[Locked] [Community Project] Shadowblaze Chronicles

Protagonists:
Etheria Eradica
Masayoshi Hitobashira
Elgaraf Moonshade
Marie Ekielon

Antagonists:
Vastenarok
Samantha Desmond Fitzgerald, or SDF
Andrew V. Lithum
Emil Jörg Baumhauer

Unattached (Undecided):
Aremet
Huǒyàn Bàofēngxuě
Evan Darfolza
Quarrala Solshine

Neutral:
Cardigan V. Lithum
Terack Norfel
Carant Wortun

Great empires rise and fall, and many do so over the span of thousands of years. These empires were born out of the will to protect their people, and many of them died because of the same people that they once protected. But, many of those great empires are guilty of enslaving their own people, and brought this end upon themselves, for forsaking the same people they initially sought to protect and nurture.

There is, however, one empire that has withstood the test of time, and has never changed its policies of protecting its people, granting them freedom and security, while viciously destroying and forces that would harm those under it's protection. The Eradician Empire. Any force that attempts to attack the empire or its people is annihilated without exception. The Eradician Empire stands today because of its Empress, who has lived for tens of thousands of years, and is said to be not only immortal, but invincible.

The Empress of Eradicia is thought to be invincible for good reason, as well; Every time there is a major battle, the Empress herself comes to the front lines, and none have ever wounded her, despite there having been millions of enemies who've been unfortunate enough to cross paths with her. She leaves no survivors from any invading force that she herself defends against, and many other great nations came to fear her mere presence, as it was like being in the presence of a death god.

Etheria Eradica was her name. She is the Empress of the Eradician Empire, and a grand master of ancient arts and magic. An unparalleled power among the world of sentient beings. Her only downfall was that she cannot be everywhere at once, and thus still needed to make alliances to protect parts of her empire. That being said, today was a special day. It was a peace ceremony, an event to mark the unity of her Empire with that of four allied nations. She knew that she couldn't be everywhere at once, despite her mastery over both arcane and combat arts alike, and thus decided that the best way to protect her people, was to have more people to protect her people with.

The conditions of this merger were that she would travel to each of their nations after integration into her empire, and aid them in development of both their economies and their military. The economies would support their people and their military would protect their people, and aid in the protection of the empire. As another condition, if a large-scale invasion were to be launched against any of these nations after the merger, She would send her personal forces, including either herself of one of her trusted generals, to defend them and drive away the invaders. This would keep both civilian and military death tolls to a minimum, and support the growth of the empire.

Etheria Eradica was an immortal blessed with eternal youth, so she hasn't aged since the time she became immortal. Originally, she was a human with brown hair and eyes, but now she had a pale complexion, with silver hair and golden irises. She adorned a velvet-colored dress with black frills, and wore a transparent red veil over her face. It did not hide her face, it simply dimmed others' view of her face. She also wore black gloves made from silk, which covered her arms up to just beyond her elbows, and black stockings, of which their length beneath her dress could only be guessed at by those around her. She wore velvet-colored shoes, with flat bottoms, unlike many women who preferred to wear raised heels. Yet, she walked toward the doors to her palace's throne room in a smooth, even rhythm.

Etheria pushed the doors open to her throne room. She did not approve of guards or knights doing tasks she could accomplish on her own, for her. She walked gracefully toward the throne, stood in front of it, and then turned to her knights and the diplomats from her allied nations. "Today is a day that we will remember." She announced. "We will be uniting a total of 5 nations, including my own empire, under my rule. That does not mean, however, that I will interfere in the political systems of your nations," She explained. She nodded to her knights, and they moved to the sides of the room, to open the doors and allow several people carrying boxes to enter.

