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Dimensional Rifts: The Cursed Mountains
Chapter 1: The Ancient Returns
Stepping through the swirling dimensional gate, Lord Greed stretched and looked around. The ancient Shadow Rogue demon had just returned from the dimension of Frostmorne and it had been awhile since he'd been home to his once-mighty kingdom nestled in the foothills of the Southern Mountain of Bankou.
"It's been a long time..." he said to himself as he gazed at the remains of a japanese-style fortress, a frown on his face. "My kingdom, gone, along with everyone who once fought beside me here."
He continued to look around then entered his home. Somehow it had managed to withstand the battles that had been waged here. He did what he needed to do then made his way back up the Bankou mountain range to return to the dimensional gate.
Further up the mountain a creature sat motionless. A Creolean warrior, the last of a race of great cats, waited for a small animal to wander close enough for her to pounce. Her light gray fur and dark gray stripes made it easy for her to blend in with the stained snow, effectively camouflaging her. As the animal hopped closer, she leapt from her cover and pounced, sinking her claws into it and snapping its neck as it screamed. She glanced around, detecting an unfamiliar smell on the mountain, but shrugged it off as she carried her prey away to a nearby cave.
As the great tigress ate her meal, her ears twitched and perked up at the sound of crunching snow echoed up the mountain. She paid it little mind as she finished her meal. She slowly eased herself to the mouth of the cave and leapt into the snow to camouflage herself. She spotted a figure in the distance, walking up the mountain. The mountain that had been vacant for some time now, with the exception of a few peace-keepers and the occasional traveler.
As Greed made his way to the dimensional gate, further up the mountain a creature sits motionless. A Creolean warrior, the last of a race of the great cats, waits for a small animal to wander close enough for her to pounce. Her light grey fur and dark grey stripes made it easy for her to blend in with the stained snow. As it hopped closer she leapt from her cover and pounced on the animal, sinking her claws into it and snapped its neck as it screamed. Looking around she detected a strange smell on the mountain, but shrugged it off as she carried her prey to a nearby cave.
As the great tigress ate her meal, her ears perked as the sound of crunching snow echoed up the mountain. Slowly she finished her meal and eased herself to the mouth of the cave , leaping into the snow to camouflage herself. In the distance she could see a figure walking up the mountain. A mountain that had been vacant except for a few peace keepers and travelers.
As Greed continued his walk he heard a noise up ahead, not paying any attention to it he continued up the mountain, letting his jacket and the cloth attached to it flap in the wind behind him.
"Now to go to the other side of the mountain and find the portal," he said to himself, not aware of the Creolean watching him. As she sat perfectly still watching the strange human-like creature walk past her, her fur bristled as she stood up, sniffing the air to see if he was friend or foe. As she made very slow, precise movements toward him to get a better whiff of his scent, she realized she had exposed herself.
It seemed as if the man didn’t notice her as he walked, but as he reached up with his left hand to scratch his head, the two metal bracelets he wore jingled, and as he licked his dry lips she could see hints of large canine teeth. Nothing a human possessed.
By now she was curious as to what this being was and approached him as she spoke.
“What manner of creature are you?” she asked, sniffing at the air around him. “You look human, but you smell different.” Not sensing any hostility from the creature, he remained calm as he answered her question.
"I am a Shadow Rogue, an ancient demon race, and unfortunately there aren’t many of us left,” he said turning and pointing at his once prosperous city. “I don’t know if you have ever noticed the fortress down at the base of the mountain ... I was the ruler of that, until all the people that lived there with me died in an attack by Garuda's followers. But... that is a tale for another day.”
Turning back to the Creolean warrior, he smiled as he held his arms out, “Yes, I do have some human qualities, but I am not human.” he said, smiling. “You must be a Creolean ... What is your name? My name is Greed.”
The warrior stood there in silence, despite her self-mutilations, the stranger could still see who she was. Greed looked at her and thought [it occurred to him that] something was different about her. Many of the Creoleans he ran into in the past often traveled in groups and never far from their villages.
"Why are you alone? I thought your people always traveled together and never traveled alone ... why are you alone?"
“I am Nene ... Nene Tailchaser,” she stopped to think about what she should say next but the realization that she was the last of her kind struck her as tears began swelling up in her eyes. “I have lost my people to a horde of demons that also follow Garuda, but serve a demon called Sordor ... this is all that is left of my village ... I’ve lost my mate and child to the demons.”
She looked at her bare body and for the first time in years she remembered the jewels she once wore on her arms and around her neck ... the furs and bones that once lay across her chest and decorated her once flowing mane. It was now gone. She looked all around her at the blackened snow, the stained snow that covered an area where a lively village of warriors had once stood.
