Abaddon's Secret (1-5-2009 Chapter 7 came out!)

Chapter 1: The Nightmare

Fire! Everything was burning! The once beautiful village I called home was in destructive chaos. The people seemed maddened and were attacking one another. I was worried. I had to get home as fast as I could.

Rushing through the fire, debris, and carcasses I finally got home. I noticed something peculiar; it was quiet… it was like someone shut off all the sound, the screaming was gone, the crackling of flame, nothing… I saw that the door to my house was ajar. I felt my skin prickle and suddenly all my instincts screamed at me to turn and run away as far away as possible from there...I had to know my family was safe so, forcing myself, I pushed the door open… Letting my eyes get accustomed to the darkness, I realized there was a glow coming from my parent’s room…Making my way to it as silently as I could. My heart beating madly in my chest. I got to the room and pushed the door open... what I saw in that room, on that night, scarred me for the rest of my life. My parents… lying on the ground, bloody, mutilated and lifeless… Their arms locked around my younger sister. A great beast was digging its fangs into my sister’s guts, it was unlike any creature I had ever seen, its legs were covered with green scales, its back and torso were covered in messy black fur, its body took the form of a lion but its head was that of a hyena with glowing red eyes so menacing they would make the bravest of men tremble. The last thing I remember of that night was my sister, whispering my name with her last breath as the beast bit out her throat “Spice…”

I woke up with a start, my heart pounding on the inner chambers of my chest. Looking outside, I could see the sky was still consumed with the darkness of the night, but that would end soon. A cool breeze wafted in through the open window and chilled the cold sweat I was soaked in. These nightmares….these visions, have been haunting me so vividly ever since that horrid night 8 years ago. I was the only one to survive from my entire village. No one else was found, it was as if the people never existed, vanished, the only thing marking they ever existed was their blood splattered on the ground and what remained of their homes. Later that day a contingent of sunspears came from Kamadan after seeing the blaze and smoke the previous night. They found me unconscious in front of the door to my house, with what appeared to be a large, animal caused wound on my back, but not made by any animal they had seen or heard of. I remember waking up in a cart after feeling it jolt to a stop; the sunspears were moving me to the city, but they had stopped to rest the animals. Looking around, I shifted my head to see two of the sunspears conversing, they kept turning their heads to look at me and I distinctly remember hearing them say the words "silver" and "demon", I was somewhat relieved since I thought they had caught the beast that destroyed my home.

One of them noticed that I was awake and had water brought to me. It was then...when I saw my reflection in the water...that I discovered the changes in my body. The silver demon they were speaking of was not the thing that destroyed my village....It was me.

Snapping back to the present, I got dressed and started to head down to the river to wash my face and relax before going to the sunspear great hall.

Hope you all enjoy the first chapter, I plan to post 1 chapter every week so long as I can pace myself with my studies. All further chapters will be posted on this thread.

Chapter 2: Situation

I got up early today, I wanted to see the sunrise while sitting in my spot on the river, I was enjoying the breeze when I heard approaching footsteps, turning back I saw Spice approaching. He seemed depressed. “Still having that nightmare Spice?” He must have been deep in thought as he was startled when he heard me and looked as if he just noticed I was there. “Come sit here” I told him, patting the earth next to me, “Try and clear your head, today is going to be a very long day, they’re bringing in the new recruits.”
As he sat by me he smiled and began to speak “I remember my first day at the great hall, everything seemed intimidating and I was afraid to speak to anyone but you came up to me and talked to me like we had known each other for ages.”
I began remembering that day, seeing a confused and lonely boy in the sea of young that wanted to become sunspears. He was the first person I met that had silver eyes that gleamed like metal, his face had silver markings on it as well but for some reason they appeared to be a part of him.
“Well, you looked out of place and I felt out of place at the gathering”. He smiled and said “I wonder if there are more people like you in that place where you came from”
“That place where I came from has a name” I replied, “It’s called Ascalon.”
We sat there in silence while the sun rose; I wondered what the sunrise looked like to spice. He had told me once that his eyes were not his own, they were given to him by the gods so that he could battle the evil that destroyed his home many years ago, and with his eyes he could see the power of the gods at work in every creature and everything on this world.

