by Pheonix.bradley on Thu Sep 23, 2010 4:41 am
As the knight broke free from the mystical place he had just bared witness to, he rode hard towards the village of Lindaxburgh. A glad sense of normality returned to him after the madness he had been through, aligning his thoughts towards finding the ranger.
The thin forest trail he rode through had suddenly opened up before him and his thoughts came back to the vision at hand, a small town surrounded by a large fortress wall. He rode to the entrance gate and was greeted by an ominous voice from the other side, hidden behind the gate, "Keep riding stranger, we need no trouble in our town from you'.
"I seek no trouble good man, but for some guidance from the wisest of men in your township".
"we can not afford to comfort you for free', and at that the knight tossed a gold coin through the gate, "i will pay me way good sir".
At the sound of that comment the gate opened, and a man in a brown hooded cloak appeared, "be brief in our town knight, strange men have been afoot recently, our trust of strangers is running low. The wisest elders are at the inn, feed, drink, find your knowledge and be gone".
The knight reined his horse at the front of an old inn and pushed through the door as the room fell silent from chatter for a moment while the towns folk studied him, then as not seeing a threat they continued on there conversations. The knight made his way to the bar and ordered an ale, but before he could take his first sip and old blind man put his hand on his shoulder. As the knight turned, hand ready by his sword, the old man smiled,"Ahh my young man, you have a destiny about you",
"You know me old man?", "Haha i am blind but see more than most, the ranger you seek is not all that he seems, for he is an old soul reborn in the flesh of man from time to time, when the world needs him."
"And what riddle is this old man, do you say he is but a god?"
"Hahahaha, no no no, he is but an aid to you my friend, for you are of pure heart, he will be beside you in your time of need now that he knows himself, through the ashes of death he has become one with his soul, a man that is reborn through the flames of Hades, he is but your equal, for you need his purity soul as he needs your purity heart to fulfill thy quest."
"And where may i find my companion?"
"He will find you young knight, you must continue your quest in haste, toward the 'Pool of Lindax', it is but a mile down the western trail, at the fork in the road take to the left, but beware for the lake is made of acid and no man can touch it's placid waters".
With that the knight raced out of the inn, and the old blind man took up the knights untouched ale with a grin, and toasted to air before sculling the brew, "Ahhhh, the price of knowledge is sweet."
A mile down the road the knight sensed a shadow following him, but saw no one, and so took the trail to the left. A further mile down the trail, he came to placid lake, serene in beauty, but deadly to the unaware. His instincts on full alert as he sensed the shadowy figure had closed in, but still saw no one.
In that instant a flurry of splashes from the lake attracted his attention, and from the depths of the acid lake a huge creature rose.
Looming before the knight was a hydra with multiple heads, the knight unsheathed his sword just as the first mouth full of needle like teeth snapped at him, and he sliced of its head, only for two more to grow in its place.
"I'm in massive trouble" thought the knight, as six heads came at him at once, he looked to dive but all escape was covered by snapping teeth, when suddenly the shadowy figure he sensed that had been following him, erupted into flames behind his shoulder. The hydra retreated momentarily and the knight turned to see the figure....
through the flames he saw a familiar face.....the ranger, only now his eyes were flouro green, his hair golden yellow, and the flames of an angel surrounded his frame............. the knight stood in awe at the sight, then remembered what the old blind man had said,"through the ashes of death he has become one with his soul, a man that is reborn through the flames of Hades", 'the Ranger's old soul was...was..... a phoenix'.....
WINNER: TIMMINZ TOURNAMENT