Valdar and Astralis

"Oook! Oook!" cried the stoop, feeling the wet molluscs slather all over it. "Oook!" answered the door angrily, realizing the house was under attack! Enraged by it's faliure to keep the salesman out, the door slammed open into the back of the Salesman's head. The head fell forward, disengaging the face and revealing two very pink hamsters cringing in the light.

"Oook! Oook!" Kitanue smoothly sidestepped the blow and clove through a Shedim captain. In the same motion, the Angel bashed an imp behind her with a wing. The creature fell screaming from the battlements. The walkway around her had been transformed into an ocean of blood and gore from demons attracted to her angelic aura. Sensing more opponents behind her, Kitanue spun around with her Katana raised. The first imp tried to leap inside her guard, but was knocked off the wall by a leather clad breast. She muttered something very un-angelic and split her next target from crown to groin. Instinctively she ducked just as a flight of arrows meant for her swept the other assailants off the walkway. Kitanue furtively readjusted her armour and looked around. The battle for this section of wall was over. Of the twelve Amazons half had fallen, their broken bodies surrounded by mountains of slain foes. She estimated demon casualties to be in the hundreds. Another flight of Shedim passed overhead. Two fell to bowfire, but the rest landed on the other side of the gatehouse where seven Berserkers were still clearing their portion of wall. The Angel spread her wings and flew down to a group of Assassins with short bows. "The Berserkers are being overrun. Go support their rear!" The Assassins drew their blades and ran to the walls. Kitanue flapped her wings again and glided to the main Assault on the gates. *** Valdar sidestepped out of the Astral, and ran to the camp. He briefly considered his options and settled on the fastest. The camp was in disarray when he arrived. Having being dismissed offhandedly by Beroen and their horses taken, the spellcasters milled about aimlessly. They were listening to a ranting enchanter going on about an infinite supply of blue diamonds from the fourth hell. Valdar took a deep breath, and mustering all authority against lesser beings and puny planebound mortals said- Come with me. The voice of compulsion didn't quite work he intended, and the elf broke into an extended fit of coughing. The spellcasters turned to him dubiously. He mastered his voice at last and commanded, weaving thin threads of compulsion and hidden weight into the words. "Loot for those who follow me." He had their attention now. Valdar opened a hole in reality linking the campsite to the battle at the gates. Wordlessly, he led the spellcasters through, leaving them to ponder the act of high magic performed by a ranger. *** "Forward! For the Hammer of Light!" The Berserkers roared in response, and Kitanue led the charge directly into the wall of demonic feathers. Her first blow cut through two Shedim and broke the wing of a third. The backswing sent a beaked head flying. A Berserker fell heavily against her wings, almost unbalancing the angel. A crude sword bounced off her blood-soaked wings. She flapped her wings to give herself some space, smashing the demon down with a thick wall of feathers. Around her, the surviving Berserkers shouted their insane warcries as they cut their way through with magical axes and hammers. Over the sounds of battle, she was dimly aware of the splintering sound of wood from the main assault below. Suddenly the demon in front of Kitanue fell forward with a scream, clutching it's side. The solid wall of demons opened to reveal the ten heroes she had summoned to reinforce the Berserkers. She smiled wanly, exhausted. The battle for the walls was over. Then the gates below exploded with an enormous crash, unleashing the undead legion of Hellwind.

Slightly gross, perhaps, but- Have you ever had such a bad nosebleed you couldn't eat much dinner because you were full from all that blood you swallowed?

Heavy thoughts for a morning. My first thoughts are usually-- "Bloody hell not again"

Not enough ear refferences! \O_o/! I kid! I kid! One thing I particularly like about your writing is the ability to incoprate so much detail without degrading into boredrem. Also, your characters have the ability to carry out intelligant, non one-line conversations. You lay a very mysterious foundation for your story. . .and any story with pointyears is sure to snatch my attention.