We made our way to the sunspear great hall, seeing other sunspears making their way as well. They all looked at me and Spice with reverence, for we were part of an elite unit of sunspears that dealt only with the most challenging of missions.

Spear marshal Chase and his lieutenant Audrina were waiting for us at the gate when we arrived. We saluted them both and noted a worried look on their faces. “Spice, Lumsk, we have a situation.” Chase began “Go with L. Audrina to the briefing room and she will fill you in”. At the briefing room Audrina got straight to business, this was a sign that something bad was happening as Audrina always meets us with a joke. She sighed, “Lumsk, Spice, we have a Sticky Situation, it seems that an army of corsair seamen has landed in Lahtenda Bog. We fear that this may be a front for an all out invasion. Most of our teams are unprepared for a mission of this caliber. That is why you two will assemble a special unit. Your mission is to annihilate the invading corsairs AFTER you find out what their agenda is. We have set up base at Jokanur Diggings and that is where we will meet you. You have until noon to be ready; I expect to see you in Jokanur before dark.”

With that she departed, leaving us to ponder on who we were going to recruit for this mission.

Note: I added two lines to the first chapter to lead into this one.

Chapter 3: Assemble

A few names came quickly to mind, this mission needed people that can handle themselves in tight spots. Ally, the fair and deadly blossom, and Ak, the prowling shadow of Cantha, were fighters to be feared of separately, but together the pair was unstoppable. Everwind, a curious scythe bearing ritualist; he did not match mine or Ally’s skill with the scythe, but with the aid of his spirits he could cut through steel like it was butter. No one knows where he came from; but it is certain that with the protection and healing of his spirits none would die. The dark skinned Gahiji of Vabi, son of a rich Vabian merchant, his weapon a hammer forged of the rarest of metals, and his pet, Bonquisha, which he had received as a child, a rare breed of stalker from the lands of Tyria. And finally the two of us; Lumsk, ebon vanguard commander and elite sunspear, fabled archer of Ascalon, known to be so skilled she is able to barrage her enemies with the might of a unit of archers; and myself, demon eyes Spice, dervish of the sunspear elite.

“With this group we won’t even make a dent in the number of troops the enemy has deployed. We need someone that can actually wipe out those bastards with one sweep, we need Spell.” Lumsk was right, we did need Spell. Spell was an elementalist of such skill and power that even spear marshal chase was hesitant to take him on; but he had settled down, started the life of a merchant, and became exceedingly wealthy. “Let’s go pay Spell a visit.”



I had just returned from a very profitable trading expedition to Kourna, I should have felt content, but for some reason I felt apprehensive, like something dire was on its way. No sooner had I thought that than there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see Spice, his face grim, and Lumsk, a kind look on her face covered by her bright yellow hair, standing there. Trouble was about and I knew they were coming to ask me to participate in a fight, but I would not join, I have settled into this life and will not leave it no matter what.
“Hello,” I began coldly, “What brings you two to these parts?”
“May we come in?” asked Lumsk, I obliged them, taking them to the living room where they would lay on me what I did not want to hear.
“Your family is in danger” Lumsk started, her words threw me off guard.
“What do you mean?”
“Istan is being invaded; a large army of corsairs has taken the western shore and are making preparations to march east. We have been assigned to assemble a unit to counter attack and destroy the corsairs.”
“Then destroy them without me, I told you I am no longer a sunspear and will only aid its military with my money not with my life.”
“Spell the skills you possess are unmatched in all of Elona, we need you for this fight”
“I stand by what I said Lumsk, your arguments fall on deaf ears for there is nothing you can say or do that will make me change my mind.”
Lumsk seemed unperturbed and said “We understand Spell, but we will take no elementalist other than you on this mission, it is far too vital that we all know each other’s limitations than to try our luck with someone new.” They stood up, “We will leave you now but remember, Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out shouting, "HOLY SHIT...what a ride!".

With that they left...



