Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Origin Story [Chaos Brotherhood Member]
<strong>Caution:</strong> Before reading, this story contains mature themes and violence. I tried not to incorporate abusive or foul language as it would detract from the story. Well, with that out of the way, read, hopefully enjoy, and comment if you liked it or want some more.
It had been a long time since the divine portal had shown signs of life. So long in fact that their purpose had grown dim in the minds of the people. Their cities and civilizations, once grand, were all but forgotten, only serving as footnotes in the histories of man. What wasn’t forgotten was the fear. The fear of a world in chaos, of cities laid to ruin, and of ashes falling thicker than rain as the horizon burned in every direction. That was the history of man. A history of ruin and folly, and the arrogance of those that believed they could escape their debacles without repercussions. The divine gate glowed that little bit brighter, it’s massive stone arches creaking as they grated against one another. Once it had been an escape from a world in ruin, a passage to a land of the gods and the protection that they provided. Now, that damnable blue light was telling them to return to all they had left behind.
Vadran was not the only one witnessing the gate come back to life. There were others there with him, albeit, they were in a slightly better position than him. Thinking back on his life, there were a lot of things he could have done to have avoided this. But against his wishes, he’d been dragged into the divine hall, thrust to his knees and chained to the floor, so that he may penitently await his death. As an unnecessary addition he’d been gagged, but all things considered, they could have cut out his tongue, so a cloth wrapped stone shoved into his mouth wasn’t too bad of a deal.
“Good day nameless shadow.” Said a familiar voice from beyond Vadran’s line of sight. “You may be wondering why you have been brought here, but that really isn’t important.”
The voice belonged to a captain of the King’s Guard. A rather well liked captain at that. Vadran could hear papers shuffling before the captain spoke again.
“I have here your death certificate. It pronounces you deceased as of three hours ago. Congratulations.” His voice was monotonous and without humour, which would have made for a great joke, if Vadran could have laughed or if the subject matter wasn’t so serious.
“The minister was rather irate, which is understandable. Instead of a public execution he wants to sweep this all under the rug, hoping that it’ll go away. Unfortunately, because of your actions, there isn’t a soul in this country that isn’t aware of what’s going on. You, and your associates have ruined us. Our markets are facing economic collapse, our infrastructure is fractured beyond repair.” It was here that fury began lacing the captain’s words with venom and a heavy tension filled the hall.
“You bathed in the blood of our king, of his entire family! Good men, MY MEN. Were put to the sword because they couldn’t stop you, and now the gods have forsaken us. The awakening of the gate is seen as the harbinger of our demise. Death is too good for villains such as yourself. No, such a kind fate isn’t in store for you. You, and all your corrupt kin, every associate you claim as friend, every comrade, and every acquaintance will be forced back through that gate to the horrors of our past. You will go into this hell, alone, unarmed, and in rags.” Vadran felt a steel greave against his back, crushing him into the cool stone floor.
“I hope you rot, in the squalor of your sins, as the demons hidden from this world plague your every moment. I hope the weight of your transgressions claw at your mind, as the beasts claw at your flesh. I hope your every moment is living torment, as the burning winds rage, the air is choked with ash, and the sky is torn asunder. I hope you pay with pain and suffering equal to the suffering you’ve brought to the thousands here.” The captain shoved hard into Vadran’s back with his steel jacketed foot, and spat on his face. He waived a leather gloved hand at several of the other guards stationed about the room and motioned them to hoist Vadran up.
A few awkward moments later, Vadran had been dragged and manhandled until he stood before the slightly pulsing blue crystal in the center of the divine gate. The shackles on his ankles had been removed but the constraints on his wrists remained, as did the gag tied to his face. His clothes were worn, wrinkled and torn in places. He smelled rather foul, but that wasn’t by choice. He was still stained with the blood of royalty, since the guards hadn’t bothered to give him proper bathing services or a spare change of clothes after they caught him. They had, however, stripped him of all his weapons… almost all his weapons.
With a guard holding Vadran up by each arm the Captain walked before him and punched him heavily in the gut. The blow was unexpected and knocked the breath out of Vadran. Not that he could freely breathe through the gag. Instead thin streams of snot fell from his nose as he choked for air that couldn’t find it’s way into his lungs. The Captain didn’t give Vadran that opportunity. With one hand the Captain pushed Vadran back up and rammed the other fist into his gut. Still reeling for breath Vadran slumped against the two guards holding him up. Vadran weakly looked up at the Captain, trying to make out his eyes and face through the Y shaped slits in his helmet. He was still hyperventilating, trying to breathe through his nose, and choking on the rock in his mouth.