Valdar squinted at the demon shapes on the walls. The red morning fog was starting to burn away, a diabolical caustic mist from the blood rain. With his normal sight, the elf could barely make out the shape of lesser fiends and their wardogs. Scurrying about the battlements with enormous longbows were the distinctly ape shaped Imps. Towering above these were the bird-like Shedim and their captains. The Planewalker delicately extended his supernatural senses, bringing the defences into sharp focus and penetrating the outer wall. He cursed under his breath. Waiting silently behind the walls were seemingly endless ranks of Ghouls, the reanimated corpses of the fallen heroes who had tried to take Hellwind before. Finally he adjusted the spectrum of his eyes to examine the wards on the gates. Through his voidsight, the runes of strength and repulsion burned pitifully on the iron door. For an instant, something moved in the distance. A large energy signature appeared briefly before vanishing behind the chaotic scatter of nearby demons, but not before he identified it. Valdar quickly withdrew his magical sight before the demons detected it. Kitty, we have a problem I can feel them-we may have to break disguise before reaching the seal. The idiot intends to charge all the way to Hellwind without spellcasters. The ghouls we can deal with. There's a Balrog in there A long silence. This complicates things a great deal. How deep is it? Right behind the ghouls. We may have time then. . .or not. Over the hillock, the trumpet issued it's brassy challenge. Moments later, a disorganized mob of heroes rose ponderously over a ridge and charged. From a mile away, and without the proper signals from the scouts. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA RIDE MY KNIGHTS! RIDE TO SLAY THE DRAGON!!!" The twelve horsemen charged past Valdar's position, well ahead of those on foot. He stood and shrugged off the dust cloak camouflage. Following suit, the other rangers rose from their place of concealment and raised their bows at the wall. "The Blood of Anräöñ!" "Black Ire guide my hand!" "For An`trěma the green goddess!" "Bloody hell, RUN" The defenders fired their first flight of arrows, filling the air with black darts against their six. Nem`Ikhanel fell, the golden archer of the wood pierced by dozens of shafts. Miraculously unscathed, the other four started picking off defenders. One imp would fall, but two would instantly leap into the gap. Valdar strafed sideways, losing arrow after arrow at the bird demons. An arrow pierced his illusion and bounced off his void armour. The charge was almost to the gate now. . .or part of it. A full third of the riders had been unhorsed, their mounts unsuited to dodging arrows. Several figures lay still in the red earth with the horses. The rest smashed into the gates with a resounding crash but little effect. Then, the counterstroke came. From the battlements, birdlike Shedim spread their wings and dove into the crowd of men and horses. Shrill bird cries mingled with screams of horses and men cursing. Magical swords wailed their songs of death and rending. The first wave was vastly outnumbered. Buried under a mass of demons, they retreated into a valiant but futile last stand by the gates. "YIELD! YIELD, FIENDS! THE POWER OF GOD COMPELLS YOU! THE POWER OF..AUUUGGGHH!!!" Certain of victory, the demon horde pressed the attack. In their bloodfrenzy, the Shedim never noticed the next wave of heroes approaching until a rain of javelin cut down more than half their rank. Advancing behind raised shields, the Amazons covered the Berserker charge with missile fire. The Berserkers shouted their insane warcries and cut through the demon ranks like wheat under a scythe. Squawking in terror, the remains of the Shedim tried to take flight only to be cut down by bowfire. Steel grapples and ropes were fired over the battlements and the assault started in earnest. The Amazons rapidly scaled the walls and began laying about them with spears and pikes. Without siege weapons or some method of scaling the walls, the Berserkers demonstrated their impressive strength by tossing each other over the battlements. In the distance Valdar saw Kitanue's distinctive shape half climb, half fly up the rope. She landed lightly on the wall with her sword already red. She paused a moment, and her mind reached out for his urgently. Valdar! Those ghouls are bad news. Some evil holds dominion over the spirits of the dead. Undead heroes? Not quite, but bad enough. As soon as those doors give, they're going to flood the area. Valdar looked with some alarm at the Knights and Warriors beating on the gates with their weapons. Most of the runes had already faded. We need those casters NOW. The elf cursed, and vanished into the Astral.