After visiting Spell, Lumsk and I went our separate ways to brief the others and ready ourselves for the journey and battle ahead. When the time to prepare was over we made our way to the main gate, only to be greeted by a waving Spell, his brown hair ruffled by the wind, his skin the same color as the sand around him, “You’re late” he shouted with a smile “I’ve been waiting here for the past 30 minutes!” Gahiji whispered something and his stalker ran and pounced Spell “Nice to see you too” Gahiji told him. And with that, our journey began.

O.o im a scythe wielding ritualist s now

-.-. Dam, I wanted to be a lazy son of a bitch. Why do I have to go?

At least you get to go, I don't even get an honorable mention

Chapter 4: Assault

"Something is disturbing Spice” I pointed out to Ak, “he has not said a single word during our trip here”. We had just arrived at the base in Jokanur Diggings and were readying our weapons for the fight to come. The air seemed thick with anxiety, most evidently expressed by Spice and Everwind, something evil was about. I had never seen spice so worried about a battle. I remembered the first time I met Spice, he and Lumsk had been sent to clear the Oni besieging Kaineng City. Ak and I were guards on duty protecting Princess Jewel of Cantha, when a stealthy group of shrouded oni made its to the throne room, our group of guards was easily overpowered and subdued. Me and Ak were the only ones remaining to defend the princess as the other guards fled for their lives. All hope seemed lost when suddenly Spice appeared in the center of their formation and started cutting them down, the few that managed to get behind him were quickly shot down with arrows from a concealed sniper, No oni survived that day. “You have shown great courage on this day” he said while approaching us, “For your faithfulness to the princess I would like to offer you a position among the sunspears. We will train you in weapons and lore. You have the potential to become a great fighter.”

The sound of approaching footsteps brought me back to the reality we were in, Spell was approaching, “Ally bring you scythe and tell Ak to bring his good daggers, Spice is concocting another one of his crazy plans. We are to meet by the old entrance to the bog in 10 minutes.” It took Ak another 5 minutes to decide which daggers he thought were his best >.>. After joining the sunspears we were trained by different First Spears, or Masters. I opted to be trained in the scythe after seeing how Spice handled his, but Ak preferred the subtlety of the dagger.

The others were already there when we got to the entrance, I rolled my eyes towards Ak when they saw us. They nodded, understanding. Spice, wasting no time, pulled out a map and began explaining his plan. He pointed to a marker in the middle of the map and began “The Corsairs have stationed themselves here, in the ancient ruins from the time of the first city near the western shore, while their supplies are being moved from the ships. The ruins themselves are well fortified and can only be accessed from this point on the surface, but thanks to information obtained from the SpearMarshals, we know that there is an underground entrance that can take us to the back of their camp.” He turned to me “Ally, you and Ak will escort Spell to that entrance while the rest of us will agro their forces towards the main gate.” Gahiji choked, “WHAT?! That’s suicide you would have us take on nearly a thousand corsairs?? Even if we are skilled there is no way we can defeat such numbers!”
“I understand that Gahiji but it’s ok because I’m sending you and Bonquisha in first.”
Gahiji looked like he was about to faint when a grin broke the look Spice’s face.
“The entrance to the ruins is only wide enough to allow five men to stand in it, and I know for certain each one of us can take on at least five men.” – Lumsk snorted –
Spice Continued “Spell this is where you come in, and your role makes us or breaks us, if you screw up we all die.”
“Well you know how I just love working under pressure…”
“While the corsairs are grouping up to fight us off you will have to blast them from behind” – Lumsk snorted again, Spell looked at her menacingly – “You have to take out as many corsairs as you can because as Gahiji said, there is no way we can take on their numbers. You all know your part, so let’s get to it”

With that we split up. Me, Ak, and Spell were on our way to the back entrance. No sooner had we arrived than a commotion started in the corsair camp, the others had begun their fight. Stepping into the corsair camp, we discovered a few lingering corsairs that had stayed back in hopes of staying alive…They were dispatched immediately. Then Spell began to chant. I could see the others at the gate, fighting for their lives.