“Pitiful” Said the captain before he unsheathed a dirk from his waist. It was a familiar weapon. I was Vadran’s weapon. “This shall be a farewell gift, from me. I’m going to sheath this blade in your flesh, maybe an arm, maybe a leg, perhaps your gut to give you sepsis. I’m going to do that. Then my boys here are going to throw you against that massive crystal over there. All it takes is a touch and poof… you’re gone. Gone to the hell where you belong villain.”
Vadran hadn’t eaten in a week, he’d been starved, beaten, and condemned. But through it all he’d saved his flagging strength for one last moment of insanity or ultraviolence. Now was that moment. As the Captain placed his left hand on Vadran’s shoulder to shove the short blade into his gut, Vadran turned to the guard on his right. Beneath his tongue, he’d been hiding an arrowhead, made small and compact enough that he could hide it, but with a slight depression in the middle so that he could clasp it in his teeth and spit it out like a dart. The fatal flaw of Y guard helmets is that a skilled enough archer can aim for a man’s mouth and eyes, if given the right angle. Vadran had both the skill and the angle, as well as being point blank. He spat out the dart aiming for the guard’s right eye, by reflex he’d flinch away even if it missed, a hit however would briefly incapacitate him, long enough for an escape. Vadran didn’t look to see if the dart hit though. With the guard reeling away on his right, he violently kicked the knee of the guard on his left. He’d hoped that his actions had twisted his body out of the way of the incoming dirk but a hot flash of pain on the right side of his abdomen told him otherwise. The guard to Vadran’s left collapsed in a scream of agony, his knee bucking backwards, but the guard captain before him let out a snarl of inchoate rage as he reached for the sword strapped to his waist.
Vadran didn’t give him the chance to draw. He threw his chained arms at the captain’s face. Chains are nasty weapons, even against armoured foes. The blow knocked off the Captain’s helmet tearing small gouges in his cheeks, and visibly breaking his nose. The man stumbled backward toward the massive glowing gem of the divine gate. Cursing the inept and uncaring gods Vadran charged into the captain, tackling him the pulsing crystal hovering above the stone floor. Both Vadran and the Guard Captain disappeared beneath the gawking stares of the many guards stationed in the room.
The trip through the gate… was not pleasant. Some lucid part of Vadran realized that people were never really intended to travel in this manner. It was painless, and only lasted for a moment, be he felt as if a small cog, in the clockwork machine that was his mind had been removed. It still functioned, but a slight wobble was now slowly stripping the teeth off every other cog until eventually it would all fall apart with a loud ‘sproing.’ Thankfully after a few minutes of moaning, the feeling faded and he made his way unsteadily to his feet. His dagger, his trusted dirk, was imbedded half-way into his right side causing a dull ache that he knew should have hurt a hell of a lot more. The guard captain was still moaning on the stone ground beside him. Evidently a blow to the face caused the unsteady sensation of portal travel to last longer. Slowly he raised his eyes to take in his surroundings. It… was nothing like he expected.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this!” snarled the guard captain at his feet. “What have you done Shadow!”
Reaching up to the back of his head, Vadran untied the gag binding his mouth. Once free, he couldn’t contain the laughter that spewed forth. Joyous, maniacal, tinged with madness and pain. The world was lush, green and full of life. A gentle wind blew sweet smelling air and the surroundings radiated life and peace. “It’s fitting really.” Chortled Vadran. “The grand punishment that awaits all members, and associates of the Chaos Brotherhood. HAHAhaaa…”
Tears welled at the sides of the guard captain’s eyes as he squirmed on the hard stone ground, the ruins of an ancient temple.
Not caring about the pain, Vadran clasped his dirk by the hilt and wrenched it out of his side before falling to sit on the guard captain’s chest, each leg pinning the man’s arms. “Free from government free, free from morals… free…. We will make our mark on this world captain. Starting with you.”
Without giving the captain a chance to respond Vadran plunged his bloodied dirk through the guard captain’s breastplate directly into his chest. The captain’s eyes widened in surprise, and he tried to reply, but only a gurgled moan escaped his lips as blood pooled in his mouth. In moments, all signs of life left the captain’s eyes.
Still chuckling, Vadran dragged himself off the guard captain and only the ruined grounds of the divine gate. He looked back at the pulsing blue crystal. Smiling he spat blood against the divine crystal, then turned to leave. Whistling a jaunty tune, he limped off towards the forest. A blue shimmer enveloped his body turning him invisible, and cutting off the sound of him whistling. With a rusting of the bushes, he disappeared into the wilds of the old New World.