Frighteningly logical. http://www.knight2king.net/Knight2King/weasleyisourking.html <--is a beleiver now, lol

Not sure if these qualify as Haiku, but anyway: #1 Laughing down the street Speaking to voices only they hear, Bloody handphone users. #2 The silent room bursts Into loud indian music. I hate polyphonics.

Epilogue "The body of a Planewalker is a projection of our spirit. Valdar would never have become a full member of the caste with that mortal body he had." "So ye do understand the need for this" "Of course-just because 'm the master of hiding in remote corners of the void dosn't mean 'm the ignorant fool m'lord Wodzan." "You will keep an eye out for him, wont you? He will age faster than mortal children. . .or perhaps slower. He's got a strange mind." "Ya, Ruggy will see to that. 'less ya cut the map upside down, that is." The Dreamer only grinned. "Fatespeed, Phacyra." "Fatespeed, Wodzan."

Far from the paths and in the darkness of the void, a battle raged on the long-forgotten Plane. The grey bubble of reality flickered sporadically from the battle raging within, smoke and debris pouring from massive rents in the Planar crystal. Fell voices drifted in the Void, each spell was punctuated by flashes of light and destruction. Here, reality had been gutted beyond repair. Every stone not vaporized or cast into the Void had been irreparably changed by the wild magic pulsing through the hazy madness. The ferocity of spellfire intensified, each pulse illuminating the debris and sending up a dull thud. The two voices grew louder, shouting each spell in a rising crescendo. Finally, the broken crystal barrier of the world flashed an otherworldly blue and shattered. Pieces of burning Planar crystal spun madly into the darkness. Then it was silent, with only the dissipating smoke lying between master and student now. "You did well, apprentice." The elf raised his head wearily to look at his teacher. "Is that it, then?" The Dreamer nodded. Coughing smoke, Valdar rose from his kneeling position and bowed ritually. Dreamer returned the bow before crossing the smoke filled battlefield to his apprentice. The elf grimaced. He knew the unpleasant part of the ritual was fast approaching, when his master would scar and proclaim him a Planewalker. Instead of drawing Pain however, the Dreamer put his hand on Valdar's shoulder, eyes glowing the faintest shade of pink. "That was it. You are ready." Before the elf could respond, the touch turned into a crushing grip. Mana flowed into the Dreamer in a wild flood, and down his arm. Too exhausted to raise his own barrier spell and held too tightly to flee, Valdar sagged under the weight as the Dreamer whispered his final spell. Crushing pain turned into liquid starfire, and poured into his body. Valdar was dimly aware of the heat and flame blasting through his body, tearing at his Core shielding while his flesh burned away. The torment seemed to last an eternity, and when it was over only the Dreamer remained with his hand outstretched into empty space. The Planewalker slowly lowered the arm to his side, eyes returning to the calm blue of the Void. For a long moment, nothing happened. Pieces of the shattered world floated silently in the dark. You have shown you have the Power. Now you must show that you understand. Then there was light. It started with a tiny pinprick, and grew rapidly into a shimmering blue sphere. I. . .understand. The Dreamer nodded, and stepped away from the Core as it began to absorb mana. It was like being born again. Protected by his inner shielding, Valdar's soul had survived where his frail mortal body had not. He pushed his soul outwards against the glowing barrier of the core. The sphere pulsed, growing larger and brighter with each measure until it blazed like a miniature sun. Screaming with energy, the orb grew to the size of a man with blazing streams of raw creation racing across its surface. The Core collapsed inwards into a singularity, then exploded like a star. Blinking away the light, the Dreamer smiled. Almost as good a show as. . .the other Valdar didn't hear, of course. In the bright afterglow of the explosion, a newborn elf child floated where the core had been. The child cried out in hunger, and strands of raw magic displaced by the shockwave connected to the tiny elf, feeding him with pure mana. "Your memories will return presently, Apprentice." The Planewalker drew an enchanted blade, and advanced on the child. Taking the tiny hand, the Dreamer cut a rune on the child's palm. The baby cried in pain, unleashing a mental blow that bounced off his wards. The infant was instantly surrounded by his distinctive shimmering blue shield. The Old man smiled again, his scars twisting into a not so unpleasant configuration as the child lost interest in the rapidly healing scar, and closed his eyes. Sleep well m'lord Valdar Shinyhunter, true child of the paths.

