Morul collapsed into her hands as she sat down to do her regular bean counting. She was the youngest noble in Necrothreat; elevated by King Apiks at the recommendation of others. She had everything she needed in her life at the young age of thirteen. A safe job where she rarely had to go outside into the scorched wasteland, she never had to fight, and even gained personal praise of her King (or the Tyrant, as others would have said), and she had her pick of the finest food and wine (which was becoming a scarce commodity nowadays).
Morul reached for her mug blindly, groping at the air before bumping into it and spilling some of her wine on the papers she had. It didn't matter to her. Nothing did anymore. She was living the best possible life in Hell and she knew it was still awful. The memories of what happened in the forges below when she was a child still burned in her mind like the magma that burned bits of her hair that day. And the hordes of foreign dancers flocking to flee this place, rushing to escape this place since they could. But Morul coudln't. She was born here, and she would die here. The endless piles of corpses and bones that her Lord hoarded added to the grim atmosphere; a constant reminder of her fate.
Downing her drink, she stopped her bean counting to pull out a reddened set of damaged pages. They were soaked through with blood, but the writing was still perfectly intact. Morul pulled out the last few sheets; the bean counting could wait. After all, she was nearly done reading the last known record of that madman down below: Highmax. She didn't read out of curiosity, but out of fear. Fear of the curse he put on Necrothreat with his dying words, that they would all be doomed to live as he did. She knew the nature of these papers was grim; she was told a servant of Armok appeared and tried to kill her King, but it was defeated by his lawman, but not without killing the loremaster. But Morul knew the truth. She knew Highmax was this servant, though no one dared to question Apiks or Rogue. Morul could see it as if she was there herself, but couldn't tell why. She couldn't remember...
She heard shouting down the hall; another demand from His Majesty. A ban on crowns
Morale was low. The people were all but ready to give up, debating whether to suffer the wrath of the King by leaving, throwing themselves into the makeshift moat, or waiting to die. They called to the gods for miracles, but the priest had locked himself away in madness. Those who weren't bogged down by depression or accepted their mortality were few and far between now, as they seemed to slowly drift into silence; fading to nothingness. As she flipped through the last of the bloodcoated pages, she grasped at her eye. She was told it was damage from being so close to magma as a child, but she knew it was far worse. Many days now she questioned if they made her bean counter not because of her organization skill, but rather to keep her from the military. She knew at a young age, she had powers that few had; power over magic. But her power was strange, as it seemed to be fighting her every time she tried to use it.
She put away the pages and continued her bean counting before passing out as night fell.
Awaken, my childMorul jolted awake to find herself in a strange void. She grasped in the air to find her bearings but she felt she was powerless to move here.
Morul Godenmatzang. You were cheated into a fate that you were not meant to haveHer mouth stood agape as the words were met with dozens of figures appearing before her, all outlined in blue
This is the first time that an heir was chosen that did not come from my bloodline. You inherited a war that you were never meant to fight in. While we grieve for this curse you unwillingly took, your fate cannot be changedMorul froze. Curse? War? Bloodline? Realization set in as she tried to weep but tears could not come out. She felt only emptiness
Do not weep, my child. You will bear the name and redeem us. You can show the world that the name Highmax does not spell doom for them; that zeal and devotion do not mean anything in the face of honor. The one before you lost this in his desire when he was young when he lost everything. We are knights dedicated to defeating Ur and his forces. But we are also guardians of Necrothreat. You will serve us until you are with child, and then, from choice I made in times long past, they will serve Necrothreat in kind. I cannot undo what I did, but I can do what I can to guide you so that we all may restMorul watched the figure before step aside as she bore witness to hundreds of men and women bearing similar resemblance to one another fought undead. Some with quick finesse, others with brutal force. All of them carried a sword made of adamantine. She watched in amazement and horror as she saw countless enemies bearing down on these men and women, slaughtering many undead and other enemies to Necrothreat before watching them be mortally wounded. She felt lurching in her stomach as some of them were torn apart even; a sight she never could get used to
This is your heritage now, my child. We live. We serve the people of Necrothreat, and we die defending it. But if there is no heir, you will return before long. This is the curse of our line. And now, like me, you will never know the afterlife until Ur lies defeatedThe well of emotions was too much; anger, sorrow, sadness, fury and many more feelings that she had never felt before came up. Why did it have to be her? Curse that damn Quill for dooming her to this fate! Curse Lord Lemonpie! Curse them all!
Now you understand why I did what I didShe tried to turn but couldn't move, but she knew who it was from his dark voice. An aura of blue swirling with red stood next to her.
You hold the powers of all of us before you; myself included. You are the second to be embraced with Armok's power. Do with it what you will. There's a lot of power in you that lies untapped. More than myself, more than others. But you are no warriorThe figure quickly jolted to her face, although she saw nothing but the aura
You are nothing! You are powerless to this fate that you are given. You will either die in vain as these others did, or you will live forever; going mad from losing everything for something you didn't have control overMorul struggled against the void before trying to scream. But this time, her scream was all she heard as light engulfed her.
Lord Lemonpie ran his mug under the barrel of rum and took a big drink. The curse had made him from a priest to a man in rags. He felt the wearing of age on his body. He was young in moons, but he felt the age of three lifetimes in him. His back was fixed thanks to the bear, and he could walk again, but there was little he could do. He downed his drink and reached again at the keg for another drink, only to drop his mug.
"Bollocks!"
Normally he was quite well mannered and above such sayings, but having lost everything, he didn't care about anything anymore; just as many others did. A cloaked woman handed him a mug. Without thinking, he took it and drank again, before dropping the mug and pressing himself against the wall. "Stay back! I locked myself away so I couldn't hurt anyone!"
The woman smiled. "Do not be afraid, Archpreist of Omer. I come to you in this time to ask you to perform a miracle before the masses." Lord Lemonpie recoiled at her words and then scoffed. "You are a fool to think the bear will spare you. Omer is dead thanks to me, and this place is doomed! No miracle can save us!"
The woman kneeled before the cowering man. "You are the last shred of hope we have left. Even if the gods are gone, we can rely on the strength of unity among the forumites. Omer lives on in you, Archpreist, and the people see that. I can see it."
The grizzled man pulled his hair back. "Who... Who are you?"
The woman softly smiled as she pulled back her hood, revealing one of her eyes to be both red and blue, split perfectly down the middle. She was barely old enough to be considered an adult. Lord Lemonpie turned to tears as he recognized the young woman now grown up.
"The one who will save Necrothreat.
Call me Highmax"
EDIT:
((Forgot pictures, bear with me))
EDIT2:
((Added images. Bear with me, anyone know whats up with Lemonpie's age? Last I checked he was 20))