Things started taking a turn for the worse, some corsairs managed to break away from the gate and were attempting to flank the others…I think I saw Spice go down, it’s hard to tell with so much blood flying everywhere…The corsairs were winning. I started rushing Spell to do something before it was too late, but it was out of his hands. It seemed like the plan was going to fail and we were all going to die when the unexpected happened. The fallen corsairs began to get up and attack their comrades, their flesh and bones were mixing to form horrid creatures, I knew only one person on Istan that could do this, it had to be Passifis the Vile, Leader of the Sunspear Necromancer Division. The corsairs were panicking now but it was too late. They discovered that they had locked themselves in a cage that they could not escape, with undead minions at the front, and walls covering every other direction. I had to shield my eyes at that moment as Spell began to emanate with a bright red light. All time seemed to freeze for a moment, with Spell finally unleashing his magic, the corsairs running about like crazy rats, and the walking corpses forming a line at the gate to block the corsairs escape, in the blink of an eye….it was over.

We returned to the others only to be greeted with grim faces and dark eyes, they were all sitting on the ground panting, exhausted from the fight. Even Passifis seemed shocked at something, I began to get worried. Spice looked up at us with a face that spelled doom, “Things just got complicated.”

leader of the Sunspear Necromancer Division? Me a leader of anything spells trouble indeed Very nice though, good chapter, keep up the good work.

nice story so far keep up to good work !

MMMMOOOOOOO.... u seriously need a life...
wen do u have time to do all this???
come come, i'll take u around university so we dont get bored...
but, as it seems, ur rly into it... good work uptill now

i just got some time to read all the storys ever1 wrote....nice work

Cool story spice

hmm i seem to be dissapearing from the story or somethin lol

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay. School work finally caught up to me ^_^, do enjoy



It was not hard to follow their trail, corsair corpses were strewn all over the path they took. I followed west and picked up my speed when I heard a commotion nearby. Alone now, I had to go ahead of my group because, judging by what we had seen in Kamadan, delay could mean death.

As I approached the source of the commotion I eased myself silently into a position where I could observe what was happening without being seen, the situation looked grave :S. A group of three curious men, a hammer wielding ranger, a scythe proficient ritualist, and a dervish with silver markings on his face, were fending off what seemed to be hundreds of corsairs at a small gate, a beast that resembled an overgrown cat was assisting by picking off those that got around them and, from a position nearby, I could hear a sniper discharging arrow after arrow at the never ending army. I could sense boon spirits around me healing and warding off wounds as they emerged but they were not nearly enough to deal with the mesh of blades striking at the troop. There was no time to run back and hurry the others, I began chanting the holy words of Dwayna, healing their wounds and throwing off strikes that would have been lethal, and prayed for a miracle.

The battle seemed to go on forever, until I noted a sudden change in the fighting of the small troop, they switched their tactic to defense and were trying to hold the corsairs where they were without killing any, only warding off hits and pushing the men backwards, even the sniper wasn’t aiming for the kill and would strike their shoulders or arms. This struck me as odd but it all became clear when I saw it. A creature so hideous it could not have been of this world, its body resembled that of a lion but it had scaly green legs, its upper body was covered in pitch black fur, and its head looked like that of a hell hound, black and eyes red as embers. The beast snaked smoothly between the corsairs, unhindered by the chaos of their movement.

The beast halted behind a few rows of corsairs and I could see its mouth begin to move, as if it were chanting. This seemed to have an effect on the dervish as suddenly a change came over his posture, it seemed that a cold calmness washed over him, as if he was in a trance, the silver markings on his face glowed brightly and he began cutting down corsairs with fury and skill that could only be described as demonic. It seemed he would make contact with the beast but just then the fallen corsairs churned and they rose again as messes of flesh and bone, pushing the dervish back to his comrades. I could see a dark figure approaching from outside the camp; he seemed to have an aura of authority about him as he commanded the dead to fight their living brethren.

A bright light shown from within the corsair camp and illuminated the figure, he was clad in armor only sunspear generals wore, he was not large in stature but his presence emanated with power. I noticed the light from the corsair camp growing brighter and the corsairs were beginning to panic. They attempted to flee but the dead had formed a thick wall preventing their escape. Suddenly a bright red flash erupted and I caught sight of the beast through the disordered jumble of corsairs, looking straight at my location, its eyes pierced through me for an instant and what appeared to be a fiendish grin on its face before it disappeared and I was forced to cover my eyes from the intensity of the light. In an instant, the corsairs were no more.