It had been a long time since the divine portal had shown signs of life. So long in fact that their purpose had grown dim in the minds of the people. Their cities and civilizations, once grand, were all but forgotten, only serving as footnotes in the histories of man. What wasn’t forgotten was the fear. The fear of a world in chaos, of cities laid to ruin, and of ashes falling thicker than rain as the horizon burned in every direction. That was the history of man. A history of ruin and folly, and the arrogance of those that believed they could escape their debacles without repercussions. The divine gate glowed that little bit brighter, it’s massive stone arches creaking as they grated against one another. Once it had been an escape from a world in ruin, a passage to a land of the gods and the protection that they provided. Now, that damnable blue light was telling them to return to all they had left behind.
Vadran was not the only one witnessing the gate come back to life. There were others there with him, albeit, they were in a slightly better position than him. Thinking back on his life, there were a lot of things he could have done to have avoided this. But against his wishes, he’d been dragged into the divine hall, thrust to his knees and chained to the floor, so that he may penitently await his death. As an unnecessary addition he’d been gagged, but all things considered, they could have cut out his tongue, so a cloth wrapped stone shoved into his mouth wasn’t too bad of a deal.
“Good day nameless shadow.” Said a familiar voice from beyond Vadran’s line of sight. “You may be wondering why you have been brought here, but that really isn’t important.”
The voice belonged to a captain of the King’s Guard. A rather well liked captain at that. Vadran could hear papers shuffling before the captain spoke again.
“I have here your death certificate. It pronounces you deceased as of three hours ago. Congratulations.” His voice was monotonous and without humour, which would have made for a great joke, if Vadran could have laughed or if the subject matter wasn’t so serious.
“The minister was rather irate, which is understandable. Instead of a public execution he wants to sweep this all under the rug, hoping that it’ll go away. Unfortunately, because of your actions, there isn’t a soul in this country that isn’t aware of what’s going on. You, and your associates have ruined us. Our markets are facing economic collapse, our infrastructure is fractured beyond repair.” It was here that fury began lacing the captain’s words with venom and a heavy tension filled the hall.
“You bathed in the blood of our king, of his entire family! Good men, MY MEN. Were put to the sword because they couldn’t stop you, and now the gods have forsaken us. The awakening of the gate is seen as the harbinger of our demise. Death is too good for villains such as yourself. No, such a kind fate isn’t in store for you. You, and all your corrupt kin, every associate you claim as friend, every comrade, and every acquaintance will be forced back through that gate to the horrors of our past. You will go into this hell, alone, unarmed, and in rags.” Vadran felt a steel greave against his back, crushing him into the cool stone floor.
“I hope you rot, in the squalor of your sins, as the demons hidden from this world plague your every moment. I hope the weight of your transgressions claw at your mind, as the beasts claw at your flesh. I hope your every moment is living torment, as the burning winds rage, the air is choked with ash, and the sky is torn asunder. I hope you pay with pain and suffering equal to the suffering you’ve brought to the thousands here.” The captain shoved hard into Vadran’s back with his steel jacketed foot, and spat on his face. He waived a leather gloved hand at several of the other guards stationed about the room and motioned them to hoist Vadran up.
A few awkward moments later, Vadran had been dragged and manhandled until he stood before the slightly pulsing blue crystal in the center of the divine gate. The shackles on his ankles had been removed but the constraints on his wrists remained, as did the gag tied to his face. His clothes were worn, wrinkled and torn in places. He smelled rather foul, but that wasn’t by choice. He was still stained with the blood of royalty, since the guards hadn’t bothered to give him proper bathing services or a spare change of clothes after they caught him. They had, however, stripped him of all his weapons… almost all his weapons.
With a guard holding Vadran up by each arm the Captain walked before him and punched him heavily in the gut. The blow was unexpected and knocked the breath out of Vadran. Not that he could freely breathe through the gag. Instead thin streams of snot fell from his nose as he choked for air that couldn’t find it’s way into his lungs. The Captain didn’t give Vadran that opportunity. With one hand the Captain pushed Vadran back up and rammed the other fist into his gut. Still reeling for breath Vadran slumped against the two guards holding him up. Vadran weakly looked up at the Captain, trying to make out his eyes and face through the Y shaped slits in his helmet. He was still hyperventilating, trying to breathe through his nose, and choking on the rock in his mouth.