Aussie timezones strike again-Happy birthday our Elder of Shadows \^_^/

The next morning He awoke from meditation drenched in blood. It HAD rained during the night. The only consolation to the fact was that most of the Heroes had fallen over drunk outside their tents as well. Across the camp he saw Kitanue rise unsteadily, leaning on another Amazon in a comradely manner. Blood didn't stick to her Angelic skin he noted sourly, but at least he didn't have a hangover. He grinned at her. This time, she glared back before bending over to sort out her armor. . .which had somehow come off during the night. A trumpet sounded, and a vast groan rose from the ranks of snoring heroes. The gloomy camp of rangers began stringing their bows, and the sound of retching soon filled the air as the heroes tore themselves from the red ground. "This is Bloodbath," One of the rangers was saying. "It came from a creature in the Abyss. Any arrow fired from it becomes bloodthirsty, and causes massive bleeding." The others nodded approvingly. Rangers seemed to communicate a lot with nods. "Behold Black Ire. I pried it from the dead hand of an a Demon Stalker. The soul in the bow stave guides the hand that wields it to strike his target no matter how distant." His comrades made the appropriate signs of approval. "I crafted Silver Serpent from the spine of a black dragon I slew, and bathed the stave in the waters of Tranquility. The arrows fired from this bow fly faster than any other, and penetrate more deeply before exploding with dragonfire." The other rangers looked at Valdar, who faltered a moment, and decided on the truth. "I bought mine from a cat standing on a barrel in flea market." The trumpet sounded again. All around them, beady-eyed heroes and sages began drifting slowly towards the assembly ground. The Ogre in charge of the raid was bellowing something in the order of "Weez smish GUD!!!" when the Planewalker took his place besides a very red eyed Kitanue. That was an. . .interesting show you had going in the Amazon camp last night Kitty. I can't remember. . .what did they put in that drink? Testicles in brandy, I believe. Amazons have strange beliefs There was more retching beside him. Your show of sisterly bonding was also most enthusiastic. . .and affectionate Did I break our disguise? she asked worriedly. Hardly, they seemed to welcome it. I was worried you'd ask for payment though. THAT would have been out of character. The angel started cleaning her wings, pointedly ignoring him. The ogre had stopped shouting at this point, replaced by an ageing Paladin elaborating on their approach to Hellwind. "Dis muh fren ol Beroen. HEZ got gud brainz." Valdar squinted at the wrinkled old man encased in heavy plate with a slightly wild gleam in his eyes. The Paladin wobbled to his feet, and drew his sword with some difficulty. "All right men! Today. . .WE SLAY THE DRAGON!!" He sighed inwardly as the old man gestured with his sword. "Our brave archers will FILL THE AIR WITH ARROWS! THE BERZERKERS AND AMAZONS will scale the walls AND SWEEP OUR FOES AWAY!!!" Valdar noted there were six archers. "Then our Valiant Knights will charge the gates AND SMASH THEM TO THE GROUND!" The heroes cheered, and Valdar looked around. There were twelve horses, all of which belonged to the spellcasters. "What about us?" One of the braver enchanters called out. "STAND YOUR GROUND, SERF! WE RIDE NOW! CHAARRRGE!!" This is going to be fun. . .

It's 7 pm-do you know where your loot is? Congrats winners! To DARYL the fox, at Gyrfalcon's great expense The Coin of Endless Schemes for 30 geld! I bet the coin made him pay too much for it too! Next, the Pendant of Canla the SilverTongued goes to CRYPTOMANCER for 90 geld. . .oooh shiny!. Finnaly, some nutcase named FINNIUS burned 100 geld on the Faithstone of the Zealot! Someone lock him up in an Asylum quickly! Congrats again everyone on your phat lewts.