The sniper that was hidden to my right emerged between from between the trees, a mid height blonde with pale skin. She moved to her team, flexing her arms and rubbing her muscles from the exhaustion of constant fire; then three figures, two men and a woman, stumbled through the mass of charred bodies towards the others. One of the men and the woman seemed familiar but I could not recall where I had seen them before, they were supporting the third man who seemed depleted, he must have been the one that blasted the corsairs.

I moved back a distance to ponder all I had seen, but at that moment a group of passing skales, scaly mutant fish, spotted me and agro’d. I cursed “Damnit! Why does this always happen to me?!” They were almost upon me when my party finally caught up to me, the first skale was halted in its tracks as it was bombarded with Mesmer illusions, it was then subsequently taken out with a practiced sword slice. The remainders were taken out by a flurry of arrows.

“’Took you guys long enough!” I said, “Things got really rough over here and we would have come all this distance for nothing if those people had died.” I looked around “Wait, where is… (A yell sounds in the background, followed by a thud) …never mind. ‘Guess it’s time to introduce ourselves.”

First one to guess who the character of this chapter is wins 5k, you have to base your guess using the hints in the chapter, each person gets only one guess, so make it count. Post your guess here for fairness, you have until the next chapter comes out ;D *Coming soon* Chapter six:Unveiling

i think it is blonde....dunno why...

meee

bravo , great job so far

i dono but i think its R O F L

i wish it to be me! *POOF*

I think it's my evil twin, Leo the Lion. He's a vicious brute who charges people and bites their throats out. Sounds nothing like the character, just a random guess.

Hmmm i think the 1st person is myself and i think the sniper is monkey in armor

Mo I just read of your chapter they are amzing!!!!!! hehehe I can't wait to hear the rest.... and I love the style you chose, using a different character's depiction for each chapter.. very creative...


and i have a surprise for you

whers chapter 6=\

Finally got around to reading your story Spice .... great work mate! I'm looking forward to the next chapter with eagerness.

O.o what im a sniper *drools*

heh but i bet xavier =sniper

“Spice look out!” Ally yelled at me but it was too late, a single corsair had somehow managed to slip away and had silently approached us to take his revenge. I braced myself for the penetrating impact, but it never happened, instead a yell sounded and the sound of a thud as something heavy hit the ground. Looking up, there was a beautiful silver haired maiden who I swear would have been my splitting image had I been a girl.
“You should watch out monkey.” She addressed me. “You let your guard down on enemy territory”.
“I could have taken him… >.>” I replied.
“Truly a monkey… well, I’ll assume that meant thank you and in that case you’re welcome.”

A crunching of dry leaves and twigs sounded behind me and, looking back, I saw a group of people emerge from the surrounding brush. There were 8 of them, though it was difficult to distinguish their features in the gloom of the night.

As they approached us we took up our weapons and readied ourselves for a fight, but the strange girl set us at ease. “They’re allies” she said.

They stopped just outside the circle of light cast by the fires of the camp, and one of them broke away from the group and stepped into view. It did not take me long to figure out who she was, pale, narrow eyed and obviously experienced. She was Zaishen. Not just any Zaishen either, the golden sun emblem on her vest marked her as a member of the Army of Lightness, the most highly regarded and renowned faction of the Zaishen elite. If they were involved then something really terrible has happened.

“I wouldn’t have guessed it was the Zaishen that got involved. This girl here doesn’t seem to fit the profile” I said, pointing at the silver maiden.

“This girl has a name….My name is Alpha”. The name sparked something within me…a long lost memory… but even as I tried to hold it I could feel it slipping away from my grasp.