She turned to the diplomats and smiled cheerfully. "Instead, I will be aiding in the development of your nations, for the sake of your economy, as well as your military. These boxes contain instructions about how to rotate your crops to make them more effective, what fields to rest and when to rest them, so that you produce more food." She explained. She stepped down from the throne and nodded to her most trusted general. She turned back to the diplomats. "This man is my most trusted general, and a master of combat, Evan Darfolza. He will be making instructions for how my other generals will aid in the development of weapons and training of your military, to increase their effectiveness. Our aim is to make all of your militaries organized and strong enough to repel any large-scale invasion force, even before reinforcements from the empire arrive." She explained.

Evan Darfolza was a stoic-looking man of average height, with black hair, brown eyes, and a short, fuzzy beard that accented his apathetic expression. He plated armor over joints and his vital areas, but the rest of his armor was made of soft leather. At his belt were two swords, one on each side. He was an ambidextrous combatant, and a master of swordsmanship. Despite his average height, he gave off an aura that made him seemingly tower over the other knights, one that would suggest he was a fighter nearly on par with the empress herself.

Evan walked over to each diplomat, handing each one a book. He stepped back and cleared his throat, his expression turning more serious than before. "The training will be simple at first, to train novice recruits into passable soldiers, and will become more advanced as their skill levels increase. The principles and uses of each stage of training are detailed thoroughly in those books, so that your own veteran forces can begin teaching. Our generals will aid the veterans of your forces with this task, but cannot cover all major cities, and so will give priority to the cities that are most vulnerable to being sieged. Once they've helped to train your troops, they will give instructions for building new defensive siege equipment, like those that defend the cities of our empire." Evan explained. He returned to the Etheria's side, but stood tall next to her.

The diplomats were kneeling until now, but stood up slowly after seeing this act. "Must we not kneel in the presence of her majesty, the Empress Etheria?" One of the diplomats spoke. Etheria raised an eyebrow. "Respect is earned, not given. I do not expect diplomats I've recently met to kneel any more than I would make the brave knights who defend my empire kneel. Be at ease, for the greatest respect you can show is to not fear me, for this is ceremony to show that we mean to create peace." Etheria proclaimed, walking to each of them and placing her left hand on their right shoulders. She walked back to the throne, and stood in front of it.

"Thus, on a day such as this, I ask you this. Did your nations' leaders accept my proposal that we combine our forces and create a peaceful empire that can defend itself effectively?" She questioned. The diplomats nodded, nearly in unison. The first diplomat stepped forward. "My name is Terack Norfel. I am the Imperial diplomat for the Queendom of Sharee, and her majesty, the queen, has agreed to this merger. The Kingdom of Dremlo, the Kingdom of Fortrani, and the Queendom of Webnimae also agreed." Terack replied, taking the scroll offered to him by the female diplomat next to him. "This is the treaty you created, signed by the Kings and Queens of all four nations." Terack stated, presenting it to Etheria.

Etheria nodded with a smile, and took the scroll from Terack. With this, the ceremony ended, and the diplomats made their exit from the throne room. Each of them was escorted by one of Etheria's most trusted generals, Evan included, and protected by a platoon of knights on their trips home. Etheria left the throne room and made her way to her chambers. It had been a long day, despite her success, and she hadn't had the chance to store her arcane powers today. As she entered her chambers, and unfamiliar face awaited her. A man with silver hair and golden eyes, and pale skin, just like hers, stood to confront her. "Your peace ceremony was a nice plan, but it all hinges on whether or not you remain alive." The man stated, in a threatening tone.

Etheria began backing away to exit the room and get backup, but just as she was about to leave, the doors slammed shut, and a powerful arcane barrier formed. "You've improved quite a bit over these last nine thousand years, Vastenarok." Etheria complimented her intruder as she set up her own barriers. Vastenarok sighed. "You forget the first year. I've waited for over nine thousand years. That first year of healing was complete hell." He explained as he waved his hand, tearing open a rift out of nowhere. Etheria began charging her hands, ready to strike. She struck the ground, creating a surge of lightning strikes throughout the room, but Vastenarok seemed to be predicting where they would fall, and dodged all of them by teleportation.

