Host notes: This story is brought to you by the Kaw Writers Competition. Please be respectful in your critic. Please read the main thread first before commenting. Main thread: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=166295 Author’s Note: It is a piece of music that has inspired me to write this story. In return, I have woven it into the story as a part of it. Therefore, I would like to urge you, dear reader, to have a listen to this piece before you immerse yourself into it’s world. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab-_1diOUZU You can search, “Adagio In D Minor - John Murphy [Piano Tutorial] (Synthesia)” on youtube.. that specific video is relevant to this story.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Last World ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ACT I: The Gathering Storm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As OSW’s go, we’re not winning this one.. Peter thought. Going in, Peter knew that the ragtag band of fighters that made up the Immortal Reapers would be overmatched against the relentless machine of The Watchtower, an older clan with deep banks and deeper feeder systems. All that, would not matter.. Because there was Laura.. A great friend Peter had come to respect and cherish over the year in the game and in the clan. She was charming in cc, ever the one to be mischievous in the forums, with followups on the newsfeed. Her attack build with tough spy towers were of a playing style that always intrigued Peter, who had a pedestrian Hansel build with moderate spy attack powers. Over the last few months, he had even learned that she attends a University close to his city.. and majored in music.. They both loved music, and tinkered with little pieces of piano that they would share back and forth. And they enjoyed each other’s creative inputs and sharp and witty feedbacks. Peter was a soldier in this war, his second, but he has learned so much from Laura that tactics, dedication and guile will transcend the raw stats of your build.. And Transcendence.. was about to visit Peter in this rainy October night.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Watchtower spy room was relatively quiet.. Frantic whirlwind of stacked strips were not planned for “tonight’.. But there was one target… An attack build.. that Watchtower’s handful of Hansels, which were active at this hour, were silently tracking like a pack of wolves. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A piercing pain woke Thade. The summoning energy that has shrouded THIS incarnation of him was quickly dissipating.. What am I now?.. was the first thought that crossed his mind.. He raised his hands, to see what weapon that he is holding.. A quick indicator on the kind that he would be.. “Oh Great”.. Thade whispered, as he almost threw the Scimitars onto the ground I’m only a Disciple of Shadows Thade then slowly scanned his environment… It was a dimly lit night time.. and the jungle that surrounded him and the company of troops was dense and suffocating. Atleast give me the Blood Moons, Thade wished.. as he searched the canopy for the breaks where the dim light was peering into the jungle from the skies.. His wish was answered as he soon spotted the twin moons that are softly glowing in blood red hue.. low in the sky.. Storm clouds were moving in slowly towards him.. Thade did not remember how he came to being in this world.. He did however, remember this.. He will fight.. He will die.. ..and the piercing pain will wake him again.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Hey are you there?” The pm flashed on Peter’s screen “Hey Laura!... Yea” “Pounding The Watchtower?”.. “Totally.. If you count vigorous self-pin and skim steals as pounding!” “Hey.. Any gold we save will give us a fighting chance” Laura quipped “Well you know, I have been observing them tonight and I think they made a slight slip” “Watchtower making a slip?” “Ya.. Those who are up tonight there are actively hitting the EB and I can pretty much see who is awake.. and not many” Peter paused and added “Not that there are many of us up atm.. It might just be the two of us” “Well keep them busy!” Laura replied.. Her upbeat tone brightening up the conversation.. “Are you getting ready for bed?” Peter asked “Yea.. I have actually just finished an interesting piano piece!” Laura pm’ed.. Peter received a link to a music file.. “Wow creative so late at night?” Peter asked jokingly “Nah!.. it’s strange actually.. I had a dream last night.. I couldn’t remember much really.. but this music was so real that when I woke up, I remembered it clearly, note to note and since it stayed with me through the day, I played it out” Laura said with a sense of wonder.. “Oh.. what is this “dream music” about then?” Peter inquired “Well I felt that it was like a cypher into things that interconnect you know.. look at us, we have never met each other but we connect right?.. it is like that.. Worlds that we don’t know we’re part of.. People that are us but we have lost connection with.. Pasts that we are doomed to repeat if we don’t connect with to change..” Laura’s messages flashed across the screen as the rain started to pick up the pace and pounded the window of Peter’s room.. “Off I go!.. Watch over for me will ya?”.. “Always Laura!”.. Peter closed the chat screen and went to play the music file on his home theatre system.. The wolf pack activated their strip when their target was open.. And the active Hansels of the Watchtower descended on their prey with deadly coordination.