Board Thread:Custom Lore Development/@comment-26084195-20160212074202/@comment-26084195-20160212075624

CHAPTER ONE:

Jaukoehai stood at the center of the pit, the torches reflecting off his armour. In the stands high above, at least 100 Orcs were jeering at him. But none of them matter. Only the Orc sitting on the throne smiling at him is of any interest.

"Emperor Fyst, I take it? Is that your birth name, or did you actually want something really cliche?"

"Your ranger friends helped you get much further than you should have, Ironskin." The Emperor said with a growl. "I am going to make you pay for killing my two sons!"

"You know what, that was wrong of me. Why don't you come down here so I can apologize properly?"

"Not today, Ironskin. I will watch as my champion crushes the life from you, once and for all!"

The gates on the other end of the pit opened, and a rather large Orc in massive armour came lumbering out.

"I'm impressed, Fyst!" Jaukoehai yelled as he got into combat stance. "You finally managed to find something as ugly as you! Well, almost."

"I will enjoy watching you die!"

The champion rushed at him, raising his enormous cleaver. Jaukoehai remained stoic, of course, and didn't move a muscle as the brute charged at him. Cleaver struck tower shield, and the impact shook the dust off of most of the fortress. And yet, Jaukoehai hadn't moved an inch. He responded by bringing his hammer around the side, connecting with the champion's chest and sending him sprawling into the dirt.

Jaukoehai turned back to the Emperor. "Did you get the message yet? I'd hate to have to hammer my point home."

Unfortunately, the champion wasn't yet down, tackling Jaukoehai from behind. With the warrior pinned, he raised his cleaver, only to be staggered by a smack to the face from Jaukoehai's shield. The knight leapt up and delivered another blow with his hammer, then another. The third shattered the champion's arm, and the fourth, his head.

In an instant, the Orc crowd went silent. The Emperor hurled one of his guards down at Jaukoehai and fled, the rest of the crowd close behind. He ran to the top of the fortress, where his only surviving officer waited. Fortunately, said officer happened to be the head of arcane studies.

"Your highness, the rangers have blocked off our routes of escape. We will have to hole ourselves up in the fortress."

"That isn't an option! Ironskin is here!"

"I may have a solution..."

A few minutes later, Jaukoehai smashed through the door (and the Orcs bracing it) leading to the roof, where Fyst sat upon his balcony throne waiting for him.

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"It's finally time for you to pay for what you have done to this island!"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"If you want to make me pay so badly, come and do it!"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">As Jaukoehai charged, however, the sorcerer stepped out from hiding and cast his spell. A portal opened up before Jaukoehai, and with his momentum he couldn't stop in time. He fell through the portal, which promptly closed behind him.

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">He got up and looked around. He had seen this jungle once before, but he had expected to return in many years time. This jungle is the territory of one of the four states that forms the Sathirian Empire, largest and strongest empire in existence. The jungle itself is home to their capital.

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">The Iksar (Make a Human bigger and give it the scales, tail, and head of a snake or similar serpent) were really not that bad individually. In fact, Jaukoehai had made many friends amongst the Sathirian Empire. But the empire itself was truly evil, and Emperor Venril Sathir is likely the most powerful being alive.

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">Jaukoehai began looking around for a sign pointing to the city of Jinisk, the people there don't mind him. But what he found instead was an Iksar in red leather armour, with a red cloth mask and hood. Correction, multiple Iksar. They stared with cold serpentine eyes at Jaukoehai, and as one they drew some wicked looking serrated blades.

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">The first one leapt at him. He slammed it in midair with his shield, sent it straight into a tree, then drive his hammer into its stomach. Amazingly, however, it wasn't dead. Deciding that direct assault was ineffective, the other Iksar pulled out bottles of strange green liquid. One of them threw it at Jaukoehai's feet, and it released a cloud of greenish yellow gas. The knight coughed and staggered a bit, and his vision began to blur slightly, but it wasn't enough. He had spent plenty of time building up immunities to poisons. And so he blasted his way into the next Iksar. Yet still it survived blows that would have killed most things. Then more of them showed up, with more of those bottles. Jaukoehai was quickly overwhelmed by the gasses. Before he blacked out, however, he heard the sounds of combat...

