkness of the night can't frighten them. Like forgotten guardians, they lie in wait. Patiently.

Until ...[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]And thus, once friends, brothers and lovers, they trudge towards Orlimmin, aberrant behemoths in tow. Only one idea echoes, guiding their steps.

Orlimmin shall fall ...[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]Little can the defenses of the village, many of its inhabitants fled by now. A more kind demiurge would have allowed them a smile, in memory of a sacrifice that had not proven worthless, but it was not a forgiving fate the one that Lady Luck had shaped for them.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]And so they finally stand amid the houses they had once called home. A fierce storm rages, wreaking havoc upon a ravaged land.[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]But their torment is not meant to be over. Yet.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]And as a dark sky blankets the landscape in a cold embrace, they advance upon the free men.[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]A fierce battle ensues, heroes that will never be forgotten battle for the freedom of men.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]But among the fallen, among the forgotten, one dies with his heart pierced by an elven arrow.[/SIZE][/FONT]




[FONT="Callig"][SIZE="4"]His name won't be remembered, the image of his visage will fade from the memory of those that once knew him. But in distant eons someone may glance at the past and remember all the men and women, heroes and villains, that have perished in these grim era.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT="Meddon"][SIZE="8"]The End[/SIZE][/FONT]

[/I]

[MaimedGod]

Pugar the Child-Eater of Orlimmin will not be forgotten...

[Ziya]

The time has come...

...Orlimmin must fall...

...to the Empire.

[Kandebyn Olar]

EFU:O next plz!

Seriously, it brought back some memories of Mistlocke, when we had to chose someone to offer to the Mists (alas what I remember of it).

You realise in such times that its true people really lose their heads in large groups. It was so chaotic and frustrating, yet so fun. But I got crushed in the end, so it failed for me. I really wanted a main character out of this! Oh well... Anyway, I enjoyed. Nice screenshots.

[Dredi]

Do Umberhulks go to the fugee to be judged? Apparently they do.

[goate]

Awesome thread Haer Dalis.  And that looks like one bad-ass prelude LiAlH4.