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ACT II: The Reckoning ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thade was relieved to have seen the Blood Moons.. It meant a different kind of fight.. This was not slaying a dragon or a giant that he knew how to from his seemingly endless attempts at it.. This was where armies like the one he is marching in will meet and get to fight with other armies.. The thought briefly lifted his spirits and he marched with the rest of the troops and spies towards a faint sound of the battle and a glowing sky immediately front of them on the edge of the jungle.. There was bloodlust chatter among the troops but Thade kept to himself.. For they were not like him.. As far as he could tell, he has always been his kind.. a “reborner”..the kind that remembers that he fought.. and died.. …and awoke again.. Not that he remembered how long this had been, but he remembered the fighting races that he had been.. he remembered the fighting techniques and weapons used by various inhabitants of this world.. The earth shattering blows of the Titans, the searing energy weapons of the spectral elves.. soul sapping incantations of the necromancers.. The rain picked up as they approached the edge of the jungle to see the battleground.. A deadly siege scene was playing out before them.. A Citadel with spyglass spires and elemental towers was under assault from a wave of enemies who seem to be outnumbering the defenders. The army that Thade is with, intrinsically knew the fight will be to lift this siege and proceeded to an entryway that was not swarmed by the enemies yet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Peter’s scout checks returned with the indication of what he was dreading.. Laura’s account was being stripped.. Peter quickly alerted in cc and tried to contact Laura but to no avail.. The dream that visited Laura the previous night was upon her again as the rain pelted their world.. His heart was racing.. there were no replies on the cc or in their rooms He has just finished unloading both bars, losing all his troops and spies to pin her, when a slow but rising melody of notes reached him.. “Worlds that we don’t know we’re part of..” the melody invoked Laura’s words as he listened to the music… Then a lightning struck in the skies above.. ..The brilliant flash drew his eyes to the window where the rain was coming down.. and a magical thing happened.. The rain drops glowed faintly with luminescent blue and green streaks and as they splashed onto the window glass, bursted in golden crowns into oblivion.. ….all in tune with the crescendo and melodic notes of the music… Peter stood enthralled by this revealing of unison of rhythms in the music and the rain.. a grand tapestry that unifies worlds.. And his eyes were drawn to a faint glow beyond the pane of glass where the intricate tapestry of connected worlds was on display.. and he saw.. amidst the melodic streaks of blue and golds.. A burning citadel under siege.. and in the middle of it … A Princess fighting a horde of enemies.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thade swiftly climbed a steel titan using his scimitars as picks and fell it by striking it’s head.. As the Titan fell, Thade landed amidst a group of Unkari hunters and he dispatched them with a whirlwind of slashes from his dual blades.. He was the first of his army to reach inside the citadel and bashed and hacked his way towards the center.. his only senses were the bloodlust coursing through his veins and the relentless rain that was falling from the sky.. The Blood Moons almost covered by the storm clouds.. As he neared the center courtyard, a lightning flashed across the sky… and he heard a slow but rising melody of notes.. A music he has never heard in his worlds before.. Thade, enthralled by the music, followed to the source of it and in the courtyard, he saw… An Alerion Princess of boundless beauty and grace.. Thade has fought many Alerion spies in his day, and lost to, more than defeated, their golden raptor hawks.. but he was completely transfixed by this princess before him.. There was a golden aura surrounding her.. She was commanding her hawks to clear up a batch of enemies and she turned to him.. “I… I am Thade”.. Thade introduced himself.. “I am Helen” The Princess returned the introduction.. and smiled at him.. And in her smile, he knew, felt, in his heart, that she was a ‘reborner’.. like him.. Her raptor hawks made a slight shriek of annoyance but wandered off to seek out the invaders.. “Where is this music coming from?” He inquired.. “What is it saying to you?” Helen countered “It.. it tells me of worlds I don’t know I am part of.. Worlds I am doomed to repeat..” as he continued with his words, Thade saw the rain drops turned into streaks of iridescent blues and greens.. and as they struck the stones of the courtyard, generating the notes of the melody.. ..and as the melody crescendos, both Thade and Helen saw, felt, heard.. amidst the luminescent rain, and in their hearts.. “…but love that can change the paths”.. both said in unison.. The secrets that the magical tapestry of rain was revealing, paused, to give way to a love bond that interconnected the two reborners.. An Unkari ice arrow, flung from beyond the castle walls, struck Thade in the back and pierced his heart.. Thade took a step towards Helen, dropped his scimitar, and extended his arm towards her.. She reached for it with her hands and knelt down beside his now fallen body.. Sadness and pain flashed across her face.. Thade opened his mouth to speak but darkness took him.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ACT III: Reborn ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Peter was taken aback by what he just witnessed.. The Princess resumed the fight after the knight disciple had fallen but the enemy grew stronger in their siege and the scene faded soon and the rain returned to it’s colorless mode outside his window.. But the music was still playing.. And Peter, also felt the love that can change paths in the music’s melodies.. At that moment, he knew what he had to do, what knew what he WANTED to do… he loaded the game and instead of the Laura’s profile screen where he was pinning her, he switched to The Watchtower’s clan roster.. He searched for the Hansel wolfpack that was in the active strip.. loaded one of their profiles.. and activated his xtal.