Vastenarok laughed. "You can't hope to catch me with that spell, especially since I'm on-guard. It may be powerful, but the signs are too obvious. Plus, I've learned more magic than you have over these past several thousand years." He proclaimed, wearing a cocky grin. From the rift poured out demonic beings, many of which Etheria hadn't seen in tens of thousands of years. Etheria grimaced, disgusted by the thought that Vastenarok had dabbled in ancient dark magic. "You needed to learn necromancy and demon taming, two forbidden ancient magics, before you could do something like this. Why would you forsake your purpose as a sorcerer? Why would you forsake the arcane edicts?" Etheria interrogated, preparing several offensive and defensive spells at once.

Vastenarok smiled grimly. He waved his left hand, and a sigil appeared upon Etheria. "With this, my ultimate curse, you will soon be flung into a dimension of oblivion. Enjoy eternal suffering and anguish, as one who cannot die will experience the most exquisite tortures the universe has to offer." Vastenarok jeered. Before she could be flung into another dimension, however, she release all of the spells she was preparing at once. "Burn in hell, Vastenarok! You'll have to bide your time once more!" Etheria shouted, charging her last attack. She created a miniature star, and then left it in the room as she was sucked into another dimension. Vastenarok tried to lower his arcane barrier quickly so that he could escape, but it exploded at that moment. The Palace of Eradicia was wiped off of the map.

Vastenarok crawled out from under the rubble, and most of his legs were blown off during the explosion. "You always were untouchable, but I don't have to touch you where I've sent you... it'll only take about a year for me to make a full recovery, so your last stand was in vain!" He screeched, cursing Etheria for the excrutiating pain he felt throughout his entire body. He dragged himself up to a broken wall and leaned against it.

"No matter. I've gotten rid of the pinnacle of power of the Eradician Empire, and now the world can be thrown back into the darkness. Demons, come forth from the rift, and terrorize this land!" Vastenarok commanded, opening the rift even wider. Demons of all shapes and sizes poured forth, some humanoid, some beastly, and many strange at best. The scattered in all directions, with one goal in mind. They will destroy this world, and make it their own.

The demons were soon halted by the sorcerers and knights that protected the capital city, but many demons were able to break through, despite the slaughter of most demons that engaged in combat with the empire's defenders. Vastenarok took the chaos as an opportunity to escape, creating a warp portal for himself. Once knight witnessed his escape, and couldn't believe his eyes. The area where the palace used to be was locked down by layers of arcane barriers erected by the arcane sorcerers under the employ of the Empress, and the search for Etheria Eradica continued, to no avail.

Rumors of her 'death' quickly spread, and the allied nations that had agreed to the merger had their doubts of how they would proceed. She was thought by most to be immortal and invincible, and so most people feared that this incident, in which she had disappeared, was merely the precursor for worse things to come. Over the next six months, the Empire tightened its security, and sent veterans to train common villagers how to defend themselves, in case of emergency. Demon attacks stopped entirely, but most of the demons that escaped the capital on the day the palace disappeared were still missing.

In one small village, news of the Empress' disappearance hadn't come yet, nor had any veterans made it there yet, due to it being located deep in the mountains to the east. A young upstate, Masayoshi Hitobashira, was training in swordsmanship so that he could protect his village. Everything would change when the demons visited his village on one fateful night...

It was a quiet night. The gentle breeze slowly pushed through the village. Hanging wind chimes tapped each other slowly, making gentle, yet high-pitched noises. There were many dimly-lit candle lamps hanging from poles. A thin mist waded across the ground in and around the village. Figures danced silently in the mist, slowly but surely approaching the village. It was surrounded on all sides.

The roar of thunder raged throughout the night, and a deafening screech echoed in the aftermath. The dark figures became clearer as they grew closer to the village, lit by the candle-lamps. Horns, teeth and hoofs adorned many of these beastly figures. Some looked like bears, some, like boars. There were even a few that looked like elk. Masayoshi woke up from the sound of the thunder earlier, and had already dressed himself in a set of working clothes, and armed himself with a large butcher's knife.