UTC/GMT is 02:00 on Thursday, 12 August 2004 the current time in Washington, United States 7:00 PM Wednesday, 11 August 2004 DST -0700 UTC Congrats Daryl on 30! How the heck is he going to hold the dammed coin anyway?

UTC/GMT is 01:59 on Thursday, 12 August 2004 the current time in Washington, United States 7:00 PM Wednesday, 11 August 2004 DST -0700 UTC Congrats cryptomancer for 90 geld!!

UTC/GMT is 01:59 on Thursday, 12 August 2004 the current time in Washington, United States 7:00 PM Wednesday, 11 August 2004 DST -0700 UTC Auction closed, congrats Finnus for 100 geld you nut!

One more hour left till 7 pm PST, I beleive. *Leers over auction threads with a big hammer* PS: The AARKaSL is a wholly evil device. . .it should never have been constructed \x_X/

*Derails and runs Rune over in a hugtacklemobile*

Linkage Basicly, I'm trying to speed up my writing by reducing sentance length. Previously, I'd spend days trying to convulate a bunch of words together, generating legible paragraph length sentances that caused MSWord no small amont of suffering. Besides that, format--I'm trying for a slightly less serious version of Zadown's Multiverse. Slightly Pratchettized, or maybe Douglas'ed. Nothing that seriously derails from the general theme, but presents it in a lighter manner-life's not so serious for our elf yet, lets say. Lastly, I'm writing in chunks. Notice the larger number of "*" breaks? Instead of an ongoing storyline, I broke things up into scenes. If I somehow manage to make them flow together smoothly, I join them up. Otherwise, I just stick a "*" where nothing significant happens over a period. Does this impact much on the legibilty of my last few works? Or does the use of simpler grammar (I only got 2/3 "Fragment" suggestions from Word!!) make it more boring/detracts from it's impact? Feed me! Edit: PS: No spelling feedback please-I know I'm a horrible speller already I'm requesting level 4-5 feedback, as the series isn't complete yet, and will try to impliment some of what's said here into it.