"I... I failed to protect my people. I am alone now. There are no Creoleans left on this mountain....so I cast away my pride." She suddenly realized what she was admitting to this stranger and ran back to the cave to continue mourning the loss of her people.
Once inside, she began to think, wondering how long she had been wallowing in her misery, that she had not noticed the empty mountain. Looking at the pads of her hands, she mumbled to herself.
"These hands are useless. They couldn't even protect Timbaku or Tara."
"These fangs" she said as reached to feel the dullness of them,"they could not bite the enemy. And these whiskers, failed to detect the enemies behind me. What I have been doing all these years, I know not." she thought, as she lay her head on the ground and cried, not realizing that the stranger had followed her.
"I know you don't know me, Nene Tailchaser, but perhaps you have heard of me? I am Lord Greed. I am the demon lord who used to run the fortress below this mountain, until all of my people died." the man said as he walked up to Nene. "So we are in the same conflict you could say."
Greed paused as he realized that the Creolean was sobbing quietly. Not sure what to do, he placed a hand on her shoulder to offer some comfort , not wanting to upset her further.
Thinking quickly, he replied “Everything will be okay eventually ... if it happened, then it was meant to be ... that’s what I always say.”
Nene paused to think about Greed’s words. Then, as if looking at her surroundings for the first time, she rose to her feet and held out her massive hand.
“Maybe. I don’t mean to be rude and I apologize.” she said.
While shaking Greed’s hand, she looked at the dark empty cave, then back to Greed. She knew he meant well by the words he spoke and thanked him with an empty cat-like smile.
“All that remains of my village is this cave,” she said, motioning in the air around her as she walked over to a backpack and a staff leaning against a wall. “There is nothing left for me here. Everything else, including the bodies of my people, have been burned and sent to the great elders of our ancestors. I owed them that much, despite failing to protect them. There are no other Creoleans on this mountain and nothing left for me here. May I travel with you?”
Greed looked at her and smiled. “I do not mind if you travel with me. I could use the company." he said as he turned to leave the cave.
As Nene pulled the backpack over her shoulder and grabbed her staff, she was suddenly overcome by fear and her hands trembled. Shaking her head, she quickly left the cave and rushed past Greed up the mountain.
“We must hurry, before the ghosts of my people drag me back into the cave,” she growled.
Confused, Greed paused to look back at the cave , then back at Nene.
“Ghosts? " he asked, as he caught up with Nene, who was still marching up the mountain. “What do you mean?”
Nene steadied her pace so Greed could catch up.
“Ghosts of my past and present dispair,” she said after they reached the summit and turned around. “There.” She said, pointing to where they were standing a few moments before. Where the snow turned as grey as Nene’s fur, was the outline of a medium-sized village, charred remnants of homes and hearths poking through clusters of snow.
She looked at Greed who stood still with a confused look on his face.
"The ghosts I speak of are not spiritual ghosts. They are my inner turmoil. A battle only I alone must deal with,” she said as her tail swung back and forth. “The ghosts are my past. and the longer I stay there, the longer I will be unable to free myself from my pain. I feel I'm no longer of this mountain and have decided its time for me to leave."
She turned and looked at the mountain she had called home for so many years. A small tear trickled down her face as her tail began curling around her waist.
"Although there were once many Creolians on this mountain, there was only one family for Nene, and that family is no more," she looked down at what was once her village. "The only thing left in that cave now are the failures I've carried for many years, until one person made me face it today. Now I can move forward, thanks to you, and I have no plans on returning here any time soon once I leave."
With that being said, she continued walking up the mountain in silence.
“You know, running away from your pain won’t solve the problem.” he said, walking alongside Nene as they journeyed to the dimensional gate housed within a shrine at the top of the mountain. He offered words of wisdom but knew she would not listen. The Creoleans he had known in his life had all been stubborn.Once their minds are made up, there is no more room for discussion.
As the two reached the ancient shrine of the dimensional gate, Nene reached into a pouch tied to a belt around her waist. She felt around and pulled out two ribbons made with special threads to make it them withstand the weather and elements. Smiling , she stopped to look back. It was a ribbon her daughter had made for her to wear in her mane. Turning back towards the shrine, she wove the green and gold ribbons into her mane, letting them fall down her neck like two pigtails. Turning to look at the shrine she weaved the green and gold ribbons into her mane and let them drop down her neck like two pigtails.
“I promised I would take her places.” she sighed as she turned to face Greed and the shrine. “Through me, I will fulfill that promise.”