He peeked out from his home, pushing open the sliding wooden door slowly. He noticed the creatures closing in around the village, and went back inside, closing the door silently. "If I'm gonna fight those things, I better be prepared." He whispered, keeping his voice down to avoid attracting the attention of the creatures outside. Masayoshi went into the basement, and took his deceased father's armor from a dusty wardrobe. It was segmented, in pieces, for both flexibility and strength. His father's helmet was lost long ago, though.

He equipped it piece-by-piece, soon donning a similar appearance to the samurai of old, prior to the Eradician Empire's conquest. His father was once the head of a small mercenary group, called the Aetherian Mercenaries. Masayoshi opened an old chest containing his father's belongings, and found a segmented spear, with steel chains connecting the segments. The spearhead was an awkward diamond shape, with the blades curving slightly inward to an extremely fine point. "This will work." he whispered, closing the chest.

Masayoshi slowly climbed the stairs from the basement to the main floor of his home. He peeked into the main floor, making sure the coast was clear, and that none of the creatures had entered his home already. His home was still empty, but the front door had been opened again. Something had checked his home for people already, and likely moved on. He exited his home, keeping low to stay under the cover of the mist.

The figures had closed in and surrounded the village on all sides. From the looks of it, there were various types of bestial creatures, the likes of which he'd never seen before. He gripped his spear tightly, but forced himself to smile, in order to stay calm. He only had one shot, since he was the only person in the village who'd trained for combat. He figured that he would likely only be able to fight one or two of the beastly beings before his stamina gave out, so his plan was to escape the village stealthfully. He had to acquire assistance.

He often traveled down the mountain to the towns on the plains, to get supplies for the village. He knew the nearest town had a mercenary post, and they would work any job for the right price. He carefully and quietly snuck to past a few of the creatures, making it past 2 lines of the things. The third line seemed to notice something amiss, then they all scattered, falling back a few yards. They were on high alert now, watching for movement. Masayoshi knelt on the ground, completely still, trying to keep his breathing as quiet as possible. One of the creatures started to approach him, slowly.

"Halt your search. It doesn't matter who's sneaking around, we have bigger fish to fry tonight." A grim, deep voice commanded. A short, thin man stepped toward the creature. "Don't ruin the plan by attracting unwanted attention. Get back into formation and prepare for the attack. We must wipe out this village soundly, not allowing them to fight back." The man spoke, directing the creature back to its previous location. The creatures obeyed, and got back into formation, surrounding the village. There was a silence. The man walked toward Masayoshi slowly, then stopped in front of him. His figure was clearer now, but features were still shrouded because of the mis between them.

"To have noticed our attack preemptively, you must have quite the senses." Complimented the man. "We're always looking for talented people to join or ranks. Look, if you want to live, you will take this opportunity to come out and join us." He explained, in a threatening tone. "I don't trust people who won't give their name, who are you?" Masayoshi replied, silently moving to a different spot afterward. The man chuckled. "So be it. My name is Andrew V. Lithum. Look, I don't like to do this kind of work, either, but I can't avoid it. I have no choice. If you join me, I can guarantee your protection, and will personally train you." Andrew explained, offering his hand in Masayoshi's direction.

Masayoshi thought of the people who had taken care of him in the village, and knew that they would be killed whether he resisted or not. He had to find a way to save them. "I will join you, but only if you agree to spare this village for 1 week. I want to say my goodbyes to the people who saved me and raised me. Otherwise, I will do everything I can to escape and bring reinforcements now." Masayoshi threatened. Andrew sighed. "I'm afraid I'm not allowed to do that, even though I would if I could. The attack begins now. Demons, charge!" Andrew commanded. The demons began their attack, and tore open the homes of the village.

Mere seconds later, an explosion occurred in the center of the village, near the cobblestone well, and a mysterious humanoid figure stood in the center. They wore a short black cloak that came about halfway down their back, under which they wore dark-grey leather armor, studded with what appeared to be silver spikes. There were crossbows on their wristbands, and two swords sheathed on their sides. One of those was a thin, curved sword, which appeared to be a katana, a lost weapon once wielded by ancient warriors. The other was a longsword with jagged edges, likely designed for tearing flesh. The mist cleared around them.