Another person stepped into the light, this one a man, his features also distinct Canthan, his figure well built. With a voice that signaled the respect his position demanded, he spoke “Since you’ve heard of us, we will save time on introductions. We know who you are but you would not know who we are” with that the rest of his group stepped into the light, their numbers were divided evenly between men and women. “I am Judge Zaargabath, head Mesmer of the Army of Lightness, and last of the Judge Order that has been hunting demons since before recorded history. These are my associates.” The first to be identified was a young male monk by the name of Rofl, followed by a hardened female warrior named Blonde, A paragon known as Mighty, and an Elementalist called Litle, and finally an assassin who is only identified as Moon; all their features distinctly canthan. “You have already met our martial expert Alpha, and the monk that aided you in your battle with the corsairs, her name is…”

Time seemed to have frozen; Judge was fixed static in his position, his mouth open but not moving. The fire of the camp seemed to be made of glass as it remained motionless, even the air itself seemed to have forgone motion all together. A light touch brushed my shoulder, sending a chill down my spine, and then they came, men and women that seemed to be made of violet lightning, their forms grotesque yet beautiful at the same time. They spoke to me but their voices sounded in my head.

“Your path does not end here, much work is yet to be done. What we are about to tell you will change your fate, and the fate of the entire world. Be ready Spice…You have been chosen….”

Be sure to check out the story Revenge of The Monkeys: Alphas Tail

Be ready Spice…You have been chosen lmao isnt that Glint i think we still missing the sniper

y so short? (out of all the ppl, im askin this question )

*woot* Well worth the wait

Now get busy and write the next chapter mo

*eagerly awaits the next installment*

O.o kickass *hold spice hostage until he finishes all of the story *

Very nice spice, nice cliff hanger at the end.

bravo

aaaah another gr8 clifhanger...MORE

I agree with Monkin. Why so short, you lazy son of a bitch?

“…and the monk that aided you in your battle with the corsairs, her name is-“.

“Kamadan is in danger. A fleet of Kournans and Corsairs is going to lay siege and get in through the sun docks.” I would have been annoyed at him interjecting before I finished my statement, but something was struck me as odd and it had my attention. Not a moment ago while my eyes were fixed upon him he was standing slack, his face calm and composed; yet in what seemed to be less than an instant his scythe had appeared in his hand, a look of bewilderment on his face, and it seemed as if his silver scars were…glowing? Could they have contacted him? They wouldn’t dare do it in my presence, but I cannot trust this dervish anymore. He may already be lost to us…

“Spice, the Corsair threat is done. We just killed nearly a thousand men, why would-“before the Blonde ranger, Lumsk, could finish a loud explosion sounded that reverberated throughout the ancient ruins of the bog. Everyone, including myself, was shocked.

“There’s no time for questions, both our people and the Zaishen are in grave danger. The battle to come may just make the history of Istan. That, unfortunately, is not our only problem. You saw the beast among the men here, and the gods have commanded me to hunt it down and kill it before it causes any more suffering. I will not ask you all to come with me. I know some of you have family to protect. There are 16 people here right now. We will have to split into two groups, one to return as support and reinforcements for the fight, the other will come with me to track down and kill the beast.

“I will come with you” I volunteered, not only to hunt, but I had to watch him to make sure I would have no reason to kill him in the future.

We merged our groups and broke up into 2 teams. Ours was composed of Spice, myself, the ranger Lumsk, Alpha steel fist, the duo of Ally and Ak, Spell the inferno, and the monk I could not introduce earlier…Kiera”. With that we departed, our group travelled fast to catch the beast. It was hard work keeping up the pace we were going, sinking into the muck of the bog, jumping over dead logs, and avoiding roaming groups of skale, but the trail was clear; wherever the beast had passed there was only death and decay, shriveled swamp grass, dead critters, putrid water, whatever this thing was it would not be easy to kill; and it seemed that the farther we delved into the bog, the brighter Spice’s scars glowed.

Coming on to dry land finally, we approached a clearing in the forest and almost tripped when Spice came to a sudden halt, his scars now a bright crimson.

Spell asked “What are we sto-“ The rest was lost in an ear shattering roar that brought us to our knees.

“You humans are stupid creatures, I left warnings for you not to follow me, but now it’s too late. I’m going to kill you all and feast on you for my gods” and it charged but Spice just stood there. It came at us vowing blood and murder.

Spice just stood there…

*woot*

Only one thing .... TOO SHORT I WANT MORE

That was a good tension builder mo ... literally had me on the edge of my seat.

nooooooooooo spice gona get chopped!

Holy...Wow, awesome chapter mo. Keep up the good work. MORE!!!!

glowing spicy food good tention build.

Wow Great Story so far Mo xD