The shrine was one place her people had never thought about using. They protected the shrine, as the Lorians protected the order of peace on the mountains, thereby earning the title of ‘Peacekeepers.’
As the two entered the shrine, they stepped through the portal and disappeared, unaware of the Grimlock Dragon demon, Sordor, resting on the other side of the southern mountain.
“What took you so long to find me, brother?” asked Soken, a fair-haired stranger. “Come, Sacred, you must be hungry.”
Pushing a pouch filled with food towards Sacred, Soken put away a flute he was examining and turned to engage his brother in conversation.
“Thanks,” Sacred said, pinching a chunk out of the bread he found in the pouch and popping it into his mouth. “The walk was fine brother. Why did you bring your pack here?”
Unaware of the Grimlock Dragon sitting above their encampment, the men continued their conversation. Sordor licked his beak-like mouth like a hungry wolf eyeing his prey and spread his long, leathery, black wings. With a leap into the air, he glided down the peaks of Bankou towards the two men as they ate and circled above them on the ice cold wind. Letting out a screech, he dove down onto the startled wanderers and grabbed Soken into his huge claws. He lifted him higher into the air and dropped him next to his brother. The sound of thunder could be heard as Sordor’s horde of demons, armed with clubs and axes, stampeded down the mountain towards the wanderer’s camp.
The two fought back to back for what seemed like hours until Sacred fell, overwhelmed by the horde. Just as Soken stood over his weakened brother to protect him, the demons stopped and stood motionless while Sordor landed on the ground. As Soken looked up at the humongous dragon his mouth dropped and his knees shook with fear. A small white rook flew down from Sordor’s shoulder and landed next to Soken and fluttered its wings. The demons stepped back away from him as the dragon moved forward.
With an evil grin, Sordor picked Soken up and squeezed him tightly so he couldn’t move, while he took a deep breath and inhaled Sacred’s soul from his weakened body. Soken’s eyes widened as he watched his brother’s soul scream and struggle to hold on to his own body before entering Sordor’s mouth. After a few seconds, Sordor sent a breath of fire to char Sacred's body. A tear fell from Soken’s eyes as he watched the demon horde peel the flesh from his brother's body and consume it.
“Enjoy your meal, my followers. Let Garuda bless this poor creature’s body and his soul keep us warm until our next meal.” He laughed as he watched his demons consume everything, flesh and bone alike, until nothing was left.
Soken began to panic. Freeing his arm from Sordor’s giant claw, he began to stab at Sordor’s fingers. Sordor smiled at the poor wanderer's attempt and leapt into the air, spreading his wings. The demons scattered back to the mountain and the glaciers below, as Sordor flew straight up as high as he could go and then barreled down towards the ground holding Soken in front of him. As he smashed Soken into the ground, he could feel Soken’s body being crushed then lying still, silently dying beneath Sordor’s weight as the dragon lifted his limp body and tossed him into his mouth. Deep in the back of the dragon’s throat, Soken could hear the screams of souls swirling in the dragon’s throat. As the dragon swallowed, Soken fell into the abyss of Sordor’s throat and felt the pain of being ripped apart by desperate souls fighting to possess his broken body. Then finally, as he took his last breath, closed his eyes and died.
As he walked up the side of the mountain, a flash of light, followed by a flow of energy, struck beside Sordor. He looked up and laughed.
“I see I got your attention, Bahamut.” He laughed as he faded into another dimension. Because Sordor didn’t really exist on any one plain of existence, he didn’t require a gate to move between worlds. “Enjoy your rule as lord over these mountains for now, for I will be back to clean this dimension of its inhabitants and take over. With the Creoleans gone, your days are numbered.”
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Latest page update: made by
Anonymous
, Jun 12 2007, 5:20 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
minor edit by cihhe
- anonymous
31 words added 271 words deleted view changes - complete history) |
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| Cihhe | um... | 0 | May 18 2007, 8:04 PM EDT by Cihhe | ||
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Thread started: May 18 2007, 8:04 PM EDT
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um yeah, and its me. who's apparently too retarded to notice i wasn't signed in. :P
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| Anonymous | edits | 0 | May 18 2007, 7:56 PM EDT by Anonymous | ||
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Thread started: May 18 2007, 7:56 PM EDT
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finished my edits. let me know if you're good with everything, Yuffie, and if not, what you want changed and i'll finish it up.
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| Cihhe | edits. | 0 | May 17 2007, 1:13 AM EDT by Cihhe | ||
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Thread started: May 17 2007, 1:13 AM EDT
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I'll be on tomorrow to finish my edits on this Yuf. I will leave my edits in brackets til you get a chance to take a look in case there's something you don't like, k?
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