The blades of both glowed with a thin yet menacing blood-red aura. He slowly drew both blades, then leapt towards a demon in the next instant. The demon was vaporized in a single slash, dissipating into dark red smoke. He leapt between several demons, taking each out with a single strike. Andrew observed this and drew away from the scene, whistling for his demons. The demons began to retreat, but were disintegrated one after the other by the successive attacks of this mysterious being. Only a few were quick enough to escape.

By now, the villagers, who were previously panicking because of the demons' attacks, stood together in awe, after seeing the scene of this being destroying so many demons. Masayoshi also stood up, curious of this person's intentions. He cautiously approached the mysterious person, not sure whether to trust them or not. They sheathed their blades, and turned to Masayoshi. He had jet-black skin, almost as if his skin was itself a shadow. His eyes were a glimmering red, like the luster of polished rubies. His hair was a shade of white, the color of fresh, powdery snow. He looked directly at Masayoshi, and smiled.

"You're the only one who took to the field tonight, I'm assuming you know how to fight?" They questioned. Masayoshi nodded, but drew back slightly, preparing for a conflict. The man waved his hands, dismissing the gesture of a fight. At this time, Masayoshi noticed his sharp, elongated ears. "You're of the elven races. Who are you, and why would you help our small village in the mountains, so far from civilization?" Masayoshi interrogated, lowering his spear slowly, just in case he needed to raise it again. The man laughed in surprise.

"I'm a bit special amond elves. There are two races that are restricted based on the solar and lunar cycles. Because of this, we have to travel only when we're able to. I just happened to need to pass through these mountains tonight, consider it a lucky coincidence." He explained. Masayoshi frowned slightly. "That still doesn't give me your name. My name is Hitobashira Masayoshi. And yours is...?" He questioned, hinting that the man should introduce himself. "The name's Elgaraf Moonshade. I'm a Drow, so I only travel at night. I'm a traveling mercenary by trade, though sometimes I work for things other than money. I prefer to travel alone, or in a small party if necessary." He explained.

Masayoshi nodded, stabbing his spear into the ground. "Alright, what is your price for saving the village from demons, then?" he asked, thinking ahead. Elgaraf laughed. "You know, you're pretty sharp, kid. Most backwoods hicks would assume I saved them out of good will, but it seems you have a better head on your shoulders. Actually, I'm in the middle of looking for an apprentice, and you would fit the bill. All I need today is to stay in your home until tomorrow night, when I can leave again. But, if you'd like, you can hang with me, and I will train you in the combat arts." Elgaraf explained.

Masayoshi turned to the villagers, and the village elder stepped forward. "We are grateful for you training to protect us all this time, but I'm afraid it won't be enough. We need more powerful fighters. You may stay if you like, but things won't be easy. I say you take the chance to travel the land, and learn many things, youngster." the village elder proclaimed, looking at the other villagers. The villagers nodded one after the other. "Let us retire for the night, and tomorrow we'll help prepare you for a long journey." The village elder stated, turned back to his home. There were holes in a lot of the houses, and busted up doors.

"It will take us a while to repair the village, but you'll always be welcome to visit us. We'll keep your home ready for you if you ever want to come back and settle down." the village elder explained. The villagers returned to their homes, and Masayoshi led Elgaraf to his own home. The door was still open from before, so they simply entered. "Please take off your boots when you enter" Masayoshi requested. Elgaraf nodded, undoing the straps on his boots. He slipped them off, and they landed in the entryway with a thud. Elgaraf followed Masayoshi into a room with a floor of mats made from soft rush-covered rice straw, contrasting the wooden floors in the rest of the home. The walls were all made with wooden frames and a stiff, paper-like surface.