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">When he next opened his eyes, he was in a tent. His stuff was still with him, all of it. There was an Iksar watching him. This one was dressed similarly to the ones that attacked Jaukoehai, but his getup was black instead of red. "What were you thinking?" He said in the raspy voice common amongst his people. "What kind of an idiot chargesss openly into territory protected by Sssathir'sss Oathsssworn?"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"The kind that was teleported in." Jaukoehai said. "Who are you? Why did you save me?"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"Our bosss will exxxplain that to you. She awaitsss you outside."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">She? An Iksar willingly taking orders from a female? Such a thing is unheard of! Quite curious by now, Jaukoehai left the tent. He found himself in an isolated encampment, atop a hill surrounded by tall rocks. There were no fires going, and a thick mist covered the place. There were approximately thirty Iksar, all looking like the one in the tent. Except one, who waited for him in the center of the camp.

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">Her clothing was certainly unusual for an Iksar. She wore a one-piece skin tight black leather outfit, covering from the neck to the toes. The black leather was stark contrast to the bright acid green of her scales. However, perhaps the most odd thing about her was her appearance. Iksar have never been considered the most attractive species around. Jaukoehai, despite being a really terrible judge of who is attractive and who isn't, could tell that this Iksar was an exception to that rule.

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"Ah. Awake at lassst." She said. There's another unusual thing about this Iksar: her voice doesn't share the traditional Iksar raspy voice, one could almost describe it as smoky. "I've been waiting for daysss, Jaukoehai. I thought you wouldn't wake up. I've never ssseen anybody take that many hitsss of antilosssk pollen and sssurvive."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"I'm a very unique individual."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"Indeed."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"Why did you save me?"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"I did not. One of the Iksssar who fought off the Oathsssworn recognized you. He sssaid he owesss you a favour, and he brought you here. I wasssn't happy with the exxxtra baggage at firssst, but now I think you may be ussseful to usss."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"First I need to know: who are you, and who exactly is 'us'? Are you rebels or something?"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"In a way. Truth be told, we are plunderersss. It'sss merely convenienccce that the being we're plundering from is Venril Sssathir. And who am I? My name isss Slythe."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"And what exactly are you plundering?"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"Tell me sssomething. Have you ever heard talesss of the Cccity of Missstsss?"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"A few very vague rumours. Why?"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"Allow me to fill you in. Long ago, when Sssathir wasss jussst recently made Emperor, Lord Riliss plotted to overthrow him. Sssathir found out about this, and he stole Riliss'sss prized Phylactery for ussse asss insuranccce. With that Phylactery in hisss handsss, Venril isss confident that Rilisss wouldn't dare fight against him. Sssathir is paranoid, however, and feared that sssomeone may find a way to sssteal back the phylactery. Ssso he masssacred an entire Iksssar cccity, brought the inhabitantsss back asss powerfully magical ghosstsss to ssserve asss guardiansss, and cassst a ssspell over the cccity that causes it to be shrouded in eternal misstsss. Only hisss Oathsssworn are allowed anywhere near it. Many other itemsss of incredible value are there, and we intend to sssteal them all."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"And you want me to kill the ghosts?"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"No, they can't be killed."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"So you want me to deal with these Oathsworn? Now that I'm ready they'll stand no chance."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"No."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"Then what do you want me to kill?"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"Nothing. I will need you to do the grunt work."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"The... what?"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"Carrying thingsss mosstly. You'll probably do sssome cleaning. Maybe, if you're lucky, you'll get to do the cooking."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"Ok, look here, I don't... oh wait, you're screwing with me, aren't you?"

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">She smiled the smile of a born hunter. "Naturally. I've heard of you, Jaukoehai Ironssskin. Your ssskillsss would be wasssted on grunt labor. I want you to help rob from Venril Sssathir, and maybe ssstart a bit of a cccivil war."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">Beneath his helmet, it was Jaukoehai's turn to deliver the hunter's smile. "All in a day's work."

<p style="font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">"Exccellent. But it isss nearly night, and dinner isss nearly ready. Go out, sssocialize with the othersss. If you need me, I'll be in my tent."