“Pitiful” Said the captain before he unsheathed a dirk from his waist. It was a familiar weapon. I was Vadran’s weapon. “This shall be a farewell gift, from me. I’m going to sheath this blade in your flesh, maybe an arm, maybe a leg, perhaps your gut to give you sepsis. I’m going to do that. Then my boys here are going to throw you against that massive crystal over there. All it takes is a touch and poof… you’re gone. Gone to the hell where you belong villain.”
Vadran hadn’t eaten in a week, he’d been starved, beaten, and condemned. But through it all he’d saved his flagging strength for one last moment of insanity or ultraviolence. Now was that moment. As the Captain placed his left hand on Vadran’s shoulder to shove the short blade into his gut, Vadran turned to the guard on his right. Beneath his tongue, he’d been hiding an arrowhead, made small and compact enough that he could hide it, but with a slight depression in the middle so that he could clasp it in his teeth and spit it out like a dart. The fatal flaw of Y guard helmets is that a skilled enough archer can aim for a man’s mouth and eyes, if given the right angle. Vadran had both the skill and the angle, as well as being point blank. He spat out the dart aiming for the guard’s right eye, by reflex he’d flinch away even if it missed, a hit however would briefly incapacitate him, long enough for an escape. Vadran didn’t look to see if the dart hit though. With the guard reeling away on his right, he violently kicked the knee of the guard on his left. He’d hoped that his actions had twisted his body out of the way of the incoming dirk but a hot flash of pain on the right side of his abdomen told him otherwise. The guard to Vadran’s left collapsed in a scream of agony, his knee bucking backwards, but the guard captain before him let out a snarl of inchoate rage as he reached for the sword strapped to his waist.
Vadran didn’t give him the chance to draw. He threw his chained arms at the captain’s face. Chains are nasty weapons, even against armoured foes. The blow knocked off the Captain’s helmet tearing small gouges in his cheeks, and visibly breaking his nose. The man stumbled backward toward the massive glowing gem of the divine gate. Cursing the inept and uncaring gods Vadran charged into the captain, tackling him the pulsing crystal hovering above the stone floor. Both Vadran and the Guard Captain disappeared beneath the gawking stares of the many guards stationed in the room.
The trip through the gate… was not pleasant. Some lucid part of Vadran realized that people were never really intended to travel in this manner. It was painless, and only lasted for a moment, be he felt as if a small cog, in the clockwork machine that was his mind had been removed. It still functioned, but a slight wobble was now slowly stripping the teeth off every other cog until eventually it would all fall apart with a loud ‘sproing.’ Thankfully after a few minutes of moaning, the feeling faded and he made his way unsteadily to his feet. His dagger, his trusted dirk, was imbedded half-way into his right side causing a dull ache that he knew should have hurt a hell of a lot more. The guard captain was still moaning on the stone ground beside him. Evidently a blow to the face caused the unsteady sensation of portal travel to last longer. Slowly he raised his eyes to take in his surroundings. It… was nothing like he expected.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this!” snarled the guard captain at his feet. “What have you done Shadow!”
Reaching up to the back of his head, Vadran untied the gag binding his mouth. Once free, he couldn’t contain the laughter that spewed forth. Joyous, maniacal, tinged with madness and pain. The world was lush, green and full of life. A gentle wind blew sweet smelling air and the surroundings radiated life and peace. “It’s fitting really.” Chortled Vadran. “The grand punishment that awaits all members, and associates of the Chaos Brotherhood. HAHAhaaa…”
Tears welled at the sides of the guard captain’s eyes as he squirmed on the hard stone ground, the ruins of an ancient temple.
Not caring about the pain, Vadran clasped his dirk by the hilt and wrenched it out of his side before falling to sit on the guard captain’s chest, each leg pinning the man’s arms. “Free from government free, free from morals… free…. We will make our mark on this world captain. Starting with you.”
Without giving the captain a chance to respond Vadran plunged his bloodied dirk through the guard captain’s breastplate directly into his chest. The captain’s eyes widened in surprise, and he tried to reply, but only a gurgled moan escaped his lips as blood pooled in his mouth. In moments, all signs of life left the captain’s eyes.
Still chuckling, Vadran dragged himself off the guard captain and only the ruined grounds of the divine gate. He looked back at the pulsing blue crystal. Smiling he spat blood against the divine crystal, then turned to leave. Whistling a jaunty tune, he limped off towards the forest. A blue shimmer enveloped his body turning him invisible, and cutting off the sound of him whistling. With a rusting of the bushes, he disappeared into the wilds of the old New World.
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