"This is the room in which you'll sleep tonight, I'll prepare a futon for you. It's not the best, but I hope it's good enough for you." Masayoshi explained. Elgaraf shook his head. "No, I'll wait until sunrise to go to bed. You know, because I travel at night, it's better for me to sleep during the day." He replied. Masayoshi nodded. "Alright then, let's plan ahead. How many hours per day should we travel? I'm assuming it has to be after sundown, because of your weakness to daylight." he proclaimed.

Elgaraf's expression turned grim. "Don't worry about me that much, kid. I can still hold my own, even in the daytime. A few demons here and there won't make a difference." he retorted. Elgaraf grinned. "Though, it would be nice and all for you to stay up late, you're too young for that to work long-term. Leave the night watch to the professionals, and just stay alert during the day. We can travel during the few hours after sundown but before it gets too dark." Elgaraf explained. Masayoshi nodded in agreement. "Alright then. I'm off to bed. Please wake me up if anything occurs while I'm resting." Masayoshi requested, leaving the room. "No problem kid." Elgaraf replied, returning to the front door.

He sat in the doorway, keeping an eye on the edge of the village, and the two mountain paths in and out. If anything came in or out, he would see it. After just a few short hours, the sun began rising, and Elgaraf yawned. "Time to head in and wake up the kid." he spoke to himself, drowsily walking inside. Masayoshi was already awake, however. "My apologies, I was a bit too excited to stay asleep for long. Today's a big day for me." he explained. Elgaraf frowned. "Give it a rest, kid. I'm heading to bed. Wake me up when we're ready to leave." he replied, nearlly ignoring Masayoshi's presence altogether.

After Elgaraf went to bed, Masayoshi went to the other villagers to gather supplies for the journey. They gave him one horse, and a weeks supply of food and water for two. "Sadly, because of the destruction last night, this is all we could provide. I hope you understand." the villager elder explained. Masayoshi nodded in affirmation. "Someday, I'll return. I want you to send for help from other towns, for safety reasons." Masayoshi proclaimed. After gathering the supplies he needed, Masayoshi went to wake Elgaraf. He was sound asleep, but didn't snore. This surprised Masayoshi, since he assumed from his speech that he was a rough person.

"Alright, Elgaraf, it is time to depart." Masayoshi stated, nudging Elgaraf. He opened his eyes lazily. "Five more minutes." he replied, turning on his side. Masayoshi sighed, and went back to the front door of his home. A little girl with brown hair came over, and approached him. She was holding something behind her back, and fidgeting suspiciously. "Thanks for saving me from wolves a while back, Masa-nii. I never did say thanks..." She spoke with a timid expression. She closed her eyes tightly, then ran up to him and thrust the object she was holding behind her right toward Masayoshi's chest. A basket of apples.

She set it down and ran off. Masayoshi was taken a bit aback, since none of the villagers had ever acted that way toward him. It appeared that most of them actually saw him as a minor nuisance, since taking care of him after his parents were killed. He smiled, and picked up the basked. Elgaraf came out just at that moment. "What, was that a gift from your little girlfriend?" Egaraf jeered, elbowing Masayoshi in the side. Masayoshi grimaced. "She's only seven. Definitely too young for dating." Masayoshi retorted defensively. Egaraf laughed. "You're funny, kid. You getting high-strung just says you like her." Elgaraf teased.

Masayoshi ignored his comment and began walking toward the mountain path. He grabbed the reins of the horse he was given, which carried the supplies for their journey, Elgaraf followed shortly. Masayoshi and Elgaraf began their trek down the mountain, and the sun went down. Once they reached the foot of the mountain, they decided to camp for the night, and trade watches once day broke. Elgaraf took watch during the night, and Masayoshi during the day. They had a few days before they would reach the nearest town, in which there was also a mercenary post. Their travels would be arduous, but Elgaraf planned to start training Masayoshi in the combat arts in the second town they stopped in, where they would also re-supply. Meanwhile, events in the Eradician Empire's capital had taken many turns for the worse...