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A piercing pain woke Thade.. He quickly stood up on his feet, and started running.. He ran like he had never ran before in the thousand worlds before this.. The twin Blood Moons gave him a faint hope that this might be the battle.. The only battle that he hoped to be in as he rushed towards the castle under siege.. Thade did not care what he was.. He did not care what weapon he had.. he had channelled all the fighting that he had learned in all the worlds to the hordes of enemies before him as he berserked his way into the courtyard.. He heart lifted with enormous joy as he spotted Helen.. She had been quite weakened and her raptor hawks were also losing their power.. “HELEN!!!” Thade rushed towards her.. “Thade!... You came back!”.. Helen opened her arms and they embraced each other.. “I love you Helen!.. I have died in a thousand worlds but I have never loved”.. “I love you too Thade.. I now know that to love and be loved is the utmost and all that you can ever ask for in these worlds”.. Helen replied and they kissed each other and embraced each other with boundless love… “Watch out for the arrows” Helen softly whispered, with concern.. “Helen, I want to be with you.. we are here now, in THIS world.. and I am not going to let this horde that is upon us, stop our love and togetherness”.. Thade replied.. as he scanned the enemies that are rushing through the gates.. “I am weakened now Thade.. I cannot defend this castle much longer before the dawn comes”.. Helen whispered.. “Don’t worry..” “I will kill them all.. every single one of them… ” Thade grimly replied. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Watchtower spy room sensed that something was wrong.. Instead of the cold, efficient reports of “+2 nf np z”, there were only reports of major fails and no z on the target.. “Oh great, now I got one of their players zeroing my spies” a Hansel in the active wolf pack reported.. “I got incoming as well..” another Hansel reported.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Peter was not surprised to see a lone spy remaining and that he was able to zero the active hansel enemies with repeated actions from his “lone knight”.. He felt a kinship with a world he caught a glimpse of.. ..and also felt the power of a love of his own that is stronger than ever.. But the rain has stopped and the dawn was approaching.. and Peter finally drifted off to sleep.. He dreamt of Laura and a beautiful music that weaves together worlds.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A moderate Disciple of Shadow tore through the horde with the combined experience and ferocity of a thousand worlds, a thousand reborns and a thousand battles.. All weapons were utilized, all the powers and energies and spells were summoned.. Thade was fighting for the first time with purpose.. His purpose.. For he loved Helen.. and his love for her grew stronger as the twin Blood Moons began to set and the dawn shrouded in mist began to rise.. The music was in fierce crescendo in his heart.. and his spectral energy weapons sent streaks of blues and greens toward his enemies, to the notes of the music.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Watchtower spy room was now in a panic mode.. the routine single strip has turned into a disaster where all the active hansels and spies were now zeroed. But this was an old clan.. with experienced commanders.. One of them quipped.. “Let’s call in the LB spies.. I am not going to be defeated by an attack build and a pedestrian hansel.. Activate the other rooms”.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The rain was fading when Thade made his way back to the castle.. He could not see any enemy in the faint mist.. He found Helen leaning against a fallen column in the courtyard.. He aura was fading but her smile was as radiant as ever.. All her golden raptor hawks were lost in the battle.. Thade smiled.. embraced Helen.. and the two of them spent a brief eternity in silence.. looking into each other’s eyes as their souls intertwined and kindled.. The rain stopped.. Columns of light streamed down from the skies and touched down in a circle around them.. In the mist, faintly glowing figures now encircled them from a distance.. The unmistakable hum of the energy weapons of the Unkari Deities echoed across the mist.. “I will love you always Thade.. Don’t forget me in the next worlds ok” Helen asked.. “I will always look for you Helen.. as I am in love you as well!”.. Thade eagerly replied.. As he kissed her softly.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Both accounts have been zero’ed”.. came the report from the LB Spy leader.. “But we should call off the strip.. we don’t know what happened here tonight..” The Watchtower spy room went silent again.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A gentle breeze woke Thade.. What am I now?.. Thade raised his hands to see what he is holding.. In his hand was a small rectangular chip.. a smooth piece of glass and metal.. and he appeared to be human.. He slowly scanned his surroundings.. This was not a world he had been before.. There were other humans but none were of the troop types that he was familiar with.. and they did not seem to be at war.. He then scanned the skies and his heart froze with joy.. For he spotted a hawk, lazily circling a gleaming tower of glass and stone.. Helen!.. Thade thought as he raced towards the tower.. …..and the ethereal music played its melodic notes.. across all worlds..
Hai! I normally don't like "Authors notes" kinda thing .. I think art (in this case literature form) should be enjoyed in it's entirety by the patron in their own imagination.. I just saw someone post in one of the threads about how we are constantly sending troops to fight endless battles in KaW and thought to share a bit of the theme I explored here in this story (My entry to AJ's excellent competition) The theme that I wanted to explore here is that Love transcends perpetuities and endless cycles.. (Most people who are still reading are thinking either "WTH!?" Or "Where are the pics?!") I have kept the ending a bit vague but essentially, Thade woke up for the last time "in our world" (His "weapon" is a mobile phone).. He woke up in a campus, went after Helen in peace and love.. And that Thade and Helen are essentially Peter and Laura.. )))) Why am I bumping this you ask.. Cos the next KaW writers competition is coming up!! I hope folks would participate and enjoy!! ️