"What?" "The Grail! They moved it!" Kitanue was on her feet, and digging through a pile of old clothes. "They must have taken it off the paths-all the paths to and from Hellwind Fortress are being watched" "How you know the Grail is in Hellwind Fortress?" "Because that's where they brought it after taking it from us!" Kitanue grunted, and an ancient shielded chest slid out from under the pile of silk and leather. She kicked it open to reveal a curved Archangel sword and circlet. Her eyes clouded over a moment when she saw the sword, but she took the weapon with a firm fammilarity. "This was Aurel's sword." She said softly. "You met her." Valdar was standing now, ears tilted in bewilderment. "Kitty, how-" Her voice was pleading now. "There's no time to explain, Valdar. They could be moving it again as we speak. I will lead you to the chamber in Hellwind to claim the Grail and other shinies, but I must have the Grail after. You'll have found your shinies. . .and I'll have found my Redemption." The Planewalker considered this. "Very well . . . on condition you allow me to capture a small part of the grail's light in crystal." Kitanue nodded grimly, and placed the Circlet over her head before marching to the door. "Kitanue, wait." "There's no time! We must leave NOW." Valdar indicated his agreement with an earnod. "Aren't you a little under-dressed to be assailing a demon fortress?" The Angel blushed. * "ShinyShinyShinyShinyShinyShiny-" "Slow down pointyears. My wings aren't what they used to be." The elf slowed. "Sorry. Would you rather I carry you?" Kitanue gave Valdar a withering look, and flapped her wings faster. "You realize I've not flown more than a mile in the past decade?" "Hee. . .getting chubby around the wings?" She laughed, and pointed. "You may want to stop and mask our presence before the crossroads yonder. Hellwind is heavily warded, and anything greater than some minor demi-god is crushed by a demon stampede before even reaching the plane." "Mmm. What sort of place is Hellwind? I thought it was just a minor demon fortress on the edge of the cloud." "It's a near perfect hiding place. One way in, one way out. The chamber of the Grail is a Lawfully aligned vacuole inside Hellwind. Not even the Knights of the Grail can feel its presence this far out. The upper levels are filled with minor imps, and have been stormed by heroes several times already. The real keep is far better protected, and underground." "I assume we'll need to cut our way through several thousand imps, then?" Remarked Valdar sourly. "Disguised?" "We're in luck-a secret army of Heroes passed through Little Sigil a week or so ago bound for Hellwind. Sixty warriors, and some twenty Sorcerers I beleive. If we could disguise ourselves as heroes, we could join them and slip away once we reach the seal." "If the army was secret, how did . . . oh." Kitanue winked at him and slowed as they approached the crossroad. "Heroes like to brag. Do your Planewalker thing, pointyears-and mask our swords too. Your blade reeks of evil." Valdar nodded, and began his chant. The angel pulled two daggers from her pack, and strapped them to her wings as a white mist obscured the pair. The mist collapsed, converging into their new shapes, and became solid. Valdar looked much the same as before, the main difference being his voidspun armor now a dull rangerly green, and eyes muted. Kitanue on the other hand, took on the appearance of an Aasimar Amazon Elf, wearing only slightly more armor than they had managed to buy inconspicuously before leaving. The angel carefully folded her wings, concealing the knives. "I learnt this from a Succubus." She explained. "Demon footsoldiers sometimes get carried away . . . As they did with Aurel." Valdar hugged the angel sadly, and activated his transportation sphere. Kitanue did the same after a moment, and the pair started the slow run of mortals to Hellwind. * "And watch tchinks we wunts thwee more off you?" Valdar resisted the urge to correct the barbarian, but allowed Kitanue to handle the matter. Falling into his role as the silent ranger, he stood back and admired a true mistress at her work. Using a combination of light, almost accidental touches and a soft tone, Kitanue very rapidly persuaded the Berserker that indeed the services of another ranger and Amazon would be essential. "Are you sure you're not half Succubus?" He projected telepathically. The elf grinned as a wing swatted his left buttock. Introductions were quickly made, and Valdar declared himself Tarah the Black Arrow, while Kitanue named herself Anueth the Amazon. As it turns out, there were four "The Destroyers", ten "The Warlords", and at least six other "Black Arrows". Those were mainly dark elf assassins who glared at the ranger spitefully. Kitanue was quickly adopted by a small clan of equally underdressed Amazon spear sisters, while Valdar shooed off into the ranks of archers. The elf took his place beside the other equally silent rangers sitting around a cold fire and started examining his ancient Stonewood bow. Looking across the camp, Kitanue was getting a far warmer welcome. The rowdy Amazon camp was centred about a raging bonfire. She smiled back briefly before returning to the non-stop discussion of sisterly conquest. The Planewalker sighed. The others nodded. "I know what you mean man. It's too noisy here. Nothing like the good open land with only you and the wind." The group nodded silently again. "At least we dont have to sleep in tents. The open sky's as good a roof as any." Valdar chanced a glance upward. The sky was a hellish red, and looked ready to rain blood. The others were nodding, eyes downcast as they continued their own quiet brooding. He wanted to scream.

Note: Not to be counted, since it dosn't quite fit | Hard exoskeleton | Concealing sweetness in ` ,The sugar construct.

It's WEDNESDAY in the USAaaay!! ' Tis means ya'all getcha votey on your faviroutey uniquey itemos! quicka woot! Getcha bum a'clickin on teh linkos if yer not yet done so and VOTE VOTE VOTE! AAA sized poets! Squeaky Shiny Vagabonds! Secret Society of Storyweavers! clickyclicky! Clock's a`tickin!

Have you ever. . .tried to superglue a piece of cloth the inside of your shoe? Nearly passed out from the resulting fumes? AND get your hand stuck on it too? * Have you ever argued your way out of something you _wanted_ to do? Hurt because you tried to care? Live a dream? * Have you ever stopped to write a poem on your way back from the loo at 3 AM? Realize it was a dream in the morning? Cried about it? * Have you ever dreamed of women with foot long ears ha. . .errr, ok lets not go there.

Does cyrogenicly stored chicken from last year count? If so. . .yes.

Congrats, Merelas!